"Temporary" voicing

[jolly roger]

Hi Jim,
           Lots of good points.
One thing that I have done, that is more slight of hand.  Move the treble
strike point, and ask the piano player to choose the sound they like.  Most
times they will pick a slightly more strident position.
A nice reversible approach when it works. Adjusting the dag screw is some
thing few of them have seen,  some how they are impressed, go figure. 

Regards Roger



At 11:46 PM 4/13/01 -0400, you wrote:
>At 03:23 PM 4/13/01 -0700, you wrote:
>>8<snip>8
>>While trying to elicit a placebo response may feel like a dubious tactic, 
>>the shocking thing is how well it sometimes works.
>>
>>Susan
>
>Ah! Thanks Susan. Finally, the RIGHT approach! In a private response to 
>David, I mentioned the use of "words and a magic wand". Good to see I'm not 
>the only one who endorses this method.
>
>For the extended version of this situation, this is the way I see it:
>
>We're talking about ONE piano, ONE pianist, ONE performance, ONE 
>benefactor(?), ONE technician, ONE concert hall, in and/or for ONE school.
>
>Pianist: If he's really good, he's played under a lot worse circumstances, 
>and certainly on pianos that weren't as well prepared. Besides, he's only 
>gonna need to finish out an arpeggio or two. Gee, he's not playing an 
>entire performance on the last 1-1/2 octaves I hope. For that 3 seconds of 
>last octave "fluff", let him play it with his elbows.
>
>Orchestra: Usually denotes having a director. Directors are supposed to 
>know about dynamics, and should be able to hold back the band to a mild roar.
>
>Piano: I'll spare my other thoughts, and make this short for once. The fact 
>is, if this were a Yamaha G1, it MAY have received 12~18 minutes in final 
>voicing (likely not). However, with most manufacturers, the larger and more 
>expensive the instrument, the more quality time is permitted between voicer 
>and piano (last time I checked, full-pop retail on a CFIII was $108,000). 
>Effectively, the voicer is "off the clock" until satisfied with that 
>particular unit.
>
>Meanwhile, David mentioned that the piano is just right for the normal 
>location/requirements. If he feels the piano is correctly voiced -- albeit 
>momentarily -- for it's normal environment, that's the way it should stay. 
>Back to my first paragraph -- one pianist, one performance, one hour, etc. 
>NO WAY would I jeopardize that on ONE person's say-so. Sometimes we just 
>have to know when to say "NO", or, to imply "YES" but in reality, wave the 
>magic wand.
>
>Jim Harvey
>[who once had a humble opinion]
>
>
>
>
>Jim Harvey, RPT
>Greenwood, SC
>harvey@greenwood.net
>