performance piano - student psychopathology 101

[Jorgensen, Michael L]

Otto,
    For a too bright piano, temporary-easy-fast-naturally reversible voicing like sugar coating helps in responding to constant pianists changing demands. (Use extreme care to taper off into the killer octave without killing it).  
     Another trick is to drop a pulverized damper felt down the crack on the bass end of the keyframe essentially putting the una corda on slightly.  Even though the rest position and string groove alignment doesn't change visibly, the tone will.  I suspect the felt adjacent to forming string grooves puffs up so if you pull out the damper felt after a few days it will again mellow the piano slightly. 
    Slight changes make pianists most happy, are safest, and save wear and tear.  Pianists adjust as the piano brightens so they think it is still mellowed even though it's back where it was a few days earlier.  
Deception, I confess,
     
-Mike Jorgensen
  
> ----------
> From: 	Otto Keyes
> Reply To: 	College and University Technicians
> Sent: 	Wednesday, September 17, 2003 3:25 PM
> To: 	College and University Technicians
> Subject: 	performance piano - student psychopathology 101
> 
> Just thought I'd throw something out for your thoughts & comments.  The following has not been a huge issue, but I'd like to educate the crew here to avoid recycling history.  Just wondered how many of you have come accross the same type of issue, & how you handle it.  
>  
> Many of the pianos here have been over-voiced, causing them to split after awhile.  This seems to have come about because the players perceive the pianos to have changed over-night.  One student in a studio class will have a poor performance (for whatever reason), & this seems to be infectious, so everyone gets a hair up his/her nose that "the piano is too bright, dull, doesn't _____" (you fill in the blank).  However, the day before, the instrument in question was wonderful, blah, blah, blah...
>  
> I have been attempting to educate the faculty & the students that perceptions change like (& sometimes with) the weather, and my goal is to keep the instruments as consistent as possible so as to avoid having to hang yet another set of hammers prematurely.  It is sometimes difficult to inform them in a tactful manner that perhaps this is a problem of perception, especially the gale force of opinion is blowing unchecked in the opposite direction.  One of the problems of democracy, I guess, but that is another discussion altogether.  :-)
>  
> Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out for your comments.
>  
> By the way,  this summer I restrung the treble, shaped the capo bar & hammers, etc., of several G-2s (& others) which were breaking an inordinate number of strings.  Should take care of the problem, but we'll see as we get into the heavy practice season for recitals, etc.  They sure tune cleaner now.
>  
> Otto
>