Practical Concert Work

[Richard Brekne]

Thanks for chirping in there Fred. I have to say I had similar reactions 
to much of his article.  It would be nice to know some more about who 
this fellow is, and what kind of concert venues and artists he 
frequently provides service for.

I agree particularily with your point about string leveling.... tho I'm 
sure we can go along with Hudson far enough to acknowledge if one 
over-does pulling upwards on the strings one can indeed cause problems 
along the lines he mentions. That said... to suggest that no string 
leveling whatsoever should be done struck me as bad advice. 

If you dont mind it, I'd like to hear more about your thoughts on key 
bushing cloth....you dipped slightly into that and it roused my interest.

Cheers
RicB

Fred Sturm wrote:

> Hi Richard,
>     I've got to say that there are more highly questionable assertions 
> in that article than in any I've seen in a long, long time. Certainly 
> Hudson's assertion that "no one can distinguish between 0.125 in. and 
> 0.0615 in." let-off is utter hooey, to be very charitable. Any decent 
> pianist can distinguish between 1/8 and 1/16" let-off, and also 
> between 1/16 and 1/32", and will vastly prefer the last. And for my 
> part I have never seen humidity change cause significant blocking 
> problems in a concert instrument I regulated to 1/32". Maybe I don't 
> see drastic enough humidity change to share that experience, but I 
> have never had a problem keeping let-off close enough that you can 
> "play off the jacks (meaning slowly pressing the keys to the point 
> where resistence increases - ie, let-off button and drop screw are 
> contacted, then a rapid pressure of the keys will create a very fine 
> pianissimo blow). I do keep my regulating button felt nice and flat, 
> as regulating with dimples in the felt will always lead to blocking. 
> But, that said, I think that humidity will swell those felts enough to 
> compensate for string rise and fall, hammer felt swelling or whatever 
> humidity change might do.
>     I also think your average concert pianist appreciates key bushings 
> without slop. If you are having problems with sluggishness due to 
> humidity rise, probably the cloth you bushed with was too thick. It's 
> a very touchy thing, choosing just the right cloth, but it makes 
> absolutely all the difference. With the right cloth, good lubrication 
> and polishing, and precision ironing, very tight tolerances can be 
> achieved without causing problems in more humid conditions. Granted, I 
> live in a dry climate, but I see rises from under 10% to over 60% on a 
> regular basis, so I think my experience is pretty valid.
>     Better to contour a hammer to an out of level string than to level 
> the strings? Utter hogwash! Get your strings level (and the 
> straight-mate from Pianotek makes that job just that much easier, 
> along with Joe Goss's string level), file your hammers nicely (and 
> travel and square them well), and mating is a non-issue. Leave the 
> strings wherever they might be and adapt the hammers to them, and 
> you've entered on a fool's waste of time (in my oh so very humble 
> opinion).
>     Hudson's comments on voicing are a mixed bag, but he sure doesn't 
> understand the hard-pressed hammer and hasn't worked with it enough if 
> he can write, "I have never accomplished much by working the shoulders 
> to 'release tension.'" Granted, the biggest bang for the buck comes in 
> that last couple millimeters away from the strike point, but if you 
> haven't worked the shoulders, you'll never develop the tonal spectrum, 
> at least in my experience.
>     So there are a few quick reactions to the article to kick start a 
> discussion. Or maybe to fade into complete silence, especially 
> considering the time of year <g>
> Regards,
> Fred Sturm
> University of New Mexico
>