Journal Articles

[Fred Sturm]

--On Sunday, May 30, 2004 10:38 PM +0200 Richard Brekne 
<Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no> wrote:

> Over to Jim Hudsons article tho... Dont you think a whole 3 mm letoff is
> a bit overkill on the safe side ?  Where do you generally like letoff and
> drop yourself, and why ?
>
> Interesting to find so much variance in this seemingly simple point.
> Cheers
> RicB

	I can understand and easily accept a more conservative approach to letoff 
than my own. But are any of you really advocating 3 mm (=1/8") letoff in 
grands? And in concert grands in particular? Seriously? Are you really 
contending you ever need that much of a safety margin?
	I find this hard to believe, regardless of extreme seasonal changes. 1.5 - 
2 mm / 1/16" is plenty of margin for any grand in my experience, and in the 
opinions of every manufacturer I am aware of. A caveat being condition of 
the regulation button felt. If every, say, quarter turn of the button 
produces the same change in letoff distance, the felt is in good shape. If 
it doesn't, you need to address that problem, and regulating close letoff 
without addressing that problem is quite risky (how would I know that?) If 
there are even moderate dimples in the felt, iron or sand and iron. Ditto 
for fuzzy felt: iron it. I guess knuckle condition and a few other factors 
that aren't coming to mind instantly would also come into play, but one 
assumes that one has dealt with all those when working with a concert 
instrument, yes?
	Personally, I am convinced that close letoff is one of the most basic 
elements of good concert regulation, taken in conjunction with voicing that 
is even and has a good gradiant. The rest of regulation is based on that 
fine letoff (drop, aftertouch, check, etc are adjusted to match). It isn't 
just a matter of ability to get pppp without the risk of the note failing 
to speak (though that is important). It's fine control of melodic lines, 
and, particularly, fine control of the relative prominence of individual 
tones played simultaneously. The fine muscular coordination required to 
make, say, all voices of a four part WTC fugue sound as individual lines is 
helped enormously by that final 0.5 mm closer to the string (ie, 1.5 mm as 
opposed to 2 mm, or 1 mm as opposed to 1.5). I think most really 
accomplished pianists rely on the ability to make fine adjustments to 
acceleration of the key/hammer during the entire keystroke, and 
particularly during the very last portion - where drop screw and letoff 
button have been contacted.
	At any rate, I am happy to go on record anywhere stating that 3 mm is 
utterly unacceptable as a standard for letoff on a concert instrument. I 
can think of no circumstances that would justify such a standard. I can see 
room for argument as you get to the range of 1 to 2 mm, and less than 1 mm, 
though possible, is definitely risky.
	But 3 mm? Seriously?
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico