Journal Articles

[David Ilvedson]

Fred,

How do you iron the knuckles?   Thin blade, heated?   No noise increase?

David I.



----- Original message ---------------------------------------->
From: Fred Sturm <fssturm@unm.edu>
To: College and University Technicians <caut@ptg.org>
Received: Mon, 31 May 2004 09:02:13 -0600
Subject: Re: Journal Articles

>--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
>_______________________________________________
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