[CAUT] Voicing method/analogy

[David Love]

It's not that hard to collect that data, it's hard to assign it to taste in
tonal preference.  Voicing also confuses the issue.  Tone is just much more
complicated than touchweight dynamics.  

I think Steinway remains popular because they are still coasting on their
early iterations when they did a much better job of matching string scale,
soundboard design and hammer weight and density: i.e. low tension, lightly
ribbed and thinned panels and light and soft hammers.  Their current
productions don't much resemble those from the 1920's.

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net 
www.davidlovepianos.com

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of
Richard Brekne
Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 11:32 AM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: [CAUT] Voicing method/analogy

I agree with all of this. It is of course impractical for not to say 
impossible to collect the kind of data hammer weight/density to 
soundboard/scale configurations as Stanwood did for action preferences.  
It just would be very interesting to see what such data would reveal. It 
might also shed some light on why the Steinway sound has dominated so to 
theee degree these past 100 + years. But alas.... I fear speculation and 
the like is where we are forced to reside on this subject.... that is 
unless something about all this can be quantified in some fashion as 
significantly as that mass of data Stanwood complied allowing for a 
statistical perspective of some value.

I'm looking forward to your presentation. I am sure it will be though 
provoking.

Cheers
RicB


    Data revealing anything meaningful about user end preferences with
    respect
    to tone are not likely.  There's too much variability when it comes
    to tonal
    preference.  Limited exposure to various combinations within a
    particular
    instrument also make collecting such data impractical at best.  Action
    response is a much simpler thing.  That being said, it is fairly easy to
    demonstrate even with simple thought experiments why hammers of
    different
    weights and densities will produce different types of tone on
    soundboards of
    varying weight and/or condition especially when combined with scales of
    different tension levels.  I'm in the midst of a two part
    presentation at
    the local chapter which offers an introduction to the ideas.  Once
    refined,
    I hope to be giving it on a broader level.  

     

    David Love
    davidlovepianos at comcast.net
    www.davidlovepianos.com


        As for comments about appropriate hammers with respect to
        denseness and
        weight relative to soundboard responsiveness. These are
        interesting to be
        sure, and tho I do not discount them in any sense of the word, I
        do miss the
        kind of data that sheds light on user end preferences of the
        sort that
        Stanwood has provided for actions, and I tho such data will
        probably never
        exist... I do wonder at what it would reveal.

        Cheers
        RicB