On Dec 29, 2008, at 7:25 PM, Jerry Cohen wrote: > Unfortunately the pianist is a professor (Doctorate from Manhattan), > so I > don't think I should teach her about the sostenuto!!! Well, that's partly a question of personality and how you are able to create a relationship with the pianist. You need to project self- confidence, a friendly and non-threatening manner, the voice of authority offered without condescension. And pick a time when nobody else is around (no stage hands eavesdropping). Yes, it's certainly tricky and a little frightening, but the fact is that you know a lot more about the mechanism of the piano than most professional pianists, with or without doctorate from whatever school, prestigious or not. Which is why I do my best to do a session or two on piano action for all piano majors - and the sostenuto is definitely a part of it. Requires faculty cooperation. The faculty learns a lot, too, and they tend to gain respect for the piano technician's knowledge in the process. Trouble is, there is no way you can make the system work so that there is no noise if the sostenuto pedal is released while the damper pedal is engaged. So the only option is education - or accept the reputation of not being able to solve the problem. Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico fssturm at unm.edu
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