[CAUT] Capstan relocation questions

[Chris Solliday]

I agree with David's notion of predictability
AND
 because the attack, in fact the entire technique of playing, on the black
keys is different than on the white keys they could feel more equal to the
player if the ratios are different. If you accept this difference in
technical approach to playing black and white keys then the ratios should be
different out of necessity. Usually you will find that in pianos that have
been manufactured with this in mind the black keys will have a higher ratio.
This also helps with keeping them from burying. Equal ratios may appeal to
an engineer's sense of uniformity but could have little to do with the
realities of playing the piano. I have contrived both and knowingly played
on both and I lean toward the higher ratio for the black keys as being
superior. So maybe it's a good thing.
Chris Solliday
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Love" <davidlovepianos at comcast.net>
To: <caut at ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2010 11:14 AM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Capstan relocation questions


> I don't know about differences in the hand but there are differences
> depending on where you play the key.  You could make an argument that
since
> when the black keys are played along with the white keys it tends to be
> farther into the white keys.  Because the action ratio changes depending
on
> where you play the key (it gets higher as you move toward the balance
rail)
> then with a higher sharp ratio you might have greater uniformity in actual
> playing.  So what does a pianist notice?  It's impossible to say.  Much
> seems to go unnoticed often.  In reality the touch weight dynamics as they
> relate to action ratios are rarely uniform in practice to the pianist
> because they don't really play any two notes in the same proximity to the
> balance rail.  While making the ratio between sharps and naturals equal
> makes sense on one hand, a varying action ratio between the two within
> reason probably goes unnoticed.  What pianists notice is predictability.
If
> the key(s) respond as they expect the will before they play the note they
> will be happy assuming things are set up within reasonable specifications.
> If they have no was to assess what to expect in anticipation of playing a
> note or group of notes, they will be unhappy.
>
> David Love
> www.davidlovepianos.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Mark
> Dierauf
> Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2010 7:14 AM
> To: caut at ptg.org
> Subject: Re: [CAUT] Capstan relocation questions
>
> Many thanks, Ron - your insight is much appreciated. As to your last
> point, my concern is whether this will feel noticeably different to a
> concert level pianist. I may decide, from a purely technical point of
> view, that identical ratios between sharps and naturals are preferable,
> but that doesn't necessarily make the pianist happy. It does seem
> perfectly plausible to me that, given the physiological differences
> between the individual fingers of the hand and the empirical origins and
> long history of the keyboard (and the compositions written for it) that
> there might actually be a compelling argument in favor of differing
> ratios. What I'm wondering is simply whether or not pianists have
> noticed the difference between these two setups and whether their
> reaction was favorable or not.
>
> - Mark
>
> Ron Overs wrote:
> > <div class="moz-text-flowed" style="font-family: -moz-fixed">Mark,
> >
> >> . . . The "magic line" at half-stroke: WNG is recommending using
> >> different heels for the sharps to maintain this, but I'm a little
> >> concerned about how this will actually feel in the finished action.
> >
> > I've been doing this since 2000 when fitting our action. Very often
> > the spacing between the two balance pin lines, for the black and white
> > keys, is incorrect, so the capstan line might need to be located
> > differently for the black and white notes.
> >
> >>  After all, pianists have spent the past three centuries getting used
> >> to slightly different touch characteristics between sharps and
> >> naturals, and I want this action to feel good, not unusual.
> >
> > If feeling unusual means that the hammer/key ratio is the same for
> > both black and white keys, then I'd prefer it to feel unusual.
> >
> > Ron O.
>