[CAUT] Hu's on first?

[Laurence Libin]

How many thoughtful, well-written articles about tone and touch have been 
submitted for consideration?
Laurence


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ed Sutton" <ed440 at mindspring.com>
To: <caut at ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 9:49 AM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Hu's on first?


> Look at several years of Clavier Companion (magazine for piano teachers). 
> Tell me how many articles you find that discuss piano touch and tone, and 
> so on as discussed on this list.
>
> Sad to say, but most piano teachers I tune for are in dream world about 
> these issues, seen from the view of a piano technician. It is not my 
> perogative to educate a nervously arrogant piano professor who has not 
> heard of  Malcolm Bilson's DVD "Knowing the Score," for example.
>
> Meanwhile, we are trying to educate ourselves, I hope.
>
> Ed S.
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Laurence Libin" <lelibin at optonline.net>
> To: <caut at ptg.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 9:32 AM
> Subject: [CAUT] Hu's on first?
>
>
>> Who primarily shapes tonal taste: composers, concert performers, 
>> instrument builders, the mass market? Fuzzy morning thoughts:
>>
>> Clearly not composers. Seems to me that instrument builders are the main 
>> driving force as they innovate in order to differentiate their products 
>> so as to gain market share or just express personal creativity. The 
>> market is mostly among amateurs and that's the target most builders aim 
>> to please; not many can afford to cater only to the elite.
>>
>> Pianos are unusual in having quite different models for amateur and 
>> professional use (not so for most orchestral instruments, where quality 
>> differs more than design), so I guess manufacturers of concert grands pay 
>> more attention to artists' desires than do, say, fine violin makers--who 
>> regard themselves as artists--or manufacturers of baby grands and 
>> uprights. But concert artists also have to balance personal expressive 
>> goals with what audiences want to hear. In so-called classical music most 
>> people tend to want to hear what they're used to; in youth-oriented 
>> popular music tonal novelty is more stressed. This might be one of many 
>> reasons why pianos, which have a limited, predictable palette of tonal 
>> possibilities (compared to, say, electric guitars and 'keyboards'), 
>> aren't featured so much anymore in pop music.
>>
>> Anyway, pianos and violins are both unusual in having techs who regularly 
>> intervene between instrument and player to shape tone after an instrument 
>> is put in use. Concert violinists pay serious attention to what their 
>> fiddle doctors (who are often also fiddle dealers) say about tone and 
>> projection because violinists know they can only guess how their 
>> instruments sound from a distance. Concert pianists as a rule are less 
>> humble in this regard, and of course they don't generally perform on 
>> their own instrument and very few have the luxury of traveling with their 
>> own trusted tech. Touring pianists, too, generally prefer what they're 
>> used to, and most are used to S&S. (Keep in mind that touch strongly 
>> affects perception of tone.)
>>
>> Especially in academic situations, piano techs should have the 
>> opportunity to shape tonal taste by explaining and demonstrating why 
>> certain sounds are more or less effective in certain situations and for 
>> different repertoires. The more autonomous and authoritative techs are 
>> seen to be, and the more collaborative (in the manner of fiddle doctors), 
>> the less they'll be disregarded as mere fixers, like the stagehands. 
>> Creating that aura isn't easy when you interact with an artist for only a 
>> few minutes, but in schools ideally you've got time to build 
>> relationships with faculty and students.
>>
>> Laurence
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> .......> Should performers rule in how our concert hall pianos sound? 
>> Well, as long as they have a choice between more perceived power, 
>> control, and timbre change, as you said, then like it or not, they do. 
>> (perceived at the bench. Pianists don't seem to care what it might sound 
>> like in the hall even if told that it's better out there). After years at 
>> the bench this IS their reality) This (performer selection) seems to be 
>> what has caused the "homogenized" piano sound Laurence mentioned.
>> .........>
>>>
>>> Respectfully,
>>> Jim Busby
>>>
>>>
>>
>