<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: [CAUT] excessive pedaling?</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> On 3/17/05 6:19 PM, "Fred Sturm" <fssturm= @unm.edu> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>There are some fairly efficient proce= dures to get a good range of color. </BLOCKQUOTE> A couple things have occurred to me that should be added to my previous pos= t, more by way of emphasis than as new and different material: 1) When the una corda pedal is fully depressed, the pianist should be able = to rely absolutely that this is where all hammers are softest. IOW, fully en= gaged should have a definite value (voicing level) and it should be a very s= afe, reliable spot. So, in addition to what we do to the hammer, we need to = be very finicky about keeping the stop screw well-regulated. The best una co= rda voicing job is lost as soon as the stop regulation migrates just a wee b= it, and the strings are contacted by the edge of the string grooves, or by f= elt that hasn’t been voiced. 2) There must absolutely be no spot within the play of the pedal that produ= ces louder and harsher tone than the tre corde position (that’s fancy = Eyetalian for hammers/keyboard in rest position, pedal not engaged). There i= s a real danger here with lacquered hammers – that there will be a spo= t just to the left of the string grooves that still has a bit of unbroken la= cquer.     I ran into this very recently. Had done what I thou= ght was a pretty nice voicing job, and, indeed, the artist seemed to like it= , but said there was this problem on just three notes. When gradually easing= off the pedal they got shrill suddenly. Yep, sure enough, I hadn’t in= serted the needles quite close enough to the groove on those hammers. And in= checking my work, I hadn’t tested a fine enough range of pedal play. = The harsh sound came just as the foot barely rested on the pedal. Live and l= earn. (What I really learned was to break down and get out my reading glasse= s when doing crown voicing. No more of that denial game <g>). Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico </BODY> </HTML>