<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:v = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:st1 = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"><HEAD><TITLE>Re: [CAUT] = excessive pedaling?</TITLE> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1491" name=GENERATOR><o:SmartTagType name="PersonName" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"></o:SmartTagT= ype> <STYLE>  </STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY lang=EN-US vLink=purple link=blue bgColor=white> <DIV>Yes, sold through S&R. Used many a = catalog in ye ol' outhouse.</DIV> <DIV>Joe Goss RPT Mother Goose Tools <A href="mailto:imatunr@srvinet.com">imatunr@srvinet.com</A> <A href="http://www.mothergoosetools.com">www.mothergoosetools.com</A></DI= V> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black">From: <A title=WIGENTD@MAIL.ECU.EDU = href="mailto:WIGENTD@MAIL.ECU.EDU">Wigent, Donald E</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">To: <A title=caut@ptg.org href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">College and University Technicians</A> = </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 = 9:04 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">Subject: RE: [CAUT] More = Thoughts on Pedaling</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV class=Section1> And then = there was the WING piano that had up to 6 pedels. Do you remember.? <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <DIV> <DIV class=MsoNormal style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" = align=center> <HR tabIndex=-1 align=center width="100%" SIZE=2> </DIV> From: <A href="mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org">caut-bounces@ptg.org</A> [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] On = Behalf Of Jeff Olson Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 12:22 AM To: <st1:PersonName = w:st="on">College and University Technicians</st1:PersonName> Subject: [CAUT] More Thoughts = on Pedaling<o:p></o:p></DIV> <o:p> </o:p> <DIV> Fred S. commented:<o:p></o:p>  <o:p></o:p> "If I don’t provide pianos that have had a good una corda voicing, as one = example, the piano students who play them won’t learn what the possibilities = are, and they will be unaware of being unaware."<o:p></o:p> Not to flog a semi-comatose ungulate, but if ideal piano performance is not = possible without a qualitative reduction in volume, as is theoretically caused = by the una corda pedal on properly voiced hammers, why would ideal piano = performance not also require a qualitative increase in volume via, say, a pedal = which shifts the hammers' striking point to a (voiced) harder portion of the = hammer?<o:p></o:p> In other words, why the bias to an artificially induced softness as opposed to = an artificially induced loudness? If one is deemed desirable, why not the = other?<o:p></o:p> Imagine instead of shifting the action to strike one string (as it did = originally), the default was one string, and the shift caused two strings to be = struck. Is there any reason, other than subjective preference, for one to exist = and not the other? For that matter, if a mechanically induced softness is = desirable, why not employ a "mute" pedal (one that places a strip of felt between = hammers and strings)? Surely that would dramatically alter the timbre = (harmonic series emphasis), and thus be a good thing? <o:p></o:p> Incidentally, I don't believe there were any = pedal markings on music prior to the 1790s. CPEB died shortly before then, = so, assuming I'm correct about pedal markings, would it be unfair to = suggest that Wim's professor was out in his own private la-la land in una cording = the heck out of a CPE piece (the only mention about pedals I recall from CPE's = tome, "Essay on the True Art of = Playing Keyboard Instruments," was a reference to enjoying the undamped = register of the forte piano).<o:p></o:p> I'm not suggesting you = guys are all wrong, by the way -- merely that the present state of affairs = (including the predominant modern pedal arrangement) perhaps isn't quite as = self-evident as it's being portrayed here. A few changes of inventive serendipity = here and there, and we might have more pedals, or pedals that perform at least = slightly different functions from their current incarnation; it seems to me = that there's a built-in bias toward that which did evolve, and an = underestimation of the role of chance in that evolution.  (See the evolution of = the modern computer keyboard, which is known to be biomechanically = inferior, for an example of that.)<o:p></o:p> But then perhaps = this is all, as Chris has suggested, the result of a feverishly unaware midsummer = night's dream on my part (this is certainly the wrong season to have such a = dream). <o:p></o:p> In any case, I have been = inspired to more meticulously adjust the una corda pedal and voice the hammers accordingly on my own personal grands, so please excuse me while I = gather my hammer hardening lacquer and set to work. I'm really looking forward = to that shift to a brighter tone, where I can at long last bring out the = true brilliance of Bach (JS).... ;-)<o:p></o:p> Best,<o:p></o:p> Jeff = 0.<o:p></o:p>  <o:p></o:p>  <o:p></o:p></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY= ></HTML>