RE Aftertouch

[Kenneth Sloane]

                      Subject:                              Time:  10:49 AM
  OFFICE MEMO         RE Aftertouch                         Date:  8/24/95

----------ORIGINAL POST FROM DENNIS JOHNSON, ST OLAF-------------

        This brings to issue for me an interesting point regarding the
pianist's perception of good key dip. Clearly, there is no absolute right
or wrong independent of what the player is accustomed to. In the past ten
years now, as more and more of the performance Steinways are fitted to the
higher, European style leverage, naturally pianists have adapted. I am
always keen to listen for comments when they do come, and it amazes me
really how seldom that pianists complain about the deeper dip. There was
one case when I had to switch pianos for a jazz player and couldn't tell
him because he showed up late. He was used to a deeper dip but that night
he got an original dimension action. The touch weight was the same on these
two pianos, but he could really tell the difference, said his hands even
got a little sore. This was with plenty of aftertouch, .040" -.050". On
another occasion when he was more familiar with that piano he played it
again, and loved it. So what do you do?

----------------MY REPLY----------------

I think what pianists perceive as being different between the "high leverage"
and "low leverage" actions is the difference in the apparent inertia in each
action. The "low leverage" actions force the pianist to accelerate hammer
action parts more quickly per each unit of key travel. This imparts more
inertia to the action regardless of what the touch weight is.

I find that pianists virtually never complain about key dip being too great or
too shallow as long as an action has workable friction and inertia levels and
is voiced and regulated evenly.

Ken Sloane, Oberlin Conservatory