About some of Michael Wathen's comments: I have had very few Steinways that we have retrofitted with new parts here ay Oberlin characterized as being light. Do you use real small hammers, Mike, or file them alot? (Michael said he gets complaints just as frequently about actions being too easy to play as too difficult). The bulk of our complaints at Oberlin about actions that are too light are directed at the ones with worn hammers (too light because of too many filings) and worn out keybushings and action centers (no friction). I have talked about hard to play actions in previous postings. I agree with you Michael, that acceleration is independent of speed (initial speed, you might say); acceleration refers to the rate at which the velocity (speed) of a body increases per unit of time. What concerns me about using small weights to initiate the acceleration of a hammer is that the relatively slow movement of the hammer might be hampered by the static friction in the note more than when moving it quickly. Also, I have a gut feeling that the acceleration of the hammer would occur over a small period of its movement (with slow movement of the hammer) and that acceleration would more likely occur over a greater period of movement with faster hammer movement. If the latter does occur, I think measuring the acceleration would be easier be- cause of the increased motion during acceleration and the greater change in speed. I remind you, though, that all this is np more than hypothesis. I'll end this with something I said from a previous post. Let's discuss this at length at our Albequerque (how spell) College and University Tech's Forum. Ken Sloane, Oberlin Conservatory
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC