Tips from a pianist!

[Jim_Harvey@yca.ccmail.compuserve.com]

Anton,

Thanks for joining us, even for a short while. It is rare that a
concert pianist crosses over into our technical jargon, never mind our
work. For this reason, I wish I could persuade you to continue your
subscription. Many otherwise skilled tuner/technicians do not play,
and it would be helpful at times to discuss certain elements of our
work and have the results described from a player's vantage point.

Speaking of persuasion, I hope I can get you to reconsider something.
When you mentioned "keys which are too tight at the balance rail", you
were in fact discussing the balance rail hole(s). What you say is
true, including the raise/drop test. I have "lost" as much as three
grams of friction (touch resistance) in this area. However, I do not
endorse the use of an awl, capstan tool, or other round object for
this operation. The problem will go away, but at the expense of
causing "pulley" keys.

In reality, the wood of the keystick swells in the direction of grain,
causing the (originally) round hole to become egg-shaped, usually at
the sides of the hole. With this in mind, it is preferable to use a
tool that is round on only two sides, and "safe" in the front to back
direction. Our goal is to restore roundness, not to make the entire
hole larger.

Regarding repetition spring strength. When you found this situation,
I'm curious if you encountered "hot" springs as a result of technical
misunderstanding, negligence, incompetence or:

(a) another artist's request (it happens)

(b) offsetting other needed work (old hammers=lighter, tight pinning,
etc.)

(c) budget restraints at the site.

Take this information in the same spirit as your post.

I'm surprised you didn't (and wished you had) gone into:

(a) damper pedal adjustments for artists' personal preferences and use
patterns -- partial pedal techniques, no/little/much lost motion, etc.

(b) inner-string voicing, or voicing to compliment/maximize the use of
the various positions of the sostenuto

(c) the ivory key 'syndrome'.

I believe the list would benefit from your views in these subtle
areas.

Thanks again for your participation. Are you sure you want to go away?

Jim Harvey RPT