This subject interests me very much. What do you think would happen if we would apply leads on both sides of the balance point of the keys that otherwise would not or hardly be leaded? Could we have inertia work for us in this way? 7At 19:25 9-11-96 -0800, you wrote: >Hello everyone, > >What recently got me to thinking (and will pull this rambling discourse >back to the stated subject), is a comment last week from pianist Gary >Graffman. He and pianist Leon Fleisher were performing a concerto >written for two one handed pianists. They have both resorted to playing >left handed due to injuries. I solicited their comments on the modern >piano, asking how they thought it might be improved to lessen the chance >of injury. I mentioned the general tendency for keys to be more heavily >leaded toward the bass to offset the heavier hammers. Our conversation >was interrupted, but not before Mr. Graffman floored me with the casual >comment " Isn't it curious, though, that pianists most often suffer >injury to their right hand?" > >Whoa, reevaluation time. Maybe the principal mechanism of injury is not >the stress imposed by action inertia, as my tunnel-thinking had led me >to believe, but perhaps the shockwave of energy which is returned to the >player's hand at the bottom of the keystroke. Could it be that the >greater inertia in the lower part of the piano actually absorbs energy >in such a way as to lessen the risk of injury to the left hand? Might it >be possible to modify the piano to absorb more of this energy without >harming performance in other ways? How about front rail punchings made >from running shoe innersole material, or something else that >won't just flatten out and give up under a hard blow? > >Too many questions, too few answers at this point. Any ideas out there? > >Steve Schell >stfrsc@juno.com > >The teachings of Chris Robinson (action geometry) and David Stanwood (key >balancing) have been very helpful. > Steve, did these gentleman write anything on these subjects I could lay my hands on? Frans Sedee stemvork@xs4all.nl
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