Optimizing Repetition

[FSSturm@aol.com]

Many thanks for the excellent discussion of this issue. Joel Rappaport's
comment that Alicia likes her repetition very reliable at the bottom of key
travel (or however he put it and Jim Coleman amended) struck a chord with me.
This is certainly just exactly what she was asking of the piano. At the speed
of repetition she was achieving, the key probably rises less than halfway
before another finger is striking it. It would be nice to do slow motion of
this to see what happens and when. At any rate, there is a feedback loop
between key and finger which determines timing of the "finger events", and it
is definitely possible for the fingers to move faster than the action: ie,
the limiting factor is the action, not the pianist.

I have found in trying to replicate her technique (and I am a performing
pianist myself), that creating a consistent timing is the real problem. The
second finger must strike after the first has released and the key allowed to
just rise. I think I described that the fingers slide off the fronts of the
keys: strike, slide off; strike slide off; strike. Timing is so important
that nay small inconsistency from note to note makes all this impossible.

What has occurred to me in reading the various responses is that aftertouch
coupled with the condition of the front rail felts are very important factors
in the actual speed that is available. All other factors have to be within
close specifications, of course. The way I am conceiving it is by looking at
the action working in reverse. The aftertouch is like lost motion in reverse.
As the key rises (and hammer falls), the aftertouch must be got through
before anything else really begins to happen, and split seconds are racing
by. In a similar last minute situation, I think I might experiment lowering
the hammer line (seems so counterintuitive, since I spend so much time
raising them day to day) until the aftertouch was at a minimum value. I
happen to like the feel of quite a bit of aftertouch, myself, and I probably
don't pay enough attention to keeping it within bounds.

I note also that it is aftertouch that really determines how far the jack
lets off, and also limits the closeness to the string at which drop can be
set: there is initial drop, then some degree of rise through aftertouch. The
less aftertouch, the closer the initial drop can be, since there is less rise
afterwards.

So anyhow, that's where I'll place my money when I attack that piano for its
annual summer run through. Just wish I could get Alicia back to town to see
if I got it right this time. (I'll also pay attention to friction, balance
weight of the keys, and other factors, to see if I've overlooked them in the
past. I think they are all in a good ball park)

Regards to all, and many thanks for all the feedback.

Fred Sturm, RPT
Albuquerque, NM