Piano Firing Missiles at Church Congregation

[robert goodale]

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Bill,

I must say that this is one of the most amusing piano stories I
have heard in a long time.  I don't know if I could contribute to
a solution more than what has already been suggested but you at
least made my day.   Shooting bass string missiles at the
congregation in church.... now THAT'S funny!!  Is their any
particular hymn that they play that most likely tends to cause
this?

Rob Goodale, RPT
Las Vegas, NV


Billbrpt@AOL.COM wrote:

> List,
>
> Yes, it's true and I need some opinions on what to do about
> it.  It is a
> Young Chang Grand model G-185, only a few years old.  It is
> meticulously
> cared for but early in it's service, the pianist at this, shall
> we say,
> "spirit filled" church complained of bass strings breaking and
> shooting out
> of the piano.
>
> I have tried all of the usual.  I filed the hammers.  A monitor
> feeds back
> sound to the pianist.  When I explained to the church directors
> that it is
> the "vigorous" style of playing that sometimes causes strings
> to break, the
> pianist resigned.  Things were OK for a while but now there is
> a young lady
> who is firing scuds at the congregation faster than I can get
> there to
> collect them, get them duplicated and replace them.
>
> She is quite upset and beside herself.  She refuses to believe
> that it is the
> *way* the piano is played that is causing this.  She claims
> that she has
> played the piano "all her life" and has never seen or even
> heard of this
> happening.  The piano has a string cover which she yanks out
> and throws in
> the corner.  She also says she has never played a piano with a
> "blanket" in
> it and just "couldn't" play with it in there.  I have firmly
> insisted that at
> this point, it is a matter of public safety and won't have any
> effect on the
> sound.
>
> I am thinking that these wound strings must have particularly
> high tension.
> Does anyone know if this is so?  Over the years I have heard of
> other such
> instances that were cured by replacing the wound strings with a
> set of
> lighter gauged, "happy" strings.  It would seem to me that a
> lower tension
> would solve the problem but in reading the recent post about
> "replacement
> strings", I am confused.  Some of these strings have been
> breaking at the
> bass bridge termination point rather than the agraffe.  That
> seems very
> unusual to me.
>
> Should the manufacturer supply a new set of wound strings and
> if so, should
> they be a set designed for lower tension?  I presume that
> heavier gauged,
> higher tension strings provide a bigger, bolder sound.  What
> effect would
> lower tension have?  Just as a theoretical question, would
> tuning the
> instrument to a lower pitch, say 100 cents lower prevent this
> from happening
> (with the same gauge but a *new* set of strings)?  (I do not
> view this as an
> option, just a possibility that might work in some other
> circumstance).  (I
> also would not even consider altering the regulation to
> deliberately produce
> less power).
>
> It is also interesting to note that to date, only wound strings
> have broken,
> no plain wire.
>
> Bill Bremmer RPT
> Madison, Wisconsin

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