soft, bass trill regulation

[Barbara Richmond]

Alan,

Actually, I do that trill with the thumb and third (middle) finger.

Mr. Bill,

Now that my strained left elbow is getting somewhat back to normal (yeah,
yeah, excuses, excuses), I did another taste test (without looking until I
was in the midst of the trill).  My third finger on Gb is about 5/8" from
the back of the key and my thumb is in the middle of Ab.  My impression is
that I'm not playing to the bottom of the key, but that could just be an
illusion, since I'm trying to play quietly (as much as I can, but I'm not
Leon Fleisher), the notes are speaking, in spite of the fact that my piano
isn't
in perfect regulation--- it's my piano, I've adjusted to it. :-)

Here is a link to Fleisher's most recent recording (Two Hands) that includes
the Schubert, though on Amazon, the example (Molto moderato) is listed being
by Bach (tsk, tsk):

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002IQHHK/qid=1125409133/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl15/002-4695477-0578431?v=glance&s=classical&n=507846#product-details

The trill comes out louder than the rest, which I think is normal,
considering the region of the piano.

As for notes not speaking (the original question), it must have something to
do with that particular instrument (which I realize was the original
question)--OR the artist was still getting the feel for the piano.  Who
knows, maybe the piano he's plays most on, is as out of regulation as mine.
;-)

Ooo, it's time for work....

Barbara Richmond



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "William Ballard" <yardbird@vermontel.net>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2005 11:58 PM
Subject: Re: soft, bass trill regulation


> At 6:29 PM -0500 8/29/05, Barbara Richmond wrote:
>>Barring any fault with the pianist (or not), would there be something
>>about the regulation of the notes that would make trilling down there at
>>pianissimo more (or less) successful?  I'd welcome both comments on
>>pianistic technique and an analysis of what in regulation would help or
>>hinder the performance.
>
> We all know what the action needs to deliver deep/fast repetition. The
> matter which Barbrie and I were exploring offlist was with an action thus
> regulated, at what point as a trill became quieter and quieter, would it
> fail because the momentum of parts (the hammers in particular) required
> for trilling had dropped below a minimum threshold. A similar minimum
> threshold as the quietest note you can play on a given note.
>
> Una Corda pedaling can enhance the impression of quiet notes simply by the
> at-a-distance quality it imparts, and the sustain pedal can certainly
> smooth over the momentary absence of a tone which fails to sound during
> the course of a trill. But we were exploring strictly how the mechanical
> process of the trill would be affected by the fact that a quieter sound
> was requiring that the hammer move slower. And further, how the regulation
> might be tweaked to help out.
>
> The answer probably lies, as Barbrie suggested, with someone who can
> actually trill. They would be able to resolve a preliminary matter of
> whether such a peculiar trill would be best executed at the top of the
> keystroke instead of the bottom. There's a clear trade off here between
> the reliability of repetition at the top of the stroke (because the jack
> never escapes), and the reliability of speaking at the bottom of the
> stroke (where the hammer is always operating within 1/4" of the string).
> But neither she or I was willing to bet where a quiet trill was best done.
>
> (Of the two of us, she is the one who trills.) Anyone else here who was on
> the high school trill team?
>
> Mr. Bill
>
> "I'll play it and tell you what it is later...."
>     ...........Miles Davis
> +++++++++++++++++++++
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