[pianotech] Best way to change touch on Yamaha Grand

Ron Nossaman rnossaman at cox.net
Wed Jan 6 13:29:38 MST 2010


William Monroe wrote:
> 
So in the end, I'm not entirely wrong, yes?  At /f/
> or /ff/ blows, a heavier key stick would "resist" that initial change of 
> direction that starts the key moving (and all subsequent changes in 
> direction) more than a lighter key stick, right? 

Yes. The question is by how much relative to the hammer weight.


> If I get your meaning, 
> it is more a question of usefulness, in that unless someone is playing 
> rather heavy handedly (which an arthritic is not likely to be) the small 
> changes of inertia we can affect would be inconsequential, and in fact 
> be outweighed most of the time by the added DW, right?

In my world, no, since I don't believe the "faster than free 
fall" thing. My point is to not even consider the key leads 
until everything else in the action is addressed. The current 
tendency to start with the key leads to reduce inertia is, in 
my physics, backward. Excess leading will affect repetition, 
because the repetition spring can only lift so much mass 
quickly, but it's not the cause of down stroke inertial 
resistance at any play level. Get the hammer weight and action 
ratio somewhere near right first, then see what you need to do 
with the leading.

Again, my call.
Ron N


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