[pianotech] Knowing good sound (was Upright Price)

[Horace Greeley]

Hi, Tom,

At 04:22 AM 12/2/2011, you wrote:
>Horace
>Nice contribution to this thread!

Thanks!

<snip>

>I can't help but wonder how this influence and lack of appreciation 
>to the fine art of music affects our own industry.

Some truths can still be held to be self-evident.

>Until that time clock again goes through the progression of having a 
>resurgences into an appreciation and awareness for fine musical art, 
>I'm afraid were in this rut for some time to come.

Yup...time for a hard reset.

>And you wonder why the tone of the pianos have diminished through 
>the years.....

Nope, I don't.  For better or worse, if you've been in the business 
for the last several decades, you've lived it...especially if you've 
had the mixed blessing/burden of working in the arena of commercial music.

More soon, I hope.

Kind regards.

Horace


>Tom Servinsky
>----- Original Message ----- From: "Horace Greeley" <hgreeley at sonic.net>
>To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
>Sent: Friday, December 02, 2011 1:03 AM
>Subject: Re: [pianotech] Knowing good sound (was Upright Price)
>
>
>>
>>Hi, David,
>>
>>Interesting that the thread is moving in this direction.
>>
>>The whole concept of how our understanding and appreciation of 
>>piano sound has changed over the years was the topic of one of the 
>>classes I taught at the WESTPAC conference in March.11.  Having 
>>promised notes from those classes to a number of people, I have 
>>been trying to finish revising and updating them to post to this 
>>list before it's final demise...which appears to be fast upon us.
>>
>>The subject is vast, having multiple layers that bridge generations 
>>of recording and "playback" technology, musicology, approaches to 
>>performance, and, importantly, human beings.  And, as with so many 
>>other subjects, any three or four people are going to have at least 
>>ten or twenty different perceptions.  It's very 
>>fascinating...certainly no one "right" answer, to be sure.
>>
>>To be more on point to your last question:  I think that we're very 
>>much the poorer for the gradual homogenization of piano tone that 
>>has taken place over the last several decades.  On the other hand, 
>>to paraphrase your observations, the world has changed a great deal, too.
>>
>>As I was reminded just today:  In terms of things (especially 
>>"Classical" things) struggling, I think it's important to remember 
>>that, writing in the mid-1950's, Arthur Loesser ("Men, Women, and 
>>Pianos: A Social History") noted that the piano is "cold-weather" 
>>entertainment.  That is, it was something to do when one really 
>>couldn't spend a good deal of time outside.  The relevance is that, 
>>over the last century, a number of other "cold-weather" 
>>entertainments have become important in various cultures. While 
>>some of these are more ancient than others, more latter-day 
>>"entertainments" have been progressively more technologically 
>>enhanced...which is to say that, while the tune has remained 
>>largely the same, the variations have become potentially more 
>>complicated over time.
>>
>>Thinking specifically of music, within just a couple of 
>>generations, we've moved from the hearing of music in performance 
>>as a real-time, live shared experience to where the hearing of 
>>music is something many people do solely within the privacy of 
>>their cranial cavity.  With a nod to Anna Russell, these cavities 
>>often appear to be places in which some folks have resonance where 
>>their brains ought to be.  One bit of fallout from that condition 
>>is that the "actual" sound of pianos in performance or recording 
>>is, in effect, no longer relevant.  Whatever the original 
>>instrument may/may not have sounded like, we can often only faintly 
>>imagine (the potential of vacuous space existing between our ears 
>>notwithstanding).
>>
>>This isn't really a new topic.  I remember reading an essay by 
>>Nicholas Slonimsky some years ago that was published in an 
>>anthology of essays (which was published in 1957) about music 
>>(especially piano) performance. In that article, he specifically 
>>noted the negative influence of the recording industry on 
>>music...writing that "it used to be" that artists would learn a 
>>more limited repertoire "to perfection", performing pieces with 
>>which they were really comfortable and over which they had good 
>>command; but that, with the advent of recordings, it seemed that 
>>"everyone had to record everything"...especially all the works of a 
>>given performer; and that, in the process the unique qualities 
>>which the artist brought to specific works became "lost in the 
>>forest of having to learn everything". I had borrowed the 
>>anthology, and have looked for it for years so that I can get that 
>>story more accurately.  Perhaps someone on the list recognizes it 
>>and would let me know.
>>
>>Being more realistic about the future, though, it's important to 
>>note that piano sales are effectively flat and have been for 
>>several years.  Many people who track these kinds of things think 
>>that piano sales track with those of larger furniture items.  I'm 
>>not sure that's accurate.  At this point, I think that pianos sales 
>>track more accurately with the sales of other kinds of media and 
>>related devices.  The sales of DVDs and CDs, for example, have 
>>plummeted in the last few years.  Importantly, this drop in sales 
>>has not been countered by an growth in streaming media...the 
>>Netflix nonsense notwithstanding.  Where is the money going?  Just 
>>as importantly, where is the time going that might otherwise have 
>>been spent doing things like practicing the piano, watching movies, 
>>or listening to CDs?  I suspect that, at least in the SF Bay Area, 
>>at least part of that time is going into online gaming (by people 
>>of all ages and persuasions).  While not at all conclusive, I asked 
>>about that during some consulting I was doing with several 
>>(smaller) ISPs in various geographic areas.  Each of them reported 
>>that they had been increasing their overall capacity (to provide 
>>faster and higher capacity Internet access) more quickly than they 
>>had planned; and that the rates at which they have had to expand 
>>those services cannot be accounted for by people simply doing 
>>streaming audio or video (Netflix, etc).  Rather, their internal 
>>statistics support the idea that, other than clearly 
>>business-related traffic, Internet-based gaming is what it is 
>>driving the demand.  Although I suspect that this is going to vary 
>>widely by geographic location, I also suspect that what is 
>>happening in more populated areas will be followed elsewhere.
>>
>>Back to the piano, though, highly recommended reading is:  Craig 
>>Roell, "The Piano in America: 1890 - 1940", which is readily 
>>available from places like:  www.abebooks.com .  In concert with 
>>the Loesser book mentioned above, Roell's treatment of the subject 
>>(which ends just before WWII) lays a foundation which makes 
>>understanding how things have evolved since 1940 much more 
>>accessible.  At the end of the day, we are (perhaps at best) 
>>curators in a museum...a museum which has decreasing funding, 
>>shorter hours, and fewer visitors every year.  In many ways, we are 
>>the sole support of that museum, and our ability to keep it open 
>>(even for our own amusement) is predicated on our willingness to 
>>adapt our skill-sets to provide support for the piano sound du Jour 
>>as it changes and is changed by contemporary performance and 
>>recording practice.  It really should not be much of a surprise 
>>that this is exactly what those who have come before us have had to 
>>do, as well.
>>
>>More later on this...hopefully before the electrons stop flowing 
>>from this address.
>>
>>Kind regards.
>>
>>Horace
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>At 10:12 AM 11/30/2011, you wrote:
>>>I've given this a new title as it may be going off-topic a bit from
>>>Upright Price.
>>>
>>>Xeno, these are interesting thoguhts you express.  I've talked about this
>>>q bit recently with people of my generation and bit younger.  HiFi used to
>>>be a Big Thing.  When we were young, we saved up and bought our first
>>>"proper" HiFi, and took care to position the speakers nicely, and to sit
>>>at the apex of the sound so as to get the proper stereo effect.  The cost
>>>of an LP vinyl record was relatively high in relation to a week's wages,
>>>so they were things to treasure.  Turntables were (and still are, in a
>>>niche market) esoteric things, to be properly balanced and set up.
>>>
>>>Over the last few years, I often observed two students sharing one each of
>>>a pair of earphones, to listen to a song.  They often have docking
>>>stations at home, of course. But just as often they are content to listen
>>>through tinny PC speakers.  The concept of HiFi as a "thing" to be
>>>enjoyed, has greatly receded.
>>>
>>>Where does all this leave recorded piano sound?  I don't know.  The idea
>>>of promoting listening to live music is good.  But, esopecially for
>>>"serious" music, it's a small market.  And the recorded music industry,
>>>especially for "Classical" is struggling.
>>>
>>>On the other hand, of course, it is much easier than ever before to MAKE
>>>a high-quality recording (in terms of recording quality anyway).
>>>
>>>What do others think, about appreciation of piano sound?
>>>
>>>Best regards,
>>>
>>>David
>>>www.davidboyce.co.uk
>>>
>>> >Most people don't know what a good piano sounds like.  More and more
>>> >people out there have never heard a good piano, live, in person.  Put
>>> >that together with the rise of Craigs List, and that aged piano sound
>>> >is becoming the new standard.  There's also the change over all in
>>> >hi-fi sound: people don't go for big speakers anymore, they listen to
>>> >music on their tinny little computer speakers, or their phone device.
>>> >The MP3 format also reflects this mass acceptance of lower quality
>>> >sound.