[pianotech] Knowing good sound (was Upright Price)

[Horace Greeley]

Hi, Paul,

At 05:38 AM 12/2/2011, you wrote:
>Horace:  Thank you so much for this wonderfully eloquent and thoughtful
>little piece.

Thanks...it's actually been percolating for a while; and this thread 
gave it an opportunity to bubble into full coffee-ness.

>   I would love to read more from you!

I'm working on it...really, I am.

Kind regards.

Horace

P.S. - In response to an off-list note, the following is offered:

"C" fork still at pitch
A flat rock skips on water
Beneath flow deep streams.

or, perhaps:

Centers pinned to tight
Balancier and fly complain
Sadly, no one hears.

...hg


>Paul Milesi RPT
>Washington DC
>(202) 246-3136 Cell/Text
>paul at pmpiano.com
>http://www.pmpiano.com
>
>
> > From: Horace Greeley <hgreeley at sonic.net>
> > Reply-To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
> > Date: Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:03:45 -0800
> > To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
> > 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.
> >
> >