Hi Nick, How can I possibly respond to the "so much" you have said. Let's see. "You are the man!" "Holy Cow!" "I'll never go there." "I understand the process, but do you expect me to do the same?" I mean, I am the kind of dude that truly likes to sit outside behind some hotel on the grass and converse with a friend or two only. You, on the other hand, are an alien :-) who thinks nothing of doing soundboards, working for a major piano maker, being a mentor, being a dad being a friend, traveling cross country and more than I shall ever truly realize. Yes, my friend, you are an alien monster, of the best kind. Thanks for all this marvelous piano salve, Keith On Jan 31, 2011, at 2:14 PM, Nicholas Gravagne wrote: > Hey Mr. Keith, > > Ah, yes ---- my Kawai Years (as I call them), when Don Mannino and I > made the rounds. > > It should be noted that (unless I am mistaken) the hammers you > reference in that class were hard-pressed, typical of Kawai, Yamaha, > and many others. As you know, the hammers RE Paul's inquiry are an > entirely different animal. > > You say, "The majority of folks will never realize the process you demonstrated > on a single hammer multiplied by 88." > > Aye, but there's the rub. The more voicing I've done over the years > (needles, juice, pliers, heat, vodka, steam, along with other > desperate measures) the more pointed has become the challenge to > balance out the entire scale such that all tones, especially > neighboring tones, carry, as it were, "equal" weight. > > It is here, in that little fussy and dithering universe, where > nitpicking teeters between art and a complete nervous breakdown. And > it is here where the voicer transmutes into an alchemist, replete with > things giving off heat and smoke and smells, secret potions, tiny > techniques and arcane accouterments. I cannot voice anymore unless I > am in a dark room with a red light hanging overhead. Issac Newton > would have made a great voicer. > > Remember this? > > "You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is > another dimension: a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a > dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and > substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into... the > Twilight Zone." > > Two small drops of liquid here, one drop there, two needle strokes > here, one squeeze there, paddle this hammer but not those three, > "side-voice" this section (wait a second, now how did I mark those > keys again?). Oh, whoops! I just applied the perfect technique --- > but to the wrong hammer. > > Voicing never ends. Any intelligent approach can get a single hammer > up to or down to preference in any section of the scale; but now > duplicate this by 88. This requires the highest level of skill. PTG > classes like this should be at the top of the plan-to-attend list. > > BTW -- per a previous post between you and me --- yes, by all means, > Steppenwolf the band, too. > > Be good. Peg says Hi. > > NG > > On Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 11:57 AM, Mr. Mac's <tune-repair at allegiance.tv> wrote: >> >> On Jan 31, 2011, at 11:38 AM, Nicholas Gravagne wrote: >> >>> … As to overdoing it with the juice, as long as you >>> can insert needles (or even a single needle) fairly easily you are in >>> no danger. … >> >> Nice stuff, Nick. >> >> I still recall partially video taping a class you did in Oklahoma >> on voicing when you were a member of the Kawai team. >> This video is \currently not available due to decisions being made. >> >> All I could think was, "Wow." >> >> The majority of folks will never realize the process you demonstrated >> on a single hammer multiplied by 88 >> >> My sincerest regards to you and Peg, >> >> Keith >> >> > > > > -- > Nick Gravagne, RPT > AST Mechanical Engineering
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