<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2627" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> <DIV> <DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi all,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Had a little conversation with someone = this weekend that got me thinking (well, now, there's a miracle!). The setting was = the auditorium I where I provide the service.  A church group was using = it for some musical extravaganza.  As I finished up tuning, the choir = director came up to me and said what a wonderful instrument the piano = was---it was so bright (that made me cringe!) compared to "their D" at the church (OK, it was a comparative comment, I felt better.) and the = touch was so even.  I said thank you and explained that I had replaced = the action in the piano and voiced it specifically for the auditorium.  = He went on to tell me how they (the folks from the church) went to New York to = choose their instrument and what a great experience that was.  But then he = asked me for my card--although the dealer tech was servicing their piano, he = said it wouldn't hurt to know someone else who knows their way around a = Steinway.  No, it doesn't hurt to know someone else who knows their way around a = Steinway, but it made me wonder what their instrument sounds like.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I can imagine all sorts of scenarios, = but I'm thinking the one that might match what's happening in this case, is that = the church has been told to "work harden" to get the sound they want.  = Now, it's not that I don't believe the benefits of work hardening, but I = don't think folks should be frustrated by how their piano plays and sounds, either.   I worked on a lovely D at Illinois Wesleyan = University for the first 5 1/2 years of its life.  It was a delight to see it = mature, but there was also the expectation from the very beginning that it = would always be up to performance level. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Whatever the truth of the situation is, = it made me wonder about the excuse of "work hardening" instead of putting the = piano close to the voicing level that is really wanted.  How much = "voicing" does work hardening account for?   As I said before, I listened to = the changes in a D for 5 1/2 years in a university school of music, the = whole time working with the voicing.  Well, I would expect to be = constantly working on the voicing of any performance piano, anyway.  = Would using the excuse (exclusively) of work hardening say more about the = tech's ability to handle the voicing and/or what voicing tools (as in whatever = methods) they use?   </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>There have been a number of times in my = life (including when I was a music major), where I played on what seemed like = puff balls and was told the piano just needed to be played.  = Nobody seemed to comment on the ones I thought were too bright.   Maybe = that's why I became a technician who has a thing about voicing.  = :-)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My intent is not to offend anyone, but = Conrad, send me a flamesuit, just in case.  Just wondering what you all have experienced.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Barbara Richmond, RPT</FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></DIV></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>