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<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 =
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM>Tom Sivak wrote:</EM></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 =
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM></EM></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 =
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM>I tune a Tokai grand at a local =
banquet/convention
center, although rarely. This piano has been neglected since it =
was
bought, probably some time in the late 80s/early 90s. As I was
tuning it, I found that the damper on B5 didn't lift, making =
it
difficult to tune, so I depressed the damper pedal and indeed the damper =
did
lift with the pedal. So, now being able to sustain the note, I =
struck it
again, preparing to tune the note.<BR><BR>WOW.<BR><BR>It seemed as if =
every note
on the piano vibrated in sympathy. I mean, it sounded exactly like =
someone
took their fingernail and with the dampers lifted, scraped all the =
strings
allowing them all to vibrate. Now, I know you get some sympathetic =
vibrating strings when you strike a single note with the damper pedal =
down, but
THIS WAS DIFFERENT. This wasn't just a few strings in the overtone =
series
vibrating along. This was the sound of EVERY STRING ON THE =
PIANO. Or
at least all the steel strings in the middle section, because when I =
struck it
again, I took the palm of my hand and muted as many strings as I could =
in the
middle section (that's all I could reach) and the sound went away. =
<BR><BR>All those strings were somehow set into vibration by the =
striking of
this one key. And it wasn't just that key, it was any key in that
section. I was in a rush so I didn't do any further experimenting, =
such as
seeing if the same thing happened when I struck a note in the bass, for
instance. I didn't plan on the extra time to repair the dampers (I =
found
two others that didn't lift) and it was one of those days that I HAD to =
stay on
schedule.<BR></EM></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 =
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM>I wonder if any of you have a theory as to =
what's going
on here? </EM></FONT></FONT></DIV>
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM></EM></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000
FAMILY="SANSSERIF">I have observed a similar thing when tuning a =
piano. My
assumption has been that it sounded so weird simply because of the =
fact
that I was engaged in tuning, I was listening to things very closely, =
and all
the other strings that were singing were that much more noticeable. =
That's my
theory.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM></EM></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 =
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM>I don't think it's an acoustical =
phenomenon. I
think it is mechanical. </EM></FONT></FONT></DIV>
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM></EM></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000
FAMILY="SANSSERIF">I'm not an engineer, but it seems to me =
that acoustical
phenomena often are the result of mechanical happenings. Like a =
hammer
hitting (mechanical) a string and making noise
(acoustical).</FONT></FONT></DIV>
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM></EM></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 =
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM>I think somehow the bridge is transferring
energy/vibrations to the other strings. </EM></FONT></FONT></DIV>
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM></EM></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Indeed. This is one of the things bridges do =
best. The
played string vibrates the bridge and the bridge in turn vibrates the =
nearby
strings.</FONT></DIV>
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM></EM></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 =
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM>Or maybe the soundboard somehow activates the =
other
strings to vibrate. </EM></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 =
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM></EM></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>That too I suppose, but I imagine that most =
of the
energy received by a sympathetic strings would stem from the fact =
that it
is coupled to a vibrating bridge.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 =
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM></EM></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 =
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM>I don't know...I'm talking nonsense here...but =
what the
heck could be happening?</EM></FONT></FONT></DIV><FONT
face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM></EM></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 =
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><EM></EM></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 =
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FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><FONT size=3>Let's hear what some experts have to =
say
here.</FONT></DIV>
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