<!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 6.00.6000.16414" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2>Hi Alan,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2>I'll have to think about it a bit, to be specific, but I was paying attention to it a bit as I tuned (and later played) today.  It really does make a difference when the keys are shorter.  I'm not sure if moving the hands 1/16" closer to the fallboard, sharps, whatever is the reason, or not.  I do know that I have to play off the front of the keys for octaves, and without the lip, I have much more trouble hitting the octave cleanly.  I would assume that the principle would apply whether you have small hands or not.  Just my musings.  I do know that the change is very perceptible to me, not just a little correction.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2>Best,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Bookman Old Style" size=2>William R. Monroe</FONT></DIV> <DIV><BR> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"><PRE><FONT face=arial,helvetica>Hi William, Please be patient with me on this one, but I have not been able to visualize why making the naturals effectively shorter would put players with smaller hands at a disadvantage. Kindly elucidate. Thanks, Alan Eder </PRE></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BODY></HTML>