<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2604" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: =
Arial"
bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=rol=
e_document
face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<DIV>
<DIV> <FONT size=3>Barbara</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> Well isn't it good to know the tonal pendulum is
swinging & that quite a few of us are feeling it's breeze &on the sa=
me
page here.: </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> The tone issue is what pushed me out =
of
being a full time tuner & farther and farther into rebuilding/ buil=
ding
& finding my own tonal brand of piano restoration. I had to get aw=
ay
from all the clangers & bangers coming from the pacific rim to preserve =
my
hearing/sanity.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> It started with the revelation that I=
really didn't enjoy the sound of most pianos I heard. This meant I had to le=
arn
to voice. Norman Neblett gave me my very first hands on voicing lesson in 19=
79
on a Yamaha CF. After that I was then armed & dangerous. Promptly =
went
out & applied Yamaha voivcing techniques to a set of old Steinway hammer=
s.
Well that didnt' work. So after I replaced that set ... for free, I decided
I had to learn a few more things. Oh well . It's been an awesome =
trip
& I'm liking a lot of what I hear these days.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> Thanks for the encouragement!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3> Dale</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><=
FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=
=2>Very
nice, Barb,<BR>You are one of the 'real' ones.<BR><BR>EAR<BR><BR><BR=
>On
3-mrt-05, at 20:25, Barbara Richmond wrote:<BR><BR>> Alan,<BR>>
<BR>> Tone quality is always an interesting topic to me.&nbs=
p;
I've gotten rid <BR>> of a few recordings because I couldn't
stand the voicing of the <BR>> piano. One was of the 500,000th
Steinway (I think), a lot of <BR>> different artists playing. To =
me,
it was a really glassy sounding <BR>> instrument. I
sold the CD to a faculty member. <BR>> <BR>&=
gt;
I'm not sure how I learned to hear the subtleties and form my opinion <BR>=
>
of piano tone. But I did practice voicing every chance I had, <BR>&g=
t;
starting with evening up notes on the pianos I tuned. Are you a <BR>=
>
pianist? As a pianist, I am always looking for t=
he
greatest spectrum <BR>> of tone color available. When
I'm playing, I feel like the piano IS <BR>> the orchestra, an=
d I
want to be able to produce as many different <BR>>
voices possible. <BR>> <BR>>
Recently I serviced the home piano (Steinway B) for a university=
<BR>> professor (of piano). When I was at his house he said
something to <BR><BR>> the effect that he didn't want "that generi=
c
Steinway voicing." Let <BR>> me explain that I've often felt=
like I'm in minority because it seems <BR>> no matter where I go, so ma=
ny
of the pianos (not just Steinways) are <BR>> way too bright--for my tas=
te,
anyway. I can produce that raucous kind <BR>> of voicing if =
I
have to, but I don't like it and I don't like to have <BR>> to tune
it. If given artistic freedom, I go for a broad sound--not <BR>> =
too
bright (but capable of being bright) and not so mellow to rob <BR>>=
;
power. In fact, at one time I had doubted my voicing strategy (only
<BR>> because it seemed to be different than so much of what I've heard=
out
<BR>> there), until I got the e-mail from the professor askin=
g
me to service <BR>> his piano. I'll quote the line that=
made me want to do cartwheels:<BR>> <BR>> "I have greatest
admiration for your ability to bring out the highest <BR>> artistic
potential in pianos."<BR>> <BR>> Well, I'm not sure I actually=
do,
but, golly, I'm going to save that <BR>> one! A little
affirmation at the right time can work marvels for a <BR>> person. =
;
OK, I'll stay the course, I'll stick to my ideals.<BR>> <BR>> =
Go
for it, man!<BR>> <BR>> Barbara Richmond<BR>> <BR>>=
;
<BR>> </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>