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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Vladan,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff>For best expressiveness,<BR>the musician =
would probably
like to have as much of<BR>those 10 mm available to modulate the =
pressure
without<BR>feeling that he is moving the key stick through<BR>molasses. =
If he
doesn't have the physical ability to<BR>redu! ce the force quickly, he =
will feel
that the action<BR>is "temperamental".<BR><BR>The situation changes when =
very
fast playing is<BR>required. The requirement for a precisely
controlled<BR>dynamic level may give way to the need for speed. =
A<BR>fast (low
friction) action becomes advantageous. I<BR>think that pianists who like =
to play
fast pieces and<BR>have phenomenal control over their touch may prefer
an<BR>action with very low friction. They have the ability<BR>to put =
just the
right amount of energy into the hammer<BR>in the shortest amount of =
time,
basically using the<BR>initial stage of the key movement to send the
hammer<BR>on its way with the precise amount of momentum. Since<BR>they =
did all
the work in the initial stage of the key<BR>movement, they are free to =
quickly
move on to the next<BR>note.<BR></FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Hmmmm....</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I do agree that there are distinct =
fast- and slow-
modes of control. Slow-mode involves closed-loop feedback for the =
the
individual note, in which attention is paid to the movement of the key, =
and
pressure on the key is modulated accordingly. Fast-mode control =
involves
open loop activity for actuation of a single key. Control occurs =
over the
course of several notes. It's a bit like the difference between =
curling
and throwing a baseball. Curling is a very odd sport in which
participants with brooms sweep a path in front of a sliding stone =
to change
and correct its direction as it moves across a frozen pond. (The =
Scots do
this, right???) A baseball is, in fact, thrown, and no amount of =
feedback
will change its course, once it leaves the hand. A pitcher may =
change how
he pitches the ball if he sees he's pitching consistently high or low or =
left or
right. However, there is no feedback control over the individual
ball.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So the point becomes one of where the =
switch-over
occurs between "curling" and "baseball" modes of piano play. =
That's really
a matter of how fast one's reflexes are, and how fast the person can =
*think*
about every nuance of key movement, in order to control it. I =
submit that
there are very few situations that are fine-controllable in the way you =
have
described.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Let's consider a very familiar and
slooooow piece: Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, 1st =
Movement.
(See the score: <A
href="http://www.mfiles.co.uk/Scores/moonlight-movement1.pdf">http://ww=
w.mfiles.co.uk/Scores/moonlight-movement1.pdf</A>)
The opening note (or three notes) demand the fine level of feedback =
you're
talking about. The pianist has as yet been unable to calibrate to =
the
piano. It's a bit like a French horn player opening up with the =
first note
or two of a solo. It's an awkward moment, made less awkward only =
by the
stability and predictability of the instrument. By the time the =
pianist
reaches the second beat, he or she should be calibrated and should be =
playing
much more smoothly. Speaking for myself, when I reach this second =
beat,
I've switched wholely from curling mode to baseball mode. My next
"curling" note is the downbeat of measure 10, which requires great
subtlety. Then beats 1 and 3 of measure 12 and beat one of measure =
13. All the rest is baseball. It continues much like this, =
until the
end, with mostly "baseball" notes and a few "curls" thrown in. The =
last
three notes, of course, are very decidely "curling" experiences. =
Now this
is a VERY slow and subtle piece, and it's at least 95% "baseball" to
me.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So am I just a "slow" sort of musician =
who doesn't
have the level of control that most musicians do? No, I don't =
think
so. My reaction times are actually unusually rapid. I know =
this
because nobody could beat my reaction times in an Experimental Psych Lab =
course
I took during my undergraduate days. Also nobody could beat my =
finger tap
rates, both L and R hand, in a Neuropsych course I took during graduate
school. I'm older now, but even so, a teenager or two has been =
impressed
that I'm almost as good at video games as they are -- without practicing =
them
all day. Now, I'm not the fastest of pianists, not even =
close, and my
abilities are only modest. But still, my point is that I'm not =
slow
either. Even with pretty good reflexes and reaction times, I find =
myself
***UNABLE*** to micro-control the movement of a key during even =
slow/moderately
paced musical passages. Thus, the "braking" power of friction is =
of no
benefit to me. It's only a nuisance, because it creates more =
work,
slows me down, and adds to the unpredictable nature of the action =
response
(wherever friction is not dead-even from key to key). Perhaps =
concert
pianists can achieve this control (or might claim that they do), but I =
would be
very skeptical.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Think of this also from an information =
processing
standpoint. Can you imagine the amount of data throughput that =
would be
required to achieve the type of control you suggest? A passage of =
even
moderate speed would crash a computer easily! Pianodisk systems =
don't
employ feedback loops, to my knowledge, and this would be why. I'm =
simply
not smart and/or fast enough to handle that sort of data =
throughput.
Moreover, my nerve conduction velocities could not even begin to =
keep up
with the relay of info between my arms/fingers and brain. No way, =
no
how. Even while I'm playing the opening 8th notes of the =
Moonlight Sonata, there's only time enough for 20 round trips of =
information to
and from my arms/fingers per note, not counting the most time-intensive =
part of
the entire feedback loop, which is the processing of information on each =
round
trip. Realistically, I'd put it at about 1 or two round trips, =
max.
I'd say that 10 or 20 measures of microcontrolling each note would =
be
enough to drive most people batty.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So I don't disagree with you in =
principle, only in
practice. I submit that the "phenomenal control" to which you =
refer is
actually quite garden-variety and, further, that the low friction =
actions that
you say may benefit those with "phenomenal control" would benefit most
pianists. Finally, I repeat that we've never given these piano
characteristics a fair try. Ric, you say that fly-away =
actions have
been available for a long time, but how long have we had fly-away =
actions with
rock-solid rigidity? Now that's another question =
entirely...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Peace,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sarah</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>PS Sorry folks! I didn't know (or =
at least
didn't remember?) that there is a separate joke list.
<shrug></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>PPS Now if you want to talk about =
letoff
clearance and control... *THAT* is an issue that matters a
lot!!</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>