Hi, Fred,
On 10/26/2015 7:10 AM, Fred Sturm via Piano Technicians Guild wrote:
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> There is a whole school of playing where constant shift pedal use is used, I think Russian in origin.
Yes.
> This, of course, assumes that the pedal offers a continuum of gradations of color and maybe volume, which it only does on a well-prepped concert instrument (or private instrument, in the rare instances that the owner is willing to pay for such prep on a continual basis).
Yes...it takes a ridiculous amount of time to properly maintain this
kind of thing...endless hammers shaping, fitting, exceptionally
carefully needle work...most halls simply do not have/allow the time for
this quality of work to be done anymore. The proof of that pudding is
in the listening.
> So I have to assume it is more suggestive to the pianist than audible to the listener in most cases.
Agreed...as many, perhaps most, recordings will support.
This is one of the things for which YouTube can be useful (not always,
but can be)...when the camera is not overly focused on the fingers of
the player, one can observe how they use the pedals.
> Over the past few years, I have come to believe that we would probably be better off with Montal's invention, the "expression pedal," revived by Stuart and adopted by Fazioli and Steingraeber. It moves the hammers closer to the strings and does so without introducing lost motion (effectively by raising the back rail, thereby reducing key dip proportionally to the reduction in blow). That gives far more control of ppp passagework.
Yes.
> I do like the ability to change color via "una" corda, but I no longer feel like use of a "soft pedal" is "cheating," which seems to be the macho attitude, similar to the notion that ETD use is cheating.
I don't think ETD use is cheating; I just think that it often gets in
the way. Again, the proof of the pudding is in the listening. If ETD
use were all that fantastic, and, if everyone were truly as fastidious
in their use as many ETD tuners claim, then more concert instruments in
more major markets would sound much better than they do. I recognize
that this is very much a minority opinion these days; and, it's not an
discussion I choose to have anymore.
> Interestingly, it seems that the una corda was originally added for tuning purposes, and continued being used as such well into the 19th century, as published tuning instructions make clear - and it worked so as to move from three to two, and from two to one string, an actual una corda pedal (on both double and triple strung instruments). Composers and performers took advantage of the feature for expression purposes, and it became a probably unbreakable tradition.
That is my understanding, as well. Too bad that makers and players got
locked into things in such a way that we cannot have both systems on
more instruments. It would certainly widen the range of possibilities
for performance.
Kind regards.
Horace
> ------------------------------
> Fred Sturm
> University of New Mexico
>
fssturm@unm.edu>
http://fredsturm.net>
http://www.artoftuning.com> "We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same." - Carlos Casteneda
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Original Message:
> Sent: 10-26-2015 04:27
> From: Horace Greeley
> Subject: Durability of hammers
>
> Hi,
>
> I'll second Jim's observation.
>
> I used to have a client who burned through two sets of hammers a year on
> his two S&S B's. He was actively teaching and concertizing, constantly
> learning new material, and, curiously, would never let me voice the
> instruments because he "never knew what kind of junk" he was going to
> have to play, especially in Eastern Europe. The biggest obstacle (other
> than his heavy-handedness) was the constant working of the shift
> pedal...endless gradations of movement. As Jim notes, no way any set of
> hammers will hold up under that kind of work.
>
> On the other hand, he was good for two sets of B hammers and full
> regulations every year for over 20 years; and paid very well. I was
> happy for that kind of business.
>
> Kind regards.
>
> Horace
>
>
>
> On 10/25/2015 11:18 AM, James Geiger via Piano Technicians Guild wrote:
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>>
>> Kevin, Luke et al.Two years is an extremely fast time to go through a set of good hammers. I once had a pianist go through a new Baldwin set of hammers in one year, clear down to the under felt.. I watched him play, and he was using the shift pedal like a drum, so the hammers were always hitting the strings sliding sideways. If that is what this person is doing, there is now way any set of hammers will hold up.Good luck.Jim Geiger
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Original Message------
There is a whole school of playing where constant shift pedal use is used, I think Russian in origin. This, of course, assumes that the pedal offers a continuum of gradations of color and maybe volume, which it only does on a well-prepped concert instrument (or private instrument, in the rare instances that the owner is willing to pay for such prep on a continual basis). So I have to assume it is more suggestive to the pianist than audible to the listener in most cases.
Over the past few years, I have come to believe that we would probably be better off with Montal's invention, the "expression pedal," revived by Stuart and adopted by Fazioli and Steingraeber. It moves the hammers closer to the strings and does so without introducing lost motion (effectively by raising the back rail, thereby reducing key dip proportionally to the reduction in blow). That gives far more control of ppp passagework. I do like the ability to change color via "una" corda, but I no longer feel like use of a "soft pedal" is "cheating," which seems to be the macho attitude, similar to the notion that ETD use is cheating.
Interestingly, it seems that the una corda was originally added for tuning purposes, and continued being used as such well into the 19th century, as published tuning instructions make clear - and it worked so as to move from three to two, and from two to one string, an actual una corda pedal (on both double and triple strung instruments). Composers and performers took advantage of the feature for expression purposes, and it became a probably unbreakable tradition.
------------------------------
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm@unm.edu
http://fredsturm.net
http://www.artoftuning.com
"We either make ourselves happy or miserable. The amount of work is the same." - Carlos Casteneda
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