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G0 pre-1883

  • 1.  G0 pre-1883

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 04-30-2023 16:36

    Hi all,

    This may be a bit of an odd question in a technical forum, but I couldn't think of a better place.  

    The European composer Agnes Tyrrell (1846-1883), wrote a number of piano compositions in her short life.  As I understand it, one of her piano compositions contains the note G0. My question is this: What, if any, pianos at this time had additional bass notes below A0? Did Bösendorfer at this point?

     Thanks!



    ------------------------------
    Tim Foster
    New Oxford PA
    (470) 231-6074
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: G0 pre-1883

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-01-2023 10:27
    Along this line, I tuned A0 to F0 years ago for Tucson pianist Ozan Marsh. I don’t remember the exact piece but I think it was Rachmaninoff. Ozan liked the reinforcement, I think, to F1 by playing the octave.

    Bob Anderson, RPT
    Tucson, AZ




  • 3.  RE: G0 pre-1883

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-01-2023 14:43

    Bob,

    If I'm reading this right you took A0 and brought down to an octave below F1. Is this correct?

    Peter Grey Piano Doctor 



    ------------------------------
    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    (603) 686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: G0 pre-1883

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-01-2023 16:15
    That’s it, Peter.

    Bob Anderson, RPT
    Tucson, AZ




  • 5.  RE: G0 pre-1883

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-01-2023 20:21
    Pianos with more than 88 note compass were being built.  





  • 6.  RE: G0 pre-1883

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-01-2023 20:27
      |   view attached
    Pianos with more than an 88-note compass were built in the later 19th century.

    Period Piano Collection includes an Erard 8'6" 90 note piano which begins at G 0.  This model goes back in production at least to the 1870s.  Other European builders built pianos with compasses larger than 88 notes too.

    Bill

    Bill Shull, Period Piano Collection
    www.periodpiano.org





  • 7.  RE: G0 pre-1883

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-01-2023 20:39

    Excellent, thank you! Do you have a list of names off the top of your head with extra notes?



    ------------------------------
    Tim Foster
    New Oxford PA
    (470) 231-6074
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: G0 pre-1883

    Posted 05-01-2023 22:02
    Hi, Tim,

    Bill beat me to it. (Hi, Bill!)

    In addition to the Erard Bill mentions, it occurs to me that, with the
    number of people building pianos all over Europe in the 19th C, there
    could have been any number of makers experimenting with range in
    different ways before things got generally (but only generally)
    stabilized at 88 notes in the last quarter of that period.

    Decades ago, I had a handful of clients in LA who owned a variety of
    pre-WWI pianos from various makers, including Erards, Pleyels,
    Broadwoods, and some other names that now escape me. One of the Erards
    was 90 notes, as was one of the Pleyels. There were probably others;
    but that was a long time ago.

    Subject to information from someone more informed by myself, the first
    company to introduce extended ranges to their instruments on a regular
    production basis was Bosendorfer. They got into that business on the
    request of Ferruccio Busoni, around 1909, who was working on his
    transcriptions of various Bach Organ works.

    In more recent news, piano maker Wayne Stuart (Australia) introduced a
    108-note piano in 2018. The utility of his design remains to be seen.

    I hope that some of this is useful. If not, please just delete it.

    Kind regards.

    Horace

    On 5/1/2023 5:39 PM, Tim Foster via Piano Technicians Guild wrote:
    > Excellent, thank you! Do you have a list of names off the top of your head with extra notes?
    >
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > Tim Foster
    > New Oxford PA
    > (470) 231-6074
    > ------------------------------
    > -------------------------------------------
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 05-01-2023 20:27
    > From: William Shull
    > Subject: G0 pre-1883
    >
    > Pianos with more than an 88-note compass were built in the later 19th century.
    > Period Piano Collection includes an Erard 8'6" 90 note piano which begins at G 0. This model goes back in production at least to the 1870s. Other European builders built pianos with compasses larger than 88 notes too.
    > Bill
    > Bill Shull, Period Piano Collection www.periodpiano.org
    >
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 5/1/2023 4:15:00 PM
    > From: Robert Anderson
    > Subject: RE: G0 pre-1883
    >
    > That's it, Peter.
    >
    > Bob Anderson, RPT
    > Tucson, AZ
    >
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 5/1/2023 2:43:00 PM
    > From: Peter Grey
    > Subject: RE: G0 pre-1883
    >
    >
    > Bob,
    >
    > If I'm reading this right you took A0 and brought down to an octave below F1. Is this correct?
    >
    > Peter Grey Piano Doctor
    >
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > Peter Grey
    > Stratham NH
    > (603) 686-2395
    > pianodoctor57@gmail.com <pianodoctor57@gmail.com>
    > ------------------------------
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 05-01-2023 10:27
    > From: Robert Anderson
    > Subject: G0 pre-1883
    >
    > Along this line, I tuned A0 to F0 years ago for Tucson pianist Ozan Marsh. I don't remember the exact piece but I think it was Rachmaninoff. Ozan liked the reinforcement, I think, to F1 by playing the octave.
    >
    > Bob Anderson, RPT
    > Tucson, AZ
    >
    >
    > Original Message:
    > Sent: 4/30/2023 4:36:00 PM
    > From: Tim Foster
    > Subject: G0 pre-1883
    >
    >
    > Hi all,
    >
    > This may be a bit of an odd question in a technical forum, but I couldn't think of a better place.
    >
    > The European composer Agnes Tyrrell (1846-1883), wrote a number of piano compositions in her short life. ??As I understand it, one of her piano compositions contains the note G0. My question is this: What, if any, pianos at this time had additional bass notes below A0? Did B??sendorfer at this point?
    >
    > ??Thanks!
    >
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > Tim Foster
    > New Oxford PA
    > (470) 231-6074
    > ------------------------------
    >
    >
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  • 9.  RE: G0 pre-1883

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-02-2023 10:21
    Informative as always, Horace. I didn’t know about the Busoni connection to the Bosendorfer design. I don’t remember who gave me the idea but I have long assumed that the motivation for adding extra notes below A0 was to improve the placement of A0 farther away from the edge of the soundboard and the end of the bridge. There is sometimes more than one reason for any given feature.

    Bob Anderson, RPT
    Tucson, AZ