I agree with Rick, and other statements I’ve heard here. Pianists want to be heard and acknowledged. A gracious statement accepting what they’ve said and showing a willingness to try is often magic. We can make that statement without actually saying that we agree (or, heaven forbid, disagree) with them, especially if they are asking for unreasonable changes. We aren’t trying to trick them. After all, we know pianos - but each artist is the world’s leading expert on how he or she is feeling. Some reassurance can go a long way.
I am a terrible liar or fibber. When I say, “Let me look at that carefully” or “I have a couple of ideas I can try”, I usually really touch the piano even if I don’t hear much I can do. If it seems heavy, I may pull the action and hit the action centers with a hairdryer for 10 minutes (the Hollywood Bowl trick for humidity). Or if a note needs to come up a bit, or a small section, I’ll mute the strings by pressing down with a cloth and bang on those particular hammers (which actually helps a bit on occasion).
We all have countless stories. In one case, a well-known female artist was working with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra doing Tchaikovsky 1. She thought it felt a little bit slow or heavy, so I told her I would work on it. (It was not particularly bad.) I did a few minor things so I could state truthfully that I’d worked on it, but it didn’t actually change much. Her adrenaline probably kicked in for the performance and she came off stage, giving me huge hugs and saying it was so much better. Again, not an attempt to trick anyone, just reading the situation.
In another case of a big name pianist, for a solo recital, he came off after the dress rehearsal when I only had 15 minutes to check unisons (before a pre-concert talk speaker came out to get miked up) and he asked for the upper tenor to be brought up a bit. I did the banging-while-muted thing, double checked unisons and he was happy afterward. Really not much change. Adrenaline?
Franz Mohr used to tell another story of a famous pianist who asked for some work. Franz knew the piano was just as the pianist usually liked it so he said “I have plenty of time, maestro, go have a cup of coffee” and Franz sat on the bench reading a newspaper while the pianist was away. When he returned to try the piano, he was very happy. Franz offered the possibility that it was the caffeine, but we can’t underestimate a pianist who feels that we’re listening and is more relaxed by the considerate attention.
I am NOT promoting lying, avoidance, tricks, or ignoring the requests. There are certainly pianists who really know what they’re asking for, and can hear or feel whether it got improved or not. But even if they don’t end up feeling totally satisfied with that particular piano on that particular day, at least they know they’ve been acknowledged and respected.
Now I’m off MY soapbox too.
Original Message:
Sent: 6/17/2022 5:03:00 PM
From: Rick Florence
Subject: RE: Of all the things!
All great musicians are eccentric, I think it is what drives their passion. The same is true for many technicians. I realized years ago that pianists are a little crazy – but for very specific and good reasons. Unlike any other instrumentalist or vocalist, they rarely travel with their own instrument. To complicate matters, they are not able to tune, adjust actions, or make simple repairs, like most other instrumentalists can.
Instead, pianists go from venue to venue wondering what kind of piano will provided. They have no control over the quality of the instrument, the funding for care, the skill of the technician, the schedule for service and rehearsals, or the acoustics of the hall. All that uncertainty, yet they will be judged on how well the piano sounds when they perform.
I have found that, although I often have little control over the build quality of an instrument, if it is a piano I regularly service, I do have control over the pianists' reaction to it. Pianists want predictability and color. If we can offer them a piano that, after a few minutes of playing, they know how it will react, the battle is pretty much over. They may ask for a quick pedal adjustment, or some spot voicing, but they find comfort in anticipating the response of the piano. Pianist are very flexible musicians – they have to be. Over the years I have dealt with a handful of difficult pianists, but for the most part I find them to be gracious and appreciative. To save my sanity, I choose to focus on the latter.
Off my soapbox…
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Rick Florence RPT
Gilbert AZ
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-16-2022 13:38
From: Paul Williams
Subject: Of all the things!
Hey all. We have our Southeast Piano Festival here this week.
Just now with a half hour to tune, the guest artist noticed that the lyre was about LESS than a ¼" off of square. We've had this piano for 4 years (new) and nobody noticed it. It took a minute to see it wasn't exactly square and not one person has noticed it, even me. It was a factory goof. I was not involved in picking it out. Just 2 Piano Profs who flew to NY Steinway factory.
So, of course, the anal artist asked if it could be put square. It was obviously a factory flaw. She is obessed with symmetry I guess.
I swear that not one pianist knows what this would entail, and I told her this is a woodworking impossibility in my ½ hour of time I had.
Why do 99% of all other instrumentalists understand their instrument and pianists know nothing??
Nothing is wrong with the piano or lyre/trapwork and all works perfectly. What the hell?? Less than ¼"???
Go away festival! I still have 2 more days of these idiots.
Paul