Piano Tone Regulation

There is nothing like taking a piano that needs a great deal of service, doing the work that needs done, and witnessing the changes take place in tone, color and timbre. It is as if you can begin to quantify the change that each turn of the screw has on the focus and power, control evenness and sustain that is waiting to be revealed.

Every instrument starts with a true potential. No matter what is done, aside from changing parts or redesigning things, only what the instrument is capable of achieving will be possible. That having been said, the possibilities are nearly endless as to what can be accomplished with any instrument given enough time and effort.

First comes foundation. A piano must have a solid foundation on which the player can rely. A player can sense this foundation throughout the dynamic range, and a good player can quickly learn where the piano's limitations lie.

For example, a pianist may play quietly and find it difficult to control this end of the dynamic range, or play fortissimo and get less than is to be expected. These feelings translate into the player not getting out of the piano as much as is being put in.

My job as a piano technician is to "get the instrument out of the artist's way." If the player is thinking mechanism; i.e., the pedal is squeaking or this note feels different than its neighbor, then concentration is being taken away from the performance and musicality and is being applied to a distraction.

On the other hand, if a player is getting out of the piano exactly what is being put in then the piano begs for more and more as if seducing or coaxing the player to go farther than ever before.

The foundation of the piano is literally the connection between the player's fingers and the earth. Any flexibility or elasticity between these two points is sensed by the player and affects the transfer of energy from the players finger through the mechanism and into the air. There are so many parts to a good piano foundation that with fear of missing some I will only name a few.

In no particular order I divide the piano into four distinct parts:

1. The case
2. The action
3. The tonal center, which includes the soundboard, bridge, plate, pin-block, and strings,
4. The lyre and back action, or damper system.
   
   To Be Continued.