Pianists and their lack of knowledge about their instrument

[Ferruccio]

Dear colleagues !

Yes, it seems to become kind of admission ...
Within my profession as a pianist and piano teacher I think I'm not too bad in terms of playing and teaching the playing and performing. All practical things concerning playing technique and musical work I'm much interested in and a bit good at.

But when the talk comes up to technical things concerning the piano as a hardware (tuning and all these things a piano tuner has to cope with) , I very quickly feel as a rather naive layman and amateur. I am simply not very much interested in this part of the profession.

Any other intrumentalists are said to know their instruments very well: clarinet, oboe and bassoon players, string players, and probably most singers (?)

From time to time I've read, that many pianists are not very good in these technical questions.
Brendel is said to be a famous exception, but perhaps in a bit nitpicking way. I don't know about it really.

I have tried to make the best out of it via my playing technique, when the piano I had to play at was not good.
But it sometimes is a bit embarrassing not to be able to tell the piano tuner exactly (and using his terminology), what I would him like to repair or change and what I think about reasons for these bad sounds.

So my question is: What do you guys think about the importance of knowledge about the instrument and its technical aspects for a professional piano player ?

I'm grateful for any consolation.

[Jean-Séb]

Many people who can drive cars have no idea how they work!
Jean-Séb

[alfor]

Yeah, dear Ferrucio, you are quite right, pianists gernerally do not know their instruments very well.
I myself have rebuilt both upright and grand pianos and if you want to know more about pianos, I can recommend a number of books (mainly from USA). If anybody is more seriously interested, the best written material on the whole matter is published by the "piano technicians guild" (all publications are in english, but they have a website with online shopping in 4 languages).
https://www.ptg.org/store/index.php?cPa ... 520ca2519b

The only material translated into German, which comes near to that are the 3 volumes (expert tuner's resp. piano technician's knowledge though, too specialized for the average piano user ) by Carl-Johan Forss.

There are some new developments in the piano building business, one is a grand-piano-like action for upright pianos, invented by Dale FANDRICH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d5fc6eKWqA.

There are some further observations I personally made:
Piano are to a great degree built according to the developer's sound preferences. So if the engeneers like or are accustomed to electronic sound, the instruments will sound "electronic"; if they happen to be collectors of old LPs and Shellacs and know and like the sound of (grand) pianos built around 1900 to 1930, you can be sure, that they will develop pianos with a totally different sound. So if somebody for example invents a totally new soundboard, you only will appreciate this invention, if your personal sound preference is equal or near to that of the developer.

A piano still is far too sensitive to humidity. This is a general weakness of the piano construction, which can at least partly be cured by the use of the so-called "damp-chaser" (which works more or less satisfactory at least in upright pianos).

The proper regulation and voicing both of upright and grand pianos takes a lot of time (=money!) and therefore most instruments do not sound and perform to their real level.
And here we've come full circle: the average pianist does not know, if his instrument is properly regulated, voiced and tuned!

[Ferruccio]

Thanks, Alfor, for your info and tips.

So if I as average pianist am not able to judge, if a piano is in its optimal technical situation, I have to trust the technician, that he will know what to do.
And if his work doesn't convince me, I'm not sure, if it is his fault or if there indeed is no better way to do. Anyway, I'll have to pay him ...

[Oberon Smith]

Time to take the "ladies gloves" off, one of the early reasons the piano was a "ladies instrument", which all fine pre Victorian ladies studied, was because they DIDN'T have to tune the instrument. Which was considered low, and crass, fine ladies didn't get their hands dirty, let alone clean a spit valve. I personally, have bit the bullet, mostly because of financial concerns, secondly, due to the total lack of qualified tuners these days, and have learned to tune my own pianos. Guess what, IT AIN"T THAT HARD, very self satisfying, better results, self pride, etc, but, yes, it takes some muscle power and sweat, another thing Ladies didn't do, we are the only musicians that don't tune their own instruments, which I find foolish, especially for the male pianist. I now, have begun to delve into the interior repairs. I highly recommend getting a bit sweaty, use your muscles, take the blindfold off, and learn to tune your own piano. We aren't Victorian Ladies anymore. And remember, pianist of the past traveled with their own piano, and guess who tuned them, every little PoDunk town didn't have a tuner waiting in the wings.

Oberon

[passthesalt]

It wasn't just Victorian pianists who tuned their own pianos. See this excerpt from the obit for Art Ferrante (of the piano duo Ferrante and Teicher) in yesterday's NY Times:

“We were not wealthy kids from wealthy families,” Mr. Ferrante told the television show “Entertainment Tonight” in 1986. “We acquired a small fleet of trucks to haul our Steinways in. We drove the trucks, unloaded the pianos, attached the pedals, hammered in the legs. Once we had move them onto the stage we tuned the pianos and practiced. Then we came back and performed a two-hour concert.”

The entire obiturary is here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/arts/ ... rante.html

[Roeland]

Time to take the "ladies gloves" off, one of the early reasons the piano was a "ladies instrument", which all fine pre Victorian ladies studied, was because they DIDN'T have to tune the instrument. Which was considered low, and crass, fine ladies didn't get their hands dirty, let alone clean a spit valve. I personally, have bit the bullet, mostly because of financial concerns, secondly, due to the total lack of qualified tuners these days, and have learned to tune my own pianos. Guess what, IT AIN"T THAT HARD, very self satisfying, better results, self pride, etc, but, yes, it takes some muscle power and sweat, another thing Ladies didn't do, we are the only musicians that don't tune their own instruments, which I find foolish, especially for the male pianist. I now, have begun to delve into the interior repairs. I highly recommend getting a bit sweaty, use your muscles, take the blindfold off, and learn to tune your own piano. We aren't Victorian Ladies anymore. And remember, pianist of the past traveled with their own piano, and guess who tuned them, every little PoDunk town didn't have a tuner waiting in the wings.

Oberon

I have had a female piano tuner! She did a great job. No lack of strength.....

[alfor]

We Germans by far have the better technical terms

Stoßzunge (jack)
Hebeglied (whippen)
Schnabelluft machen (set lost motion)
Kröpfen der Dämpferlöffel (setting damper spoons)

If you have a nice upright piano and want to test (or make angry ) your piano technician, you should ask him to look if the damper lifting is correct - and to demonstrate damper spoon bending to you. This is one of the hardest procedures in upright regulation (you have to do it "blind", just by feel) and therefore often neglected, especially in older pianos.

[tosca1]

In response to Ferruccio, I would say that it is very important to have a thorough understanding of the structure and mechanism of the piano so that we may get the best from the instrument that we own.

Pianos are profoundly affected by wide fluctuations in humidity and to a lesser extent by changes in temperature. Knowledge of how this affects the critical components of the piano is a first step in providing a "safe" environment for our piano. Lack of tuning stability, tonal degradation, a sluggish action are all symptoms of inadequate climate control for the piano and of course, impact on the player.

Most of us know the difference between a hammer and a damper, but how many of us can identify an agraffe or a whippen? A familiarity with basic piano terminology is helpful in discussions with our piano tuner/technician when repairs, regulation aind refinements are required. Pianos perform best when well maintained and how do we determine the frequency and need for piano tuning and servicing?

When it comes to buying a new piano, background information and a sharpened understanding of piano technology can assist us in making a sensible choice.


As a piano enthusiast, it is my passion for the piano and its music which motivate me to learn all I can. I certainly have a lot to learn!

Best wishes,

Robert.

[Ferruccio]

Dear tosca1,

thanks for your contributed point.
I think, you're right.
What you say, is the reason for my bad conscience ...

But for a musician, there are very often very many interesting things to learn and do, before one comes to this mechanical stuff ...