Good Vibrations by Barry Parker

Author:Barry Parker
Language: eng, eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 2009-06-28T16:00:00+00:00

Touch

Piano teachers spend a lot of time telling their students how to press the note down. And you have no doubt heard the difference in technique between various pianists. Good pianists are able to vary the sound considerably. But can you actually change the timbre of the note by the way you strike it? Most piano teachers would say yes, but there is considerable controversy on this subject. When a physicist looks at the action of a piano, he sees that in the fraction of a second before the hammer hits the strings, it has been thrown clear of the mechanism; this mean that the pianist has no control over the note during this time. So the player can change the intensity or loudness of the tone by imparting more or less kinetic energy to the key, but she cannot change the timbre. In short, everything would be the same if the key was depressed mechanically. (We’re assuming, of course, that she is not changing the damping, as the damper pedals change the timbre.)

Now let’s look at the other side of the argument. The argument here is that the “flex” of the hammer shaft also affects the tone, and the shaft is significantly flexed while it is in free flight, particularly if the note is played loudly. The effect is likely to be greater in the bass because it has the heaviest hammers. And there are indications that the flex does have an effect. I’m not going to hazard a guess as to who is right, however, as it would no doubt generate a lot of controversy.

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