Piano and Music Videos

This is an interesting topic; particularly for me due to my recent trip to the NAMM Show (National Association of Music Merchants) here in Orange County California. This is a huge annual gathering of music industry professionals attracting around 100,000 people!

The question of whether or not the piano will continue to evolve as an instrument is a difficult one. Many people believe that the piano was done evolving at the end of the 19th century – since many instruments produced at that time are considered modern pianos in every respect.

Note: I will discuss at length in a future article and video the technologies of digital and hybrid pianos which I consider to be a new category of instruments.

However, while some companies have made enhancements to piano design over the years – accelerated actions, tension resonator systems, etc. – there hasn’t really been any fundamental changes to the instrument in over 100 years other than manufacturing technologies.

This perception changed for me somewhat over the weekend. While I was attending the NAMM show since I had the opportunity to try many different pianos from all over the world. I kept coming back to the Mason & Hamlin piano booth and trying their new composite actions.

I spoke at length with Bruce Clark – the designer of Mason & Hamlin pianos about these new actions which are made almost entirely from carbon fiber, not wood. And to be perfectly honest, I have been skeptical of the benefits of the use of synthetic materials being utilized in actions.

My original feeling was, “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?” The type of piano actions we see in most pianos made from wood, leather and felt have been around for over a century; they have worked well for a long time; why change now? But this weekend I had a chance to really put them through their paces and I was pleasantly surprised!

The very interesting thing about this new design from Mason & Hamlin (and there are new technologies by other companies, notably Kawaii) is that they are so lightweight in the action that the keys do not need to be weighted with lead. This basically means that there is less mass in the key and it takes less inertia to overcome. There is a quickness, a lightness, and a response that really has to be experienced to understand; they feel different from traditional piano actions!

But the question is; are these better actions? Will this be the future of pianos one day?

Let’s just jump to the conclusion that they are better actions for the sake of discussion. If this is the case, how is it possible to transition? In that I mean there are a lot of different obstacles these pianos and actions must overcome in order to become mainstream.

First of all, Mason & Hamlin produces around 150 pianos a year; so these actions are not very prevalent at the moment. While Kawai produces far more pianos, their actions are a hybrid utilizing wooden shanks and composite materials together, so they aren’t radically different in feel from traditional actions.

The problem is this: what would happen if you bought one of these pianos with the newest synthetic actions that are easier to play. Would you have difficulty transitioning in performance to a traditional piano? This is a serious question for concert pianists and pianists of all skill levels since typically you can’t take your piano with you to performances.

Another problem is unless these types of actions become somewhat commonplace, technicians may not have the skills needed to keep them regulated properly. They are very different actions that require new techniques for adjusting. Each new action design requires piano technicians to learn new skill sets.

Perhaps these pianos really are the future and the next great innovation in the instrument is underway. Or is it just another one of the advancements to the piano that has fallen by the wayside over the years? Only time will tell.

I’m very interested to hear your thoughts on this matter. Please contact me Robert Estrin: Robert@LivingPianos.com 949-244-3729

Hi Robert,

Two questions, please:

If a large grand piano was delivered to a house, would it have to fit through a door fully assembled or could the legs be removed and the body be tilted vertically?

Also, installing a MIDI system (regardless of the brand), could that be installed by a technician at the house or would it have to be installed at a “workshop” before it gets delivered?

Thanks Robert!

Brian

Thanks for the great questions! All grand pianos are moved on their side with the pedals and legs removed. They are put on what is called a grand board and rolled in on a 4 wheel flat dolly. Professional movers make it look easy because they know exactly what they are doing.

Player installation is an involved process. So, it must be done in a workshop and preferably by a piano technician since it involves some surgery that must be performed correctly to avoid any compromise to the piano. My installers are 1st rate piano technicians who specialize in player installs.

I may be able to include the cost of delivery in the purchase of the piano since I have so many pianos crisscrossing the country. Please feel free to fire away any other questions that occur to you.

Robert,
What do reshaped hammers mean? I have seen this in some of the pianos you have on your site and am wondering as to what this means.
Sonja-

Good question! When hammers impact the strings, over time they develop deep grooves which are compacted felt. It creates a brittle tone. Hammers that are really worn can even flatten a bit. So, you can bring new life to hammers by reshaping them to the egg-shape which produces the best tone. Better than that, you get down to virgin felt which has a warmer sound. You can only reshape hammers so many times until you get to the wood – then you have to replace the hammers. These hammers have plenty of good felt to work with, so years down the line they can be reshaped again a number of times.

I may use this question and answer in my next video newsletter!

Robert,
Why isn’t the pin block made of metal? It does not need to transfer sound and metal would not have to be replaced.
– Kenneth

You ask a very good question. In fact, before the turn of the 20th century, Mason & Hamlin did indeed produce a limited number of upright and grand pianos that had metal, threaded pinblocks – not wood! These were referred to as “sidewinders” because the pins were parallel to the strings, not at right angles like in traditional pianos. They abandoned the design in a few short years and I am not aware of any other piano manufacturer utilizing metal pinblocks.

There are several benefits to wood pinblocks. First, the pins are threaded very finely. This allows for precise tuning. It is difficult to have metal machine screws with the geometry and strength to allow for the extreme fine tuning necessary in a piano. The fact is, there are over 20 tons of combined string tension in a piano. With a traditional pinblock when you restring the piano, you can use slightly larger pins and get excellent tuning stability. With a metal pinblock, the machine screws don’t allow for that possibility. Worse yet, if the metal breaks, it can be very difficult repairing. In traditional pianos with a wood pinblock, you can even replace the pinblock if necessary.

So, there are good reasons why nearly all pianos have had wood pinblocks for hundreds of years.

When I was first asked this question I almost laughed; it seemed like such a simple question. Then when I started to think of the answer I realized it was much more complex than I initially thought; so here is the answer for you!

The most important reason is, if you had all white keys, it would simply be impossible to find your place on the keyboard – you would have to start at the bottom and count up all the keys to find a specific note! The black keys create a simple visual cue, a repeating pattern of groups of 2 black keys and 3 black keys which help you find your place on the keyboard.

However, keys aren’t simply laid out in order of black and white without meaning; there is a basic logic behind the layout which reflects the basis of major/minor tonality. When it comes to pitch, the distance between all adjacent keys on the piano– from black to white, white to black and where they occur, white to white – are all the same; they are all half-steps apart.

But what is the significance of the pattern of black keys relative to white keys? The white keys of the piano form a C major scale! It is a series of whole steps (2 keys together, one key between) and half steps (2 keys together, no keys between) in which they are all whole steps except between the 3rd and 4th notes (E and F), and the 7th and 8th notes (B and C). So when you play all the white keys from C to C you are playing a C major scale!

You can play in any key on the piano by utilizing specific black keys when playing in any key other than C major. This is reflected in key signatures, a topic for another video for you!

Christina asks, how do you prepare for a concert? Do you play through your music on the day of the concert?

This question raises many issues of concern to all performers. Performing music requires many different types of preparation including:

– Physical

– Mental

– Emotional

The most important aspect of preparing to perform a concert is the work that is done weeks and months before the performance. This is essential to accomplish all 3 aspects listed above. Obviously, a thorough knowledge of the score as well as technical fluency is required for a good performance. But equally important is the psychological preparation. If the first time you think about being out there in front of an audience is the moment of the performance, you will be ill-prepared for the surge of adrenalin that surely would result. Take time days in advance of the performance to imagine the moment in great detail while being in a relaxed state so you can trigger that feeling when the actual performance comes.

Trying out your music the day of the program is a good idea particularly if the piano is one that you aren’t intimately familiar with. A good addition is to play some of your pieces slowly with the music with no pedal to reinforce the memory. Some people like to have special routines on the day of a performance like taking a nap or a walk, avoiding caffeine, even eating bananas or taking beta blockers to help ease nerves. Other people like to go about their routines as normal. You should do what makes you feel good. The bottom line is to enjoy the performance. If you are engaged with the music, the audience will share the emotions of the performance!