Piano Voicing and Action Regulation
Piano voicing
Piano voicing is all about regulating the piano’s tone - we can think of a piano’s tone as its voice. As with people, every piano has its own distinctive voice, but unlike people, this can be shaped and changed by a technician in order to enhance the natural beauty and dynamics of your piano.
The factors that influence a piano’s unique voice are the softness/hardness of the hammer felt, how heavy the hammers are, the shape of the soundboard, the overall piano shape and design, the materials used to build the piano, and where the piano is located in the room. The hammer felt plays a key role in piano voicing, because the more the piano is played, the more the felt hardens as it hits the strings over and over, causing a harsh metallic tone. This not only causes the piano to not sound as beautifully as it can, but it also prevents the player from displaying the full possible dynamic range.
In order to achieve a change in voicing, the process involves:
Piano voicing is all about regulating the piano’s tone - we can think of a piano’s tone as its voice. As with people, every piano has its own distinctive voice, but unlike people, this can be shaped and changed by a technician in order to enhance the natural beauty and dynamics of your piano.
The factors that influence a piano’s unique voice are the softness/hardness of the hammer felt, how heavy the hammers are, the shape of the soundboard, the overall piano shape and design, the materials used to build the piano, and where the piano is located in the room. The hammer felt plays a key role in piano voicing, because the more the piano is played, the more the felt hardens as it hits the strings over and over, causing a harsh metallic tone. This not only causes the piano to not sound as beautifully as it can, but it also prevents the player from displaying the full possible dynamic range.
In order to achieve a change in voicing, the process involves:
- Properly lining up the hammers and strings
- Flattening grooves by changing the hammer shape through sanding or filing a layer of felt
- Hardening the hammer felt (if needed) by ironing it or treating it with lacquer
- Softening the hammer felt (if needed) by pricking it with needles
Action regulation
A piano is a very complex piece of machinery, and its parts and functioning can be affected by factors like normal wear and tear, aging, change in environmental variables like humidity, and so on. Action regulation is the process of realigning and adjusting all of the moving parts that comprise the piano mechanism. This is a key part of piano maintenance and has benefits such as:
When a piano is properly regulated, the response to playing and the way it feels is substantially better than that of a piano that has not been regulated for a long time It will also be more even and it will have greater sensitivity
A piano is a very complex piece of machinery, and its parts and functioning can be affected by factors like normal wear and tear, aging, change in environmental variables like humidity, and so on. Action regulation is the process of realigning and adjusting all of the moving parts that comprise the piano mechanism. This is a key part of piano maintenance and has benefits such as:
- It reduces or gets rid of the lost motion that occurs when parts made of soft materials such as wool or leather are compressed due to continuous playing
- Ensures that every key has the same response throughout the keyboard
- Regulates repetition speed
- Maximizes the power and control of each note, giving the player more freedom to express the full dynamic range
- Keyboard height
- The depth to which each key is depressed, that can be adjusted to each individual pianist’s preference
When a piano is properly regulated, the response to playing and the way it feels is substantially better than that of a piano that has not been regulated for a long time It will also be more even and it will have greater sensitivity
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Our directory includes technicians in the cites below. Keep in mind that all technicians will travel to locations nearby, so if you don't find your city below, select the closest one to where you are.
Our directory includes technicians in the cites below. Keep in mind that all technicians will travel to locations nearby, so if you don't find your city below, select the closest one to where you are.