Conclusion of Actions

Conclusion in this chapter, I have explored different mechanisms for pianoforte actions from the golden age of the pianoforte developments, including, on the upright pianoforte, the sticker action, and the tape check action; on the grand pianoforte, the English action, the German action, the Erard action, and the Steinway action.

From the discussions above, it can be concluded that the makers were intended to build the ideal action in the direction of having a lighter weight key with sensitive touching, as well as having the hammer to not interrupt the string’s vibrations. In modern times, most pianofortes have achieved this. There have been no major mechanical changes in the past 130 years and this action remains as the direct link of the pianist to the pianoforte.

Steinway’s action

Theodore Steinway’s contribution was significant. He added an escapement and a damper to the German action in 1875. These mechanical refinements would prevent pianists from losing motion between the keys and the hammer for the greater part of its journey to the string. The lightness of its action increased, the keys being depressed by a weight of about an ounce, half or a third of that required today. The hammers were covered by leather, in returns producing a more beautiful, even, and thin timbre. This leather coverage has a further advantage as the wedge-shaped dampers can easily stop it; hence, preventing the hammers from bouncing back onto the strings just like the upright pianoforte’s action. Because of these advanced technological characteristics, the pianists were able to have a more direct control of the pianoforte.

Explanation on this action's mechanism:
This action is constructed on a frame of metal tubes filled with hardwoods. This is to adjust to a bigger and heavier hammer head that is used on the pianoforte. While most of the parts are fixed on the metal frame like the Erard’s action, it is left with the hammer and the key that have the flexibility to move. When the key is depressed, the back check will push the hammer head upwards to strike the strings. As the hammer head is directly being pushed upwards, this, results in a more reliable and sensitive touch.

Erard Double Escapement Action

In 1822, a French piano maker Sebastien Erard created the double escapement action. It became the favourite instrument of the nineteenth century composers for the expression of tone poems. Erard’s action was based on Cristofori’s model. His developed action would allow the hammer to speed up the repetition after initial strike. By comparing the Erard’s action with the English grand action, it showed a lighter action, faster repetition, as well as greater reliability. This action remains the basic model for today's grand pianoforte action.

Explanation on this action’s mechanism:
The structure of this action is mainly in one piece. The action is fixed above the key and the damper stops the strings vibration underneath. When the key is depressed, the action above the key will be pushed up. It therefore pulls back the hammer butt and makes it throw towards the strings. On the other hand, the damper releases from the strings because of gravity. After the hammer’s initial strike towards the strings, the check head will move forwards to receive the hammer, waiting for the hammer to make fast repetition if necessary. The hammer weight is also supported by the repetition spring. It enables the repeated sound of the note before the key finally returns to rest. This action will avoid the hammer from blocking or from double striking the strings.

The Grand Action II

The German Action
There has been a mystery defining the term “German Action” because the “German Action” is always mixed together with the “Viennese Action”. It is in fact referring to the same thing. The term “German Action” was first used to refer to the actions made by Stein’s pianos. Until the twentieth century, Prellmechanik used the term “Viennese Action” instead of the so-called “German Action” to represent Stein’s action. Therefore confusion over the term arose. On the other hand, some scholars tried to look for the first action inventor in Vienna in order to solve the difficulty. Unfortunately, they failed to find enough substantial evidences to solve their concerns. Nevertheless, what we can believe is that, the “Viennese Action” was more or less confined to makers in Vienna itself, whereas the pianos from Vienna had an action which was altogether different form the English mechanism. ”

Explanation on this action’s mechanism:
The construction of the “German or Viennese Action” is straightforward. There is no intermediate lever or check head installed. The damper control is installed into the pianoforte body and the hammer‟s movement is reliant up on the kapsel (pivot). As the kapsel is positioned a little bit away from the key, when the key is depressed, the kapsel will only turn slightly, just enough for the hammer to hit the strings. The rise is about 1mm from the strings. This advantage prevents the hammer from blocking or double striking. In addition, because of short distance of the hammer rising, there is no lost motion. This gives the pianists a light and sensitive touch. This is the favourite of the greatest composers, including Haydn and Mozart.

The Grand Action

There are two types of action remaining in use: the “English Action” and the “German Action”.

The English Action
Backers successfully built a grand piano employing the English grand action in 1770. The mechanism was a Cristofori’s modification of wing-shaped design and it was constructed on an English harpsichord. However, in 1777, Stodart issued a patent of his new invented sort of instrument or grand forte piano, and this introduces the term “grand piano” to the public the first time.

Explanation on this action’s mechanism:
The construction of a grand action is different from an upright action. There is no immediate lever in this action, and the striking direction of the hammer is upwards rather than forward. On the construction, the hammer rests on top of the hammer rail while the escapement hopper supports the hammer butt. While the comb register is positioned slightly below the hammer butt in order to hold onto the escapement hopper, the set-off screw does the same thing to the escapement hopper. When the key is depressed, the escapement hopper will push away the hammer butt so that the hammer head will hit the strings. A check head is used to help the returning hammer for repetition as well as the hopper retuning its original position.

However, because the escapement hopper is placed at the middle of the key, it results in a slow response.

The “English Action” removed Cristofori’s intermediate lever and applied a screw to regulate the escapement in its structure. Although it enabled Broadwood to achieve maximum tone from his more resonant pianos, the keyboard retained a heavy touch and slow repetition. This action lacked the brilliance and sparkle of the Viennese type.

Harddisk failure

Sorry for all my audiences, as my harddisk has broken down and I have lost my new posts's draft. I will re-post my lost passages after I have repaired my harddisk.
Thanks!

Tap Check Action

How does Wornum’s tape-check action work:

The tape is tied to a set of wires on the intermediate lever, which also holds the jack, the check head and the damper wire. When a key is depressed, the lever will push upwards, in return pulling down the jack’s escapement and pushing the hammer forwards to hit the strings. While the balance on the lever lies towards the front, the check head will follow and push forwards. This positions the hammer butt as close as possible to the strings. The wire of the tape will start stretching because of its length. It holds back the hammer to avoid it bouncing on the strings again. On the other hand, the movement of the damper wire will release the damper, allowing the strings to vibrate. As the damper is placed above the hammer, the term over-damper action is resulted.

The Master Cat of Piano

The Upright Action

According to Williams, the “sticker” action is the earliest example of an upright piano’s action. It comes from Germany in 1739 by Don Domenico del Mela di Gagliano.

How does upright action work:
The upright pianoforte action is made of two long sections joined at a right angle and resting on a woven pad. The sticker is placed vertically at the resting place of the key and shares the same pivot with the hammer. The damper rests on the strings to avoid vibration while a cord with the hammer’s pivot also links it. When the key is depressed, the sticker will push upwards and this makes the pivot turn clockwise. The hammers are thrown towards the string while the damper releases its resting position allow the strings to vibrate. After the striking momentum, the hammer head is lifted from the strings. It bounces backwards, rests on a woven pad because of gravity, and makes the pivot to turn anti-clockwise. The chord’s tension direction is reversed and the damper will rest on the strings again to stop vibration.

After about a hundred years of construction development, the upright action’s development reached its fullest realisation. According to Williams, by 1842, Robert Wornum’s tape-check action had become the basis of the present upright piano action. This action, adapted from a patent of Hermann Lichtenthal’s, can prevent the strings from being struck by the hammer again from its re-bounce. This was an important achievement, since it helped each key to produce a clearer tone when struck.

About action

There have been three types of actions in the history of pianoforte construction development: the square, the grand, and the upright. However, only two types of action remain in use, the upright, and the grand action. According to McCombie, the old square piano action has disappeared. This was caused by the emergence of concert tours featuring grand pianos, together with further developments to the upright alternative by the 1870s. In this section, I will introduce some of the main type actions from the past, as well as some from modern times. I will begin with the upright actions, and later the grand actions.

Composer comp. vs International place comp

The debate between why composer competitions are more important than the international place competition is purely decide by the influence it can create. It is the same logic as people in 'Place A' like fruits while people in 'Place B' like meat.
The standard of the inter-school competitions, as one may argue, is higher than some of the local competitions. It is absolutely correct, but why it is placed in a lower ladder than the local competitions? The main reason is that it lacks the openness that a competition needs and the expectations are more academically than professionally.

Piano competitions

The piano competitions in the world can be divided into 3 categories.
According to the difficulties and influences of the competitions, it is structured as followed:

1. International competition, usually once a year to a couple of years;
2. Nation competition;
3. Local competition, few times a year or once a year;
4. Inter-school competition, once a year with qualifying round.
   

The composer competitions are usually regarded as the highest level of competitions because of its in depth influences. However, not all winners can become famous and have their world tour concerts. On the other hand, be aware that some composer competition is not held in the composer nation country, and those competitions are, and will continue to be not recognized as in the highest standard.

Academy in the U.K.

The myth of the ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is NOT a music academy / music college. It is an examination board build up by 4 of the royal music colleges in the U.K. These include:

• RCM (Royal College of Music);
• RAM (Royal Academy of Music);
• RNCM (Royal Northern College of Music);
• RSAMD (Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama).

Other music colleges in U.K. including:

TCM (Trinity College of Music); GSMD (Guildhall School of Music and Drama); LCM (Leeds College of Music); RWCMD (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama); Finally, London College of Music, it is a registered music college but not well recognized by the music circle.

Introduction

I always want to write a weblog on pianoforte – one of my strength. Though, I am just too lazy and not bother writing one. Now, I am fortunate enough to have one with the help by Gary Tam, one of my long time old friends, to fulfill this aim. This weblog will be spread into a few sections: history, composers, pianists, recording, techniques, genres, competitive, academy, brand, and the instrument. So, just feel free to find the pages that you are interested.
Hopefully, I can show you a piano world that you will never forget. Enjoy!!