The Energy Chain: What we taught at Temple University and in my Lecture: The Other Side of the Keyboard.
1. It starts in your conscientiousness.
2. From there it moves to your core. All movement starts in your core muscles.
3. From there to your upper back.
4. Then on to your shoulder, upper arm, elbow, forearm, hand, and fingers.
5. From the fingers to the piano key which pivots on the balance rail. Front goes down, back goes up.
6. The back of the key rises and the capstan, residing on the back of the key pushes up on the bottom of the whippen.
7. The whippen pivots on its flange and the attached jack pushes up on the barrel of the hammer shank.
8. The shank, with the hammer attached pivots toward the string.
9. Sometime thereafter, the jack hits the let-off button, pivots forward, and the chain is broken BEFORE the hammer hits the string.
10. It is momentum that carries the hammer to the string.
11. Between the time let-off occurs and momentum kicks in, the pianist loses control.
So, everything you do between steps 1 and 9 is in the control of the pianist. It is in that time, the pianist has the opportunity to create velocity, dynamics, and yes, tone.
As soon as let-off occurs, the pianist is quite literally, out of control.
The greatest pianists in the world do NOT interfere with this by dancing around on the piano bench. It takes away from steps 1-9.
The efficiency of the above is increased through the process of regulation. And remember, the technician can only get out of the piano what the piano will allow.
Lecture: The Other Side of the Keyboard is now available again.
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Next we talk about “voicing”.
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