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TECHNICALANDSUPPLY
DEPARTMENT
* William Bra\dWhite,recfimcalEditor
The Future Technical Development of
the Piano as Men in the Field See It
Carl F. Schmitt, of Wollaston, Mass., Writes on the Piano Action, Equal Tempera-
ment, Quarter Tones, the Janko Keyboard and the Editor Comments
ECENT observations in these columns on
the Equal Temperament, on the future
of the piano and on cognate matters have
produced some very interesting communica-
tions which I shall notice here.
One comes from Carl F. Schmitt, Wollaston,
Mass., who writes as follows:
"It seems to me that the straight piano has
reached the limit of its development for all
practical purposes.
I am speaking, of course,
of the two or three best makes. Properly built,
the piano stands in tune as well as can be ex-
pected and properly voiced is very satisfactory
even to a cultured ear. It is neither necessary
nor desirable to make its tone of longer dura-
tion. On the contrary one of its chief charms
lies in the evanescent quality which allows a
performer to prolong tones in the bass and
middle by means of the damper pedal and at
the same time permit tones in the treble, not
harmonically related, to sound without unduly
clashing on a refined ear.
"Were the tones in the treble section of
longer duration than they are at present, the
advantages would be outweighed by the dis-
advantages. Almost all the best music com-
posed during the past 125 years would sound
positively disagreeable. Even now, some of the
music of Schumann, Chopin, Liszt and others
grates in many places rather disagreeably on a
sensitive ear, even when played by first-class
pianists, owing to the greater duration of the
treble tones today, as compared with those of
earlier pianos. The latter permitted a more
extensive use of the damper pedal for sustain-
ing tones which the fingers had to leave to play
elsewhere. Taking all in all, of course, the
tone of a present-day piano is preferable, but it
has now reached a point sufficient for any
pianist's needs.
"Regarding the action, it seems to me that a
return to a somewhat smaller hammer than gen-
erally used at present would be advantageous.
In grands one cannot continue indefinitely to
follow up increased hammer weight by in-
creased key-leads. The more weight, the more
inertia, and this is particularly noticeable on the
upstroke. As a result we frequently find pianos
which play so 'logy' that rapid reiteration of a
tone is impossible. One of your recent con-
tributors has referred to this. Some makers
use a narrow hammer, leaving the other dimen-
sions as usuaf. This makes for an easier action,
but the warping or displacement of the ham-
mers by as little even as 1/32 inch will cause
them to strike on the edge, producing a jingly
tone.
"The fad for big hammers is due to the de-
sire to make the piano a rival to a brass band
for noise. Makers of pianos, however, ought to
consider that the piano is primarily a home in-
strument. Even a concert grand of best make
sounds best in a hall seating not more than
eight hundred persons. When used in a huge
auditorium the tone is unsatisfactory, because
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the hammers, if the tone is to carry, must be
very hard. Hearers seated in the rear of such
an auditorium hear only a tinny tinkle in the
treble, while the rest of the instrument, when
played forte, sounds like an avalanche of wash
boilers, breaking crockery and glassware.
Actions
"I should like to offer, in regard to the grand
action, the suggestion to combine the shift of
the action with a shortened hammer stroke,
when the soft pedal is used. This would make
lor greater sureness when playing very soft
passages, where sometimes the hammer just
misses touching the strings. In this one respect
the upright action is the more dependable.
"As regards the equal temperament, it is the
best solution of a problem which calls for the
making of a workable system of musical tones
from an infinitely complex aggregation of them.
It is to quote from Siegfried Hansing's work
on piano construction: 'a wholly endurable
evil.'
Its abolition on keyboard instruments,
were it possible, would mean the loss of many
of the most beautiful and striking effects of
harmony. I refer to those known as enhar-
monic. It is not confined to keyboard instru-
ments. Even a first-class symphony orchestra is
a huge tempered instrument. So says Berlioz
in his treatise on orchestration, and he ought
to have known. Just as compromises are neces-
sary in statecraft, in economics, and in society
in general, in order to produce a workable plan
of action, so we find compromises necessary in
music.
"Regarding quarter-tone and third-tone scales it
seems to me that we can well afford to dispense
with such oriental narcotics, at least on key-
board instruments. The diatonic scale as used
by the most advanced nations has a certain
foundation in nature as shown by the natural
harmonics of a tone. Of all systems it has per-
mitted the best and most satisfactory develop-
ment of music. Its possibilities in combination
with that of the chromatic scale are by no
means exhausted and if the generality of ultra-
modern composers cannot write sensible music
instead of violent cacophony the fault lies with
them and not with the diatonic- chromatic sys-
tem. Again, what would many pianists do with
a quarter-tone scale when they can endure play-
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ing on pianos that have often quite a few tones
nearly that distance off and who do not notice
the discrepancy, who even enjoy so lovely a
vibration!!!
"Referring again to just intonation, it would
require (according to Riemann) fifty-three keys
to the octave to produce pure intervals in all
keys. As conditions are now, not even one single
major scale can be tuned so that its simple com-
mon chords will be in just intonation. For
example, if you tune the C major scale so that
E is in tune with A, E will not be in tune with
C. And so on.
"Since you refer to the Janko keyboard, it
may not be out of place for me to add some-
thing to what you have already stated in your
article in The Review of October 15. It hap-
pens that I was an ardent student and' pro-
tagonist of said keyboard during my student
days at the Royal Conservatory of Music at
Leipzig, even studying under Janko himself. I
brought back to this country a Bliithner upright
furnished with said keyboard in the Summer of
1888.
In the early part of. 1889 I gave a re-
cital on it before a musical society. Half of
the recital was on a piano with the usual key-
board and the rest on my Janko piano. I men-
tion these facts simply to show that I am qual-
ified to speak on this subject.
"The inventor, Paul de Janko, a native of
Hungary, and a student at both the Vienna Con-
servatory and the Vienna University, brought
out his invention about 1882. He proved its
value by transforming himself from a mediocre
pianist on the usual keyboard to a brilliant
artist on his own. One of his pupils, a young
lady of seventeen, already a fine performer on the
usual keyboard concertized on the Janko key-
board in the chief musical centres of Europe
after only six months' practice upon it, winning
the unstinted praise of eminent musical critics.
It was taken up by quite a number of pianists,
particularly in Vienna, Leipsic and Dresden. Its
study was made optional in the leading con-
servatories of those places. Janko societies
were even formed. Some of the leading piano-
makers of Germany and Austria furnished
pianos to the trade, Janko-equipped, among
them Bliithner of Leipsic and Bosendorfer of
Vienna.
"The chief advantage of the Janko keyboard,
(Continued on page 35)
William Braid White
Associate, American Society of Mechanical
Engineers; Chairman, Wood Industries
Division, A. S. M. E.; Member, American
Physical Society; Member, National Piano
Technicians' Association.
Consulting Engineer to
the Piano Industry
Tonally and Mechanically Correct Scales
Tonal and Technical Surreys of Product
Tonal Betterment Work in Factories
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