Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
23
The Music Trade Review
JULY 23, 1927
The Technical and Supply Department—(Continued from page 21)
useful and suggestive. I might add that Mr.
Collen is personally responsible for the de-
velopments which I have described here. He
is a member of the Institute of Mechanical
Engineers of Great Britain.
The Weight of Touch
away as pianists learned that it is better to
make the piano sing than to test its ability to
resist blows. The moderate weight of to-day
then came into favor and has by now become
universal.
Correspondence
is solicited and should be addressed to William
Braid White, 5149 Agatite avenue, Chicago.
Ampico Traveling School to Hold New
York Sessions Starting on August 12
"You say in one of your books that the
average touch of the piano should be two and
one-half ounces. What does this mean and
how is anyone to ascertain that? Say I have Course Will Follow Directly After Close of Tuners' Convention—Recent Sessions in
the weights in one-ounce, one-half-ounce and
Washington Have Membership of Twenty-three Students
one-fourth-ounce units. Do I have to place
them on the keys, say on the head of an ivory,
A N enthusiastic class of twenty-three mem- ducted by E. S. Werolin, manager of the Am-
and keep piling on until the key sinks—or
bers attended the sessions of the Ampico pico service department, and twenty men were
what? Please give a detailed explanation in
Traveling School held recently in Washington, enrolled for this work.
The Review. Fay Gibson, New York."
D. C. Nine of those in attendance were grad-
The Ampico School will hold its next ses-
Miss Gibson is quite right in supposing that
uated and received the Ampico credential, a fact
sions in the Ampico Service Building, 423 West
the statement about the weight of touch means
that a weight of two and one-half ounces placed which indicates the exacting requirements of Fifty-fourth street, New York, commencing
upon a key should be sufficient to overcome
the resistance of the action and to cause the
key to fall. This means, of course, that the
resistance of the action and the inertia of the
key combined are to be just overcome by the
application of this weight to the key at a
point where the finger would ordinarily press
upon it; that is to say, immediately above the
front rail pin.
There is always, of course, some variation
in touch weight at the bass and treble ends
of the compass. Thus, the heavy bass ham-
mers impose a greater and the light treble a
slighter resistance. But the average of two
and one-half ounces is pretty well established
by now.
It is interesting to observe, while we are
on the subject, that the weight of touch has
been both much less and much more than it
is now. During the early days of the nine-
teenth century, before iron framing took its
place in piano construction, the touch was
Ampico Traveling School Course in Washington
extremely light. The instrument known to
Mozart, for instance, was furnished with the the management of the school. E. J. Piquette August 12, immediately following the conven-
so-called "Viennese" action, in which the key
conducted the course as usual and was espe-
tion of the National Association of Piano Tun-
carries the hammer, which is tripped by a catch
cially pleased with the results.
ers. Information regarding this session may
placed upon a permanent rail separate from
In addition to the Ampico course of instruc- be obtained by addressing the Ampico Service
the moving parts. This action is so light that tion, opportunity was given the men to become
Department at this address or at the Ampico
the pianist was sometimes said to "breathe" thoroughly familiar with grand action regulat- headquarters in the Hotel Commodore during
upon the keys.
ing. Special classes in this subject were con- the week of the convention.
After iron framing became an established
method of construction the increased power of
the pianoforte encouraged and aided the de-
velopment of a new school of keyboard tech-
WASHINGTON, D. C, July 16.—Extensive in-
nic, under the leadership of Chopin, Liszt,
PF.ORIA, 111., July 16.—George C. Johnson, of
Schumann and their successors. The instru- vestigation into the matter of the names of
Toulon, has been named delegate of the Peoria
ment in consequence became much more mas- forest trees and woods is to be conducted division of the National Association of Piano
soon by the Forest Service Department of Tuners to the meeting of the national body to
sive, with heavier strings, heavier hammers and
the wonderful double repetition action ot Erard, Agriculture, according to Col. William Greeley, be held August 8-11 in New York.
G. M.
Chief Forester. The proposition was brought
which quite revolutionized the possibilities of
Steger was made alternate by the Peoria divi-
the keyboard. A school of massive players to his attention by Dr. Wilson Compton, sec- sion in a meeting held in the Steger store, 206
came to the front, and then to please them it retary and manager of the National Lumber North Adams street.
was necessary to build still more massive in- Manufacturers' Association, who declared that
struments. Naturally the weight of touch in- there were many cases of ambiguity and in-
creased until in the sixties and seventies of the accuracy in the present naming of certain
nineteenth century a weight of more than three woods. In general, the policy to be enforced
ounces was not uncommon. But this era passed in making the investigation is to assign the
A tribute to the safety and welfare work con-
same name to lumber as the tree from which ducted in the Kohler Industries, New York,
it is cut and to follow the major botanical under the direction of Harry S. Newton, was
grouping of trees. The results are being looked paid the latter in the current issue of Na-
forward to with interest.
tional Safety News, the official news organ of
the National Safety Council, Chicago'. Special
Standard of America
emphasis was placed on the fact that the Koh-
Alumni of 2 0 0 0
ler Industries experienced but one lost-time ac-
Piano Tuning, Pipe and Reed
Organ and Player Piano
cident in the factories during the first five
YEAR BOOK FREE
John Schadler, who has been identified with months of 1927.
27-29 Gainsboro Street
the hardware house of Hammacher, Schlemmer
BOSTON, MASS.
& Co., New York, for nearly thirty years, has
announced his resignation, effective August 15.
He was for many years sales manager of the
The United States Patent Office, Washington,
piano hardware department of the company and
is well known in the industry. His new con- D. C, has announced that a suit for infringe-
Our new illustrated catalogue of Piano and
Player Hardware Felts and Tools is now
nection will be with Packer's Employment ment of patent has been filed against the Motor
ready. If you haven't received your copy
please let us know.
Service, Inc., 170 Broadway, which company Player Corp. by the owner of the Cramer patent
OTTO R. TREFZ, JR.
specializes in high-class personnel require- (No. 1,431,807) for an apparatus for player-
pianos.
ments.
2110 Fairmount Ave.
Phila., Pa.
Tree Names Investigated
Delegate to Tuners
Kohler Safety Work
FAUST SCHOOL
OF TUNING
John Schadler Resigns
Patent Suit Filed
Tuners and Repairers