Spring Making?...

[BW77]

However, the mass of fingers is quite large, and the pad can close only as fast as the finger can be removed. Higher spring tension acts as an assist to your muscles in lifting your fingers.

This is an interesting matter. The conclusion above I think holds as long as the contact between finger and button is kept but as soon as the contact is gone there can be no assist from the spring force. When playing staccato with as quick pressing down and as quick lifting up by the finger as possible the contact phase while lifting likely is so short that the assumed assist from spring force probably can be disregarded.

 

Dana said earlier ( #30) : " I don't agree with someone's earlier statement that lightness equates with speed. I have had a couple nice Jeffries. One set at around 40 grams and the other around 60. It was easier to get nice crisp ornaments on he latter because the extra tension assisted me in getting my fingers up quickly"

 

So...when doing these "crisp ornaments" according to the above I wonder if it is the said "spring assist" that makes the difference. I rather believe that the higher spring tension makes the key return and the pad closure faster and thus facilitate the staccato and "crispness". A stronger spring will also reduce the relative influence by friction from the end plate passage. Consequently the higher key pressure the faster/crisper you can play on condition that you are strong enough to manage...

 

Back to my other question which is slightly off the topic...is there a noticeable difference in practise ( as well as in theory...) between push and pull regarding these spring force related playing conditions? I did start another general topic on the push/pull issue but no replies there yet...

[Dana Johnson]

Because the lever mass s light, in combination of a fair amount of spring force, except possibly for an extremely gifted player, the button maintains contact with the finger thruout its travel. You might not notice this since button travel is around 3-6mm. Depending on set up. It is very easy to hear when a player keeps their finger in line with the button ( used for triplets where you want to hear each note clearly ) or swiping across the top of the button ( where you are looking for more of a series of staccato pops between the beginning and ending notes of a roll.

I would be surprised if there wasn't a slight difference in closing speed and pad noise between a button that was pressed and then released by moving the finger to the side. Given that the pad will be still accelerating at time of contact, I would also be surprised if the difference was musically significant. I can only say, lay out the problem and do the math.

I prefer notes on the press when playing staccato triplets ( but use what is available when that is not possible.) I find a press note when struck by the finger from a height, ( not pressed ) with pressure on the bellows gives more punch to the note. On the draw I find going from one note to another while increasing tension on the bellows and allowing the pad to slap down to end the second note an instant after it sounds gets a better snap to the note than the same technique on the press, though in practice, both are effective enough to use interchangeably. In the example of the punchy note I am looking for the sharpest attack, while for the Snap on the draw, I am looking for the sharpest cut off of the note.

In general, I find dynamic note shaping for emotional effect better on the draw, but of course, there are lots of exceptions.

Dana

[BW77]

1) Because the lever mass is light, in combination of a fair amount of spring force, except possibly for an extremely gifted player, the button maintains contact with the finger thruout its travel. You might not notice this since button travel is around 3-6mm

 

2) I prefer notes on the press when playing staccato triplets .... I find a press note when struck by the finger from a height, ( not pressed ) with pressure on the bellows gives more punch to the note...., I find dynamic note shaping for emotional effect better on the draw,

 

1) Concerning spring assistance.// Yes, as long as you are playing a smooth legato I agree that the button may stay in contact with the finger and you will feel the button resistance "assisting " the return by the finger but when playing those "crisp" staccato ornaments do you not aim for as short contact with the button as possible? The common advise is to hit the button like a hammer and withdraw the finger as fast as you can. This means that you have already prepared your finger to return at the same moment it hits the button. Does the button then really "assist" the finger return? Or is the experience of playing faster with stronger springs explained by quicker reaturn of the pad rather? What happens if there is no resistance involved and no time is wasted for pad return either? Like *playing* with a touch-sensitive (computer) keyboard? My guess is that we can play even faster with THAT than with any mechanical keyboard.

 

2) Concerning push/pull preference// It sounds as if you prefer push for staccato/punch and draw for legato and sensitive dynamics. As we said before the spring and pad conditions theoretically seemed to speak for better staccato/crispness on pull. What may then be the cause if practice says the opposite? Or are several factors involved that act against each other and are difficult to separate?