New-York tribune. [volume], May 22, 1910, Page 2, Image 19

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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2
THE PIANOFORTE AND ITS MUSK
IV.
■Changes in (he Stringing of Pianofortes— Precious Metals Used /<>
tension of Compass— Laws Regarding Tense Strings— The
Overstrung Scale— Hammer Action and Pedals
The First Pianoforte and a Modern
Grand Compared.
The changes which have taken place in the
Stringing of pianofortes have been quite as
radical and extensive as those In the construc
tion of the frame which they were chiefly in
strumental in bringing about. The makers of
the pianoforte's precursors were diligent in the
search for metals which might ennoble the
wiry, tinkling tone of their instruments. As
the old organ builders sometimes mixed precious
metals in the composition of their pipes, so the
makers of clavichord and harpsichord wire
sometimes turned to silver and gold. In the
catalogue of the court orchestra of Philip 11.
1C.02, mention is made of a clavichord of ebony,
with cover of cypress, keys of ivory and strings
of gold. Experiments were made with gut, silk
and latten
"Gold and .silver compounded," says Dr. Rim
lault, "and rendered elastic would undoubtedly
produce beautiful tones. A gold string or wire
will sound stronger than a silver one; those of
brass and steel give feebler sounds than those
of gold and silver. Silk strings were made of
the single threads of the silkworm, a sufficient
number of them being taken to form a chord of
the required thickness; these were smeared
over with the white of eggs, which was ren
derad consistent by passing the threads through
heated oil. The string was exceedingly uniform
in its thickness, but produced a tone which the
j'erfurmer called tubby."
The earliest pianofortes were strung with
brass wire for the lower tones and steel for the
upper. Srvon or eight thicknesses of strings
were used in the clavichords, spinets and
harpsichords of the seventeenth century, but
the Cristofori pianoforte discloses but three
fiametera. The evidence adduced by this in-
Itrurr:. nt. however, is not unimpeachable in this
respect, since Signor Ponsicchi may have found
it necessary, or thought it wise, to alter the
INTERIOR TOP VIEW OF A CONCERT
GRAND.
Showing the ircn frame and the cross stringing.
stringing ?o far as diameters were concerned,
when he restored it in 187.". In the modern in
ptrument all the strings are of steel, though
those for the lowest twenty tones (taking the
hli [away Grand as a model) consist of a steel
<ore wrapped about closely (like the G-string
of a violin) with wire of a compound metal to
jrive them greater weight and compensate for
tli*ir disproportionate vibrating length. Irre
t\\ ctive of this covering, eighteen different sizes
« f wire are used, the development during the
last century having been not only along the
lines of elasticity, tenacity and tension, but also
diameter. The lowest eight bass tones are
produced by single strings, covered; the next
five, by double unisons, covered; the next seven
by triple unisons, covered, and the remaining
Fixty-eight by triple unisons-, of simple wire.
In all 243 strings are employed to produce the
eighty-eight tones of the concert grand. The
average strain on each string may be set down
jn round numbers at 17(5 pounds. It was much
Tiigher before an agreement was reached some
fifteen years ago among the principal piano
forte manufacturers of the United States to
adopt a lower pitch than the old London Phil
harmonic, which had long been standard, and
which many makers gave up grudgingly be
cause of a belief that it was more brilliant than
the French diapason tiormal. Before the change
a Bteinway Concert Grand endured a strain of
nearly 00,000 pounds; now the pull is the
equivalent of 43,000 pounds.
The CrJEtofori pianoforte has a compass of
four and one-half octaves, from C on the sec
ond leger line below the bass staff to P in the
fourth space above, the treble. Very early the
keys were extended downward to F, on the
fourth leger line below the bass staff, so as
to give the instrument five octaves. At the time
cf Haydn and Mozart five and five and a half
octaves were in use, Clementi having added the
half octave in 1793. The pianoforte which
Broadv.ocd, the Unglish manufacturer, sent as
a gift to Beethoven in 1817 had a compass of
six octave?, but six and a half had already been
reached in 1811, and the practical extreme of
seven octaves in 1896. I say the "practical ex
treme" because the three notes which have been
added .since are of no artistic value. This, I
yccture to say, v.ill not be disputed by any
MltV-YORK DAILY TRIBUNE, SINDAY, M NT. 26, lf»10.
„ 11. B. Krrlibirl.)
(i«,pyrislit. l!M0,
honest maker, but commercial consid. rations
have led to their preservation. I'.osendorfer, in
Vi<rma ( however, has Bade an "Irnricrial Con
cert Grand" with a compass of eight octaves,
from sub-contra F, in the eighth space below
the bass staff, to E in altixsixsimo, in tlie
eleventh space above the treble.
Tianoforte strings increase in thickness as
the tones proceed down the scale in obedience
AN ENGLISH PIANOFORTE. LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. GEORGE ASTOR. MAKER.
Original at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
to a law of acoustics which teaches that when
strings have the same length and tension, but
differ in weight (that is, thickness), their vibra
tions are in inverse proportion to their weight.
Two other canons of the stretched string are
also r.f .-aif,»ity, one of which teaches that as a
stin' -l^thcned it vibrates more slowly, as
it is .-.»..! -«td more rapidly, the tension re
maining the same: in the former ca.-e the tone
produced is graver (lower is the popular defini
tion); in the latter more acute (higher) than the
fundamental. According to the second canon
the tighter a string is drawn the higher the
THE PIANOFORTE SENT BY BROADWOOD TO BEETHOVEN IN 1817.
tone; the looser the slower its vibrations and
the lower the tone, the length remaining equal.
All three canons find their application in the
stringing of pianofortes. The old rule, still
prevailing in some houses, like that of Erard, in
Pari.s, and their imitators, is to dispose the
strings parallel with each other. The majority
of manufacturers the world over, however, have
taken a leaf out of the book «>f American prac
tice and carry the overspun bass strings of the
lowest octave across a number of the strings
immediately adjoining. The disposition is thus
fan-shaped and greater length is obtained for
the strings of the lowest octave. This is the so
called overstrung scale, the combination of
which with the solid steel or Iron frame is the
distinguishing feature of the American piano
forte, a feature that has been extensively adopt
ed in all European countries.
The principle exemplified in the overstrung
scale, like the other features of construction
the invention of which has been discussed, Bad
long been in the air before it was successfully
applied. The device was employed in clavi
chords of the eighteenth century, and it seems
likely that the idea was fermenting simultane
ously In the minds of the American inventor of
the solid iron frame for a square pianoforte.
Alpheus Babcock, and Theobald Boehm, the
German who revolutionized the flute by his new
boring and system of keys. Cabinet and square
pianofortes are now made in London after
Bof-hm'g design in 1835. but overstrung squares
were exhibited in New York two years before,
and the patent of Babcock for "cross-stringing
pianofortes" (his meaning is vague an«J the
original record is lost) wai t:iken out in 1830.
In lS.if) Henry ITim 111 Bill St< inwuy, grand
father of the present president of the corpora
tion of Steinway & Sons, combined an over
strung scalo with a solid metal frame, thus tak
ing the last really radical step in the develop
ment of the American pianoforte. What has
been done since is in the way of development of
the system in details.
The mechanism by means of which the ham
mer is made to strike the string and set it to
vibrating is a marvel of ingenuity. Its simplest
form was that shown ;n the tangent of the
clavK-hurd by depressing the key a short
tong-ue of metal was thrust against the string.
The key was a simple lever, and the m- lal
tongue, the tangent, had to be held against the
string afl Isag as it was desired that the tone
should sound. The next step in the way of im
provement was to hitch the handle of a snail
hammer to a rail with leather hinges and to
replace the tangent with a bit of wire wit;, a
leather button at the end, placed upright on tut
farther end of the key. A slow pressure cr. r
key lifted the hammer bead to within a JJ?
distance of the string: a blow Impend \T*
hammer away from the key with it« „
spine and against the string, from which it ?
by its own weight. This device was hapcr
in that the blow necessary to the products*^
a tone had to be so strong that very soft r».
ing was impossible. Then came the 4W
which in various forms and modifications b
remained In use till now. The key iaia»
hopper which exerts a thrust against tie ha *
mer shank with an energy corresponds
that exerted by the finger of the player. *»*
hammer Is thrown against the string, and f* *
recoil is caught by a check which prevents v
rebounding and holds it in readiness for a i»J
titlon.
The fact that the hammer dr»*>s not n#*>»i »
travel over the entire distance from its je^t™
place to th« string makes eJitr»;m#.iy ra a
repetitions of the blow possible. As the $ n
acts upon the hopper it also raises a «a»»^
wood lined with felt, which in its normal j^m!
tion lies against the string from abO7e.
release of the key brings this damper baei b
its place of rest and checks the vibrations •»
the string, thus preventing the discordant cut.
fusion of tones which would be heard If $,_
were permitted to die by the gradual cessation
of the vibrations. When it is «l<-«ired that the
tones shall continue through a serifs c
arpeggios or a repeated harmony a', the dan
pers are raised simultaneously by means a
pedal, the one to the right— the damper p*^ a '
commonly spoken of as the loud p»-da!, thcu^j
its use for the purpose of increasing th. voluai*
of tone is the cheapest to which it can be pßt.p ßt .
The left pedal shifts the action sidewise so that
the hammers strike only on*- of the dcuM* a»!
two of the triple unisons, leaving the other*
untouched to vibrate sympathetically. This is
the action of the left pedal in the grand pian*
forte; in the upright it moves the hammer ac
tion nearer to the strings so that the hamn»»
describes a smaller arc in reaching the strap
and its force is lessened; in the obsolete square
M interposed a strip «i Ml Maiai the ham.
mers and, the strings and thus softens tte
tone.
The soft pedal movement of the graai do*j
more than diminish the volume of tone; the
tone emitted by the strings which have not frit
the impact of the hammer but vibrate sympa
thetically—that is to say. in response to at
mospheric waves sent forth by their unisons
of an seolian sweetness and lends a color of
HAMMER ACTION OF A GRAND P.ANC
FORTE.
wonderful charm to the music. It is the ii»»r»
to combine this tint with sonority that tt-nspts
pianists to the abuse of the Instrument dis
cussed in connection with the difficulty of keep
ing pianofortes in tune before the introduction
of the metal frame. On some pianofortes tistr,?
is a third pedal between the other two, called
the Tone Sustaining Pedal, the action of whuh
is to withhold the dampers from the siring or
strings struck just before the depression of the
pedal.
The actions which have •«*■ la use for nary
decades are modifications of three models, th-
English perfected by Broadwood, the FrrnCi
repetition invented by Sebastian Erard and th.-
Viennese invented and perfected in Vienna.
These models have been modified in particular
but not in principles by different manufacture
to suit the requirements of their instruments
The action of Steinway & Sons, of which a dia
gram is presented here, is a modification of tit
Erard mechanism.
A comparison of some of the details of tie
Cristofori pianoforte in the Crosby-Brown col
lection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. la
New York, and a modern Concert Grand cade
by Steinway & Sons will help to illustrate the
tremendous progress made in the art of pianu
forte construction from the time of the inven
tion of the instrument till now. The Steinway
Concert Grand pianoforte is S feet and 10
inches long and 5 feet wide. The weight 4
Its metal plate is 320 pound", which probably a
more than the weight of the Cristofori instru
ment in its entirety. The total weight of tie
Steinway is 1,010 pounds. It has a cenapaw <*
seven and a quarter octaves, eighty-elgfct Keys,
against the CristoforTs four and a half octaves,
fifty-four keys, its range extending nineties
keys above the top note of the Cristcfori in
strument and fifteen below the bottom cote
The longest string of the Steinway is sii M
seven and one-half inches in length, its short*:
two inches; the longest string of the Cristofori
Continued on pit):' page.
LONG SANG T!
CHINESE CURIO CO.
293 Fifth Axe.. b*t. 30th and 3 lnt.. N>w T«r*.
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