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Piano Pages
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About piano touch
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Click here for Interactive Piano Touch Analysis
The 'touch' of the piano's action is its 'feel' and response to playing. A good action should be like an extension of the player's fingers. It should :
1. Transmit energy from the fingers to the strings with the greatest possible efficiency;
2. Allow control over the hammer strike, enabling loud and soft playing;
3. Allow the hammer to return from the string irrespective of whether the key remains depressed;
4. Prevent re-bouncing of the hammer onto the string after the strike;
5. Enable immediate and continuing repetition of the strike;
6. Allow repetition of the note without the need for the key to fully raise back to its rest position;
7. Operate silently;
8. Not show any sudden changes in touch characteristics from one note to the next.
The touch of a piano is often described as 'heavy' or 'light', but really, this is an oversimplification. An action can be 'heavy' without being inefficient, and as a result can be more widely responsive than a 'light' action. On the other hand, an action might be 'heavy' because it is inefficient.
What we perceive as the 'touch' is the effect of a series of specific response characteristics in the action that take place during the short period of time over which a note is being played. Each step in this series has three possible mechanical attributes, and the balance of these, together with the timing of these steps relative to each other, constitute the 'touch' (See Interactive Touch Analysis). A good technician will know how each of these attributes contributes to the 'touch', and what to do to improve a touch that has deteriorated.
'Wear and tear' in the action will cause deterioration in the touch. Over a period of time, the precise positioning and timings of the mechanical functions within the action, will change, also leading to deterioration in the touch.
Action regulation by the tuner-technician will restore the touch to its optimum, for any given condition and age of action.
For worn actions, recentering, re-felting of the hammers, or replacements of components such as notch leathers, rollers, etc. may significantly improve the touch. For older actions, full restoration in a workshop may be necessary.
There are at least 4000 parts in an action. Although there is a uniformity in modern action designs, there are in practice many varieties of action, often with different characteristics.
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