Tag: piano action

From the Studio: Solfege

From the Studio

Welcome back to my piano art studio! Today I’d like to share with you some interesting things I made from pieces of the 1866 Steinway upright piano.

Fascinating Construction

As I do with every piano, once I got it home, I began to take it apart and study the construction of the individual pieces. All uprights have certain things in common. For instance, they all have hammers, jacks, wippens, backchecks, and so forth. However, they are not all made the same. Sometimes the difference is a matter of practicality, as smaller pianos must have smaller parts that are arranged a bit differently from those found within the upright grands. But sometimes the difference, I believe, is in the style of the manufacturer.

The 1866 Steinway had a wippen assembly that functioned exactly like any other wippen assembly I’ve ever seen—with its jack, flanges, bridle wire, backcheck wire and felt, and the damper spoon. However, the way these parts went together was unlike anything I’d ever seen, and at that point I had taken apart twelve other pianos. The major difference was with the jack, a smallish piece that looks somewhat like a hammer (in most upright pianos, that is). The jacks inside the 1866 Steinway were made of two individual pieces of wood instead of the solid construction I normally see. Also, the part that is normally quite short was in this case almost as long as the longer side, and it was hollow. In most uprights, the backcheck and bridle wires rise behind the jack; but in the case of the 1886 Steinway, the backcheck and bridle wires came up through the hollowed jack. This was a construction I had never seen before, and it fascinated me. For that reason, I wanted to use some of the wippen assemblies in their entirety, to display the unique manner of their construction.

With this in mind, I arranged three complete wippen assemblies in a pinwheel formation in the center of a 12×12 canvas, which I had painted a neutral tone. Then I framed it with “loose action pieces,” namely: jacks, letoff buttons, and backchecks also from the old Steinway. To finish the framing, I used treble hammers from two different grand pianos: one old, like the Steinway, and one newer, to provide a color contrast. I did not use the Steinway hammers because they were reserved for a different project.

A Star Is Born

Getting back to these most unusual jacks, I discovered that their proportions made them perfect for forming a star. I’ve never been able to do this with any other jack because they are too disproportionate for such a design. So I created a second design with the star in the center, using jacks that still had their bit of red felt on them, because the bright red made the star pop with color. The border is composed of a variety of flanges from different pianos of differing ages, with differing patinas. The corners of the canvas are marked with letoff buttons, and just inside each corner is a fan of hammers from both upright and grand pianos.

Now for a Name

As I’ve stated many times before, coming up with a name for my designs is the hardest thing I do. These two creations were no exception. I decided on “Solfege” because the solfege syllables are the building blocks of music, just as these wippen assemblies, together with other action pieces, are the building blocks of piano music.

How can I make it mine?

The “Solfege Triplet” is already sold, but the “Solfege Star” is still available in my shop.

♬ ♬ ♬ ♬ ♬ ♬

Thank you for joining me on this tour of the studio. I look forward to seeing you on the next one. Until then, I invite you to check out photos of my other work in the gallery. Enjoy the rest of your day!

The Hidden Parts

Devotionals

A few days ago I disassembled yet another piano action. More than 300 screws had to come out in order to release the more than 1,000 individual parts. The tedium of the task gives my mind a chance to focus on other things, usually whatever music I happen to be listening to at the time.

But this time I got to thinking about how all these parts usually stay hidden inside the piano. A pianist will see them if motivated by curiosity to open the cabinet and look inside. But more often, the musician will simply sit down and play. The outward and most obvious parts—the keys, pedals, cabinet, and even the bench—are important in making music. But no less so are the hidden parts—the hundreds of internal pieces that work together in one fluid motion to produce sound.

I have both outside and inside parts too. I tend to spend a lot of time with the outward parts—showering, dressing, primping, etc. These things are necessary, and the folks nearest to me thank me for tending to such details!

But what about the inside? those hidden parts? Do I give proper care to my heart, lungs, brain, digestive system, muscles, joints, and so forth? It’s important to get proper nutrition, exercise, and rest so that my body can function as intended.

And how about my mind? Do I fill it with things that make me a better person? or with things that will not matter even tomorrow, much less in a hundred years? It is my thoughts that guide my actions, and therefore I must pay close attention to what shapes those thoughts.

Now comes the most important hidden part of all—my soul. This is the real me. It’s the part of me that others come to know and love (or not). It’s the part of me that will live forever. The Bible says,

Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part You shall make me to know wisdom.

Psalm 51:6

There are those today who would have you believe that truth is what you make it. My friend, this is a lie! Truth is not relative; it is not subjective. If that were so, then I could easily lose unwanted pounds by simply deciding that gravity doesn’t apply to me.

God wants me to embrace His truth. How can I do this? By embracing His Word.

Sanctify them through Your truth: Your Word is truth.

John 17:17

My soul is rotten to the core. I am a sinner: I was born that way. You were too. But God offered you and me new life through the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ. I accepted that offer. He forgave all my sin, and now He sees me as clean and wearing Christ’s spotless robe of righteousness. He teaches me to grow in grace daily, and to increase in wisdom.

My body is growing old and will eventually break or wear out, and then be laid to rest. But my soul will live forever somewhere. The eternal destiny of my soul is settled. What about yours? Have you even given it any thought?