WTF-Beta

Happy Birthday!

Our youngest son got married last weekend. We have just about recovered from the late nights!

science fiction war becoming reality

Are you also on VRBO? I remember reading of people wanting to avoid AirBnb for political reasons.

That's a tough one. Hopefully in a U town there should be more skilled educators used to working with more mature students?

As to the coach idea, you might have some luck broadening your search outside of the piano community. Someone that can listen with an ear to phrasing and musicality. Maybe a retired music director from the U?

I think if the rest of the world begins following Canada's example of consumer choice instead of official tariffs, that is something not easily undone by politicians.

I suppose all those seniors down there could work in the fields once their money is stolen and firmly in the rich pockets...

Republican planning: Bring back serfs!

Oh, I didn't think they were going to keep it online after the performance - cool!

Anyon have a chance to try it?

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250313-lithuanias-fermented-drink-to-ward-off-a-cold

"Dating back to ancient times, gira is more commonly known as kvass across north-eastern Europe where it can be made with grains, fruits or vegetables, and is widely popular in Baltic and Slavic countries where fermentation traditions run deep."

Wired has an article about this...

https://www.wired.com/2017/02/guide-getting-past-customs-digital-privacy-intact/?utm_brand=wired&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=social&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawJOqGFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHVAEmaYEp0dK2MEMYBl9tiRdON6T5Bv199F0cF1ONItGMgSYtzvYRDIGxA_aem_Zn2BI6pxtxNgXs4ifSFU_A

There is also a 2-2:30 preconcert talk from the woman that did all the work reassembling the score from the many fragments and books that Reicha left behind. (She's also the person that formed the choir 35 years ago!)

I sing with the Depaul University Community Chorus. Our concert of the rarely performed (Midwest premier?) Reicha Missa pro defunctis is tomorrow 3pm central time.
https://depaulcommunitychorus.org/reicha-missa-pro-defunctis/

There will be a livestream on the university YouTube channel if you would like to check us out and see if you can find me...

Down the rabbit hole - once you start doing SOME work, how much else should get done too? Steinway boards are compression crowned and notorious for losing life after a few decades, (especially in the melody section) so if you are going to replace the pinblock and have all the strings out, then what about the soundboard? You are entering "full rebuild" territory when you start considering pinblock replacement.

One option I know rebuilders use to continue using a pinblock (save money) is to remove all the pins, plug the holes and redrill to the standard sized tuning pins.

But back to the question. Pins are only slightly fatter and don't change anything with the scale. However if the pinblock is compromised, larger pins can act as wedges to cause more weakness. Again, they are only slightly larger so causing more problems is the rare occurance - usually a tech will see a line of pins that are loose, indicating a possible crack in the structure of the pinblock below and hesitate before putting much large pins in.

Another possible issue with reusing strings are if there is any micro-corrosion on them, it tends to add friction where the strings pass over felt - which can cause tuning stability issues.

CA treatment - there is still a wide range of tech opinions from "that's not a real repair" to "never had a problem after decades of use". Success sometimes depends on indoor humidity at the time of application(s)

Bottom line? If you like your tech who can work in your budget, follow that recommendation because they will be the one following up on care!

I don't know anything about burner phones but wondered...
If you use a sim card and swap it to another phone that only has what's needed for travel so the number stays the same, would that work?

Only use the Brave browser in private mode (or other) to access everything you need or do on the web? It would mean signing in every time...? That is, don't use any apps except what's needed for travel?

I don't know.

I recently saw an immigration lawyer recommending a "burner phone" for travel. Yes, apparently we've come to this...

About that capo section - Somewhere in the tenor/treble, the wires change from going through agraffes (or those little brass things with 1,2 or 3 holes) on the way from the tuning pins to the vibrating section of wires - to going under part of the cast iron of the plate, which provides the termination for the vibrating portion of the string. Cast iron is softer than the wires, so they dig in which can cause both sonic and tuning issues. To reshape that little rounded off section that all those wires cross is an important step in a quality restring.

I was never a fan of tapping in strings though it is one of the 'old school' techniques that many techs respect. Difficult to say why the glue treatment didn't work. On some brands there is difficulty getting the glue down to where it needs to go, but not Steinways. Often using a glue that isn't thin enough or putting too much on at once will seal the space between tuning pin and pinblock preventing subsequent applications - instead of soaking deeply into the wood. A few light applications over time seems to work better for me rather than trying to do a "quick fix" in one treatment.

There is a lot written on 'action balancing' by different techs, but David Stanwood is perhaps the best known for a system of measuring, changing leverage and weights to achieve a much smoother playing action. This goes beyond the traditional method of returning the action to factory specs. He even came up with an adjustable leverage concept making it possible to quickly adjust for a bit heavier or lighter feel. https://www.stanwoodpiano.com/

I had one of the local wiz kids who is a great stringer do just the top two treble sections of a 9' Yamaha that gets beat up in a church... that was $1200 without repinning, though he used more expensive (better for getting beat up) wire. I don't feel the $1800 was realistic and I'd be suspicious of the $2200 too! (But that might reflect Chicago prices. Decent bass strings aren't cheap even outside of Chicago) Or are they talking about reusing the strings!?! At a minimum, the cast iron (capo section) should be reshaped before stringing.

I know many techs are squeamish about cyanoacrylate (super glue) treatment of the pins on Steinways, but it may buy time to budget for more extensive work in the future. Done carefully by someone familiar with the process (and the thinnest, best quality glue) often leads to years if not decades of consistent tuning.
The thing is, there is probably more to be done over and above just restringing and repinning to get back to performance level, so while the strings are off that would be the time to dig deeper if needed.

Why pay researchers? We can do our own research online.... Republican think.

Makes for good TV...

Watch them call for Roberts impeachment next!