Dearest pianoexpert, I wish to ask you a few little things about piano mechanics.. why do the hammers of a grand piano have a shank that is not cylindrical like that of an upright, why does the head of the grand piano hammer have a tapered "tail".. and the upright one does not!! Does the tip of the hammer core also have the important function of balancing the core-hammer system?
Could you later, if possible, show the workings of the pedal mechanisms in grand and upright pianos, on what they act and in what way to obtain forte, piano, sostenuto, and soft/mute?
THANK YOU again and once more compliments for your and our site pianoconcerto.it
The difference between the shapes of the shanks depends on the deformation they undergo at the moment of impact. If we could see the slowing movement, we would see two completely different situations.
No regulation of the jack.
Obviously, the tails of the bass hammers are tapered to allow the repetition lever to receive them without hitting them during the upward stroke. The tapering of the tails also offers the possibility to increase or decrease the hammer weight, with a consequent relationship to the key weight. (1 gram on the hammer is equivalent to approximately 6g on the key)
