The real issue- when you open the pedal, because of the nature of the coupling, of the string to the soundboard of the two pinned system, produces muddiness, because of complex counter-phasing issues at the point of enunciation of the sound We don’t pursue that whole ideology, we pursue vertical coupling and the vertical soundscape, they are very different concepts. Now that completely changes the way the wire behaves on excitation, and also on the attack and decay transients- are totally different to the standard piano, it leaves the sound spectrum totally clean, right through the frequency range, so you don’t get masking and all sorts of other what they call inharmonicity effects, from the vibration of the strings , so if you can wipe all those problems away, you can create these extreme frequencies, and not have tuning problems in the extreme ranges. 352
The Stuart agraffe vertical string coupling was found to affect a more significant vertical vibration of the piano string C2 65.406 Hz than the Steinway horizontal coupling in tests conducted previously in this research, see chapter two.
Piano sounds in the Jazz Trio
In responses to survey questions about the trio sound at concerts 2, 4 &5, overall 69% of participants described the Stuart piano sound as being ‘clearer’, more ‘distinct’ and with having more ‘projection’ than the Steinway sound. And 57% of participants’ written comments at these concerts used the attributes ‘clarity’, ‘definition’ and ‘resonant’ for affirmative descriptions of the Stuart sound with the jazz ensemble.
Piano sound in the jazz trio ensemble is blended within a complexity of the frequencies and dynamics of the double bass, and drum kit. The accentuated low frequencies of the double bass, the percussive attack and wash of the cymbals, and the explosive drum accents produce a complex and constantly changing spectra of ensemble sound which sets a challenging sonic environment for piano sound to interact with. The most obvious consideration is volume, particularly when the music is played at tempos upwards from M.M=120. At the moderate to bright tempos, the cymbals are struck by the tip of wooden drum sticks producing an immediate ‘bright’ attack and frequency that can’t be matched by piano sound. The walking notes of the bass at these tempos produce a constant deep and percussive harmonic spectra, with a powerful forward motion and density that also cannot be produced by piano sound. Both of these sounds are integral to the jazz ensemble sound. When the bass is ‘walking’ and the cymbals are ‘swinging’ the sound is unmistakably a jazz sound. With its continuous dense, wash of sound, and its relatively constant dynamic range, the rhythm section sound is a stylistic component of the repetitive nature of jazz, a music genre with dance origins. When the genre of jazz was spawning a myriad of styles, between the 1920s-80s, jazz pianists, many of them leaders of their ensembles, developed individual textural pianistic sounds to project their particular style and sound with the rhythm section353 . These pianistic sounds are still clearly identifiable as particular jazz piano styles and are blended into contemporary jazz piano styles in the 21st century. Some examples of these sound/styles are, i) the tremolos of Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines ii) the combined accentuated-tenuto ‘off ’ beats
352 10“Innovations In The Piano”.
353This information is general, and can be accessed in many literary and audio collections of jazz piano history. Such as: Gunther Schuller, The Swing Era (Oxford Universtiy Press 1989); Frank Tirro, Jazz A History, (Yale University, 1993) ; Len Lyons, The Great Jazz Pianists(Da Capo, 1989).