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Transcriber’s Note
The original contains inconsistent hyphenation; this has been preserved.
Obvious printer’s errors have been corrected; a full list is available at
the end of this book. [-] is used for a minus sign.
William B. White
Theory and Practice of
PIANO CONSTRUCTION
With a Detailed, Practical
Method for Tuning
Dover Publications, Inc.
New York
Published in Canada by General Publishing Company, Ltd., 30 Lesmill
Road, Don Mills, Toronto, Ontario.
Published in the United Kingdom by Constable and Company, Ltd., 10
Orange Street, London WC 2.
This Dover edition, first published in 1975, is an unabridged and
unaltered republication of the work originally published by Edward
Lyman Bill, Publisher, New York, in 1906 under the title _Theory and
Practice of Pianoforte Building_.
_International Standard Book Number: 0-486-23139-9_
_Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 74-78811_
Manufactured in the United States of America
Dover Publications, Inc.
180 Varick Street
New York, N.Y. 10014
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Some Remarks by the Publisher 5
Introductory Remarks 9
The Evolution of the Modern Pianoforte 13
Description of the Modern Pianoforte 23
Acoustical Laws of Sounding Strings 28
The Musical Scale and Musical Intonation 36
The Equal Temperament 44
Pianoforte Strings and Their Proper Dimensions 48
Resonance and the Resonance-Apparatus of the Pianoforte 58
The Casing and Framing of the Pianoforte 67
The Iron Frame of the Pianoforte 79
The Mechanism of Percussion 92
The Touch Mechanism 96
The Regulation of Pianoforte Touch-Mechanism 113
Tuning and Tone Regulation of the Pianoforte 122
The Draughting of the Pianoforte Scale 135
Conclusion 139
Appendix A--Development of Player Piano 144
Appendix B--The Small Grand 153
SOME REMARKS BY THE PUBLISHER.
For many years we have been receiving at the office of The Music Trade
Review constant inquiries for sources from which information might be
gleaned regarding the theory and practice of tone production as applied
to the piano. It has therefore been obvious to all who have given this
subject the slightest consideration that there has been a lack of book
information which should be at the hand of the student and the seeker
of knowledge regarding scale draughting and other essentials relating
to piano construction. Some years ago, after careful consideration of
this subject, special topics along these lines were assigned to the
author of this work, who was well fitted for the task before him, and
as a result of more than two years of conscientious study and research,
the “Theory and Practice of Pianoforte Building” is put forth as
representing in a concrete form a work of technical knowledge which
hitherto has been unobtainable to the student.
The necessity of acquiring some knowledge of the principles of
mechanics before proceeding to the study of scale design is admitted.
Such knowledge, together with that of the principles of the acoustics
as they apply to musical sounds produced by vibrating strings,
is essential to a correct understanding of the fundamental ideas
underlying true pianoforte design.
To know a piano accurately one must understand the laws governing tone
quality, and how the propagation and transmission of sound is produced
as well as the pitch and intensity of sound. And there are thousands
of men to-day in the various factories who are anxious to obtain
sources of information from which to gain a more correct knowledge of a
profession which should take high rank among industrial pursuits.
Owing to the gradual changes which have been wrought in all industries
through the abandonment of the apprentice system, there is more need
for instruction books than ever before.
A factory operative, according to the present plan, may know thoroughly
but one department of the business, but he can become more useful
to himself and his employers when he possesses a knowledge of all
branches. In the piano trade particularly there must be a correct
knowledge of piano building, else there can be no advance, and with
our old piano makers rapidly passing away there is need for a healthy
school of new inventors, so that wherever possible, improvements may
be made and defects remedied. These can only be accomplished by the
possession of a knowledge of all the intricate principles involved in
piano making.
We feel that in presenting a work of this kind we are offering a
volume which will meet with the approval of those who seek knowledge,
for while there are great trade and technical schools which are the
fountains of inspiration for various trades, the science of piano
making is not included as a branch in any of them. It is therefore
evident that knowledge must be gained outside, for piano schools there
are none. To every mind seeking information there should be knowledge
given, and we believe that a work of this kind must be of value to an
industry wherein there is such a dearth of reliable text books.
It will be seen by examination that all of the practical problems which
are to be considered by the scale draughtsmen have been fairly treated
in this volume and yet the desire of the author has been throughout to
avoid tiresome details. Condensation is one of the recognized laws of
our day, and in producing this technical work the author has labored
to create a volume of convenient size which shall be of service to
the student, and to the advanced thinker as well, on account of the
accuracy with which the subjects are treated.
This book is not in the remotest sense a history of piano building
or development, and it should not be so considered; in fact it has
been deemed wise to dip into historical matters only to the extent of
showing the application of an enduring principle rather than to give
credit to a number of deserving inventors who have worked along special
lines. A treatment of worthy inventions would require a much larger
volume than this; and while there are many inventors who have given to
the world special devices of value, it has not been considered timely
to describe them in this volume or to enter into an exposé of their
merits or demerits. We may say that this is not a critical work but
rather one which we trust may be eminently practical in its mission as
an instructive and an educational force.
We may add in closing that the “Theory and Practice of Pianoforte
Building” is the only work of its kind ever put forth in the English
language, and we have every confidence that it will find a growing
demand among music trade people everywhere.
EDWARD LYMAN BILL.
Editorial Rooms,
_The Music Trade Review_,
NEW YORK, May, 1906.
THEORY AND PRACTICE OF PIANOFORTE BUILDING.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
The development of the modern American pianoforte presents a most
interesting study to the practical member of the musical industries
as well as to the pianist. For it is possible to view the subject
with equal facility from the standpoints of both. Descended through a
clearly defined line of ancestry from the ancient psaltery, and showing
traces of the various steps in its evolution throughout its entire
modern form, the pianoforte of to-day is essentially the product of all
the ages. There have not been wanting a sufficient number of writers
upon the history and ancestry of the instrument; but an exposition
of the correct principles of design has not hitherto appeared in the
English language, at least in a form that possesses permanent value
to the American manufacturer. The once classic work of Rimbault
is obsolete to-day, even in Europe; while, on the other hand, the
various German treatises have been difficult to obtain and necessarily
limited in their appeal to an English speaking people, nor have any
satisfactory translations of any of them yet been put forth.
Furthermore, the evolution of pianoforte building in this country has
proceeded along characteristically American lines and has resulted in
the existence to-day of a peculiarly national, advanced and complex
type. American pianofortes are universally acknowledged to stand among
the highest developments of applied musical craftsmanship, and artists
of every degree have willingly given their assent to every claim that
has been made for the instruments.
While, however, these facts are easily demonstrable, it would be
by no means correct to suppose that the development of the American
types of pianoforte has been materially assisted by even a respectable
minority of those who have been engaged in constructing them. On the
contrary, the magnificent examples of the musical instrument maker’s
art that grace the homes of musicians and people of culture throughout
the United States owe their present high excellence to the labors and
skill of a small band of enthusiastic and clever workers. The names of
William Hawkins, Jonas Chickering, and Henry Engelhard Steinway should
be written in letters of gold above the doors of all institutions
devoted to the creation of artistic pianofortes. For it is to the
earnest labor and untiring enthusiasm of these men and a few others,
working alone and unassisted, that the modern American instrument owes
its present proud position.
And this state of affairs has continued to exist until the present
day. There are, as there have always been, a few talented and skilful
men who have never been content to rest upon their laurels or to
desist from continual labor along the lines of musical and mechanical
betterment; but such as they stand, and have always stood, alone. The
great majority have been glad to accept the improvements of their
preceding or contemporaneous masters after the commercial value of the
innovations has been demonstrated; but they have always lacked the
audacity or capability to strike out into new fields and untrodden
pathways.
We may, however, discern a sufficient reason for this timidity on the
part of pianoforte makers. The principles that underly the design of
the instrument are primarily acoustical. They have never been very
easily digested, either by the mechanic or by the man of affairs. And
since a knowledge of acoustics has been profoundly developed only
within the last sixty years or so, it follows that its application
to the design of musical instruments has naturally lagged behind the
progress of the science itself. Pianoforte makers are not usually
professing scientists or practical musicians; and they have discerned
little profit in attempting to keep up with the trend of modern
acoustical research, even so far as this has directly affected the
principles of musical instrument construction.
The development of the pianoforte has, in fact, proceeded empirically,
and has been prosecuted inductively rather than from any _a priori_
notions. And while we cannot withhold our admiration from the splendid
success that has attended so much of this empirical research, we
cannot be blind to the fact that very many modern pianofortes exhibit
clearly the inherent defects of such methods. The practical musical
mechanician, if he possess the requisite knowledge, is often able
to remedy existing faults in tone quality and tone-production. And
while studying ways and means for doing this, he cannot but observe
innumerable cases of neglected opportunities, or even of positive
mistakes. The pure empirical method must always produce a large number
of failures. Yet the application of even the elementary principles of
Applied Acoustics would frequently prevent the commission of serious
sins in design. It is not necessary, of course, that every scale
draughtsman or designer should have the results of modern acoustical
discovery at his fingers’ ends; but it is here insisted that such
knowledge, in so far as it relates to musical instruments, is essential
to the correct construction of pianofortes.
Tone-production, otherwise than by the human voice, implies both
scientific and mechanical problems. Especially is this true of
the pianoforte, which, with the exception of the pipe organ, may
properly be considered the most complex of artificial devices for the
performance of music.
Recognition of this truth and a general improvement in the knowledge of
the acoustical and musical principles involved cannot fail to exercise
a most beneficial influence upon the future of the American pianoforte.
As has already been remarked, there is a dearth of convenient treatises
in the English language that can be said to possess a present value
to the earnest student of pianoforte design. The present book is an
attempt in the direction of supplying the deficiency. The author has
aimed at presenting the various problems pertaining to the art of
pianoforte construction with due regard both to their acoustical and
mechanical features. No attempt has been made to delve profoundly into
the mysteries of sound; but the elementary and basic principles of
tone-production have been stated, and their true application to the
various stages of pianoforte construction explained. Each step in the
making of a pianoforte from beginning to completion has been subjected
to analysis, and the correct principles pointed out.
The author believes that the book may be read and comprehended, even
by one to whom the very term acoustics has hitherto been unfamiliar.
While he does not expect that a study of this book can make the
novice a full-fledged scale draughtsman, as it were, overnight, he
does expect, on the other hand, to assist those who have already
investigated, or who intend to investigate the whole problem, to a
clearer and broader comprehension of a beautiful art. If this hope be
gratified, much will have been achieved, and no one who has at heart
the future of musical industry in America can fail to be encouraged, if
nothing else, by the appearance of this condensed work.
The general outline of the book can be explained with little detail.
Recognizing, as has already been suggested, the dependence of all right
pianoforte making upon the observance of the established principles of
acoustics, the author has thought it well, after a short historical
sketch of the pianoforte, to make a general statement of the laws that
govern the propagation and transmission of sound. It is but a step
from this to a concise explanation of the peculiarities of stretched
strings and their behavior under varying conditions of excitation,
and differing phases of tension, etc. This leads us directly to the
discussion of pianoforte strings, their dimensions, and the manner in
which they become the agents of sound-production in the instrument.
Continuing our investigations, we pass to the subject of resonance
and come naturally to a discussion of the resonating apparatus of the
pianoforte.
The framing that holds together these two vital elements is next
subjected to analysis and explanation, and finally the mechanisms
of percussion and touch are brought under our inquiry and their
peculiarities noted and expounded. The remarks upon the draughting of
pianoforte scales, that conclude the volume, are necessarily broad and
general, since it is quite impossible to indicate with exactitude the
actual method to be employed in making mechanical drawings, at least
within the limits that the relative importance of the subject imposes
on us. Attention has been drawn more particularly to the calculations
for shrinkage that are rendered necessary by the vagaries of cast iron,
such as is used in the manufacture of metal frames, and to the details
of hammer-stroke points and string dimensions, the principles of which
have been explained in their proper places within the body of the work.