Light action or stiff action???

[lisztisforkids]

Put.Put.  

[pabst]

i study countless hours on a stiff action and when i feel like im ready, i play on a light one, the result is just amazing.

[mig]

I hate light action, but it's a pain to play Chopin's 23-11 on the Yamaha grand at my uni, which has the deepest, wettest, heaviest, and stiffest action I have ever played. But I preffer stiff over light.

[BoliverAllmon]

rock hard to practice, medium to perform.

[zheer]

I think Franz Lizt would practice the piano with stiff action, and continue as he put it till his fingers can move no more.

[arensky]

rock hard to practice, medium to perform.

The same for me.

[donjuan]

light actions piss me off so much because if I am at all shaky out of nervousness, I lose all control of the speed and tone right away....
The whole performance is shot thereafter

[BoliverAllmon]

I agree. Nervouseness kills anyone on a light piano.

[invictus]

I would definately prefer stiff action even though they are torture to the fingers, I have a yamaha U3, and it is deceptively light, and i hate it. It is just so light, that, i hate it

[BoliverAllmon]

how much can a technician really change the weight of the keys?

[g_s_223]

I would definately prefer stiff action even though they are torture to the fingers, I have a yamaha U3, and it is deceptively light, and i hate it. It is just so light, that, i hate it

The older U3's used to have really heavy actions - I had one and it was a pain. I wonder if they changed them at some point...

[ahmedito]

I play better on pianos with stiff action. I hate pianos with light action, because for me, the real problem is lifting the fingers off the keys, not pressing them down. And I think stiffer actions give me better control than lighter keyboards.

I dont mean rock hard, just a little on the stiff side, I like to feel the need for weight to play.

[ted]

I too prefer a heavy action for reasons of control and dynamics, especially in the p - ppp range. I hate that feeling of having everything run away with me which occurs with a light action. I usually set my practice clavier at around five ounces - enough to exceed that of any piano but not enough to risk spoiling my touch.

[zheer]

I too prefer a heavy action for reasons of control and dynamics, especially in the p - ppp range. I hate that feeling of having everything run away with me which occurs with a light action. I usually set my practice clavier at around five ounces - enough to exceed that of any piano but not enough to risk spoiling my touch.

Sounds like an intresting piano.

[quantum]

Stiffer, but not clunky hard as some older Kawai's had.  I'd say stiff but extreemly responsive.  Too heavy and playing becomes labourous, too light and you can't feel what your fingers are doing. 

[danyal]

I practise on a stiff(ish) piano. Or I like to practise stiffer because it teaches me more discipline when it comes to finger control (and strength) , evenness, perfection etc (I am an absolute nazi with myself when it comes to perfection on the piano) So once I have practised on a stiff piano for weeks and weeks and I play the piece on a light action piano... It is INCREDIBLE. It feels like someone has let me out of a cage to run free. And everything is perfect!! It just all falls into place so nicely! I can play the music through without having to worry or struggle with the technical aspects (because they have been covered in my stiffer practising).

I wouldn't want to imagine what it would be like practising on a light piano then trying to play the piece on a heavier one. It'd be HELL! And very very messy I suppose...

The pianos we are given to practise on at school are of really REALLY bad quality (there have even been jokes going around that they are actually just firewood and that the real pianos are sitting somewhere else). The teachers "consoling advice" to us is that, if we can play on these we can play on anything. I think I'm actually starting to believe them.

[dinosaurtales]

I prefer a lighter action on pianos, stiffer action on men.   

[faulty_damper]

This topic is about the touch weight, not the weight of the action, which are different things.

Light touch or heavy would be correct.

[arensky]

rock hard to practice, medium to perform.

I like the same.

[ted]

Dinosaurtales:

It was only a matter of time, given the title; I'm amazed it took a week.