Regulating the piano with the practice pedal on

[persona]

Can this be done? I find the action quite uneven when I play with the practice pedal on (which is most of the times). Is it possible to have the mechanism of the piano specifically regulated to work with the practice pedal on? I really don't care how it works (or sounds) without it, since the piano is in my house and it's never used for live performances.

[richard black]

The damper pedal is the sustain pedal. I take it you don't mean that, so which one do you mean - the una corda or the practice pedal on an upright?

[persona]

Sorry, I meant the practice pedal on an upright (English is not my native tongue)

[birba]

It's not good to get used to practising with that "practise" pedal.  There's no way to work on tone and coloring.  Maybe once in a while to test your memory, or passageworks.  But don't make it a habit.

[persona]

I know it's not ideal, but it's all I have right now. My goal is to learn as much as I can about the basics using the practice pedal, ie, hand posture, wrist posture, finger relaxation, and the "skeletom" of the pieces (I mean, just the notes). When I can afford a place of my own (someday... who knows) then I'll be able to play the way one is supposed to, and work on expressiveness and all that.

[persona]

I know it's not ideal, but it's all I have right now. My goal is to learn as much as I can about the basics using the practice pedal, ie, hand posture, wrist posture, finger relaxation, and the "skeletom" of the pieces (I mean, just the notes). When I can afford a place of my own (someday... who knows) then I'll be able to play the way one is supposed to, and work on expressiveness and all that.

[richard black]

The practice pedal doesn't affect the touch in a literal sense, all it does is affect the way you perceive the touch in relation to the sound, because the sound is all it alters. The problem is that the felt strip that the practice pedal brings between the hammers and the strings is worn out unevenly, so you simply need that replacing. I understand it's quite hard to get a replacement, but if you can find one and get it fitted that's the only thing you need to do. Adjusting the action is irrelevant in this case.

[persona]

I don't fully agree, but I know hardly anything about the mechanics of the piano, so perhapps I'm just talking nonsense here, but bare with me. As I understand, the hammer at some point of it's journey to the string is supposed to be set "loose" from the key, and keep moving with it's inertia until it hits the string. Now, if the hammer hits the felt strip before it is let loose, then the touch should feel very different indeed, and not only the sound. This is what I think of why playing with the practice pedal feels so different. Let me remind you, I'm just guessing here.

On the other hand, I agree with your signature completely. Instrumentalists are all wannabe singers. Wind instruments are the most obvious examples of this. They let you sing through the instrument. The rest, are basically the same thing.

[birba]

The practice pedal doesn't affect the touch in a literal sense, all it does is affect the way you perceive the touch in relation to the sound, because the sound is all it alters.

And that's exactly why you shouldn't overuse the practise pedal.  By altering the sound, you get the wrong feedback.  How are you to know how to play p, pp, mp, mf, not to mention a myriad of colors like dolcissimo, sottovoce, leggero, etc. etc.  It's impossible.  I had the fortune-misfortune to practise on an upright for 1 year and a half before my diploma.  An upright that not only had NO practise pedal but was so light just lightly touching the keys made them go down.  It was very frustrating.  BUT, when I was able to play on a normal piano, all the dynamics and colors seemed to come out by themselves.  Horowitz had one of his pianos regulated to just this type of touch so that HIS touch became super sensitive.  There's nothing wrong with the practise pedal for technical passages and memory, but that's ALL it's good for.

[persona]

There's nothing wrong with the practise pedal for technical passages and memory, but that's ALL it's good for.

Well, that's all I aim to learn at the moment. But still, I do belive that the practice pedal alters the touch.

[birba]

Of course it does!

[richard black]

Now, if the hammer hits the felt strip before it is let loose

It shouldn't but actually, thinking about real-world well-used pianos I've been inside, it probably does in some cases so you may have a point! The felt strip gets bent out of shape after a bit of use and sits quite a long way in front of the strings rather than almost touching them.