As some of you may know, Del Fandrich, one of our active contributing members has been working on bringing back a historic book called "Piano Tone Building". Del did the editing, and a lot of other work on the book (see below).

We've exchanged a few emails about this, and this weekend he let me know the book is ready and available.





I asked Del to give us the particulars, the following is from Del ...

From 1916 through 1919 a unique series of meetings were held in Chicago and New
York. The heads of piano factories, their supervisors and managers, suppliers
and technical experts all came together to discuss piano making during trying
times. (WW I was being waged through most of this period.) Piano Tone Building
is the stenographic record of those meetings.


Considered a standard reference to the piano industry for 85 years, Piano Tone
Building is out of print and good copies are hard to find. Demand for this work
remains high, and this new edition has been created in response. Containing all
of the original text, it has been edited, reformatted and set with
reader-friendly type.


This 2006 edition also contains explanatory notes throughout, bringing it up to
date and making it a useful and informative addition to any music library.


In addition to the technical community -- manufacturers, engineers and piano
technicians -- Piano Tone Building 2006 will intrigue everyone whose interest in
the piano goes beyond banging out a few tunes on the family upright (which may
well have been built while these meetings were going on).


That's the end of the cover copy.


This book has a long history. It was originally printed by the American Steel
and Wire Company, which sponsored the meetings. The original work was
subsequently reproduced and photographically reduced in size. Later on this
reduced-size book was again photographically reproduced for a third printing. As
you can imagine, each generation became somewhat harder to read. I've scanned it
and, with the help of my wife (the professional book editor), have corrected the
spelling and punctuation errors (hopefully, all of them), replaced a bunch of
missing words and redesigned the whole book with new type. I've added some 150
footnotes either explaining obscure passages or bringing things up to date. In
some cases correcting the mythology that was rampant throughout the industry at
the time.


The cost of the book is $45 (plus postage and handling) and it can be purchased
either from us (Fandrich Piano Company) or from the Piano Technicians Guild. The PTG takes credit cards, we
don't. So it might be more convenient for most folks to order from them. Their
phone number is 913-432-9975 and their e.mail address is ptg@ptg.org . My e.mail address is fandrich@pianobuilders.com .

Got my copy today.

Piano Tone Building
2006
Proceedings of the Piano Technician's Conferences
Chicago 1916, 1917, 1918
New York 1919

Reading the dialoge of the man at these historic meetings (Sept. 16, 1916 to May 15, 1918) makes you feel like you were there.

Del's annotations serve to clarify and further explain some of the topics being discussed, clear up some of the myths and in some cases, to relate them to things being done today.

I suspect you would need to have some interest in the mechanics of the piano to want to read the entire 383 page book.

For those who may be wondering if the book would be of interest to you, here are the chapter titles.. (the chapters all had sub descriptions and dates, each one was from a different days meeting).

1. What Tone Are We Striving For and Why
2. Composition of Tone
3. Effects of Hammer Felts and Tension
4. Hammers - From the Sheep to the Piano
5. Height of Keyboard and Hammer Felts
6. Peculiarities of Wound Strings
7. Engineering Problems in Piano Construction
8. Varnish
9. Qualities and Uses of Wood
10. Wood and the Piano Builders' Art
11. Problems of the Piano Action Maker
12. Mysteries of Glue
13. The Meeting of the Hammer and the Wire
14. After the Piano Leaves the Factory
15. Dinner and General Discussion
16. Sounding Boards
17. Sounding Boards (more)
18. Substitute Woods
19. Salesmen and Technicians Meet
20. Trade-in Pianos
21. Composition of Tone
22. The hammer and the Wire
23. Felt Resiliency
24. Mining Music
25. The Effect of Hammer and Wire Resiliency upon Tone Quality
26. The Finished Piano and the Tuner
27. Small Grand Construction
28. Resiliency of Piano Hammers
29. Dinner and General Review
30. First Meeting of the New York Piano Technicians
31. Tone Building
32. Bass Strings - Their Manufacture and Proper Use
33. Varnish
34. Piano Sounding Boards
35. Glue
36. Felt
37. Piano Plates
38 Small Grands
39. General Piano Construction
40. Piano Actions
41. Afterword

And we should buy it from...

Either of these...
------------------------------

The cost of the book is $45 (plus postage and handling) and it can be purchased
either from the Fandrich Piano Company or from the Piano Technicians Guild. The PTG takes credit cards, Fandrich Piano
doesn't. So it might be more convenient for most folks to order from the PTG. Their
phone number is 913-432-9975 and their e.mail address is ptg@ptg.org . Fandrich Piano e.mail address is fandrich@pianobuilders.com .
--------------------------------

congratulations, del!

i can't wait to read it.

i just ordered it. Thanks Del!

Dagnabit! I bought an original from Schaff's 20 years ago and lost it a few years back. Did a Barnes and Noble search found one and paid $77.00 for it. Should have waited.

I called the PTG number and they did not have it -- instead they simply ordered it from Del -- and then sent it on to me.

So for those of you who want to purchase it, might as well eliminate the "middle man" and go directly to the Source!

I purchased it as a Christmas gift for my piano technician -- and he was really PLEASED -- turns out he is a fan of Del Fandrich and goes to hear his lectures at various PTG seminars, etc.

Virginia (from Virginia)

I re read a chapter on Piano Salesman last night.

They were equating themselves to car salesman ...

in 1916 ... car salesman were already established

.........

Congratulations, Del!

Jeanne W

P.S. You should write your OWN book!

P.P.S. I'm curious to know if the chapter on "varnish" mentions anything about its affect on the piano's sound, as once was heavily debated here on piano world. (varnish, clear coat, etc.)

Congratulations, Del. I look forward to reading the book (again... I had a copy a long time ago). Thanks for taking me on as a student back in 1984! I owe you.

Hi Mark,

Nice to hear from you! And how's the family?

When I think about the time you were in my shop it seems like it was just a little while back. And then you go and say 1984 and I remember it was over twenty years ago. Argh!

Del

I'm going to revive this old thread, as I just received a copy of this book and it is fantastic!

How fortunate I am to have the opportunity to "attend" these meetings and understand how the piano is built and why. To catch a glimpse into the intentions and objectives of how this instrument is designed to perform is invaluable, for both pianists and technicians alike.

Very good book. Very well formatted and annotated. A must buy for anyone interested in the piano!

I am impressed on the staggering number and quality of attendants to these meetings. You really see what the whole industry's view of the piano is, and what they believe it is intended to do.

And I agree with Jeanne W; you should write your own book Del. I would purchase it in a heart beat.