The proper touch on your piano depends on it being regulated. To many pianists, a piano's touch is as important as its tone. Touch refers to the efficiency and responsiveness of the mechanical action of the piano, and is what is responsible for giving a piano its full range of power from the silkiest of pianissimos to the crashing double forte. When a piano begins to lose its mechanical efficiency, it is said to have gone out of regulation. Exacting measurements and corresponding adjustments are needed to put a piano back into regulation. The adjustments of your piano action related to touch have not been attended to recently and are causing the piano to be less than responsive. A job of regulation is in order.
What exactly would cause a piano to go out of regulation? Weren't necessary adjustments set at the factory?
To a greater or lesser degree your piano would have been regulated at the factory where it was built. Fine quality instruments obviously receive more attention than models on the low end of the price spectrum, and as such have a better touch from the beginning, but even the finest quality piano will go out of regulation over time. To understand the complexity of the grand piano action and the primary cause of an action going out of regulation, consider the cut-away photo of the working mechanism (action) of a grand piano on the next page.
The action of a grand piano is truly a mechanical marvel.
Even though it was perfected before the turn of the last century, its remarkable design is still in use today. Although the operation of a grand piano may seem simple from the outside, inside it is in fact highly complex. Just as an accomplished athlete can make a difficult skill "look easy," the efficiency of the grand piano action makes a very complicated set of motions seem simple. In fact, it is anything but simple. When a note on your piano is played, the energy from your finger instantly puts a carefully balanced system of levers and springs into motion. Five pivot points simultaneously swing the combination of parts into action. Felt cushions at all contact points prevent action noise from intruding upon the music produced.
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