The Math of Pianos w/ Chris Brown
Christopher Brown joins us today, and he has mastered various skills like concert tuning, rebuilding, and teaching. He’s an engineer, piano designer, and producer. Chris believes that all piano technicians are somewhat gifted at math, and has been able to use high school algebra and geometry to create a model for the workings of a grand action. This helps him better understand what happens when you change the leverage in any of the three levers.
In this episode, Chris simplifies the geometry of the grand action and explains how it works. He uncovers his process of calculating the ratios, taking measurements, and building models to understand the build and working of pianos. He gives us interesting tips about the inner engineering of the pianos.
If you want to learn how to use math to understand pianos intuitively, this is the lecture for you. Tune in to hear Chris talk about how to solve problems with the knowledge of the internal workings of the pianos.
Here’s a little bit about our guest Chris Brown:
Chris Brown is a Registered Piano Technician of Grandwork Tools. He started his career as a piano technician in 1977. He is one of the leading piano technicians who master various skills like concert tuning, rebuilding, and teaching. He is also a college technician and private customer piano-care provider along with being a designer, engineer, and manufacturer.
𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍 𝐔𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓❗❗
In this episode, Chris simplifies the geometry of the grand action and explains how it works. He uncovers his process of calculating the ratios, taking measurements, and building models to understand the build and working of pianos. He gives us interesting tips about the inner engineering of the pianos.
If you want to learn how to use math to understand pianos intuitively, this is the lecture for you. Tune in to hear Chris talk about how to solve problems with the knowledge of the internal workings of the pianos.
Here’s a little bit about our guest Chris Brown:
Chris Brown is a Registered Piano Technician of Grandwork Tools. He started his career as a piano technician in 1977. He is one of the leading piano technicians who master various skills like concert tuning, rebuilding, and teaching. He is also a college technician and private customer piano-care provider along with being a designer, engineer, and manufacturer.
𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐍 𝐔𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓❗❗
Browse more masterclasses and lectures from Piano Tuning Pros here: https://www.pianotechniciansmasterclass.com/
Piano Tech Radio Hour is brought to you by Piano Technicians Master. We provide cutting-edge piano technology instruction from piano industry masters without leaving your home, featuring monthly subscriptions, conventions, single live streaming, and recorded masterclasses. Learn advanced skills:
- How to tune pianos.
- How to repair pianos.
- How to rebuild pianos.
- How to tune concert pianos for the finest performers in the world.
Creators and Guests
Host
David Andersen
David Andersen, owner of David Andersen pianos in Los Angeles has been a professional musician, recording artist, and piano technician/consultant for nearly four decades. He has overseen the restoration and maintenance of hundreds of Steinway and Mason & Hamlin pianos during that time. Beginning in 1975 he apprenticed for two and a half years under Jack Cofer in Atlanta, Georgia; during the 1980s he studied at Steinway facilities both in New York and London.
Host
Eathan Janney
Eathan has 20 years of experience as a piano technician. He studied with Dave Miller, the staff piano technician for the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, New Jersey. Dave Carpenter, the inventor of the Verituner electronic tuning device, provided mentorship for Eathan in Chicago. Eathan also worked with Ken Eschete and Bill Schwarts, the staff piano technicians at Northwestern University in Chicago. In 2009, he founded Floating Piano Factory of New York, a company that allows piano technicians to move from Apprentice to Craftsman level while offering value pricing to clients as technicians progress toward mastery. In 2017 he founded Piano Technicians Masterclasses, an online project designed to offer cutting-edge instruction from piano industry masters to anyone on the globe with an internet connection.
Guest
Chris Brown
Chris Brown is a Registered Piano Technician of Grandwork Tools. He started his career as a piano technician in 1977. He is one of the leading piano technicians who master various skills like concert tuning, rebuilding, and teaching. He is also a college technician and private customer piano-care provider along with being a designer, engineer and manufacturer.