<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12pt"><div>you were more effective than you could have imagined . much better than 20 minutes of hands in hot water which remove the unnoticeable ( but noticeable when absent ) fluids from the finger tips. result : 10 minutes of slipping and sliding until they come back. in the absence of your kind services, a hairdryer works well. </div><div style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12pt"><br><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><hr size="1"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> Robert Merkin <bobmerk@earthlink.net><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> Discussion of the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. <f_minor@glenngould.org><br><b><span
style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Mon, June 28, 2010 1:35:09 PM<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> [f_minor] The Haptic & The Tactile [was:] Re: book<br></font><br>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New"></font> </div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New">Touch doesn't get nearly the respect and
attention it deserves; almost everybody takes it for granted.</font></div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New"></font> </div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New">Electronic Gizmo Guys & Gals of
the Old School used to scour their fingerpads with sandpaper to enhance
their touch sensitivity, for turning knobs ever so slightly -- trying
to tune in a hard-to-get Short Wave station. (These days, all the "vernier" --
teeny-tiny -- adjustments are done by digital computer arithmetic, so
0.000000005 is as easy to ask for as 0.5)</font></div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New"></font> </div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New">But obviously a fine keyboardist is going
to pay a lot of attention to his/her sense of touch, and grow more and more
conscious and observant of its nuances.</font></div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New"></font> </div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New">Once I was offstage next to a very talented
pianist about to perform, and she was very anxious and unhappy because her
hands were cold. I offered to warm them in mine, and she eagerly let me. It's
now clear how much keyboardists depend on tactile feedback -- all sorts of
information from their fingertips -- to play well, and depend
on tricks like sandpaper -- or a Hand-Warming Boy -- to play at their
best. GG also perceived that he was plagued by chilly hands.</font></div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New"></font> </div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New">The Oriental board game Go uses
a square wooden board, and players place stones -- small disks -- on
the intersections of the 19 x 19 rectangular lines.</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New">The board can cost $50,000 (or, if you
prefer, $50), and the most desired stones are polished slate
(black stones) and polished mother-of-pearl (white stones).</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New">Players love the distinctive KLIK
sound of stone placed on board, but they also love the fingertip feel of
placing the stone on the board. (If you close your eyes, a big Go
tournament sounds like a knitting convention.) Go is harder to
master than chess, and has sensory dimensions chess
lacks.</font></div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New"></font> </div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New">There's the exquisite mosaic beauty of the
stone pattern of a completed game -- some players say they often turn their
backs on winning to concentrate on cooperating with their opponent to
create a beautiful stone pattern, without a word
exchanged -- there's the hypnotic, reassuring KLIK sound, and the
lovely, satisfying tactile moment of placing each stone.</font></div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New"></font> </div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New">My philosophy professor shared bits of his
specialty, Medieval philosophy, and taught us why the palm of each hand has a
big M on it. Our hands are the instruments of almost every Sin we might be
contemplating. As we reach toward every Sin, we read one final
warning from God: Momento Mori -- Remember That You Will Die (and be
judged for your Sins).</font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New">Hope all are having a great Summer (or, in
the Antipodes, Winter), with lots of Haptic Fun. If ya know of any great live
performances upcoming in North America, give a shoutout.</font></div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New"></font> </div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New">Bob</font></div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
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<div style="FONT:10pt arial;">----- Original Message ----- </div>
<div style="FONT:10pt arial;BACKGROUND:#e4e4e4;"><b>From:</b>
<a rel="nofollow" title="velfred@sbcglobal.net" ymailto="mailto:velfred@sbcglobal.net" target="_blank" href="mailto:velfred@sbcglobal.net">velfred@sbcglobal.net</a> </div>
<div style="FONT:10pt arial;"><b>To:</b> <a rel="nofollow" title="f_minor@glenngould.org" ymailto="mailto:f_minor@glenngould.org" target="_blank" href="mailto:f_minor@glenngould.org">Discussion of the Canadian pianist Glenn
Gould.</a> </div>
<div style="FONT:10pt arial;"><b>Sent:</b> Monday, June 28, 2010 12:33
PM</div>
<div style="FONT:10pt arial;"><b>Subject:</b> Re: [f_minor] book</div>
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<div>Thank you very much for the explnation.</div>
<div>Fred<br><br>--- On <b>Mon, 6/28/10, michael macelletti <i><<a rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:mmacelletti@sbcglobal.net" target="_blank" href="mailto:mmacelletti@sbcglobal.net">mmacelletti@sbcglobal.net</a>></i></b>
wrote:<br></div>
<blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT:rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid;PADDING-LEFT:5px;MARGIN-LEFT:5px;"><br>From:
michael macelletti <<a rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:mmacelletti@sbcglobal.net" target="_blank" href="mailto:mmacelletti@sbcglobal.net">mmacelletti@sbcglobal.net</a>><br>Subject:
Re: [f_minor] book<br>To: "Robert Merkin" <<a rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:bobmerk@earthlink.net" target="_blank" href="mailto:bobmerk@earthlink.net">bobmerk@earthlink.net</a>>,
"Discussion of the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould." <<a rel="nofollow" ymailto="mailto:f_minor@glenngould.org" target="_blank" href="mailto:f_minor@glenngould.org">f_minor@glenngould.org</a>>,
"gail paynter" <gmadoodat@hotmail.com><br>Date: Monday, June 28,
2010, 7:53 AM<br><br>
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<div>sorry about getting a little excited about the word haptic,
but it does seem to provide the missing term which describes the type
of memory which most pianists use. ( and often with disastrous results
! ) and i'm happy to say, bob, that mr webster would
totally agree with you is his fine book. no difference to him either.
but , if i might be excused for a little personal
interpretation, there may be a great difference. the term
tactile seems to have been sullied by previous use, it's connection
with the " feel " of , say, a fabric or smooth piano keys. (
providing they aren't worn ivories ! ). haptic, on the
other hand, happily ( sorry about that ) because of it's lack of
familiarity, can easily make the bridge between touch and mind to my
way of thinking. it even sounds
psychological ! i mentioned
the disaster that can result in using this type of memory for a
concert. it's always a temptation to rely upon it because
most pianists will find that they can play a sonata without music (
and without mind !! ) in just a few months. then they try to play it
for a jury exam or recital, they start to " think " about the
connections, and lo and behold, all is lost. their hand memory,
or haptic memory was an illusion. and they slink away in
disgrace. </div>
<div>i have a feeling that gg relied upon this type of memory to a
certain extent, in addition to his using great additional analytical
skills. this might explain his shaking in bed on the afternoon before
a evening concert. ( i mean, there are rather more than a few
unnatural memory spots in the goldberg, as anybody would admit who
plays it ) it might also explain why he used the loud
vacuum cleaner to distract his mind temporally so that he
could get through the ascending sixths passage in the last
movement ( var 5 ) of op 109. ( when suddenly, one day, he
couldn't play it ! )</div>
<div>well, just a little digression on a day when it's honestly too
hot in connecticut to do anything but think and then bother the f
minors. stay cool if you happen to be on the unfortunate side
of the equator. </div>
<div style="FONT-FAMILY:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;FONT-SIZE:12pt;"><br>
<div style="FONT-FAMILY:times new roman, new york, times, serif;FONT-SIZE:12pt;"><font size="2" face="Tahoma">
<hr size="1">
<b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold;">From:</span></b> Robert Merkin
<bobmerk@earthlink.net><br><b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold;">To:</span></b> Discussion of the Canadian
pianist Glenn Gould. <f_minor@glenngould.org><br><b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold;">Sent:</span></b> Sun, June 27, 2010 11:39:10
PM<br><b><span style="FONT-WEIGHT:bold;">Subject:</span></b> Re:
[f_minor] book<br></font><br>
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<div><font size="4" face="Courier New"><strong>Thanks for the cool new
word! But ... how does "haptic" differ from
"tactile"?</strong></font></div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New"><strong></strong></font> </div>
<div><font size="4" face="Courier New"><strong>Bob</strong></font></div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<div><font size="2" face="Arial"></font> </div>
<blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT:#000000 2px solid;PADDING-LEFT:5px;PADDING-RIGHT:0px;MARGIN-LEFT:5px;MARGIN-RIGHT:0px;">
<div style="FONT:10pt arial;">----- Original Message ----- </div>
<div style="FONT:10pt arial;BACKGROUND:#e4e4e4;"><b>From:</b> <a rel="nofollow" title="mmacelletti@sbcglobal.net" target="_blank" href="http://us.mc824.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=mmacelletti@sbcglobal.net">michael macelletti</a>
</div>
<div style="FONT:10pt arial;"><b>To:</b> <a rel="nofollow" title="f_minor@glenngould.org" target="_blank" href="http://us.mc824.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=f_minor@glenngould.org">f_minor@glenngould.org</a> ;
<a rel="nofollow" title="gmadoodat@hotmail.com" target="_blank" href="http://us.mc824.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=gmadoodat@hotmail.com">gail paynter</a> </div>
<div style="FONT:10pt arial;"><b>Sent:</b> Sunday, June 27, 2010
9:30 PM</div>
<div style="FONT:10pt arial;"><b>Subject:</b> [f_minor] book</div>
<div><br></div>
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<div>a " must have " book for all gouldians : "
BRAVO FORTISSIMO " GLENN GOULD , THE MIND OF A CANADIAN VIRTUOSO ,
by helen mesaros. and , believe me, i've got them
all. this volume is a veritable treasury of minutiae.
i.e. where and when did he practice on the nassau trip. ( and who
was there to witness it. ) , where was he when his teacher died,
what bothered him the most about retirement. the word, haptic ( i
never saw it before! ) and the beethoven 5.
enjoy! </div>
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