About the Book and DVD

The Voice of the Piano is unique in that it is the only book devoted entirely to piano hammers and voicing. Veteran concert technician, “tone warrior” and self-professed “hammer man” André Oorebeek does what no other world class voicing technician has done before: he takes us behind the scenes and creates for us a step-by-step map for the complete voicing process of piano hammers.

The book includes:

• information on hammer felt making and hammer pressing
• anatomy of the piano hammer
• description of the required tools and materials and how to use and apply them
• where and how to needle to achieve the desired effect
• what to watch and listen and feel for
• how to work the hammers with files, needles and other tools.

Oorebeek leads the reader through the voicing process in detail. It is not just the hammers that are the focus of a skilled voicer; the strings, soundboard, the regulation, the whole instrument as well as the acoustic space and the owner’s preferences and idiosyncrasies must all be taken into account. Indeed, this is the holistic approach to voicing.

Of special note is the included DVD/Digital Video: 45 minutes of real voicing instruction, not just supporting the information in the book but also showing many tricks and skills that cannot readily be described accurately. One can literally watch as the piano tone develops from a raw sound to a dignified blend of “power and silk”, as the author calls it.

The author holds back no secrets. Everything is spelled out very clearly in this engaging book.

Not a “print-on-demand” product, The Voice of the Piano is ink printed on quality gloss paper (60% post-consumer waste) with lavish color photos and a hard cover binding.