Body and Soul

p. 97

Pianist, teacher, Mr. Fredericks speaks: “The louder [music] gets, the less important are the degrees of separation. How useful is the difference between a triple forte and a quadruple forte, after all? Not much. And then, you can over hit the [piano] only so hard before the strings start breaking. No, it’s the other end that particularly deserves our attention. The quieter you play, the more important are the degrees of separation. The human ear can discern the difference between triple pianissimo and quadruple pianissimo quite easily.”