At 08:24 AM 11/25/2005, you wrote: >John Dorr asked: " >In your experience and philosophy can different pianists create different >tones on the same piano, at the same volume (velocity of the hammer striking >the strings) with different touch techniques? John, This is an interesting topic to me, as I have experienced this effect very decisively under different circumstances. When I was in college studying music I used to feel that tone could not be changed by how one played, but over time I have come to the opposite conclusion. The first effective demonstration was at a piano competition, on piano selection day. All of the piano technicians nervously sit in the audience while the competitors move from piano to piano and decide in the space of 20 - 30 minutes which piano to use. So in a short time I could hear multiple pianists play the same 5 pianos, and wow do the pianos sound different with different pianists! The effect is not at all subtle - a particular piano can sound horrible with one player, then the next player will make it sound wonderful. Some of this is not simply how each key is pressed. How the pedal is used, how the notes are connected for legato play, and how chords are voiced all make a tremendous difference in the tone, and are all simple to explain. There are more differences in the overall tone quality, though, that comes from the playing of the key itself. One pianist can make a very fine piano sound thin and harsh and short toned, while the next can make it sound warm and lush and singing. Another demonstration was done at the Kawai laboratory which was more scientific. A concert grand was set up in the anechoic chamber with a mechanical playing device. The piano was digitally recorded at a variety of volume level with a machine playing the key. The machine produced a very hard, unyielding blow on the key, from soft to loud. Next a pianist sat at the same piano in the same room, and played the same note at varying loudness levels. This was also recorded. The resulting recorded notes were then matched up for precise volume levels and compared. The two different tones sounded like different pianos, and their spectrum display (actually a "waterfall" style display showing the sound across a range of frequencies and over time to show the decay) was clearly different. When tuning you will find this happening, especially in the mid to upper treble. When measuring a piano using Cybertuner, for instance, it is sometimes possible to find a particular style of key playing that produces a clearer tone with better sustain. I can't describe how the keystroke is done, exactly, but it is firm without being hard. And it changes with different pianos. The best explanation I have for why there are differences comes from seeing how hammer shanks flex and hammer heads vibrate on the way up to the string in slow motion films (those of you who have seen my Kawai action seminar know what I'm talking about). Given that a particular hammer velocity should produce a given volume level from the piano, how the hammer is accelerated to that velocity will affect the shank flex and hammer head vibration, and therefore the tone will be different. A pliable touch will accelerate the hammer slowly at first, reaching the target velocity just at letoff. A hard and unyielding touch will accelerate the hammer more suddenly, causing more shank flex and more head vibration, which will affect the tone because of the way the hammer head is moving as it hits the string. Another side of the tone picture is the contribution of various other noises in the action to the tone. The thump of the key at the bottom definitely contributes to the tone quality, for instance. The vibration of the hammer head after impact produces a definite knock that we perceive as part of the piano tone (and this is affected by the shank stiffness near the hammer head along with the glue collar size, as well as hammer rail design, etc.). A pianist who plays hard but not deep will create different noise in a particular action, so the tone will be perceived as different. Action centers have a great affect on tone - and when considering the hammer head movement towards the string, one can understand why. But more than simply loose or tight, the hardness of the bushing and the flex of the hammer flange at the birds-eye affect how controlled the hammer is and any side-to-side vibration of the head. So, piano tone production is horribly complex in it's makeup, and one can get lost trying to take into account everything that goes into it. All of these factors do contribute very strongly to not only the type of tone produced by each pianist, but also how each pianist can have a particular style of action (including centers, keys, key punchings, shank stiffness, hammer weight and hardness, etc. etc. etc.) that will work best for their style of play. Piano teachers tend to become especially sensitive to this, as they hear many different students on the same piano making different tone. They may not be able to defend the idea conceptually, but they will relate it experientially with great conviction! I think I sense a new PTG seminar in the works here. I'll give this more thought . . . Don Mannino RPT
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