Piano Touch and Tone

When we listen to several different pianists perform music, often our descriptors mention timbre or tone. Phrases such as "they have a beautiful singing tone" and "their ability to bring different colours out of the piano" are often heard. However, in physics and acoustics, it has long been the statement that pianists only have control over timing and key velocity i.e. loudness. So where does this tone come from?

Pianists and piano teachers alike talk of different types of "touch" whether it be using different parts of the arm to provide weight to the fingers, or using different parts of the fingertip or pad to produce a sound. What are the physical implications of these different types of touch?

Studies of body movement in musical performance and theories of embodiment suggest that the body is used as a mediator for the performer in order to transmit their thoughts about the music to the musical instrument in order to produce the desired sound. So what do these particular finger movements look like? And do they have connections to the produced sound for any one particular performer?

Aims

This project aims to examine current teaching methods relating to piano touch technique and to examine the physical, physiological and psychological contributions of fingering technique to the produced sound.

Methods

The first stage will consist of surveys of current experienced piano teachers at international institutions for their opinions and methods on the techniques in playing the piano with different parts /weights of the finger.

The second stage will consist of recordings through motion capture and MIDI devices which together will record each finger movement as well as the changes in velocity of the key and the associated hammer. These tests will hopefully shed light on the implications of different types of "touch" in piano performance,

Publications

MacRitchie, J. (2011) "Exploring Piano Touch through Measurements of Finger Curvature" Performa '11 Conference, Aveiro, Portugal