Repertoire for "Testing" Pianos

[cforlana]

Hi,

I found this forum today, and what a great resource of information it is !    I wish I knew of it earlier 

My question is - what repertoire you use to test-drive pianos before buying one? I've read a book, which  suggested a list of pieces for this endeavour, but I forgot the title and the author. It was a while ago. Maybe someone knows which book I'm talking about.... Anyway, what pieces would you suggest I play? If you can please be specific (ie. Baroque vs. Bach Prelude 1 WTCII). I guess I should play one piece from every era, variate between fast and slow, what else?

thanks ;0

[daniloperusina]

Well...I've found that fast arpeggios, for example, tend to sound good on any piano. As does the Moonlight I.

I've found that Mozart A-major K331 is a real test! If a piano doesn't sound great within the first few seconds of that sonata, it's already doomed!

I've just found that Brahms' first ballade op 10 is a good test too. It's so sensitive in the beginning, and later on the piano's bass register gets a real good test.

Moonlight III and a page or so from Fantasie Impromptu are good for getting a feel for the action at fast speeds. If the action doesn't exhaust you, and the sound is detailed and smooth, it's a good indication.

Waldstein sonata. Is the piano capable of producing those repeated pianissimo chords in the beginning easily? Do they have the appropriate roundness, and are they fairly easy to control dynamically?

[mcgillcomposer]

Playing an actual piece is the last stage of testing a piano. You need to do several other tests beforehand - it's probably best to bring a competent technician with you. I always get a kick out of these 'prodigies' who come in and play the fastest piece they have learned to date.

[quantum]

I like going in with several categories to test.

Tone
Voicing
Projection
evenness of note execution
evenness of down stroke of one key
weight of action
evenness of action weight across keyboard
repetition
minimum key height for next repetition
feel of the action
ability to sing a melody on top
ability to sing a melody in the middle
quality of bass in harmonic structure
length of note body
bi chord / tri chord break
clarity and fullness of lowest bass notes
briliance of top most notes
non harsh and fullness of sound when playing loud
nuance and subtlety when playing soft
ability to change tone color and not just volume
color the una corda pedal contributes
various degrees of una corda application
fluidity in una corda shift mechanisim
ability to apply nuance with sustain pedal
how well fractional pedaling works
eveness of sostenuto letoff
tactile surface of keys (does it get slippery with sweat)
width of black keys (I like them fat)
sound with lid fully up and music rack down
ease of access to strings for 20th century plucking techniques
soft close fallbaord?
does music rack have multiple angles available?

[thalberg]

I play the ostinato from Rachmaninoff Bb prelude Op 23 no 2 as loud as I possibly can.  This is to see if the piano has an explosive bass.  It also tests the weight of the action because you're hitting tons of notes in a short time.

Then I play the beginning of Chopin Nocturne Op 27 no 2.  This is to test the beauty and resonance of the treble, to see how the piano can sing a melodic line.

Then I play some of the Berg Sonata.  The sharp dissonances in that piece really tell me a lot about the clarity of sound a piano has.

Then I play some Bach or Mozart to see if the piano can sound light and not tubby.

That is all.

[ahinton]

Playing an actual piece is the last stage of testing a piano. You need to do several other tests beforehand - it's probably best to bring a competent technician with you. I always get a kick out of these 'prodigies' who come in and play the fastest piece they have learned to date.

Quite right too!

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

I like going in with several categories to test.

Tone
Voicing
Projection
evenness of note execution
evenness of down stroke of one key
weight of action
evenness of action weight across keyboard
repetition
minimum key height for next repetition
feel of the action
ability to sing a melody on top
ability to sing a melody in the middle
quality of bass in harmonic structure
length of note body
bi chord / tri chord break
clarity and fullness of lowest bass notes
briliance of top most notes
non harsh and fullness of sound when playing loud
nuance and subtlety when playing soft
ability to change tone color and not just volume
color the una corda pedal contributes
various degrees of una corda application
fluidity in una corda shift mechanisim
ability to apply nuance with sustain pedal
how well fractional pedaling works
eveness of sostenuto letoff
tactile surface of keys (does it get slippery with sweat)
width of black keys (I like them fat)
sound with lid fully up and music rack down
ease of access to strings for 20th century plucking techniques
soft close fallbaord?
does music rack have multiple angles available?

A very sensible set of standards indeed - to which I might just add the ease of use of the middle pedal.

Best,

Alistair

[ahinton]

I play the ostinato from Rachmaninoff Bb prelude Op 23 no 2 as loud as I possibly can.  This is to see if the piano has an explosive bass.  It also tests the weight of the action because you're hitting tons of notes in a short time.

Then I play the beginning of Chopin Nocturne Op 27 no 2.  This is to test the beauty and resonance of the treble, to see how the piano can sing a melodic line.

Then I play some of the Berg Sonata.  The sharp dissonances in that piece really tell me a lot about the clarity of sound a piano has.

Then I play some Bach or Mozart to see if the piano can sound light and not tubby.

That is all.

I'd play some Alkan, Chopin/Godowsky and parts of Opus Clavicembalisticum and if these wouldn't reveal most of the virtues and vidces of the instrument I'm not quite sure what would; my remarks are hypothetical, of course, since I am not a pianist so wouldn't actually do this in practice, but that's what I'd do if I were one...

Best,

Alistair

[allthumbs]

I like going in with several categories to test.

Tone
Voicing
Projection
evenness of note execution
evenness of down stroke of one key
weight of action
evenness of action weight across keyboard
repetition
minimum key height for next repetition
feel of the action
ability to sing a melody on top
ability to sing a melody in the middle
quality of bass in harmonic structure
length of note body
bi chord / tri chord break
clarity and fullness of lowest bass notes
briliance of top most notes
non harsh and fullness of sound when playing loud
nuance and subtlety when playing soft
ability to change tone color and not just volume
color the una corda pedal contributes
various degrees of una corda application
fluidity in una corda shift mechanisim
ability to apply nuance with sustain pedal
how well fractional pedaling works
eveness of sostenuto letoff
tactile surface of keys (does it get slippery with sweat)
width of black keys (I like them fat)
sound with lid fully up and music rack down
ease of access to strings for 20th century plucking techniques
soft close fallboard?
does music rack have multiple angles available?

Oh, I like your list and Alistaire's addition.

I'm going to print it out and take it with me, when I go and hunt for my dream piano.


Cheers

allthumbs

[gyzzzmo]

Chopin's Nocturne op9 no 3 is THE way for me to test the overall sound. For the high octaves and lowest i just play some chords.