What makes a beautiful sound?

[go12_3]

As pianists  in creating a beautiful sound depends upon a few factors.  One of them is how we strike the keys, in order to produce a good sound that would be pleasant to the listener.  I have noticed that each of my students have varying degrees of touch, this is how their fingers strike, hit, or press the keys down.  Some create a harsher sound than others.  However, in time, and with proper instruction, the fingers will be more familiar with the keyboard and how it fits as the fingers strike the keys.  Also, the ears is an important factor in learning to produce such a beautiful sound and as we may recall when we were beginning to play piano, that it requires practice, time and patience to produce the sound that fills the room or recital hall with awe.  The pedaling only enhances the sounds that prolongs the harmonies or passages in the piece.  However, over doing the pedaling will make the notes blur unless it's a piece that requires a full pedal(and that can be another topic for discussion!).  Anyhow, the main thing is how we interpret the music by using a good touch upon the keys and listening to how the sound when it fills the room.  go12_3

[csharp_minor]

Hi !

For me I think it’s the subtitles in the nuances caused by the natural strength in each finger, and the way the piano behaves in real time unlike a digital instrument that can only use a limited amount of sound samples. It’s probably also the way each of us has a different sense of touch that makes different performances more appealing them others. This quote from Chopin’s method that he sadly never finished sums up what I also agree with :


‘...the goal is not to play everything with an equal sound. A well formed technique, it seems to me is one that can control and vary a beautiful sound quality. For a long time we have been acting against nature by training our fingers to be all equally powerful. As each finger is differently formed it’s better not to destroy the charm of each ones touch but to develop it.’

Eigerldinger . Chopin Pianist and teacher as seen by his pupils. Cambridge University press.  pp 195



I wish I could develop my touch better but as I don’t have an acoustic instrument only a digital at the moment, my touch will remain somewhat harsh on a real piano...sigh  

[db05]

1) knowing exactly what sound you want - listening
2) having the control to produce it - technique

Right now, I like my sound I create on my practice piano, but it is heavier than most pianos (think Piano no Mori), and on school pianos, I play with so much force, and it's too loud! LOL! And I used to be such a weak player.

[lostinidlewonder]

1) You must hear in your head the ideal sound.
2) Your technique and memory work with the piece is at a high enough level to allow you to forget about the hands which are simply slaves to produce 1)

If your inner ear is fails to hear from within what something should sound like then you have problems no matter how well your hands go. If your physical ears cannot carefully measure the sound coming out of your instrument then your hands will not know how effectively they are producing the desired sound from within. And lastly if your hands are not trained up at a high enough level to allow muscular memory to take over many actions which are automatic, then we will be caught up thinking too much about the physical playing to pay attention to the sound we produce.