Question about playing different pianos

[mmflzyjv]

Hello there,

I have been playing the piano for about two years now. In those two years, I feel that my skills have sharpened thanks to piano lessons and rigorous practicing. However, it seems that I have trouble getting the right dynamics in classical pieces on pianos other than my digital one, which is a Yamaha p-95. Does anyone have any advice for how this can be solved? From my practice yesterday, I noticed that I was not playing all the way down to the keys on a grand piano that I practice on. So is it just a matter of playing all the way down to the keys and using the arm to regulate the dynamic level?

[jimbo320]

Hi MMFL,
Welcome to the forum. I know exactly what you mean. I used to have a P95 but exchanged it for a CP5 as my main keyboard. When I play my friend's C5 acoustic I feel the difference in what I need to do. Instead of changing the way I use my fingers (I don't want to put my agility at risk), I use more arm pressure. I hope this will make sense to you and maybe help...

[mmflzyjv]

Okay I get what you are saying jimbo. So it is a manner of gauging the amount of arm pressure to use on different pianos to get the sound that you want, while your fingers do not change? Thank you very much. Lately I have been working on my versatility on different pianos, so with that concept in my head, I think that it would help quite alot.

[phil821]

I'm a new player myself, and I can relate


You should be careful though! From what I've learned you shouldn't really have any pressure or tension in your wrist.

  How long have you been playing on your new piano? I think you don't need to redefine your technique, you should just give yourself time and practice to adjust and our subconscious will do the work for us. I don't think there's some set arm pressure rule you just need to feel it out like anything other major change in your life.

[ryan1985]

Yes, acoustic pianos (especially grands) have a much larger and more complex sound than electric pianos (you may have noticed thats its much more difficult to control the sound on a grand). The action of many acoustic pianos are typically heavier than electric pianos as well. So it just takes some getting used to aurally as well as physically.

My advice to a serious player is to play on a nice grand as much as possible because 1) it offers much, much more contrast musically than an electric of any kind can and 2) you will usually be playing on one of these in a serious recital format. Also, I wouldn't recommend trying to change your technique to fit a different piano, there really is no need due to the explanation I've just given above. Its just a matter of getting used the piano, which will take some time. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[ryan1985]

Basically what Phil said 

[caioramos]

I have a Yamaha P95 as well, I've been playing for 1 year now, and every time I go to the conservatory to have my class, its an acoustic upright, I feel very uncomfortable. To be honest, I feel that I kept from improving much more this year because I don't have a real piano at home. The main problem as people said is the heavier keys. With a digital piano, you just don't develop enough finger strength to be able to play comfortably on a real piano, the number of mistakes you make really goes up. I'm glad I'm going to move and have grands at my disposal.
If you are serious about been a pianist, you must own a real piano, a digital is just going to hold you back, the only real advantage of a digital is the ability to use headphones and play at night without disturbing anyone, especially if you live in an apartment, but it's just that.

[jimbo320]

Trade that P95 in for a CP5. You'll be amazed....

[caioramos]

Even if its better, nothing like a real piano

[trhmusic]

I agree with what most people have said. Different pianos have different feels and sounds.

It is actually good for you to play on different pianos, the more you do this the more you get used to adjusting quickly to the individual instrument.

However, if you are going to perform somewhere, it is good to try to get some practice time on the instrument before the performance. But this is not always possible.

www.trhmusic.org

[candlelightpiano]

I have a digital piano now. The last time I had piano lessons was 19 years ago. I feel old saying that. But I had a Yamaha upright grand (acoustic) then and my teacher had a very old grand piano. The piano was so old the keys were yellowed and loose. So even though I had an acoustic piano (my piano was maybe 4 years old), I still had a lot of problems playing on my teacher's piano. Could never control the keys. I hope to get an acoustic baby grand one of these days. Problem is where to fit it into the house that is so cluttered?

[ajspiano]

you just don't develop enough finger strength to be able to play comfortably on a real piano

I would argue that what you are failing to develop is the support of the whole arm behind the fingers action. This can be developed on a digital piano, though I would still say its better to have a real piano ofcourse.

Additionally, many digital pianos - everything except the latest best models... don't have a sense of escapement in their actions. What this means is that while they do have weighted keys, some even with an actual hammer action inside, you can not feel the point of sound as you depress the key. - On a real piano, and now the BEST digitals, as you depress a key you can feel a "click" before the key hits the keybed. This is the point at which the hammer is released to strike the string. Given that if I place physical weights on my own digital vs a real piano they often require the same or a very similar amount of weight to depress the keys - perhaps this contributes to why many digitals feel 'light' compared to real pianos, they lack this small sensation that is felt as the key is depressed.

[caioramos]

I have heard once that there are some people (and some teachers) that support the practice of having a very heavy key action piano, so that every other piano you play will feel lighter, and thus easier to play, because even using the whole arm shoulder body movement, if all you have ever played was a light touch, its a fact that you will have difficult or at least feel really unconfortable on heavier ones, you are just not used to it

[mmflzyjv]

Thanks for the replies guys, I appreciate it.

So lately I have been practicing my piano repertoire on different pianos, even the digital ones. I have started to notice that my adjustment time for different pianos are decreasing. I also noticed a little, however, that sometimes when I play pp on different pianos, the left hand makes a "double sound" when I press all the down to the keys in the lower registers. Is there any way of getting around this while still maintaining soft play?