Is the Piano really your Favourite sounding instrument?

[opus10no2]

From a Tone standpoint - would you say the Piano is your favourite Timbre?
If not - do you have another reason for why you love Piano? - both playing it and listening to it.

The funny thing is I don't particularly favour the sound of the Piano, there are so many instruments I prefer the sound of. A lot of people might be surprised by that, but I think it may actually be a fairly common thing. The reason I chose to learn Piano is because it's the instrument that when stood alone provides the greatest range of Musical possibilities.
I love the dazzling variety of sonorities - but for a 'singing tone' - I'd pick another...I love the sound of the Electric Guitar more, love the Cello even more-so. Stood alone though - they are relatively limited in range. It is this 'stand alone' element of the Piano I love. When a musician is stood alone there is a certain freedom you don't hear in ensemble playing - a dynamic and rhythmic spontaneity.
It all comes back to Rubato for me - I adore it and feel that the Piano is used to it's greatest potential in the hands of someone with a distinctive rhythmic personality.
In the hands of anyone else - I'd rather hear another instrument - for me the Magic is lost.
The beauty of the Piano, to me, is Freedom - the fact one person can conjure anything they imagine, and do so with absolute dynamic and rhythmic freedom - something an ensemble cannot do.

[thalbergmad]

Banjo is superior than piano to my ears.

Thal

[m1469]

Generally it can depend upon who's playing, of course, with any instrument.  Given it's somebody I'd actually really enjoy listening to, there are many instruments that I truly love the sound of, like cello, strings in general, French Horn, and most other well-played instruments.  I like the human voice.  But, most of all, the piano - it's my favorite.   There is something about it that sounds *exactly* "right" to me.

[outin]

From a Tone standpoint - would you say the Piano is your favourite Timbre?

Yes, when played by a master.

After it will be cello, flute, harp, sax, electric quitar in the hands of the past masters and the bagpipe in no special order.

[awesom_o]

From a Tone standpoint - would you say the Piano is your favourite Timbre?

Absolutely not!

[pianoman53]

It can be. It can also be one of my least.

[pianoslav]

It's hard to say. I am definitely most knowledgeable about the piano, in terms of repertoire and great masters and performers, etc. I don't want to sound vain, but I think I enjoy the sound (in terms of timbre and tone) of most instruments equally when they are performing well-arranged music for the instrument by someone who knows how to perform it well. For example, I think I enjoy a beautiful Chopin Nocturne on the piano, a Bach prelude for the organ, Louis Armstrong on the trumpet, or a traditional bagpipe arrangement of Amazing Grace equally, if the performer has a good mastery of the instrument.

Having said that, I am most likely to enjoy the piano music I hear because of my background in piano; I already know where to look to find a good piece of piano music. This is not the case when it comes to other instruments, because I know little about their good repertoire and good performers. For this reason, even though I don't often hear performances on other instruments that I enjoy, I tend to blame the composer/performer for this rather than the instrument itself.

[liszt1022]

Yes, piano is my favorite sounding instrument. I even prefer it to whole orchestras.
I've got 3 sets of Beethoven/Liszt symphonies, 8 different Berlioz/Liszt Symphonie fantastiques, 4 different Rites of Springs on piano (2 duet, 2 solo) etc etc

[themusne]

Hi.Frankly speaking,piano is not my favourite sounding instument.I learn it because it is easy to play.

[j_menz]

It all depends what you do to them. Sometimes they make a lovely sound....

[outin]

It all depends what you do to them. Sometimes they make a lovely sound....

Actually after practicing something my teacher gave me I have to rethink... Piano is only my favorite sounding instrument when used in a certain kind of music. I am not so sure I am that much into the "modern piano" at all with all it's dynamic variations. I find it extremely unpleasant and uncomfortable to play loud and fast. It hurts my ears and my head. I can only really practice the piece properly with my piano silenced 

That probably also explains why I am drawn to Baroque music and "old style" instruments...and why I have such difficulty enjoying music from composers like Liszt...all that banging immediately turns me off...

[ted]

Its range of expression and its physical convenience under the hands make the piano the ideal instrument for spontaneous creation, that is to say improvisation. The only other instrument I would consider for this, and had I known of its existence I would surely have studied it in my youth, is the guzheng. The sound, musical flexibility, range of sound and touch, of the guzheng, would seem to render it a fascinating medium for personal improvisation. In fact, there appear to be even fewer guzheng players than pianists who improvise. That's what I would do though, but at sixty-seven I am probably getting a bit old to try.

[gore234]

I like everything about the piano.  If I want any other sound, I can play on my electric keyboard and technology is getting better every day.

[alessandro]

I'm not always in the mood for the sound of the piano.   Or for music in general.   It really depends on the state of mind, the circumstances, the environment.

An instrument that I always wanted to buy, but even second hand too expensive for my purse, is a double-bass.   Damn, I love the sound of double-bass.  

And I like hearing "oud" and banjo.

That's what I would do though, but at sixty-seven I am probably getting a bit old to try.

You may be too old to gain virtuosity but hey, you ain't too old to play around with the guzheng and enjoy it, no ?

Finally, I enjoy going every two months to a local and very good big band (with lots of trombones).   Whenever the big band starts playing I'm overwhelmed with joy.   I love the sound of a big band.

Very kind greetings !

[mjames]

yes

[thomasmgill]

The sound of the piano by itself is rather dull and uninteresting. Almost every other instrument allows much more variety in how a single note can be played.

However, no instrument even comes close to the versatility, range, and depth of a piano. Imagine playing an orchestral reduction on a violin. Yeah, no chance.

But many piano pieces, specifically Beethoven Sonatas give the impression that an entire orchestra is playing. On one instrument. That is pretty amazing.

[richardb]

I like the sound of the classical guitar.  Hearing Segovia play Scarlatti K 11 and John Williams K 213 inspired me to learn these on piano. I enjoy them on both piano and guitar.  Same with some of Bach's works and lots of Spanish composers, such as Granados and Albeniz.

BTW this is my first post. Happy to be here!

   

[iansinclair]

Oh I have to chime in on this one!  It is certainly one of my favourites, indeed.  No question.  Although in certain passages I love french horn or clarinet.

But.

[and here a disclaimer: I am, as many of you know by now, a retired minister of music/organist/choir master] there is nothing that can compare with a really good organ in a really good acoustic space.  A really good choir comes close.  But a really good big organ?  Nothing really approaches what the organist can do, or what it can do for the listener.  The only downside -- the organ must be really good, and they vary all over the map, and it must be suited for the space it is in, and the space suited for it -- because the organ and space really are one instrument together.

[superstition2]

It depends upon the composition. I definitely prefer the sound of a harpsichord for Bach's harpsichord pieces, for instance.

[pjaul]

My favorite instrument solely based on timbre is the English horn, with all other double reed instruments close behind.

[arensky]

Absolutely. Nothing sounds better than a piano, although the french horn is quite beautiful also.

[amytsuda]

Tenor... if human body counts as an instrument

[jianxli]

No. Oboe is probably the best sounding instrument.

[bachapprentice]

I like the sound of the classical guitar.  Hearing Segovia play Scarlatti K 11 and John Williams K 213 inspired me to learn these on piano. I enjoy them on both piano and guitar.  Same with some of Bach's works and lots of Spanish composers, such as Granados and Albeniz.

BTW this is my first post. Happy to be here!

   

I second that. I play Classical and Electric guitar. I play piano but I mostly use it for composing.

[erick86]

For me, cello is the best tone by far.  It has such a smooth masculine voice, and can sing like no other.

Eric

[barry1963]

I play guitar,violin and Viola, and by far Piano is my all time favorite. Love the tone,expression and feeling I can get from it

[awesom_o]

For me, cello is the best tone by far.  It has such a smooth masculine voice, and can sing like no other.

Eric

 

[cwjalex]

i enjoy the sound of many different instruments but for me nothing comes close to the beauty,  versatility and depth of the kazoo.

[pianoplunker]

Oh I have to chime in on this one!  It is certainly one of my favourites, indeed.  No question.  Although in certain passages I love french horn or clarinet.

But.

[and here a disclaimer: I am, as many of you know by now, a retired minister of music/organist/choir master] there is nothing that can compare with a really good organ in a really good acoustic space.  A really good choir comes close.  But a really good big organ?  Nothing really approaches what the organist can do, or what it can do for the listener.  The only downside -- the organ must be really good, and they vary all over the map, and it must be suited for the space it is in, and the space suited for it -- because the organ and space really are one instrument together.

I did not know you were an organist, but I was just about to post about how I thought the mighty organ  had the best overall sound for one instrument. I used to listen to Virgil Fox on an album playing Bach it was absolutely amazing.

[garrickthegreat]

I enjoy the saxophone myself 

[pianogeek_]

there is nothing that can compare with a really good organ in a really good acoustic space. 

This. The variety is amazing, too (especially if you live in Europe): the range from baroque instruments like Silbermann or Trost all the way to the symphonic instruments of Cavaille-Coll... I've had the honor of playing a couple early 18th-century instruments and it makes the repertoire click in a way that's pretty much impossible to achieve on a romantic or modern instrument.

Same thing goes for a well-made harpsichord or hammerklavier. Ever tried Louis Couperin's unmeasured preludes?