5 ms·
It's not better, necessarily, but it's a very different sound. For higher notes you need thinner and shorter strings, which are quieter. Traditional pianos hav
by camtarn 8y ago
It's not better, necessarily, but it's a very different sound.
For higher notes you need thinner and shorter strings, which are quieter. Traditional pianos have different numbers of strings per note (one for bass notes, two for the mid-range, and three for treble notes) so that the notes sound roughly the same volume across the keyboard. This also gives a very rich tone, as the strings are very very slightly different in frequency.
The Una Corda only has one string per note. It's probably a lot quieter in the high octaves, but it has a thin and very pure tone which doesn't sound a lot like a traditional piano, which is very appealing to people who are looking for new and interesting sounds. And the quietness doesn't matter so much with modern amplification technology.
- saalweachter 8y agoSo basically if you want something similar on the cheap, take an old piano, remove the extra strings, open up the cabinet?
- Quequau 8y agoI'm willing to bet that nothing to do with pianos is that simple. Who knows what sort of weird distortions that would cause.
- saalweachter 8y agoYeah, I originally wrote that as "the same thing" and then thought for a moment and scaled back to "something similar" :-P
- holri 8y agoNo just press the left pedal of a grand piano, called the una corda pedal. It shifts the keyboard so that the hammers hit only one or two strings instead of 2 or 3. And open the lid.
- iainmerrick 8y agoThat’s not quite the same because the extra strings still resonate. But yeah, it has the same name for a reason.
- adrianmonk 8y agoOr stick foam / felt between the "extra" strings like a piano tuner does. It won't totally take the strings out of the equation, but it's non-destructive, and it will probably only take a few minutes.
- KaiserPro 8y agoYou'll need to soften up the hammers as well. If you break down the sound of a piano (mentally) the start of the note is sharp and sudden, followed by a hum. The extra strings are never actually perfectly in tune, which is partly why a piano sounds "bright" If it were a person it'd sound a bit nasally. (the more out of tune the strings the more honky tonk and wobbly it sounds) rough guide: a concert piano sounds like a nasal person making an "EEEEGGHHHHHHHH" noise, but with a smile. (well a Steinway does) A softened piano, or a Una Corda sounds more like a hhMMMMMmmmmmm. Because it only has one string, and has a less violent hammer action, the sounds is more sinusoidal, so sounds smoother. edit the soundboard also significantly affects the tone, but I can't remember how.