4 ms·

As someone who doesn't play an instrument I simply do not understand the point of a piano or why it is so common. I can kinda understand other string instrument

by knolax 6y ago

As someone who doesn't play an instrument I simply do not understand the point of a piano or why it is so common. I can kinda understand other string instruments where there's a lot of technique and nuance involved in plucking the strings, but the whole point of a piano mechanism seems to be the elimination of such nuance. As far as I can tell, playing the piano is a repetitive and mechanical task where you're basically acting as a human MIDI controller. I do not understand why anyone would find joy in playing such a dull instrument.

Rochus 6y ago
That's funny. What instrument would you consider then not to be dull? You cannot compare a piano to e.g. a violin or a guitar. It's a completely different concept; you can e.g. play (theoretically) chords with ten or more (when you press two keys with one finger) simultaneous notes; and you can control the timbre and loudness by how fast you press the keys; it's like a percussion instrument with 88 parts.
- mrob 6y ago
  The clavichord plays like a piano with aftertouch. Instead of hammers bouncing off the strings with no control except speed, the strings are hit with "tangents" that remain in contact with the string like tapping on a guitar. It was not often used for performance historically because it's too quiet, but modern amplification solves that problem.
  - Rochus 6y ago
    Most of them will probably be in the museum. The modern piano has a much larger sound and dynamic range, not to mention the much better tuning stability.
    - mrob 6y ago
      Tuning stability can be solved by adding a robotic tuning mechanism as found on some guitars, and automatically tuning before every performance. Dynamic range can be increased by adding multiple keyboards, each going through different effects pedals. Even with these improvements it will still probably be cheaper than a good grand piano.
      - Rochus 6y ago
        Like that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIZ2Ldrr5ok https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIZ2Ldrr5ok?
- knolax 6y ago
  Hurdy Gurdies seem to be a much more elegant keyboard instrument to me.

by knolax 6y ago

Rochus 6y ago

That's funny. What instrument would you consider then not to be dull? You cannot compare a piano to e.g. a violin or a guitar. It's a completely different concept; you can e.g. play (theoretically) chords with ten or more (when you press two keys with one finger) simultaneous notes; and you can control the timbre and loudness by how fast you press the keys; it's like a percussion instrument with 88 parts.

mrob 6y ago
The clavichord plays like a piano with aftertouch. Instead of hammers bouncing off the strings with no control except speed, the strings are hit with "tangents" that remain in contact with the string like tapping on a guitar. It was not often used for performance historically because it's too quiet, but modern amplification solves that problem.
- Rochus 6y ago
  Most of them will probably be in the museum. The modern piano has a much larger sound and dynamic range, not to mention the much better tuning stability.
  - mrob 6y ago
    Tuning stability can be solved by adding a robotic tuning mechanism as found on some guitars, and automatically tuning before every performance. Dynamic range can be increased by adding multiple keyboards, each going through different effects pedals. Even with these improvements it will still probably be cheaper than a good grand piano.
    - Rochus 6y ago
      Like that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIZ2Ldrr5ok https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIZ2Ldrr5ok?
knolax 6y ago
Hurdy Gurdies seem to be a much more elegant keyboard instrument to me.