Different pianos - different feel

[Megan]

I know pianos are all the same, and this may seem a silly question, but students who are about to take an exam will be faced with a different piano than the one they are used to in the comfort of their own home. Does it feel a bit strange using a different piano in a different environment, the piano stool may not be as one would want it either. Wouldn't all this be a bit off putting if one were to take an exam ?

Lucky for violinists or flautists, because they can take their instrument with them.







.

[Chris]

Yes! Playing on an unfamiliar instrument is always a challenge, and pianists have to deal with this a lot.

[Peter]

I know pianos are all the same, and this may seem a silly question, but students who are about to take an exam will be faced with a different piano than the one they are used to in the comfort of their own home. Does it feel a bit strange using a different piano in a different environment, the piano stool may not be as one would want it either. Wouldn't all this be a bit off putting if one were to take an exam ?

Lucky for violinists or flautists, because they can take their instrument with them.




.

Pianos all the same? Try telling Beethoven that! Pianos are certainly not the same, the touch, the sound, the pedals vary enormously and pianists have to learn early on to adapt. There are many stories of great pianists adapting to out of tune pianos, notes missing, notes sticking, pedals not working etc...

[Megan]

Thanks Peter and Chris, I see what you mean when one really thinks about it.
When I said pianos are all the same, I was thinking more of the keys , but again some piano keys may be weighted differently ? As for the pedals , yes I see the problems that can arise.

[Peter]

Thanks Peter and Chris, I see what you mean when one really thinks about it.
When I said pianos are all the same, I was thinking more of the keys , but again some piano keys may be weighted differently ? As for the pedals , yes I see the problems that can arise.

Yes, the action can be light or heavy and of course there is a world of difference between a Kwai and a Steinway, but even amongst Steinways or Bechsteins there are differences. Some artists bring their own tuners with them to adjust the pianos to their liking. Your initial post though was referring more to the ordinary student who has to make do sometimes with dreadful instruments not only in exam or concert situations but to learn on at home as well!

[Chris]

Horowitz toured with his own piano, and a couple of other top pianists have as well, but most don't. It's too expensive and too risky. I'm sure most would do so if it were practical, though.

[AeolianHarp]

Pianos all the same? Try telling Beethoven that! Pianos are certainly not the same, the touch, the sound, the pedals vary enormously and pianists have to learn early on to adapt. There are many stories of great pianists adapting to out of tune pianos, notes missing, notes sticking, pedals not working etc...

Pianos today are more like each other than the pianos of Beethoven's time- back then they probably were more used to playing different pianos. I expect that is a feature of a good pianist- that he/she can adapt to different instruments. I am still getting used to a digital piano's feel/action as compared to my Old Cecil from the 1910s. And Old Cecil even feels different to 21st century pianos.

[AeolianHarp]

Horowitz toured with his own piano, and a couple of other top pianists have as well, but most don't. It's too expensive and too risky. I'm sure most would do so if it were practical, though.

Risky indeed- look what happened to the Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman's pianos:

On April 26, 2009, Zimerman vowed to his audience at Los Angeles's Walt Disney Concert Hall that, in protest of America's placement of a missile defense shield in Poland, this would be his final appearance in the United States. He had made a similar comment in 2006, stating he would not return until George W. Bush was out of office. Part of his disenchantment with the USA may be that with the stepped up militarization and security at US airports, it has become increasingly difficult to bring his piano into the country. In incidents in 2001 and 2006, one of his Steinway pianos was completely destroyed and another one damaged by security staff at New York's JFK airport.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krysti...m_of_US_policy

[Megan]

Yes, the action can be light or heavy and of course there is a world of difference between a Kwai and a Steinway, but even amongst Steinways or Bechsteins there are differences. Some artists bring their own tuners with them to adjust the pianos to their liking. Your initial post though was referring more to the ordinary student who has to make do sometimes with dreadful instruments not only in exam or concert situations but to learn on at home as well!

I have a Yamaha with weighted keys, its a a nice sound for the price I payed, 2 grand. I had to have a decent one for practice otherwise I think cheap one would have put me off. But I would die for a Steinway! :P

Went I did my first exam I practiced in a room first on a Kwia, which did sound a lot different and the keys were much lighter.

[Enrique]

I have a Yamaha with weighted keys,

How do you do Megan? Do you mean it's an electric or electronic piano?

[Megan]

How do you do Megan? Do you mean it's an electric or electronic piano?

Hi , this is the exact model I have. Yamaha CLP-470. Digital piano.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6NIqoshnJU

[Enrique]

Oh, I once had a Yamaha YPP-50. It reached the E natural as its leftmost key. On the right it reached G natural. It had an agreeable sound when connected to a good audio amplifier. And of course, I didn't need the tuner. But yours has all of the 88 keys a piano has and is a clavinova. Bruno Leonardo Gelber used a clavinova to practice once he was sick in bed.

[Sorrano]

Hi , this is the exact model I have. Yamaha CLP-470. Digital piano.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6NIqoshnJU

I have a Clavinova 230 that replaced an earlier model along that line. Even though both were made by Yamaha they had completely different feel to them as well a sound.