Piano Sampling

[Theodor]

Usually when i play with a sampled piano , the thing that bothers me is that even when playing with the same velocity , other keys have other Key-pressure so it sounds unbalanced.

I was wondering :

How are those piano samples played before they are recorded ?

In the patch files you usually see on what velocity values the layers correspond, but the velocities are usually wrong :S

Recently in my school they installed a Midi File player that attaches to the piano and allows the piano to play those midis . So my thought was that if you make a big midi file with all the velocities set to one value for each layer, it would be perfect . Every key would have the same level and also , you can just make a huge midi file with all the keys Midi-ed chromaticaly , so you just put the piano in a anechoic chamber and you return after an hour and all your samples are waiting for you :)

( ? )

[Chadwick]

"even when playing with the same velocity , other keys have other Key-pressure so it sounds unbalanced"

I assume what you mean is that you play notes with an even velocity, but the samples you hear back make it sound as if you didn't play evenly.

This is just bad programing, and more likely older piano programmes than the newer ones. These days most reputable library developers go to incredible lengths to make sure that the response of the program is realistic.


"you return after an hour and all your samples are waiting for you"

Hmmm, let's say each note takes 20 seconds to ring out.

Let's say you do 32 different velocity levels (16 pedal up 16 pedal down?).

And there are 88 notes on the keyboard.

20 x 32 x 88 = 56320 seconds

That's closer to 15 hours - not including spaces between the samples.

[hv]

Because of possible recording glitches, you'll probably want to record 2 or 3 takes for each key strike. And be well advised to tweak tuning between layers. You'd be really lucky to walk away after a long weekend. And the real work (editing and programing) would still be ahead of you.

My advise is to just play your piece on your midi piano, edit if necessary, then record it to taste while playing it back on the same.

Howard