rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Arthur Pewtey) (05/17/85)
> In article <969@pyuxd.UUCP>, rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Arthur Pewtey) writes: > > > > I've been intending to get one (PF15) but I haven't yet. Reason: despite a > > resaonable sound and a very good touch, it still doesn't feel to me like I'm > > playing a piano, since the feeling of actually playing an acoustic piano > > combines feeling the resonances of the wooden frame as the strings vibrate, > > and while the electronic piano may come very close to accurately simulating > > the actual waveform and sound of a piano, I've found for me that no matter > > how close the sound (or even the keyboard feel) gets to complete emulation, > > it doesn't FEEL like I'm playing a piano. > > Do other players feel the same way when they play electronic instruments > > simulating acoustical ones? I've found that even when I've got a fairly > > good Hammond B3 sound on my Prophet, it still doesn't feel to me like the > > real thing, sometimes just because the keys aren't hard and squared off like > > on my old Hammond. > > YES! I have slowly come to this conclusion over the last few years. > At first, it seemed that I just couldn't play "right" when > playing on some synthesizers, but when I played the Yamaha electric > grand, (which sounds close, but still not exactly like an acoustic > piano) I suddenly felt Expressive. It actually felt good to play > that thing, compared to the electronic instruments! It is only a > guess, but I have a strong gut feeling that the feedback I get > through the vibrating keys, though subtle, is still extremely important > to playing expressively, at least for me. It is like a crutch that > I seem to need. [Glenn Little] I don't think it's a "crutch" at all! I tend to agree that it has something to do with the sensory feedback one gets from playing an acoustic instrument, maybe more than just tactile vibration feedback from the keys, such as the resonance of the sounding board and the way the sound reverberates inside the piano (or other instrument) itself. I guess you could say that a synthesizer or other electronic instrument is a completely different instrument and should not be expected to feel the same as another instrument, having its own quality. Maybe so, but in that case we should be thinking of the synthesizer as an instrument on its own merit and not as a device to emulate other instruments. It seems that if you really want to emulate, not just the sound, but the whole instrument (including how it feels to the player), you have to take more into account than just "timbre"; sensory feedback to the player (down to the feel of keys as you're playing) may be as important. -- "Now, go away or I shall taunt you a second time!" Rich Rosen ihnp4!pyuxd!rlr
eric@mcrware.UUCP (Eric Miller) (05/20/85)
> Maybe so, but in that case we should be thinking of the synthesizer as an > instrument on its own merit and not as a device to emulate other instruments This, I think is the root of the whole question. There are definately real differences between playing acoustic and electronic instruments that go beyond just the sound they make or the weight of the action on the keyboard. It has to do with the entire sensory feedback of the acoustic chamber that is resonating the music. Even digitally sampling a piano sound and reproducing it through an amplifier is different than hearing the sound as you play the original instru- ment. Now don't get me wrong, here. I'm not advocating the use of only acoustical instruments. I myself am a synthesist through and through. I just believe that they should be dealt with in their own light, and with their own set of definitions. I am fascinated with the new sampling technology not because I want to carry a grand piano around with me that only weighs 35 pounds, but because it can give you access to many natural sounds that are too complex to be generated from 'scratch' so to speak. I have never heard a thunder clap from any analog or digital synth that really impressed me yet. Even though it wouldn't be heard in it's natural acoustic setting, a sample of one would probably be better than a generated one. On another related 'note', I am very interested in the Ensoniq Mirage. Although I have heard some good things about the Mirage, I haven't had the chance to play one yet. If anyone has any more information about that synth, especially concerning drawbacks in relation to it, I would appreciate hearing about it. " We have come from the planet Zarcon..." Eric Miller
mark@apple.UUCP (Mark Lentczner) (05/30/85)
-=-
There are definately
real differences between playing acoustic and electronic instruments
that go beyond just the sound they make or the weight of the action
on the keyboard. It has to do with the entire sensory feedback of
the acoustic chamber that is resonating the music.
I quite disagree with this. I think that the only real differences are in
the physical manipulation of the instrument. As far as sonic feedback and
perception differences I do not believe that there is a more significant
difference than between 'accoustic' instruments. I have been playing
synthesizers (analog, digital, and hybred - most of the knob twiddling kind,
I don't like to play keyboards) for years and do not feel that I have a
significantly altered conception of the response of my instruments than
other musicians. I will admit that the things I've had to learn to play
my instrument are different than, say, a trombone, but no more different
than a piano is from a trombone.
I have never heard a thunder clap from any analog or digital synth
that really impressed me yet. Even though it wouldn't be heard in
it's natural acoustic setting, a sample of one would probably be
better than a generated one.
I'm quite sorry to hear that. I have heard and made quite a variety of
sounds like thunder claps. I have always found that a sample or high
quality recording was throughly inadaquate to make the sound impressive
enough for the listener. This is partially due to that ones recollections
of and perceptions during a storm of thunder (as an example) are quite
different than what the thing actually sounds like. As a consequence I
have always had to generate much if not all of such sounds from scratch
to get a sound that matched the 'realistic' version stored in our heads.
-Have twice the fun...
--
--Mark Lentczner
Apple Computer
UUCP: {nsc, dual, voder, ios}!apple!mark
CSNET: mark@Apple.CSNET