JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Music Theory and Education Key Bias?

OH!

Ok, as far as I can tell, and I listened carefully to that example, (A synthesized note is the same, no matter the keyboard note used to make the sound) BUT, I noticed before and now with detail, what Jim is hearing is also correct, as it's in the position of the fingers that will create the different attacks, thus different tones of the same note that has been pitched. The reason for that is a D position chord must play the F# with the middle or index finger. Even if trying to play both chord positions at the exact same attack, by having to play an F#, (position wise only I'm talking about), the D position C chord, (pitched up), will have the attack be a little heavier due to the reach to strike the F#, with the 1st and 5th notes going along for the ride and striking them a little harder in that process of playing a D position chord. One can make the two chords in the pitch up example Jim gave the same, (NOT easy), by making an effort to either play the natural C chord a little harder, or to play the D position C chord sound a little lighter. BUT, even at that, it may not be exact, due to the reach of the D chord position. That can throw off the attack of the 1st and 5th notes of the chord, which will have both examples sound slightly different, BUT not in tone color. It would take practice at first knowing how to strike notes at any given attack.

I tuned for the world renown teacher Caramuto, (when in Medford, NJ), and he made a machine that would measure attack pressure for each note. He would train world class players before their tours, to get them to express exactly the feel of the music through specific dynamics. (20%. strikes, 37% strikes, 95% and so on). That is one factor that make world class players what they are. They just don't play something soft, or medium, or loud. The best of the best could sometimes get all 100 strikes after years of training for that. If having that much control, they could get the same attack for each note of a chord, no matter the position. In other words, they would be able to do Jim's example, and not even a soundwave examination would be able to tell. And that is because tone color will not change just in pitching and position changes, as long as the said notes are the notes. (a C is a C, no matter what key is needed to set off that signal for that C due to pitching. (Keyboards of course).

It's all the attack of each note in those positions.

You can demonstrate this by using just one note and first knowing the attack will be the same. THAT is very hard to do, even for playing just one note though. So, if hitting a note over and over, and playing up or down after pitching, most will not play the note the same, thus making the sound either softer or brighter for that tone color of that note's sound.

Hope that makes sense. It does to me, but I've been around that kind of technique and trying to play with wanted attacks for years now. Over 30 since learning piano tuning and having met Caramuto.