RB Piano Forte Chronicles

WELL, THE PLAGUE APPEARS to be abating – I’m feeling more or less human, again. Still have a residual cough, but I’m not knocked down, and I’m not constantly interrupted by hacking fits at the keyboard.

Harpsichord vs Piano

I started out playing the Bach Inventions and the Scarlatti K380 with the keyboard set to the ‘harpsichord’ setting – it sounded right, and if I hit multiple keys where I should have hit just one, it really stands out, jarringly.

Just for grins, though, I tried playing them with the piano setting and: hmmm… Issues.

The thing about the harpsichord is that there is no dynamic range. The instrument relies on plucking the string. While theoretically you should be able to mechanize a soft vs hard pluck, as far as I know, those distinctions never made it down to the instrument. Listen to recordings of real harpsichords – they’re wonderful, they’re flashy, they’re intricate, but there’s no loud or soft.

THAT WAS PRECISELY what the piano-forte was invented to address – hence the name. Today, we’ve only retained the ‘piano’ part of the name. But, the whole raison d’être of the concoction was to allow dynamic range in the playing – to be responsive to touch.

The Yamaha P-85 reproduces piano and harpsichord, faithfully. And, part of that faithful reproduction is lack of dynamic range in the harpsichord (while providing for it in the piano.)

Playing the Inventions and the Scarlatti in piano mode, I realized something – I wasn’t hitting the keys evenly. It was unapparent in the harpsichord setting, but clearly apparent in the piano setting.

Hmmm-HMMM-hmmm-hmmmm. A revelation!

So. Now, I’m playing them almost exclusively in piano mode, sometimes with the harsh metronome taskmaster, but always now with an ear to getting the key hits to sound even, with little or no dynamic range. Needless to say, it’s a more challenging exercise.

The Scarlatti K380 is kind of interesting, in this regard. Scarlatti was was present and may have written for both instruments (Bach apparently did, as well.) On the one hand, the piece sounds right on the harpsichord, especially some of the open chording. On the other hand, it has a softer quality on the piano, except for the little fanfare sections, which stand out like miniature marching set-pieces. It’s a cool piece on either setting.

The bottom line is I can go back over to the harpsichord setting, now and again, when I want to hear it, but I’m better off practicing in piano mode.

Last night’s practice was back on the metronome with the Invention #4.

Sheesh. Sometimes I sit down and it feels like I’m starting over – like I have no history. The 88-toothed beast looks unfamiliar and imposing – I forget where things are or were, my fingers fall off the keyboard.

It’s a long road, I think.