Investigation of pianoforte tone in relation to the pianist's touch

摘要

The subject of pianoforte acoustics has been debated for almost a century, from the time that Tobias Matthay published his 'Act of Touch' in 1903. The associated problem of piano technique can be divided into four broad phases; (1) a quasi-harpsichord technique applied in earlier times to piano playing; with its consequent stiffness and cramped playing; (2) a swing of the pendulum in the opposite direction, at the beginning of the twentieth century which taught the concept of 'total relaxation'; (3) Specialists in the scientific field questioning the pedagogical theories - arrived at mostly by empirical means, taking the problem into their laboratories for experimental verification and arriving at their own conclusions, the consequence of which leaves much to be desired; and finally (4) the possibility of reconciling the evidence of our senses with the facts of science, through scientific methodology. This paper analyses each of the above phases from the acoustical point of view, pointing out the need for a standardization of pianoforte technique brought about through a comprehensive background understanding of the acoustics of the modern pianoforte.