Piano Tone Production:
A Guide for the Student Pianist
Robert T. Kelley
June 2001

1. The Science of Playing the Piano
   1. The back, shoulder, arm, wrist, hand, and finger muscles contract to move the appropriate part(s) of the hand to strike the appropriate key(s)
   2. The bone structure of the arm, hand, and fingers transmit the back, shoulder, and arm energy into the key(s)
   3. The acceleration of the key determines the acceleration of the hammer up to the point of escapement
   4. The hammer travels the last fraction of an inch of its path toward the string freely under its own momentum
   5. Thus, the only variable parameter in piano tone production is the velocity at which the hammer strikes the string (other than pedal and voicing)
   6. It is possible to make the hammer strike the string at a high enough velocity that it will change the sound quality of the instrument. This is generally considered overplaying, and actually does not sound as full or as loud as a slightly less exuberant attack.
2. The Tricks for Making a Good Sound
   1. Always start with the fingers on the keys. If your hand is in the air above the keys before you play, you will not have control over the hammers. Your control of the sound is only between the time you touch the key and escapement of the hammer. (However, it's okay to lift the hands in the air after an attack.)
   2. "Draw the sound out of the instrument" by lifting your wrists and arms as you play a chord. This technique has been used by percussionists for mallet playing instruments for a long time. Although it only makes a small difference in the tone (because of the way it causes you to attack the key, not because of the lifting off afterwards), it also looks pretty and changes the psychology of how you want the sound to ring.
   3. Sit with the bench high enough so that your elbows are at least at the level of your wrists (if not slightly higher). Your bone structure cannot be transmitting the energy from your shoulder and back muscles if there is no direct path through the bones to the keys. If you sit with your elbows too low, your power is only coming from your forearms and triceps.
   4. Just as you don't want your elbows to be too low, you also don't want your wrists to be too low. Generally speaking, the back of your hand should not form an angle with the forearm: your wrist should be straight but flexible. Allow the wrists to be relaxed enough to allow hand rotations in all directions to facilitate different types of techniques.
   5. Don't waste your energy on muscle tension after the note has been struck. From then on, the only control you have is through keeping either the key or the pedal depressed. Use the time in between attacks to relax and get rid of any unnecessary tension.
   6. Always play with a crescendo or diminuendo from note to note. The only single-note dynamic possible on the piano is its natural decay, so the passages with a sweeping crescendo or dolce cantabile must come from a beautiful note-to-note line.
   7. Always listen to the decay of every note. If you play so that one note is too loud compared to the fading dynamic of the previous note, it will not sound good.
   8. Never underestimate the power of the pedal to warm up the dry "plink" of a single note (through sympathetic vibration).
   9. Don't use the soft pedal to help you play quietly. It changes the sound quality. If you want a shift in sound (darker), use the soft pedal and leave it down until you want a brighter sound again. Also don't use the soft pedal in mezzo-forte or louder passages. It will sound thin and whiny.
   10. In loud passages, always save some of your power, even at the climax of a piece, because if you run out of room to grow, you're out of luck. (The only place to go from there is into the realm of ugly bangy sounds.)
   11. Likewise, save your very quietest dynamic for an emergency (such as when you diminuendo too quickly). Playing extremely quietly with consistency takes a lot of practice, so devote time to practicing it. The only trick involved is staying on the keys or as close to the keys as possible. This gives you the control you need.

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