Key Leads and Inertia

[Ron Nossaman]

>And now, allow me, if you will, to toss out a little side issue here:
>depending on the level of power desired by the performer, i.e., pppp to ffff
>or whatever, there is a considerable variation in the amount of time delay
>between the moment the key is initially struck and the moment the hammer
>impacts the string. This time delay can amount to some several milliseconds
>and it is not shared by most other orchestral instruments. Now, considering
>that the human brain only has so much computing power and speed and the
>pianist is generally exceeding that processing speed during fast orchestral
>passages, what is the mechanism by which that performer compensates for this
>varying and complex time lag so that the sound of the piano comes out just
>right with the rest of the orchestra?
>
>Del


Simple. (S)He doesn't, depending on where you listen from.

Ok, ok - In the real world, where several milliseconds of "blend" from the 
instruments in the orchestra don't count when you're closer to one than the 
other, the adjustment mechanism is built into our operating systems. It 
works better in some than in others, but it's a built in Bios function. We 
continually re-calibrate our muscular responses to perceived resistance and 
timing. It's how we learned to work our bodies in the first place. How hard 
do we push off to jump that puddle? If we keep walking at the present rate, 
will that approaching bus run us down? We do this all day every day, in 
tens of thousands of repetitions until we start getting pretty good at not 
walking into trees, or picking up that light box without whacking ourselves 
in the forehead with it. It's deep in our primitive core, and helped keep 
us from being eaten as we evolved into whatever it is we now are - other 
than not yet entirely eaten. Part of what a musician is doing when (s)he 
warms up is, consciously or not, re-calibrating muscle response as well as 
checking out the capabilities of the instrument. Swinging the bat. (S)He's 
updating an internal template of input force and response offsets for that 
particular instrument. Like calibrating a Disklavier, only using meat 
instead of silicon. The internal templates come in different resolutions, 
or levels of granularity. A less accomplished pianist may be aware that 
F#-2 hangs up, the bass is typically heavy, and the treble is dead. A 
proficient pianist will have a much more extensive and detailed internal 
map of the piano, with timing, repetition, touch, voicing, and at least 
several indefinable characteristics and requirements for each and every 
key, as well as overall concerns. The low level pianist's template is a 6" 
x 8" chalkboard with 2" lettering, while the super pianist's template is 
fractal - a Mandelbrot set. Some conscious, some limbic. During play, the 
musician's internal subroutines retrieve data from the freshly calibrated 
array, re-calibrate on the fly as new modifying circumstances are 
discovered, and adjust the muscle response and timing accordingly. The 
music goes round and round...

And it comes out here.

Of course, the first time you step up to a curb in a new pair of shoes with 
1.2mm thicker soles than those they replaced, you'll stumble. The second 
time, you'll be fine.

Ron N