How do you get a good sound when you’re playing the piano loudly? This really is much tougher than you might think. If you have ever been around someone who is banging on the keys of a piano you know the sound can be incredibly harsh. Even the most glorious of instruments can sound horrible when played incorrectly. So what’s the secret?
The first thing is learning what not to do. You must be aware the piano is incredibly sensitive to how you approach the keys. If you merely slap the keys, you’re going to get a harsh sound. A piano is not like most instruments. Most instruments have a direct access to the production of sound – especially when it comes to woodwind or brass instruments as well as string instruments. The tone you get out of a piano relies on how you approach the keys.
The proper method is to caress the keys; like a masseuse (with deep energy) it will create a beautiful and warm sound. How do you achieve this? The secret to getting a good tone is to always strike from the surface of the keys. If you strike from above, you will get a harsh sound.
A lot of times you will see pianist throwing their hands up and down and it looks like they are banging on the keys; it’s all an illusion. This is purely for show. If you look at a great pianist, like Arthur Rubinstein playing the Ritual Fire Dance, he would throw his hands up and down as part of the performance but when it came to actually playing the piano, he would strike from the surface of the keys.
The best method is to simply place your hands on the keys and then drop all the arm weight and pressure directly to the bottom of the keyboard all at once. Try this at home. Put your hands over the keys, don’t press them down at all, and then drop all the pressure and weight at the same time – you will produce a clear and beautiful sound no matter how much energy you exert on the piano.
The exception to this is rapid staccato chords or octaves in which the wrists are called into play for a combination of speed and power.
I hope this technique is helpful for creating rich, fortissimo piano playing for you!
Thanks for joining me, Robert Estrin. Please feel free to contact me about any piano questions at all:
Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729
9 thoughts on “How to Play Loud on the Piano! Piano Lessons”
It would be interesting to get a slow motion camera look at what happens when you press versus hit the keys.
If you hit a key hard and fast, starting far above the keyboard, the initial acceleration of the hammer head should be a lot larger, which might flex the shank more and alter the portion of the head that contacts the strings, which would result in a voicing difference. (You can hear a substantial voicing difference at normal levels by just slightly shifting the hammers sideways with the una corda pedal pressed about a quarter of the way.)
That being said, Robert’s technique of starting with your fingers at the key surface does make it easier to judge how hard you’re pressing.
— J.S.
Interesting to think about. I think we all agree that the velocity of the finger striking the key obviously affects the velocity of the hammer’s final hit, and therefore affects the volume of the resulting pitch. If, in addition, the hammer mechanism is “artificially warped” by high velocity and major force, as you suggest, I suppose this would be a matter of the piano mechanism’s quality. I don’t think this should be the piano player’s focus as regards tone. The player’s phrasing, dynamics, pedaling, and relative dynamics of the notes of a chord, for example, are much more worthy of attention and study. These are what truly define your uniqueness of “tone.”
Regarding the effect of the “soft pedal,” we need also be aware that most pianos shift the hammers both closer and to one side. For most pitches on the piano, the effect of moving hammers to one side actually reduces the number of strings being struck. So, this fact will obviously affect “tone,” regardless of the hammer’s velocity.
I absolutely agree with Kent Smith in that ultimately the piano hammer is the only thing directly involved in sound production. I once got into a long argument with a teacher over wether the “manner” in which the keys are struck actually i.e. (wether a bony or fleshy part of the finger) changes the quality of the sound. Voicing is a very important part of the not so easily defined “tone” or “tone production.” Arm weight just makes everything easier to play.
Each of your correspondents made useful points.My point is “Loud” is only loud if contrasted with “soft”, just as “fast” is only fast if compared with “slow”. None of these expressions is absolute, only relative (assuming one does not have scientific instruments to measure decibels or time.
I thoroughly enjoy your emails. Thank you.
It’s a common misconception that the manner in which a finger strikes a piano key affects “tone.” In fact, looking at the physics of the piano, it should be clear that the HAMMER is the only thing striking the string. The literal “tone” is generated by the piano and the hammer mechanism. You could strike a single key with a drum stick and get the same sound wave out of the piano as if you had played the same key with your finger — because the drum stick is NOT what hits the string; the piano hammer does.
What really affects “tone” (the unique sound of a pianist) is the manner in which SUCCESSIVE keys are pressed — legato, staccato, marcato, crescendo, decrescendo, pedaling, phrasing. Also, with simultaneous notes, such as chords, the RELATIVE LOUDNESS of each note is extremely important in creating a nice “tone.”
Svatislav Richer, always very self-critical, stated a primary problem with his own playing, especially in his youth, was the problem you mentioned–harsh fortissimos and fortes.
My feeling is that every piano is different and responds differently. Yes, it is better to use arm weight if possible, but, as you mention, that’s not always the case.
I think the key is found in critical listening to you own playing–if you’re getting a harsh sound, do whatever it takes (letting up, working into the keys, using arm weight) to eliminate it.
Every piano has limits to how loud you can play it before you lose beautiful tone. I think it is in gradations of the other side of the spectrum, that is, in piano and pianissimo, that technique and instruments can really shine.
Interestingly, Richter (again!) was a big fan of Yamaha pianos. He felt the Steinway was especially prone to harshness (he called it a steel monstrosity or some such thing), and praised the Yam for its ability to help him play in varying pianos and pianissimos.
Of course, Yamaha supplied him with instruments and technicians on his later tours, so he may well have been biased.
Glenn, you’re absolutely right when you say “Every piano has limits to how loud you can play it before you lose beautiful tone”. That’s what makes concert grands concert grands. The bigger strings and sound board can transfer more energy before they reach the limits of their range of motion and start to sort of “clip the wave form”, much like an overdriven amplifier. In a physical sense, pianos have absolutely no power at all — it all comes from the player’s muscles. That muscle movement to music conversion function varies wildly from piano to piano.
— J.S.
I don’t agree that you always must play from the surface of the keys. This method seems like it could add unnecessary tension to your playing and break the fluidity of certain phrasing. I think making sure you play into the bottom of the key bed is more effective than moving to a chord, placing your fingers on the keys, and then pressing them down. By saying this is the only way is a little misleading and detrimental to the people who are taking your videos seriously.
Your point is well taken. There certainly are exceptions to what I described in getting a good tone out of the piano when playing extremely loud. One such exception is in rapid chord or octave passages in which the wrist plays an essential role. Here is a video describing this technique:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkWx0Xwldgk
There are other situations in which playing the keyboard from above is appropriate such as the gentle lifting before starting a phrase.
So, I appreciate your comments and encourage you to try the technique I described staying close to the keys in order to achieve a beautiful sound on the piano when playing extremely loud.