Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!lakesys!mikes
From: mikes@lakesys.lakesys.com (Mike Shawaluk)
Newsgroups: comp.music
Subject: Re: piano vibrato
Message-ID: <1398@lakesys.lakesys.com>
Date: 8 Dec 89 14:35:22 GMT
References: <1432@skye.ed.ac.uk> <6912@merlin.usc.edu>
Reply-To: mikes@lakesys.UUCP (Mike Shawaluk)
Organization: Lake Systems - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Lines: 45

In article <6912@merlin.usc.edu> alves@aludra.usc.edu (Bill Alves) writes:
>In article <1432@skye.ed.ac.uk> ken@aiai.UUCP (Ken Johnson) writes:
>>Best Ways to get a Vibrato Effect on a Piano
>>
>>1. Get a friend to open and shut the lid.
>>2. Stand audience outside house. Open annd shut doors and windows.
>>3. Mount piano on giant vibrator.
>>
>I'm afraid these methods will result only in TREMOLO, not vibrato. That is,
>you are modulating the loudness, not the pitch. My suggestion is to vibrate
>the piano alternating toward and away from the audience. If done fast enough
>over enough of a distance, the doppler effect will give you vibrato. 8-)

Okay, I see we're all having great fun with the original poster's question.
However, since I recently attended a clavicord recital, I found this concept
at least interesting, since one of the things that one of the performers at
that event said in his introduction was that the clavichord was capable of
vibrato.  And, in fact, several of the selections that were played that
evening featured this effect.  This effect is relatively easy to accomplish
on a clavichord, since the keys are directly connected to the hammers, with
no escapement, so that holding a key down will keep it pressed against its
strings.  Thus, changing the pressure on a key while it is held down will
produce a small amount of vibrato, although the note will be at a subdued
volume, because the contact with the hammer will tend to dampen it a bit.

Since a piano has these annoying escapements (is that what they are called?),
it's not possible to get vibrato the way a clavicord does it, but surely
there is some (hopefully serious) way to do this.  Does reaching inside and
pressing/wiggling the strings while one is playing count? (assuming, of
course, that the type of piano being played will allow this type of
manipulation).

Actually, I'm able to easily get vibrato when I play one of my "piano"s,
which is an Ensoniq Mirage with the appropriate sample diskette.  All I have
to do is turn the mod wheel.  :-) :-) :-)

(please, this is *not* an attempt to start another flame war on the validity
[or lack thereof] of sampled vs. "real" instruments, etc.)

  - Mike
-- 
   - Mike Shawaluk             
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