Message
Re: [disklavier] velocities on Pianodisc software
2003-12-18 by PianoBench@aol.com
In a message dated 12/18/03 3:28:17 PM, Tom writes:
Just took delivery of a gleaming new DU1A-PE with all the mark
three disklavier gear on and it is gorgeous . On reading through the
archives I noticed a question relating to velocities on midi files,
suggested velocities were around the 65 mark as damage to the piano
action could result .
Fortunately, this velocity information is totally false.
If you make a recording on a modern Disklavier, you will find that casual playing will result in note-on velocities in the 40-80 range and that performances with truly wide-ranging dynamics will fall in the range of 25-105. These numbers are approximations, of course. It is possible to record even higher and lower velocities, but this gives you a general idea as to the normal velocity profile of the Disklavier.
Many MIDI files from other sources have velocities that are considerably higher, all the way up to 127. These files were usually generated by lighter-action keyboards.
In addition, you should note that the Disklavier records a controller 7 (volume) message at the beginning of each piano track. By default, the Disklavier sets controller 7=100. Many files that you find on the web, however, have the volume level set much higher for the piano tracks.
I would not be too worried about damaging your Disklavier. So long as the file does not sound as though the pianist is being abusive, it should be okay to play on your instrument. If you acquire some files that are too loud and you wish to edit them, I suggest that you start by setting controller 7=100 for the piano tracks, especially if it is set to a higher number. Then, if the file is still too loud, you can edit the note-on velocities. Personally, I am generally satisfied by subtracting anywhere from 5 to 30 velocity points off of all piano note-on velocities in a loudly recorded file. (I know that there is a program in this group that takes a different approach to lowering note-on velocities.)
rwelcyng@... mentioned setting the volume level of the piano track(s) to 0. A word of explanation is in order.
Throughout most of the MIDI world, a volume setting of 0 results in no sound at all. In the case of a Mark IIXG or later Disklavier, a volume setting of 0 is the same as a setting of 100--as far as the piano tracks are concerned. The reason is this:
Before the Mark IIXG, the Disklavier did not respond to controller 7 messages AND the Disklavier did not have a built-in tone generator. If you had a multitrack MIDI file and played it on a Disklavier with an external tone generator, the Disklavier would play the note data on channels 1 and 2, the incrememtal pedal data on channel 3, and the Disklavier would send ALL 16 channels of data to the external tone generator. The result would be that the external tone generator would also play the piano tracks, and you would hear a digital plano sound in addition to the acoustic piano.
To compensate for this anomally, Yamaha published its PianoSoft Plus software with the volume of the piano tracks set to 0. Setting the volume to 0 did not affect Disklavier playback since the Disklavier did not respond to that message at that time. However, it did have the effect of silencing those tracks on the external tone generator.
In order to maintain compatibility with older software editing techniques, the more modern Disklaviers have been designed to interpret a volume=0 message for the piano parts to be the same as a volume=100 message.
Regards,
PianoBench