Episode 15 - Sound Improvements

Welcome to Show 15 . Thank you for joining me . If this is the first time you've heard the show , welcome . I hope you're enjoying your piano journey as much as I'm enjoying mine If you're a returning listener . Thanks very much for coming back . The Kawaii NV10 is back up and working .

Stan , the technician , arrived on Thursday afternoon equipped with tools and the circuit diagrams and got to work . The piano was still silent , so he began by checking the voltages , all of which seemed correct . Then Stan shorted across the switch and the unit powered on .

This was puzzling as it indicated that the switch was faulty , but switches like these are usually quite reliable . Removing and testing the switch unit showed that it was indeed fine . So the hunt began , Using the circuit diagrams and following the wiring . All seemed to be working properly until Stan removed the second panel and we spied a faulty connector .

Fixed that and the NV10 worked perfectly . We think that the connector was faulty from the time the unit was first assembled , but the jostling involved in moving it from the shop to my house was possibly enough to make the intermittent fault . Anyway , it's working now and you'll hear it later in the episode .

In addition to practicing the Nina Rota piece this week , I've also been getting into scales , and more than just at the piano keyboard . Everyone needs to practice scales , apparently . So I've been slowly building up my repertoire now that I can manage both hands currently . So I've been slowly building up my repertoire now that I can manage both hands .

My piano teacher has been guiding me , so I'm fine with all the scales that use the same fingering as you use for C major , which , as it turns out , is a lot of them . Over the next few weeks we'll work on the rest of the majors before moving on .

I have a book of scales , but I probably should practice in random order so I don't just start memorising them instead of learning and understanding them . So I've written some software for the iPad . It's still early days , but it can display all the major scales at the moment , along with their correct fingering .

Once I'm happy with the layout , I'll start adding more features so that it becomes a fully featured practice app . If you'd like to help out with the testing once it gets to that stage , drop me a note at david@ pianofinally . show and I'll add you to the Test Flight Beta program .

If you're like me , you listen to many different podcasts , so it's probably safe to recommend another one to you in addition to Piano . Finally , Over the past few weeks I've been listening to the Musician Toolkit by David Lane . Mr Lane is a composer and music teacher and has many years of experience both on the paper side and the performance side of music .

The Musician Toolkit is his second podcast , his first being Life in the Pit , which looked at music and musicians in musical theatre . The first episodes of the Musician Toolkit I listened to were the most recent .

They covered four essential skills needed by performers and it is clear that Mr Lane's experience has given him a wealth of insight into the practical side of working in music more than just the theoretical side .

The episodes include guests who add to the information and , although I have no intention of ever working as a musical performer , I found the content to be very interesting . In fact , I found the information in the podcast so good that I've gone back and started listening to the past episodes from the beginning .

The show has been going since early 2023 and the most recent episode is number 90 . Episodes range in length from around 15 minutes up to almost two hours , and they cover a huge range of performance related topics . I'm currently on episode 20 , which is the second part of two , looking at the music of John Williams from the perspective of a composer .

In these two episodes , David is joined by Dr Frank Lehman , an expert in John Williams music . Their insights are great and they include recordings of the themes and ideas they're talking about .

So if you want to listen to some really interesting talk about music , that is a good mix of composition and the practical side of music performance add the musician toolkit to your podcast list

list . Sound improvements how good does your piano sound ? I was watching one of Tiffany Poon's YouTube videos from when she was playing in Salzburg , in which she listens very carefully not only to how the piano sounds by itself , but also how it interacts with the concert hall .

It got me thinking about whether or not I'd made decent decisions when putting my piano in place . I chose the location of the kawaii based mostly on where it would fit without being in the way of things . A full 88 key piano is always about a metre and a half wide and you need to sit back from it , so it's not something you can hide away in a corner .

An upright piano or a digital piano will therefore need a square space of about 150 centimetres on a side . Microwave's a bit deeper , so two metres was needed . Unless you live in a rather large house , most places aren't going to have that area unused .

Realistically , it means that you will either give over a reasonable proportion of your main living space or set aside a spare bedroom If you're the only one in the family interested in playing the piano . Taking up the centre of the lounge room and blocking everyone's view of the television with a piano is unlikely to be well received .

But if you're able to make playing more of a family affair , then perhaps rearranging the lounge room is not too much out of the question . So how will it sound ? My piano room has a normal height ceiling , carpet on the floor , windows along one side , bookcases along the other and some soft furnishings .

The piano sits in the middle of the room , which made it much easier for Stan , the technician , to get to the insides . The room contents mean that it's not very echoey . The speakers in the kawaii point up and towards the front , so it sounds pretty good . The windows in the room are floor to ceiling and have Venetian blinds covering them .

I've noticed a big change in sound when the blinds are up and the sound reflects from the glass . There's also a more subtle change when they're down and partially rather than fully closed .

I think I've ended up with the piano in a reasonable spot , though more through luck than good planning , and it would be a big job to move the piano around to find somewhere different . It weighs over 130 kilos , but things are going to change . One thing the NV10 can't do that the Roland FP90X can do is take the audio in using a USB cable .

Using PianoTek on the Roland was as easy as plugging the iPhone in , changing one setting on the keyboard , and the Roland would swap to playing the PianoTek sound rather than its own internal modelling . The Kawai can do this with an additional audio cable and some fiddling . So I'm doing things differently .

I have a spare M1 Mac Mini that I no longer need for teaching , so I'm going to make it my permanently set-up piano tech machine and add a small studio sound system to it .

This will mean I can use the Kawai as is the Kawai most of the time , but switch it to effectively being a MIDI controller with the full grand piano action when I want to do something a bit different . I'll let you know how things go .

Dust is everywhere , and traditionally pianos are black , so it shows . The Kawai seems to need a dusting every day . It doesn't always get one , but it needs it . With its shiny black finish , it's easy enough to wipe over with a soft cloth , and I keep the floorboard down when I'm not playing , so the keys don't need as much cleaning .

The Roland , on the other hand , is a different matter . It's also black , but it's matte plastic rather than polished wood , so it's not quite as easy to wipe down , and now that the Kawai is back in action , it will likely get less playing time .

I'm also pretty sure that with it going unplayed for days at a time , it is more likely to get things put on it or damaged , so a solution was needed . To the rescue came the Clairvoyant Digital Piano Cover . I found this on Amazon , and it's from a company that makes a large range of custom-fitting covers for keyboards , upright pianos and other instruments .

They make one for the FP90X , so that's what I ordered . The cover is made from a light but durable material , with a soft side that goes against the instrument and a waterproof side with a subtle check pattern that goes on the outside . It's available in black or white and it fits perfectly .

Perfectly includes having a cutout on the top that fits around the music stand so you can leave music books in place even when the piano is covered . It covers the front , back and the sides , but folds out of the way to give full access to the keyboard and controls without needing to remove it .

I'm much happier knowing that the Roland has some protection from knocks and dust , but with a cover that's easy to move out of the way so that it's not a barrier to playing the instrument on the spur of the moment . If you need a cover for a keyboard upright or even some small grand pianos , check out Clairvoyant . They may have what you're looking for .

Well , that's it for this week . If you'd like to contact me , email is the best way . You'll find me at david at pianofinelyshow and the website at wwwpianofinelyshow . In both cases , pianofinely is all one word . The show is also on Facebook and Instagram .

You can subscribe via any popular iOS or Android podcast application or from directories such as Apple Podcasts , Spotify or Player FM . So until the next episode , I hope your piano stays in tune and you enjoy your time at the Keys . This

week's progress piece is still the same as last week's . It's the first nine and a half bars of Nino Rota's A Time For Us from Franco Zeffirelli's film Romeo and Juliet .

I'm still working at keeping the tempo consistent , getting better at that and left-hand chords are going well and I'm getting closer to the right speed Because of the iPad software I'm writing to help with the practicing . I've also spent a fair bit of time working on scales .

There's a tricky part coming up in the next section of A Time For Us , where five pairs of notes need to be played . They're all major sixths , and the first is played in the right hand with fingers 1 and 5 , which is no trouble at all . The second is played with fingers 1 and 5 , which is no trouble at all .

The second is played with fingers 1 and 4 , the next with fingers 1 and 3 , and the second last with fingers 1 and 2 , which is getting pretty close to my maximum span with those fingers . It finishes with a relaxing break back to fingers 1 and 3 .

The idea is to play it legato between the pairs , even though the thumb has to move and I'm not using the pedal to help get by . After the main practice piece I'll add in my latest progress with that section . With the NV-10 back working , this week's practice pieces have been recorded on it using the SKEX Concert Grand setting on full .

I will add the Pianoteq software to the setup over the coming weeks so we will return to more variety soonish . Thank you .