This may be seen as a silly question, but I am quite serious. I’m not sure whether I need to adjust the velocity curve or not. What sort of reason would I need to do this?
This may be seen as a silly question, but I am quite serious. I’m not sure whether I need to adjust the velocity curve or not. What sort of reason would I need to do this?
Everyone will want to try different velocity curves for different reasons. If serious about it, it can probably be said, it's OK to pick one - OR never stop experimenting - either way, or inbetween can be fine for most musicians. There's no 'correct' velocity curve IMHO. People can become overly stuck on getting one correct one for their dpiano - but, taking into account sytyles, genres, the 'different' pianos and presets.. let's say that, OK maybe we can each find one fav curve for 'Player' presets.. maybe.. but even then I'd want diffferent curves for playing different pianos/presets/styles. But.. everyone is different - and nothing is correct as applied to someone else (sorry if I overmention this - unedited)..
Probably should say, first that I think many different good reasons exist, even some not likely common.. Here are some ideas I hope helpful for anyone sincerely thinking "What in the world is the velocity curve for?"
Many will not notice and may not care nor bother with the velocity curve (and I think unfortunately quite a few of those do miss out on a much better experience) - because the default curve is a nice MIDI compliant kind of straight line which does a pretty heroic job.. it may not matter to some users to bother or even worry over, at least until some many hours are experienced playing a dpiano with Pianoteq - but altering it CAN lead to a much better experience (both when playing, feeling more realistic AND/OR in recording, pulling better audio).
But, if you notice that your digital piano keyboard doesn't feel like you get all the tones you want at the velocities your style produces when you play, then you might want to try some alterations to the curve.
You can, for some examples - before even thinking about the overall curve.. just in parts:
1
Make low velocities brighter or even softer in places.
The above is maybe the most obvious one to experiment with.. by dragging the lower dots down/up - you don't need to strike the notes hard to hear your changes. Straight away, you may find that on your dpiano, it makes sense to not use such a linear curve.. maybe a more low slope, or a little push up in the lows might make things sound more like the piano sound you prefer (Just worth adding, there is no singular 'correct' piano in the world - or the world would be a more boring place).
2
Make high velocities softer or even brighter in places.
The above is a big trouble area for many with various dpianos (even back decades). The physical actions of different dpianos, though many are similar, can be a little or a lot diffferent (how the action works/feels under weight and kinetic responses to rapid movement etc.). Some dpianos can reach harsh tones quickly - and some may need to be struck like Thor's hammer to reach nearly 127 velocity - and some dpianos might not even reach 120.. But Pianoteq's velocity curve easily allows us to 'stretch' the curve to fit what your dpiano is capable of. Some which can only reach 115, so when that is 'mapped' to 127 in Pianoteq, then the musician doesn't need to drop a bus onto the keys to 'hear' and 'experience' 127. (that is by moving the top dot Left or Right to find YOUR preferred maximal 'slam'). The other motion, is how steep you want the 'last mile' to maximum velocity... it's likely that you don't want to hear really harsh tones like as if your belting the piano too hard _(*unless you do want that artistic choice!)_ but for a 'reality driven' curve, it may be likely that you might want to drop down fairly steeply to the dot below the maximum one. That way, you keep velocities approaching 127 and those harsher tones out of your bubble around 80 velocity (everyone may want different things from different pianos/presets, esp. for different genres and so on - so mostly when pointing out some possible things to try, I'm kind of sticking to where I think many dpiano users might benefit from some first experiments with altering the curve). Can't be overemphasized, this high velocity area can be over used, misunderstood (in terms of realism) by many.. if you tame it a little, you may get so much more realism from your dpiano! Or, maybe if your dpiano is a certain way, accentuation of the high velocities can allow you to be able to play softer.. whatever your case may be, this side of things can really help you over time find a really good "range" for you, your style(s) and dpiano.
3 (getting deeper into personal preferences/per song kind of territory)
Make the 'melody' area a little brighter (it's OK to make a curve for specific pianos/presets/styles only).
This above is a thing many may benefit from. Why I say this is that, a real piano and Pianoteq presets may be beautifully balanced across the whole keyboard range - as greatly desired by a majority of pianists, I'm sure. And, esp. for loading in a full Pianoteq "Player" type preset maybe (where the goal is to sound more like your sitting at a physical piano THAN a recording), a nice balanced keyboard can be excellent. But, what if you want to make a recording? It 'can help some' who want to improve their overall sound for others to listen to, to experiment a little. This is a very simple trick - esp. for some music I make and may work well for some Jazz or other genres.. but if I "push a little high" in a range where I'm playing melody notes (maybe a push higher around 60-80 velocity - which could be different per piece BTW).. then OK, I can play supporting chords and other 'carriage work' not going too close to 75 - but when playing notes in the melody, if I can work within that 60-80 range, those notes will stand out.. not rocket science - but an example of something not mentioned much - and maybe something others like to do, and some others would say "Oh NO". But.. if someone doesn't like it for 'playing back the MIDI', then recording in a "Player preset", then recording the MIDI via a preset designed with a velocity curve to suit the performance (just to make some notes more or less pronounced per whatever aesthetic desires present), IS what 'making final recordings' can come down to.. and in the past, perhaps real pianos recorded in studios would just bump UP some EQ to make certain notes/ranges/phrases have more prominence. I think unless making 'pristine' classical productions, things like altering the velocity curve to capture something a little better from the performances might make sense to not just pianists but sound designers/producers or anyone with a DAW making music. Worth thinking about - because, people often think "I'll just alter EQ" when maybe things would sound (and feel) a lott better by making some changes to the velocity curve.
4 Note: nothing above is the same for anyone else. No dpiano needs the exact same curve as any other one.
I think 4 above is kind of key. Some pianists can sit at any piano (or dpiano) and play, and listeners are transported! Talking about puttering around with the velocity curve may just not be too concerning. But some users of any given dpiano may feel like it's too artificial - and altering the curve might give a sense that "OK, this now makes the tones I want and allows me to believe my dpiano IS more like a real piano I know and like to play".
For any of that above, it's OK to experiment. Go way way too far.. make horrible curves to hear how they ruin your sounds.. you can ALWAYS just load back in the preset you're using, or load in the default curve you like (click on the title bar of the velocity pane to bring up save/load). Definitely, if you make a curve you kind of like something about, then SAVE it you can end up with too many - but that's OK.. I feel it's a musical journey thing, not a "get it right now" kind of thing. It's not possible to shorten the amount to time you may take to find a 'different curve' you like better. You may find you keep going back to the default one with any preset - and that's fine too. But, don't worry if you collect a bunch of different ones. I would guess many here may have dozens! as they keep tweaking over many years.. it never finishes really, the desire to get just a little bit better here and there - yet, it's nice to just also have a few alternative ones for a couple of different styles/genres to just load in and go. Nobody CAN do that for another person.. because nobody is the same - and what works for one person may feel and sound wrong on another person's dpiano or setup/space etc.. and we each have a different goal for any session (practice? play for enjoyment? recording?).
I view the velocity curve as an extremely powerful tool which some may benefit greatly by just sticking to defaults or the presets you can load by clicking the velocity curve pane's title bar.
One person might say "OK I like the slow curve - I'll load it, then make THAT my default for ALL Pianoteq presets.. DONE". Everything works OK. That can be down to a personal trait, or skill on a piano and a good dpiano helps. Over time, such a person might find "OK, I can make this a little better for myself" - but with time.. and it does take time to really hear/feel what you might 'best' want, eventually.. not a first day thing IMHO.
Another person might say "OK when I play in a grand concert style, things work out better with a curve that doesn't get to 127 as easily.. that way I can apply myself more, play into the keys harder and it generally feels more realistic, to me - feels like more range can be achieved with more fine tuned accuracies involved."
Yet another might say "OK I'm going to go for something shallow compared to the above.. load a 'Felt-like' piano preset play softly like a kitten, but turn UP the curve so it reaches higher velocity tones with less force and maybe play with different hammer hardnesses too up/down.. and I'll play some modern simple jazzy thing.. now I'll just add a bunch of compression with some fat makeup gain too to make it sound like a close mic'd recording.. maybe add "Amp" too.. whoa!!"
While the possibilities don't end there, I do think of the velocity curve as much a part of production as EQ or other elements which create an experience for listeners. I don't just think of it 'for playing' - but that's hopefully a round-up of ideas others can wrangle to their own benefit and try looking at "how can I get something better for my dpiano and recordings"
Gulp! Thank you:)
NP, you're welcome
I should have added, try the ones made by others here on the (link>>>) Pianoteq Velocity Curves page here in the forum.
Don't be afraid to experiment - and also, don't be afraid to stick with defaults either - I know many who don't bother and are just as happy with their results! Cheers Bigalminal and happy Pianoteq-ing!
Here's my personal journey with velocity curves, coming to Pianoteq in v5 and using a Roland FP-30:
1. 'What the heck is a velocity curve anyway?' Setting up Pianoteq, I just ran the calibration assistant and accepted the results. For quite a while that was it.
2. Eventually it became clear that my VC was too aggressive, so I needed to learn how to adjust it. First of all, I had to understand what the VC was and what it was doing.
3. Finally I arrived at a VC that seemed more natural - not too far away from the default 'normal keyboard' straight line.
4. With v8 I've now gone back to the straight line, and it works well for me. But I do make one adjustment - creating a curve for Note Off, which helps to get a more authentic, piano-like response.
This may be seen as a silly question, but I am quite serious. I’m not sure whether I need to adjust the velocity curve or not. What sort of reason would I need to do this?
I'm new too and experimented the velocity curve in pianoteq app. It makes a big difference to me. When using the default velocity curve, Steinway model D sounds very similar to the Yamaha CFX Grand in my yamaha csp150. But Yamaha pianist app doesn't allow free tuning of the velocity curve. It provides only 6 options, soft2, soft1, medium, hard1, hard2, and fixed. They have only slight difference among each other. Pianoteq, however, allows to make higher levels of tuning, which gives a more acoustic piano sound to my ears, when I make it more "soft". I don't know what "soft" means here (higher or lower velocity?) .
If yamaha pianist app allows more freedom in tuning the velocity curve, Yamaha CLP/CSP/CVP users may not need pianoteq. just kidding. :-D