Topic: Correlation of dynamic markings to velocity values

What velocity values should be used in Pianoteq to attain the following dynamic levels in a piano score? In case it depends on the model, I am interested in values for the YC5.

ppp
pp
p
mp
mf
f
ff
fff

Re: Correlation of dynamic markings to velocity values

I would say you can't got far wrong just dividing the 0-127 possible velocities into 8 ranges for the 8 markings and using the center of each as your nominal velocity:

ppp =    8
pp   =  24
p     =  40
mp  =  56
mf   =  72
f      =  88
ff     = 104
fff    = 120

If you find this isn't rendering the way you'd like for a given piece, you can adjust Pianoteq's velocity curve to effectively shift all the velocities up/down, expand/reduce the range or change the slope in different ranges without having to re-visit the individual note velocities, understanding that the variation of dynamics within each marking's range is where all the magic happens (so far as velocity goes) in an actual performance.

Last edited by brundlefly (10-05-2024 19:12)

Re: Correlation of dynamic markings to velocity values

Steven Brown wrote:

What velocity values should be used in Pianoteq to attain the following dynamic levels in a piano score? In case it depends on the model, I am interested in values for the YC5.

ppp
pp
p
mp
mf
f
ff
fff

the velocity graph in pianoteq gives you the standard values with the linear curve .Pianoteq manual indicates that the reference points by default are p=32  mf=64  f=96 .   But you can adjust these values of course and remap the values to include pppp and ffff dynamics  which  you find in some Rachmaninov scores . In which case you may reserve  pppp with any value between 2 and 8 ( velocity 1  triggers a  silent note in pianoteq)  and 127 for ffff which in Italian notation corresponds to the absolute maximum your keyboard can produce .