Calibration 101

Hello Messrs Journey and Benormerod,

I believe that the main concern between keyboard and the Pianoteq model is how you calibrate your own playing style to get the widest range of note-on velocities that you are comfortable producing with your hands playing your keyboard. 

Stated a different way, we each have a feeling of how our hardest playing and softest playing ... "feels" ... under our hands.  This represents a calibration of our softest, medium and loudest playing styles, whether it is on a real piano, a synth, non-weighted keyboard, weighted keyboard, graduated-weighted keyboard, etc.

The "calibration" you described comes down to this:  'How do I set the keyboard sensitivity or Pianoteq velocity curve, to get the most range of midi velocity -- when we play the way we normally like to play the keyboard?'   Does this ring true with you?

Let's consider a few examples:

1) Worse Case Scenario:  You are using a cheap, cheesy, almost toy-like keyboard that represents the very low end of the quality spectrum might send only one midi note-on velocity value, such as 64 on a scale of 1 - 127, regardless of how hard or how soft you press any given note:

Sorry to say, you have no options available to you, regarding how to control the velocity of Pianoteq.  Hopefully, you are not stuck with this worst-case scenario.

2)  Slightly (but not much) better than above, you have a cheap, cheesy keyboard that is capable of sending various midi velocity levels.

If stuck with this type of Department Store keyboard, calibration would consist of finding what the highest and lowest midi-on values you keyboard is capable of sending, when YOU play in the manner that you do to make music.

The easiest way to accomplish this is to initially leave Pianoteq's default velocity curve as a straight line angled 45 degrees.  Now, play your keyboard as "softly" as you intend to do in real-world playing, then take note of the velocity value that is registered on your computer's screen.

For example:  You might "think" you are playing very quietly, but if your quietest playing triggers a note-on velocity as, say, 40 -- then we will have some adjusting to do.

Next, do the same for your hardest playing style that you intend to use with the given keyboard on the loudest parts of music you intend to play. Then, take note of the velocity value that is registered on your computer's screen.  For example, your hardest playing only tops out at note-on velocity =121.

Now that you are equipped with these two numbers of your own playing style on your own keyboard, the next thing to do is to "force" Pianoteq's lowest velocity to be a very low value (say, 1 to 15).  Likewise, do the same for your hardest key strikes.  If your playing on your keyboard only manages to hit note-on = 121, then it is a matter of "forcing"  (okay, ... calibrating) Pianoteq to hit 127 when your keyboard is only maximally capable of generating note-on velocity = 121.

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As it turns out, progressively higher quality keyboards allow you (the pianist) to comfortably achieve a controllable range of note-on velocities from 1 to 127.  Actually, the method for all other keyboards is the same first step as described above.

Just remember that the above procedure allows one to play the full velocity range in Pianoteq.  There still remains the matter of setting the "curvature" of the velocity curve. 

If you are just starting out with Pianoteq, I would suggest in the beginning that you use a simple linear velocity curve between your lowest and highest note-on velocities.  In time, you will learn for yourself whether your "normal" playing touch makes use of the most usable part of Pianoteq's velocity range. 

Some people might feel that Pianoteq is "too sensitive"; that is to say it is either too soft, or too loud most of the time without being able to play medium loudness with any consistency.  Here is where you can grab some dots along the velocity curve and custom tailor the velocity curve to your playing style (on your particular keyboard controller) and get the most of Pianoteq.

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If you don't know by now, I have a hard time writing only a few words or paragraphs.  (My wife constantly reminds me that "Brevity is the soul of wit!)  Please let me know if this gets you started along the right track for you and your playing style.

Cheers,

Joe