At what rate does the volume (velocity) of a note decay?MIDI: How do I refer to (and search for) software that will play audio from a MIDI piano?Just bought a digital piano - have some 'newbie' computer music questionsAdvice on how to gain velocity feeling on DAW keyboard (piano)Taking up piano examsLast note in midi file playing at half the lengthHow to simplify a midi file similar to the same limitations of a player pianoProblem with a Digital PianoProper way to record a digital pianoDigital Piano Midi Latency ProblemOn a piano, are the effects of holding notes and the sustain pedal the same for a single chord?

How can I stop myself from micromanaging other PCs' actions?

Explain why watch 'jobs' does not work but watch 'ps' work?

At what rate does the volume (velocity) of a note decay?

What is the effect and/or good reasons of changing a paper bill to a coin?

Terence Tao–type books in other fields?

Expansion with *.txt in the shell doesn't work if no .txt file exists

Does academia have a lazy work culture?

How to avoid unconsciously copying the style of my favorite writer?

Why are off grid solar setups only 12, 24, 48 VDC?

Spoken encryption

Why is drive/partition number still used?

What is the lowest-speed bogey a jet fighter can intercept/escort?

TSA asking to see cell phone

How do I generate distribution of positive numbers only with min, max and mean?

What does "see" in "the Holy See" mean?

Request for a Latin phrase as motto "God is highest/supreme"

Marrying a second woman behind your wife's back: is it wrong and can Quran/Hadith prove this?

What is "I bet" in German?

Assuring luggage isn't lost with short layover

Is there a reason why I should not use the HaveIBeenPwned API to warn users about exposed passwords?

A planet illuminated by a black hole?

How do professional electronic musicians/sound engineers combat listening fatigue?

Unethical behavior : should I report it?

Did the IBM PC use the 8088's NMI line?



At what rate does the volume (velocity) of a note decay?


MIDI: How do I refer to (and search for) software that will play audio from a MIDI piano?Just bought a digital piano - have some 'newbie' computer music questionsAdvice on how to gain velocity feeling on DAW keyboard (piano)Taking up piano examsLast note in midi file playing at half the lengthHow to simplify a midi file similar to the same limitations of a player pianoProblem with a Digital PianoProper way to record a digital pianoDigital Piano Midi Latency ProblemOn a piano, are the effects of holding notes and the sustain pedal the same for a single chord?






.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;








1















Forgive me if this is more a physics question than a music question! My question is: When a note is struck on a piano and held down (or a tuning fork is struck, or any instrument where there is just a one-time impact that then rings until dampened), what is the rate of decay in volume (aka velocity)? I strongly suspect that it is not linear; that the volume after two seconds is not half the volume after one second.



By extension, is it possible to calculate, or even just estimate, how long a note continues to reverberate on a piano if struck at maximum impact, versus lightly pressed, when held down in both cases?



Background, not essential:



I have a beautiful AvantGrand N2, which includes a standard MIDI output via a UX16 capble that allows one to record on a computer when and how forcefully a note was struck. While MIDI will never capture the complete soul of a piano, I want to use this just to see how accurately I'm expressing certain notes in a chord versus others.



The way MIDI works, it just sends a signal when a note was struck and how forcefully (known as "velocity"), and a second signal when that note was released, even if one removes one's finger 30 seconds later, long after the note has decayed. (It can read the pedals too, but that's a future endeavor.) So my question is: When a note is struck, and I want to visualize the velocity over time, what sort of function should I apply to the initial velocity?



Thank you!










share|improve this question







New contributor



Chris Wilson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.














  • 1





    It's nowhere near that simple. Quick experiment. hit the top note & bottom note... which decays first?

    – Tetsujin
    8 hours ago






  • 1





    "what is the rate of decay in volume (aka velocity)?" For a start, volume isn't velocity.

    – Laurence Payne
    7 hours ago






  • 2





    Velocity is basically how fast you hit the note. The way the sensors work that's all it can do - times how long it takes for the note to travel from rest to pressed. That is translated to 'weight'. Once the note is then generated, real or imaginary, what you then hear is 'volume'.

    – Tetsujin
    7 hours ago






  • 1





    Velocity is "the rate at which a keyboard controller key is pressed" according to a paper about how to interpret and implement it. pdfs.semanticscholar.org/92a7/…

    – Camille Goudeseune
    7 hours ago






  • 1





    Once you're in the realm of actual sound, midi then has no job to do until you let go of the note, at which point the processor then determines what should occur [good ones have all kinds of ancillary functions at that point - sympathetic resonance, mechanical noise, subtle stuff, but that's why the Avants are expensive]

    – Tetsujin
    7 hours ago

















1















Forgive me if this is more a physics question than a music question! My question is: When a note is struck on a piano and held down (or a tuning fork is struck, or any instrument where there is just a one-time impact that then rings until dampened), what is the rate of decay in volume (aka velocity)? I strongly suspect that it is not linear; that the volume after two seconds is not half the volume after one second.



By extension, is it possible to calculate, or even just estimate, how long a note continues to reverberate on a piano if struck at maximum impact, versus lightly pressed, when held down in both cases?



Background, not essential:



I have a beautiful AvantGrand N2, which includes a standard MIDI output via a UX16 capble that allows one to record on a computer when and how forcefully a note was struck. While MIDI will never capture the complete soul of a piano, I want to use this just to see how accurately I'm expressing certain notes in a chord versus others.



The way MIDI works, it just sends a signal when a note was struck and how forcefully (known as "velocity"), and a second signal when that note was released, even if one removes one's finger 30 seconds later, long after the note has decayed. (It can read the pedals too, but that's a future endeavor.) So my question is: When a note is struck, and I want to visualize the velocity over time, what sort of function should I apply to the initial velocity?



Thank you!










share|improve this question







New contributor



Chris Wilson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.














  • 1





    It's nowhere near that simple. Quick experiment. hit the top note & bottom note... which decays first?

    – Tetsujin
    8 hours ago






  • 1





    "what is the rate of decay in volume (aka velocity)?" For a start, volume isn't velocity.

    – Laurence Payne
    7 hours ago






  • 2





    Velocity is basically how fast you hit the note. The way the sensors work that's all it can do - times how long it takes for the note to travel from rest to pressed. That is translated to 'weight'. Once the note is then generated, real or imaginary, what you then hear is 'volume'.

    – Tetsujin
    7 hours ago






  • 1





    Velocity is "the rate at which a keyboard controller key is pressed" according to a paper about how to interpret and implement it. pdfs.semanticscholar.org/92a7/…

    – Camille Goudeseune
    7 hours ago






  • 1





    Once you're in the realm of actual sound, midi then has no job to do until you let go of the note, at which point the processor then determines what should occur [good ones have all kinds of ancillary functions at that point - sympathetic resonance, mechanical noise, subtle stuff, but that's why the Avants are expensive]

    – Tetsujin
    7 hours ago













1












1








1








Forgive me if this is more a physics question than a music question! My question is: When a note is struck on a piano and held down (or a tuning fork is struck, or any instrument where there is just a one-time impact that then rings until dampened), what is the rate of decay in volume (aka velocity)? I strongly suspect that it is not linear; that the volume after two seconds is not half the volume after one second.



By extension, is it possible to calculate, or even just estimate, how long a note continues to reverberate on a piano if struck at maximum impact, versus lightly pressed, when held down in both cases?



Background, not essential:



I have a beautiful AvantGrand N2, which includes a standard MIDI output via a UX16 capble that allows one to record on a computer when and how forcefully a note was struck. While MIDI will never capture the complete soul of a piano, I want to use this just to see how accurately I'm expressing certain notes in a chord versus others.



The way MIDI works, it just sends a signal when a note was struck and how forcefully (known as "velocity"), and a second signal when that note was released, even if one removes one's finger 30 seconds later, long after the note has decayed. (It can read the pedals too, but that's a future endeavor.) So my question is: When a note is struck, and I want to visualize the velocity over time, what sort of function should I apply to the initial velocity?



Thank you!










share|improve this question







New contributor



Chris Wilson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











Forgive me if this is more a physics question than a music question! My question is: When a note is struck on a piano and held down (or a tuning fork is struck, or any instrument where there is just a one-time impact that then rings until dampened), what is the rate of decay in volume (aka velocity)? I strongly suspect that it is not linear; that the volume after two seconds is not half the volume after one second.



By extension, is it possible to calculate, or even just estimate, how long a note continues to reverberate on a piano if struck at maximum impact, versus lightly pressed, when held down in both cases?



Background, not essential:



I have a beautiful AvantGrand N2, which includes a standard MIDI output via a UX16 capble that allows one to record on a computer when and how forcefully a note was struck. While MIDI will never capture the complete soul of a piano, I want to use this just to see how accurately I'm expressing certain notes in a chord versus others.



The way MIDI works, it just sends a signal when a note was struck and how forcefully (known as "velocity"), and a second signal when that note was released, even if one removes one's finger 30 seconds later, long after the note has decayed. (It can read the pedals too, but that's a future endeavor.) So my question is: When a note is struck, and I want to visualize the velocity over time, what sort of function should I apply to the initial velocity?



Thank you!







piano midi sound digital-piano midi-controller-keyboard






share|improve this question







New contributor



Chris Wilson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.










share|improve this question







New contributor



Chris Wilson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.








share|improve this question




share|improve this question






New contributor



Chris Wilson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.








asked 8 hours ago









Chris WilsonChris Wilson

1084 bronze badges




1084 bronze badges




New contributor



Chris Wilson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.




New contributor




Chris Wilson is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









  • 1





    It's nowhere near that simple. Quick experiment. hit the top note & bottom note... which decays first?

    – Tetsujin
    8 hours ago






  • 1





    "what is the rate of decay in volume (aka velocity)?" For a start, volume isn't velocity.

    – Laurence Payne
    7 hours ago






  • 2





    Velocity is basically how fast you hit the note. The way the sensors work that's all it can do - times how long it takes for the note to travel from rest to pressed. That is translated to 'weight'. Once the note is then generated, real or imaginary, what you then hear is 'volume'.

    – Tetsujin
    7 hours ago






  • 1





    Velocity is "the rate at which a keyboard controller key is pressed" according to a paper about how to interpret and implement it. pdfs.semanticscholar.org/92a7/…

    – Camille Goudeseune
    7 hours ago






  • 1





    Once you're in the realm of actual sound, midi then has no job to do until you let go of the note, at which point the processor then determines what should occur [good ones have all kinds of ancillary functions at that point - sympathetic resonance, mechanical noise, subtle stuff, but that's why the Avants are expensive]

    – Tetsujin
    7 hours ago












  • 1





    It's nowhere near that simple. Quick experiment. hit the top note & bottom note... which decays first?

    – Tetsujin
    8 hours ago






  • 1





    "what is the rate of decay in volume (aka velocity)?" For a start, volume isn't velocity.

    – Laurence Payne
    7 hours ago






  • 2





    Velocity is basically how fast you hit the note. The way the sensors work that's all it can do - times how long it takes for the note to travel from rest to pressed. That is translated to 'weight'. Once the note is then generated, real or imaginary, what you then hear is 'volume'.

    – Tetsujin
    7 hours ago






  • 1





    Velocity is "the rate at which a keyboard controller key is pressed" according to a paper about how to interpret and implement it. pdfs.semanticscholar.org/92a7/…

    – Camille Goudeseune
    7 hours ago






  • 1





    Once you're in the realm of actual sound, midi then has no job to do until you let go of the note, at which point the processor then determines what should occur [good ones have all kinds of ancillary functions at that point - sympathetic resonance, mechanical noise, subtle stuff, but that's why the Avants are expensive]

    – Tetsujin
    7 hours ago







1




1





It's nowhere near that simple. Quick experiment. hit the top note & bottom note... which decays first?

– Tetsujin
8 hours ago





It's nowhere near that simple. Quick experiment. hit the top note & bottom note... which decays first?

– Tetsujin
8 hours ago




1




1





"what is the rate of decay in volume (aka velocity)?" For a start, volume isn't velocity.

– Laurence Payne
7 hours ago





"what is the rate of decay in volume (aka velocity)?" For a start, volume isn't velocity.

– Laurence Payne
7 hours ago




2




2





Velocity is basically how fast you hit the note. The way the sensors work that's all it can do - times how long it takes for the note to travel from rest to pressed. That is translated to 'weight'. Once the note is then generated, real or imaginary, what you then hear is 'volume'.

– Tetsujin
7 hours ago





Velocity is basically how fast you hit the note. The way the sensors work that's all it can do - times how long it takes for the note to travel from rest to pressed. That is translated to 'weight'. Once the note is then generated, real or imaginary, what you then hear is 'volume'.

– Tetsujin
7 hours ago




1




1





Velocity is "the rate at which a keyboard controller key is pressed" according to a paper about how to interpret and implement it. pdfs.semanticscholar.org/92a7/…

– Camille Goudeseune
7 hours ago





Velocity is "the rate at which a keyboard controller key is pressed" according to a paper about how to interpret and implement it. pdfs.semanticscholar.org/92a7/…

– Camille Goudeseune
7 hours ago




1




1





Once you're in the realm of actual sound, midi then has no job to do until you let go of the note, at which point the processor then determines what should occur [good ones have all kinds of ancillary functions at that point - sympathetic resonance, mechanical noise, subtle stuff, but that's why the Avants are expensive]

– Tetsujin
7 hours ago





Once you're in the realm of actual sound, midi then has no job to do until you let go of the note, at which point the processor then determines what should occur [good ones have all kinds of ancillary functions at that point - sympathetic resonance, mechanical noise, subtle stuff, but that's why the Avants are expensive]

– Tetsujin
7 hours ago










1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes


















3














You needn't calculate or estimate or do fancy math. Others have measured piano string decay rates, and they're messy:




Measurements have been made on a high‐quality spinet piano to determine the initial amplitude and decay characteristics of the principal harmonic components of notes covering the entire scale. Decay rates of individual components varied from 1 to 100 db/sec as a function principally of frequency and string position in the scale rather than of harmonic number. An exception was noted in the third to fifth octaves, where the fundamental of a given string decayed at a considerably higher rate than the harmonics. This pattern appears to have a strong influence in determining typical piano tone in this region. Frequency spectra of the initial amplitudes of individual notes over the entire scale show, on the average, a sharp cutoff below 100 cps, a fairly flat region between 100 and 1000 cps, and a roll‐off of at least 12 db per octave above 1000 cps, with negligible energy above 8000 cps.




Here's another technical paper whose abstract confirms your hunch that the decay is nonlinear.






share|improve this answer























  • Thank you! Seeing as I'm not trying to recreate a realistic piano from mere MIDI, this will suffice just fine. Thank you!

    – Chris Wilson
    7 hours ago













Your Answer








StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "240"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);

else
createEditor();

);

function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);



);






Chris Wilson is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.









draft saved

draft discarded


















StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmusic.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f87199%2fat-what-rate-does-the-volume-velocity-of-a-note-decay%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown

























1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes








1 Answer
1






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









3














You needn't calculate or estimate or do fancy math. Others have measured piano string decay rates, and they're messy:




Measurements have been made on a high‐quality spinet piano to determine the initial amplitude and decay characteristics of the principal harmonic components of notes covering the entire scale. Decay rates of individual components varied from 1 to 100 db/sec as a function principally of frequency and string position in the scale rather than of harmonic number. An exception was noted in the third to fifth octaves, where the fundamental of a given string decayed at a considerably higher rate than the harmonics. This pattern appears to have a strong influence in determining typical piano tone in this region. Frequency spectra of the initial amplitudes of individual notes over the entire scale show, on the average, a sharp cutoff below 100 cps, a fairly flat region between 100 and 1000 cps, and a roll‐off of at least 12 db per octave above 1000 cps, with negligible energy above 8000 cps.




Here's another technical paper whose abstract confirms your hunch that the decay is nonlinear.






share|improve this answer























  • Thank you! Seeing as I'm not trying to recreate a realistic piano from mere MIDI, this will suffice just fine. Thank you!

    – Chris Wilson
    7 hours ago















3














You needn't calculate or estimate or do fancy math. Others have measured piano string decay rates, and they're messy:




Measurements have been made on a high‐quality spinet piano to determine the initial amplitude and decay characteristics of the principal harmonic components of notes covering the entire scale. Decay rates of individual components varied from 1 to 100 db/sec as a function principally of frequency and string position in the scale rather than of harmonic number. An exception was noted in the third to fifth octaves, where the fundamental of a given string decayed at a considerably higher rate than the harmonics. This pattern appears to have a strong influence in determining typical piano tone in this region. Frequency spectra of the initial amplitudes of individual notes over the entire scale show, on the average, a sharp cutoff below 100 cps, a fairly flat region between 100 and 1000 cps, and a roll‐off of at least 12 db per octave above 1000 cps, with negligible energy above 8000 cps.




Here's another technical paper whose abstract confirms your hunch that the decay is nonlinear.






share|improve this answer























  • Thank you! Seeing as I'm not trying to recreate a realistic piano from mere MIDI, this will suffice just fine. Thank you!

    – Chris Wilson
    7 hours ago













3












3








3







You needn't calculate or estimate or do fancy math. Others have measured piano string decay rates, and they're messy:




Measurements have been made on a high‐quality spinet piano to determine the initial amplitude and decay characteristics of the principal harmonic components of notes covering the entire scale. Decay rates of individual components varied from 1 to 100 db/sec as a function principally of frequency and string position in the scale rather than of harmonic number. An exception was noted in the third to fifth octaves, where the fundamental of a given string decayed at a considerably higher rate than the harmonics. This pattern appears to have a strong influence in determining typical piano tone in this region. Frequency spectra of the initial amplitudes of individual notes over the entire scale show, on the average, a sharp cutoff below 100 cps, a fairly flat region between 100 and 1000 cps, and a roll‐off of at least 12 db per octave above 1000 cps, with negligible energy above 8000 cps.




Here's another technical paper whose abstract confirms your hunch that the decay is nonlinear.






share|improve this answer













You needn't calculate or estimate or do fancy math. Others have measured piano string decay rates, and they're messy:




Measurements have been made on a high‐quality spinet piano to determine the initial amplitude and decay characteristics of the principal harmonic components of notes covering the entire scale. Decay rates of individual components varied from 1 to 100 db/sec as a function principally of frequency and string position in the scale rather than of harmonic number. An exception was noted in the third to fifth octaves, where the fundamental of a given string decayed at a considerably higher rate than the harmonics. This pattern appears to have a strong influence in determining typical piano tone in this region. Frequency spectra of the initial amplitudes of individual notes over the entire scale show, on the average, a sharp cutoff below 100 cps, a fairly flat region between 100 and 1000 cps, and a roll‐off of at least 12 db per octave above 1000 cps, with negligible energy above 8000 cps.




Here's another technical paper whose abstract confirms your hunch that the decay is nonlinear.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 7 hours ago









Camille GoudeseuneCamille Goudeseune

2,17410 silver badges24 bronze badges




2,17410 silver badges24 bronze badges












  • Thank you! Seeing as I'm not trying to recreate a realistic piano from mere MIDI, this will suffice just fine. Thank you!

    – Chris Wilson
    7 hours ago

















  • Thank you! Seeing as I'm not trying to recreate a realistic piano from mere MIDI, this will suffice just fine. Thank you!

    – Chris Wilson
    7 hours ago
















Thank you! Seeing as I'm not trying to recreate a realistic piano from mere MIDI, this will suffice just fine. Thank you!

– Chris Wilson
7 hours ago





Thank you! Seeing as I'm not trying to recreate a realistic piano from mere MIDI, this will suffice just fine. Thank you!

– Chris Wilson
7 hours ago










Chris Wilson is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.









draft saved

draft discarded


















Chris Wilson is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.












Chris Wilson is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.











Chris Wilson is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.














Thanks for contributing an answer to Music: Practice & Theory Stack Exchange!


  • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

But avoid


  • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

  • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.

To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




draft saved


draft discarded














StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmusic.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f87199%2fat-what-rate-does-the-volume-velocity-of-a-note-decay%23new-answer', 'question_page');

);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown





















































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown

































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown







Popular posts from this blog

Canceling a color specificationRandomly assigning color to Graphics3D objects?Default color for Filling in Mathematica 9Coloring specific elements of sets with a prime modified order in an array plotHow to pick a color differing significantly from the colors already in a given color list?Detection of the text colorColor numbers based on their valueCan color schemes for use with ColorData include opacity specification?My dynamic color schemes

Invision Community Contents History See also References External links Navigation menuProprietaryinvisioncommunity.comIPS Community ForumsIPS Community Forumsthis blog entry"License Changes, IP.Board 3.4, and the Future""Interview -- Matt Mecham of Ibforums""CEO Invision Power Board, Matt Mecham Is a Liar, Thief!"IPB License Explanation 1.3, 1.3.1, 2.0, and 2.1ArchivedSecurity Fixes, Updates And Enhancements For IPB 1.3.1Archived"New Demo Accounts - Invision Power Services"the original"New Default Skin"the original"Invision Power Board 3.0.0 and Applications Released"the original"Archived copy"the original"Perpetual licenses being done away with""Release Notes - Invision Power Services""Introducing: IPS Community Suite 4!"Invision Community Release Notes

199年 目錄 大件事 到箇年出世嗰人 到箇年死嗰人 節慶、風俗習慣 導覽選單