Piano Processing

[Dr. Rod]

I've been trying to refine a piano I'm using in a Reason project of mine to make it more realistic. I've managed to improve on its realism using velocity editing, but Im kind of at a wall now with what else to do to give it a really rich, realistic sound. The whole project is an electric/synth piece, if that makes any difference as to how I should process it. Are there any general tips as far as processing/humanizing a piano (like with reverb, ASDR, EQ etc.)?

[Nicole Adams]

In addition to changing note velocity, delaying and rushing notes a little can help humanize piano playing.

[Fray]

Pedaling is also pretty important. Are you doing any of that?

[OverCoat]

Pedaling is also pretty important. Are you doing any of that?

and fucking bloody irritating when clicking everything in with a mouse

arararearara:<

[Argle]

Go thru the piece and add tempo swells and decreases. It's a pain in the ass but is worth it.

[dannthr]

Argle's suggestion is actually vital!

No one is a metronome and honestly, players typically speed through parts they've mastered and slow through parts they have difficulty with. They also have the general tendency of accellerating the tempo through the piece if they don't have a conductor.

The first step in creating a realistically human performance is to consider your virtual/imaginary player as a real human with a performance personality and ticks.

[zircon]

Other things to keep in mind..

When playing chords, real players do not usually hit all notes at the exact same time, or at the same strength. They can emphasize a certain note in a chord (and often do), and 'rolling' the chord is a common technique, particularly in very expressive music. It adds emotional effect.

[Dr. Rod]

Thanks everyone for your input on this....Ive been having trouble mainly because the kind of techno / semi-trancey style Im working in really constrains the tempo of the piece (I dont want to completely disconnect it from the beats). I never even thought about varying the chord velocity/timing or the point about pedaling though. In any case though, it seems like I'll have to sacrifice either the steadiness of the beats or some of the humanity in the piano. Ive got a bit of a challenge ahead : /

[Tricklozen]

and fucking bloody irritating when clicking everything in with a mouse

arararearara:<

Some people actually step-record entire musical performances..

****

I'll add that piano instruments may use stretched tuning.

Stretched Tuning

Acoustic pianos are normally tuned so that the high note range is a bit sharper and the low note range is a bit flatter than a mathematically calculated equal temperament (i.e.' date=' where each octave would be precisely double the frequency of the previous octave). This is done simply because pianos sound better when tuned this way.[/quote']

[Argle]

Thanks everyone for your input on this....Ive been having trouble mainly because the kind of techno / semi-trancey style Im working in really constrains the tempo of the piece (I dont want to completely disconnect it from the beats). I never even thought about varying the chord velocity/timing or the point about pedaling though. In any case though, it seems like I'll have to sacrifice either the steadiness of the beats or some of the humanity in the piano. Ive got a bit of a challenge ahead : /

If it's a electronic song don't worry about tempo. I was under the impression you were trying to do a solo piano piece. Edit the velocities to give the part a sense of phrasing, and run it through a humanizer plugin. After that it should sound realistic enough.