I love these thematic submissions to HN and wish the site had a way of cataloging /grouping them. This and Ravenchord were really cool to read about.
The Alexander Piano
21–30 of 103 posts
Re: The Alexander Piano
#22Native Instruments have sample packs of two extraordinary pianos - the one "una corda" only has single strings for every note, the other is a massive upright piano just like this one, with exceptionally long strings called "the Giant"
https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keys...
https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keys...
Re: The Alexander Piano
#23There's quite a lot of discussion about how it was made (which is pretty interesting, and impressive for a 15 year old!) but not very much discussion about the results. My understanding is that it has a normal range of notes, but with a different type of string - is that true? Or can it go lower than a normal piano? How is the experience of playing it? Is it the same? Or does it respond differently (eg a different re…
for string instruments, there are optimal ranges for string-length, tension and thickness that vary with its frequency. Which is why for example a violin has shorter strings than a cello or a contra bass. Similarly, acoustic (non-electric) bass guitars don't work so well, etc.
To my understanding in a piano, the lower strings are "too short", this includes grand pianos at a concert hall for example. There is a compromise in the construction. The Alexander Piano has an adequate length of strings, so in principle it has better sounds in the lower frequency ranges.
Re: The Alexander Piano
#24>Fifteen year old me said “Mum I’m going to build a piano!” This part is just amazing to me. I can't remember what I was doing when I was 15, but it sure as heck was nothing as close to wanting to build a freaking piano.
I wanted to build spaceships, when I was 12. I used to write to NASA, and they sent me tons of material. I used to have schematics all over the place.
It kinda fell apart, when hormones kicked in, though.
Not sure I could have done it at 15.
Re: The Alexander Piano
#25“There is a powerful driving force inside every human being that, once unleashed, can make any vision, dream, or desire a reality.” Tony Robbins This is what it means to follow your dreams! A wonderful mother, supported the desire of her son. I would like to listen to Elton John playing on this instrument and to know his opinion.
You could at least ask his keys player, ha! There's a pic of him down the page.
I studied music in Dunedin at the University of Otago and never heard of this. Interesting seeing some of the people associated with the music dept. in the pics. Amazing work!
I can only hope some of the excellent classical recording engineers in NZ have caught wind of this by now and made some of their own recordings. Without wanting to sound too snobby, while his recordings are good as archival evidence it would be great to hear what a real pro with all the standard classical recording equipment could capture (for the uninitiated: better mics and hardware and a lifetime's experience using it can do wonders with audio).
Re: The Alexander Piano
#26Someone also applied the idea to an upright piano: https://www.worldpianonews.com/new-product/acoustic/worlds-l...
Being not a fan of the sound of church organs, I think this might be a proper replacement.
Re: The Alexander Piano
#27“There is a powerful driving force inside every human being that, once unleashed, can make any vision, dream, or desire a reality.” Tony Robbins This is what it means to follow your dreams! A wonderful mother, supported the desire of her son. I would like to listen to Elton John playing on this instrument and to know his opinion.
In Tony Robbins' case, the dream was to make a lot of money from gullible people.
https://moneyinc.com/why-many-people-believe-tony-robbins-is...
Re: The Alexander Piano
#28>Fifteen year old me said “Mum I’m going to build a piano!” This part is just amazing to me. I can't remember what I was doing when I was 15, but it sure as heck was nothing as close to wanting to build a freaking piano.
I built my tube amplifier (along with some effects pedals) for my electric guitar at 17. Now that I have kids, I wonder how my folks let me work with 400V of electricity and not freak out. Makes me wonder what kind of weird things my kids are going to get into.
400v? what that what your mains was packing?
Re: The Alexander Piano
#29The timbre of piano strings is an interesting subject, but to my ear honestly the sound isn’t that much different in this example.
For what it’s worth I’ve got a trained ear (trained musician, brief career as a mastering engineer) and the bass notes on these recordings sound freakishly distinct in pitch (identifiable, “tight”, “not boomy”).
It’s similar to the difference between an electric bass guitar and an acoustic bass.
Or more to the point, it’s one notch further in bass note clarity on a scale from small upright piano to baby grand piano to concert grand piano… to the Alexander piano.
I expect that a Fourier analysis of bass notes struck in isolation comparing piano types would reveal increasing proportions of fundamental to side frequencies, with the Alexander having the highest ratio.
Re: The Alexander Piano
#30Native Instruments have sample packs of two extraordinary pianos - the one "una corda" only has single strings for every note, the other is a massive upright piano just like this one, with exceptionally long strings called "the Giant" https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keys... https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keys...
The giant isn't actually my favorite, I find it to be too crisp and clear. Thanks for the Una Corda link, I haven't seen that one before.