{"id":5712,"date":"2018-12-17T13:21:52","date_gmt":"2018-12-17T18:21:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/?p=5712"},"modified":"2023-05-04T11:39:55","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T15:39:55","slug":"make-virtual-piano-sound-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/make-virtual-piano-sound-real\/","title":{"rendered":"How to make your virtual piano sound real"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Illustration: Sofia Pashaei<\/a><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Recording piano is one of the most important skills that any recording engineer can obtain.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

It helps you understand concepts of stereo instrument micing and phase relationships, and provides a good example of instruments that span the audible frequency range. Unfortunately, this also makes them a bit harder to sample than other instruments. No single mic setup is appropriate for every mix. This is one reason why so many different piano libraries exist: they’re tailored for specific feelings, styles, or genres. Today, we\u2019ll be talking about how to get the most out of your piano samples. I’ll be using Kontakt 5 and Native Instruments Alicia\u2019s Keys for demonstration purposes, but most of these tips apply to any virtual piano. The track we’ll be working with is \u201cWade in the Water,\u201d a jazz standard originally written in 1901.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Before we start, let\u2019s hear the finished product to get a sense of where we’re headed. Keep in mind that MIDI programming and mixing is a cumulative effort – each step adds to the finished whole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This blog post mentions Splice Studio, which is no longer active. Learn more about the shutdown here.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humanization<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As with all virtual acoustic instruments, performance is crucial. You need to get into the mind of a piano player while programming MIDI piano. First and foremost, you need to be careful with quantization. Over-quantizing leads to robotic and lifeless sounding MIDI, even if the performance is technically “correct.” There are two methods that I use to ensure that my piano playing has some life. The first involves playing the part live and then applying light quantization once I’m finished – something in the range of 25% – 30% strength. Even then, I apply a little bit of swing to give it a little groove.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The second method involves quantizing strictly to the grid (100% strength) and then applying humanization. Using Logic\u2019s MIDI Transform<\/strong> window, I pull up the Humanize<\/strong> preset and tweak some settings. I tend to leave the Velocity<\/strong> at \u00b1Rand 10<\/strong> but I usually alter the Note Length<\/strong> and Position<\/strong> values. Their default is also \u00b1Rand 10<\/strong> but I find that \u00b1Rand 25 – 35<\/strong> tends to provide more realistic results.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Both of these methods work, albeit with subtly different results. You’ll have to experiment with the two to see which works best for you. Even then, it can be beneficial to manually modify the values of certain notes to accentuate phrases. Sometimes, I even like to throw in wrong notes or grace notes at low velocities to simulate the player hitting just in between the keys. Remember that a piano player never hits every note exactly the same. What sounds like relatively uniform volume throughout phrases, chords, and melody lines actually have very subtle velocity, timing, and length variations that give us the sense that the performance is real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s what the piano sounds like without any humanization:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Velocity curves<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Velocity curves alter the MIDI information before it’s passed to the sampler. The curves are based around the idea that some keyboards are weighted differently than others, and typically they come in three varieties: linear<\/strong>, convex<\/strong>, and concave<\/strong>. Linear is the default and just maps incoming MIDI velocity 1:1. Convex takes longer for notes to become loud. If you were to play a loud note, it would be passed to Kontakt at a lower velocity. Concave is the opposite of this. The intention with velocity curves is to make playing on a MIDI keyboard more accurate to the velocities you want to play. I tend to use them after the fact. Once I have a part recorded and quantized, I like to experiment with velocity curves to smooth out how notes are played. On softer pieces, such as the one we’re working with here, I tend to apply a convex curve in order to soften the notes that are played in the upper range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here’s what the piano sounds like without any velocity curve:<\/p>\n\n\n\n