Get the Best Quality Performance of your MIDI file
The original name for the keyboard instrument that we now refer to as the piano was “piano forte”, which literally means ‘soft & loud’. By exploiting the differences between louder and softer notes, phrases, and musical sections the intuitive pianist conjures up performances rich in musical meaning. Similarly, the secret to producing a convincing piano performance on the Disklavier from midi data lies in preserving as much of this dynamic range information as possible. To that end it is always best to choose a weighted keyboard controller to generate your midi data if possible.
Before you start recording the midi data for your piano track you may also want to take a second look at the midi response curves on your master keyboard. Most keyboards these days give the user a choice of velocity curves that map the dynamics of your playing to the range of midi values it generates. Try them out and look at the resulting spread of midi velocity values between your loud and soft notes and choose one that produces the greatest differences. We can get much better results on the Disklavier by compressing velocity values that are too far apart, rather than trying to expand values that were generated too close together in the first place.
And of course, don’t forget to take full advantage of computer recording techniques to create your midi piano track. Splice together multiple takes to make one great composite. Record at a slower tempo or enter the left and right hand parts separately if need be. Add some extra notes as overdubs. Fix any mistakes, double strikes, or errant sustain pedal actions You may even want to quantize rhythmic values – an effect not normally achievable with an acoustic instrument. So take your time and have fun!
