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Not sure if there is a piano term for this, though I realize it's related to dynamics...lately I've been able to change out I play (touch) the keys. Applying more or less pressure, varying how I take my fingers of the keys, playing with legato where I'm changing the pressure applied on notes, while trying to be more smooth/connected. I'm more of a technical/logic kind of person, but when I'm doing this it's making the connection I have with the piano more "organic" (somewhat corny term for me ;-).

How would you describe this in piano language?

The general term is "tone" although it doesn't have a clear definition.

BTW, there are endless discussions about this in the Pianist Corner forum but basically because of the way the piano is constructed applying any pressure to a key after it has sounded has no effect.

Noonie, You are describing what I refer to as 'connection.' When the Listening & Playing gets in cycle with the music that happens in our minds, that is when playing becomes fun. Do you spend time improvising?

Not at all. It's on my to do list,,,reading about it in any case

I would be more inclined to refer to it as "technique" however a good technique involves a lot more than just a nice touch. It does sound as if your piano playing is evolving and I know that can be very exciting.

Dynamics is the term for volume, or as you say, pressure.
Articulation is the degree of staccato, legato, or in between.

Both of these are related to phrasing: determining where are the musical sentences, where is the natural rise and fall of those sentences (dynamics), how can articulation help show the groupings of notes within those sentences.

I would add that dynamics and tones are more than how much "pressure" you exert into the key (I like to substitute the word "pressure" with the word "weight"). It has to do with a combination of things:

1) from where you strike the key
2) the speed you strike the key
3) which part of finger you strike the key with
4) how much weight between arm, hand and finger

1. From where you strike the key
You can drop your arm/hand/finger from mid air to hit the key. You can do that while you are already touching the key. Then you can do from half way down the key. Generally, the further you are away from the key, the louder you get. Try playing the same loud with the 3 different positions. If you drop your arm from mid air, you can go slower and get the loudness you want. If you finger is already touching the key, to get the same loudness, you'll need to strike it faster. While you get the same loudness, you get different tones.

2. The speed you strike the key
Generally, the faster you strike a key, the more "pressure" you have to exert to get that speed and the louder the sound you get. The opposite would be the slower you strike the key, the less pressure you need, and you get a softer sound. Don't get confused with speed into the key with the tempo of the music. You can go slow into the key while playing very fast notes. Usually you'll apply this technique for fast but soft passages. I find these passages quite challenging. It is a lot easier to play fast and loud than fast and soft.

3. Which part of finger you strike the key with
For tone, I prefer to think of which part of the finger I am playing. To get a warmer and legato sound, I'd use more of the finger pads. To get a bright, sharp sound, and especially percussive and short staccatos, I'd play more towards the tip of my finger pads near where the nails are.

4. How much weight between arm, hand and fingers
For loud and fuller sound, I'd use a lot of arm. For particular passages like scales in octaves I'd use more hand. For more articulations, I'd use more fingers.


Think of all the possible combinations of the above and you'll find yourself with a lot more different tones and dynamics at your disposal. Learning these techniques is one thing. Knowing when to apply what and how much of what to apply is the tricky bits.

I'd like to associate these with watercolour paintings. The more techniques you have, the more brushes and water you have at your disposal. Arm = big and thick brush. Hand = medium brush, Finger = fine brush. Full tones = little water. Dreamy tones = lots of water. When it comes to the different tone colours, I'd like to think of it as the harmony of the music itself.

Good luck!

The other thing that hasn't been mentioned is any reference to note release. They'll be times where this may be where a greater focus is needed in driving an effect or rhythm. It could just be another bullet for above and doesn't replace anything, but rarely gets talked about.

Meanwhile, the only focus needed for now is listening well to the sound you're producing and making adjustments to make it better. The instruction provided above will help with those adjustments. With enough practice, this will all become just part of how you play.

The word "pressure" bothers me because it could reflect a basic misunderstanding of how it works. You could hold down a key with full force or like a tiny baby and the sound would be the same (by the time the key is held down, no sound is produced - it has already been produced). Volume has to do with how fast - with how much velocity - the hammer flies at the strings. If you have a DP, it is been programmed to sense the equivalent motion of the keys, created by your playing. When I didn't know better I thought in terms of "force" and "pressure" and the result was tension and loss of flexibility in the hand. You can have a light, whip-like motion to create large volume: you can drop your hand limply from a height and produce a loud crash.

+1.

But the psychology of "heavy vs light" might be more intuitive than the physics of "fast vs slow".

The danger of muscle strain is real. Once the key is down, and the note has sounded, all muscles should relax. You have to tense muscles to play "ff" -- but you don't have to _keep_ them tensed.

Agree that this is generally true. But, would prefer to add an exception. When carrying a melody a constant weight is applied throughout the melody line, even as the melody note is being held.

I can't agree with that. If your melody line is legato, as many melody lines are, and if you don't use pedal, then each piano key must be kept down until the next piano key is played with a bit of an overlap. But it only needs to be held down with the amount of downward pressure or weight needed to keep the key from rising and that is minimal. If you played a forte note, which has more "downward force" for the impact, you can immediately release that pressure to minimal and that stops your hand from locking up. How to do that is a subject in and of itself.

You can also learn to use pedal well. In that case you can have a staccato touch and yet produce a legato sound. I am thinking of part of a piece I learned a while back where, in order to play it effectively, I had to learn to have this light staccato touch while timing the pedal. There was a double melodic line in a sense - the bass line and the melody, with some in-between notes also played by the LH that had to be softer. It was this light bouncy touch combined with pedal that made it possible (up to where I could bring it).
https://soundcloud.com/usernewtothis/ivan-idea-short-mp3-1/s-IaQIU

A few years ago I learned a lot by studying this playing. Notice how fluid his hands are, and how they are constantly changing height while the fingers stay soft and responsive.

This is true. But also, bear in mind that the key will only continue to sound if pressure is kept on the key to such an extent that the damper remains elevated off of the string. Or alternately, if the damper pedal or sostenudo pedal are pressed, then it doesn't matter if pressure is kept off to lift the damper. This also demands that liftoff both from the key and from the pedals be precise and relatively crisp, to avoid nuisance sounds as a string and damper slowly contact one another again. In other words, if you slowly lift from the key without pedal, then the string might partially vibrate after the damper has begun to contact the string and before enough damper force is exerted to completely silence the string.

There are good videos out there that help to explain the mechanism of a piano action, from all major forms of action (grand piano action, upright piano action, and spinet action - yes, these are all different) and will explain how a keystroke lifts the damper and strikes with the hammer, then how the hammer falls back immediately after striking. They will explain how a grand piano has a repetition lever that allows faster, more precise repetitive striking without fully releasing the key, unlike what an upright or spinet will allow.

Alternately, check out Piano Technicians Guild for some great writeups on how a piano works, and how to become a beginner piano technician on your own.

All of that being said, do what feels right to you. If you find that varying pressure during playing and sustaining on a particular key helps your hands and your mind to work together better, then do what works. In the end, a piano teacher may clean up your technique to make you more efficient and remove the crutches that you have created for yourself, but if it makes you feel more connected, then go for it. I know that, speaking for myself, when I did some unorthodox playing techniques as a youngster I felt more connected to the instrument and could almost feel the music "flow through me" and into the keyboard.

It will be tricky carrying a beautifully smooth melody line this way.

I was trying to find the video tutorial that taught this "Dyck Hyman". He is more jazz base, but the concept is the same. It was in one part of large video and I haven't been able to re-locate it. If I find the video and section, I'll post it. Of course, it is not gospel just because he said it, but it was also what I had been taught so when I saw the video confirming it, I was thrilled.

In the video you've shown, yes, he is bringing out the melody beautifully. If I were to play this piece, I'd accomplish this by applying the exact method as I've described above.

The problem is usually with words, Greener. It is possible that when you play you do actually release pressure without being aware of it, while I did literally use constant pressure at one time. While you cite the impossibility of carrying a smooth melodic line in the way I described (as you understand it), I found it impossible to play at any kind of speed in the manner you describe (in the manner in which I literally maintained constant pressure), and was starting to experience aches and pains.

I included a small sample of my playing. Either it contains a smooth melodic line, or it doesn't. The actual physical playing of that passage was done by timing pedal and playing semi-staccato physically.

I found a one hour masterclass between Dave Frank and Dyck Hyman, Greener. I don't know whether the particular thing you are talking about is in there. What I saw is that he has the looseness and springiness that I am trying to learn to do, especially the looseness in his wrists. If he "holds down" a note, then I think he still has that kind of "feathering spring" which stops anything becoming rigid. A "release" doesn't have to be anything gigantic or even visible.

The actually topic of this thread also gets discussed in there.

I may have got mixed up with some other video for exactly what I was referring to, come to think of it.

I went all through this video (earlier) and didn't find it exactly. At any rate, the concept is not earth shattering. One part that is talked about in this video (you've posted) is that whatever your volume level is, the melody needs only be moderately stronger. You're still relaxed, it is just that your melody has a bit heavier of job.

Over time fingers become stronger, more independent and this will come with ease too, if it is practiced. This suggestion, should not be causing pain. Perhaps you're right and the finger on the melody note is more relaxed then I'm realizing it is. The thought process though, is that I am standing on it and more weight is applied to it than anywhere else.

Perhaps the term "momentum" would be more helpful as it refers to weight and speed, multiplied together iirc.