A measurement of piano playing
Within one hand, whether the top note speaks before the notes under it.
The same passage — Träumerei, bars 2–3 — from the recordings that sit lowest and highest on this measurement. Every clip is a note list replayed on one sampled grand at one gain, so the only difference you are hearing is the playing.
Median of (mean onset of the other notes of the chord) minus (onset of the top note). Positive means the melody note comes first.
Every piece in the library, with the range across its recordings. The units mean the same thing in every row, except for basic tempo, which is in each piece’s own beat.
| Piece | Recordings | Lowest | Median | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chopin Étude 10/12 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Nocturne Op. 48/1 | 27 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Ravel Ondine | 61 | -1 | 5 | 15 |
| Mozart K. 545 | 37 | -1 | 9 | 24 |
| Chopin Ballade 4 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 18 |
| Rachmaninoff Prelude | 29 | 3 | 10 | 27 |
| Nocturne Op. 9/2 | 32 | 6 | 16 | 44 |
| Gymnopédie 1 | 23 | 5 | 17 | 40 |
| Pathétique II | 47 | 5 | 17 | 44 |
| Schubert Op. 142/3 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 26 |
| Träumerei | 31 | 4 | 18 | 57 |
| Ravel Pavane | 33 | 6 | 18 | 46 |
| Clair de lune | 27 | 8 | 19 | 34 |
| Schubert Op. 90/3 | 43 | 2 | 22 | 55 |
| Brahms Op. 118/2 | 28 | 4 | 23 | 41 |
A Disklavier capture — the pianist’s own key sensors, no microphone — was rendered to audio, transcribed as if it were a recording, and re-measured. The error the transcription step introduces, as a multiple of how far pianists actually differ on this dial, is 0.32. solid This dial survives transcription intact: where one recording sits on it can be argued from.