A measurement of piano playing

Pedal density

How much of the time the sustain pedal is down.

What it sounds like

The same passage — Bach Prelude in C, bars 1–3 — 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.

Least

Kimiko Ishizaka, 2015 — bars 1–3, pedal density 0 %13 s

Peter Hill, 2016 — bars 1–3, pedal density 0 %10 s

Most

Roger Woodward, 1996 — bars 1–3, pedal density 94 %10 s

Fazıl Say, 1998 — bars 1–3, pedal density 93 %11 s

How it is calculated

Share of playing time with the sustain pedal depressed.

How much pianists differ on it

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
Mozart K. 545	37	1	11	36
Bach Prelude in C	27	0	67	94
Chopin Étude 10/12	19	45	74	88
Schubert Op. 142/3	9	70	78	86
Pathétique II	47	43	79	92
Fantaisie-Impromptu	20	76	84	91
Chopin Étude 10/1	31	43	86	94
Chopin Ballade 4	12	79	87	90
Träumerei	31	53	87	94
Schubert Op. 90/3	43	63	88	94
Brahms Op. 118/2	28	76	89	95
Nocturne Op. 48/1	27	82	91	95
Ravel Pavane	33	84	91	96
Clair de lune	27	84	93	97
Gymnopédie 1	23	77	93	96
Rachmaninoff Prelude	29	79	93	96
Ravel Ondine	61	76	93	99
Nocturne Op. 9/2	32	82	93	97

How reliably it can be measured

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 0.54. fair Usable, but the error is worth stating alongside any single value.

All measurements