A measurement of piano playing
How often the pedal is changed.
The same passage — Ravel Pavane, bars 1–2 — 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.
Number of pedal presses divided by the number of bars played.
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 | 0.04 | 0.39 | 1.11 |
| Gymnopédie 1 | 23 | 0.54 | 0.99 | 1.19 |
| Chopin Étude 10/1 | 31 | 0.79 | 1.04 | 1.69 |
| Bach Prelude in C | 24 | 0.03 | 1.17 | 2.00 |
| Ravel Ondine | 61 | 0.62 | 1.52 | 2.77 |
| Fantaisie-Impromptu | 20 | 1.36 | 1.61 | 2.01 |
| Clair de lune | 27 | 0.83 | 1.66 | 2.21 |
| Brahms Op. 118/2 | 28 | 1.48 | 1.84 | 2.29 |
| Chopin Étude 10/12 | 19 | 1.41 | 1.99 | 2.64 |
| Chopin Ballade 4 | 12 | 1.83 | 2.20 | 2.60 |
| Ravel Pavane | 33 | 1.39 | 2.23 | 3.34 |
| Rachmaninoff Prelude | 29 | 1.61 | 2.25 | 3.15 |
| Träumerei | 31 | 1.36 | 2.29 | 4.50 |
| Nocturne Op. 48/1 | 27 | 1.88 | 2.34 | 3.03 |
| Pathétique II | 47 | 1.53 | 2.34 | 3.78 |
| Schubert Op. 90/3 | 43 | 1.92 | 2.59 | 3.35 |
| Schubert Op. 142/3 | 9 | 2.06 | 2.69 | 3.06 |
| Nocturne Op. 9/2 | 32 | 2.53 | 3.42 | 4.53 |
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 1.43. noisy The transcription moves this dial about as far as pianists differ on it, so no claim should rest on where a single recording sits.