A measurement of piano playing
When a chord is rolled, whether it starts from the bottom or the top.
The same passage — Chopin Étude 10/1, bars 1–4 — 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.
Of the rolled chords, the share that begin on their lowest note.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gymnopédie 1 | 23 | 0 | 5 | 43 |
| Ravel Pavane | 33 | 2 | 9 | 67 |
| Rachmaninoff Prelude | 29 | 3 | 14 | 38 |
| Träumerei | 31 | 0 | 16 | 88 |
| Pathétique II | 47 | 3 | 16 | 70 |
| Brahms Op. 118/2 | 28 | 1 | 20 | 97 |
| Nocturne Op. 48/1 | 27 | 7 | 27 | 50 |
| Nocturne Op. 9/2 | 32 | 4 | 28 | 63 |
| Clair de lune | 27 | 5 | 33 | 71 |
| Mozart K. 545 | 36 | 12 | 36 | 71 |
| Schubert Op. 90/3 | 43 | 3 | 36 | 79 |
| Chopin Ballade 4 | 12 | 18 | 37 | 62 |
| Fantaisie-Impromptu | 20 | 6 | 39 | 85 |
| Chopin Étude 10/1 | 21 | 0 | 43 | 92 |
| Schubert Op. 142/3 | 9 | 31 | 50 | 68 |
| Ravel Ondine | 61 | 21 | 50 | 62 |
| Chopin Étude 10/12 | 19 | 27 | 56 | 90 |
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 0.35. solid This dial survives transcription intact: where one recording sits on it can be argued from.