RESON
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00Reson8 · Instrument 01 · In development

SONE& PHON

Named after the two units of how loud a sound feels to a listener: the sone and the phon. A piano described by how it is heard, not how it is sampled.

§0Try the idea in your browser

D–9

Colour it · tap to hear

Play a chord with the mouse, touch, or your computer keys (A–K white, W E T Y U black).

A browser sketch: chord naming follows the product’s rules; the sound is a small string model computed in this page, not the instrument’s physics engine.

§1Abstract

A physically modelled piano with a live harmony panel. Every chord you play is seen on the staff, named in jazz notation, and answered with voicings that would sound better. One instrument for Mac (AU / VST3 / Standalone) and iPhone, played from a MIDI keyboard.

  1. 01Plug in a MIDI keyboard.
  2. 02Play any chord.
  3. 03See its name, its degrees, and three ways to colour it — and hear a good piano.

§2Method

We model the piano and the world around it — not the sound.

No samples, no recordings as a source. The sound is computed from string length, diameter and tension, the hammer felt, the bridge, the soundboard and where the microphone stands. Recordings of real pianos are used only as the exam the model has to pass.

  1. L1

    Strings

    Digital waveguides with dispersion, loss and coupled unisons; longitudinal waves for the bass.

  2. L2

    Hammer

    Nonlinear, hysteretic felt contact measured from real hammers.

  3. L3

    Bridge & soundboard

    An orthotropic spruce plate with ribs and a maple bridge, solved for its modes.

  4. L4

    Radiation

    Both faces of the board radiate; low frequencies diffract around a finite body.

  5. L5

    Microphones & room

    Real capsule structure, lid reflections, image sources and room absorption.

  6. L6

    Harmony

    Chord names in jazz notation, scale degrees on a grand staff, three colour upgrades for every chord.

§3Platforms

  • Mac · AU
  • Mac · VST3
  • Mac · Standalone
  • iPhone · AUv3 (in development)

§4References

Selected from the 40 verified sources behind the model.

  1. 2013Chabassier, J., Chaigne, A., & Joly, P.Modeling and simulation of a grand pianoThe Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
  2. 1994Chaigne, A., & Askenfelt, A.Numerical simulations of piano strings. I. A physical model for a struck string using finite difference methodsThe Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
  3. 1995Stulov, A.Hysteretic model of the grand piano hammer feltThe Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
  4. 1977Weinreich, G.Coupled piano stringsThe Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
  5. 2005Bank, B., & Sujbert, L.Generation of longitudinal vibrations in piano strings: From physics to sound synthesisThe Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
  6. 2013Ege, K., Boutillon, X., & Rébillat, M.Vibroacoustics of the piano soundboard: (Non)linearity and modal properties in the low- and mid-frequency rangesJournal of Sound and Vibration
  7. 1986Suzuki, H.Vibration and sound radiation of a piano soundboardThe Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
  8. 1979Allen, J. B., & Berkley, D. A.Image method for efficiently simulating small-room acousticsThe Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

§5Status

In development. Join the list to hear first.