🎹 If Only Speed Mattered, Every Pianist Would Sound the Same

Jean Muller
May 28
2 min read

In an earlier post, we explored how hammer speed at the moment of impact determines volume — and how this has shaped scientific thinking about piano tone.

But as we’ve already seen, volume is not the whole story.

Two pianists can play the same note, at the same dynamic, and still sound completely different.

Why?

Because how the hammer reaches that speed matters.

And that brings us to the bridge between tone and technique — between sound and gesture.

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Force and the Piano Key

To produce hammer speed, we must move the key.

And to move the key, we must apply force.

Physics gives us a clear formula:

F = m × a

(Force = mass times acceleration)

In other words, to generate acceleration (and thus velocity), we must apply both motion and mass.

It’s not just how fast we play —

It’s how much mass is behind the movement.

This means that even when two pianists produce identical hammer velocity, the mass used to get there may differ — and this difference becomes audible.

The piano doesn’t just record what we do.

It records how we do it.

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Tone Beyond Volume

When we think of force only as a tool to produce dynamics, we miss its expressive potential.

In truth, mass and acceleration influence more than loudness — they shape attack, density, and projection.

Touch isn’t just about controlling sound — it’s about designing it.

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A Third Factor: Flexibility

This brings us to the third element, that rarely gets discussed — but it will shape the next part of this series.

As seen before: the piano doesn’t only respond to velocity and force — it also transmits noise.

And noise isn’t shaped by pressure alone.