Sophia This whole discussion reminds me of Data. Quote from The Measure of a Man:
You are endowing Data a digital piano with human real characteristics because it looks human like a piano, but it is not. If if it were a box on wheels, I would not be facing this opposition. (...)
Data A digital piano is an extraordinary piece of engineering but it is a machine not a real piano.
Interesting scenario. Pianos came from a human idea/concept of needing/wanting to find a solution - even one solution to get piano forte and (at that time - the 'sound' of struck string) to realise an instrument with a harpsichord keys layout. From that idea eventually came more than one solution for achieving that idea/goal, which is the reason why we have a few different types/kinds of piano today.
Data is a machine that got invented by a human. But humans didn't invent themselves - at least as far as we know. Although, humans are machines too - biomech machines. And if Data became adequately more evolved/advanced, then there is the real possibility of Data's upgrade for synthesising particular components or elements being able to function to 'reproduce' (in one sort of 'fuzzy' way) with humans (eg. from the replicator technology and transporter technology and accumulated knowledge in the sciences etc). Leading to some sort(s) of humans, having characteristics that we wouldn't foresee right now, as we just can't foresee it now.
But getting back to pianos. It is now known that the initial form factors for piano are grand and upright. But these days, there is grand, upright and compact/portable/slab, and even deconstructed form (eg. VST, PTeq etc).
And under types of pianos - we now have digital, acoustic, hybrid, electric etc. I will put an emphasis on 'etc' because there are those systems such as acoustic pianos outfitted with sensors so that they can be in one 'mode' or the other - ie, acoustic piano mode, or digital piano mode. And then there are the 'deconstructed' systems - such as VST plus keyboard.
Sophia I'd say that kinda covers all 😃
That's almost correct (in my opinion). It will correctly be 'a musical instrument generally with a row of back and white keys that are pressed with fingers to play notes'. Omitted the 'large', because it doesn't have to be 'large', where large is relative. There do exist relatively small pianos, particularly of the digital type.
Also, even though in some posts I did mention playing with fingers, there are very nice cases we have seen online with at least one person playing a piano with her toes, due to impairment since she was a baby. And the music she played/plays was/is very nice indeed.
shawarma_bees If you own a digital piano at home and can use it to play piano music, then we have common musical ground. Who cares if it's a "real" piano or not? If you enjoy it and can make music, then do so.
With that said, I think it's a bit nonsensical to claim that a digital keyboard is a "real piano". Not even Pianoteq claims this. In fact, their website describes it as a "virtual instrument":
That is the exact thing. The exact thing. Notice the contradiction? If it doesn't 'matter' to someone, then they wouldn't initially say that it doesn't matter, and then follow up with a 'that said' -- and then begin to add their opinion, such as 'it's a bit nonsensical that .....'. If you know what I mean. This also goes for taushi and some others too - where they write - it doesn't matter. But then they follow-up with details that makes it obvious that it matters to them.
This thread is about piano. And a piano can generally - note generally - be defined as an instrument with harpsichord keyboard layout, that is polyphonic, and produces sounds when we push the keys, and one characteristic feature of it is piano forte -- the capability of adequate soft loud control of the sounds/pitches. And the sounds are 'generally' of the kind that are 'more or less' the sound of acoustic pianos.
Pianoteq itself is a software. But the combination of Pteq and computer and keyboard and cables etc forms the piano. The integration of those components result in a piano.
The main point of this thread is the function - the concept - of piano forte (now shortened to piano). Adequate soft loud control of the independent notes (generally of harpsichord keyboard layout, but it doesn't actually have to require a harpsi keyboard layout - but it turns out that the harpsi keyboard layout is probably the most effective input layout - which is why it has stayed with us for all this time). And since it has been achieved in various ways, we have ended up with various sorts of real pianos. All are real, because clearly we can play them (use them) in real-time, with music coming from them. And acoustic pianos (or even clavichord/clavier) were the 'first' kind(s) of real pianos.
