''Pianoteq'' is a
software synthesizer that features real-time
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...
-control of
digital physically modeled
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
s and related instruments, including
electric piano,
harp,
harpsichord,
fortepiano, and various
metallophone
A metallophone is any musical instrument in which the sound-producing body is a piece of metal (other than a metal string), consisting of tuned metal bars, tubes, rods, bowls, or plates. Most frequently the metal body is struck to produce sound, ...
s. It is usable as a stand-alone program for
Microsoft Windows,
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...
and
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
(including ARM architecture) platforms, or as a plug in for VSTi hosts and two VSTi counterpart for use with
digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software program on a laptop, to an integrat ...
s.
History and technology
The original version of the program was released in August 2006. The software's physically modeled synthesis create sound from scratch using several megabytes of mathematical algorithms (Fourier construction) to generate
electric piano and acoustic
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
sounds that can be manipulated analogously to those produced by their material counterparts. Pianoteq's modeled sounds are supplemented with sampled pedal noise, key release, and hammer noise.
Patches for additional instruments are also available. Several of the historical instruments were created as part of the KIViR (Keyboard Instruments Virtual Restoration) project, which aims to create playable digital models of historical keyboard instruments in museums like the Händel-Haus in
Halle.
Instruments
Pianoteq models several modern as well as historical pianos, including the
Steinway
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to the opening of a ...
model B and
model D, the
Antonin Petrof 275 and 284,
Bechstein DG,
Steingraeber E-272,
Grotrian Concert Royal, and
Blüthner
Julius Blüthner Pianofortefabrik GmbH, is a piano-manufacturing company in Leipzig, Germany. Model 1. Other instruments include models for the
Hohner
Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, founded in 1857 by Matthias Hohner (1833–1902). The roots of the Hohner firm are in Trossingen, Baden-Württemberg. Since its foundation, and though known ...
Pianet models N and T and
Clavinet D6, as well as models for
harpsichord,
concert harp and
Celtic harp
The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton and in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring grea ...
, various
tine and
reed electric pianos,
vibraphones,
celeste,
xylophone and
marimba, and various
steelpans.
See also
*
Physical modelling synthesis
*
Digital piano
*
Piano acoustics
Piano acoustics is the set of physical properties of the piano that affect its sound. It is an area of study within musical acoustics.
String length, mass and tension
The strings of a piano vary in thickness, and therefore in mass per length, w ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Pianoteq official websiteModartt Official forumInterview with the creator of Pianoteq explaining the difference between modelled pianos vs. acoustic pianos and the generations in-between
(in French, with English subtitles)
Keyboard software synthesizers