The dynamics of expressive piano performance: Schumann's "Träumerei" revisited

Ten graduate student pianists were recorded playing Robert Schumann's "Träumerei" three times on a Yamaha Disclavier. Their expressive dynamics were analyzed at the level of hammer (MIDI) velocities. Individual dynamic profiles were similar across repeated performances, more so for the right hand (soprano and alto voices) than for the left hand (tenor and bass voices). As expected, the soprano voice, which usually had the principal melody, was played with greater force than the other voices, which gained prominence only when they carried temporarily important melodic fragments. Independent of this voice differentiation, there was a tendency for velocity to increase with pitch, at least in the soprano and alto voices. While there was an overall tendency for velocities to increase with local tempo, there were salient local departures from this coupling. Individual differences in expressive dynamics were not striking and were only weakly related to individual differences in expressive timing.