Acoustics, perception, and production of legato articulation on a computer-controlled grand piano

In an attempt to replicate and extend previous results obtained on a digital piano [B. H. Repp, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 97, 3862-3874 (1995)], the present study analyzed piano tone decay characteristics, musically trained listeners' interactive adjustments of key overlap times (KOTs) in tone sequences, and samples of pianists' legato playing in scales and arpeggi on a computer-controlled Yamaha Disklavier. On the whole, the results resembled the earlier findings: In both perception and production, KOTs tended to be longer for high rather than for low tones and for relatively consonant rather than for dissonant successive tones. KOTs also increased as tempo decreased in production, but there was no corresponding effect in perception (where a smaller range of tempi was used). Even though the decay times of the natural piano tones were about twice as long as those of the digital piano used earlier, the average KOTs were not shorter; on the contrary, they were longer in the perception task, while there was little difference in production. Perception of optimal legato does not seem to rest on an invariant criterion of acoustic tone overlap, and pianists do not seem to adjust their KOTs substantially when playing on different instruments. However, there were large individual differences in KOTs.