Why I Love Upright Pianos
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- Опубліковано 29 сер 2024
- This upright has this special mechanism... and taught me about the beauty of imperfection and embracing a lack of clarity...
Video produced and edited by Nahre Sol
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I absolutely adore the muted sound of the upright. Feels like a home cooked meal, you know it's not gourmet food and it's not the most refined but it gives you a hugging feeling.
That’s such a good way of characterizing it!
Video, music, art and documentary - a perfect gesamtkunstwerk (-:
Restless uncertainty
A blurred sense of disappointment
Quiet heartache
And a sense of searching
With just enough optimism:
Cloudy emotions produce a muted rain
Of magical imperfect notes. ❣
How come no one turned this into a song yet?
@@bobandiara Her poem says why. ;-)
man, I haven't heard anything this beautiful and calming before. I love it.
Thank you so much!! 😊🙏🏻
You're absolutely welcome! 🙏🏾
I'd recommend checking out Poppy Ackroyd, if I may. Her solo work is similar to this vibe.
Things to flash b4 u when u die
I'd recommend Olafur Arnalds' music if you like this sound (especially his newer stuff like his albums Remember, and Some kind of peace, and Surface which is a soundtrack for a TV show)
I think all of us would be forever grateful if you sampled and released this absolute magic. Love this sound.
it would be amazing
I BEGGGG
well, Spitfire Labs has a free "Soft Piano" library that sounds very similar. i think you'd enjoy it
@@akshhat Native Instruments has a muted piano VST as well.
@@philcibley1804 for some reason i can't get NI player to work on my computer. I feel like I miss out on a lot of great free sounds because of that.
imagine if we had videos like this to explain pieces by older composers, it's such a perfect sidenote to a piece of music
Really lovely! Nils Frahm released an album about 10 years ago called “Felt”, which was entirely recorded on muted piano, and since then I’ve always loved that intimate, tentative sound. I like your explanation about how chords become less functional and more ambiguous as you add more extensions, and it really suits the nebulous sound and mood of this piece.
I don't know who popularized the felt muted piano first - Nils Frahm, or Olafur Arnalds? I think one or the other of them was the one that got this felt muted piano thing going recently.
Hell yes
It’s probably Nils Frahm. There was some video of Olafur Arnolds saying that he got inspired by felt from Nils Frahm.
I'm a pretty emotionally stable person, as in, I don't tear up much. But the sound of a piano, beautifully played, seems to be the key to my (bottled up?) emotions. Always brings a tear to my eye within seconds... Beautiful composition.
Makes me feel like I'm laying down holding someone I deeply care about in the late afternoon. It's raining outside.
Thank you for giving your music to the world. What a beautiful thing. Brought tears to my eyes.
What a beautiful comment ☺️
Videos like this only reaffirm that you are one of my favorites, not only youtubers, but also musicians and composers. Love your style and the way to narrate your art craft process.
I was reminded of some of Debussy's quieter pieces that kind of float like Expressionist paintings. You nailed it with the pointillism analogy. I enjoyed the chord extension. They added a lot of color.
I am at the risk of sending you down the audio engineering rabbit hole...but...
In answer to your instrument noise, you could use more than one mic. For example, mic one with instrument noise and one without. They go into separate tracks and you can change the "balance" between them in mixdown.
Audio engineers will often use multiple microphones. With electric guitar they put one in the center of the speaker to get the cone sound, a second back from the cabinet to get the cabinet sound, and a third to pick up the ambient room sound. These could also be mixed with direct input sound or with a piezo electric pickup. The guitar goes into a direct input box, which goes into your interface. One can then add effects such as distortion, chorus, reverb in your digital audio workstation.
These positions are, of course, translated to positions relative to the sound hole in acoustic guitar. The acoustic guitar could also have a magnetic or piezo pickup built into the guitar which get a different sound than coming from the sound hole. There could even be a tiny mic inside the body of the guitar.
Drums are even crazier.
Your creativity and collaborations are always interesting and refreshing. Why not collaborate with an audio engineer or DAW expert like Sangah Noona or Meyer Street Records or slpianoproject.
this just dropped and i already know it’s about to be fire 😭 love your videos
Thank you so much ☺️🙏🏻
It definitely works the way you mic’d the piano, Nahr. After many years of releasing acoustic piano albums, some structured and some improvised, I recently released felted piano recordings with more mechanical noises.
I received feedback from some long time (clear piano) fans that they don’t like hearing ‘noises’ in the recordings, however the felted piano recordings got a lot more monthly listens than past releases. I personally love the ‘Murky Fingers’ sound even though it doesn’t resonate (no pun intended) with all piano music fans.
Nahre, you are a real treasure and a blessing to this world. Thank you for all the things you're sharing with us in your videos. I'm so greateful to you for all that I've learned from your videos. God bless and protect you and your family.
Much love from Ukraine
Nahre Sol, you represent the best of what UA-cam is. It’s the alchemy of your music, language, artistic discovery, vulnerability and charisma that together draws us in and holds us in your sweet amber. Thanks for all your posts. 💐
Those emotions come and go for me, every now and then they're harder to ignore. Depending on the day, music like this also hits me so hard. An artist that does something similar is Hania Rani. Songs like "Home", "Tennen", and "Letter to Glass", have these repetitive and contemplative sounds that just hit. It also helps that she uses her voice sparsely throughout so it has so much more of an impact. Another is GoGo Penguin, they also do this sometimes but they tend to explore jazzier sounds. Their song "Window" has been my absolute favorite for over 3 years now. And of course Olafur Arnalds, his textures are perfect to melt away in.
As for the mechanical sound in pianos, I would recommend experimenting with multiband compressors. Since that sound is mostly the same in the frequency range, you can zero in on it and reduce it without compromising everything else, mostly. Depends how you use it of course.
Wonderful video btw!
Your description of your emotions so accurately reflected how I've been feeling lately it's spooky. Love the music 💖
I think your name choice for this peace is genius. Clouds are something that by very nature changes constantly. For a cloud to remain unbroken, is simply bizarre and it also fit the song very well. The song has some buildup but not released, it remain on a certain level of clarity but never meet those ends. Simply amazing
Im gonna listen to this on loop
+++
I loved this. Growing up, I was always made to play with the dampening felt thing so that I wasn't annoying everyone else in the house so much. Seeing you embrace it brings a whole new perspective I hadn't even considered before.
The felt gives the sound an otherworldly vibe… loved your piece!! Notes shimmering like light through clouds ⛅️ keep up the good work! Just like bad thoughts, all clouds move and light will come :)
Nahre's beautiful soul, seen in every video, heard in every word, felt in every note she plays... You are inspiring and your art is life-affirming, thank you for bringing light to the world ❤️
I absolutely love the mechanical sounds of the piano, and I enjoy so much finding records where you can hear them
While I would not wish such inspiration on anyone, the track is absolutely beautiful as is the drawing. The sound reminds me a bit of some Olafur Arnolds pieces, but I hear a distinct Nahre characteristic even if I can't put it into words what that means. The clouds may be beautiful, but I hope they soon lift for you to enjoy from a distance.
"a distinct Nahre characteristic"... Great phrase. I expect you were using that to refer to a certain musical style but for me it might equally refer to her ability and courage to articulate the vulnerabilities and uncertainty that we all share as human beings and the extraordinary creative talent and technical skills that enables her to express all of this and touch so many of us in the process.
Itˋs like being in a nice place and at the same time knowing you don’t belong there. Nice music, thank you.
The thing about pianos and piano music is that it is romantic in nature. By that I mean the individual, discrete piano keys and actions and hammers and strings, that together create the sounds that forms the music that we experience. Music conveys feelings much more than just being a cognitive exercise. Music comes more from our hearts than they are a creation of our brains.
Like trees in the forest where the wind passes through, they sway in unison with branches and leaves creating nature's symphony of sight and sound. It never fails to inspire us.
Our family had a piano with the mute pedal when I was growing up, so I assumed it was normal. I was surprised to find that one, the pedals on most pianos have different functions to what I was familiar with, and two, that the mute pedal was an incredible discovery for a lot of people. A shame, I think it's incredibly useful and, as Nahre's pointed out, has great potential for beauty.
4:02 - “Unbroken Clouds”
Beautiful composition. Constant figuration in the right hand with occasional pointed comments from the left. You can often hear fragments of the left hand melody repeat shortly afterwards like echoes. The muted timbre, colorful harmonies, and ambiguous rhythm make the work dreamy and alluring.
I loved this amount of mechanical noises. Since the texture was a pretty constant stream of notes, the hammer sounds came across as a subtle rustling here and there, which I think suited the piece perfectly. Also loved and related to the explanation of what different compositional decisions represented, and the live drawing 🌌
released on birthday. I bought a baby grand, ivers&ponds, made in 1920. I got it retuned, played it, cried. The piano's softening pedal is broken, but in a way that clouds up the acoustics but i like that
Nahre. So much respect for your sublime talent, poise, and communication. That piece is so beautiful. Thankyou.
Your hands. You have connected you heart to your hands to create visual and sonic acuity. Most beautiful, Nahre Sol.
You nailed it. Perfect "rainy day, read-a-book weather" listening material. And multimedia show.
That was extraordinary. Music that connects and communicates that tenuous space of melancholy and transition. The soft voice of Fall entering the emotional landscape, mercury in retrograde ruffling feathers, the soft fog rolling in on a full moon night with crisp air and no destination in mind, just wandering, of soft crepuscular light over a distant forest potential destination, the unimaginable arrival at places we did not know we were going to. Thank you for sharing that view of things in motion.
Love that sound! Your composition hits like a cloudy, but not rainy, fall day where thoughts drift and shift without real aim, trying to coalesce, but always just beyond structure. Gorgeous dreamy feel and flow.
love how much this piece reminds me of my favorite videos experimenting with modular synthesis, but you’re playing with your own hands! the notes feel almost random but set on top of a repeating pattern-while all the notes are very harmonious with each other. could listen to it all day
This is basically the piano I taught myself on. While I’m still no pianist, I know the exact calmness of this sound. Lovely as always, Nahre
I never knew you could make such great music with the middle pedal or an upright. Everytime I used it my mum just thought I was trying to hide my playing so I never used it
Lovely. Timely and necessary. Thank you sincerely.
You're right. I feel like the sound of the felt piano suits your energy really well. So vibsey. Love it
I’ve never been able to pinpoint why I love piano and why I play the way I do. You put it all beautifully, with that “dancing on the edge of clarity.”
I even bring the exact feelings you described at the start to my piano specifically to materialize them in some form-though my piano is a keyboard, I often play with tweaking the pitch (often down pitching to create a murky, dark, watery sound) to reach a different effect that in its own way embodies the feeling of playing on a felted piano. Beautiful video!
gorgeous piece, especially since i can really relate to the feelings that you mentioned that inspired it. i always admire your style of "discovering" new/own creative approach for something (synthesizers, FX, mute, ...), and i think this video really shows very well what "our standard old pianos at home" have to offer and how beautiful they can sound. but i really kinda want to hear this piece on an Una Corda by Klavins now ^^
Gorgeous. Feels poignant and nostalgic to me. 🙏💛🎹
Playing with the mute on was the norm for me throughout childhood because I would be practicing into the night and didn’t want to get noise complaints from the neighbors. So, hearing a non-muted (normal) piano was always unusual, even a bit shocking, to me. Thanks for reminding me of its intimate, warm, and soft sound
Absolutely beautiful! Thanks for inspiring video as usual. 🥰
the position you got with that single mic sounds beautiful and really works well too. it's all a question of preference, as usual. wherever you feel it sounds best is best
I'm a sound tech and I'd ideally mic this using multiple mics (one with a lot of hammer noise, and one with a more roomy atmosphere for example) and then I'd blend the two together, maybe even adjusting the balance between the mics subtly during different portions of the piece to emphasize certain atmospheres and sounds.
I actually love the "sound" of the instrument ! As you said too much can spoil a piece, but I believe it depends on the instrument, the quantity of it, and even the kind of music that is played ! I think that the "texture" of a sound matters as much as what is played and how it's played, so any kind of "noise" can be valuable when used the right way. Hearing the hammers on a piano like the one you are playing on in this video is actually really relaxing and almost sounds like some organic percussion to me. Maybe in a studio it's something people are trying to erase and run away from but I think it deserves more recognition :)
Just wonderful how you share your creative process. Your words, images (your art and your video), sounds, your voice, your music, you make a composition of this all. Thanks!!!
My upright has a mute pedal just like that, and I’ve always found that it give such a nostalgic and cozy feeling to really any piece you’re able to play using the felt.
As I know you’re a Yann Tiersen fan, I’ve discovered that some of his waltz’s work so well in tandem with that pedal. I really recommend giving it a try.
Thanks for such a wonderfully made video about this feature, you have such a pleasant way of describing it and put it very well! -Dan
I bought a piano a few years ago with this kind of practice felt mechanism. I don't really use it much but having one has enabled me to recognize it in others music when I hear it. Icelandic composer/artist Olafur Arnalds utilizes it a lot in his piano music; very peaceful sound. Thank you for this Nahre Sol!
I love that you managed to catch a multifaceted emotion that just can’t be simply expressed with words in your music. Especially, since I can relate to that emotional state.
Also, I never knew you could draw lol!😆
Have always love your choice of words when explaining and articulating feelings! It helps me understand my own feelings better and develop emotional intelligence.
You truly create first class ideas. Enjoy your videos!!
Wow, I'm very I'm very impressed with your lovely presentation of your unique talent. I love the muted sound you create - I guess it's how you use it, and you exploit it so well. You are a true artist and I love what you do.
soothing! and everything put together in this video; the editing, the sound, the music,the whole process behind everything inspired by this emotional state and this humble piano is quite beautiful to witness.
You are a shining start. I love your work.
That was Nahre Soulful! I felt like the music was coming out of the drawing pen.
after being unable to cry throughout an extremely sad and difficult day yesterday, i woke up and watched this and immediately the tears started flowing. thank you for this music.
Life viewed through a teardrop. Distance songs barely heard through the rain. We love sharing your clouds with you.
Those feelings you mentioned... 100% recognizing that! And to me, it's something I've connected to fall. I love summer, and I love winter. Heck, I even love fall, but it still feels like the death of summer, and a feeling of a blurry mourning. (Mixed with general loneliness and, well... yeah).
What a beautiful piece you created, and perfectly catches these emotions!
Loving this Nahre + Nils energy soooo much! Such an emotive texture.
Thank you for reinventing impressionism
Sorry to hear you've not been feeling well. But what a beautiful way of coping/processing them.
Just one word : Poetic ❤️ !
My mind's eye wanted that art piece to form into a rabbit so bad after the first few shapes formed :)
I saw nothing but the rabbit in the very midst of it all the whole time.
I've named it.."the rabbit tucked in beautiful chaos" lol
i think this is the best youtube video I've ever watched. I've been struggling with the same thoughts and feelings lately, but it's really (really) nice to see im not alone with this, especially from someone ive watched for years and look up to.
I had a Sherman Clay piano from early 1980's made by Daewoo in Korea and the una corda pedal was just a felt curtain that dropped between the hammers and strings, just like the video.
Thank you for sharing. It's always refreshing to learn new techniques and experiment with various forms of expression.
This was just so *lovely*. And your discussion up front about chord extensions and how they impact the degree of functionality of chords was insightful for me. The pointilist idea touches on one of my favorite ideas about western music-that melody and harmony aren't two different things, but just ends of a spectrum. The graphics at the beginning reminded me of the whimsical animations you often inserted in your early videos (yup, I've subscribed since back then). I'd love to see these little bits of animated whimsy continue to visit your videos. Thanks for this! -Tom
So talented in so many ways. Love the couch acting. :)
Gosh, your videos are such treasures
Nahre... You are such a beautiful soul
This video displays another example of your artistic vision and insight, virtuosity with your instrument and talent in the broadest brushstrokes. I know just enough to have a notion of how far beyond me your brain and fingers work together and that I'll never catch up to be able to fully appreciate you. However, I'm running as fast as I can. Thank you.
The piece is very captivating. It describes the encircling feeling of restlessness in a very peaceful way. Any chance you're going to release it? It would perfectly fit in one of my spotify playlist.
I think that still being able to hear the "mechanics" of the piano is a very nice touch to the cloudy style of the piece, the accented parts are sort of accompanied by the light and and tender sound of the hammers hitting the strings through the cloth. Very interesting way to compose a piece, personally I also thought of using this function in the piano for a special effect, as it indeed creates a special atmosphere.
Beautiful composing and great story telling through music without single word. For the sound in mic, i’ve sampled a mellow piano sound in my synth that is similar, i think the best piano sound is that one that has mechanical sound included with the note, it’s part of what actually piano sound like.
how you efx piano is as important as the melodies imo. im so happy with the tones and different ideas you explore. this piece made me think of someone staring out a window into rain. pensive, hopeful, light.
I just love what you do and how you do it.
those emotions describe my every day
This sounds like Hania Rani’s music and style. I think in particular her album Esja. It has that minimal composition but it lets the instrument sing for itself. It even has the piano’s own mechanism’s noises in it and some are more pronounced in some pieces. I think it’s something to check out.
How you think about music and art is so inspiring and like a breath of fresh air
That's just gorgeous.
Loved this. I could disect the piano for hours. It has a beutiful somewhat vague cloudiness, as you mentioned, but at the same time those lower melodies hold the whole thing together by adding a level of grounding and balance. Well done.
Of all the piano videos on UA-cam this is easily one of them.
I appreciate you, Nahre.
You are a complete artist kudos
this is incredibly beautiful
I love this sound. It kind of fits my playing style as well. Dreamy neo classical?
And i actually almost bought a Hoffmann from 1966! Arranging things now. Tried like 6/7 piano's in the store, and the sounds is just amazing. Nothing like it, so I was sold 😄
I use the "mellow upright" tone on my digital piano often for this reason! I love the softer edges and the uneasy resonance of this sound.
This is quite lovely. Thank you.
I really like this, it sounds like someone is playing piano in a room on the far end of the house, gives me a sense of home.
Absolutely beautiful
So many talents behind that wonderful warm smile. Amazing pieces shown here.
Finally
Sometimes I feel that the mute pedal can have just as much of an impact as the sustain
The music I like usually doesn’t sound bright, so the mute + sustain gives it a really good feeling
New composer in the works - watch this space! Love your work, Nahre!
This is beautiful.
The collateral sounds of the instrument were sufficient and beautifully calibrated. Just outside the main focus and un-overwhelming while perceptible. Like the pitter patter of thoughts.
Just beautiful, both works of art combined, musical and visual
So beautiful.
Everything you create and the deep and meaningful ways you describe your process is incredibly inspiring and I am v grateful
I love the sound and feeling of this! It does sound magical! 🎆
this was bloody lovely and heartwarming! and the drawing with a similar experience to the music just adds so much to it! this is what art is about for me!