Acoustic comparison of period instruments on piano

Here introduces an acoustic comparison of period instruments on piano. The Collection for Organology, Kunitachi College of Music (COKCM), has been collecting various kinds of musical instruments, in particular, period instruments. The COKCM focuses on collecting and investigating academic research concerning musical instruments. One of the most important efforts is to collect the old piano, or pianoforte, which is explicitly distinguished from the contemporary piano. Since Western music in the Baroque and Roman eras are along with the era of the birth and development of the piano, the music of the period is frequently required to be played using the piano of the period. The sound of the old piano is, however, rarely discussed in the field of acoustic research. This research focuses on the difference in acoustics of the old piano. Several types of old pianos, such as John Broadwood (1820), Pleyel & Comp. (1848), and two kinds of S. Erard (1850) and Johann Schanz (1820) were used in a recording experiment. The sound is recorded and plotted in a two-dimensional plane by using MDS. The effect of the so-called “second soundboard,” located on the strings in the piano is discussed from the spectral viewpoint.