This master’s thesis deals with the design of a digital piano. This increasingly popular musical instrument offers possibilities not available in an acoustic piano (outputting sound into headphones, utilizing sample libraries, recording, use of sheet music in digital form and more). From technical standpoint, it attempts to closely mimic the qualities of traditional instruments, both in its tactile feedback and sound quality. The aim of this work was to design a solution which would starkly differentiate from the very conservative classical design without being overly extravagant. The main focus is therefore on aspects of visual appearance, with emphasis on ergonomics, and an outline of the technical solution.

This master’s thesis deals with the design of a digital piano. This increasingly popular musical instrument offers possibilities not available in an acoustic piano (outputting sound into headphones, utilizing sample libraries, recording, use of sheet music in digital form and more). From technical standpoint, it attempts to closely mimic the qualities of traditional instruments, both in its tactile feedback and sound quality. The aim of this work was to design a solution which would starkly differentiate from the very conservative classical design without being overly extravagant. The main focus is therefore on aspects of visual appearance, with emphasis on ergonomics, and an outline of the technical solution.

Submitted by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2015-01-29T17:22:50Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertação - Viviane de Mendonça Fiaia Costa - 2013.pdf: 2823749 bytes, checksum: ecfd680ce08bcf98dfe51f08f6e6d2d2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2015-01-29T17:44:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertação - Viviane de Mendonça Fiaia Costa - 2013.pdf: 2823749 bytes, checksum: ecfd680ce08bcf98dfe51f08f6e6d2d2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-01-29T17:44:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertação - Viviane de Mendonça Fiaia Costa - 2013.pdf: 2823749 bytes, checksum: ecfd680ce08bcf98dfe51f08f6e6d2d2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-27 / The digital piano is an instrument that has been increasingly used in the musicalization process, instrument practice, and performance. As every instrument has a peculiar technique, the digital piano also offers possibilities in musical interpretation. In the context of teaching piano in group, we investigated the possibilities that the digital clavinova piano CVP 401, instrument used in the piano laboratory at UFG, offers to the musical interpretation. Therefore, the aim of this research is to study the possibilities that the digital piano offers for musical interpretation in this context. For this purpose, three musical pieces of three different music styles were taught: classic, romantic, and Brazilian dance (samba), for piano students in groups, presenting technical tools for distinction in articulation and phrasing for each style in order to evaluate the end result sound. The results are discussed based on the concept of interpretation and musical style of Thurston Dart (2000), Nikolaus Harnoncourt (1998 ), Muniz Sodré (1998) and Carlos Sandroni (2008) technical knowledge of the mechanism of the digital piano used, assessment of four renowned pianists, and the researcher’s experience and knowledge in using the acustic piano and the digital piano. As a result of this work, the digital clavinova CVP 401 offers a potential for different interpretation styles, but with limitations regarding the level of repertoire and the reverberation of harmonics. / O piano digital é um instrumento que vem sendo cada vez mais utilizado no processo de musicalização, prática do instrumento, e performance. Como todo instrumento possui uma técnica peculiar, o piano digital também oferece possibilidades na interpretação musical. Dentro do contexto do ensino de piano em grupo, investigamos as possibilidades que o piano digital clavinova CVP 401, instrumento utilizado no laboratório de piano em grupo da UFG, oferece para a interpretação musical. Para isso ensinamos três peças de três estilos musicais, clássico, romântico e dança brasileira (samba), para alunos de piano em grupo, apresentando ferramentas técnicas para distinção de articulação e fraseado referentes a cada estilo com o intuito de avaliarmos os resultados sonoros. Discutimos tais resultados tendo como fundamentação o conceito de interpretação e estilo musical conforme Thurston Dart (2000), Nikolaus Harnoncourt (1998), Muniz Sodré (1998) e Carlos Sandroni (2008), o conhecimento técnico sobre o mecanismo do piano digital utilizado, a avaliação de quatro pianistas renomados e as experiências e conhecimentos da utilização do piano acústico e piano digital desta pesquisadora. Como resultado desse trabalho, o piano digital clavinova CVP 401 oferece uma potencialidade para interpretação de estilos diferenciados, mas com limitações no que concerne ao nível do repertório e a reverberação de harmônicos.

Digital learning tools, including digital learning tools for piano, are not new; however, they are still often limited by their inability to provide personalized feedback, detailed performance metrics from real piano play, and effective means for teachers to monitor multiple students simultaneously. To overcome these challenges, this study introduces a platform that uses MIDI technology to provide detailed feedback and performance analysis derived from actual piano play to make piano learning more tangible. Additionally, a student-teacher interface was designed that facilitates interaction between both parties and allows teachers to monitor the progress of multiple students through various performance metrics. The results demonstrate that the platform gave accurate feedback based on assessment from teacher, by providing both students and teachers with deeper insights into performance on note accuracy, tempo and dynamics, enabling more efficient and targeted teaching strategies, and high student engagement. / Digitala inlärningsverktyg, inklusive digitala inlärningsverktyg för piano, är inte nya, men de har fortfarande begränsningar som ofta beror på att de inte kan ge personlig feedback, detaljerade prestationsmått från verkligt pianospel och effektiva sätt för lärare att övervaka flera elever samtidigt. För att övervinna dessa utmaningar introducerar denna studie en plattform som använder MIDI-teknik för att ge detaljerad feedback och prestationsanalys som härrör från verkligt pianospel för att göra pianoinlärning mer påtaglig. Dessutom utformades ett elev-lärargränssnitt som underlättar interaktion mellan båda parter och gör det möjligt för lärare att övervaka flera elevers framsteg genom olika prestationsmått. Resultaten visar att plattformen gav korrekt återkoppling baserat på lärarens bedömning, genom att ge både elever och lärare djupare insikter i prestationen, vilket möjliggör effektivare undervisningsstrategier och ökat elevengagemang.