The term “felt piano” is closely associated with the popularity of the neoclassical genre, where this very soft sound has almost become a trademark. The sound and its poetic quality are actually a by-product of the practice or celeste pedal. Many musicians have discovered the felt piano sound, most famously Chilly Gonzales and Nils Frahm.
The practice pedal is mainly found on upright pianos, which may be the reason why you mainly hear the felt piano sound on an acoustic piano. In addition, only a piano that is as old as possible can truly fulfill the cliché of the charming and slightly off-key piano sound.
The sound can be addictive – if you listen to Chilly Gonzales’ first solo piano album, you will discover how beautifully poetic and intimate it sounds (we recommend the tracks: Dot and The Tourist). Since Chilly Gonzales recorded the album in 2004, there have been countless other examples of recordings with a felt piano sound.
A great example is the piece Tori by Tom Blankenberg, performed live at THE POOL, Duesseldorf at the Piano Day Festival 2023.
In our tutorial video, we discuss different piano VSTs as well as their special features and characteristics. In addition, we play felt piano sounds on the Nord Piano 5 and Yamaha CP73 stage pianos.
Of course, it’s possible, although felt damping is rather rare in grand pianos: The Sordino pedal of the Steingraeber E272 grand piano is well known for it, and the physical modeling software Pianoteq also takes this virtual model into account.
Moreover, Nils Frahm’s studio grand piano was transformed into a custom felt piano. Thanks to sampling by Galaxy Instruments, this Steinway grand piano is now available as a piano expansion for Native Instruments’ Kontakt library. You’ll find it under the name “Noire”. Playing with the sampled sound is very practical, of course, because who has such a fantastic grand piano, a piano technician, and a recording studio to match?
Until now you had to use some tricks to get this soft piano sound with Pianoteq. Starting with version 7.4, the world’s best physical modeling piano software now includes felt models. All available acoustic piano models have been reworked accordingly, and you will find two felt piano versions in the preset list of the respective piano. The 7.4 update is free for all users of the (paid) version 7.
Digital piano manufacturers largely ignore the soft piano sound. However, many home pianists would like to be able to play pieces by Nils Frahm or Chilly Gonzales with an authentic sound.
Thankfully, Nord and Yamaha offer a very nice felt piano sound for their stage pianos. The Nord Piano Library has recently been expanded, and it is also a free option on Yamaha’s CP88 and CP73 stage piano models.
Finding sheet music should not be a problem. We can recommend the sheet music books by Chilly Gonzales, and Nils Frahm also publishes sheet music books through Leiter.
Find out more at www.chillygonzales.com.
Playing an acoustic piano with a practice pedal allows you to discover new ways of expressing yourself. This experience can be very unique depending on the piano. After all, felt damping makes the sound behave very differently – it almost completely robs the piano sound of its brilliance.
Naturally, you have to hit the keys harder to get a tone with contour. But if you look at the other side, a whole new range of sounds opens up between pianissimo and mezzo-forte. The attacks sound a bit diffuse, especially in the treble, while the basses are dull and flat.
You may not notice it until later, but because the damper rail makes the piano sound much quieter, you can hear the piano’s mechanical sounds more clearly. They become even more pronounced when you open the top lid of the piano or even remove the front of the case completely. Now you can clearly hear the hammer action.
This detail has a great influence on the felt piano sound. A click here, a scratch there, and sometimes a squeak from the pedal mechanism – these little noises really add to the charm of the sound. Even recordings include these background noises, giving the sound an overall sense of intimacy.
The amount of damping, string vibration, case as well as string resonance, the amount of mechanical hammer, damper and pedal noise – of course, this is all very individual. Therefore, it’s really beneficial if a software instrument also allows you to adjust these details. Modartt Pianoteq probably offers the most freedom in this regard. Since it is a physical modeling instrument, you can truly delve into the subtleties of the sound. But in the end, it’s the character of the sound that counts. Click here to compare different instruments!
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Nils Frahm was also the one who made the Una Corda famous. Developed by piano manufacturer Klavins, this very special variant of the piano takes its name from its stringing: It has only one string per note, whereas a conventional piano has a chorus of 2-4 strings for each note (except for the basses).
The Una Corda can also be considered a felt piano, as the damping with a felt rail is part of the concept of the instrument. In addition, dampers are offered in various materials. And you can even experience these sound effects with the Kontakt instrument of the same name, also created by the Cologne-based sampling experts at Galaxy Instruments.
The appeal of a felt piano sound is, of course, the DIY aspect: Nothing beats the individual charm of your own piano. But if you don’t have an acoustic piano, you can still get this soft piano sound in digital form. While digital pianos or stage pianos can’t provide this kind of sound, there is a large and excellent selection of dedicated piano VSTs. Here is our list of the best:
A rich source of free piano sounds is the website “Pianobook – Every Piano Tells a Story”. The project is the brainchild of Christian Henson, co-founder of Spitfire Audio. And Pianobook really lives up to the DIY spirit that is at the heart of the idea of the felt piano. The focus is on participation, as Pianobook allows you to upload your own sampling instruments and make them available to everyone. A large community has grown up around this, sharing a wide range of sounds. You can also find felt pianos here.
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