Aliquot strings are additional (auxiliary) strings that enrich the overtones of an instrument. Rather than being played directly, they enhance the tone solely through string resonance. On grand and upright pianos, aliquot stringing adds brilliance and sustain to the upper octaves.
At the end of the 19th century, Blüthner developed the aliquot system, which is still used in grand pianos today. In the aliquot system, a fourth string is added to the other three strings of the upper three octaves. The aliquot string, however, is positioned slightly above so that it cannot be struck by the hammer. When the three conventional strings of a note are struck, the aliquot string vibrates only by resonance.
In the Blüthner system, the aliquot strings transmit vibrations to the soundboard via the bridge. Because they are so active when played, their vibrations require dampers when the keys are released.
Piano makers also use so-called duplex scaling to enrich the sound of a piano. However, this method is not equivalent to the aliquot stringing system. While duplex scaling also produces overtones to enrich the piano’s sound, unlike aliquot strings, duplex strings are not independent, individually tuned strings. Instead, duplex scaling utilizes the primary strings – more specifically, the section between the back bridge pin and the hitch pin. This part of the string is outside the actively struck part of the string.
Any freely vibrating, undamped string on the piano can resonate when other, nearby strings are sounded. This happens depending on the fundamental or overtone frequencies, which influence the sound of pianos and grand pianos in complex ways. The aliquot stringing system also plays a role here. So both sympathetic resonance and aliquot resonance enrich the sound of the piano with a complex mix of overtones.
In principle, most headphones are suitable for use with digital pianos. Accordingly, there are no headphones that are explicitly labeled as "headphones for digital pianos". However, you should be aware of some technical subtleties, as ...
Kawai's ES Series portable pianos are popular with both beginners and advanced players, offering high-quality features in the €500-€1,600 price range. Key improvements over previous ES models include a significantly lighter weight, bass reflex speakers, ...
Wireless MIDI - just a few years ago, this wireless connection between musical instruments was as rare as it was expensive. Thanks to the growing popularity of Bluetooth as a means of communication, reasonably priced ...
Every year, Black Friday is one of the highlights of Cyber Week, with retailers offering digital pianos and keyboards at unbeatable prices. If you're still looking for your first instrument, this is your chance to ...
Modartt Pianoteq is a physical modeling instrument. All acoustic properties are generated synthetically, eliminating the need for gigabyte-heavy libraries. This offers significant advantages over conventional software pianos - especially in terms of flexibility, sonic variety, ...
In celebration of Earth Day, rhodesmusic.com is proud to announce the Rhodes MK8 Earth Edition, a limited edition of the electromagnetic piano in a special design. The special edition is limited to 50 units and ...
When you hear that a digital piano has wooden keys, you likely expect a realistic playing feel. But while many manufacturers advertise this as a quality feature, not all 'wooden' keyboards actually have real wooden ...
Acoustic or digital piano? With a Yamaha TransAcoustic Piano, you don't have to choose! This special hybrid piano technology combines the best of both worlds. Volume control on an acoustic piano - normally reserved for ...
Play the piano with iPad & iPhone - you have plenty of music apps to choose from! But which piano app for iOS devices offers you a good virtual piano? Here are our top piano ...
Which is the best digital piano for beginners? Most people don't want to spend too much money at first, but is an extremely cheap beginner's model suitable for learning the piano at all? For this ...
Digital pianos and mobile devices - a combination that has become increasingly important in recent years. Whether iPad & Co. or music computer - the USB MIDI/Audio function is the simplest and most reliable connection ...
Playing piano on a computer or mobile device can be convenient, but unfortunately, not all laptops, tablets, and smartphones can match the high audio quality of today's software pianos. For this reason, we recommend using ...
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Facebook. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from Instagram. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from X. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More Information
