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<PlayerPiano> Pedal robot |
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Godfried-Willem RAES
1994-2006 |
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<PlayerPiano> Pedal robot |
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Godfried-Willem RAES
1994-2006 |
Concert pianos have three pedals. The left one, called 'una corda' pedal, shifts the hammers (as well as the entire keyboard mechanism) a bit to the right such that 1 or 2 strings only get to sound on the notes that have 2 or 3-unison strings. This pedal is very hard to automate, since it would require the movement of the entire vorsetzer. This mechanism rests with its full weigth of around 35kg on the fixed wooden blocks on the left and right end of the keyboard. If we were to let it move with the keyboard itself, the piano mechanism would have to carry all this extra mass, a prohibitive proposal. Making the key tangents wider such that the keys could move under them would constitute an alternative, but the friction induced by 88 key with tangents would equally well lead to a prohibitive proposal.
The middle pedal (normally always called the third pedal, for historicallly it was only invented after the introduction of the left and right pedal) keeps the dampers up of the keys that are depressed on that moment. There is no musical reason to implement this on a piano robot, since the same function can easily be implemented with the key control. Even silent depressing of keys and holding them down is possible. Since our vorsetzers have 88 fingers, this does not impose any further penalty to virtuosic playing.
The right and second pedal is the sustain pedal. It lifts all dampers from the strings. It is in no way a simple on/off switch, as sensitive players use a lot of pressure and speed nuances and variations in their piano playing. Thus it seemed essential to add a good implementation of an automatic pedaling mechanism if our robot pianos want to cope with capabilities of human performers.
In our design for a pedal mechanism we were after a full and musically sound implementation of this second pedal. By design we wanted to stick to the concept of the vorsetzer, implying that no changes to the piano itself should be required. The pedal playing robot should be a pure external activator of the existing and unmodified piano pedal.
Technical Description Player Piano Pedal
The force required to push the right piano pedal down is greatly dependent on the mechanical properties of the piano itself. Light actions require less than 30 Newton whereas on some pianos we measured a required force up to 60 Newton. On our own Kawai baby grand, 50 Newton was required. These forces were measured at a point 25mm from the extreme edge of the pedal. Of course if the force is applied closer to the pivot point, required force will be proportionally larger. The usefull traject also greatly varies from piano brand to brand. Generally the traject, measured at the extreme end of the pedal does not exceed 50mm. All this determines the choice of solenoid to be used to activate the pedal.
We went for a August Laukhuff solenoid specified for 55 Newton at 24V/ 1.41A. Its a big and heavy thing, but is provides smooth and silent action. It is designed as a pull magnet, but since the anchor sticks out at both ends, the action can be reversed, if we suspend the solenoid. With varying voltages between 11V and 25V applied to the solenoid the pedal comes gradually down. When 24V is suddenly applied, the action is too slow however for a musical use. Thus we decided to overdrive the solenoid and apply a (controllable) maximum pulse voltage to initiate the action in the range 36 to 50V.
As it comes to automation, we seem to require the following control parameters:
This is a whole lot more than what we find implemented on electronic keyboard instruments, where the sustain pedal is merely an on/off switch. It is also implemented under midi (controller 64) as a simple binary switch. Therefore a full implementation of a real world piano pedal cannot be realized if we stick strictly to the midi conventions.
As with many of our previous robots and automated instruments, here again we used a PIC microprocessor to implement all the requirements. Both PWM outputs are used to switch the two power mosfets. The possibility to use a sensor feedback mechanism to sense and control the behaviour of the pedal is under consideration.
Electronic Hardware:
The midi input circuit including the optocoupler and the buffers (74HCT14) are placed on a small board very close to the midi connectors. We provided 2 midi thru connectors to allow easy connection in combination with the vorsetzer (our 2005 model, <pp2>, has only a single midi in connector and no thru's of its own). The power supply is discrete (the large transformer adds welcome weight in this design) and without circuit board, whereas the PIC circuit resides on a small PIC prototyping board. The connections (a single Weidmueller 8-pole connector) are as depicted below:
Note for organisers:
the player pianos I and II as well as the pedal robot described on this page will always and only be operated by a qualified technician or musician from the Logos Foundation. So, the instruments will not be rented out on their own. (Dont even ask). The insurance value for these instruments is 12.000 € plus 1.500€ for the pedal module. The grand piano itself has always to be provided by the organiser. No modification on the piano itself is required. Placement of the instrument on the piano is absolutely harmless to the instrument. Note that the music requires the piano to be in top condition and well tuned.
Transportation of the robot is possible with any normal sized car. The case of the mechanism measures 1400mm x 200mm x 200mm. The control computer for player piano I is build into a 6 unit 19" rack. For <pp2> it is a much smaller module containing only the hefty power supply. It fits in a normal attache case. The Vorsetzer case is very heavy (47kg) and requires 2 people to be lifted up and carried. Installation on the piano takes less than five minutes. Placement of the pedal robot involves only a mechanical adjustment of the heigth of the pusher. The pedal module weigth is about 35kg. (10kg for the pianopedal robot itself, plus 25kg extra mass consisting of body building weights).
Please note the technical requirements with regard to the piano: 88 keys grand piano and a free flat space on the left and on the right side of the keyboard of at least 31mm. The height of these blocks should not extend higher then the level of the black keys on the keyboard.
Collaborators on the design and realization of the player piano pedal robot:
Construction log for Player Piano Pedal Robot:
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Last update: 2007-02-16 by Godfried-Willem Raes
Maintenance notes and spare parts list
Transformer used: EREA 66TR160
Solenoid: August Laukhuff, Trakturmagnet 24V/ 1.51A - 55N
Pusher: Epramid stave, turned to size on the lathe.
Thread on set screws: 12mm trapezoidal (TR12)
All constructional parts, including nuts and bolts, are stainless steel.
Weigths: Body Builders Weigths. (assortment from 5kg to 80 kg to accomodate the piano). The small ones are a donation by Luk Vaes.
