Velocity Defaults

• Nov 25, 2020 - 08:18

Right now every dynamic has a velocity from 1-127 right? In this every piano dynamic (ppppp - mp) has its own velocity (number), yet every forte dynamic ( I mean from fff and above) has the same number (127). Could that change? I mean, we could either allow higher values (like 128 and above) or have new defaults?

Comments

• Nov 25, 2020 - 08:21

You can't extend the MIDI standard, and that restricts the values to 0-127

pppppp is 1, ppppp is 5, pppp is 10, ppp is 16. pp is 33, p is 49, mp is 64, mf is 80 (and the default), f is 96, ff is 112, fff is 126, ffff - fffff are 127, so yes you can't get louder than ffff and even that is only a very minimal difference to fff

You can change those and create a custom palette with different defaults, but are still restricted to values between 0 and 127

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• Nov 25, 2020 - 14:22

More than 3 p's or f's are not considered to be legitimate dynamic markings by some people. Sure, some very famous composers have used more than 3 to emphasize "I mean as loud/soft as possible" but their true impact on performance is suspect. As Jojo indicated, if you have a score with these and you want to hear a difference, then adjust the velocities of all of the dynamics. You can even save them to a palette and the velocities will be saved. So making a Rachmaninoff Dynamics palette might be useful if you are working on a Rachmaninoff piece that has this and you want to be consistent throughout the score.

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