illustrated the greater treble sustain of the Stuart notes, an octave above middle C, a characteristic found in the tests of chapter four.

Little Rootie Tootie – Jazz Piano, Concert 3.

At concert No 3, 62% of participants answered qu. 4&5 and 83% of participants commented describing the Stuart sound as ‘bright’ in comparison to the Steinway sound. As previously mentioned, in contrast to these perceptions, in written comments associated with other questions, 54% of participants also commented that the Stuart sound was more ‘mellow’, ‘round’, ‘smooth’ and ‘deep’ than Steinway.

At concert No 3, jazz pianist Kevin Hunt played Little Rootie Tootie by Thelonious Monk, on both the Stuart and Steinway pianos.

Little Rootie Tootie prt. 1

In the 1st section of part 1, the Stuart sounds louder, and as though it is being played more solidly than the Steinway. The pianist plays the same music differently on both pianos. This research suggests that the pianist has anticipated how stylistically to play the contrasting of piano sounds for this piece. The Steinway is played more lightly, with longer tenutos in both the melody notes and the chords in the left hand than on the Stuart. The Stuart is played at a slightly faster tempo, with more rhythmic triplet tension, a with a more ‘percussive’ detached interpretation of the melody notes and chords. The range of dynamic in the playing styles is more varied on the Steinway, whereas the Stuart dynamic is a constant forte. In this section it could be said the Steinway is being played in a more sedate ‘classical’ manner, and the Stuart is being played in a more aggressive ‘jazzy’ way.

In the 2nd section of prt 1, at 14s in both performances, the pianist’s choice of register for the right & left hand phrases is different for each piano. The pianist decides to use higher octaves in the Stuart performance. The timbres of the lightly played high triplets are contrasting, the Stuart being significantly brighter, albeit at the octave higher. The left hand melody in the tenor register melody has a ‘smooth’ tone on the Stuart, and the Steinway lower bass melody is ‘bright’, as found in chapter four, see tests on the note C2 65.406 Hz.

Little Rootie Tootie prt. 2

In the 2nd section of theme 1, the pianos sound a little more similar. In the 1st section of prt. 2, the pianist plays the pianos each in a different stylistic manner in the left hand . In the Steinway performance, the left hand chords are played again as tenuto on each beat, as a background rhythmic function. Whereas the Stuart left hand chords are used to more sparsely, simply to support the melody, harmonically.