Overall, at concert No 2, in response to Qu.9-11, 75% of participants preferred the sound of the Stuart piano in the jazz trio ensemble sound. Written comments of participants at concerts 4 & 5 described the Stuart piano’s ‘clarity’ ‘projection’ and ‘resonance’ within the ensemble sound. 57% of participants responded that the Stuart was more resonant, and distinct within the trio sound.

… the cymbal swing feel matches the gritty edginess of the Stuart sound.³⁵⁴

The evaluation of a clearer definition of piano tone within the jazz ensemble sound must be associated with how the onset or the beginning of the sound is perceived. Tests in the identification of piano tone have shown that without hearing the very beginning of the sound, it is impossible to identify piano tone.³⁵⁵ In the jazz ensemble sound, the onset attack sound of the cymbal directs the rhythmic pulse of the ensemble performance, and the attack sound of the piano indicates the rhythmic intention of the piano phrase, as does the attack sound of each of the bass notes of the ‘walking’ lines. So in this regard, the attack sound of the piano is an important element of clarity in the overall ensemble sound.
The overall audience perceptions of 69% and 57% that the Stuart sound is more ‘clearly defined’ in the sound of the jazz ensemble concurs with the findings of chapter four, which have shown that the Stuart sound is louder and has a wider harmonic spectrum than the Steinway sound, at the onset of the sound.

Audio examples below present the sounds evaluated by the audience of the Stuart and Steinway pianos in the jazz trio setting at concert No 5. Both pianos were played in the one trio performance of ‘No Moon At All’. In contrast to the above mentioned perceptions, at this concert, 59% of participants responded to qu. 6&7, saying that the Steinway sound was ‘clearer, more defined’ than the Stuart sound, and 62% responded to qu. 9&10 that the Steinway sound was more ‘distinct and resonant’.

Trio – concert No 5.

In the No Moon At All audio extract, the ‘brighter’ Steinway tone previously heard in the solo extracts in the audio extracts is not identifiable in the trio setting. The Steinway has a ‘rounder’ tone. At times the pianist sounds to be playing the Stuart with more fortissimo than the Steinway, which may account for some of the extra brightness. Either the harmonic spectra of the Stuart sounds are not as affected by the sounds of the accompanying instruments, or the harmonic spectra of the Steinway sound is affecting a rounder sound on the overall ensemble sound.

³⁵⁴Written comment- Concert No 4 Qu.16
³⁵⁵ Houstsma,A.J.M., Rossing, T.D.and Wagenaars,W.M. Auditory Demonstration Demonstration No 29, IPO NIU, 1987. http://www.feilding.net/sfuad/musi3012-01/demos/audio/. 7 Blackham, 88-98.