Topic by rjawad1

  • Avatar
  • rjawad1
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 09-01-2010
  • Posts: 29

Topic: vpc1 and hand problems

Hello All,

I have a kawai baby grand piano and a VPC1 kawai digital piano.  I recently took my VPC1 to school to use there.  We have a really bad upright, and I was tired of tuning it all the time.  However, the -real- reason I took my VPC1 to school was because I had a hunch it was messing up my hands.  I was having problems with my hands on and off.  Soreness, tiredness, etc. 

Since I took my VPC1 to school, all these problems went away.  See, at school, I mainly play hymns for the choir.  Sometimes, I just give them the first note and let them sing without me playing at all.  Bottom line is, I don't play on it very much now that I took it to school.  On my home piano, I work on classical music.  Right now I'm trying to finish the first book of the Chopin Etudes.  I'm up to number 8 and play several hours a day, each day, on numbers 1 through 8.  I have no problems with my hands afterwards.  No muscle problems.  Nothing. 

However, once in a while (maybe once a week, or twice a month) after school, I will sit down and play some of these same Etudes on the VPC1.  I don't practice them; I just play through 2 or 3 of them quickly and then leave.  And I promise you, every time I do this, my hands hurt afterwards.  They feel like they are sore all the way from the tops of my hands through my forearms to my elbows.  I find myself unconsciously opening my hands wide, stretching my thumbs, stretching my palms, and twisting my forearms.  Then I go home and try to play on the real piano, and my fingers feel like I can't put weight on them.  They are not sturdy.  If you've ever had shin splits, it feels kind of like that but in my arms.  Then I wait a few days, and everything is back to normal.  I can play the real piano just fine; no problems.  Then one day I'll play on the VPC1 after school, and the same thing happens all over again.  I've repeated this 6 or 7 times with the same results.

I've tried to figure out what is going on here.  The keys push down about the same on either piano.  It's not exactly the same, but it is close.  The VPC1 keys don't come up as well.  But I think it must have something to do with the key bed.  Is the key bed much harder on the VPC1 than on a real piano?  Metal vs Wood.  I'm not really sure.  I know dancers prefer wooden floors to concrete floors. 

I was wondering if anyone has had this problem.  I don't think it is just a problem with the VPC1 and suspect other digital pianos have the same problem because of a similar construction. 

Any insights? 
Thank you.

Reply by scherbakov.al

  • Avatar
  • scherbakov.al
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Sankt-Petersburg
  • Registered: 25-06-2015
  • Posts: 704

Re: vpc1 and hand problems

Is VPС1 keyboard at the same height, that piano? whether it is securely, not loose, not springy when pressed? Whether it is set accurately in a horizontal plane (not decreases in the direction of the black key or contrary?) Sit at the same height? In the long run for a couple of centimeters tool can show itself in more fatigue.
Try to change the purpose of the audio buffer. Perhaps the sound by pressing the key appears in the ears too fast, or vice versa? And it is strange, after the piano and can be quite noticeable in the performance of Chopin's Etudes. Do you use the speed curve with VPC1? What is the volume?

Last edited by scherbakov.al (27-04-2016 10:23)

Reply by slobajudge

  • Avatar
  • slobajudge
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 17-03-2016
  • Posts: 102

Re: vpc1 and hand problems

Hm, I must say that I dont have that problem, but I am probably less playing on acoustic then you. The fact is, VPC1 have hard keys, but not the hardest, and its not the main and the only reason. For example, trills are easier on real acoustic then on digital, fast passages also. On digital there are sensors and they catch your playing, but acoustic response immedately. When you apply on the same level your skills you previosly learn on acoustic on digital with full weighted keys, your effort increase because of that difference digital vs acoustic I mention, and the results are that tiredness. Try first to minimized fatigue that comes from external factors, like sit height, body position, etc. Then from hardware and internal software to increase response, dynamics, and minimized delay.

Last edited by slobajudge (27-04-2016 11:57)

Reply by scherbakov.al

  • Avatar
  • scherbakov.al
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Sankt-Petersburg
  • Registered: 25-06-2015
  • Posts: 704

Re: vpc1 and hand problems

Try to download Pianoteq curve with values:
Velocity = [0, 5, 11, 17, 24, 30, 37, 43, 50, 57, 63, 69, 75, 81, 88, 93, 98, 103, 107, 111, 115, 118, 121, 123, 125, 127; 0, 1, 3, 5, 8, 11, 15, 20, 26, 33, 40, 48, 55, 63, 73, 80, 88, 96, 102, 108, 114, 118, 122, 124, 126, 127]
And in the VPC curves-editor limit values: 14-124
It will be interesting to know your feelings.

Reply by GRB

  • Avatar
  • GRB
  • Member
  • Offline
  • Registered: 22-10-2014
  • Posts: 320

Re: vpc1 and hand problems

Yes if you are trying to get more out of the keyboard than it can deliver velocity wise, you can end up giving yourself osteoarthritis.  This happened to me using a Casio mini synth as a bass.  The Casio was not velocity sensitive.  My little finger is sore to this day and that was many years ago.

Pianoteq Pro 7.x - Kubuntu Linux 19.10 - Plasma Desktop - Hamburg Steinway