Resonance depends on the structure resonating, which is why low notes sound more inharmonic than high notes, since they are not the proper length and have strange harmonics.

How do you mean more resonant? Do you mean louder? Or that more notes are chiming in to add harmonics, like when you use the pedal to cause other strings to resonate sympathetically?

Perhaps it is the modulation to a "black key" that you hear that you appreciate. I enjoy the keys of C flat and G flat major after playing in a key like C major.

Do you consider G flat to be the same as F sharp? G flat would imply either G flat major or C flat major to me (tonic and dominant, respectively) and so when I think of this pitch as G flat I imagine it quite differently to F sharp, which to me implies G major as it is the leading note, or perhaps F sharp minor. (These are my impressions, not necessarily yours. )

If I stand away from the piano and someone plays a key I can hear a distinct difference between the black and the white keys....particuarly in the main register of the piano....just curious as to other thoughts.....I'm sure I couldn't tell the difference if the string was plucked....well at least I never tried that.
Having a nice summer?

rada

But the felt hammers that strike the strings are the same for both the black keys and white keys.

Maybe the black keys, because of being raised, strike it with more punch. Don't know???

Personally, I don't hear any difference in tone quality, other than the natural characteristics of each tone.

Best, John

Rada, how well is your ear developed? Can you be hearing with your mind's ear as well, adding to the qualities you perceive? (I don't know if that makes sense). How would you know whether a black or white key is being struck? You must already have some form of perfect pitch. I am curious - what effect would it have on you when you strike a key with the damper pedal down? At this point you will have sympathetic vibrations affecting the tone, which in turn affect the vibration of the piano itself.

Actually I just tried plucking and I can also hear the difference between the black and white keys.....I always thought I had relative pitch perhaps it's bit keener than that.....

rada

well i just found something interesting.... anybody here who composes via computer program; please take one of your pieces and transpose it up or down.

i did this with a piece i'm working on, and i noticed that i chose the key i did because it sounds better to me than any other key could have. transposing by just a semitone can make a drastic difference in one's perception of the timbre and texture, and the overall feel of a piece. and when i use a computer program; "black key vs. white key" really makes no sense.

what makes the real difference is the key you had in your head.

deleted for clarifty

for me, the key actually makes a huge difference, because every key gives you a different feeling, if not in the listener's ear, at least in the composer's mind.