A research group led by Dr. Shinichi Furuya of the NeuroPiano Institute and Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. announced research findings that for the first time scientifically clarified how pianists' manipulations of keys alters piano timbre.

Creativity in painting, music, and other arts is underpinned by the ability to create diverse perceptual experiences for audiences. However, whether timbre could actually be changed mid-instrumental performance, and what physical motor skills would be required to do so, remained unclear.

The research group developed a unique sensor system that can measure piano key movements at a temporal resolution of 1,000 fps, and measured key movements when professional pianists expressed various timbres on the piano. The results revealed that listeners could distinguish the pianists' intended timbres, regardless of whether or not they had any piano performance training experience. The group further successfully identified the key movement features that produce these timbre differences.

This discovery addresses the over century-old question, "Can pianists alter timbre through touch?" by demonstrating that timbre manipulation through touch cultivated by pianists is not a mere sensory metaphor but a scientifically backed skill. These findings open the possibility of visualizing and teaching specific movement features that produce timbre, which would lead to more efficient practice and prevention of mislearning. They also reveal that high-level body motor control shapes artistic perception, suggesting potential applications across various disciplines, including rehabilitation, skill transfer, and human interface design.

These research findings were published in the international scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on September 22, 2025.

These results were obtained through the following program, research area, and research theme:

JST Strategic Basic Research Program (CREST) Research Area: Core Technologies for Trusted Quality AI Systems (Research Supervisor: Akiko Aizawa, Professor, Digital Content and Media Sciences Research Division, National Institute of Informatic, Research Organization of Information and Systems) Research Theme: Building a Trusted Explorable Recommendation Foundation Technology Research Director: Masataka Goto (Prime Senior Researcher, AIST) Research Period: October 2020 -- March 2026

Moonshot Research & Development Program (MOONSHOT) Research Area: Realization of a society in which human beings can be free from limitations of body, brain, space, and time by 2050 (Research Supervisor: Norihiro Hagita, Chair and Professor, Art Science Department, Osaka University of Arts) Research Theme: Liberation from Biological Limitations via Physical, Cognitive and Perceptual Augmentation Research Director: Ryota Kanai (Director, Corporate Planning & Innovation Co-Creation Unit, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR)) Research Period: October 2020 -- March 2026