I recently purchased a Yamaha P-80 electric piano which is a full keyboard that emulates a real piano (touch sensitive, graded hammer effect, etc.). I don’t have an amplifier, so I need to use headphones to hear myself play it. I have noticed a weird slightly painful buzzing in my right ear when I play, but only when I’m tired. I assumed it was some interference in the headphones until I tried an experiment.
Believing that there was some distortion at higher volumes, I turned the volume down and noticed no lessening of the buzz. Puzzled, I then turned the piano off and played with no sound and no headphones. I still got the weird buzzing sensation in the exact same way (one buzz for each note). I did not get this buzz when I simply tapped my fingers on a table as if I were playing.
Even stranger, if I hum something as I’m playing, the echo goes away. What the heck is this? It’s starting to drive me wacky. Seriously.
Annie
On lawyering: “Never take a client who stops to reload.”
– Patrick Baude
Wow that is wierd. When you say you “turned it off” you mean as in, no power to the instrument? Also, since the buzzing is in your right ear, did you try putting the right headphone on the left ear, and the left one on the right ear (ie. flip your headphones around backwards)? The only thing i can think of is that maybe there is a grounding problem with the right half of the stereo output (headphone jack) on your keyboard. If you switch the headphones and get the buzzing in your left ear, unplug the keyboard from the wall. Then try it. If it stops, its quite possibly a problem with your keyboard, you may want to have it looked at or exchange it if it is still new. Also, you might want to try another pair of headphones just to be sure. I don’t know of any known problems with your brand of keyboard, but then again, i use Alesis keyboards. Please keep me updated on this…
“Through twilight, darkness and moonrise
My scarlet tears will run
As stolen blood and whispered love
Of fantasies undone”
Yes, the power was completely off, and yes, I tried switching the headphones around. I don’t think it’s electrical. I think my brain believes my fingers are actually playing and making the odd sound. It’s the only explanation I can think of to explain why it happens only when I’m tired. It might be some sort of psychosomatic fatigue. Selective tinnitus, perhaps. Very odd.
Please keep me updated on this…