What are the limitations of modelling a piano sound with the 'play' option of the software Wolfram Mathematica?

Question

'Play' is an input availabe on Wolfram mathematica, which shows how a wave would sound and I am asking myself what the limitations of this input are, in what aspects it does not represent 'real' sound clearly.

Answer 1

Real sound is full of impurities and higher-order effects that are exceptionally hard to model. A piano note is made by striking a wire under tension, causing it to vibrate. But that's not the only thing that generates the sound. The material properties of the piano body, the shape of the cavity, and so on all have a significant effect on the sound.

Real-world "notes" are never pure sinusoids. If you could model the waveform of a real-world instrument very accurately, then Mathematica (or many other software programs) can synthesize the note fairly easily. But the modeling is the hard part.

Answer 2

A one-dimensional waveform is an accurate model for sound received at one point, all from one direction, with no memory or perceptual effects. Which is a very simplified model of sound and hearing.