Piano and Synth Blog

Here are three good articles on the subject of flamenco piano:

• The flamenco piano, from J. Romero and A. Pav??n to the present day
• Learning to play the flamenco piano
• The flamenco piano, by Carlos Torijano

There’s an interesting article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencier about eminent harpsichordist Byron Schenkman’s return to the piano.

He now considers himself the only musician actively performing on both the harpsichord and the piano.

The article talks about his joy at being able to perform with new colleagues and emerging artists, and the greater availability of good and generally standard pianos, compared with harpsichords which vary greatly by age and manufacturer.

Read the full article: Harpsichordist finds an ‘enormous’ new world as a pianist

Tony Caught is a piano tuner of some 40 years, but is perhaps unusual in that he cannot actually play the piano.

Living in Australia, and travelling north, he was surprised at the condition many pianos were being stored in.

The extreme climates of Australia can play havoc with these timber instruments, particularly where there is no air-conditioning where they are stored.

Since he started tuning, technology and a lack of skilled tuners has changed the way the trade is performed.

He now uses a computer to give him an accurate initial picture of the entire piano before he starts tuning by ear.

Read the full article: The Piano Man

Robert Moog has died aged 71 after a battle with a brain tumour.

Read obituaries:

• Bob Moog, synthesizer inventor, dies at 71 (MTV News)
• Obituary: Dr Robert Moog (BBC News)
• Bob Moog, Synth Pioneer, Dies at 71 (Gizmodo)
• Robert Moog, Creator of Music Synthesizer, Dies at 71 (New York Times)

The State (South Carolina) runs a short interview with Matt Bachrach, who has released five albums to date, and is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He is interviewed about why he focused on the piano, how often he practices, and how he connects his missionary experience with his musical career.

Read the full article: Q&A With pianist Matt Bachrach

Belgian jazz pianist and composer Francy Boland died in Geneva, aged 75, a statement from the Jazz Labo society of Fribourg said.

”Jazz has lost one of the most prestigious arrangers and band leaders in its history, to be ranked with the geniuses Duke Ellington and Woody Herman, ” Jazz Labo enthused.

Paik Kun-woo���”seeker of truth on the keyboard��?”���has added his name to the small list of master pianists who have or are recording the complete works of Beethoven with major record labels.

Park Je-sung (Music columnist) writes:

Idiosyncratic and Creative

People can listen to a creative, idiosyncratic and historical playing of Beethoven’s sonatas through his albums. Paik Kun-woo translates the music language of the West into Korea’s unique internal world and music language in his albums.

Read the full article: Perfect Paik Kun-woo��?

Bio:Kaswell began playing the piano at an early age and has been making audiences smile ever since. After his retirement from work less than a decade ago, Kaswell volunteers as a piano player at local nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. Despite being blind, Kaswell isn’t hindered by his disability; he has always managed to play by ear. Kaswell’s disability hasn’t slowed him at all - he listens to books and newsmagazines on tape and constantly tunes in to listen to Red Sox games.

The interview covers:

• being 90
• playing piano
• aging
• his current gigs
• changes in his lifetime
• family origins
• America today
• inactivity
• worries
• advancements

and was conducted by the Newton Tab.

Read the full interview: The Piano Man: Harold Kaswell

Jim Aikin, author of Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming, lists his five favourite softsynths.

He introduces his article:

Six or seven years ago, there just about wasn’t any such thing as a software synthesizer. Crafting a synth arrangement required routing MIDI and audio cables and searching through LCD patch lists in a rack of hardware. Today I can (and generally do) work straight through from my initial musical inspiration to the final tweaks in the mix without ever leaving the computer screen or switching on a hardware synth, except to use the weighted-action keyboard on my ancient Korg 01/W ProX.

He then goes on to list his favourites, from manufacturers Native Instruments, Spectrasonics, Steinberg, Image-Line and Camel Audio.

The article begins by explaining basic synth jargon, moves through the five softsynths, and then finishes with some short examples (in MP3 format) that Jim has put together to demonstrate the software.

Read the full article: My Five Favorite Soft Synths.

When the organist of a church leaves, it can be difficult to find a replacement.

Though piano and organ keyboards look similar, there are a whole host of different skills required to successfully play the organ.

Much greater consideration is required for registers and pitches, and there’s a whole extra line of notes to read for the foot pedals.

Organists are becoming a scarcity, presumably because it’s a tough way to make a living. Churches will either have to modernise, accepting the keyboard instead, or pay for specialist training.

Read the full article: Churches struggle to find replacements for organists