Piano and Synth Blog

PowerFX has announced the release of Grand Colour, a new virtual instrument piano library.

The acoustic pianos consist of the Bösendorfer 290, the Steinway D, the Baldwin Vertical and the Yamaha C7. Each piano has been recorded in Moscow, by Russian classical recording engineers using up to 20 different stereo dynamic levels for 40 seconds plus release and noise layers in a perfectly acoustically tuned environment. The end results are highly accurate emulations of these legendary instruments. The Bösendorfer download is $89 and the other pianos are $59 each.

(Via Synthtopia)

Purists should look away now.

A white lacquered baby grand piano shell that houses a projection surface and sound system.

Interesting, but… sorry… bizarre.

Via Create Digital Music

Mark Miller has written an article extolling the virtues of learning basic piano chords as a way to playing recognisable tunes on the piano quickly.

How chords expedite the learning of piano:

Teaching students how to construct and play chords is very ” concept-based”.  This is not rote learning.  Rote learning is fleeting. Concepts stay with us for our entire life.  For example, once you understand that an ” Augmented ” chord means to raise the 5th of the chord up a half step, then you are able to form that chord at any time. Similarly, when you understand that a minor chord is the same as a major chord  except you lower the 3rd or middle note by half step, you then can ” find ” or form that chord at anytime.

Learning your chords are the key to playing the piano life-long!  How many times have you heard a parent say ” I took piano as a kid , but can’t play a note today”.  This is as common as it is tragic.  Imagine saying ” I studied arithmetic for 5 years , but I can’t add today!”.

Peter Moser has written an excellent article on working as a freelance musician that covers freelance job roles, workplace, equipment and transport, skills development, fees and finance, insurance and professional support, promotion, and lifestyle, plus the advantages and disadvantages of being a freelance musician.

A worthwhile read.

Akai has unveiled the MPK49, a semi-weighted, touch and aftertouch sensitive 49-note keyboard complete with 12 MPC-style drum pads.

48 drum pads are available via 4 banks, and there’s MPC Note Repeat function and Swing parameters, plus an arpeggiator.

It delivers 72 assignable controls, including an expression pedal, footswitch, pitch bend and modulation wheel.

It features 8 full-sized, 360 degree rotation pots, each with 3 banks for 24 pots total, 8 full-sized sliders with 3 controller banks for each for 24 sliders total, 8 assignable backlit switches with 3 controller banks each for 24 switches total, MMC/MIDI Start Stop transport buttons, and a large, easy-to-read custom LCD display.

Akai Pro web site

Pianologist has written an excellent post titled “How to complete full pop song music arrangement in 60 minutes” which covers how to arrange music using a sequencer.

Of course there are prerequisites, like knowing how your software of choice works, setting up templates which can be used for new projects, and ensuring that the song is already completely written.

Sixty minutes might not seem much, and it may well not be enough to get a completely polished version, but following this advice it could get you well on the way to a complete track.

A Shanghai piano smuggling ring is suspected of dodging taxes to the tune of 10 million yuan ($1.29 million) in the sale of thousands of instruments.Shanghai customs seized eight smuggled pianos and traced them to 11 companies and 12 individuals, the China Daily said on Wednesday.

One thing though: how on earth do you smuggle something as large as a piano?

Read

A poll by UK classical music radio station Classic FM has revealed the nation’s favourite ten pieces of classical music:

1) The Lark Ascending Vaughan Williams
2) Cello Concerto Elgar
3) Piano Concerto No 2 Rachmaninov
4) Clarinet Concerto Mozart
5) Piano Concerto No 5 Beethoven (”Emperor”)
6) Enigma Variations Elgar
7) Violin Concerto No 1 Bruch
Symphony No 6 Beethoven (”Pastoral”)
9) Symphony No 9 Beethoven (”Choral”)
10) Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis Vaughan Williams

A concert grand piano valued at around £45,000 (about US$88,000) is said to be wrecked after it fell off the back of a removal lorry in Devon, England.The Bosendorfer was being brought to the home of John and Penny Adie, the organisers of the Two Moors Festival, an annual music event on Dartmoor and Exmoor.

It’s unlikely to be repairable; but is currently in London awaiting an independent assessment of the damage. It was insured for £26,000 - its purchase price at auction - not the full £45,000 it would cost to replace it.

Mr Adie said: “Bosendorfers are like the Stradivarius of the piano world. It’s more than money that is the issue here. They are simply irreplaceable.”

The removal firm declined to comment. Maybe they should’ve read the Piano FAQ.

(Via BBC News)

Billy Joel, Piano Man, is putting his $13.9m Miami Beach residence on the market, according to Radar Online:

Of course, the centerpiece is a concert grand piano in the living room, where endless ivory-tickling jams have surely raged well into the middle of the night.