News

This section covers general news related to the world of piano, pianists, synths, electronic music, and musicians.

Zen Q Synergy Core compact audio interface launched Professional studio audio performance for the home market in the Zen Q Synergy Core audio interface, featuring AD/DA, discrete ultra-linear mic preamps, 64-bit Acoustically Focused Clocking system, 37 analog-modelled effects, 14×10 I/O channels, low latency USB-C interface. Class-leading — MONITOR and LINE OUT — AD/DA conversion […]

Daily Roundup 19 Jan 2022: Zen Q, Kontakt robo-sampling, AtomoSynth ...

Wednesday 19th January, 2022 in News tagged atomosynth / erica / genos / kontakt / Mastro Valvola / op-1 / robots / Roland / roundup / stencil piano / teenage engineering / UDO Super 6 / Yamaha / zen q by Andy

Playing Evanescence Bring Me To Life on Train Station Piano Cole Lam says: “This one is one of my mum’s favourite songs – Evanescence Bring Me To Life played on the Elton John Yamaha public piano at St Pancras [train station]. It’s got a really cool music video where there […]

Daily Roundup 18 Jan 2022: Cole Lam, Meowsic music, dog ...

Tuesday 18th January, 2022 in News tagged cole lam / dog / elements / fred hersch / meowsic / roundup / zero-g by Andy

G-Sonique Releases DARKPSY FX466 VST / AU Plug-in instrument DarkPsy FX466 is VST / AU plug-in designed for Darkpsy / Forest / Psycore music production and can be used in various genres of psytrance from fullon to dark prog, as well as in completely different genres such as: film music, video-game music, dark […]

Daily Roundup 17 Jan 2022: G-Sonique DARKSPY, Sequential OB-6 demo, ...

Monday 17th January, 2022 in News tagged g-sonique / korg / ob-6 / rhythm / roundup / sequential / synths / tutorial / wavestate by Andy

Rhodes Mk8 unveiled Harold Rhodes’ legendary electro-mechanical tine piano returns. Precision built in the UK with the finest hand-selected materials. Optimising the iconic sound of the Rhodes piano, the MK8 offers considerable improvements in tone, touch, intonation and dynamics. All critical components – including tines, pickups, dampers and pedal mechanism – […]

Daily Roundup 16 Jan 2022: Rhodes Mk8, Fred van Hoof, ...

Sunday 16th January, 2022 in News tagged Brudenell / Erard / rhodes / roundup by Andy

Piano with Steinway Hall of Fame Teacher Dr. Jason Kwak An interesting little video from Dr Jason Kwak, newly inducted into the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame and teaching at Texas State University. Members of the Piano Department are specialists in many areas, including classical performance, jazz performance, collaborative performance, […]

Daily Roundup 15 Jan 2022: Dr Jason Kwak, Behringer BRAINS, ...

Saturday 15th January, 2022 in News tagged Behringer / rachmaninov / roundup / Steinway by Andy

Synth Heads: A Generative NFT Series for Electronic Music Fans The Synth Heads series imagines a world where synths come alive after their creators have gone to bet. Each generative NFT is a unique character of its own; the characters are BØB, Lynn, Pauline, Oscar, Seq-Ee, and Dax 7. The process uses […]

Daily Roundup 14 Jan 2022: Synth Heads, Jordan Rudess on ...

Friday 14th January, 2022 in News tagged daily / roundup by Andy

Getting children interested in music-making from a young age is so important and can set them up for a lifetime of enjoyment. With so many health and wellbeing benefits associated with the ability to play an instrument, irrespective of what skill level is attained, starting toddlers and very young children […]

Small keyboards for young children: The best of 2021

Thursday 25th November, 2021 in News by Andy

Welcome to this year’s guide to gifting for the musicians in your life. We’ve split the guide into various categories or types of musician you might want to buy for, and within each are gifts at various price ranges. Hopefully there is something for everyone this holiday season. Skip to: […]

Keyboard Musician Gift Guide Winter and Christmas 2021

Saturday 20th November, 2021 in News by Andy

Roundup of product launches and news from Winter NAMM 2019: Jump to a section: Instruments Acoustic Pianos Digital Pianos Keyboards Synths Organs Others Software Manufacturers Arturia Bösendorfer Casio Effigy Labs Korg Novation Roland Steinberg Yamaha Instruments Acoustic Pianos Yamaha showcases its TransAcoustic TA2 pianos, offering the best of both acoustic […]

NAMM2019 roundup

Wednesday 23rd January, 2019 in Features / News tagged namm19 by Andy

My Daily Improvisations for February 2018. 1 Feb 2018

PSImprov February 2018

Friday 2nd February, 2018 in News by Andy

As part of my Depth Year, I’m challenging myself to create and publish an improvisation every day in 2018. I know a variety of factors will see to make that difficult. Fitting it into my schedule is the least of the issues — perfectionism and fear will be the biggest […]

PSimprov: A year of daily improvisation

Wednesday 10th January, 2018 in News tagged 2018 / challenge / daily / improvisation by Andy

Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table by Rick Wakeman — We’ve just heard that Rick Wakeman is a headline act at next year’s Stone Free Festival (18/19 June 2016, O2 Arena, London). As part of the 12-hour-per-day multi-stage festival, Rick will be performing the album “The Myths And Legends Of King Arthur And The Knights Of The Round Table” in […]

Rick Wakeman to perform entire “King Arthur” album live at ...

Friday 20th November, 2015 in Musicians / News tagged 1975 / concert / king arthur / live / o2 / performance / rick wakeman / stone free by Andy

M-Audio HDH50 headphones — M-Audio has shown off its HDH50 high definition headphones, offering great sound reproduction for monitoring and studio use. Key features include: Studio-grade quality, tuning, and frequency response 50mm neodymium drivers provide critical audio detail Gunmetal aluminum and steel construction Closed-back design prevents sound from leaking in or out Around-the-ear padding […]

M-Audio HDH50 high definition headphones

Wednesday 29th January, 2014 in News tagged hdh50 / headphones / high definition / M-Audio / namm14 by Andy

M-Audio M-Track Quad revealed

Tuesday 28th January, 2014 in News tagged audio interface / M-Audio / MIDI / namm14 / usb by Andy

Korg DS-DAC-100m mobile digital/analog audio solution

Friday 24th January, 2014 in News tagged audio / dac / ds-dac-100m / Korg / mobile / namm14 / usb by Andy

Just before NAMM13, Yamaha launched the Disklavier Network and now, just before NAMM14 the company has announced its Disklavier Education Network First Audition Programme. The Disklavier concept is now 25 years old, and is used in many music schools and other educational establishments in order to allow students to practice […]

Yamaha Disklavier Education Network (DEN) launches

Friday 17th January, 2014 in Manufacturers / News tagged audition / disklavier / education / Yamaha by Andy

Roland has posted the first of a number of resources (possibly videos) teasing viewers about something it’s calling “AIRA”. The first video briefly discusses the development of the TR-808 in the early 1980s (including the classic, erroneous, dialog “At that time, electronic music and dance did not yet exist”): At […]

Roland AIRA teaser

Wednesday 15th January, 2014 in News / Synth, Electronic & Audio tagged AIRA / Roland / teaser / tr-808 by Andy

Steinway grand piano at the Jersey Opera House — The Steinway grand piano installed in the Jersey Opera House is finally going to be restored, after a decade of fundraising plus a one-off £10,000 donation. The piano was bought second-hand and although it is constantly used by local and touring groups, it really needs some work to bring it […]

Jersey Opera House Steinway grand piano to be restored

Monday 13th January, 2014 in News / Piano tagged jersey / restoration / Steinway by Andy

Teenager Ryan Green missed out on a place in The Voice UK after he failed to secure a single vote from the four-strong judging panel at the first blind audition in the BBC’s reality show. The judges seemed torn, and due to not being able to see the 16-year-old, hadn’t […]

Pianist Ryan Green, 16, exits The Voice UK without a ...

Monday 13th January, 2014 in Musicians / News tagged bbc / pianist / ryan green / talent show / the voice by Andy

Jazz pianist Jamie Cullum has visited the Camden-based piano shop Heckscher & Company as part of a BBC radio documentary in which he learns about the history of the area. As was common in many cities, a huge number of piano makers had set up in the London area in […]

Jamie Cullum visits Camden piano shop for BBC radio documentary

Monday 13th January, 2014 in News tagged camden / jamie cullum / london / radio by Andy