News

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

Sad to announce that we’ve read confirmation that jazz/R&B/fusion/funk keyboardist legend George Duke has passed away, aged 67. Duke was being treated for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia but lost the battle yesterday (5th August), his record label Concord-Telarc confirmed. It follows a difficult year in which his wife Corine died. His […]

George Duke, jazz keyboard legend, dies aged 67

Tuesday 6th August, 2013 in Musicians / News tagged died / george duke / organist / pianist by Andy

Casio has announced that the UK market will gain a new limited edition model in its Celviano line of digital pianos, arriving in the Autumn and so available for the busy Christmas period. The Celviano AP-245 will feature much of the same technology as found in Casio’s other Celvianos, including […]

Casio Celviano AP-245 limited edition digital piano coming to UK ...

Tuesday 6th August, 2013 in News / Piano tagged ap-245 / Casio / celviano / Digital Piano / limited edition / UK by Andy

Italian footballer, Mario Balotelli, has supposedly been captured playing the Italian National Anthem (Il Canto degli Italiani) on a grand piano, while national team-mate Andrea Pirlo looks on. It’s a pretty ruse, but take a look at the video below and you’ll quickly see that it’s fake. While the guy […]

Mario Balotelli in fake piano-playing video

Tuesday 6th August, 2013 in News / Piano tagged Andrea Pirlo / celebrity / fake / footballer / italian / Mario Balotelli / sport / Video by Andy

Fans of Neo-Soul Keys, from the Gospel Musicians, will be pleased to hear they’ve just launched two new electric pianos for the app. Neo-Soul EX5 uses the synthesis technology from the Yamaha EX5 synth, sampled through the FDSP engine of the EX5 to simulate the modelled expression of an EP […]

Neo-Soul Keys gets two new electric pianos [iOS App]

Wednesday 31st July, 2013 in News / Synth, Electronic & Audio tagged app / apple / electric piano / EP / ios / ipad / iPhone / ipod touch / neo-soul keys / yamaha ex5 by Andy

There are an increasing number of ways for musicians and other creatives to sell or receive donations for their digital creations, from crowdfunding sites to music sharing portals and the big online players such as iTunes. Now, a service called Sellbox wants to integrate Dropbox and PayPal and create a […]

Dropbox may offer musicians another way to monetize their media

Wednesday 31st July, 2013 in News tagged dropbox / musician / paypal / sellbox / selling by Andy

Seems there’s only such a thing as a free lunch — or in this case, a free music magazine — if you are deemed a worthy fan. Billboard Brasil magazine — which follows the basic format of the American Billboard, featuring both Brasil Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts, articles […]

Music mag vending machine gives free copies to deserving fans ...

Wednesday 31st July, 2013 in News tagged billboard / brazil / fan / free / iPhone / marketing by Andy

Yamaha has announced a number of pianists who will perform at its sixth International Piano Series to be held at The Malvern Theatres in Worcestershire, England. The series commences on 18th October with John Lill performing works by Haydn, Chopin, Beethoven and Brahms. The Malvern recital is to form a […]

Sixth Yamaha International Piano Series lineup confirmed

Monday 29th July, 2013 in Musicians / News / Piano tagged concert / malvern / pianist / schedule / UK / Yamaha by Andy

TASCAM has announced the launch of its DA-3000 unit, an upgrade to the DV-RA1000HD. Key DA-3000 features include: Supports various media such as SDHC/CF(UDMA) and USB memory (*USB: for playback only) High sampling rates up to PCM 192kHz, DSD 5.6MHz High-quality OP-Amp (NE5532) Optimum condensers for quality audio and high-spec […]

TASCAM DA-3000 high definition master recorder and AD/DA converter announced

Saturday 27th July, 2013 in News tagged audio / da-3000 / recorder / tascam by Andy

Quach Hoang Nhi, aged 9, beat 21 other candidates aged between 7 and 9 in Group D of the Mozart International Piano Competition 2013, held in Bangkok, Thailand yesterday. They were marked on their ability to play a sonata piece judged to be difficult for their age. Quach Hoang Nhi […]

Quach Hoang Nhi, 9, wins Thailand international piano concert

Friday 26th July, 2013 in Musicians / News tagged child / competition / Quach Hoang Nhi / thailand by Andy

Daniela Liebman will make her Carnegie Hall debut this coming October, aged just 11 years. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, she began to learn the piano at age 5, and by seven she was named a winner in the eight to ten year old category at the Parnassos National Piano Competition […]

Daniela Liebman, 11, to debut at Carnegie Hall this October

Friday 26th July, 2013 in Musicians / News tagged 11 / Carnegie Hall / child / Daniela Liebman / performance / pianist by Andy

Playing any acoustic instrument can be a problem in confined spaces and the piano is no exception. Unless you’ve invested in a silent piano or are happy to practice at home with a digital piano, you are almost certain to disturb your neighbours at some point when you play. Now, […]

Apartment feud over pianist who never gets any better

Friday 26th July, 2013 in News tagged apartment / feud / legal / new york / Piano by Andy

Utah-based band The Piano Guys have just released their latest self-made music video “Don’t You Worry Child (Khushnuma)”, featuring Indian vocalist Shweta Subram. It was filmed in “Little Sahara”, a desert sand dune in central Utah known for its soft white sand and beautiful Indian temple. The Piano Guys are […]

The Piano Guys “Don’t You Worry Child” sees most challenging ...

Thursday 25th July, 2013 in Musicians / News tagged Indian / Shweta Subram / the piano guys / Utah by Andy

Yamaha has announced its new summer programme allowing both individual pianists and educational institutions the ability to either part-exchange or restore existing Yamaha acoustic and digital pianos, allowing them to get hold of new models or add value to current ones. The Upgrade Bonus programme runs from August 2013 to […]

Yamaha offers Upgrade Bonus PartEx programme for pianists and institutions

Tuesday 23rd July, 2013 in News tagged acoustic / grand / part exchange / Piano / Yamaha by Andy

Yamaha has announced new models in its line of Disklavier E3 and E3PRO Series performance reproducing digital/acoustic grand pianos. These models combine the unrivalled touch, tone, elegance and style of traditional Yamaha acoustic pianos with cutting edge digital piano features that enable the instruments to play themselves – with exact […]

Yamaha expands Disklavier E3 digital acoustic performance reproducing pianos [NAMM13]

Friday 25th January, 2013 in News tagged acoustic piano / disklavier / e3 / e3pro / grand piano / namm13 / Yamaha by Andy

Cables and connectors aren’t particularly exciting, but they are essential particularly in the evolving world of music making using tablet PCs such as the Apple iPad. To this end, Yamaha has introduced its i-UX1 MIDI interface cable that enables quick, easy, seamless connection between the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch and MIDI instruments. […]

Yamaha i-UX1 iOS to MIDI instrument connector [NAMM13]

Friday 25th January, 2013 in News tagged apple / cable / i-UX1 / interface / ios / ipad / iPhone / MIDI / namm13 / Yamaha by Andy

Nord C2D banner — Two-and-a-half years after Clavia introduced its Nord C2 combo organ, it has announced the C2D. We have very sparse information about the C2D at present, with Clavia simply writing the following: “Complete with 2 sets of physical drawbars per manual the Nord C2D is the ultimate portable organ for musicians […]

Nord C2D dual manual organ announced, arriving March

Friday 24th February, 2012 in LDS / News / Synth, Electronic & Audio tagged c2d / clavia / nord / Organ by Andy

Nord Drum unboxing - box — Clavia provided a teaser announcement at this year’s NAMM show that its new Nord Drum Virtual Analog Drum Synth will be available this coming March. Although we don’t have full specs, we’ve now seen a taster video demo, and today pictures emerged of the first review model of the Nord […]

Nord Drum Virtual Analog Drum Synthesizer coming March

Friday 24th February, 2012 in LDS / News / Synth, Electronic & Audio tagged clavia / module / nord / Nord Drum by Andy

Casio AP-420BK — It may not be the most exciting news around, but it’s no surprise that Casio wants to show off a couple of its existing Celviano digital pianos in matte black. The AP-220 and AP-420 have been given the makeover to demonstrate Casio’s “commitment to dealers and the music enthusiast”. The […]

Casio AP-220 and AP-420 now available in matte black [NAMM12]

Monday 23rd January, 2012 in LDP / News / Piano tagged ap-220 / ap-420 / Casio / namm12 by Andy

Step Sequencer — Casio’s musical instrument department enters a new era as it announces the launch of two new professional music synthesisers. First up is the XW-G1 Groove Synthesiser, targeted specifically at DJs and club performers with its interactive step sequencer and sample looper. Key features of the 61-key XW-G1 synth are: 6 […]

Casio XW-G1 groove synthesiser and XW-P1 launched [NAMM12]

Monday 23rd January, 2012 in LDS / News / Synth, Electronic & Audio tagged Casio / groove / namm12 / xw-g1 / xw-p1 by Andy

Korg Kaossilator 2 angled front view — Korg has updated its hugely popular Kaossilator with the arrival of the Kaossilator 2. Still sporting a vibrant yellow body (whether it comes in pink is another matter) it boasts a range of features including: Simple control with finger taps/slides on the integrated X-Y touchpad 150 built-in sounds cover every […]

Korg Kaossilator 2 bursts into life [NAMM12]

Sunday 22nd January, 2012 in LDA / LDS / News / Synth, Electronic & Audio tagged audio / DJ / kaossilator / Korg / namm12 / portable by Andy

Korg Mini KAOSS PAD 2 hits [NAMM12]

Sunday 22nd January, 2012 in LDA / LDS / News / Synth, Electronic & Audio tagged audio / DJ / kaoss / Korg / mini / namm12 by Andy

Korg SV-1 vintage stage piano — Korg has updated its popular SV-1 vintage stage pianos with two new models. The SV-1BK Black has an elegant matte black finish, while the limited edition SV-1RV features a bold red body and vintage reverse-colour keys that call to mind the classic combo organs of the 1960s and ‘70s. Here’s […]

Korg updates SV-1 with black and retro look models [NAMM12]

Sunday 22nd January, 2012 in LDP / News / Piano tagged Korg / namm12 / retro / stage piano / sv-1 by Andy

Bösendorfer Klimt Artist Series grand piano — Bösendorfer has announced its Model 200 SPGK “Klimt”, the first in a new line of “Artist Series” acoustic grand pianos. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. This new model features: The Klimt model will be limited to a maximum of 25 units […]

Bösendorfer creates first “Artist Series” piano [NAMM12]

Sunday 22nd January, 2012 in LDP / News / Piano tagged Bösendorfer / grand piano / Klimt / limited edition / namm12 / the kiss by Andy

Bösendorfer Model 155 SP acoustic grand piano — Those wanting the amazing acoustic grand piano experience but in a smaller frame size will be interested to here that renowned piano maker Bösendorfer (owned by Yamaha) has revealed its Model 155 SP. As model numbers reflect the length of the piano in centimetres, it doesn’t take a genius to […]

Bösendorfer Model 155 SP compact grand piano introduced [NAMM12]

Sunday 22nd January, 2012 in LDP / News / Piano tagged acoustic / Bösendorfer / grand piano / Model 155 SP / namm12 by Andy

Yamaha EZ-220 Lighted Keyboard — Yamaha has updated its EZ-200 lighted keyboard with the introduction of the EZ-220. Compare EZ-200 and EZ-220. It includes 100 preset songs designed to help beginners learn to play the keyboard. It features 392 built-in voices including realistic acoustic instruments including drums, plus synths and sound effects. There are 100 […]

Yamaha intros EZ-220 lighted keyboard [NAMM12]

Sunday 22nd January, 2012 in LDS / News / Synth, Electronic & Audio tagged beginner / ez-220 / keyboard / lighted / namm12 / tutorial / Yamaha by Andy

Yamaha Disklavier E3 Classic DGB1KE3Classic — Yamaha has extended its range of Disklavier E3 digital pianos with the DGB1KE3Classic. While it’s zero marks for the appalling product name, we should look beyond to the specs themselves. Yamaha has developed a new “Damper Drive System” which makes the E3 Classic more affordable. Yamaha states that, “During playback, […]

Yamaha intros Disklavier E3 Series DGB1KE3Classic [NAMM12]

Sunday 22nd January, 2012 in LDP / News / Piano tagged DGB1KE3Classic / disklavier / e3 / namm12 / Yamaha by Andy

Yamaha ARIUS YDP-C71PE digital piano — Yamaha adds to its ARIUS line of digital pianos — which already include the YDP-S31, YDP-181 and YDP-V240 — with the YDP-C71PE. Featuring a Graded Hammer (GH) 88-key keyboard and 3-level Advanced Wave Memory (AWM) dynamic stereo sampling system, it comes with a luxurious polished ebony finish and offers a […]

Yamaha intros ARIUS YDP-C71PE digital piano [NAMM12]

Sunday 22nd January, 2012 in LDP / News / Piano tagged arius / Digital Piano / namm12 / Yamaha / ydp-c71pe by Andy

Roland FR-1x V-Accordion Red open view — Roland takes another step on its decade-long V-Accordion journey with the introduction of the FR-1x V-Accordion. It builds upon the current FR-1 V-Accordions with the following key features: FR-1x Piano type and FR-1x Button type with stereo speaker system onboard USB memory port for Wave/MP3 player, new-sounds upload, data loading/saving […]

Roland intros FR-1x V-Accordion [NAMM12]

Sunday 22nd January, 2012 in LDS / News / Synth, Electronic & Audio tagged accordion / fr-1x / namm12 / Roland / v-accordion by Andy

Roland PK-6 dynamic MIDI foot pedal top view — Roland has updated its impressive MIDI foot pedal with the introduction of the PK-6 dynamic MIDI pedal. Looking much like the pedals found on an organ, this versatile piece of kit allows the keyboard player/pianist great creativity and flexibility by controlling MIDI with the feet. Compatible with most MIDI devices […]

Roland intros PK-6 dynamic MIDI pedal [NAMM12]

Sunday 22nd January, 2012 in LDS / News / Synth, Electronic & Audio tagged accessories / controller / MIDI / MIDI pedal / namm12 / pk-6 / Roland by Andy

Roland BK-5 backing keyboard top view — Auto-accompaniment features on electronic keyboards are nothing new, but Roland believes it has stepped up the game a notch with the introduction of its BK-5 Backing Keyboard. Designed for the one-man gigging keyboardist, or to use to accompany others, the BK-5 includes a powerhouse of authentic sounds, a large range […]

Roland intros BK-5 backing keyboard [NAMM12]

Sunday 22nd January, 2012 in LDS / News / Synth, Electronic & Audio tagged backing keyboard / bk-5 / namm12 / Roland / synth by Andy

Roland Atelier AT-900 Platinum Edition organ top view — Three years after the launch of the Atelier AT-900 organ, Roland has updated and released the flagship “platinum edition” AT-900. This edition has a newly-updated cabinet design, expanded voices and additional features, including: Lustrous walnut finish Acclaimed Virtual Tone Wheel organ sound Improved and expanded Pipe Organ voices Expressive, organic […]

Roland intros Platinum Edition Atelier AT-900 organ [NAMM12]

Sunday 22nd January, 2012 in News / Synth, Electronic & Audio tagged AT-900 / atelier / namm12 / Organ / platinum / Roland / supernatural by Andy

Roland RP301R Digital Piano USB port — Roland has introduced the RP301 and RP301R digital pianos, both featuring its SuperNATURAL sound technology, Ivory Feel-G keyboard and a number of features designed to make piano playing more fun and rewarding. We don’t have the detailed specifications for each model, but it seems that the RP301R additionally features 60 […]

Roland intros RP301 and RP301R digital pianos [NAMM12]

Sunday 22nd January, 2012 in LDP / News / Piano tagged Digital Piano / namm12 / Roland / rp301 / rp301r / supernatural by Andy

Roland F-120 digital piano side view lid closed — Building on the successful F-110, Roland introduces its F-120 digital pianos, which it says are ideal for pianists wanting authentic sound and touch in a compact, contemporary cabinet. Key features include: SuperNATURAL Piano engine onboard Ivory Feel-G keyboard for true piano feel and touch Compact, lightweight and stylish cabinet Dedicated […]

Roland intros F-120 digital piano [NAMM12]

Sunday 22nd January, 2012 in LDP / News / Piano tagged Digital Piano / f-120 / namm12 / Roland by Andy

Roland HP507 Digital Piano USB closeup — Hot on the heels of Roland’s LX-15 announcement come three upright digital pianos in the new HP500 series. By now you’ll be fairly familiar with Roland’s SuperNATURAL sound technology. It’s appeared in many of Roland’s newer digital pianos including all in the HP300 series (the HP302, HP305 and HP307) as […]

Roland intros HP500 Series of digital pianos [NAMM12]

Saturday 21st January, 2012 in LDP / News / Piano tagged Digital Piano / hp500 / hp503 / hp505 / hp507 / namm12 / Roland / supernatural by Andy

Roland LX-15 digital piano USB port close up — Roland has introduced its LX-15 digital piano, building on the technology found in the LX-10 and LX-10F. Featuring the SuperNATURAL sound engine with Soundboard Behaviour system, it offers organic sound and expressive potential. The Acoustic Projection system delivers a natural, multi-dimensional sound, with a range of new and expanded keyboard […]

Roland intros LX-15 upright digital piano [NAMM12]

Friday 20th January, 2012 in LDP / News / Piano tagged Digital Piano / lx-15 / namm12 / Roland / supernatural by Andy

Roland HD-3 V-Drum drum kit snare drum — The Roland HD-3 V-Drums Lite drum kit is ideal as a starter kit for beginner drummers and anyone who wants a compact, relatively inexpensive electronic drum kit in their home. It uses much of the same decade-developed technology found in Roland’s latest V-Pro series kit but is smaller and cheaper. […]

Roland intros V-Drums Lite HD-3 electronic drum kit [NAMM12]

Friday 20th January, 2012 in LDS / News / Synth, Electronic & Audio tagged drums / electronic / namm12 / Roland / v-drums by Andy

Roland V-Drums TD-30KV drum kit — Roland continues to build on its decade-long history of V-Drums with the introduction of the SuperNATURAL-powered TD-30KV and TD-30K V-Pro Series electronic drum set. You’ll probably best know SuperNATURAL from its role in the V-Piano. Key features include Behaviour Modelling and advanced sensing technology that reacts and responds to a […]

Roland introduces V-Drums V-Pro Series [NAMM12]

Friday 20th January, 2012 in News / Synth, Electronic & Audio tagged drums / electronic / namm12 / Roland / supernatural / v-drums / v-pro by Andy

By Chase Crawford Seeing her child play an instrument especially piano is every mother’s dream. Certainly, the reality of this dream can only be achieved through the cooperation of both parties. As soon as your child shows interest in it, strive to provide her with the best piano music for […]