The overall design of mainstream pianos has not really evolved much, despite some outlier designs, but perhaps that could change with a real world curved concert grand piano designed by piano maker Chris Maene and late architect Rafael Viñoly.
Large instruments with keyboards have traditionally been straight, meaning notes further away from the centre, by the player, are harder to reach. The philosophy of the curved keyboard is simple — it brings the lower and upper key ranges a little closer to the pianist which in turn can make playing less of a strain on the body.
A positive side effect of this curved design is that the whole soundboard is larger than a standard acoustic grand piano, meaning there is greater scope for nuance, clarity and power — a bigger dynamic range.
The curve is quite subtle, so presumably it would not take long to accustom oneself to the design.
If you have a spare half a million dollars, and then a bit more, you might be able to afford one. Failing that, perhaps petition a digital piano manufacturer to incorporate a curved keyboard design into one of the their instruments, which we think would probably be much easier to achieve and somewhat less expensive.
Find out more at Chris Maene’s website.
