Keybird ~ A New Portable Piano

Many years ago, I remember seeing a piano in a museum similar to the one shown above (built in 1787 by Christian Gottlob Hubert. On display at Germanisches Nationalmuseum – Nuremberg, Germany). I have often wondered why acoustic portable pianos never really took off. Although we’ve seen more portable keyboard instruments like harpsichords, accordions or… Read More

What is a House Brand Piano?

If I would ask you to name 20 brands of pianos, how would you answer? Could you name 5 or possibly 10? Maybe you can easily name 20. Historically there are approximately twelve thousand brands of pianos! It is entirely possible to encounter brands that you’ve never heard of before. I’ve been in the piano… Read More

Are Hybrid Pianos the Next New Thing?

I hear a lot of talk about hybrid pianos being the next new thing and yet I believe there’s some confusion as to what a hybrid piano actually is and whether or not it can be used as a piano alternative in serious education. When we see hybrid cars driving about, from what we’ve seen… Read More

Bösendorfer Vienna Concert Pianos

They say that French cuisine and baked goods are inseparable from the ingredients grown there, that the quality of the food is due in part to the local culture from farm to table. In music, there is something similar in Austria known as the Viennese sound. It is a unique sound that is also considered… Read More

Yamaha SX Grand Pianos with ARE

Yamaha works at a molecular level implementing ARE, Acoustic Resonance Enhancement in their new SX line of pianos. Yamaha quietly introduced something this year at the NAMM show that caught my eye. It’s not a new process. In fact, it’s been going on since the 8th century with the Vikings in their ship building. Since the 1930’s, Scandinavian countries have also been experimenting with it.… Read More

Who Is Grotrian?

It was said of Grotrian “There is no effort to produce them in great numbers, but rather to create in every one, as it passes through the factory, an instrument fit for the inspiration of great artists who have long accorded to its makers the highest place.” Of their experience, “It is said that nowhere in the world are there more veteran employees than in the factory of Grotrian.” … Read More

The Una Corda Pedal – The Soft Pedal

Cristofori, credited with the invention of the earliest pianos in the 1700’s also installed the “una corda” pedal into his pianos. Being Italian, the phrase “una corda” can be translated “one string”. How does “one string” translate into a pedal we also know as the soft pedal? … Read More

Baldwin Piano Then And Now

If you live in North America, you’ll surely be aware that Baldwin is a household name. In fact, my first job involving pianos was in the local Baldwin dealership. They have been around since 1862 and were at one point the largest piano… Read More

The C. Bechstein Sphinx Grand Piano

One of the teams involved in some of the more detailed aspects of carvings within the church were employed recently by Bechstein in a spectacular million dollar piano reproduction… Read More