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Clothespin piano lets you play music on your iPad
iOS developer Adam Kumpf had a problem -- he wanted to play piano on his iPad, but there was no physical piano keyboard attachment. Instead of merely lamenting about the issue, Kumpf used his engineering know-how to design his own keyboard using everyday household items. The DIY iPad piano keyboard was made from aluminum foil, clothespins, tape and rubber bands. Combined, they create wooden keys that simulate the touch of your fingers on the screen. You can see the keyboard creation in action in the video below. Kumpf describes his homemade project in a recent blog post and provides more details on his Instructables page for those who would like to try their own hand at making a DIY piano. Though his version is compatible with the Fiddlewax music apps he developed, you could use his creation as inspiration for your own design. [Via CNET]
Wolfie allows beginners to learn piano with advanced tools
Chances are you've seen plenty of virtual piano keyboard apps in the App Store, but isn't it far less often that you come across a music app that wants you to use an actual piano, perhaps for educational purposes? How primitive, right? Well that is Wolfie's request. It's an educational music app that teaches students how to play piano and helps instructors teach them as well. Plus, it has technology to guide you along as you play the piano. Not so primitive anymore, huh? Wolfie is a free iPad app with in-app purchases requiring iOS 7.0 or later. Wolfie comes with an entire catalog of various sheet music to download and learn how to play. There's over 750 choices and your first two are completely free, so choose wisely. More on pricing later. I've always wanted to learn how to play the piano but just gave up after multiple attempts of trying to teach myself. One of the pieces I downloaded is the classic "Ode to Joy," which the app claims is "Very Easy." Perfect for me. The catalog is organized by difficulty, which should help you pick your own song to learn depending on your level of expertise. Selecting a piece brings up the sheet music with a number of tools along the top, the most prominent being the Magic feature. Turn this on and with the help of your iPad's built-in microwave, the app monitors your progress as you play the song and highlights the next note so you never lose focus or get lost. This is one of the highlighted features of Wolfie and after testing it, I found that it's good but needs work. The cursor wasn't consistently accurate following the notes I played; other times it took a few seconds for it to catch up. Then of course a few times it did work flawlessly. It seems like an issue of fine tuning the technology for a future app update. Right next to the Magic switch is the Record button, which records the song as you play and saves it to the Recordings tab. Finally, for those who need a visual, YouTube integration means a YouTube video teaching you how to play a song accompanies any sheet music you download. I see this being one of the most helpful features and terrific for users learning to play piano without a teacher's guidance. Wolfie doesn't forget about its advanced users either: a set of tools for enabling a metronome, adjusting tempo and writing on the sheet music - both scribbles and music symbols - are all available along the top. The app needs a bit more powerful of an undo/redo feature. The capability to fix errors you make is currently limited, but it's forgivable for now. Other features like cursor and note settings, isolated note-taking and statistics are located up in that top navigation bar. If you want unlimited sheet music downloads, you have to subscribe to Wolfie's Premium service costing $14.99 month by month or as little as $6.70 per month if you prepay $59.99 for 9 months. The subscription model is interesting instead of using the standard pay-as-you-go for sheet music, but I like it and it's sure to pay off for those who have a lot of learning to do. Ultimately, Wolfie is packed with advanced features combined with pricing that's not too shabby. Some of them like the Magic cursor need improvement to warrant a whole-hearted recommendation, but for free, Wolfie for iPad is congenial to students looking to build up their piano skills.
Piano City - Halloween Magic is fun game for young pianists
Piano City - Halloween Magic is a music game that takes you along a Halloween-themed journey, building up your piano skills and competing in concert recitals along the way. You start at the bottom of the social rank with basic songs to play on the piano using an interface similar to that of the famous Tap Tap Revenge and slowly work your way up to stardom. Piano City is free for iPhone and iPad with in-app purchases. Quite frankly, I'm not entirely sure how the Halloween theme relates at all to the gameplay. The design is nice and attractive in particular for kids, but it seems like an afterthought thrown in just because it's that time of the year. None of the songs or characters are spooky or related to the holiday. The UI of the game is just coated in a pumpkin spice paint. Aside from that observation, the game design is beautiful with or without the haunted motif. The tutorial helpfully guides you through the first few songs you have to play. You don't really have much flexibility in choosing music until later in the game when you unlock more music (or pay for "premium" songs) so at the beginning you're stuck with the classics like "Greensleeves." Piano City aims square at kids, but I have to admit I had an almost absurdly good time playing. The game has the power to be pretty educational for kids looking to start out playing piano, incorporating a layer of entertainment at the same time. The piano displays a full octave worth of keys on screen and when the illuminated bubbles reach the keys, press to play a note in time. It gets a tad harder and faster with each new song. Eventually you move to larger venues, play more songs and have higher expectations for success. If you miss so many cues, you lose. I did notice that to account for songs with ranges spanning more than an octave, the piano keys sporadically jump octaves as needed. Lesson: higher notes are never on the left side of the piano. Piano City has diamonds for its in-game currency which you earn while simultaneously gaining clout as a musician. These buy all sorts of goodies like renewed "inspiration," piano upgrades and more. Certain purchases still require regular money though. For instance, the pack of five "premium" songs including Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" costs US$1.99. When you run out of diamonds and choose not to wait to earn more, they're available for purchase in bundles up to $9.99 in cost. The game has other components like a daily challenge and various tasks like finding someone's teddy bear to gather small rewards, but I found them distracting from the main point of the game. Piano City - Halloween Magic is a truly entertaining music game suitable for all ages. The piano is easy to play and the songs aren't too difficult nor unfamiliar. It's a bit better to play on the iPad, however it's a universal app that's free in the App Store.
Roli Seaboard Grand up for pre-order, bendable music starts at $2,000
We were pretty impressed with what Roli showed off at SXSW back in March, and now the company's rubberized keyboard is up for pre-order. The instrument is built in a standard piano configuration, with a soft surface that allows you to directly bend pitch and add vibrato and other effects to the notes as you're playing them -- sort of like bending guitar strings. The Seaboard Grand comes in three price configurations that hit a pretty wide spread, starting at $2,000 for the 37-key Grand Studio, all the way up to $8,888.88 for the massive 88 key Grand Limited First Edition. Only 88 of the latter will actually be sold -- a vaguely superstitious pricing scheme, it seems. That one will be shipping in December of this year. The others will start arriving in fall of next year.
Modders turn piano into Doom controller (video)
It's been almost too long since we've seen something (in)appropriated to satisfy a twisted modder's Doom craving, and this time, it's not the hardware running Id Software's classic game that's ill-fitted, but the controller. If the timeline on David Hayward's Vine account is accurate, a crew of what appear to be professional tinkerers has turned one old piano into an awkward keyboard in little more than 24 hours. Details on how this was achieved are limited, but it seems to involve some basic PC interfacing and a "load of wiring." Head past the break to catch the noisy mod in action, and if you'd like to a see a few more clips of the "Doom Piano" in development, hit up Hayward's Vine profile. Now, which one's the BFG chord?
SessionBand Jazz lets you create like a master
UK Music Apps Ltd produces SessionBand, an iOS-based app that gives you chord-based audio loops. You can use these loops for professional recording or to enhance your music experiments while you learn. A new version, SessionBand -- Jazz Edition, was released on June 15th. The new Jazz Edition features over 16,000 precision-cut chord-based jazz loops recorded by bassist Geoff Gascoyne, pianist Tom Cawley, drummer Ralph Salmins, and woodwinds (saxophone and flute) by Andy Panayi. The four UK-based jazz musicians are associated with top London music schools, including Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Trinity College and Guildhall. You can watch an entertaining video and see these musicians in action in SessionBand's introductory YouTube video. You can create your own copyright-free jazz music with your own jazz quartet by selecting and joining together various chord blocks. The SessionBand Jazz provides ten jazz chord variations for each of 15 popular jazz styles. According to UK Music Apps, you can "listen to the same set of selected chords in any of those styles." Also joining SessionBand, the February-released highly rated app, this week are SessionBand -- Piano Edition and SessionBand -- Acoustic Guitar Edition. The Piano Edition features recordings by Tom Cawley, while the Guitar Edition features recordings by Christian Marsac. These versions are on sale in the iTunes Store for $2.99, while the SessionBand - Jazz Edition sells for $3.99. All of the SessionBand apps feature one-touch recording, automated mixing, metronome and count-in, auto-transpose and Audiobus compatibility. The apps are compatible with iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, running iOS 5.1 or later, although the company recommends using the apps with the iPad 2 or iPhone 4S or newer devices. Personally, I rather like their tag line: Everyone's got a song in them. What's yours?
Jamn for iOS makes learning to play guitar visual, easier
Jamn (US$1.99) is a universal iOS app that visually communicates the relationship between musical keys, chords, scales, notes and the audio an instrument produces. Having spent some time teaching music to young students, I know all too well how difficult it can be to communicate the relationship between music theory and the sound that an instrument produces. Inevitably, it involves me scribbling endless analogies on a piece of paper until the penny drops. And while there are helpful visuals out there, I've not come across one as clear and as simple on the iOS App Store as Jamn. Through Jamn's intuitive and interactive Jamn wheel, the relationship between theory and sound is made visual, helping to connect the dots for beginners and those wanting to learn more. For example, by selecting the key of C in Jamn, the wheel will clearly identify all relevant major and minor chords for that key. Turn the wheel and the key changes to reveal the next appropriate chords. You can also hit play to hear exactly what each note and chord sounds like. It's a simple premise, but has the potential to make a big difference in the learning process. Each note and chord is also represented on a virtual guitar fretboard, displaying where each finger should be placed to make up the chord. The same can be done by swiping the fretboard to ukulele or piano mode. In guitar mode, tilting your iDevice will put the app in eHands mode, giving you a literal hand position representation of what your hand should look like when playing the chord. The app comes with 10 of the most common hand positions, a further 200 can be purchased via in-app purchase for $1.99. Additional features include an in-key chord finder, a scales library, a tuner and tutorial videos to get you started. There really is a lot in Jamn to get you learning, understanding and playing your instrument. If you've already got the basic principles of playing, for example, the guitar, Jamn will be a fantastic tool to help you develop and progress in your musicality. But if you're a teacher, I can see Jamn being particularly useful in providing a creative and interactive way to teach students the fundamentals of playing the guitar, ukulele or the piano. Jamn is certainly worth checking out. What apps have you used to help you learn or teach an instrument? Let us know in the comments below.
Vibrating glove gives piano lessons, helps rehab patients regain finger sensation and motor skills
We've seen a good number of electronic gloves before, and now researchers at Georgia Tech have devised one to rehabilitate patients who suffer from paralyzing spinal cord injuries while teaching them how to tickle the ivories. Christened Mobile Music Touch, the black mitt pairs with a keyboard and cues individual fingers with vibrations to play notes. The handgear also buzzes constantly for several hours to stimulate recovery while users go about their day, similar to another yellowjacket-developed solution. After treatment, some patients could pick up objects and feel textures they hadn't been able to -- especially remarkable since, according to the university, little improvement is typically seen a year after injuries are sustained. Folks who learned to play the piano with the device also experienced better results than those who did without it. Project leader Dr. Tanya Markow believes that the rehab's success could be caused by renewed brain activity that sometimes lies dormant. For the full skinny, head past the break for the press release and a video of the gauntlet in action. [Thanks, Timothy]
Auto-composing keyboard creates tunes tailored to your taste
We love listening to our favorite tunes, as they provide a soundtrack to our otherwise dull and silent blogging existence. But, sometimes the lyrical stylings of Jay-Z and glorious jams of Trey Anastasio simply don't meet our musical needs. We need something different, something never before heard by human ears, to get us through the news day. Enter Cornell students Charong Chen and Siyu Zhan, who have constructed an electric keyboard that one ups Yamaha's singing piano by creating and playing its own compositions. Users simply select between two mood modes -- happy or tender -- to determine the tune's tempo, then play a couple notes and the piano sets to sating sonic cravings. There's another mode that allows users to play a melody to "train" the keyboard, which then plays permutations of that melody in an automated jam session. In that training mode, users can play as long as they like to give the keyboard a better idea of what they're into, which allows the algorithm to better tailor its audial output. The hardware making the music happen is comprised of a microcontroller (MCU) with the composing algorithm on board, a numpad for choosing the operational mode, and a 23-key piano that communicates with the MCU through a trio of encoders. The results are impressive, if not quite concert-hall quality. Hear it for yourself in the video after the break.
Yamaha's singing keyboard makes X Factor even more redundant (video)
Tired of singers over pro-ho-ho-ho-nouncing every vowel? Perhaps the solution is to just remove their ilk from the equation altogether. That's the idea behind Yamaha's new Vocaloid Keyboard, which transforms the Vocaloid software into a ready-to-play device. 16 keys represent consonants, vowels and the types of voicing marks used in Japanese, while at the same time selecting a tone on the keyboard. An LED display prints out each letter as its plays, ensuring that you aren't making any playing errors (or should that be "typing errors?"). Experienced musicians who have used the device found that they were able to produce nursery rhymes after three hours of practice, but sadly the company isn't planning to press it into production. Instead, as the chip inside is "removable," it might contemplate licensing it to another interested party, Simon Cowell, perhaps.
Bastion sheet music now available for $0.00 through Supergiant
Bastion's soundtrack has received almost as much praise as the game itself, which earned a spot on our list of 2011's best games, among other accolades from consumers and industry folk. Its haunting vocals, 1800s gospel-esque melody lines and character-relevant lyrics are an exceptional work on their own, as you can clearly tell from the video above featuring Bastion composer Darren Korb and vocalist Ashley Barrett.Now you too can play the part of a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter, assuming you have the ability to command a guitar and/or piano in coordination with sheet music and/or tabulature. Charts for all four songs of the Bastion soundtrack are now available for free from Supergiant's store, which we're certain will vastly improve the accuracy of YouTube cover videos the world over. Now if you'll excuse us, we're off to remind ourselves why we dropped out of music school.
Line 6 Mobile Keys iDevice MIDI controllers hands-on (Video)
Musical device maker Line 6 has widened its range of music-making peripherals to include these two new MIDI controllers for your iDevice. It's the first (so it says) bus-powered gear that'll draw a tenth of your iPad's battery -- meaning you'll likely get nine hours of music-makin' on a full charge. We gave the devices a play and found them a joy to use, the keys were comfortable and had some weight, solidly built with chunky rubber volume controls and LED-backlit octave switch keys. The only downside is there's no natural slot (or groove) to place your iPad at the right angle for sustained use. After the break we've got a video with some pretty amateurish playing, but don't let the assault upon your ears dissuade you from how good this device feels. The 25-key version will cost you $150, the 49-key version $200 and both are expected to arrive before the end of the quarter.Dana Murph contributed to this report.
Line 6 throws more MIDI love at iDevices, intros Mobile Keys keyboard controllers
Line 6 hasn't been a stranger to uniting musician's iDevices and MIDI controllers with its MIDI-Mobilizers, but now it's unleashing a duo of keyboard-style controllers of its own here at CES. Its Mobile Keys can connect straight to your iPhone's 30-pin port, and even over USB if you feel like recording some loops straight from your computer. The controller features velocity sensitive keys, two 1/4-inch jacks for sustain pedals and the like, and it'll interface with any apps that support CoreMIDI. Thankfully, the controllers are bus-powered, so you won't need batteries -- we'd imagine, however, that the convenience might be at the expense of your iDevice's normal run-time. If you're recording bug is piqued, you'll be able to pick it up with either 25 or 49 keys in the "early 2012, respectively priced at $150 and $200. Full details in the press release after the break.
Choice Piano Cuts, a Super Meat Boy piano tribute album
Remember Brent Kennedy, the guy who created those wonderful piano arrangements of the Super Meat Boy soundtrack early last year? Well, it looks like we weren't the only people impressed by his work: Super Meat Boy's composer, Danny Baranowsky, has been working with Kennedy for nearly a year, and the two have recently released the fruits of their labors on Baranowsky's Bandcamp profile. Super Meat Boy! - Choice Piano Cuts is a $4.99 (or more, if you're feeling generous) collection of 10 tracks from the SMB soundtrack, composed by Baranowsky and arranged/performed by Kennedy. The purchase also includes a PDF of the Kennedy's sheet music for the entire album, which in itself is well worth the price of admission for the musically inclined out there. The soundtrack's original arrangements are great and everything, don't get us wrong, but there's a deeper level to Baranowsky's skill as a composer that's exceptionally brought to life by Kennedy's mastery of the ivory keys. Do yourself a favor and give it a listen.
Virtual MIDI piano glove even makes MJ's sparkly one look tame (video)
When a piano necktie or keytar just feel too showy, why not opt for the more subdued wireless MIDI piano glove? An excellent choice for daytime or night, the hand accessory allows you to tickle the virtual ivories without putting a finger to a real eighty-eight. It works as such: wired with resistive flex sensors, move a finger and the glove will send an electrical current through a voltage divider and microcontroller to create the corresponding MIDI note. The result? Single notes or chords of musical greatness truly worthy of a bad karaoke singalong. Check out the MIDI throwback video after the break.
Turn your iPad into a mini-keyboard with ION's Piano Apprentice
ION recently announced a new piano accessory for the iPad that will let you play and learn piano on a mini-keyboard. While piano-playing apps on the iPad are fun, they are not useful for instruction as the 9.7-inch display of the iPad is too small for a reasonably sized keyboard. ION solved that problem with its new Piano Apprentice, a dock for an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch that includes a 25-note lighted keyboard with touch-sensitive keys. The keyboard dock includes an iOS app that teaches you how to play piano with the help of instructor Scott Houston. You can follow his hands on the screen while you play on the keyboard. The keys on the dock will even light up while you practice your tune. The Piano Apprentice will arrive this fall for US$100. [Via Engadget] Show full PR text ION Intros Portable Keyboard with Lighted Keys & Piano Learning Software for iPad, iPhone & iPad PIANO APPRENTICE turns a portable keyboard into a traveling music teacher with an intelligent piano learning software app. Cumberland, R.I. (July 19, 2011) – ION, a leader in consumer audio and entertainment technology, announces PIANO APPRENTICE, a portable lighted-key piano learning system for iPad, iPhone or iPod. ION will showcase PIANO APPRENTICE at Booth #400 at the 2011 Summer NAMM show from July 21st- 23rd in Nashville, TN. PIANO APPRENTICE portable piano transforms iPad, iPhone or iPod into a personal piano instructor. The PIANO APPRENTICE App – a free download from the App Store – is piano learning software designed and built by ION to work seamlessly with PIANO APPRENTICE and creates a comprehensive music-learning experience. Piano players follow along as Emmy award-winning piano instructor, Scott Houston (aka "The Piano Guy"), appears on the screen demonstrating how to play while the PIANO APPRENTICE keys light up in time with the music. In addition, Scott's hands are right above the PIANO APPRENTICE keyboard, showing the user where to place their hands, teaching them how to play. Other modes will teach aspiring pianists how to read sheet music or allow them to simply play the piano at any octave they choose. The portable keyboard itself is touch sensitive, responding to soft or hard playing accordingly for expressive music creation. PIANO APPRENTICE is lightweight, battery powered, and has built-in speakers for learning and playing anywhere. A headphone jack is included for quiet practice at anytime. "PIANO APPRENTICE enables people everywhere to bring out their inner musician using their iPad, iPhone or iPod, even if they've never played an instrument before," said Wendy Mittelstadt, Product Manager, ION. "This is a incredibly easy-to-use and portable system for learning and music creation."
Ion Piano Apprentice plays nice with your iPad, lights up your life
It's not enough anymore to simply cram a single-octave keyboard into the bottom of a Nintendo DS, effective piano instruction requires at least twice as many keys -- and an iPad. The Ion Piano Apprentice (when coupled with a compatible iDevice and companion app) offers aspiring Tchaikovskys octave-selectable free play, lessons on reading sheet music, and even a view of award-winning piano instructor Scott Houston's handsome hands. If those mitts are too distracting for you, just follow along with the light-up keys, you'll be fine. This mini keyboard / iPad dock will land this fall to the tune of $100 -- -- it's either that, a real instructor, or a pair of haptic robot gloves. Your choice, really. Hit the PR after the break for a peek at Mr. Houston's official nickname, if you're into that sort of thing.
Ion's Concert Piano has a built-in iPad dock
A while back at CES, I got to check out Gear4's Pocket Loops, a little keyboard with a built-in iPod touch dock, but Ion's Concert Piano takes that idea and goes big. It's a full-sized, 88-key piano with an iPad dock built into it. Just like the Pocket Loops keyboard, there's a downloadable app that lets you play music right out of your iPad (though I couldn't find it on the App Store just yet), but unlike the Pocket Loops keyboard, the piano itself has a built-in speaker, so even without Apple's tablet, you can make some music. Also unlike Gear4's keyboard, the Concert Piano seems like a premium instrument, with wood-grained paneling and actual weighted keys that are supposed to feel realistic. That probably also means it won't be nearly as cheap as Gear4's keyboard, but then again, when compared to a full keyboard or actual piano, the Concert Piano will probably stack up pretty favorably for your wallet. We've also seen even more complicated keyboards -- the Akai SynthStation49 has its own separate controls in addition to the built-in dock. No word on price or release date for the Concert Piano just yet, but we can probably expect to see it available later on this year. [via Dvice and Bornrich.org]
Akai SynthStation49 dock / giant keyboard combo is less portable than its predecessor
You may or may not be familiar with Akai's previous iPad dock / keyboard combo, the SynthStation. The thing is, the original SynthStation's keyboard was miniature, and the dock was designed for the iPhone -- presumably so that it was simultaneously portable. Well, the new Akai SynthStation49 adds a full keyboard, though it obviously loses that portability. Regardless, the SynthStation49 packs nine MPC-style pads, dedicated pitch and mod wheels, and transport controls. The internal audio boasts 1/4-inch outputs, and the hardware is MIDI supporting, so you can use the keyboard as a MIDI input device. This one is currently awaiting certification from Apple, so we can't say when it'll be released, nor do we have pricing. Hit up the source link for more details.
Super Meat Boy piano arrangements are delightful
Brent Kennedy's piano arrangements are, to put it lightly, very impressive. His latest renditions of Super Meat Boy tunes are no different, urging us to loop "Betus Blues" while charging once more through level two's Light World. It's so much more harrowing when the music sounds classical!
