Acoustic Piano Reviews Digital & Software Piano Reviews Accessory Reviews
Portable Audio Recorders, $149–$199:
A Comparison Test
In the past decade, portable audio recorders have proliferated widely among musicians at all levels: professionals, amateurs, teachers, students—even students’ parents. In the $149–$199 price range there’s no perfect audio recorder, but my hours of comparing showed me that each of these five models has unique strengths and weaknesses.
Ode to Joy: The Korg KDM-3
Digital Metronome
As the market has shifted from mechanical to digital metronomes, the forms they’ve taken have been many. Frankly, most are terrible. However, the battery-powered Korg KDM-3 is a better metronome because it combines more of the features a pianist wants, it works intuitively, and it’s attractively designed.
MIDI Apps for the Technology-Equipped Piano
Going Where No Piano Has Gone Before!
Deeply meaningful—even transformative—customer experiences are available when technology-equipped pianos are connected by MIDI to intelligent, interactive apps running on a mobile device or laptop computer.
Review: Magic Lid Slow-Close Lid for Grand Pianos
Magic Lid is a pneumatic device that aids in lifting and slowly closing a grand-piano lid—and promises to make this precarious, heavy part of the piano both safer and easier to use for people of all ages, heights, and degrees of physical strength. My own story illustrates its usefulness.
Piano Marvel
Teaching the Video-Game Generation to Play
Certain aspects of playing an acoustic piano are much more satisfying than playing a digital. Often, however, one would still like to access different sounds, connect to a computer, or turn off the sound entirely for late-night practice. The ability to connect a piano to a computer has expanded the possibilities of educational software. One such program is Piano Marvel—an interactive subscription software for learning to play.