New piano ‘magic’ for teaching
Charles Darwin University has acquired the latest in music technology that could pave a new way of pursuing remote learning.
The Yamaha Disklavier Grand Piano, which came to the Northern Territory for the first time as part of an Australia-wide tour in 2011, will now remain on CDU’s Casuarina campus.
The piano, which can connect to another of its kind via the internet, has spurred a whole new way of teaching, making it possible to stream live concerts, masterclasses and lectures to a bigger network of regional areas, as well as to cities around the world.
CDU piano lecturer Chen Hui said the Disklavier piano had the potential to enhance greatly the musical training and experience for piano students in the School of Creative Arts and Humanities at CDU.
“The Disklavier Piano is a true acoustic piano that uses optical sensors and electro-mechanical solenoids to record and replay the performer’s keystroke and pedal movements,” Ms Chen said.
“Students cannot only play back their piece in terms of audio, but also visually; the keys move exactly as they have been played by the student. The piano appears as being played by invisible fingers.”
Ms Chen said that students could sit at the Disklavier in Darwin at CDU and link to other Disklaviers around Australia and the world, via the internet for demonstrations in real time.
“The live performance by student or teacher will be replicated in real time over the internet on to the second Disklavier, at the same time the visuals are streamed using the high-tech Polycom video system.”
To launch the piano, Yamaha Music Australia has sponsored a concert by Konstantin Shamray, winner of 2008 Sydney International Piano Competition, this Saturday (25 May) at 7pm at CDU’s Casuarina campus Theatre, building Orange 3.
The concert will include a demonstration of the Disklavier’s range of interactive capabilities. As a highlight, Konstantin Shamray will record himself on the Disklavier, then move to a traditional grand piano to play a duet with himself.