Pastor Ken
If you visit my house, you may notice my piano has a small box attached to it with a switch and audio plugs. There is also a loudspeaker next to it. Yes, this is my toy.
Many of my friends have never heard about “Hybrid Piano” until they came to my house. Yamaha Company in Japan started to manufacture this type of combined acoustic and electronic pianos in 1993. It’s also known as a silent piano. The principle is that a sensor strip is installed under the traditional acoustic piano keyboard to measure the strength and speed of each strike on a key. The electronic signals then are converted to pre-recorded sounds. At the same time, another device prevents the key hammers from hitting the wires on the soundboard.
The original design is to preserve the fingering and sensation of playing an acoustic piano and use electronic equipment to make it sound like an electric piano. You can use headphones to practice/listen while the steel wire is muted. In a residential unit of a multi-story building, one can play piano without disturbing family members or neighbors. In other words, the hybrid piano can produce sound through its steel wires or can be switched to pre-recorded audio.
This kind of piano can also be connected to a synthesizer to play different sounds on the keyboard, such as violin or clarinet. Connected to a computer, you can even record 16-track MIDI files and do editing. A person will be able to combine all the tracks into a small ensemble after playing different instruments at different times. Yamaha also has products with pre-recorded orchestral music minus the piano part. To play a piano concerto, you can play the piano live while the orchestra is playing through the speakers.
Modern sequencers have a rich sound library, and you can choose all sorts of percussion and sound effects. When my son was young, I chose applause after his singing to give him a thumbs up. During play times, I also used helicopters, birds, gunshots, wind, etc. to create various effects. This hybrid piano has brought a lot of fun to our family.
A friend once asked that if you want to have a one-man band or to produce various sound effects, why not just buy an electronic keyboard? The point is that for real musical instruments, each piece has an individual touch and sound quality. When buying a piano, the one you try is the one you buy. This is why professional musicians bring their own instruments. If it is impossible to carry or transport, like a pipe organ, the musicians must spend time and effort to practice on that particular instrument before performance. In fact, it is precisely the imperfection that gives musical instruments their individual character. Art often has imperfections to become beautiful and flaws to be natural, and is handmade to gain individuality. In contrast, digital files ultimately come down to a bunch of binary digits, which can be played back on any computer.
A hybrid piano is a combination of art and technology. If I want to play classical music, being faithful to the composers, I’ll need to practice hard and play according to the score. For fun, I can improvise and add various sound effects to express my emotions. The hybrid piano is an excellent companion for life, especially for those who like to play other people’s works as well as create their own.
