Living the dream with a self-playing Grand Piano
A little bit of fun.
I started the week working on a repair job, however I’ve put that on hold while I wait for some parts. So in the meantime here’s something completely different.
I’ll be keeping my eye on this one as I suspect it has the potential to trigger some music composition matches, but so far so good. However if I do have to take it down for a subtle re-edit, please don’t be concerned, it will come back - just give it a day. Fingers crossed I don’t have to do that though.
Hope you’re all well. As soon as I click 'publish' on this post, I’m going out for a much needed walk.
Comments (63)
Need a MIDI arrangement of the outro music. I vote all the "quickie" videos use a Sega Grand Pianist rendition ;)
Oh, and it’s Sega’s 60th anniversary on June 3rd 2020 !
Oh yea, the new graphics look great.
Just a suggestion, but if you put Sega in the video title, it probably will get more views :-)
Good idea.
Such a clever reveal, really had me going! I'm a sucker for actuated miniatures so really enjoyed this vid.
I like the term ‘Actuated miniatures’ and wish I’d used it. Never mind, I’ve now added it to my lexicon for future retrieval.
I hope you had as much fun putting this together as I just had watching it. What a delightful discovery!
I did - it’s a delightful object. I’d also be lying if I said I haven’t ordered another one.
Wonderful stuff. Coincidentally I ordered one of the following (uses punched paper strips) a couple of weeks ago. On a different scale (no pun intended) of course, but fits with budget more than the excellent device you showcased. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Music-Box-With-Hand-Crank-Movement-15-Music-Score-Blank-Paper-Tapes-Hole-Punch/283842463328?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=585276883201&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
I loved watching this one. And when you start alluding to playing your own MIDI files, I was just waiting for Cuba Baion. Did not disappoint. :D
Nice job!. You got me on the opening sequence. I knew that it was going to be a miniature replica but it looked like it was really in your Living Room. My great aunts had a "real" player piano controlled by music scrolls so this brought back memories of my youth.
Mat, (I don't know if you read these comments, but assuming you do...) you should ask Anders to make a midi version of Cuba Baion just for piano. I only discovered Yamaha Disklaviers about a year ago. I was sitting in the lobby of a posh hotel and was wondering why someone had put some kind of media player on top of an upright piano of all places. On closer inspection I found that it was the controller for the piano. My mind was blown. The only self playing pianos I'd ever heard of were the old music roll ones you see in saloons in old western movies! A quick search shows me that you can get older upright models for just a few thousand pounds. If I have that kind of money to spare at some point in the future I'll definitely be getting one.
Anders has been kind enough to make a Piano version for me - it plays a lot better than the normal version. I may play it in the next Patreon update.
I love small things, I need this
I had to smile when I heard Cuba Baion. LOL.
Excellent!
Fantastic!! And marching by keys is a fantastic feature
I'm amazed all those keys actually work independently. That's a LOT of very small solenoids! :-)
It took me literally a few minutes, so Anders' file will *definitely* be better than mine. Feel free to ignore it; just me idly noodling on a Friday night.
Hi Mat, I doubt you'll ever have a need for this, but I made a slightly stripped down MIDI file of Cuba Baion that should play nicer with the wee piano. It only took a couple of minutes and was mainly taking out the percussion. As I say - you'll probably never have a use for it, but this is lockdown Friday and it's the kinda thing I do these days. Here's the link (with apologies to Anders Enger Jensen): https://1drv.ms/u/s!Al0Az81XICXxt0Pb8O_YE1qicmm1?e=uSZ6m2
Funnily enough Anders sent me a Piano friendly version earlier too. I’ve run out of time today to test these out, but I’ll get on it tomorrow and perhaps play some back in a future Patreon update. Thanks for taking the time to do this.
If there ever was a piano to play Chopsticks on this is it. With chopsticks.
Time taken for Anders to send you a new mix for solo piano?
I couldn't resist. Just bought myself one! By themselves, they're pretty nifty and if it was only that, I wouldn't have wanted to buy one. But, I have a large collection of anime figurines (many posable), and this is the perfect scale to pair with them for a lovely scene. Thanks!!! :D
It's such a cool thing that I was on eBay looking for it almost immediately after the reveal. It's so expensive that I thought "forget it" and went back to watching the video without spending any money. In a nutshell: the ideal Techmoan video. :)
Yes a synth...that thing is hilarious...If it wasn't over $200 I would think about it...
I wonder how long before someone trains their hamster to play Chopin on this grand piano...
You now need an incy wincy Bobby Crush to go with it!
FYI in case you couldn't hear it yourself — the high-frequency whine/whistle you showed on the external speaker output jack sound is also present (a little less) on the microphone recordings. It made the video overall a bit unpleasant to listen to, so if you feel like going to the trouble you might want to filter out all but a demonstrative snippet of it so it's not hurting our ears during the voiceover parts. Also, the noise sounds a bit like it might be power supply noise (from the way it changes as the keys activate), so using a different wall adapter _might_ make it go away.
I tried all the obvious things (as you’d imagine). Four different power supplies, shielded cables, ferrite cores...I even took it out into the garden on the off chance it was anything to do with RF interference from WiFi. I don't have the technical wherewithall, or the hearing ability to filter out noises accurately - although I could hear them, it is a technically knackered device in some ways so any sound will have to stay in the video as an accurate depiction of reality.
Oh great! Now people are going to be asking me to make compositions on this thing with a toothpick. Seriously, though.. It's pretty neat, if overpriced. I think it would be cooler if it actually had real strings in there that were actuated. Or if not strings, maybe something that works more like a music box. But that way the music is at least more "real" instead of being produced electronically. I'm sure that would raise the price even more, though.
Who knew you were so musically inclined? With that thing and your “contribution,” you should be on a stage! Perhaps one is leaving soon (my take on an old Vaudeville joke). Usually I think most of the things you show us would be fun to have. This is an exception. If I do make room in my rubbish house for another piano that can play songs by itself, it’ll be the one of the larger ones with the paper rolls.
Yes!! Thanks in advance, Mat. Can't wait to watch it. Always watch 'em before I hit the sack. Like a bedtime story from the motherland. Cheers!
Matt, this is the coolest piece of modern tech you've shared with us. But you will have to answer to my missus when I drop $250 on eBay for one .... (:>) And for a mere $1539, I could opt for the white and gold "Hello Kitty" version. Choices, choices ....
I think you’ve had a similar reaction to seeing this as I had. Although the Hello Kitty version was never on my shortlist.
I want one! You’re probably too young to remember the BBC programme “Face the Music” where the guests had to guess the tune from the sound of a dummy keyboard and the music was faded in “for viewers at home only”.
Yes a little bit before my time - but as time goes on I get fewer opportunities to use that excuse.
I'm really taken with this little thing, especially as all of the keys are individually actuated and it can play melodies that would take more than one person to play. I definitely need to look up the internal mechanism. This, in a sound-dampened glass case with a speaker and midi input (only) set in a wooden base, would be a beautiful piece in my opinion.
To quote Jack Nicholson from The Batman: "Where does he get these wonderful toys?"
It's something that makes me think: "only in Japan"... But the detail is striking, the functional keys, but also all the other parts, it looks good, even for just standing there! But I'll keep to my real piano, not a grand, not a player piano, at least I know a little bit how to play ;-)
Time for Mat to find a midi file of Alphaville's "Big In Japan". Until I looked it up just now I'd always thought it was "Made In Japan" 😂
Brilliantly obscure item delivered with your usual panache Mat. The Cubabion track raised a big smile. Have a lovely weekend.
As I was watching this I thought "he has to play Cuba Baion" and Ta-Da there it was. Then I thought I have to hear this through the external speaker and :-( that was not so happy of a moment. I love this device and will follow up on the ebay links. With the right midi files this could be quite cool, and a great conversation piece.
I need to get me one. I love self playing music instruments so much that I will make an orchestrion, but in the meanwhile this is nice. As I need to save up a bit of money first, any idea about how the keys are actuated? It's not shown, but I would guess tiny solenoids activated by electromagnets?
I don’t know how it works, I’d imagine a strip of tiny electro magnets.
I wonder if 8-Bit Keys really has some Grand Pianist envy now!
If you ever find yourself passing through (or going to) the Cotswolds the Mechanical Music Museum in Northleach is worth a visit!
I’ll add it to my list of places I’d like to visit but never will.
Even if you hadn’t mentioned your concern of content matches in the description, it would have been on my mind. I’m traumatized by your channel (and others I enjoy) that constantly have issues with this. When the Michael McDonald song started I was like “amazing! I love this song” followed by urgent thoughts of “TECHMOAN QUICK TURN IT OFF, HURRY, ITS BEEN PLAYING TOO LONG, QUICK GET TO THE CHOPPERS”. Hell I’m surprised that the clicking of the keys with no real audio didn’t get you permabanned. All of that aside, excellent video. I agree nothing screams “I’m filthy with wealth” than a (white) player piano. And I live in a rubbish home (condo) as well. Looking forward to the repair video to come
It’s not that bad - I’ll take off a few seconds or reduce the volume if it matches.
Oh yes! I MUST have one of those! Great video, Mat. I can’t imagine how small the key actuators must be. Don’t suppose you could pry open the case and give us a peek?
That’s something I really don’t want to do - I can just imagine 88 tiny springs shooting across the room. Some things I’m just glad they work, but I’m happy not to know how.
Absolutely delightful.
I cracked up hard when you added your "unique contribution" :D
This video was amazing but I will say, you really missed a trick by not playing a SEGA midi. Maybe something Sonic related? Streets or Rage? (Since some of that features piano anyway) Try and get in the nerdy videogame crowd!
Sadly that’d be a quick route to a copyright strike I suspect... :-( Ewen
that's incredible, I'll admit to being momentarily fooled by the preview image.
You need a doll version of you now to play it
Might I suggest a miniature hedgehog? :D
Grand Pianist Envy? Really? Going a little stir-crazy in quarantine, are we? :-D Great show just the same.
Just beating the comments to the punchline.
That is so awesome! You made it play Cuba Baion! :D