Futuristic Piano Takes Center Stage With An Army Of Flying Speakers

Grand pianos, baby grands, and keyboards have always come in a somewhat typical design that allows them to blend well with their surroundings.
 
Electronic musical instrument company Roland is sending its 50th Anniversary Concept Model into the new technological age with an army of flying speaker drones that will surround its player.

The piano has 14 360-degree speakers that soar around the musician. The idea is to bring a realistic ambient sound for the ultimate symphonic practice session. 
 
The drones are potentially operating through a low-latency communication channel and, depending on the user, can possibly even be programmed to fly closer to them when playing softly, in pianissimo, and to move further away when hitting a crescendo.

In terms of its actual design, the instrument departs from the traditional shape one would usually see on a typical piano.

Instead of a boxy silhouette, Roland has opted for something more organic and rounded. On top of that, the instrument ditches its usual shiny finish and instead goes for natural wood.

This is because it was crafted by the Japanese furniture company Karimoku, which used Nara oak wood from Hokkaido as its base. This particular type of wood is the same kind used in creating Buddhist statues. As such, the same method to produce these religious ornaments has also been used in the piano’s production. The process employs stacking small pieces of wood together to form the body. 
 
This allows the model to be easily repaired and increases its lifespan.

It also has a tablet for its user to easily set the instrument to their preferred settings, view music scores, use a metronome, toggle between various sound settings, and control the drones.

Unfortunately, it might be a while before this futuristic piano finds a home in your living room, as Roland has not given any details on its production status or estimated price.
 
 
 
[via Hypebeast and MusicRadar, images via Roland]