The Banff Centre has been loaned one of the latest Rolands, and it has been placed in the studio of an avante garde composer. He says it is a very good machine, but still wants to keep a piano to work with. It is not that cheap either, the top of the line model approachng $30,000 Cdn. Edwin M. Good, writing in 'Piano Roles' (p. 71, The Digital Revolution) sums up the digital piano nicely. He says, 'Despite some characteristic faults of .touch, tonal decay, and volume control, these electronic keyboards can make quite a satisfactory substitute for a variety of music, including classical. Nevertheless, the point of discussing them here is not that they produce piano sound; it is that they store piano sound. Someone must strike a key on a piano before the sampling process can begin.' The salesman who loaned us the Roland could not resist telling me that any one of several historic temperaments, Kirnberger, Werkmeister, Valotti, et al, could be summoned at the touch of a button while a piano tuner would still be thinking about it My response was that thanks to Owen Jorgenson and others, we had access to fifty or more historic tunings. We have also had to work with modern composers who want special tunings designed for them. I had to restrain myself from asking if he or the people likely to use these instruments knew the difference between a Kirnberger and a hamburger. Ted Sambell -----Original Message----- From: Wilsons [mailto:wilson53@MARSHALL.EDU] Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2001 10:35 AM To: caut@ptg.org Subject: Re: electronic pianos ok, here goes my 2 cents worth. They are cheaper than acoustic pianos, they don't have to be tuned & tweaked as much at first, and they can often be mobile from one room to another. On the other hand, service is often a problem, and of course obsolescence. In a few short years they're worthless. they're also a poor excuse for a real piano. Like I said, my 2 cents worth. Wally Wilson, RPT Ravenswood, WV Columbus, OH Chapter At 10:00 PM 2/21/01 -0500, you wrote: This afternoon I was asked by the director of the school of music what I thought of the idea of having electronic pianos in the classrooms rather than acoustic. They figure that this way they could use some of the mounds of money slated for technology i. e. computers to buy pianos. My reply was quite predictably that I thought it was a bad idea. I would like some input: 1. Does anyone have experience with electronic pianos in classrooms? Are they working out? 2. I would like to hear some opinions. What do you see as the pros and cons? Thanks, Mitch Staples Ohio State University
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