Disklavier Remote Lessons: The Future of Piano Pedagogy

BUENA PARK, Calif. — Further establishing itself as a leader in music and sound technology, Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division featured an exciting demonstration of "Remote Lesson," a pioneering Internet-based educational application for its Disklavier Series of reproducing pianos, at Winter NAMM 2007.

Disklavier Mark IV
The Mark IV's Remote Lesson capability enables students and teachers thousands of miles apart to communicate in real time, as though they were sitting next to each other.
The innovative application enables a student to play an exercise or a piece on a Disklavier piano in one location, while a teacher can sit listening, watching and critiquing at a second Disklavier, connected via the Internet, hundreds or even thousands of miles away. The keys and pedals on each Disklavier move up and down as student and teacher play or demonstrate, while video-conferencing allows each to communicate in real time, as though they were sitting next to each other.

"Remote Lesson represents the virtual elimination of geographic barriers in piano education," states Jim Presley, Disklavier Marketing Manager. "Now the most promising students can study with the most renowned teachers, regardless of location. This revolutionary interaction has staggering pedagogical, economic and business implications for students and educational institutions."

The 10-minute-long demonstrations took place at Yamaha's Piano Division display at the Anaheim Marriott's Marquis Ballroom. Teachers and students were located on the NAMM show floor in Anaheim, California, and at the Yamaha Artist Services facility in New York. Click here to view a video of this ground-breaking demonstration.

While not included in the Disklavier's upcoming 2.0 software upgrade, the company expects to include the feature in future product updates.

The Yamaha Disklavier Mark IV builds upon the sophistication of previous generations of the award-winning line of Yamaha reproducing pianos by adding a variety of new features. Yamaha's continual innovation of this product has led to an industry first: the Disklavier has been honored for the sixth consecutive year with Musical Merchandise Review Magazine's "Dealer's Choice Award" as "Product of the Year."

The Disklavier also won the Music Teachers National Association's (MTNA) Frances Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Award for 2006. Typically awarded to educators, this marks the first time a music product has received the honor.

For more information write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.