“Piano Guys” Technology Coordinator gives you first look at new way of playing piano

For more than 300 years, the piano has been arguably the most popular and integral musical instrument across the world. But, it could also be intimidating for those who have wanted to learn how to tickle the ivory, but just either don’t have the time or finances to make that happen.

But, The Piano Guys’ “technology guy” Craig Knudsen has a solution.

He gave our lucky, Local News 8 viewers on Friday morning the world’s first premiere of a brand new type of piano technology aimed at helping novice players tackle any of their favorite tunes.

“At first, it looks like your typical piano with all 88 keys, but the only difference is, it’s actually operated by an iPad,” Knudsen said. “From the very beginning with The Piano Guys, we actually recorded John’s performances with the movement of his fingers, rather than just the sound of the piano.”

This means, anyone who sits down to play could literally see which notes to play.

The iPad-operated Clavinova connects to either the Apple iPad or android device, and reads any piece of music in your iTunes playlist, converting the song into an easy-to-play system similar to “Guitar Hero”.

Knudsen said this new system allows anyone to sit down and learn how to play their favorite songs, even if they’ve never touched a piano before.

Each Clavinova can range between $4,000 and $6,000 dollars, and is sold at any Yamaha dealer.

Although it looks pricey at first, Knudsen said this option is a lot more affordable for people who don’t want to purchase a piano and pay for years of lessons.

In Idaho Falls, the device is sold at The Piano Gallery in Idaho Falls.