The Piano Room in the AI x Music exhibition serves as an experimental space for the latest developments in music and technology. At its heart is the self-playing Yamaha DC1 grand piano and an animation that visualizes the frequencies and volume of the music in real time.
Note: The piano room will be closed on Saturday, September 6, from 5:00 p.m..
Instruments such as this one can store and reproduce performances in detail using electronic recording sensors. With 1024 intensity levels for keys and hammers and 256 intensity levels for pedals, the grand piano’s optical sensors measure even the slightest movements of the keys and pedals. Electromagnets strike the keys independently and activate the pedals. The keys of the self-playing instrument move as if by “magic,” and the pianist’s performance data is reproduced.
The self-playing piano’s range of applications goes far beyond the technical replacement of human artistry. It enables completely new artistic formats between humans and machines and is therefore increasingly being used in experimental projects in the field of AI and music. The real-time visualizations in the Piano Room make both the frequencies and the volume of the acoustically perceptible music visually experienceable and understandable.
Credits: Ars Electronica Futurelab, Cori O’Lan