Family & Life Magazine Issue 13 | Page 4

SPECIALFEATURE The Sound of Silence With a storied history spanning more than three centuries, the piano has been a significant force not just in the global cultural and artistic landscape but within the engineering field as well. The Yamaha folks give us an insight into the engineering involved in their musical tour de force. The idea for the modern piano was first conceived sometime in the late 17th century. The stringed instrument builders at that time were trying to combine the “expressive control of the sound volume and sustain” of a clavichord with the “sufficiently loud sound” of a harpsichord, but most of them were unable to solve the engineering conundrum until the Italian that could, Bartolomeo Cristofori, came along and solved the mechanical and design problem. Even until today, his elegant solution is still present in the pianos of today, albeit in a more complex and evolved version. Yamaha have cleverly devised a system that prevents the hammer from hitting the piano string while still maintaining the tactile feel of an acoustic piano. A few continents away from Bartolomeo Cristofori’s place of birth, Yamaha began life in 1887 as a reed organ manufacturer before expanding into pianos in 1900. In fact, it was the first company in Japan to produce Western musical instruments on a large scale. Over the years, Yamaha progressively branched out to other fields, manufacturing a wide variety of products that include motorcycles, electronic products and even golf cars. It never neglected its musical roots though, consistently churning out innovation after innovation – CD recorders, the SILENT Piano™, etc. – that propelled the company to the top. Yamaha is now one of the world’s largest manufacturer of musical instruments. EXPERIENCING THE SILENT PIANO™ Words Farhan Shah Photos Yamaha & Shutterstock Recently, I had the pleasure of experiencing first-hand the engineering marvel that is the Yamaha SILENT Piano™ and the subtle touches that Yamaha has introduced into the range thanks to Hemendra Raj, one of the many piano-playing Yamaha sales experts in the flagship store. First appearing on the musical landscape in 1993 in a Yamaha upright piano, the Yamaha SILENT Piano™ then made its way into Yamaha’s grand piano range in 1995. Unlike what its name implies, the piano is not literally quiet. Rather, the engineers at Yamaha have cleverly devised a system that prevents the hammer from hitting the piano string while still maintaining the tactile feel of an acoustic piano. It’s especially useful in urban Singapore, where the sonorous and full notes emitted from a piano can be an annoyance to the next-door neighbours or even your own family, especially in the middle of the night. This was the overview given to me by Raj, while he was sitting down and caressing the Ivorite keys of the upright YUS5-Silent, one of the many models showcased at the Plaza Singapura outlet. Of course, being a non-piano-playing writer, his technical jargon flew over my head. Raj, noticing my glassy-eyed look, motioned me to move to the side of the piano before opening the cover that protected the instrument’s delicate innards, where the musical magic happened. Besides the ubiquitous hammer and strings that produced the melody, this particular silent model also featured a curious metal bar that moved in between the hammer and strings when Raj pulled a lever underneath the keyboard. It all clicked into place when he then delicately pressed on the black-and-white keys. The hammers stopped just short of the strings thanks to the bar, thus preventing any sound from being made. “When the piano is in SILENT mode, the sound that you hear in your headphones are samples from the Yamaha CFX full-size concert grand piano,” explains Raj. It’s a boon to pianists who want to know what their playing sounds like on a grand piano but are bound by space and budget constraints. If you’re wondering whether it’s a digital sound reproduction, which tends to have a screechy, metallic quality, let me 4 Family & Life • Oct 2014 assure you that it’s not. The sounds (an Adele track Raj was playing, if you must know) that were flowing out from the headphones sounded luscious and full-throated. However, if you’re sceptical of the words of a writer who doesn’t play the piano, take it from acclaimed musician and pianist Jamie Cullum who says: “Put the headphones on and instead of feeling like the sound is being pumped into your ears, it feels so natural like the sound is dancing around you.” THE YAMAHA SILENT PIANO™ The Yamaha SILENT Piano™ also presents a whole host of features, including the ability to record the song that you’re playing, a library of famous music scores, and a variety of different types of instruments like what you get from a digital keyboard, all of which are easily accessible from the control panel underneath the keyboard. Unfortunately, if you already have a normal Yamaha piano tha