The extraordinary sound of a piano with no black keys… | Classic FM

This 'Sinhakken' model has the usual 88 keys of a piano... but every single key is white.
The one-of-a-kind instrument was found at a fair in Japan. The pianist here plays Debussy's 'Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum' in a special arrangement for the white-keyed piano.
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[@xavnqesh1416]

Hats off to this pianist, who is finding the correct keys. That's probably the biggest challenge in the pianist's side.

[@Targoon_Music]

i can almost certainly say that she is only relying on her muscle memory from a normal piano since looking at the keys just makes it worse

[@aarong9128]

Use your ears. Pros have pro ears.

[@xavnqesh1416]

Yeah.

[@savonliquide7677]

Is it a joke?

[@thephoenixsystem6765]

"it wasn't a mistake I was shifting modes"

[@Piano-Love]

Black keys don’t just allow songs to be played in different keys but they also provide definition to know where you are on the piano.

[@angelicamartacahyaningtyas9083]

Exactly. This piano scares me because I don't know which one is what. I need to write the note names on the clavier, at least to mark the Cs and Fs like harp strings.

[@colinbudd5840]

I’m gonna get myself a felt tip pen

[@tomerbrosilow5402]

Not true - you can put stickers to know where you are.....

[@stuart6478]

and the world. I totally hear you

[@fd9987]

Yeah I play the harp, too. I’d be lost without red Cs and black Fs.

[@MofosOfMetal]

This all-white piano really makes us appreciate the black keys more. Beginners tend to fear black keys and reading key-signatures with many sharps and flats... but without them, we have no frame of reference for where we are - both on a visual level and a tactile one. If I were to be blind-folded and tasked to either play an all-white or all-black keyboard - I'd go all-black because at least you'd always know where you are from the groupings of 2/3 black keys.

[@X22GJP]

Or you could just learn to play and develop muscle memory like oh, I dounno', Theremin players and trombone players, or any other instrument where your only point of reference is the note(s) you are currently playing and how far away the next one is.

[@Thestuffdoer]

@@X22GJPthis is why i’m a keyboardist

[@littlewishy6432]

@@X22GJPWhat do you get out of talking down on well-reasoned pianists? Do you enjoy doing it?

[@Gazeld]

@@littlewishy6432 He just has a point. It is indeed be a different way of playing piano and locating the notes, more like we play other instruments without separated notes, and also as some blind pianist do.

[@ambienthangout]

@@X22GJP A piano is substantially more distance to cover. Sometimes you have to play all the way at one end or the other and if your muscles are starting to draw tight during a performance (as they do), then your "muscle memory" of where that next chord is can be negatively impacted, drawing you up short, or causing you to overcompensate and go long. It's just different for piano players.

[@morbidmanmusic]

less is not always more, at least musically. It offers nothing but a technique shift. All this can be done on a traditional piano. like others noted.. the pianist is the magic here.

[@orangeflames05]

As an aspiring pianist this looks like a pain to play with having to be able to navigate the keyboard without the black keys.

[@JamesSmith-qu4yf]

As a professional pianist, I would say the exact same thing 😂

[@rbrtck]

Maybe there is some kind of subtle cue, like tiny bumps on or notches cut out of certain keys. Not that I believe much thought went into this publicity stunt.

[@adrianwright8685]

Easy enough to put a small mark near all the A's say. And there are nearly 50% less keys!

[@rbrtck]

@@adrianwright8685 I don't think having fewer keys helps in this case. The missing 36 not only complete the chromatic scales, they serve as the visual and tactile "map" or guide for the entire width of the keyboard. If you only want to play the white keys on a regular piano keyboard for any reason, then you could always do that without removing the black keys. Their omission only makes the piano both far less versatile and harder to play.

[@lucianoalbrechtbroboski6154]

​@@rbrtck Without the black keys, the piano loses its sound richness. I think that even when you play a white key, the black key's strings vibrate as well, contributing to the sound.

[@fredbass177]

A piano thats harder to play because you dont see where you are,but with less musical possibilities, bravo 😄👍

[@collllroossk]

Yes, that's what we've always wanted. Gimme some more of that! XD

[@joezuu]

*fewer*

[@fashidox]

It still has all 88 keys, just have fun finding them. (Meaning that all music is still playable on it).

[@g_hoenig]

Indeed

[@Jemawin]

To the performer, not the instrument.

[@eighteenin78]

When I was a very young child, I had a small toy piano that had tiny hammers that hit tuned tin plates. There were only the white notes as keys and the black keys were merely painted on the white keys. I played that piano with its limitations until I got bored with it. I nudged my playpen across the floor to the real piano to play instead. Standing on tippy toe, my little arms could finally play a real piano where I could only reach ... the white keys.

[@elizabethwalkup4954]

Wow. I had the same toy piano. I totally forgot about it until just now. Thx for the memory 😊

[@paulf2898]

"ivory and ivory, live together in perfect harmony" lol😂😂

[@OMNI_INFINITY]

TRUTH!!!

[@xanschneider]

You do know that you can choose not to press the black keys in a regular piano, right?

[@RaymondHng]

A regular piano with black keys will be tuned in equal temperament to play any scale. A piano tuned to only one scale (white keys only) can be tuned in just intonation since it can only play one scale.

[@garybowman4913]

True, but it doesn't create another marketing opportunity for makers of digital pianos and keyboards.

[@ianl.9271]

The challenge is that there are no black keys as 'landmark' to find your notes.

[@organist1982]

@@RaymondHng I was listening for this, but I don't believe this piano is tuned justly; it sounds just like regular ol' equal temperament. to my ears. No beautiful pure 3rds.

[@timothywilliams1359]

Exactly correct.@@organist1982

[@funkygh]

This is the worst idea in musical history.

[@juanramonsilva1067]

It’s like going backwards

[@kurtk8926]

Plus the piano is Chinese garbage.

[@chefmike8888]

🤣🤣🤣 imagine the prototypes that were scrapped till they hit this gem. Oh yeah classics like 3 E-string guitar that has no tuning keys. Or AM squelch radio with dual 1/2 ‘ midrange wax paper cones (pat. Pending) This is going to be bigger that the jaw-harp and the kid beating on a metal garage can with a broom stick. I wish the made it slightly longer. Ooh, what about length’s for a soprano, alto , tenor and bass model. ? I’m going to get these ideas locked down asap.

[@ajclarke9189]

If every piano were like it, then yeah. That would be the worst. But, think of it this way: this is the one piano that forces you to learn the sound of each of the seven modes, instead of letting you only learn two modes in every key signature and stopping there.

[@juanramonsilva1067]

@@ajclarke9189 You can learn the sound of the seven modes in each key in any normal piano, your point only makes this black key less piano even more useless.

[@jacobmarsh7833]

Besides C major, you can also play pieces in D dorian, E phrygian, F lydian, G mixolydian, A minor, and B locrian, as long as they have no accidentals.

[@Apebek]

F lydian and G mixolydian

[@monkeytennis7477]

That's correct, just like on a diatonic harmonica in solo tuning.

[@Tigerex966]

No this has all the same 12 keys per octave sharp and flats, it's just that now they are all on the same level and all white

[@Apebek]

I actually counted the keys in a picture. It has only 52. It's like a normal piano with all black keys removed.@@Tigerex966

[@billybobthekidiswack]

All of which are modes of C major

[@Fuzcapp]

I know this is a completely different discipline, but as a first grade squash player, I once played on a newly painted court that had no lines on it. Seriously, it was impossible. I had no idea where I was on the court. I had no idea where the walls met, I couldn't hit a straight shot or judge a drop shoot or a volley. It's amazing how much those contrasts (as in black keys on a piano) make a difference to your orientation when trying to use the instrument or trying to find your way around an environment. Total kudos to this pianist in even being able to find her way around this keyboard. Even if you were a blind pianist, it would be very difficult to keep track of where you are without the black keys. I'd love th chat with this pianist and ask how much she struggled (or not) when she first got on the instrument.

[@RY-fe3rt]

Black keys matter! ✊

[@jpr4747]

😂

[@peeeter4337]

💀

[@madwoman8297]

😅👍

[@afrotech69]

😂

[@randall.o8995]

Black keys matter ! so as black lives matter !

[@molamolalaaa2968]

Without the black keys, how can you tell the white keys apart? It’s like a pure white jigsaw puzzle!!!

[@Bartonovich52]

There’s literally nothing on a guitar that tells you which notes they are and whether they are natural or sharp/flat. Then there’s the violin….. Then there’s the trombone……. As someone who came from guitar it was more about chord shapes and how they could easily be transposed. I use chord shapes in piano too… but having to remember that E and A and D major have a sharp while F and G and C don’t and B has two sharps and then remembering it all again for the minor chords, suspended chords, augmented chords, diminished chords, etc etc.

[@apianbelle1343]

@@Bartonovich52 " There’s literally nothing on a guitar that tells you which notes they are and whether they are natural or sharp/flat." so, fret markers don't exist then? it may not tell you the *exact* note, but guitarists with enough practice can look at the fret markers and say "yep, this is an E", the same way pianists can look at the 2 black keys inbetween C/D and D/E and say "yep, the note after is an E" Violinists and Trombonists don't have that luxury, and have to rely on muscle memory and memorization. it's why those are some of the hardest instruments to learn. Besides, I think it's more of the fact that there are so many octaves here, with no way to tell which note on an octave or even *which* octave you're on. yes, guitar and violin it isn't really obvious which is a flat or a sharp or a natural, but there also aren't as many notes you can play unfortunately. that's why piano is so special imo. it can play entire symphonies.

[@rabarebra]

@@Bartonovich52 Dumb comment. A guitar have fret markings.

[@acactus2190]

@@Bartonovich52on the violin, there are many less notes to play. This piano is like playing two violins at once, and when playing violin, you have external markers to help you recognize notes (like how far you are from the fingerboard, etc.) this just makes piano unnecessarily hard.

[@Gazeld]

@@rabarebra 1) he didn't limit his list to guitar. 2) Guitar is there to say there are no black and white fret 'boxes'.

[@dskinner6263]

A strange experiment but basically an extravagant novelty and nothing else

[@DavidJones-kz6ik]

"Why don't you just not play the black keys on a regular piano?" "...This one don't have the wrong notes" Truly a Spinal Tap moment

[@10jpmorgan]

Wow! I could not play a piano with no black keys. I've never seen anything like that! This pianist plays beautifully, regardless!

[@michelprezman51]

No she plays with no poetry

[@Tigerex966]

Should be all black or white four first keys brown two sharps gray three sharps black three flats.

[@Tigerex966]

@@michelprezman51 superb playing smoother because black keys are gone.

[@phildoctor2461]

It is nerve wracking.

[@OMNI_INFINITY]

Easiest piano to play melodically actually.

[@Smitch90]

Gosh it sounds just like a piano, extraordinary isnt it?

[@garybowman4913]

That's sarcasm that is, i spotted it straight away, that's just a gift i have, being sensitive to these things. If they want to make it even more interesting, throw in an operating angle grinder for 20 seconds.

[@DrReginaldFinleySr]

You must not be a scholar of music.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

it IS a piano -- the keys on the outside are moving hammers to hit strings on the inside -- just like ... ummmm .. a piano.

[@jonl1034]

Just spectacular! Next: the 1-string guitar.

[@Billyce18]

You must be kidding me

[@manganume]

The strength of using this piano is probably helping you not going to the same places harmonically when you improvise. Like when you use your voice and you're not shackled by the visual and touch.

[@Ben-by7ul]

And you can play the same licks in different keys really really fast like is portrayed in this vidoe

[@Ben-by7ul]

And you can play the same licks in different keys really really fast like is portrayed in this vidoe

[@rikaniebangbang]

What an extraordinary sound that you totally couldn’t replicate on a normal piano by just not touching the black keys. Incredible lol

[@stthomasmore4811]

😂😂😂

[@seheyt]

@@matsmcmats Erm no. You can't transpose to any other key at all. Period

[@seheyt]

Made worse by the fact that you can actually not avoid the "black strings" resonating with the damper pedal held. It's truly just the same as ... playing this on a regular grand with a regular keyboard action installed

[@arpeggiomikey]

I would think, as a pianist for over 50 years, that I would be rather disconcerted by the drastic change in the topography of this keyboard, at least initially. But even after reorienting my tactile relationship to this instrument, I would miss the harmonic overtone series that give a properly calibrated piano so much color (I did notice a perceptible difference between the all-white keyboard and the second, conventional one). By the way, it was a pleasure to see and hear Gina Alice (Mrs. Lang Lang) playing such lovely Rachmaninoff! 😎👍🎼🎶🎹

[@aBachwardsfellow]

I think it's probably tuned properly -- that is, tuned in equal temperament. But I know what you mean about missing the contribution of the other strings to the harmonic resonance.

[@rbrtck]

@@aBachwardsfellow I believe this piano is a standard one with all of the expected strings inside. I read somewhere that it's a Hamburg Steinway B. They just retrofitted this weird and pointless keyboard to it.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

​@@rbrtck I'm pretty sure you're right -- I finally realized that. It's a cute spoof -- fun, and actually playable to some extent. It's at least better than the guy who attaches real small hammers to the shafts, tunes all strings to the same note, or fills a grand piano with water.

[@rbrtck]

@@aBachwardsfellow I'd actually argue that it's worse and more pointless than the other examples. Replacing the hammers at least changes the timbre of the piano. And tuning all of the strings to the same pitch at least tells us what sonic difference the other physical differences between the strings make, with pitch being equal. And filling a piano with water, while silly, might at least satisfy any curiosity we might have about the effects of doing that, and change the timbre, as well. In contrast, omitting the black keys tells us absolutely nothing we didn't already know, and makes no difference except to limit what can be played properly on the piano. Furthermore, a piano with a regular keyboard can easily and readily accomplish everything this crippled piano can, without the need to build and swap in a special keyboard at all. This might be a "cute" ploy for publicity, and the appearance of the keyboard seems to make a visual impression, but other than these superficial qualities, this is the most pointless thing to do with a piano that I can imagine.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

@@rbrtck I see your point -- true.

[@gerardvila4685]

Musically this is like a very big, very powerful diatonic harp. You MIGHT follow the principle of a chromatic Erard harp, by adding 7 sharp/flat pedals, each acting on one note over all the octaves: eg the C pedal can make all the C keys into C#'s or Cb's... then you'd be able to play stuff written for concert harp. In theory at least... but why would you want to do that?

[@Lucius_Chiaraviglio]

This piano is not the equivalent of a diatonic harp. It has 12 notes per octave just like a normal piano, in 7 octaves + a little bit, so 88 keys like it says in the video and description (the video text and description are correct and the associated Classic FM article is wrong). But it has them played by keys that look identical to the ones that play the natural(-sign) notes. So it would be very hard to find where you are, but if you can figure it out (this pianist somehow did), you can play all the same notes as on a normal piano. If you listen carefully you will hear a few sharp/flat notes.But one thing to note from the associated article is the still photo, which answers some questions people have about the spacing of the keys: If you don't have skinny fingers, you aren't going to be playing this thing.

[@gerardvila4685]

@@Lucius_Chiaraviglio Thanks for the correction. I'm just an incompetent amateur, but my feeling is that that putting all 12 notes on the same level seems an even worse idea than just keeping the white keys. As Chopin noted, the three-dimensional shape of a conventional keyboard is actually helpful, and C major / A minor are the least comfortable keys to play. If so, this thing is a giant step in the wrong direction.

[@Lucius_Chiaraviglio]

@@gerardvila4685 Maybe somebody wanted to demonstrated that 12EDO fits within a linear temperament?

[@Gazeld]

@@Lucius_Chiaraviglio no, the video can't be 100% right or 100% wrong when description says it has 88 keys and the subtile at 0:11 says it can only play in C major...

[@Lucius_Chiaraviglio]

@@Gazeld That text in the video is definitely wrong -- the music definitely has a few sharp/flat notes (few and generally far in between, but not absent).

[@greenkitty6482]

One of the aspects that makes a piano easier to navigate is the existence of the black and white keys. If the key width of this all-white -key piano remains the same as the regular piano, I’m afraid my hands will not be big enough to play, for instance, octaves. Technically, I believe the sound of the piano can be constructed to be the same quality. After all, it’s the strings, the wood and the sound board that count. So, basically it’s the look that is different. Personally, I prefer the regular black- and white- keyed piano; the black-and-white pattern of the instrument makes it unique.

[@SixStringSteve]

What a piece (the Debussy). I thought it was a contemporary genius’ work at first.

[@TheMysticShark]

Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum is one of my favorites

[@kevingodding9316]

Great playing, now what about Showing us the Piano with only Black notes 👍

[@10jpmorgan]

I guess it would only play a pentatonic scale.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

not a problem -- just paint them all black .... ;-)

[@wiseoldfool]

I see just white keys and I want to paint them black! (for those old enough to remember)

[@mellophs]

I'll wait for them to release the DLC with the black keys before purchasing... Has to be one of these brilliant sales strategies

[@cziffrathegreat666]

Now we'd all need a course on how to navigate across this piano with every key looking literally the same

[@thutmosetoure1396]

Does anyone know if this uses just or equal temperament? I feel like it'd be a waste to use equal temperament when you're strictly in a C mode.

[@gngrblls2thwall]

It’s just a gimmick to get attention. There’s no intention to do anything of value with it.

[@johnson941]

So we're talking about a piano with only a C Major scale, but not the fact that she could find all the correct keys and make such beautiful music? That's the impressive part to me anyways.

[@RonaldDeSantis]

you can also play A minor and different modes of the melodic minor scale

[@justinjames9258]

literally everyone commented on that already

[@ArcherRtM]

Perhaps because the video itself doesn't focus on that ?

[@oneirdaathnaram1376]

@@RonaldDeSantis You can play anything as the black keys are all there. It's just that they are white and formed like the white keys.

[@OzanCitoyen]

​@@RonaldDeSantishow could you play modes of Melodic Minor?

[@ningbosmash6750]

One consideration people in the comments are missing is that a piano without black keys is, of course, missing the strings attached to those chromatic pitches (edit: it seems this is not the case for this particular piano. The strings should still be present, but the keys are not). When I hold the pedal down and play a key on a normal piano, some vibration occurs in the black key strings related to the overtone series. This affects how the instrument sounds. By removing those strings, the diatonic vibrations will only affect the diatonic notes, giving the open sound when pressing the pedal a more pure C Major feel.

[@DaveTexas]

But is it missing those strings or is it just a standard piano that has had a different keyboard installed? I with they had shown us the interior of the piano so we could see if had a custom-built harp with the 52 sets of strings equally spaced, if it had a standard harp with 36 sets of strings missing throughout, or if it had all 88 sets of strings.

[@elsongs]

@@DaveTexas According to the description, it does have all 88 notes, including all the sharps and flats - it's just that they aren't marked as black keys that are staggered on the keyboard.

[@ningbosmash6750]

@@elsongs Sorry, I missed that detail!

[@tom_something]

Plus, if you're pressing the pedal down rather quickly, the sound of the dampers leaving the keys gives kind of a "husssh" sound. It would be interesting to listen to the difference between the "husssh" of a diatonic piano vs. a traditional one.

[@VlasisGogousis13]

Would like to see the same concept for black keys as well! I can already think of a classic beginners' piece which is almost entirely on black keys!

[@WhitePaintbrush]

which piece is that?

[@johnfreund4456]

Actually started off a dyslexic ADD student (eight years old) by playing around on just the black keys for a while. Great thing about Pentatonics is that anything you play is a melody.

[@mogmason6920]

@@WhitePaintbrushFlea Waltz probably

[@VlasisGogousis13]

@@mogmason6920 That's the one! :)

[@regularly_priced]

That would make a pretty-sounding pentatonic piano, however limited it would be

[@webwebuseful]

Wow they turned the black keys into white keys

[@DanNobles]

I think this is an interesting novelty, but the fact that the instrument is missing five tones from the chromatic scale severely limits the harmonic and melodic options available to the player. What would be really interesting in my opinion, would be, if this piano keyboard were, in fact, chromatic, with the same layout. The keyboard would be absolutely enormous, haha.

[@Obi-WanKannabis]

or it would just have less range. But it would be infinitely harder to play. Not only are the notes in positions no one is used to, but also there's no markings. And of course, the amount of notes your hand covers would be much smaller

[@Lucius_Chiaraviglio]

It is not missing any notes. It has 12 notes per octave just like a normal piano, in 7 octaves + a little bit, so 88 keys like it says in the video and description (the video text and description are correct and the associated Classic FM article is wrong). But it has them played by keys that look identical to the ones that play the natural(-sign) notes. So it would be very hard to find where you are, but if you can figure it out (this pianist somehow did), you can play all the same notes as on a normal piano. If you listen carefully you will hear a few sharp/flat notes. But one thing to note from the associated article is the still photo, which answers some questions people have about the spacing of the keys: If you don't have skinny fingers, you aren't going to be playing this thing.

[@matswessling6600]

@@Lucius_Chiaravigliono. they have removed the black keys. They have not changed the strings. only the keyboard.

[@drgruber57]

Yes. Thanks for explaining this. Too many commenters assumed that the piano has no sharps or flats. Yes, all the same notes are there. They have just made it much harder to play this piano!

[@matswessling6600]

@@drgruber57 That is wrong: the white keys only allow the notes in c-major. The only change made to the piano is in the keyboard. Not in the body(strings etc)

[@lynx48k]

The late Victor Borge told us that the piano started as one single big white key. But because this didn't sound very interesting they started to cut it up into smaller slices. He also said the big change came for the piano with the Civil Rights movement.

[@Neelo5000]

Sadly, the black keys still have to sit at the back of the piano.

[@keatonwheeler2894]

You give the pianist’s name at the end but not the name of the pianist who so beautifully played that beautifully disorienting instrument at the beginning?

[@ianfrankis8653]

Do they do a version in A minor? 😮

[@jeanpierre72]

😂

[@b1gbo5s99]

A minor is in the key of C major....

[@rbrtck]

​@@b1gbo5s99 They use the same all-white keys, but have different tonal centers (C and A, of course).

[@aBachwardsfellow]

@@jeanpierre72 🤣😂

[@aBachwardsfellow]

sure -- just use this one and start 3 notes lower (natural minor only -- no melodic or harmonic ...) .. but I suspect you knew that -- right? ;-)

[@MaggaraMarine]

Why? Why not just use the white keys on a regular piano? Why does it need to be a separate instrument? What benefits does this piano have over the regular piano? I can't really see what this piano can do that you couldn't do on a normal piano. But I can see plenty of things that you can do on a regular piano that isn't possible on this instrument. Also, how would you navigate on the keyboard? How do you know which key is C when all of the keys look exactly the same?

[@edyue1]

You brought up a lot of great points, nothing new under the sun, there’s a reason why there is no one making these things

[@notenoughpaper]

You are right, but I think it might be of interest as a tool for improvising. It doesn't make sense to perform on it necessarily, but it forces you to think differently when writing something. Limitation can be the source of creativity, as you have to avoid modal changes entirely. This is a pretty big limitation. Of course you can just choose just "not to do it" but actually being incapable to change modes definitely causes you to think differently. Of course this could also just be accomplished by detuning the black keys or something, so that they become hard to use. But in general, it can be interesting to hard limitations as a creative tool

[@suzycreamchez123]

You'd have to start practicing scales differently. I would think it's awkward.

[@beddheddid9424]

Because it's fun? lol I actually have no idea.

[@jackandblaze5956]

I see a white dot on the front face of middle C4 and line marks on the front face of the next D,E,F,G,and A.

[@-dalechipminormusicmaniapi6961]

A piano for stylishly playing subset songs without black keys. There is also a beauty that comes from being restricted and not having black keys.

[@satiric_]

I might be missing something, but how does this change the sound of the piano in any way? Surely it just changes the ergonomics of how the player plays, and nothing else? Not to say it isn't a neat idea, I love that someone made it!

[@matiassenger2349]

So, basically it is like a car with 3 wheels.

[@gngrblls2thwall]

It can only play in one of 12 keys, so one twelfth of 4 wheels. A third of a wheel.

[@zaxzaxx4561]

Has no-one else noticed how the absence of the 'black note strings' (for want of a better description) gives an extraordinary lucidity to the sympathetic string effect when she raises the damper pedal? It's even audible on a KZbin video! This instrument is worth having for that quality alone! As for the idea of black keys as visual markers, many real pianists play with their eyes closed anyway (and the rest probably could if they wanted to).

[@wmwilliamsiii]

Yeah the timbre and resonance of the piano seems altered and a bit less rich and bit more harsh.

[@jepz11]

Thanks for this positive reaction, zaxzaxx. I can not hear what you describe, and I do not understand what you say. Yet I do value your positive comment.

[@zaxzaxx4561]

@@wmwilliamsiii Oddly enough, I thought the sound was richer and smoother due to the absence of semitone strings (which would vibrate atonally anyway just through transmission through the frame when the dampers are lifted, even without resonance). We all have different ears!

[@FirstGentleman1]

I want a white piano with only black keys next.

[@OMNI_INFINITY]

I made an music app without any blackkeys in the sequencer. It could only make HARMONIOUS music. It can’t play a wrong note, when there is only White involved

[@joshlouie]

Omg! I never imagined in my life that somebody will create a piano with all white keys and I've been playing piano since I was a kid. How come it never occurred to me about it? 🤔 So are there still 88 keys? 🎹 🎼🎶

[@tanktango680]

The black keys doesnt affect the size of the white keys

[@kc9scott]

I haven’t seen one of these in person, but in the video, the width of these white keys looks the same as on a normal piano. So they just deleted the black keys. You could play the same musical arrangement as this on an ordinary piano, but then also do so much more if you did have black keys…

[@aBachwardsfellow]

I think the title line is incorrect -- isaacbeen2087 says that in another article on the Classic FM website it says there are only 52 keys. While it may span the entire 7 octaves of white keys (plus B and A in the bass), to fit 88 keys all the same size would increase the distance of an octave to make it unreachable -- as well as alter all other intervals.

[@captaincatchy]

@@aBachwardsfellow yes - when I saw the title I assumed that the sharps and flats were just white keys, and therefore you could still play any piece but you'd need to learn a new technique. It seems it's just a keyboard without the sharps and flats. Pointless!

[@davidalbro2009]

​@@aBachwardsfellowOh wow. I had to look after you mentioned it. That definitely seems incorrect.

[@ehsome]

Considering music and musical instruments have a great and appreciable history of trying out extraordinary things - and moreso humans one of asking "what if" - I think it was only a matter of time for this to be created. Therefore I like to look at it as a milestone or a phenomenon of sort. I mean... at the end of the day it looks fun and it's something I've never seen before

[@ehsome]

It's like sci-fi writing: It's not always reliable science but it has to get a bit quirky at times to be the interesting story it is. And that in turn can inspire some real science. In this case: I myself have come to ask a lot more questions about the history of the piano keyboard now and am also inspired to think about different approaches to musical instruments

[@Stichting_NoFap]

This is the most dishonest and biased comparing I've ever seen! You want to demonstrate how there's a difference in sound between the 2. But here you are playing 2 different pieces on each piano, or a different part, and on the first piano it is played way louder, and also in a different room with different sound. But the worst thing of all, you're secretive about what aspect of the sound you are actually comparing, so your're in plain sight only pretending to be comparing 2 pianos and no one seems to notice so you're getting away with it!

[@BigParadox]

If I understood correctly, it is like a normal piano but with the black keys removed. What I had hoped for, as a more interesting experiment, is a piano with all notes present (including those of the black keys) but all represented by plain white keys. In other words, a full piano which does not favor any specific tonality. The width of the keys of such a piano would of course be a problem to be solved.

[@rafaelfilippini]

It favors the C major tonality.

[@wilh3lmmusic]

That would just be more difficult to play when you don't know where the key you want is and playing on only the white keys is also less ergonomic

[@BigParadox]

@@wilh3lmmusic But, as I said, there should be markings (maybe not just visual but also tactical). And they should sit on some kind of ruler that can be moved to any of 12 positions. So once you know how to play a piece of music, then, by relocating that ruler, you will be able to play that piece in any of the 12 keys.

[@desnou]

What you are thinking of is Dodeka layout. Just google it. But Janko layout is better and isomorphic as well. The drawback of both is that you must convert a normal piano to one of those alternatives yourself.

[@DanielConstantinoS]

Lets make a car with inverted driving wheel. Because yes.

[@cadriver2570]

That keyboard is nightmare material for a pianist, lol. Love that somebody made this though.

[@davidoron1]

I think most of the comments are missing the point. If you remove the black keys and their corresponding strings you make it so that the reverb would lack all frequencies corresponding to the black keys (noticeable especially when you use the sustain pedal). My point is that it's not only for show, I think the sound should actually be different.

[@roopakvaidya1450]

The strings are not removed, but the blcack keys are made white and of the same size as the white keys.

[@aleksthevoyager1260]

That is not the case at all

[@RikMaxSpeed]

If it had the normal 88 notes but all the keys were white and the same (narrower) width, it would enable easy transposition.

[@carlosbacco]

including unwanted transposition :D

[@someonerandomhere]

If the piano still has 88 keys, it should have the equivalent of the 36 black ones of a normal piano here as well. In other words, it's not restricted to the C major scale.

[@acactus2190]

I don’t hear any black keys

[@someonerandomhere]

@@acactus2190 fine, but then the info on the video/description is wrong.

[@kai.m]

That was my assumption as well. I'm confused by the rest of the comments. This is a regular piano except the black keys have been converted to white keys.

[@screamingalgae9380]

Yes, the description is wrong--the piano only has 52 keys. Watch for where the pianist plays B-A-G--there are no keys between those notes.

[@georgepantzikis7988]

I don't understand how it's supposed to sound different. Does the absence of black strings possibly vibrating create a stronger c-major sonority? With a regular piano, you can choose not to play any black keys, while with this you can only play diatonic pieces and have to transpose every piece to either C major or A minor (and you better forget about melodic and harmic minor, or any of the modes).

[@aBachwardsfellow]

A piano totally dedicated to the US national anthem: Oh Say Can You C.

[@willowmillard]

I can’t, I’m A minor

[@aBachwardsfellow]

@@willowmillard LOL!

[@nickopeters]

I'm pretty sure that even that song has some chromatic accidentals in it, although, of course, I'm not at all trying to detract from your delightful pun.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

​@@nickopeters You are correct -- the Star Spangled Banner has an F# (dominant D major of the dominant G major) on the "- ly" of " ... by the dawn's ear - ly light" , "-ous" of " ... thru the per - il - ous fight, "still" of " that the flag was still there ... " and more

[@dovdiaz]

One of a kind. No doubt.... How could have someone ever imagine such an amazing invention...? 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

[@therealmusicianaire]

I would be bored to tears playing this piano. No wait.... no boredom at all because after a couple minutes of it I'd walk away.

[@oneirdaathnaram1376]

Next creation: The all-black-keys piano!

[@garybowman4913]

I've heard you can get a black and white keyed one, I wonder where i can get one of those?

[@carolineboenig8069]

More than just the mere fact that it is in the key of C major, must be considered that it leaves out non-diatonic tone & non-diatonic chord possibilities ...the ability to stack more creative and complex chords. This severely limits the musical scope both for performance and accompaniment. May be great for certain adaptations and novelty ...but overwhelmingly surpassed by the classic piano.

[@notenoughpaper]

But that's exactly the point - it's not supposed to replace classical pianos, it's probably meant as a tool to limit yourself when improvising and writing music, especially maybe as a learning tool if you are a player that likes to changes modes frequently. Maybe the person that commissioned this piano wanted exactly that, to be forced to go out of their comfort zones and try to express musical ideas without being able to change modes. Probably makes you write different stuff than if you had the possibility. Again, I'm sure this isn't meant to replace normal pianos, it's pretty much a thing that one person wanted to have, to be forced to think differently. It's a little bit like playing in a different tuningon guitar, you can't use the normal chords, maybe you go on to avoid chords entirely and focus on melody, or maybe you discover new chords that would be very hard to play in E standard. Maybe it forces you to avoid the standard barre chords. Idk. At least it makes you think and explore. I think this sort of thing is supposed to have a similar effect for piano. You are physically incapable of playing an F minor chord after an C major chord, you have to think about new ways to achieve a similar feeling with different harmony. Again, it just makes you think differently about music and what you are able to play.

[@tantuce]

​@@notenoughpaper if they wanted to deliberately limit themselves and go trough difficulties on making a melody, they should just opt for a set of drums or make a single drum themselves, lol

[@aBachwardsfellow]

@carolineboenig8069 -- for sure! They should just put the regular keyboard back in ...

[@Tigerex966]

I think it actually simply made the black keys white so you still have sharps and flats 12 keys per octave you just don't have to see the black keys as different color shape location and size anymore, now it is just like on other stringed instruments.

[@aBachwardsfellow]

​@@Tigerex966 LOL! yeah -- a lot of people fell for it and went that way with it -- including me. -- it takes a while for the truth to dawn..

[@JSaltyfabricator]

Why? Because you can also butter your toast with a sledgehammer. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

[@SuriyamongkholApisinghatawat]

“Its so clean”

[@brandobin]

I was hoping it would be microtonal, or at leeast just intonation 😢

[@nailman5949]

I know! I was so disappointed once I actually heard it!

[@user-wb7pz8uq4o]

Microtonal...As in 31 TET - Oooooooorah

[@colinbudd5840]

Yes. They need to remove the spaces between the keys.

[@emmanueldavid4645]

This is hard to play but at the same time it proves that just the white keys could sound great in the right hands!

[@ArcherRtM]

Have you never come across a nice piece in C major with no accidentals before ?

[@JarekMajewski]

finally we have piano for guitar players !

[@shwilly]

Exactly the reason why I googled whether this type of keyboard exists at all. Apparently we're idiots for desiring an instrument that allows you play the exact same fingerings all over the place regardless of key :)

[@petersnell3128]

I still prefer the piano with black keys. Even in this video, it sounds far better than the one with all white keys...

[@martinmarsola6477]

A very skillful musician! ❤😊

[@CrowPal]

It does sound extraordinary - extraordinarily like a piano. Now we just need a piano with no white keys, so we can play all our regular pieces as duets. On the other hand, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[@Ficktao]

How do you visually orientate on a piano with no black keys? Are there any visual indications?

[@m0ment219]

Wow... this is like playing blind... very impressive!

[@perlundgren7797]

Worse, argubably. If you're blind, you can still feel the black keys.

[@lflagr]

So in other words, she's only playing the white keys of a normal piano. Big deal lol

[@edyue1]

Yeah, I try to avoid all the Black Keys whenever possible 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@notenoughpaper]

Actually yes, as this is probably meant to force you to play differently. It also enables some tunings that would be harder to pull off on normal pianos, like just intonation, where every note is a specific quotient with regards to the mode, in this case C. Of course you could also just do this on a normal piano with black keys, but you have an even greater risk of running into dissonant chords than on a normal piano, where you might add in the black keys. So there it may actually be easier to avoid harsh sounds, although admittedly that might also be a limitation depending on what you wanna do.

[@pure_x™]

It may be harder than the normal piano tho..

[@debassett6856]

​@@pure_x™ Particularly on the sense that you wouldn't have the presence of the black keys to help you visually navigate the keyboard

[@hunthse]

Hmm, Does it seem like something's missing here? Yes, like half the instrument!

[@miltcarlton2593]

I have played Debussy‘s children’s suite for many years and there were numerous spots in Dr. gratis that we’re literally just plain wrong. She plays beautifully and I’m sure she reads music and memorize his music very very well. If there’s black keyless piano how can I play what the composer wrote. what’s the point of having no black kids?

[@aBachwardsfellow]

oops - typo on that last word ... ?

[@aBachwardsfellow]

it's a special arrangement -- notes were changed to make it seem to fit, but it's not the same as the actual piece as Debussy wrote it.

[@miltcarlton2593]

My apologies for the typo on the last word.

[@feloria1862]

Seems like a thing where the designers were like "what if" not really for a specific purpose just for fun

[@olivernunn3675]

The lack of black keys does NOT mean that 'the music is always in the modes of C major'. This piano still has the normal 88 notes which are tuned as any other piano; it's just that some of the notes that would normally be played by black keys are here being played by white keys. This will make it more uncomfortable to play as the middle three fingers of the hands are better suited to playing on raised (and set back) black keys.

[@thevalarauka101]

when you realise it's the same as only playing the white keys on any ordinary piano

[@kingsecho3351]

I would never want a piano without black keys. This is a fun novelty.

[@stevesm2010]

I wonder if a modern VST could be programmed to emulate the 'Sinhakken' on a normal controller keyboard. It would be an interesting experiment.

[@Andronicus2007]

Umm, just don't touch the black keys.

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

Korg Module has it

[@M.aryjane.]

Very interesting and beautiful. The all-white piano sounds gorgeous. The musician played wonderfully; she looked confident in her performance, having no black keys to finger around.

[@dare2win215]

It sounds like... a piano...

[@francoisplaniol1489]

Sound-o-shopped recordings.

[@Benjybass]

The concept of playing everything in C major in this piece, does not elevate the music that Debussy originally imagined. For those who know the work, the E major chords turn into E minor, F minor chords into F major. The music itself, yearns for these chords-- and these are the Doctor's orders!

[@IkisDragonFist]

"A whole new soundworld" This has precisely 0 new sounds and is missing 36 sounds it had before. It's the exact opposite of that.

[@notmyworld44]

Very definitely an interesting instrument! But is it chromatic? The Dr Gradus piece is divinely beautiful. It's all light and grace. I'm almost embarrassed to say this is the first time I've ever heard it on piano. I'm so accustomed to the orchestrated version. Debussy's music is almost supernatural.

[@loogoo]

No, it's not chromatic - the pianist is definitely making 'adjustments' in sections of the piece where there would be sharps or flats, altering the harmonic palette of the piece. Impressive as it may seem at first - I doubt Debussy would be pleased.

[@quaver1239]

Sorry, but “almost” is even going a bit too far.

[@jimmytuffrey6509]

it's actually an abomination

[@anna-mariaflanegan1351]

​​@@jimmytuffrey6509 Are you attempting to call Debussy's Dr Gradus ad Pernassum an abomination?

[@jimmytuffrey6509]

​@@anna-mariaflanegan1351 no, that's exquisite. I mean the dumbing down of the piano by taking away the harmonic possibilities which has created a one of a kind piano that will have cost thousands to manufacture but will lie languishing in a room somewhere after this video has received it's plaudits.

[@sarcasticguy4311]

"The extraordinary sound of a piano with no black keys…" Sounds exactly like a regular piano! ASTONISHING! Next up, a flute with NO HOLES.

[@Lifes_Student]

that must feel like a breath of fresh air for your fingers

[@bunkerputt]

This piano approved by the inventor of the single length golf set.

[@jovaughnthompson354]

As a non-musician who doesn’t understand the implications of a piano not having black keys, I see this as an absolute win

[@lynx48k]

This is not a win. Black keys matter.

[@ArcherRtM]

Imagine painting with only the colors of a rainbow, without being able to change their saturation or vibrance. That's kind of the same thing. Plus it's so much harder to play because without black keyes there is no visual/tactile pattern for you to identify notes. That's just a nightmare.

[@regularly_priced]

No black keys means none of the interesting modes. You can only play in the 7 diatonic modes and that’s it. All of the color and magic that comes from all the other non-diatonic modes… it’s gone, unusable.

[@jovaughnthompson354]

@@regularly_priced i have no idea what you just said but it seems convincing

[@Frisbieinstein]

You can't change the key of a piece so accompanying a singer would be impractical. (You have to change key to match their vocal range.)

[@mjallenuk]

Absolutely want a go of that! Wonderful talent.

[@thecutmusic1]

as a piano technician, if I walked into someone's house and they had this. I would have a panic attack. lol

[@isaiasabinadisosagarcia936]

No one: The inventor: let's fix something that wasn't broken

[@gunar.kroeger]

Everyone asking how you can navigate the piano without the black keys: you literally have audible feedback of what notes you are playing. Not all pianists are Bethoven

[@spatulaboy1]

Reaching way up high or down low for a quick hit would be risky. Easy to be one note off without a visual indicator. But with practice…

[@davidalbro2009]

Exactly, spatulaboy. Even the greatest pianists use visual references for finger placement all the time. Particularly the first ones!

[@Autostade67]

I'm not sure what the big deal is about this: alternate scales/tonal relations are nothing new. Yes, it's an interesting instrument - there are many interesting instruments - but if one is trying to argue this is some groundbreaking idea about how to shatter the tyranny of both the keyboard and the 'subordinance' of sharps and flats, it seems a bit much. Now don't jump on me - its a neat instrument. It's a neat idea. I'm sure its not so neat and tidy to simply drop one's technique learned on a classic black and white piano and recalibrate for this beauty...but the lesson it teaches, if any, is that we must get out of our present miasma of cultural amnesia and learn that Schoenberg, Debussy, Satie, Cage, Xenakis, Ligeti and Penderecki among several others, wouldn't have batted an eyelash at this instrument - though one can imagine their opinions of it would vary wildly from 'Well, well, what can I compose for this and only this?" to 'Yeah...well, that's not exactly what I was talking about." And how does the second movement of Beethoven's 'Pathetique' sound on it, I wonder...

[@aBachwardsfellow]

some interesting thoughts -- but It's just a keyboard swap -- a standard grand piano with a special keyboard swapped in -- not a special piano.

[@nickopeters]

What a wonderful critique you've written here, and I salute you for it--. If I may also add, even one more point to it--; it's that this piano actually doesn't eliminate sharp / flat note "subordinance," as you optimistically have conjectured--; as by otherwise "expanding and extending" the original "black keys," to full, white-key space occupation and length--. It doesn't even just leave them "alone--;" but actually strips them out, "altogether--!" So, in reality--; this piano is actually at least "twice" as bad as you already realize--. Which I'm glad you already do, of course--. Thanks again--(!)

[@Engineer9736]

One-of-a-kind piano… it’s similar to producing a car without seats and calling it a one of a kind car 🤪

[@rantingcullinarian]

They were so excited about whether they could that they never stopped to ask if they should….

[@deldridg]

Wow - thank you for this. Fascinating concept. After almost 50 years of playing, often in the dark, the black keys are a big part of the way I (and I guess most players) locate positions all over the keyboard - especially playing without looking. BTW - lovely to hear Gina Alice playing too, Lang Lang's wife. Cheers - Dave

[@rider_guide]

Racist piano

[@aosilva1032]

...limitado e desnecessário

[@mladengrubelic873]

While I deeply respect the educated comments about this instrument being 'a horrible idea', I believe the idea was to manufacture an instrument with some unusual and unique features but the main point is the SOUND of this 'piano'. I personally find it's sound mesmerising and extremely enjoyable.

[@Thestuffdoer]

As a keyboardist, this thing hurts me so much

[@glisterbernalte1349]

Selling my grand piano. Honest issues... It's racist a racist piano.😂😂😂

[@njmaryannez]

I would have been more interested in hearing the same piece on the two pianos.

[@mamame2010]

well, listen or watch to the end.

[@browneyes142a]

​@@mamame2010the end is Rachmaninov

[@TruthSurge]

what's old is new. They started w/o black keys when piano was first invented. Then equal temperament came along. You can just open any piano, tune the major thirds in C (the E notes) flat by oh, 10 cents or so and just don't play the black keys. Exact same thing as not having black keys really except for resonances if sustain pedal is employed.

[@ghamoz]

Il suono ,per quanto si possa sentire da KZbin non è male, ma non c'entra niente coi tasti. Che belinate che dite

[@MenglinGao]

Imagine all this work put in to make this piano while never consulting anyone who knows anything about music theory

[@jeffpasch]

A novelty. Any pianist criticizing it here would still have fun playing it, if only for a bit.