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SoundsExp07: Yamaha - You Just GOTTA see this!

Bonkers or Total Genius? The 'Tenori-on' Unveiled 02-Mar-07

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The Tenori-On in action 6:14 mins
Streaming: (2X = 640x480)
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Once in a Blue Moon an invention comes along which seems to turn conventional wisdom upside-down and kick it around a bit for good measure. Some are the result of of years of dedicated study and arduous research; others, a bastard love-child spawned of zealous passion and a conviction unfettered by the bounds of reality ;-)

I think it's fair to say that most bright new ideas never see the light of day, but I for one am particularly glad this has made it through the corporate corridors and is about to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. Actually that's not strictly true... we did suspect something was up Yamaha's sleeve some time ago, when we caught wind of an experimental musical instrument project involving lights and buttons, but the fact it is going into production is still pretty impressive.

Not quite as impressive as the Tenori-on itself though; the brainchild of media artist Toshio Iwai, it consists of a hand-held square panel with a matrix of LED switches. Working with both sound and light, making music becomes a rather more intuitive and immediate interaction between player and instrument - a refreshing counter to the increasing complexity of many modern music tools.

OK - all this sounds very grandiose, but what's it actually like? Well, we found a very happy looking Peter Peck of Yamaha UK who was clutching the only example currently in the whole of Europe. Come to think of it, I didn't see him let go of it the entire time we were at the stand... true love or just guardian instincts? Having now seen and heard the Tenori-On in action, I'm inclined to think the former.

Anyway, I got the camera out, Nick grabbed the mic, and we asked Peter all about it... check out the video.

The Tenori-On should be shipping later this year, but if you want to find out more about it, there's plenty more info on the web - Yamaha have a site, and Toshio Iwai has a blog:-

  • www.global.yamaha.com/design/tenori-on

  • www.tenorion.blogspot.com


    8 Comments...  Post a comment    original story
    Harry PInna    Said...

    With MIDI out and some decent sequencing capabilities at their target pricepoint, man are they going to sell boatloads of these. If it does more than one color LEDs then The Tenori is going to be HUGE. You can tell that Yamaha guy is genuinely excited and not just giving the standard "This is a revolutionary product" spiel.

    03-Mar-07 03:54 AM

    Tenorion-Fan    Said...

    That is *so* cool. I had almost given up hope that it would get turned into an actual product, ever.

    All previous demo units had some rather hefty cable going to a PC backstage, which acted as the actual controller. The sample shown in the video is really self contained (just power and headphones hooked up to the unit).

    If it's launched in the UK first, I'd have to get me a seat on a plane and pick it up there, myself. (I'm still hoping that they show it later this year at Musikmesse and maybe announce something for the rest of Europe as well)

    Well done with the video -- some of the most compelling content I've seen on the web in quite some time :)

    03-Mar-07 03:32 PM

    miike    Said...

    these videos dont work for me anymore, is anyone having the same problem?

    08-Mar-07 06:34 PM

    Carl    Said...

    Wow. Totally cool. This thing seems very similar to one of the devices featured on your technomania series but I think that one was just a midi controller and this one has a motif engine in it. But anyway, looks awesome. It will be interesting to see how it turns out when this product is released.

    16-Jul-07 11:57 PM

    Carl    Said...

    Wow. Totally cool. This thing seems very similar to one of the devices featured on your technomania series but I think that one was just a midi controller and this one has a motif engine in it. But anyway, looks awesome. It will be interesting to see how it turns out when this product is released.

    16-Jul-07 11:58 PM

    Carl (oops)    Said...

    oops! Accidentally commented twice. Sorry!!

    16-Jul-07 11:58 PM

    Dave    Said...

    This is quite possibly the most overpriced piece of crap I have ever seen. Seriously who the hell would spend £500 on what is essentially a really bad kids toy step sequencer?

    13-Aug-07 01:43 PM

    peter    Said...

    so make one for people with epilepsy. now there's a challenge....

    13-Sep-07 12:16 AM

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