Roland imagines a drone augmented musical experience for its 50th Anniversary

Reinventing an instrument as age-old and time-honoured as the piano is far more challenging than one could fathom. Although the piano’s design was initially driven by factors such as sonic projection through internal resonances, allowing it to fill large spaces with its sound, the more recent introduction of electric pianos, keyboards, and synthesisers has changed the game entirely. Gone are the days of hammers striking strings, now replaced by microchips and circuit boards that can replicate virtually any instrument with utmost precision while equipped with provisions for amplification. Hence, even for an organisation such as Roland, whose innovations in music design have altered the course of popular culture over the past few decades, this would not have been a simple or straightforward exercise.

Founded in Osaka, Japan, back in 1972, Roland has been a trailblazer in the arena of electronic music instruments, being responsible for the Juno-106 synthesiser, the development of MIDI protocols, and finally, the famed TR-808 drum machine, whose influence on the genres of hip-hop, dance, and house has often been likened to that of the Fender Stratocaster on rock music. Now with an incredibly diverse catalogue of products that have built on its legacy, including some of the most cutting-edge keyboards, synthesisers, effects pedals, and electronic drum kits presently on the market, the brand celebrated its 50th-anniversary last year with landmark new launches, including a concept piano that has posited new ideas on how the nature of musical instruments and sound design could expand in the future.

At CES 2023 in Las Vegas, the company unveiled a prototype for a 50th Anniversary Model Concept Piano, following in the footsteps of the reveal of the GPX-F1 Facet Grand Piano at the 2020 edition of the event from January 5-8. Boasting a one-piece wooden body fashioned with fluid, elliptical profiles in collaboration with Japanese furniture manufacturer Karimoku, the new concept piano is forward thinking in every detail, curve, and line that composes its body. Moulded from Japanese Nara oak wood sourced from Hokkaido, the design retains a naturalistic air that harkens back to wooden upright pianos of yore, despite its inherently futuristic aesthetic.

The process of fashioning the body involved joining layers upon layers of machine-cut wood in a way that blends modern-day 3D-printing methods with ancient wood carving techniques used to create traditional Buddhist statues. As a result, a sleek, organic, and minimal language is observed in the piano’s body, reflecting it's warm and rounded contemporary design sensibilities in a form that is light and stylish. From its elliptical lid featuring a digital control panel that allows users to cycle between different tones as needed to its USB MIDI and Bluetooth features, every detail of the instrument is indicative of its role as a manifesto of the brand’s trajectory for the future.

The French composer Erik Satie's concept of 'furniture music,' positing a type of composition that fills a space and interacts with other naturally occurring sounds, complementing the ambience of a space, was a major influence in conceptualising the product’s design. While arriving at this idea, Roland identified a gap in the development of electronic pianos and keyboards, where most end up compromising on sound quality in favour of portability, compactness, and innovation.

To rectify this deficiency, the concept piano makes use of a 360° sound system composed of 14 in-built ‘speaker balls’ that project high-quality sound, in virtually every direction. Fitted into the lid, top edges, and other critical points along the instrument’s body, these speakers are able to accurately reproduce the all-encompassing sound fields of grand pianos, as well as a host of other instruments. In addition, the speakers can be adjusted as per acoustic conditions or the tones selected by the user, contributing to the immersive quality of the sonic experience it offers. Regarding its responsiveness and ease of use, the brand has stated that this concept piano will be equipped with the most natural response seen in any of its keyboards.

Beyond the internal speaker system, the 50th Anniversary Model Concept Piano has also been envisioned with another technological implement in the form of external drone speakers that hover over it to further expand the sound field. As the latency seen in most Bluetooth connections exceeds the permissible levels for syncing during musical performances, Roland had to develop its own internal communication channel to deal with this conundrum. Although some tweaking to this aspect of the instrument's design is still required, most notably in terms of the noise produced by the drones themselves as they hover over the piano, it is expected to be implemented over time as silent drone, a technology becomes more readily available.

With this latest experiment in conceptualising the NEXT in music technology, Roland has contributed to redefining the conventional image of a musical instrument—from that of a source of sound, to a veritable sonic experience on its own, able to adapt to any tone or acoustic setting. Imagining the future of an instrument whose impact on music of all styles is comparable to few others, Roland’s 50th Anniversary Model Concept Piano is the culmination of the brand’s unending zeal for industrial design innovation, packaged inside a body that is as sophisticated and elegant as they come.