Yamaha’s furniture is a ballad of synergy between instruments and people

“Musical instruments can sometimes be an extension of your body, and at times a cherished partner,” comments Manabu Kwada, Director, Yamaha Design Laboratory. Music, albeit not an absolute necessity for survival, is a mellifluous essence that enriches existence—an indispensable harmony in the song of a fulfilled human life. There is a special intimacy one feels in the presence of a musical instrument, a synergy that makes it truly one with the player as opposed to being a simple inanimate presence. But how often does our furniture facilitate their inclusion in our daily lives?

Yamaha Design Laboratory—an offshoot of the Japanese company that prides itself with an extensive repository of innovative musical instruments and audio equipment—recently unveiled 11 new designs that strive to make life with musical instruments fun. Partaking in You Are Here, Yamaha’s standalone exhibition that took the stage during Milan Design Week 2023, the furniture designs bring these melodious comrades into mundane conversations—infusing music into existence. “The title of our exhibition, You Are Here, symbolises the value of being present,” shares Manabu Kwada. "In this era of uncertainty and tumultuous change, we believe that it is all the more important to feel the reality of a treasured presence,” he adds.

Wake me up

This stand by Masafumi Futo for Yamaha is strategically constructed to perform a dual function: support a saxophone by suspending it, and when tilted, shapeshift into a stool design for playing. The saxophone is a functional, beautifully sculpted instrument with elegantly curved metal surfaces and straight lines. Wake me up not only uplifts the appearance of the saxophone, but also the way the player holds the saxophone while playing it. The saxophone and player share the same seat—an act that brings each closer to the other.

Lean on me

Lean on me, justifying its title, is a stand that invites a contrabass to lean on it. The double bass is a fairly large instrument that gives an impression of a massive creature at rest when placed on the floor. When resting against the stand, a scene is conjured where the contrabass appears to be nonchalantly resting on its elbow. When not supporting the instrument, it can also be used as a chair design for the instrumentalist to occupy. The design by Toshihide Suzuki is planned in such a way that the performers can also place their feet on the wooden plank perpendicular to the seat while they play.

Meow

This feline storage piece epitomises the violin's call to engage with it. Capable of accommodating both the violin and its bow, this storage cellar embodies an admiration for this instrument. The back of the violin has tiger-striped timber grain and its size also makes an adorable impression, simply calling out to be played or handled when anyone lays eyes on it. Extending on this lovable aura, Meow by Toshihide Suzuki features a vertical slit on the back; when stored, the bow protrudes out of the crevice and evokes a cat's tail.

Hand me higher

This minimal frame by Stefano Ivan Scarascia expresses a freedom by allowing the Pianica to levitate mid-air, when set down by the performer. This stand titled Hand me higher is devised for hanging a Pianica on the wall. In fact, one can even play it while it is hanging. The Pianica is an ultra-compact and lightweight keyboard instrument that is extremely portable and can be played anywhere—a freedom and the stand embodies. From a wall frame, derived from a single uninterrupted stroke, a hand silhouette that holds the instrument high emerges, completely untethered from the ground.

Dress me up

These series of dressy covers by Sena Otsuka are comfortable clothing that keeps the drums warm and cosy in the room. The Dress me up covers can be affixed to a drum set, including snare drum, cymbals, pedals and stool—and each can be played with the covers on. The chic garb addresses the fact that the cold, hard metallic parts of a drum set are often misfits in a living space. An interesting feature of the drums coming together as a single unit is that they bear resemblance to living creatures assembling together and indulging in a dialogue.

Leave it to me

Enveloped in a singular language, Leave it to me by Toshihide Suzuki supports the flute on two slender arms, as if a tiny performer were holding it. The stand is an assembly for a flute to rest on while appearing as if it is floating. With its straight, horizontal lines, the flute is an elegant instrument, especially true when the performer is in harmony with the instrument. The stand accentuates this unique beauty of the flute even while it rests.

Look at me

This tiny score stand emulates a silhouette that is somehow evocative of the form of a music stand from some distant corner of the mind. Music stands, for some reason, tend to have only two distinctive outlines. Look at me is designed by Akie Hinokio for contemporary sheet music—used for viewing sheet music displayed on a smartphone. The tiny frame questions whether the notion of finding things adorable just because they are small is the same for all of us.

Swing with me

Swing with me is a stand that allows humans to lean on and sway their bodies in a spirited dance. On the way home from a performance, while standing around and engaging in a casual chat, a guitar case can serve as a support for the body. This is the situation that inspired Suzuki to come up with an intervention to facilitate this casual conversation—inviting the players to sway and lean back as they like.

Rock me on

This piece, with its engine made up of four tuned bells, was designed by Hinokio for her newborn son. This wooden horse-shaped instrument with bells produces sounds as one straddles and rocks their body on it. Rock me on allows the user to immerse in a sense of journey and performance while playing. The designer aspires that this wooden rocking horse will be a young child's first encounter with the wonders of music.

Tell me

There is rarely ever a special position to place a metronome, a device which usually carries out its function behind the scenes. Tell me by Koji Notomi is a tall stand designed for these often overlooked metronomes. Placing it at a high elevation, the stand gives the instrument a conductor-like presence, building on the synergy between the player and the instrument. Moreover, several metronomes can even be poly-rhythmically combined to take the creative practice sessions up a notch.

Forget me not

Who would not like a sculptural vase that holds old guitar strings like precious flowers? Forget me not, a design by Yurii Kasao, allows a guitarist to display the guitar strings after they have been removed from the instrument. After being replaced in the guitar, strings tend to be twisted and bent, taking on the shape of guitar parts due to the tuning process. This piece, similar to a sinuous glass vase, becomes home to these worn-down strings bunched together akin to floral assemblies. Arranged such, the strings are no longer simple metal, they shapeshift into organic objects dwelling in the memoir of the instrument.

With these seemingly simple yet impactful interventions, Yamaha carves a space for musical instruments that is as special and unique as they are—lowering the barrier to simply sitting down and playing. You Are Here resounded as a voice for the times that reaffirms the value of being present, and at the same time, an expression of joy that entails.

STIR’s coverage of Milan Design Week 2023 showcases the best exhibitions, studios, designers, installations, brands, and special projects to look out for. Explore Euroluce 2023 and all the design districts—5Vie Art and Design, Brera Design District, Fuorisalone, Isola Design District, Tortona District, and Milano Design District—with us.