Anatomy of a Yamaha Disklavier Interactive Player Piano

AnatomyofaYamahaDisklavier™InteractivePlayerPiano
The Yamaha Disklavier is—first and foremost—a tradional Yamaha acousc piano. Like any piano, it has 88 keys, hammers,
strings, pin block, soundboard, three pedals, and thousands of moving and staonary parts. A Disklavier, when played by a pianist,
responds and sounds the same way as its counterpart Yamaha Piano model. Compared to consumer add-on player systems, the
commercial grade Disklavier system is built into each individual Yamaha piano with Yamaha components by Yamaha cra%sman in
the Yamaha Piano factory. The enre Disklavier piano carries a Yamaha factory warranty. All Yamaha Disklavier model numbers
are prefixed with the le(er “D”. The Yamaha Disklavier was developed in the 1970’s, introduced in 1982. Yamaha’s tradion of
connuous research and development makes today’s Disklavier the most advanced interacve player piano for the 21st Century.
Four Disklavier Systems
System
Yamaha Piano Model
E3C
GB1K, DU1
E3
GB1K
E3S
GC1, GC2; CX1, CX2
E3Pro
CX3 and above
Disklavier System Feature Descripons
Disklavier fiber opc grayscale key shu(er & sensor record / playback system;
Adds moving pedals (2), including shi% pedal keyboard movement; stereo sound;
Adds hammer shu(ers & sensors; Silent Piano Feature; three moving pedals;
Adds Digital Signal Processor (DSP) servo playback solenoids; gray-scale fiber opc hammer
shu(ers & sensors; XP (high definion) record / playback data.
Disklavier Record System
The Disklavier record system uses grayscale opcal shu(ers and sensors under every key with shu(ers and sensors on the hammer
shanks (DGC1E3S and above) in order to determine the ming of notes, the velocity with which the hammers hit the strings, and
the release speed of each key. These Disklavier models are the only recording pianos on the market that record with this level of
precision and accuracy. A Disklavier captures the complete range of piano expression including “brushed” notes which are silent
notes that result from slight key movements that do not terminate with the hammer striking the string.
Disklaviers use a number of different sensors to determine the ming, speed of movement, and posion of keys, hammers, and
pedals. In addion, a Disklavier Pro system records and plays back incremental posions of the le% and right pedals. It is necessary
to capture incremental pedal movement in order to provide a complete and realisc playback of a recorded performance. This is
another unique Disklavier feature as compared to consumer-level retrofit add-on systems from third party vendors.
Non-contact Record System
As previously stated, the Disklavier record system uses non-contact grayscale shu(ers under all 88 keys with another set of shu(ers
on all 88 hammer shanks (except E3C and E3). These shu(ers pass through fiber opc beam sensors to create shadows and breaks
in acve opc light beams that scan the moving key, hammer and pedal assemblies inside the piano. These shadows and breaks
become the roboc commands to drive the playback solenoids in the Disklavier piano. This light sensing technology disnguishes
how a Disklavier records: there is NO physical contact between the keystrokes of the pianist and the recording system itself. The
musician cannot and will not detect any difference between playing a Yamaha Disklavier Piano in standard or recording mode.
Disklavier PRO Record - Playback System
The Disklavier PRO system was introduced in 1998 to meet the demands of the internaonal piano educaon and professional performance communies. The Disklavier PRO system is built inside the Yamaha C3X (6’ 1”) and larger grand pianos. The PRO models
are disnguished by grayscale key and hammer shu(ers and sensors, key sensor servos, posion sensing pedal movement controls
and the memory capacity to record and play back extended precision MIDI data, known as XP (high definion) data.
Key shu(er through fiber opc beam;
grayscale on all Disklavier Systems
Hammer shu(er through fiber opc
beam; grayscale on Disklavier Pro
Close-up: shu(er passes through fiber
opc beam to create playback data
The Technical Differences of the Disklavier Pro System
All Disklavier Pianos store recorded playback data in an industry-standard format called MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
data. This means that Disklavier performance data can be played on other MIDI compable instruments, such as a Yamaha AvantGrand hybrid piano or a Clavinova™ digital piano.
Standard model Disklaviers record both note-on events (hammer velocity) and note-off events (key release velocity) using the
standard MIDI scale of 0-127. Le% and right pedals (una corda and sustain, respecvely) are recorded on the same standard MIDI
scale of 0-127. The middle pedal (sostenuto), which has an on/off funcon, is recorded with two values: 0 and 127. (The E3C system does not recognize the le% pedal funcon. The E3C and the E3 do not recognize the middle pedal funcon. The E3C and E3
systems are found on the GB1K grand and U-series upright piano models only.)
The Disklavier PRO system uses dynamic MIDI controller messages to record a data set of piano hammer and key on-off velocies
and pedal acvies at a much higher density. This is referred to as XP or high definion MIDI data. Compare this concept to a picture shown on a standard vs. high definion TV. Piano key and hammer movements are recorded on a scale of 0-1023, providing
eight mes the recorded number of shadows and breaks passing through the acve opc light beams. In addion, the le% (una
corda) and right (sustain) pedals are both recorded on an extended scale of 0-255, providing twice the mechanical pedal resoluons of the E3S Disklavier system. Professional pianists, educators, private and commercial Disklavier owners agree that it is virtually impossible to disnguish a Disklavier Pro playback session from the actual live recording session. For example, many colleges
and universies now accept piano performance data files created by applicant students on a Disklavier Pro system as a qualified
performance entrance exam to their music school departments. The student’s Disklavier Pro data file with synchronized video is
emailed to the entrance exam jury. The file is then played on the resident Disklavier Pro Piano and widescreen TV at the school.
The decision to connue the applicant student’s enrollment process is made based on that performance.
The Disklavier E3 PRO and E3S models include the Yamaha Silent Piano™
system. Silent Piano enables the musician to play, record and play back in
complete privacy through stereo headphones.
The Silent system ulizes a specially designed mute rail mechanism. It engages to stop the movement of the hammer just before the point of contact where the hammer would normally strike the string.
The Silent system engages automacally when a set of headphones is
plugged in. A special digital sound of the Yamaha concert grand piano is
transmi(ed to the headphones along with any accompaniment and background sounds. The Silent Piano provides the pianist with the touch and
response of a Yamaha Grand Piano in complete privacy.
Features built in to each Disklavier System provide the ability to:
(1) record and play back performances, complete with moving keys and pedals*, ulizing state-of-the-art robocs;
(2) connect to computers, tablets, and other MIDI devices for expanded performance and educaonal opportunies;
(3) connect to the Internet in order to receive streaming piano performances from DisklavierRadio™ and DisklavierTV™ and the
Disklavier Educaon Network (DEN);
(4) add and listen to orchestral and vocal accompaniments, midi or audio, during recording and playback performances;
(5) video record a Disklavier recording session to play back in video sync on a Disklavier Piano and widescreen TV, computer, etc.;
(6) have fun and learn to play with the exclusive Disklavier SmartKey™ and CueTime™ guide and accompaniment features;
(7) build your own personal playback performance library from the thousands of music files at www.yamahamusicso%.com
*E3C: pedals do not physically move, sustain funcon (right pedal funcon) operates internally
© 2015
Published by Retail Business Soluons LLC. Research content for this publicaon by George Li(erst and Alan Slivinski. Product specificaons and availability are
subject to change without noce.
Yamaha, Yamaha symbol, Disklavier, SilentPiano, SmartKey and CueTime are registered trademarks of Yamaha America Corporaon