Using a brilliant and innovative integration of AI and acoustic instruments, a new self-playing piano dubbed "Anybody's Piano" has been created which enables a wide range of musical opportunities for Tokyo pianists with disabilities.
Its capabilities, which include the transformation of singular notes performed by physically limited soloists into complete harmonious chord voicings, have already been showcased in a local concert held in the city's famed Suntory Hall last Dec. 21, as reported by The Japan Times.
This picture taken on December 21, 2023 shows Yurina Furukawa (front C), who has a rare muscle condition called congenital myopathy and requires breathing assistance, playing an AI-powered piano during the Christmas concert's rehearsal.
Kiwa Usami Performs 'Ode to Joy' With the Yokohama Sinfonietta
Reverberating amongst the wood panels of one of Tokyo's most hallowed concert halls are the fully voiced chords played by the 24-year-old pianist, Kiwa Usami, as assisted by "Anybody's Piano."
Even with a press of only one key, Usami creates beautiful harmonies for Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" piece that she performed alongside the Yokohama Sinfonietta, through appropriate additions made by an AI algorithm which it executes by tracking the music being played.
The musician, who has cerebral palsy, is among three total pianists who performed the master's "Symphony No. 9" in the Tokyo concert back in December.
Usami herself was one of the principal inspirations for the project, as her dedication to playing the piano with one finger motivated her music teachers to pursue a collaboration with the musical industry giant that is Yamaha.
The result of their joint effort was an augmented iteration of the company's auto-playing piano, originally released back in 2015. Sufficed to say, it was a successful project considering the beautiful performances of Usami and her contemporaries.
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'A Really Powerful Experience'
Joining usami is the 39-year-old performer Hiroko Higashino who was born with only three fingers on her right hand. Shortly after the "Anybody's Symphony No. 9" program was announced, Higashino started practicing how to play the keys.
"If the piano helps me and adds two missing keys for me, I can more faithfully recreate the rich harmony, the music that Beethoven intended to express," she shared.
Among the three is 10-year-old soloist Yurina Furukawa, whose rare genetic muscle disorder called congenital myopathy inhibits her movement and breathing, requiring her to receive assistance.
That said, through "Anybody's Piano," she was able to perform in front of a 130-person audience on her specialized bed station, pressing each key rhythmically using the back of her hand.
"It's a really powerful experience to play with an orchestra," said the 10-year-old who performed the slower part of Beethoven's latter movement.
According to one of the concert-goers who was in her 60s, Teruko Imai, it had been a long while since she last had "such a heart-trembling experience," saying, "It was the best Christmas present, for me."
