NAMM: MIDIfy Your Acoustic Piano

PianoBar Installed (Click for a close-up)

PianoBar Control Module (Click for a close-up)

At the Summer NAMM show, Moog Music introduced the Moog PianoBar, a three-piece accessory that enables the musician to play a wide variety of musical sounds from any acoustic piano keyboard. Priced at $1199, the Moog PianoBar will be available in September worldwide.

According to Adams, the Moog PianoBar will have applications for everyone who uses a piano:

For professionals, it turns a piano into a MIDI controller, with capability for sound enhancement and music composition; for educators, it's a teaching aid, providing evaluation of a player's skill; for the religious market, it's sound accompaniment; for owners of acoustic pianos, it's an opportunity for both adults and children to reinvigorate interest in playing by exploring sound creation.

The musician can select sounds from the Moog PianoBar's self-contained library of more than 300 instruments and effects, or use its MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) capability to access the world of contemporary music technology through a source of choice.

The Moog PianoBar is made up of the Scanner Bar, the Pedal Sensor and the Control Module. The Scanner Bar - a slim device that sits over the keys immediately in front of the piano fallboard - uses patented infrared sensor technology to register the keys' motions without touching or affecting their feel. It can be set in place in a few minutes, without tools and without affecting the piano itself. The Pedal Sensor is placed on the floor under the piano's pedals, and registers their motions. The Control Module - a small box placed at a convenient spot on the piano - ties the Scanner Bar and Pedal Sensor to a MIDI output/input, and includes a library of internal sounds.

Moog Music is accepting deposits on initial production units of the Moog PianoBar on its web site.