In January of 2010, I purchased the Yamaha AvantGrand N3 as a replacement for my aging keyboard and to prepare myself for life outside of school. Now, almost two years later and a unbelievable amount of music later, I’m revisiting my thoughts.

I don’t regret this very substantial purchase at all whatsoever. Not even for a moment. I’m not much of an early adopter and was initially worried about things like maintenance and warranty for such a large piece of technology, but now that we’ve moved it from Virginia Beach to Rochester to Wichita, I feel pretty confident about its longevity and durability.

All of the pros I previously listed still apply, and essentially all of the cons. I haven’t had any problems with notes dropping out recently, so perhaps it was a temporary thing or I’ve subconsciously adjusted. The lack of an intuitive readable control panel is still probably the most annoying thing. The touch obviously cannot be exactly the same as an acoustic grand, but I do find that some nuances are impossible to pull off, especially things involving pedal. Beethoven-style sforzandos just don’t happen as I’d like them to and I can’t use the barely-there touch to create that special kind of soft sound. So, again, not a replacement for a real grand piano, but still a fantastic instrument and perfect for a set of needs.

I did discover that the AvantGrand actually does a little harmonic resonance, so doing something like holding down some keys silently and playing lower ones will leave a little sound behind, as though the strings of the silently depressed notes are vibrating. It’s not as audible as an actual piano, but it’s pretty neat that they bothered to put that in there. The things that most people still find the most immediately impressive are the tactile response and, oddly, that weirdly accurate harpsichord sound. Pianists are very impressed by the feel of the keys and half pedaling. Several people have been caught by surprise to find out that it is digital and not acoustic.

Here’s some of the other music I’ve learned since that last post, to give you an illustration of how productive it is to have my own piano at home, even after working on web stuff all day:

• Stockhausen – Kontra-punkte
• An entire last-minute solo piano recital that included the famous Liebestraum and the Minute Waltz
• A full concert of Oliver Knussen’s ensemble works, including the beastly (but incredible) Songs Without Voices
• Xenakis – Plekto
• Grieg Piano Concerto, first movement
• Debussy Cello Sonata
• Untold amounts of other new/contemporary music
• Relearned the Brahms Clarinet Trio and the Schumann-Liszt Widmung, along with a large pile of other stuff (especially clarinet, of course)

These days I’m working on Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time (for December), Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata (last two movements only for now, also for December), and a large chunk of the clarinet repertoire in preparation for Adrian’s inevitable re-interview and faculty recitals in the spring. I’ve had to say no to area accompanying because I am already working a little too much, but it’s more than enough to keep me busy.

So, if you’re thinking about the AvantGrand and it fits your needs, you should try one out if possible and get it!

P.S. If you look at the comments of my last post, the National Sales Director of Yamaha offered to send me an AvantGrand jacket and he really did. It’s way too big, but it’s still pretty awesome.

It fits a decent (i.e. filling but not fattening) portion of food, vents for the microwave, AND is freezer-, fridge-, microwave-, and oven-safe. We’ve been bringing pasta with cheese on top for lunch and we can get it hot enough to completely melt the cheese while still being able to pick up the mug to eat. Should also be great for stews in the wintertime and even cold foods. I call that a win.

$10 at Amazon, but we found them for $9 at Wegman’s.

Lady René at MyFonts

I’ve had a Technics SX-PR303 since 1995 and I still love it. Weighted touch sensitive keys, sounds galore, easy multi-track recording – I’ve used and abused the thing. It’s gone with me to gigs in Virginia Beach, in and out of several apartments in Richmond, and in both of my apartments here in Rochester. It’s dealt with me playing crappy musical numbers, singing while playing, and shoddily realizing figured bass without a word of judgment. But finally, the time had come to replace it. The damper pedal was going in and out and I just couldn’t do the level of practicing that I needed to do on it anymore.

In November, Vivian sent me this Slate article on this “digital hybrid” piano that Yamaha was touting. Besides the fact that it name-checked Donald in Mathmagic Land and compared the Tactile Response System to an N64 Rumble Pak (sure ways to get me excited), I found myself thinking, “why haven’t all digital pianos been like this before?” And you know how it is, when something seems so revolutionary yet totally obvious, it just has to be a good thing.

Fast forward to the Eastman Wind Ensemble’s performance at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago. I was fortunate enough to get to go along as a performer, photographer, and student-wrangler (more on that in another post), and lo and behold, there was a Yamaha AvantGrand N3 in the exhibit hall. Admittedly, it was very difficult to hear in that crowded conference room, with everybody else trying all sorts of band instruments, but I fell in love. I dragged everybody over to try it out, and started thinking about how I could justify spending that kind of money on a digital instrument.

Some justification (Adrian’s clarinets are also valued at about $15k, I am still a musician even if I make more money as a web developer/designer), phone calls, and measurements later, I bought it. It was just meant to be. Turns out that, while there were no dealers in the entirety of NYS, the Piano and Organ Warehouse next to my father’s house had one in stock and was willing to sell it to me for $14,495 with no tax because I am no longer a VA resident. My father was unbelievably supportive throughout the whole process and went not once, but THREE separate times to measure the instrument to be absolutely sure that it would fit in his minivan so that I wouldn’t have to rent a truck or pay for movers. He found some friends to help get the piano into the van and let me keep it for a week and half while I recovered enough to make the long drive back down (made even longer by one of the VA snowstorms). Anyway, when I got back up to Rochester, a couple of percussionist friends and Adrian helped me move it upstairs, reattach the legs, and get it into place. So here it sits in our living room, beautiful and loved:

I’ve been doing quite a bit of practicing on it, as I have committed myself to a very musical semester. I’ve been working on: Brahms – E-Flat Clarinet Sonata (finally), Bruch – 8 Pieces for Clarinet, Viola/Cello, and Piano, Schwantner – Percussion Concerto (2 piano reduction), Bach-Busoni – Chaconne, John Adams – Chairman Dances, and a whole host of church music and other smaller things. Basically, I’ve really gotten a feel for this piano and how it helps me learn all sorts of styles of music, in addition to just how great it feels to be able to just practice when the mood strikes and be able to do more last minute learning (happens a lot in church). I wouldn’t call it an acoustic piano killer, but I think it has great potential as a practice instrument and even in places like churches where extended techniques aren’t necessary on the piano. Sadly, I won’t be playing Berg’s Vier Stücke on this thing.

Finally, my (former) professor, Dr. Jean Barr, came over for coffee and a little piano playing a few weeks ago and was very impressed by the touch, feel, and pedaling. And that, my friends, is enough to never make me question this purchase, ever.

The rundown:

Pros:

• Having a grand piano action = constructive practicing
• The tactile feedback and half pedal effects = even more constructive practicing
• The artist bench feels goooooood and gets high enough even for high sitters (such as myself)
• Having a real grand piano action with Ivorite keys and that little snap at the bottom of the key allow me to forget that I’m playing on something digital
• Doesn’t need tuning or regular maintenance
• Volume control or headphones are perfect for apartment or small space living
• Light and small enough to move around without professionals (still hefty, though)
• Full and short stick for the full-weight lid allow for realistic collaborative rehearsals
• 12 speakers definitely make for a surrounding playing experience
• While you don’t get the unique feel of a harpsichord just by changing to its sound (nor would I expect to, digital harpsichords exist as separate entities), the sound is actually eerily accurate, down to the release twang.

Cons:

• Some notes are suspect in terms of tuning and can’t be individually changed (as far as I know)
• Sometimes will run into the boundary of the max polyphony (256 voices) – rare, but annoying when it does happen
• Soft pedal does not shift the keyboard, I guess because it doesn’t need to (but considering the rest of the details, I’d like to have seen that one)
• Not useful for new music involving interaction of dampened strings with other sounds (other notes/instruments) or prepared piano
• Setting options is not at all intuitive – could use a better display than just 2 calculator-style blocks, especially given the price

If you want more details about the instrument (including more talk about how it looks and all that, since I clearly didn’t end up writing a whole lot in that arena), here are a few links:

• Official Yamaha AvantGrand site
• N3 detailed specs
• Quality time with the AvantGrand (Keyboard Mag)
• Yamaha’s Digital Grand Piano (Popular Science)

Angela and Adrian on the cruise

Kevin and Adrian at Thanksgiving

So anyway, here’s what I bought for Kevin:

Imaginarium Train Table

It’s a table with a storage drawer and a reversible playtop, AND it has train tracks, trains, a crane, a car, a truck, a helicopter, cargo, people, and so on and so forth. It’s amazing! I saw it at Toys R Us and knew I would have to buy it. And here’s what I’m hoping will come to fruition this summer so that I can buy it for Angela before they come to visit. It’s especially appropriate because she’s a rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. Apparently it will even have changeable clothes!!

Mobiblu Miffy MP3 Player and Dock

Ah, Gizmodo. You even serve my cute needs.

Lego Beach House

After spending a lot of time reminiscing about Legos and building a wishlist on Brickset.com, I finally went ahead and bought a Lego Creator set and built it. I love it and I fear I may have become re-addicted to Legos. Perhaps the Green Grocer is next…? Well, I should probably see if Daddy still has our 20 gallon bucket of Legos at home somewhere first.

Purple shoes

For being 5″ heels, they are actually surprisingly comfortable, thanks to the covered platform. Love them! Might even buy the red ones the next time I get an extra gig.

Yes, that is how I justify buying non-crucial items. These new shoes brought to you by: 3 hymns @ $38 each.