Yamaha Design “Synapses” piaggero NP-V80

2010 / DIGITAL PIANO


Easy to carry lightweight & slim electronic piano.

Pride

The essential richness and feel of a piano in portable form, from the feeling of quality conveyed by the smooth, black finish, the generous casing, and the colors printed on the panel surfaces, to details such as the logo position and the screws used.

Reconstruction

In a quest for the essential qualities of a piano, an entry model bringing the delights of the piano to all. The clean lines and quality feel of the side panels – achieved after looking closely at process innovation – look solid and attractive.

Inspiring

As well as the touch of the keyboard, the reassuring, subtle sense of space on the inner side of the keyboard and the position of the logo in the center combine to give an authentic piano feel when the instrument is played.

Instantly-usable

The pleasure of being able to play easily, anywhere. Having rethought everything, from the manufacture and assembly processes down to the minutest detail, we have managed to produce a slim, lightweight form—one which retains the qualities of a piano.


Sunao Okamura
Sunao Okamura
Designer
Yamaha Design Laboratory

The essence of a piano in a slim body.

The Piaggero is a new brand of electronic piano. Combining "piano" with the Italian word "leggero," meaning light, the name "piaggero" evokes a slim, lightweight piano. I wanted to craft a piano that could be carried with easy, and played anywhere. The theme behind this design was to create an instrument that combined the essence of the piano with a trustworthy feel in a slim body. To this end, it was vital that we focus on the process of capturing the essential nature of the piano. How compact could we make the instrument, leaving the image and values of the piano itself intact without sacrificing anything? We gained some hints from high-grade, pocket-sized cameras and audio devices, which we felt had a real sense of compactness and authenticity. At the same time, we discussed the qualities of pianos at great length, arranging our thoughts on what qualities make a piano a piano. It turned out that different people defined these qualities differently. Some people associate pianos with their black, mirror-like exterior surfaces, while others see them in more structural terms, believing that such qualities have more to do with the piano’s elegant horizontal orientation. We also debated on whether the essence of a piano lay in its detail, like the unfettered space around the keyboard, or the depiction of the logo. In the course of our discussions we came to realize how we could bring the Piaggero concept to reality. After numerous detailed mockups, this is the Piaggero design that we adopted. In creating this design, we experimented with a variety of difficult construction techniques in order to simplify the Piaggero’s appearance.
The "essence" of the piano is an eternal theme for me, involved as I am in the creation of pianos. I believe that the response to this challenge varies from person to person, and likely continuously over time; a notion I will continue to pursue as I create pianos.

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