Yamaha Design “Synapses” Venova™

2017 / CASUAL WIND INSTRUMENTS

GOOD DESIGN GRAND AWARD
JIDA Design Museum Selection
Design for Asia Awards
German Design Award

A unique instrument with a compact body and authentic sound.

Product site

Elegance

We sought to distill the essence of cylindrical acoustic wind instruments. Utilizing unique technology to connect right and left molds with precision, Venova™ achieves the stable performance and appearance as a wind instrument.

Revolutionary

Despite being a cylindrical wind instrument, the Venova™ exhibits the timbre and easy fingering of conical wind instruments due to the compact, simple branched-pipe structure of its cylindrical bore. The relationship between its sinuous form and its branching bore also appears in its logo.

Honest

A dignified elongated topside of the body, combined with a meandering underside. With a form that is like peeling the skin off a fruit to see its flesh, it has a structure that demands to be seen. By reducing the distance between tone holes to achieve a simplified structure, we have created a unique shape that is functional as a musical instrument.

Tactile

The difference in textures is impressive, having a lustrous surface across its entire body, and textured internal areas where the fingers do not touch. The parting lines are covered improving the finger-feel on the tone holes.

Inspiring

An instrument with a presence similar to that of a wind instrument and an exterior that lends it a casual air, and which allows players to enjoy authentic performance. The Venova allows people to begin playing with ease, then guides them to a broader worlds of musical expression as they gain proficiency.

Instantly-usable

Fingering similar to that of the familiar soprano recorder allows the Venova to be used with ease in a range of situations. It can be carried in a case over the shoulder outdoors, or played together with other friends—the possibilities for musical enjoyment are endless.

Keizo Tatsumi: Designer; Yamaha Design Laboratory

A Never-Before-Seen Design for an Acoustic Instrument.

Venova™ is our new line of wind instruments that feature simple fingering similar to a recorder, while offering expressive power like the saxophone. As indicated by its name—combining Ventus, Latin for wind, and Nova, Latin for new—this instrument was developed with the aim of providing a new way to enjoy wind instrument performance. This real acoustic instrument combines a compact, simple structure with authentic playability and was the product of repeated applied research based on virtual acoustic sound generation. Minuscule changes in shape influence pitch and performance characteristics. Acoustic instruments are a product of the diligent iteration of fine tuning through the process of simulation, observation, and performance.
Normally, the work involved in acoustic instruments is focused on graphics—labels or logos—because the instruments themselves are already mature in form, but this time, we created an extremely rare example of form molded directly from the parts that produce the sound. It was an extremely valuable experience due to the efforts involved in creating this instrument.
With this new wind instrument, we aimed for a design that captures the essence of a wind instrument, while also being innovative. Paying heed to the spirit of an acoustic wind instrument, we decided on a form based on the cylindrical shape that is symbolic of wind instruments, after verifying all of the possible forms, from cross-sections of pipes to the cover unit.
Venova™ has the potential to become widely popular as a way to enjoy wind instruments, whether during light jam sessions involving other instruments or in outdoor performances. We hope that it will become a favorite for many years to come and that it will find a place as a standard musical instrument.