Craig Knudsen

Top Innovator of Music Software and Technology

Few keyboardists can claim to be a one-time featured attraction on the Universal Studios tour in Hollywood, CA, an imaginative creator of software for high-tech musical instruments, and the subject of a case study at Harvard Business School. But not many keyboardists have a resume that reads like that of Craig Knudsen.

For the past 23 years, Knudsen has consulted on the design of new Yamaha instruments and lesson programs. Knudsen co-created the Clavinova Connection along with renowned neuroimmunologist Barry Bittman and Recreational Music-Making founder Karl Bruhn. He has created software that, when used with such instruments as the Disklavier reproducing piano and Clavinova digital pianos, makes playing and enjoying a musical instrument much more accessible to the average person.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Ask Craig, he made his Carnegie Hall debut in March, 1992!

Don’t Sweat the Tech!

Come learn how technology can improve your educational environment without bogging you down. You don’t have to be a technological genius. Craig will take the “tech” out of technology. You’ll be left with “nology”, which isn’t intimidating at all! See a fun demonstration of how “apps” are changing the educational landscape.

There will be something for everyone so please do not miss this opportunity.

Digital pianos now account for over 1/3 of new and used piano sales nationwide. At Pianos Plus we take this seriously. We stock the finest digitals the industry has to offer.

1. Never needs tuning, maintenance free.

2. Students and professionals can practice with headphones.

3. Easy interfacing to computers for teaching software etc.

4. Fun…! Learning to play the piano should be fun!!

Digital piano pricing is now affordable and the entry level models meet or exceed requirements set by teachers and professionals musicians.

We offer digital pianos manufactured by:

Yamaha and Kurzweil

pianosplus.com

Whether you aspire to be the next guest star on Glee, the next winner of American Idol, or simply the lead in your high school musical, you want trusted techniques and general wisdom to boost your singing ability. Obviously, many things can (and should) be tried, including:

• Working with a voice teacher;
• Improving your general musicianship;
• Reading or studying about how singers can improve;
• Practicing (correctly!);
• Just getting out there and doing it – whether that means singing in the shower or hopping on stage at your local community theater.

Can learning to play an instrument help your singing skills?

The short answer is that it certainly can, in a variety of ways. Here are just a few:

1. Learning to play the piano (or other instrument) will improve your musical knowledge and understanding of music theory.

Professional singers often refer to their voices as “instruments.” There are specific skills and knowledge you need to sing well. You can acquire this general knowledge about musicianship by playing an instrument – knowledge of scales and rhythmic notation, for instance.

2. Playing an instrument will build your passion for music.

Aside from the knowledge and skills that you’ll acquire from learning (and, ideally, mastering) an instrument, you’ll also be able to appreciate music on a deeper, subtler slevel. This can act as a motivator to help you improve your singing skills and connect you with other people who similarly love music.

3. Learning an instrument can help you profoundly if you want to record, practice, play in bands, etc.

Would Tori Amos have been “Tori Amos” had she not learned to play the piano? How about Billy Joel? How far would he have gone? It’s not that you can’t be a great singer if you never master an instrument (other than your voice, that is). But learning an instrument gives you a huge advantage.

Most singers find that the best instrument to accompany their vocal journey is the piano. If you live in the Bay Area, we invite you to connect with the experienced, knowledgeable team here at Pianos Plus. For four decades, our team has been helping aspiring singers and musicians like you get the best equipment and lessons on earth. Find out more at http://www.pianosplus.com/piano-lessons-bay-area, or call 510-581-1660.

Image source: source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/estamm/4081663028/

Yamaha’s grand pianos are famous for their quality, craftsmanship, aesthetic beauty, and wonderful, melodious sounds. The Conservatory Collection is the soul of Yamaha’s grand piano business. These pianos offer substantial expressive control, dynamism, and classic tonal quality.

The Advantages of Fine Yamaha Craftsmanship

It’s not just that the Conservatory Collection features advanced scale design, balanced action, top end hammer shanks, a resin sheet foundation, and state-of-the-art humidity control, such as the humid-A-Seal pin block. Sure, these features are all essential ingredients – core components and engineering to create with sound. But as with any beautiful works of art, the Yamaha Conservatory Collection grands are greater than sum of their parts.

Whether you’re a composer writing a new sonata series; a serious student; or a recording artist crafting a studio album, you can enjoy a wealth of acoustic possibilities, such as:

Better tonal and dynamic response, courtesy better engineered hammer shanks; Precise, clarion tones thanks to sharper strike point alignment; Wonderful resonance and strength of sound thanks to optimized rim specification; Melodious, precisely pitched bass thanks to specially engineered copper wound strings.

Is a Yamaha grand the right choice for you?

The team here at Pianos Plus has been serving the Bay Area community for over 40 years. Our expertise in Yamaha pianos and products is unsurpassed in the region. Stop by and see us in Castro Valley, or call to get your piano questions answered by a friendly, knowledgeable associate: 510-581-1660.

A Piano can be a wonderful investment, providing years, if not decades, of beautiful music, brain development, and other aesthetic pleasures. But if you don’t take good care of your piano, the instrument will lose its delicacy and optimal sound, and may even pose a safety hazard. To get the best use out of your Yamaha piano, consider these simple tips:

1. Placement matters!

Put your piano next to windows or sources of heat or moisture, and you could damage the instrument and warp its sound. Direct sunlight, rapid temperature changes, and rapid humidity/moisture changes all spell bad things for the instrument. You also need good ventilation. Situate the piano to maximize the acoustic quality. Your acoustics will obviously depend not just on where your put the piano, but also how else your room is laid out, whether you have carpets or hardwood floors, furniture or no furniture, etc.

2. Keep it Clean!

• When you put plates, glasses of water or wine, or even books or scores on top of the piano, you dampen the sound and can cause bad tone or excessive vibrations.

• Certain products, like cosmetics, alcohol, vinyl, paint thinner, aerosols, etc., can seriously damage the piano.

• Avoid alcohol-containing solvents that may cause the keyboard to crack.

• If water drips into the piano, it can cause mold and corrosion, which in turn can damage the sound.

• Dust that accumulates on the hammers dampens and dulls the sound, so clean the dust at fairly regular intervals.

• Play the piano only after your hands are clean. So if you’ve just eaten a lot of sweets or a barbeque pork sandwich, wash your hands before tickling the ivory.

3. Get your piano serviced!

Just like you need to exercise regularly to keep in shape and prevent long-term health problems, so, too, must you “exercise” your piano by getting it professionally serviced. A professional can tune and adjust delicate aspects of the instrument and correct small pitch problems you might not catch (but which a more discerning audience might notice). It will also ensure that the piano’s action, pedals, and keyboard are all adjusted properly – whether you’re performing for your mom’s friends, or composing a major symphony, or recording the next great pop hit.

Used Pianos For Sale

Bay Area Yamaha Piano Dealer

Consider the latest Yamaha tech roll out: four amazing new apps for the iPhone or iPad to help musicians extract more beauty and resonance out of their instruments. Here they are:

1. NoteStar

Ever wanted to jam out with your favorite band? If so, this iPad app will deliver the goods in the form of easy to read sheet music that flows smoothly (no need to stop and scroll while you’re inthe middle of a song) – backed by real vocals and bands. You can get the download free at the App Store and purchase any song for just $3.99.

On Yamaha.com: http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments/keyboards/apps/notestar/?mode=model

2. Page Turner

Here’s another digital sheet music app for the iPad. You can wirelessly turn the pages of your music, if you own a Yamaha EZ-220 keyboard. The app is amazing – it’s essentially a mind reader. It knows when you need to turn the page. You don’t need any extra accessories or setup. Just download the app at the App Store, launch it, and start playing. The app also has an audio recorder so you can get instant feedback. It’s due out at end of May.

On iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/page-turner/id399359552?mt=8

3. Song Chords

This app for the iPhone (available in February 2012) is also a dynamo. It features a built-in chord dictionary, chord charts, music store, and lead sheet. You can practice, supplement a live performance, or use the chords to vamp for a missing band member.

4. Scale Tuner

Scale Tuner lets you tune your digital piano or Yamaha keyboard and more. Preset scales include pure temperament, Arabic, etc. The Scale Tuner is compatible with lots of Yamaha models, including CVP501, 503, 505, 509 and CGP1000.

On Yamaha.com: http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments/keyboards/apps/scale_tuner/?mode=model

Do you want more information about Yamaha keyboards, pianos, or other products? To make your playing, recording, and performance experience that much more stellar, connect with the most respected Yamaha piano dealer in the Bay Area: Pianos Plus.

We have been serving the East Bay Area for over four decades; our staff is hugely knowledgeable; and we offer amazing value and quality.

Call us at 510-581-1660, or learn more at www.pianosplus.com.

You love a good musical extravaganza. On the other hand, you also love to sing in the shower, indulge in a bit of a heavy metal and rap now and again, and blast some Top 40 radio in the car when no one is watching. You might also appreciate a more cultured aesthetic – you like artful jazz and classical music concertos, sonatas, symphonies, and rhapsodies from the great composers. You enjoy alternative rock, humming, whistling, country, and basically every other music in the musical rainbow (including, sometimes, blessed silence!).

But you have yet to join in on all the fun. It’s time to change all that.

Perhaps you diligently practice two or three hours a day. Perhaps you record or compose gorgeous music. In any event, you want to extract the maximum usefulness from the piano and protect it against damage and abuse.

One of the most insidious threats to pianos is excess moisture and humidity.

Consider how much effort you spend on protecting the piano against “brute force” hazards: how many times have you warned your five-year old “no playing in the piano room” out of fear that he will smash the keys with a toy or worse? Unfortunately, most owners do not spend enough time guarding against subtle but potentially lethal (for the piano, that is) threats like moisture.

Here are some tips:

• When it rains, or when it’s excessively humid, close the windows of the piano room.
• If the piano gets damp or spilled on, wipe the area clean and dry as quickly as possible.
• To protect the keys, close the top board when you finish practicing, recording or playing.
• Make use of the cloth cover to absorb moisture.
• Take extra precautions if your piano is especially “moisture vulnerable” – that is, if you live in a humid region, if you live by the coast, if you don’t have a good ventilation in your room, if the piano is in a concrete building, if there is poor drainage in your area, or if your piano room has a history of leaky roofs.
• Vigilance is also key. If you notice that piano smells strange (e.g. like mildew or rotting material), or if something “just seems off” about the quality of the tonality, act sooner than later to identify the problem and solve it.

If you catch water or moisture damage early enough, you may be able to protect, repair or salvage the instrument at a relatively minimal cost. If you wait for the problem to get “so bad that you just can’t take it anymore,” you might have to pay a pretty penny to restore the instrument, or you may even have to buy an entirely new piano.

For help with your piano care, maintenance, and buying needs, trust the experts at Pianos Plus.

We’re the Bay Area’s most respected authorized Yamaha piano dealer, and we’ve been serving clients like you for almost four decades. Find out more about how we can help you at www.pianosplus.com or give us a call now at 510-581-1660.

When you hear or see ‘Piano Sale’ does this mean that the only time to get the best price on a piano would be when this sale is in progress?

Not hardly!

Dont be fooled!  Piano sales events cost dealers tremendous amounts of money in promotional costs,  these costs are passed on to you, the consumer. These ‘fantastic deals’ offered for a short time have these cost in the special sale price of the piano.   In today’s retail marketing, there’s always a reason to sell because there is always the consumer looking for a reason to buy, this reason to buy is achieved throughdeceptive sales strategies designed to create a buying frenzy. These buying frenzies are with the promise of special short time prices never to be seen again.

At Pianos Plus we do not use these deceptive sales tactics,  we continue offering the lowest prices every-day on every piano and always with a guarantee that our selling price on new Yamaha pianos will belower than any competitor’s pricing during one of their highly publicized (and costly) piano sale events. Don’t be fooled by misleading special sale events.