Piano Music

Recording 100 makes 30 recordings since the series relaunched in April.

Like the others, it’s a full overhead take on the acoustic piano with Piano VFX, mastered in 4K at 60 frames per second, and the audio edition is cut from that same master. Parts for the first version 5 LED bar test are still on the way.

Recording 99 is part of a push to record ahead, so there’s enough material scheduled to run through the end of November, including two weeks of work travel.

It’s the full overhead take on the acoustic piano with Piano VFX, mastered in 4K at 60 frames per second. The audio edition is cut from that same master.

Recording 98 was played on version 4 of the LED bar, printed in transparent filament. It is brighter than the black bar, but the light spills onto neighboring keys, so the black bar is back in use until the per-key version 5 design is built. That design needs a custom circuit board, which puts a prototype at least a month out.

As usual, this is the complete overhead performance on the acoustic piano with Piano VFX, delivered in 4K at 60 frames per second. The audio edition uses the same finished master and skips the short title card at the start.

Once enough episodes are scheduled to cover the weeks through mid-November, recording shifts to the album Hallowed Be Your Name.

Recording 97 is the first one since version 3 of the LED bar was finished. Version 4 is being printed in transparent filament for comparison, and a version 5 design with one focused LED per key is in early testing.

The edit is the full overhead performance on the acoustic piano with Piano VFX, delivered at 3840×2160 and 60 frames per second. The audio edition comes from the same finished master, minus the opening title card.

Live streams will probably pause for the first two weeks of November because of work travel.

Recording 96 was finished during a week with no live streams. The streaming schedule is now seven weeks on and one week off, plus any week with work travel, and the next break falls the week of November 9th.

The edit is the full overhead performance on the acoustic piano with Piano VFX, delivered at 3840×2160 and 60 frames per second. The audio edition is cut from that same finished master and leaves out the opening title card.

Version 3 of the LED bar is still in progress and is on track for Recording 97.

Recording 95 is the first one made with version 2 of the LED bar over the keys. The bar puts more focused light on the hands, which helps on camera, but too much of it reflects off the keys. Version 3 is in progress with the bar angled at 45 degrees so the light falls onto the keys instead of across them.

The video keeps the overhead view of the acoustic piano with the Piano VFX treatment, mastered at 4K and 60 frames per second. The podcast audio is prepared from the finished source, without the video’s opening title card.

Editing is running ahead of schedule on purpose, to clear at least two weeks for album work next month.

I finished Recording 94 at the beginning of the week to make more room for album work. The video keeps the overhead view of the acoustic piano and the current Piano VFX treatment, with a 4K, 60-frame-per-second master.

The physical LED bar is still a separate project. This week’s test fits focused on how the boards sit in their printed holders, the clearance around the piano keys, and where the light falls. I’m aiming to have the final version ready for Recording 95, after some live camera tests.

For this recording, the complete edited performance stays intact. The podcast audio is prepared separately from the finished source, without the video’s opening title card.

Recording 93 is a 4K/60 Disklavier set with Piano VFX over the real overhead piano. The source mornings were June 19 and June 22.

Recording 92 is the first weekly episode being prepared for 4K video delivery. The overhead piano footage and Piano VFX composite remain part of the finished Final Cut Pro master, now exported at 3840 × 2160 and 60 frames per second.

A new lens on the Canon provides the framing for the 4K setup, while an OBSBOT video conferencing camera adds another angle. Lighting adjustments continue around the MIDI-reactive LED strip. The latest printed parts for its replacement are finished, with assembly planned for the coming week.

After a lot of measuring, test prints, and revisions, the LED rail now has printed mounts and bar sections that work. That replaces the temporary metal ends.

The next step is cartridge spacing. Each short section has to aim its LEDs at the correct piano keys, and a few millimeters is enough to show up from the overhead camera. I am tuning one section at a time before committing to the full keyboard.

I got a 3D printer so I can replace the angle-iron ends with printed mounts that sit in the fallboard supports. The metal worked, but I never liked that hardware that close to the piano, even with felt tape.

I also added a second LED strip. Fitting and reprinting took longer than I expected. The bar was out of commission for the first two morning streams. When it is on, it adds a really cool dynamic while I play.

First working LED rail. Removable aluminum bar in the existing fallboard supports — nothing glued to the finish or the keys. A Raspberry Pi reads the MIDI and drives per-key lights so the overhead camera can show more of the shape in the playing.

First version, not the last. Next up: printed clips and baffles, and a cleaner power path for a second strip.

I spent this episode fighting Piano VFX drift. One MIDI timing issue is fixed, but a longer render still walks off the keys. The reliable fix is splitting the VFX layer by song in Final Cut and using Retime on each section. That adds another two or three hours.

New effects this week, less flame, more around the notes. After Disklavier listen tests I also limited release-velocity edits to tight repeated notes with the pedal down. The rest of the performance stays untouched.

Seven pieces from May 28 through June 2. New camera: much closer to true overhead, more keyboard in the frame, the inside of the Yamaha C7 visible.

I had to pull the keyboard cover. The front lip hid the key tops from that angle, especially with falling notes. Only my hands are in the shot now.

Seven pieces from May 25–28. First episode with Piano VFX all the way into the finished video: real overhead piano underneath, falling notes composited in Final Cut so they follow what I actually played. Dark background, keyboard mask, and edges took some work.

I also moved the production desk off a single-vendor app so I can switch models without rebuilding the workflow.

Six pieces from May 21 and May 25. I took 56 of my own past edits and had the production model try the first timing pass instead of Smart Tempo. Through the middle of a song it now matches my hand edits almost note for note.

It still misses the big feel changes, so it’s on the shelf. It keeps learning from the episodes I still edit myself.

Five pieces from May 19–20. I recorded this back-to-back with the previous episode in one sitting so two weeks would already be in the queue.

Five pieces from May 15–19. Recorded as part of working ahead. No new camera or MIDI change this week.

Six pieces from May 13–18. A quieter production week. Same compile: morning streams cleaned up into one listen.

Six pieces from May 11–13. The change you can hear is the sustain pedal. When timing gets stretched, the tiny gap where the pedal lifts can collapse and the next chord lands dry.

That cleanup is automatic now. Nearly four hundred late lifts on this episode, with the deliberate pauses left alone.