It’s all very well loving classical music, but wouldn’t it be great if we could all get much more involved, by perhaps producing our own interpretations of famous works? And without having to know how to play a single note on a piano? Well now we can, and it’s awesome fun.
Touch Pianist lets you play the classic classical piano pieces on your computer keyboard, only this time all you’re doing is inputting the tempo. By tapping a key. Or two. That’s right, there’s no playing as such, you just tap the keyboard and out comes the Moonlight Sonata, or a Mozart Piano Sonata. It sounds weird, but it’s actually amazing.
What makes it work is the fact that you’re playing the famous ‘hits’, so you instinctively remember how it should sound, which means you can try and recreate it with your own flair. Do you prefer to give it a more laid back feel? Go for it. If however you want to pep it up a little, it’s your choice. It’s one of those silly little online apps which actually gets addictive after a few minutes. Try it and see.
There’s also an iOS app (no Android yet, boo!) for those who would like to carry it around. Fab!
Touch Pianist is one of the latest implementations of an idea that’s been around for a long time: technologically-assisted musical performance; here’s an historical overview on the subject: The Conductor Program — computer-mediated musical performance (http://www.musanim.com/tapper/).
Interesting.