Petit Piano Toy Piano

It's funny.. we have a whole bunch of pianos and various keyboards. But this little toy piano seems to capture every one's imagination a little when they walk in. Some have confessed that they couldn't believe a 'professional studio' would have such a thing so prominently displayed.. it sits right next to me, within arm's reach of my right hand.

And yet people can't resist touching it, and playing it. From there it's just a short leap to it being used.. sometimes as a novelty thing, but more often as a bonafide tone, doubling a hook, or creating a particular line and vibe.

I keep it right next to me for those moments when i need to work out what key a song is in, or find a particular note. It's small, and REALLY handy for this purpose, and doesn't take up much space near my listening position. And it seems the more i use it, or hit it, the more people smile and have a laugh about it, which often lightens up the mood and vibe.

It's really easy to record.. just mic up the back, or underneath if you can squeeze a mic under it. I've used it live a fair bit too, and it ALWAYS gets a reaction. Plus it's EASY to carry around.

Now.. where could you get something like this? Well.. a toy shop would be a good place to start!! Maybe not one of those big warehousey toy shops, but some of the smaller, more interesting places we all have in our neighbourhoods (plus it's good to support the little guy!) A couple of things though.. if they have a few, ask to listen to all of them. You'll find no two of these are the same. And of course, take your chromatic tuner with you (if you have an iPhone and are a studio dude you MUST have a chromatic tuner app.. they're cheap and amazingly good.) Don't just expect that the one that looks prettiest will be in A440 tuning. I looked at 2 different ones, and the white one here was a little more in tune and just rung out and sounded a little better. I paid about $120 (Australian dollars)

I used it on my good friend Jo Caseley's song 'Happy', and the awesome Russell Crawford used it in the video only for his new single "Overachiever". And here's a pic of Kate Martin using it on her new album.