Siri Plays a Grand Piano With Some Help From AirPlay and Yamaha - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Siri Plays a Grand Piano With Some Help From AirPlay and Yamaha

by

grandpianoYamaha used some technological trickery to enable Siri to play a concerto on a Yamaha Disklavier Grand Piano.

By converting a MIDI songfile into an audio file that the iPhone can play and connecting the audio output of an Airport Express to the analog input of a MIDI-enabled Disklavier piano, the iPhone can "play" the MIDI file via AirPlay and control the multi-thousand dollar piano.

As explained to The Loop's Jim Dalrymple:

Then, you simply ask Siri to play your favorite song from your iTunes library, and Siri responds immediately, by making the Disklavier’s keys and pedal move up and down, recreating the performance, including full orchestration.

Top Rated Comments

kjs862 Avatar
kjs862
188 months ago
Cool an Apple Express!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
W
writingdevil
188 months ago
I would have given up my favorite bike, bat and swimming rights to have one of those so my Mom would hear music coming from our living room while I was out a window playing with my friends.

Now if only it would have worked for my weekly lesson with Miss Stanley, a true wicked witch, who would have wondered wtf i had been doing in my practice sessions at home.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
J
justit
188 months ago
Let's be clear here, it's playing a playlist to a device that has MIDI sheet music, *not* converting notes from an MP3 song to a harmonic piano scale. Don't be the idiot that throws out the stereo to make room for a disklaviar piano. :p
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jlgolson Avatar
jlgolson
188 months ago
I guess if you were in the market for a digital piano, this might make sense. But it's a lot cheaper and simpler to hook an iPhone up to a stereo and have Siri simply play digital audio tracks from your playlist. Now if Yamaha had a REAL piano hooked up to play MIDI via Siri, that would be something!
They did have a real piano play MIDI via Siri. It's not a digital piano.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
P
ProVideo
188 months ago
Stupid computer. He said Rhapsody in Blue, not the United Airlines theme.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
macaddict06
188 months ago
favorite part

Pedal down!!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

iOS 27 on iPhone 17 1

iOS 27 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday May 2, 2026 8:43 am PDT by
Apple is expected to unveil iOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8, and there are already many rumored features and changes for iPhones. The first developer beta of iOS 27 will likely be available immediately following the keynote, and a public beta typically follows in July. Following beta testing, the software update should be released to all users with a compatible iPhone in...
Read Full Article • 94 comments
Apple Event Logo

Apple Just Released a New Accessory

Monday May 4, 2026 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today released a new Pride Edition Sport Loop for the Apple Watch. The band features a rainbow design with 11 colors of woven nylon yarns. The new Pride Edition Sport Loop is available to order now on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 40mm, 42mm, and 46mm sizes, and it will be available at Apple Store locations starting later this week. In the U.S., the band costs $49. There...
Read Full Article
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

Why You Might Want to Wait to Buy a MacBook Pro

Friday May 1, 2026 3:43 pm PDT by
Apple refreshed the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max models in March 2026, but depending on your needs and interests, you might want to skip this generation because there's something better in the works. The M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models have faster chips, but the same design that Apple has used since 2021. An updated design with new display technology and faster ...
Read Full Article • 178 comments
Related Apple News: News | Sport | Iphone | Business | Opinion