I think it is possible to create a toy piano with actual strings rather than bars, as their is an instrument that's kind of like a toy harpsichord called the Ottavino, which was really a small Virginal. Although the Ottavino is a bit high pitched, I think it is a very effective as a toy instrument. And I think it may be possible to create an effective toy piano that is based on this instrument.
@@lordmelbury116 Except that the ottavino was made from the ground up as a serious instrument (in some cases to be used in tandem with an 8' pitch harpsichord).
@@lordmelbury116 I think the decision to not use strings is more out of practicality. Maintenance, tuning, etc. With pitched bars instead of strings it’s pretty much set for years of use with virtually no upkeep at all
As soon as I played one of these I wished they made a bigger version-at least 4 octaves with a better action. Not so much better that it puts it over $1,000. I’ve started writing pieces for this little thing. It’s worth it.
The sound is so delicate! I wonder if Mozart would have been able to compose a piece using this gem!! The sound is beautiful for a toy piano! I love it! Thank you!
I've heard the grand piano version, but i never realised how good of an Instrumentent it is, i would love to like have it ontop of my digital piano as kind of decoration and to just, have fun with it from time to time. Overall an amazing video as always james!
@@ThePianoforever Thats amazing, I wish I had one too, or the grand piano version but I would need to put it somewhere properly instead of just having it on a piano or a shelf
Oh man, I cannot believe you are reviewing this! I know you did the same thing as me and went down a little RUclips rabbit hole of toy pianos. You stumbled across the esoteric michelsonne’s and Kawaii little electric pianos and toy pianos. and somehow, you obtained this piano. I thought they sold them only in japan! Nice in depth review as always! Keep up the good work!
12:53 made me laugh out loud because I was going to make a fake snarky comment about what you didn't play nospoilerhere song ;) love the musicbox like sound. And thanks for opening it up! I was hoping you would.
Looking great love this very much. I own two Kawai Toy piano one upright in Black and one Grand toy piano in white. I am constantly looking for pieces or arrangements to play on these but had no luck. Then I discovered the kalimba and that's how most songs for kalimba can also play on toy piano very well.
I love it! I could listen to your test piece melody ALL DAY...how is this not turned into one of the greatest songs ever?? Such a great ballad when played slowly. The Fender Rhodes is still my favourite version!!! Thanks...stay safe ❤️
Nice!!! Noticed that JPS has smaller hands like mine, so comforting that small hands play such wonderful piano music, giving me a boost of confidence...
You do realize that by making this video you've become a living Schroeder from the Peanuts Characters? I found it both interesting and very surprising what I've learned about this product, though I have to admit I have a bias toward Kawai. Thank you.
That black line across the chimes holds them in place. there will be another one at the top, both at ¼ of the length from the ends. I love that this is in perfect tune. IMO it is a crime to give a child an "instrument" that is incapable of making music.
That is too cool! Leave it to Kawai to produce an almost professional quality instrument in a shoe box.😁 It actually does sound like a Celeste or Glockenspiel, and the action, although simple, definitely had a bit of engineering put into it, to get it to sound the 'chimes/notes' and not bounce repeatedly. I think it would be fun to recreate a full size version of this with like 5 or 6 octaves! Definitely worth it, and the super-light key pressure would be great for the little ones that this was designed for. The fact that it's exactly in tune is impressive! Thanks for the open shot of the inside. You don't see too many 'toys' these days that are actually 'serviceable'. Kudos to Kawai for making such a cool little instrument!😉🎵🎶👍
all I hear is Trolly, from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, lol! This was a fun one to see. I never heard of these, but I just had to look up the grand piano one on ebay! It's tempting just to have as functional decoration in the house, haha! Nice one, James!🐰❤️🎸🎵🤝✌️
This little piano sounds really good. I was given a toy piano when I was probably between 1 and 2 years old to keep me amused. It was a little grand piano, bright red and the legs kept falling off. I have no idea what make it was but was probably just a cheap kiddies' toy that sort of made plinky-plonky sounds. We also had a full size upright. I was about 3 when I started picking out tunes with one finger on the "big" piano. Over 60 years later, I am still playing piano and now have a digital grand which I love. How many of you started with a toy piano and still play?
Finally! A piano I can afford! They have a miniature grand piano also; I am curious as to how detailed it is. I actually thought the second to last piece was the most fitting musically for this musical toy besides dance of the sugar plum fairies of course! It would be nice if it had some sort of sustain/damper system like a vibraphone. Replacing the plastic hammers with piano-hammer felt or the rubber from glockenspiel hammers might be interesting.
It would make an interesting executive desk-top toy. I expected the inside to have strings like a full size piano; it's not exactly cheap. Great fun to watch.
I have an idea: The additional lower keys could have a damper pad sticking up from the pivot stopping the sound when the key is released. And I'm sure the tubes could be made of different materials to give them a lower pitch within the same space.
Thank you for introducing this! FYI, the company name Kawai (河合), one of Japanese family names, and Kawaii (可愛い) which is adjective and means cute sound similar, but different words. Though, definitely this piano is cute and Kawai made Kawaii piano is the truth! ♥️
I doubt you’ll ever see this James but I just wanted to say that you inspired me to get a piano a few months back and I’ve had some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time, I also want to thank you for making such great videos, you’ve inspired me and plenty of others, I hope to become as great as you some day, keep up the absolutely fantastic work.
I enjoyed that so much, it is now firmly on my purchase list. One of my primary instruments is tin whistle. for us, 2.5 octaves is a football field of notes to play with.
Great, I can finally fit a piano on my studio !!! :-D The mechanism is a very clever design, I am in for seing other instruments innards. I spend all day working on electronics so opening them is a must and I enjoy taking apart mechanical things also
Lol. Awesome! Saw the thumbnail and thought you gone "all the way" with this economy piano idea! It sounded pretty good! Maybe we'll see some pink Hello Kitty piano soon?! lol
I had a little child sized black ebony Kawaii digital piano that played about 10 songs but actually had decent sound. It sat on a waist high deco bar and everyone played it when I had parties while getting a drink or just passing by. My regular acoustic piano intimidated even marginally trained pianists but the little Kawaii was a favorite. I could always tell who had piano instruction according to what they played. Lots of early John Thompson pieces. Just bought updated Thompson books to teach my toddler granddaughters on a Yamaha PSS A50 that I will be sorry to give up in a week. It works great for some Bach (Jesu, Joy), Handel (Air from Water Music), Clarke trumpet pieces, Beethoven (Ode to Joy), Pachelbel(Cannon in D) and even some very modified pieces from Les Miserables. I understand your fascination. I think I’ll buy the little Yamaha PSS F30 for the 1 1/2 yr old. I considered a Schoenhut but this little upright might do the trick. Put it out in your studio and watch people with it. Thanks for a fun vlog.
Good point about the light action as a teaching tool for control for the extremely young student. At first I couldn't understand why it would need a light action for children, considering most kids will tend to bang away roughly by default.
I like that the keys don't make much noise. However I'm not much of a fan of the how tinny it sounds without much interacting harmonics. I do like that the piano sounds in-tune with itself.
I know the downfalls for this but i was sooo confused why Cateen can play flight of the bumblebee, rondo alla turca from start to finish in that small toy piano also. It has 2 and a half octaves too
It sounds like a music box. I think it sounds better than the Kawai toy grand piano P32. That one sounds thinner and too sharp, I think, not as resonant.
I have a grand version of it is cost 100$ but is worth it because of the quality not only making a kids love to play, an adult like me also play it cause is small cute and sound like a celesta and yeah you can play almost all the classical music you can think of in this mini keyboard.
Michelsonne toy pianos (which unfortunately you can only find used, the factory was destroyed by a fire in 1970) seem to have a more powerful and full sound. I would not swap my Michelsonne for this one.
The one I had as a child was indeed a more powerful toy than this and had a more complex tone, but this is the best one around now simply because it’s tuned. You can buy sample libraries of those Michelsonne toy pianos though and they are still cool IMO, but not the real thing.
Consider testing the Kawai toy baby Grand Piano too? 'Cause the upright one you can't buy on Amazon right now but the Grand. Morover I'm curious as how they configured the mechanics on the Grand too ...
That is amazing 🎹 I always enjoy your videos thanks for sharing this with me, but I was wondering about this tiny piano replica if you would put a thin material like felt but thin felt on the hammers side which hits the tubes - if maybe it would make the tone sound a little bit more deeper 🙄 Or would that be a not good idea? In any case I would love to hear You play The Nutcracker on a Piano all the way through that would be a fabulous video to have during this holidays. And also do you have any videos of you playing the organ by any chance that is my second choice of instrument the piano being first which I play by ear since I was 5 years old.
"not your average Schoenhut little thing you bought at Guitar Centre" -- Schoenhut, world famous for crafting toy pianos since 1872. Leading manufacturer of toy pianos worldwide. First company to use metal tone bars. I know Kawai is a great company, but c'mon - give Schoenhut their due respect, haha.
The range of the keyboard is the same as on a Mellotron M400. Anything played on that can be played as is on this (you just don't have sustaining sounds here). There is some Chick Corea stuff which could be done on this instrument as the KX5 keytar from Yamaha is just 5 keys more than this one (and the size is actually the same I think or perhaps these are even a fraction larger). Try Rumble or Got a Match? on this one. The latter one will be super smooth to do :)
Cute!!! I love it. Marvelous. Maybe you can buy it’s little brother piano also. What was it again? A mini grand or so. Forgot the name but I think you mentioned it. The tubes sound really nice. Not as the average toy pianos. I wonder. How big are the keys? Normal size or a little bit smaller? Love that you could show the inside of it. Thank you for sharing and playing this little cutie.
It's not a piano - it's a freaking itsy-bitsy tiny-teeny cutie CELESTA! :D
I was going to say keyboard glockenspiel.
I think it is possible to create a toy piano with actual strings rather than bars, as their is an instrument that's kind of like a toy harpsichord called the Ottavino, which was really a small Virginal. Although the Ottavino is a bit high pitched, I think it is a very effective as a toy instrument. And I think it may be possible to create an effective toy piano that is based on this instrument.
@@lordmelbury116 Except that the ottavino was made from the ground up as a serious instrument (in some cases to be used in tandem with an 8' pitch harpsichord).
@@lordmelbury116
I think the decision to not use strings is more out of practicality. Maintenance, tuning, etc. With pitched bars instead of strings it’s pretty much set for years of use with virtually no upkeep at all
It sounds like a music box, I was expecting to see solid bars inside. It was fun to see what really made the sound!
so thats how it felt for Rachmaninoff...
👐🏻
Now I need this piano for my kiddo
You again
why r u everywhere..
Congratulations. You are on my you again list.
Hi there
let’s be honest, it’s not for your kid, it’s for you innit?
As soon as I played one of these I wished they made a bigger version-at least 4 octaves with a better action. Not so much better that it puts it over $1,000. I’ve started writing pieces for this little thing. It’s worth it.
Maybe look into a Celesta or a Keyboard Glockenspiel
Where did you buy this?
www.ebay.com/itm/KAWAI-Upright-Piano-Natural-color-toy-can-play-the-keyboard-From-Japan/164395060614?epid=17040527870&hash=item2646b58d86:g:Yu8AAOSwK2VfaBga
Are the keys weighted?
The sound is so delicate! I wonder if Mozart would have been able to compose a piece using this gem!! The sound is beautiful for a toy piano! I love it! Thank you!
I've heard the grand piano version, but i never realised how good of an Instrumentent it is, i would love to like have it ontop of my digital piano as kind of decoration and to just, have fun with it from time to time. Overall an amazing video as always james!
I have this sitting on my shelf right now and play it every time I walk by :D
@@ThePianoforever Thats amazing, I wish I had one too, or the grand piano version but I would need to put it somewhere properly instead of just having it on a piano or a shelf
Oh man, I cannot believe you are reviewing this! I know you did the same thing as me and went down a little RUclips rabbit hole of toy pianos. You stumbled across the esoteric michelsonne’s and Kawaii little electric pianos and toy pianos. and somehow, you obtained this piano. I thought they sold them only in japan! Nice in depth review as always! Keep up the good work!
it sounds like a music box.
12:53 made me laugh out loud because I was going to make a fake snarky comment about what you didn't play nospoilerhere song ;) love the musicbox like sound. And thanks for opening it up! I was hoping you would.
I was lowkey hoping you would play Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
he did tho
16:23
21:55 here too
Yea somebody recognized your friends peice. Thats Koyoi mofumofu, the Opening of „The helpful fox Senko San“ Love it. Love this Piano.
That friend is a man of culture
I am said friend
Awesome!
11:06
Looking great love this very much. I own two Kawai Toy piano one upright in Black and one Grand toy piano in white. I am constantly looking for pieces or arrangements to play on these but had no luck.
Then I discovered the kalimba and that's how most songs for kalimba can also play on toy piano very well.
I love it!
I could listen to your test piece melody ALL DAY...how is this not turned into one of the greatest songs ever?? Such a great ballad when played slowly.
The Fender Rhodes is still my favourite version!!!
Thanks...stay safe ❤️
Nice!!! Noticed that JPS has smaller hands like mine, so comforting that small hands play such wonderful piano music, giving me a boost of confidence...
You do realize that by making this video you've become a living Schroeder from the Peanuts Characters? I found it both interesting and very surprising what I've learned about this product, though I have to admit I have a bias toward Kawai. Thank you.
Except the black keys on Schroeder's piano were just painted on. That never stopped him, though.
Schroeder's parents sprung for the baby grand version with the little candelabra.
James needs to get a bust of Beethoven’s head to place on top of it.
That’s exactly what I thought 😂 that’s partly why I want it the grand piano version though
@@johnopalko5223 I’m really interested in knowing how this came about? Is it from the comic strips or one of the motion pictures?
That black line across the chimes holds them in place. there will be another one at the top, both at ¼ of the length from the ends.
I love that this is in perfect tune. IMO it is a crime to give a child an "instrument" that is incapable of making music.
Beginning of Clair De Lune would sound great on this
You might be right. The lack of pedal probably would make it sound a bit dry but it would still be pretty.
That is too cool! Leave it to Kawai to produce an almost professional quality instrument in a shoe box.😁 It actually does sound like a Celeste or Glockenspiel, and the action, although simple, definitely had a bit of engineering put into it, to get it to sound the 'chimes/notes' and not bounce repeatedly. I think it would be fun to recreate a full size version of this with like 5 or 6 octaves! Definitely worth it, and the super-light key pressure would be great for the little ones that this was designed for. The fact that it's exactly in tune is impressive! Thanks for the open shot of the inside. You don't see too many 'toys' these days that are actually 'serviceable'. Kudos to Kawai for making such a cool little instrument!😉🎵🎶👍
It looks even more magical when you see the keys striking the tubes.
all I hear is Trolly, from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, lol! This was a fun one to see. I never heard of these, but I just had to look up the grand piano one on ebay! It's tempting just to have as functional decoration in the house, haha!
Nice one, James!🐰❤️🎸🎵🤝✌️
5:40
I’m gonna have nightmares about tiny pianos tonight
😂😂😂😂
I wonder how many of these are secretly purchased for the adults.
This little piano sounds really good. I was given a toy piano when I was probably between 1 and 2 years old to keep me amused. It was a little grand piano, bright red and the legs kept falling off. I have no idea what make it was but was probably just a cheap kiddies' toy that sort of made plinky-plonky sounds. We also had a full size upright. I was about 3 when I started picking out tunes with one finger on the "big" piano. Over 60 years later, I am still playing piano and now have a digital grand which I love. How many of you started with a toy piano and still play?
Watching this video is like watching that kid from Charlie Brown reviewing his own piano, great video buddy.
Finally! A piano I can afford! They have a miniature grand piano also; I am curious as to how detailed it is. I actually thought the second to last piece was the most fitting musically for this musical toy besides dance of the sugar plum fairies of course! It would be nice if it had some sort of sustain/damper system like a vibraphone. Replacing the plastic hammers with piano-hammer felt or the rubber from glockenspiel hammers might be interesting.
anything on this sounds christmas-sy ngl
and I really love it
fact that u review this like a normal piano is awsome . thanks man
It would make an interesting executive desk-top toy.
I expected the inside to have strings like a full size piano; it's not exactly cheap.
Great fun to watch.
I’m really surprised you didn’t play Tchaikovsky’s March of the toy soldiers. I really want of these toy pianos. I’ve been looking at them for years.
I am a toy piano player and even though the common recommendation is to get a Schoenhut, I still think the intonation is best on a Kawai.
A fairy just showed up and started to ballet as I listened to this piano.
man, you honestly gotta love this guys enthusiasm, its so awesome
Sounds like a kalimba. Pretty beautiful sound.
16:20 Sugar Plumb Fairy - sound awesome on it 21:52
I love the sound of this mini piano, it sounds like a music box!!!!
"Even a mouse could walk across it and press down the keys." I would just die of cuteness if I saw that. 😍🐀🎹
I have an idea: The additional lower keys could have a damper pad sticking up from the pivot stopping the sound when the key is released. And I'm sure the tubes could be made of different materials to give them a lower pitch within the same space.
Sounds lovely and must make a great ornament for the home.
Wow! I wasn't expecting such a sweet tone!
Thank you for introducing this! FYI, the company name Kawai (河合), one of Japanese family names, and Kawaii (可愛い) which is adjective and means cute sound similar, but different words. Though, definitely this piano is cute and Kawai made Kawaii piano is the truth! ♥️
I doubt you’ll ever see this James but I just wanted to say that you inspired me to get a piano a few months back and I’ve had some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time, I also want to thank you for making such great videos, you’ve inspired me and plenty of others, I hope to become as great as you some day, keep up the absolutely fantastic work.
That is awesome!
@@ThePianoforever Yes it is and it’s all thanks to you! I look forward to seeing your next video
I seen vintage ones of these and they work like a mantle clock or grandfather clock would with chime rods
I enjoyed that so much, it is now firmly on my purchase list. One of my primary instruments is tin whistle. for us, 2.5 octaves is a football field of notes to play with.
Me: Mom I want a piano
Mom: but we already have one
The piano:
That's literally what my mom says
"why do you want a piano, we have that small one" :')
Great, I can finally fit a piano on my studio !!! :-D
The mechanism is a very clever design, I am in for seing other instruments innards. I spend all day working on electronics so opening them is a must and I enjoy taking apart mechanical things also
What is the model number, please?
Guess I found what I want for my birthday
Lol. Awesome! Saw the thumbnail and thought you gone "all the way" with this economy piano idea! It sounded pretty good! Maybe we'll see some pink Hello Kitty piano soon?! lol
Time to take a shot every time you say the word “cute”
A mini celeste! BEAUTIFUL and charming tone!
I hope you review the new Kawai ES920. Especially the action. Thanks. Great channel.
Done.
If this was laid out differently you could put it on the upper right side of a grand piano and reach up to play it as a short keyboard glockenspiel.
I had a little child sized black ebony Kawaii digital piano that played about 10 songs but actually had decent sound. It sat on a waist high deco bar and everyone played it when I had parties while getting a drink or just passing by. My regular acoustic piano intimidated even marginally trained pianists but the little Kawaii was a favorite. I could always tell who had piano instruction according to what they played. Lots of early John Thompson pieces. Just bought updated Thompson books to teach my toddler granddaughters on a Yamaha PSS A50 that I will be sorry to give up in a week. It works great for some Bach (Jesu, Joy), Handel (Air from Water Music), Clarke trumpet pieces, Beethoven (Ode to Joy), Pachelbel(Cannon in D) and even some very modified pieces from Les Miserables. I understand your fascination. I think I’ll buy the little Yamaha PSS F30 for the 1 1/2 yr old. I considered a Schoenhut but this little upright might do the trick. Put it out in your studio and watch people with it. Thanks for a fun vlog.
Maybe if we tie something heavy to the hammers, then the keys wont be so light anymore.
So pretty sounds! I love it and want it.
Hey, that was a lot of fun, James. Enjoyed
Good point about the light action as a teaching tool for control for the extremely young student. At first I couldn't understand why it would need a light action for children, considering most kids will tend to bang away roughly by default.
I like that the keys don't make much noise. However I'm not much of a fan of the how tinny it sounds without much interacting harmonics. I do like that the piano sounds in-tune with itself.
Thanks reviewing even the toys we're curious about!
For the 2 year old prodigy. Although, the keys are too big for true toddlers.
I know the downfalls for this but i was sooo confused why Cateen can play flight of the bumblebee, rondo alla turca from start to finish in that small toy piano also. It has 2 and a half octaves too
Always fun to see the mechanisms that make these things work
You really know what we like James! :)
Yes, we LOVE that you opened it!
Cool.
a Christmas medley on that would be delightful
Great fun. I was grinning throughout this. Sounded great too.
We are all waiting for the PSS-A50 review.
It sounds like a music box. I think it sounds better than the Kawai toy grand piano P32. That one sounds thinner and too sharp, I think, not as resonant.
I have a grand version of it is cost 100$ but is worth it because of the quality not only making a kids love to play, an adult like me also play it cause is small cute and sound like a celesta and yeah you can play almost all the classical music you can think of in this mini keyboard.
ガワイのトイピアノ…かわいい。
So beautiful sounding and beautiful looking. I want one!!! Thank you for the review. I super loved it! Wow!
Loved the disassembly. What would happen if you added some weight to the hammers? Thinking lead fishing sinkers.
Actually a brilliant mechanism.
11:09 OP song for Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san.
Thats the sound I hear on the phone when the bank holds my call
Simply amazing! Great job making this toy sing
Michelsonne toy pianos (which unfortunately you can only find used, the factory was destroyed by a fire in 1970) seem to have a more powerful and full sound. I would not swap my Michelsonne for this one.
The one I had as a child was indeed a more powerful toy than this and had a more complex tone, but this is the best one around now simply because it’s tuned. You can buy sample libraries of those Michelsonne toy pianos though and they are still cool IMO, but not the real thing.
Okay, now you really have to review Korg's tiny piano.
The Korg is electronic but sounds and feels more like a real piano. It has inbuilt tunes as well.
ah man, missed opportunity for the celesta part to Hedwig's Theme from Harry Potter
Sound more like a music box than a piano.
Schroeder from "Peanuts" had a piano like that and he made pretty good music.
That was beautiful. Music even on a toy.
Hey, love your channel, great work! Speaking of Kawai, do you think you'll review the new Kawai ES520 and 920?
Love from France,
Valentin
Sugar Plum Fairy sounds really good.
You can say that it's quite Kawai.
VERY Adorable and Cute James,
You have just played a music box
❤😂✌👍👍👍
definitely I'm getting one for myself
That tune would be an ideal ringtone
Not gonna lie when you played The Nutcracker, it sounded like a celesta.
Grandchild’s first piano
It would be fun to see what is in a vintage Jamar. I also wonder if the black little Kawai has the same build or if they “cheat with crappier wood?
Consider testing the Kawai toy baby Grand Piano too? 'Cause the upright one you can't buy on Amazon right now but the Grand. Morover I'm curious as how they configured the mechanics on the Grand too ...
That is amazing 🎹 I always enjoy your videos thanks for sharing this with me, but I was wondering about this tiny piano replica if you would put a thin material like felt but thin felt on the hammers side which hits the tubes - if maybe it would make the tone sound a little bit more deeper 🙄 Or would that be a not good idea?
In any case I would love to hear You play The Nutcracker on a Piano all the way through that would be a fabulous video to have during this holidays. And also do you have any videos of you playing the organ by any chance that is my second choice of instrument the piano being first which I play by ear since I was 5 years old.
"not your average Schoenhut little thing you bought at Guitar Centre" -- Schoenhut, world famous for crafting toy pianos since 1872. Leading manufacturer of toy pianos worldwide. First company to use metal tone bars. I know Kawai is a great company, but c'mon - give Schoenhut their due respect, haha.
I have a Schoenhut in the studio and will review it soon!
The range of the keyboard is the same as on a Mellotron M400. Anything played on that can be played as is on this (you just don't have sustaining sounds here). There is some Chick Corea stuff which could be done on this instrument as the KX5 keytar from Yamaha is just 5 keys more than this one (and the size is actually the same I think or perhaps these are even a fraction larger). Try Rumble or Got a Match? on this one. The latter one will be super smooth to do :)
Cute!!! I love it. Marvelous. Maybe you can buy it’s little brother piano also. What was it again? A mini grand or so. Forgot the name but I think you mentioned it. The tubes sound really nice. Not as the average toy pianos. I wonder. How big are the keys? Normal size or a little bit smaller? Love that you could show the inside of it. Thank you for sharing and playing this little cutie.
It would be awesome if you reviewed that really small piano by Kawai. I think it is Kawais smallest piano.
Delightful sound.
This is soooo cute!!