Today at Yamaha's line show in NYC, pianos took centre stage. Yamaha, one of the world's biggest piano makers, has been innovating on the design for years. The current crop of radical, digital shifts forward:

• Disklavier 2.0 - $10,000 to $80,000 - Grand piano's brand new software receives streams of digital player-piano songs over the internet, for geniune live piano via net radio. Its PDA remote control operates over Wi-Fi, so you can adjust the mood from the dining room table.
• EZ-200 Keyboard - $150 - Learning keyboard for kids. Like many, it has light up keys to show you where to put your fingers. But this one will wait for you: it eases the tempo of the song down automatically to match your playing.
• Modus H01 - $12,500 - Sexy "velvet rouge" reimagining of the traditional piano. It's electronic, but with a natural feel. It contains a 40-watt sound system, and also comes in "amber glow" and "deep brunette."
• Clavinova CVP400 - $TBA - Do-it-yourself Barry Manilow workstation: sing into the mic while you play, and it automatically mixes voice and piano into a WAV that you can save on USB thumbdrive.

With reporting by Jennifer Hooker

Tags: instruments | pianos | yamaha