The acoustic piano has been the same for hundreds of years but unfortunately, you can’t see how it works, its sound is indirect, and you don’t fully see the player’s face. Ravenchord is a completely reimagined “front projection upright piano”. All internal working elements are exposed, so you can see exactly how the sound is being created. By revealing and celebrating how it works, the musical experience is deeply enriched as form, function and music become one. The player is revealed too since they now face the audience.

The strings are arranged on a spiral-shaped steel frame, ranging from short vertical treble strings to long horizontal bass strings. The hammers, which strike each string, and the dampers which quiet them are on the center spine and activated by solenoids. Each are lit so you can watch them hit the strings as a piece is played. The strings sit on a red bridge, which transfers vibration to the large back soundboard. The front cover can be removed for tuning access.

Ravenchord instantly changes your perception of a piano, turning it into something strangely evocative and utterly dynamic. It is a product of the Whipsaw Design Lab (WDL) and the brainchild of our founder/CEO Dan Harden, a music lover, who conceived of it while dreaming of instrument design.