LSI Industries on Elton John's Million Dollar Piano

Million Dollar Piano"> Elton John's new show opened at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in late September. A key aspect of the production is what is said to be the first-ever visual/audio interactive musical instrument -- otherwise known as the million dollar piano. It is the production a collaboration between Yamaha Entertainment, Elton John Productions and LSI Industries; the piano being developed by Yamaha and the LED technology by LSI Saco (LSI Industries' technology arm in Montreal, Canada).

The concept was to have the piano express itself not only by sound but also by images, which can be changed easily to suit the star. This is accomplished using a high-definition LED canvas designed and manufactured by LSI Saco,. The piano skin is transparent, with a 3mm high-density, high-resolution LED video screen canvas custom designed for this project. The materials that comprise the skin were carefully selected and tested with the LED canvas; thus, when the LED screen is off or displaying "black," the skin appears to be rich Yamaha wood. The piano LED canvas has the ability to generate interactive content, directly interfacing with the Yamaha MIDI components within the piano; imagery changes in real time, visually expressing the music. In addition, the piano's legs are transparent custom shaped acrylic prisms , allowing the instrument to appear to "float" when desired, and to deflect light in other instances. Polygons are used to express the piano's silhouette.