As I was preparing for my recent trip to Sofia, Bulgaria, my voice teacher unintentionally reminded me how far technology has come for the traveling singer. He asked me if I was packing a small piano keyboard to use when I practice. When I explained that I didn’t own one, he kindly offered to loan me his for the week abroad.
I want to share some free or cheap alternatives to that little keyboard that are light on the wallet and on the carry-on bag.
Like many singers I travel with my laptop to stay in touch with friends and family through Skype, e-mail, and Facebook. Since many bars, cafés, and hotels in Europe offer free wireless Internet access to their customers, journeying with a laptop is a no-brainer. For shorter trips, I usually choose to leave the laptop behind in favor of my much lighter Palm Pilot. (I can manage to not go insane without Internet browsing for two to three days.)
If I’m going to pack my laptop or PDA (Personal Desktop Assistant, not Personal Display of Affection) anyway, then I might as well get more from it, including piano keyboard functionality. Here are some free or cheap software options to enable you to use your laptop, PDA, or iPhone as a piano.
Laptops
Electronic Piano 2.5
This software sets up your computer keyboard as a piano keyboard. Press Q and you hear F. Press 2 and you get F# and so forth. Of course you can also use your mouse. The default settings are perfect for the singer, but if you prefer to hear a harpsichord with a drum beat, be my guest. It costs absolutely nothing to download and use.
www.pianoeletronico.com.br/
index-en.html
v.m.k (virtual midikeyboard)
If you have a MacBook, try the completely free v.m.k. It’s similar to the PC application Electronic Piano above, but a bit simpler.
www.fredrikolofsson.com/pages/code-apps.html
Browser
Virtual Keyboard
Instead of downloading and installing software, why not use your Web browser instead? I’ve enjoyed using this uncommitted alternative when staying at a friend’s house, but I would be too nervous to rely on a hotel’s Internet access to dictate whether I can practice. For that reason, my preference remains with the software above. Nonetheless, this is a great and handy website.
www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/index.htm
PDA
Piano Sight Read for Palm Pilot
Not as easy to use as playing a laptop’s keys (or as attractive a sound), this Palm Pilot keyboard program is a more portable alternative. Who needs a tuning fork or pitch pipe when you have a PDA? Free to download and try, but requires a small fee to keep (current price: $12).
http://exideas.com/piano/
JB Piano for Palm PC
For those of you who use Palm PC instead of Palm Pilot, check out the totally free JB Piano. You can even save what you play.
http://freewareppc.com/multimedia/jbpiano.shtml
iPhone
iAno
iAno has been renamed “Pianist,” I’m guessing because “ano” in some latin-based languages means something—ahem—less than corporate. Nonetheless, search using the original name to see some YouTube videos that really show off how cool this application is (everyone thinks they’re a pianist). This iPhone piano keyboard software is visually above and beyond the other applications I have mentioned, and you can play complete chords instead of just one note at a time. It costs a small fee (currently $1.99) to download Pianist via iTunes.
Much more virtual piano software is available out there and new applications are coming out all the time for the portable devices you already own. Make them work harder for you.
