by Sebastiana Ierna
How many times has distance made it impossible to attend events or masterclasses led by renowned teachers? Today, in an increasingly technological and interconnected society, numerous educational projects are being developed thanks to the support of innovative systems: the Yamaha Corporation’s Disklavier is a significant example in this field. We spoke with Bolognese pianist Giuseppe Fausto Modugno, born in 1960, director of the “Vecchi-Tonelli” Conservatory in Modena, who was present at the last edition of Cremona Musica.
You participated in the roundtable discussion “The Future of Hybrid Piano Teaching with Disklavier Technology.” What feedback did you receive from this experience?
The meeting was organized with the support of my Conservatory, and I was joined by Roberto Prosseda, Christoph Sischka, Yon Seen Lee, and Elyane Laussade. Wang Qiu and Kuei Pin Yeo also participated remotely. By involving Yamaha, we created an international network of state and private institutions to explore the pedagogical, technological, and cultural aspects of hybrid piano teaching with Disklaviers. We also witnessed two examples of remote lessons, connecting via live streaming with two teachers in Perth (Australia) and Beijing. The outcome was exciting and constructive. One of my great dreams is to foster a global production network.
How can Yamaha’s innovative system facilitate teaching, and what resources are needed for an online lesson?
I believe that studying in a hybrid format allows for cost savings in travel while maintaining remarkable teaching quality: the instrument’s sound is audible with exceptional fidelity. If conservatories, academies, or other institutions made Disklaviers available, which cost about 30% more than a classical Yamaha acoustic piano, contacts would multiply and learning would strengthen each student’s musical language. At the Modena Conservatory, we have two, both grand. I am convinced that alternating in-person and remote lessons can further develop established relationships and improve the quality of the work done. The necessary equipment for an online meeting is a room with high-speed ADSL, the Disklavier piano connected to a mixer, headphones, and a microphone. This allows you to interact with highly prestigious artists even without traveling.
What are the upcoming projects involving this technology?
Relationships of mutual trust are fundamental to me, and this is allowing me to maintain excellent connections with Iceland, the United States, and Australia, the first country to leverage technology in education. With the EduNext project, which involves 35 Italian universities and conservatories, I plan to develop free online courses, open to all, using dedicated platforms, offering the possibility of distance learning with the Disklavier. I would also like to build a machine to decrypt Welte-Mignon automatic piano tapes: by inserting them into a USB stick in the piano, it would be possible to listen to them live. I have many other ideas, and with the support of industry professionals, I hope they can come to life and take shape, enabling us to achieve increasingly concrete goals!
