The World’s First Circular Keyboard Puts The Old Straight 88 To Shame

Although the piano wasn’t born this way, Lady Gaga’s lead keyboardist, Brockett Parsons had to have something just as unconventional as the shows he was performing in. With a team of “mad scientists” his vision of a circular keyboard that surrounds him was made a reality. The team consisted of Chuck Johnson- point man who gathered the team, Dave Starkey- the electronic man of QRS Systems, and Richard Fell- the piano pro who made it real. His round keyboard, which he lovingly nicknamed the “Brockettship” made it’s debut in Seoul, South Korea for Lady Gaga’s Born This Way 2012-2013 tour. With a mission to “re-imagine the world of keyboard performance and deliver ground breaking, performance grade keyboard creations” the PianoArc was born.

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Rather than the traditional 88 keys, the PianoArc consists of 3 full keyboards, totaling 294 keys. If you look closely you can see the separate boards that come apart to make the instrument transportable. The height and tilt can be adjusted as well. See this masterpiece in action in the videos below. For more information on the PianoArc, including a quote for your own, check out their website.