What we'll be doing at this month's MMA Annual Conference

For many music education professionals, a big highlight of the year is the MMA - the National Association of Music Teaching Professionals - Annual Conference. This year's 3-day event will be taking place at Somerset's Wells Cathedral School from Friday 19 May until Sunday 21 May. Along with notable guests including David Lammy MP and the musician and comedian Vikki Stone, we at Coach House Pianos will be in attendance. We'll be taking some exciting pianos with us...

More details about the MMA Conference

The MMA Conference is respected by many of the UK's music teachers, who can always look forward to a varied schedule of key speakers, making contacts, nurturing ideas, and more. Music administrators, instrumental teachers, and department heads can all benefit, while the event also includes meals, refreshments, and a black tie dinner.

We will be part of the conference trade fair at Wells Cathedral School, an MMA member school. As a UK-wide supplier offering a broad range of pianos for the education sector, we are delighted to report that we will have a stand at the conference. This stand will include several products for attendees to see and try out. Those products are special education-specific piano stools; a new Bösendorfer piano; and a new Yamaha TransAcoustic piano.

Amazing merits of the Yamaha TransAcoustic piano

We are especially excited that we will be displaying the Yamaha TransAcoustic piano - a "new breed of piano". Put simply, this piano combines, in an innovative fashion, benefits of an acoustic piano and a digital piano.

In more sophisticated terms, this piano is, while fully strung and resonant, capable of delivering any sound through the soundboard, which acts as a "loudspeaker". This results in sounds that reach a startling level of realism and are untouched by any other instrument. The soundboard's vibration also transmits to the piano strings, which then naturally resonate like those of an acoustic piano. As the strings are not directly struck, the sound can be especially effective in small venues.

If you are set to attend the MMA Conference, you will have the opportunity to sit down at this TransAcoustic piano and sample its distinctively layered sounds for yourself. You can also learn how you could order one from the stock here at Coach House Pianos.

Some great software to go with that hardware

Yamaha, in partnership with Steinberg, will have a stand beside ours at the MMA Conference - offering the company's feature-rich music-making software. This software can effectively complement a TransAcoustic piano and includes HALion 6, among the features of which are next-generation wavetable synthesis, awesome new instruments, and easy-to-use live-sampling tools. HALion Sonic 3 has an excellent library of over 3,200 instrument samples.

Steinberg also offers Cubase 9, which unites impressive new plug-ins, streamlined workflows, and fresh and innovative features to great effect. The new additions in Cubase 9 help to vindicate the software's claim to be the most complete available DAW. Those additions include the Lower Zone, allowing the MixConsole and editors to be directly accessed without the user needing to leave the Project window. Perfect integration of the Sampler Track furthers the creative potential, while mixes can be further enhanced with EQ, a frequency of surgical precision.

The convenient location of Steinberg's stand will make it easy for you to attend after testing the TransAcoustic piano at our own stand. When you are careful with your choices of both hardware and software, you can bring together a set of powerful tools that work together seamlessly.