Concert Hands, a new product for teaching music, hopes to assist musicians struggling to learn the piano by gently guiding fingers to the correct keys with a system of finger sleeves, pulses and software.  The rather cumbersome series of wires and wrist pilots will introduce music to those that learn best through direct muscle memory.
The system uses software that converts a song file into a key combination for the piano that a controller box then distributes to the wrist and finger pilots.  The repetitive motions stimulate muscle memory and apparently work well with anyone from 8 to 80 years old [...]

Culture site Flavorpill has always hung its hat on curation—culling cool urban to-dos and telling people about them. Last week, they relaunched their site with a new invite-only listings hub—the Flavorpill 50—that reinforces this tack and adds a new twist.

Darrell Fandrich is called a “micromaker” of pianos. He takes lower quality mass-produced pianos from China and upgrades them to high performance instruments. Fandrich uses European parts and his proprietary engineering system to upgrade an $10,000 assembly line grand piano to a fine instrument that fetches $16,000 and up. Like a computer hacker maxing out the capabilities of a cheap laptop, he’s adding a big dash of craftsmanship to a cookie cutter product, helping buyers to get a quality instrument without paying $60,000. Buyers are generally happy – the only question is will the hacks last?
The Seattle Times reports:
“People are [...]