In today's world, musical instruments such as digital pianos need to sound great and look great. After all, instruments are generally destined to be used in our homes, our living rooms – places where we want to feel comfortable all the time.

As designers of these musical instruments, we are faced with the challenge of creating a perfect combination of the classic style of a piano with modern digital music technologies.

Our PRIVIA series of musical instruments achieve this particularly well. This is a hugely popular product family from the compact digital piano range launched by CASIO. We have created a sleek and modern design to the body that incorporates modern concepts of interior design and yet still reflects the roots of the classic ideal.

Mr Kuramochi
Works at the CASIO Design Center in Tokyo

What makes a musical instrument a good instrument? How much should it cost? How can we improve our musical instruments? How can we take a step closer to the acoustic version? Which sound nuances can be improved and changed further?

Just as with acoustic musical instruments, the path to designing and developing the finished digital keyboard/instrument is one that comes with a great many questions. This is particularly true in the development of digital pianos such as the CELVIANO Grand Hybrid series, which intentionally imitates concert pianos. The enthusiasm and passion for searching for and finding the little details, continuously questioning our developments at CASIO is what fascinates and motivates me each and every day.

This is because sound itself is also constantly changing and developing; so we can't sit back and rest, but have to repeatedly ask ourselves: Where and how can we still improve?

Mr Naoaki Ito
Sound Engineer for CASIO Digital Pianos

The keyboard on a musical instrument is not merely a collection of black and white keys. No, it represents nothing less than the physical connection between the pianist and sound itself. At first glance, it would seem that my work at CASIO is only about the mechanisms and has nothing to do with sound itself.

But this mechanism is essential to ensure the quality of the whole instrument! If I do a poor job, not even the world's most talented pianists will be able to enjoy the sound of their musical performances. A keyboard with no thought to the mechanism does not allow sound to be produced as the pianist would want. However, if I succeed and do a good job, people can enjoy and savour the wonderful sound, which is the result of the fantastic achievement of my colleagues.

When sounds unfolds in all its fine details and nuances, when musicians can control each tiny change in timbre using their highly trained playing skills, when I can see that smile on their faces as they forget they are playing a digital instrument, then I know: I've done my job, and I've done it well!

Mr Hirokazu Taniguchi
Developer and person behind CASIO's keyboard mechanism

We build digital musical instruments. Even after being active in this field for 40 years, we are still in the early stages of learning and study compared to classic acoustic instruments, which generally have had centuries of development. So, I have this childlike glee of being like an explorer in a new world.

I'm sure that, in another 40 years, there will be new instruments and features that musicians around the world will take for granted and consider to be essential for the development of new music. That's why today's researchers and developers, just like those of us here at CASIO, have to develop these features and bring them to musicians the world over.

This thought alone motivates me and strengthens my resolve to play my role in developing new digital musical instruments. Even after all these years, my passion for my job remains as undiminished as on my first day.

Mr Jin Tomita
Responsible for Product Planning at the Research & Development Center

The developments in digital technologies represent an enormous change and have a huge bearing on the music industry. Both the rise in filesharing and the mp3 format and the resulting slump in record sales represent a turning point in the music industry. Accessories and instruments for music production are becoming ever more affordable for a wider user group.

While record labels are faced with new challenges due to the new situation, the impact of digitalisation on music producers, composers etc. is huge, especially for the younger generation. Together with computers and software, digital musical instruments are superseding traditional and very expensive production studios, which, only 20 years ago, were only open to serious producers.

At CASIO Music, it goes without saying that our aim is to make instruments that meet those new requirements: easy to connect to PCs or Mac notebooks combined with a variety of MIDI functions! Get the best sound with comprehensive options for adapting to your own preferences!

And, at CASIO, we are constantly setting new standards in the field of digital music, such as our High Resolution Velocity (AiR Technology), which is approved by the MIDI Manufacturers Association. This technology provides 16,256 steps instead of 127 for the dynamic range of a tone, enabling a new kind of authenticity for all digital MIDI instruments.

Mr Makoto Danjo
Responsible for new Product Categories and Designs