Review of the Tenori-On

The Tenori-on is a refreshingly innovative tool of musical personality. The Tenori-on, with its double-sided white LED grid and its sleek aluminum frame, is a stylish way of creating and presenting music. Media artist Toshio Iwai designed the instrument originally as a work of art which Yamaha is now manufacturing and selling as a “visible music” interface, a new medium of 21st century musical composition which will undoubtedly become popular with Djs and electronic artists.

For someone who has no audio tech or circuit bending experience, my time with the Tenori-on was more casual and frivolous than technical oriented. I was able to play with the Tenori-on for three weeks and this is what I discovered.

More Tenori-On Music

My first out of the box impression of the Tenori-on was its small size. I guess I expected this gadget, with so much hype and promise already built up, to be bigger. This quickly changed as I realized the great possibilities of such a portable musical tool and that it’s small size is crucial to it’s purpose. You see, the Tenori-on and it’s internal speakers can be powered with batteries, meaning that you can play it anywhere. This is one of it’s best features as I was able to play it while lounging on the couch, while hanging out in the greenhouse, and while having my coffee on Saturday morning at the Aztec. I could even express my musical desires using my car’s robust sound system using the Tenori-on’s headphone jack. The range of situations where the Tenori-on can be played are fantastic and, as I had hoped, it’s built to withstand the everyday hustle and bustle of transportation. I was surprised that it didn’t come with a travel pouch but those are easily made.

My favorite thing about the Tenori-on is it’s simplicity. The LED grid makes it very easy to see what’s going on. A person without any musical experience can easily predict how adding a new note will effect the overall sequence based on the position of the activated LED. There are six modes of playing which can be combined to form complex patterns: Score Mode, Random Mode, Draw Mode, Bounce Mode, Push Mode, and Solo Mode. These modes take different inputs, for example, the Draw Mode allows the user to draw shapes and have them played repeatedly. The Push Mode allows the user to add layers of tones who’s size and scope are determined by how long the node is held down. Slowly over time, these nodes expand into other surrounding nodes, creating ambiance.

The Tenori-On can be connected to a computer where it’s MIDI output can be recorded and processed. This opens up opportunities such as controlling other musical instruments and devices with the Tenori-on. Multiple Tenori-Ons can even be connected together for collaborative music construction.

I found the default set of 256 instruments and tones to be disappointingly generic. I was hoping for more odd sounds like bird calls, yodeling, gongs, and gunshots, but apparently Yamaha wasn’t aware of this. Yamaha includes a User Voice Manager which let’s you import and assign your own sounds to the grid. To my surprise and disappointment, effects like flange and envelope filters are non-existent, leaving only basic functions such as changing octaves and note lengths. Also, community created applications and modifications to the Tenori-on’s interface software, such as adding new modes, is not possible.

One thing that really hurts the Tenori-on is it’s $1200 price tag. For the professional musician and DJ, other options exist that have more functions for and for a cheaper price (Kork KP3, Monome . I don’t think Yamaha was looking for cost effective functionality with the Tenori-on. Instead, the Tenori-on is more like a toy for adults rather than a viable tool for music professionals.

I would improve the interface by implementing a touch screen rather than the LED grid so that instruments and functions can be found by name rather than by their position on the nondescript grid. Setting these aspects aside, the Tenori-on is a great effort by Yamaha to leap into the future of digital music interfaces. Whether or not the mass consumers are ready for the Tenori-on experience is another issue entirely.

Specifications can be found here and the manual is here. To buy the Tenori-On, visit the Tenori-On USA Website