If you own a Steinway Spirio | r or a Yamaha Disklavier, a dealer probably showed you a pianist in another city playing your piano. It is a remarkable thing to watch, but in most of the products on the market today it runs one way only. This post looks at what Steinway says Spiriocast does, what Yamaha says the Disklavier does, where the published descriptions stop, and how 1on1 Piano turns the same instruments into a two-way, multi-piano, multi-brand connection for concerts, masterclasses, and lessons.
What Steinway says Spiriocast does
Steinway’s own product page gives the clearest description, because it defines the feature as a broadcast from a host to listeners:
“Spiriocast is the broadcast of high resolution music data, perfectly in sync with video and audio from one Spirio | r piano to one or many Spirio instruments.”
“When you play, the listening Spirios perform along in real time.”
Steinway & Sons, Spirio | r Spiriocast
Press coverage at launch also used the host-and-listener framing. Pianist magazine reported that “when the host plays, the ‘listening’ SPIRIOs perform along in real time – wherever they might be based” (Pianist). Steinway dealer M. Steinert & Sons explains that “any number of Spirio users can join in on the streaming that carries music from a single piano performer’s Spirio” (M. Steinert & Sons). Robb Report added the compatibility caveat plainly: “The new Spiriocast system is only compatible with Steinway’s Spirio pianos” (Robb Report).
Three things follow from those descriptions. First, the direction runs from one host to many listeners. Second, only a Spirio | r can originate a cast, and only Spirio pianos can receive one. Third, none of the published materials we reviewed describe a listening piano playing back to the host. For a concert broadcast, that is exactly what you want, but for a lesson it is the missing half.
What a lesson actually requires
A piano lesson is a conversation between two instruments. The teacher demonstrates a phrase, the student plays it back, and then the teacher hears the student’s voicing, pedaling, and timing on a real piano and responds. A masterclass is the same conversation with an audience. So when the student’s piano can only listen, the teacher must judge the student through a laptop microphone, while the student hears the teacher through a concert instrument. That asymmetry is why many Spirio | r and Disklavier owners, including conservatories that bought several, use the remote features less than they expected.
Yamaha Disklavier remote lessons
Yamaha’s Disklavier has offered piano-to-piano remote lessons for longer than any other system, and it does work in both directions, so long as a Disklavier sits at each end. Yamaha describes it this way: “The latest models of Disklavier can also be connected to one another via the Internet. Once connected, the performance information can be transmitted from one instrument to the others” (Yamaha). The constraints are the ones you would expect from a single-brand system, because both parties need a compatible Disklavier, video and audio run through a separate conferencing setup, and the student’s family or the visiting artist has to own the same hardware.
What 1on1 Piano adds
1on1 Piano began with a pianist who needed the two-way case to work. It connects pianos over MIDI inside a live video call, so the performance data travels with the video rather than alongside it. From the 1on1 Piano blog: “Digital pianos track what key is played, the velocity at which it is played, how long it is held, and when it is played,” and “1on1 Piano sends that data to the other piano in real time through the video call” (What is Piano-to-Piano and Why Do I Need It?).
- Two-way by design. Every piano in the call plays to every other piano, and hears every other piano in return. So a student on a Disklavier can answer a teacher on a Spirio | r.
- Up to 99 pianos in one live call. A masterclass can seat a whole studio of pianos, while a concert can sound on dozens of instruments at once.
- Cross-brand. Steinway Spirio | r, Yamaha Disklavier, QRS PNOmation, and PianoDisc player pianos join the same session as Yamaha, Roland, Kawai, Casio, and other digital pianos. As long as it sends and receives MIDI, it can take part.
- An audience without a piano. The same performance also streams in concert quality to millions of viewers on a phone, tablet, or computer.
- Lesson tools built in. Camera switching, lesson notes, scheduling, and teacher matching live in the app, on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Chromebook, and the web. See how to use the 1on1 Piano app.
Spiriocast, Disklavier, and 1on1 Piano side by side
| Steinway Spiriocast | Yamaha Disklavier remote lesson | 1on1 Piano | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direction | One host to many listening pianos | Two-way between paired Disklaviers | Two-way among every piano in the call |
| Pianos per session | One host, many receivers | Typically a small number of paired units | Up to 99 |
| Brands | Spirio only; Spirio | r to originate | Disklavier only | Spirio | r, Disklavier, QRS, PianoDisc, and all major digital pianos |
| Video and audio | Via the Spirio iPad | Separate conferencing system | Built into the same call |
| Audience without a piano | Audio and video stream | Depends on the conferencing setup | Concert-quality stream to millions |
Manufacturer descriptions come from the sources linked above, as of September 2026. Features change, so check with the manufacturer for current capabilities.
If you already own the piano
None of this requires replacing your instrument, because a Spirio | r, a Disklavier, a QRS or PianoDisc system, or a serious digital piano already has the MIDI connection 1on1 Piano needs. The Connect Your Piano guide lists the cable or Bluetooth adapter for each setup, while the university guide covers how conservatories use the platform for lessons and performances. For word of the next live piano concert online, join the invitation list.
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