Limelight has already published a detailed piece online about these new BenQ PianoLights. This is an objective, personal review. There are two models: on is for a grand piano, the other for an upright.

First of all, lights specifically designed to illuminate sheet music and the piano keyboard are most welcome. In my career, I play pianos on stage, and lighting is always an issue in a theatrical context. If you are lit from behind, your shadow falls right across the middle of the keyboard. The same happens if you are lit from directly above (say, by a light intended for the printed music), only then the shadow disconcertingly moves around.

Phil Scott performing 30 Something at the 2022 Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Photo © Claudio Raschella.

If the keyboard is lit from one side, shadow is still a problem because the black keys are higher than the white keys and can cause elongated, Dali-esque shading at the extreme end.

Doesn’t the eye simply adjust, you may ask? Yes, but...