Sam Taylor

Sam Taylor — Resident ROLI Writer

About Sam Taylor

Sam Taylor has been writing and editing words about music and music technology for more than a decade, having previously worked with Native Instruments, Focusrite, Novation, Spitfire Audio, and others. Outside of writing, he spends a lot of time playing guitars and synthesizers, making field recordings, and attempting to learn the viola da gamba.

Written by Sam Taylor

A person wearing headphones and a lavender patterned sweater plays a portable keyboard synthesizer mounted on a wearable rig in an urban outdoor setting, with a microphone attached to their chest and various electronic equipment strapped to their backpack.

ROLI Meets ARIatHOME: Freestyle beatmaking on the streets of New York with Piano M

A man in a tan suit and glasses sits at a desk, speaking on a rotary phone, with a ROLI Lightpad and a ROLI Seaboard placed on the desk in a retro-styled office setting.

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Airwave plays with (almost) everything

A collection of electronic musical instruments and controllers on a pastel gradient background, including three black ROLI Seaboard keyboards, a ROLI Lightpad with multicolored pads, and a ROLI Piano with rainbow-lit keys, alongside other synthesizers and audio devices.

The top ten music-making gadgets of 2025

A collage showing multiple people interacting with ROLI Piano and ROLI Piano M keyboards in studio and home environments, with hands playing the illuminated keys and a ROLI Airwave device positioned above the instruments; several screens display visualizations of hand movements and key presses.

Airwave in the wild

Top 5 music tech gifts 2025

A person using a laptop running ROLI Studio software in a home studio setting, with audio equipment visible in the background and Halloween-themed spider and web graphics overlaid on the image.

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Six spooky Halloween sounds to discover in Equator2

A woman smiling while playing a black ROLI Piano on a wooden table in a warmly lit home setting, with a laptop placed on a stand in front of her.

25 great gift ideas for musicians in 2025

A person’s hands playing a ROLI LUMI keyboard with illuminated multicolored keys, connected to a tablet displaying the ROLI Learn app on a pink desk in a home or studio setting.

TIME Magazine names the ROLI Piano System one of the Best Inventions of 2025

Two hands on a traditional, acoustic Steinway & Sons piano

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Who invented the piano?

We explore the most recommended keyboards and pianos for beginners, students, and anyone ready to kick-start their musical journey, including ROLI Piano and Piano M, Yamaha, Alesis and more

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Best digital pianos & keyboards for beginners: Your 2025 buying guide

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Happy Birthday, Hans Zimmer: A deep dive into the sonic world of an era-defining composer

Collage of modern music production software interfaces, including virtual instruments, synthesizers, and digital audio workstations.

8 MPE-enabled orchestral instruments to explore with ROLI Piano and Seaboard

Introducing your new ROLI Learn piano coaches: Say hello to Celia, Alfie and Ruben who will help ROLI Learners navigate the exciting world of piano learning with engaging lessons, challenges and all your favourite songs across countless genres.

Meet your new ROLI Learn piano coaches

Collage of people demonstrating and reviewing a futuristic digital piano keyboard in various settings, including studios and events.

As seen on TV (and elsewhere): ROLI Piano and Airwave in the wild

We take a deep dive into some of the most commonly recommended MIDI controllers for beginner producers, performers, and beatmakers, including ROLI Piano M, ROLI Piano, Seaboard 2, Seaboard M, AKAI, KORG and Nektar

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The best MIDI keyboards for beginners: Your buying guide

Man in brown shirt and black cap playing ROLI Piano keyboard in music studio with speakers and acoustic panels.

A lesson in expression: Adrian Valia shows us how to play emotions with ROLI Piano

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ROLI CPO Tom Ford shares the latest on Piano & Airwave

Kaspar aka Kazilae performing with Seaboard at the Dream Wide Awake concert. Photography credit: Angelina Nikolayeva (@nikolaevalina).

Kazilae is finding his musical voice with a little help from Seaboard

ROLI Piano M - Expressive, 4D Touch minikeys, ultra-portable, slim, travel-friendly and modular. Light-weight and battery-powered — and with Bluetooth connectivity. Pair with the ROLI Learn app for 1,200+ songs with RGB keys that light up in time with the music and show you what to play, 300+ video lessons, engaging games and exercises, and AI-powered Piano Assistant. Learn piano with 18 sounds to choose from in the ROLI Learn app, or create music with more than 400 unique sounds included in ROLI Studio.

Best Smart Keyboards 2025: PopuMusic vs ROLI — our response

Tablet screen showing a music app with Olivia Rodrigo and The Beatles medley song selections and search filters.

Learn piano with Olivia Rodrigo and The Beatles

Home music production workspace with computer, MIDI controller, speakers, and plants on a wooden desk against a decorated wall.

7 free MPE synths we love

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Happy Birthday, Stevie Wonder

Split-screen digital art of Brahms and Tchaikovsky portraits on a tablet, blue and purple backgrounds.

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Learn to play piano with Brahms and Tchaikovsky

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The ROLI guide to Duke Ellington

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Lifting the lid on ROLI Learn’s new piano sound with Embertone

Woman producing music with MIDI controller and computer in a modern recording studio with speakers and audio equipment.

Fresh sounds for spring: inspiring ways to refresh your music

Minimalist illustrations of famous movie scenes and soundtracks displayed on a tablet screen, including Forrest Gump and Rocky.

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20 classic movie songs to learn on piano

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Learn to play Piano like Prince

A young boy playing a digital keyboard while a woman, possibly a teacher, points at sheet music in a brightly decorated room.

Can you learn piano without reading music?

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