R&B artist hopes her ‘sound’ will be available for any musician’s budget.

The multi-platinum R&B artist Alicia Keys and Yamaha have announced a collaboration, which will see Keys’ ‘signature’ piano tones included in future products, the first of which has already been released.

The project saw the artist, her engineer, Ann Mincielli and plug-in designer Thomas Hansen Scarbee digitally reproducing the exact sound of Keys’ Yamaha C3 Neo grand piano. Keys’ hope is to have her sounds available at affordable prices within the next three months.

“I wanted to create a sound that is just magnificent and that would inspire me to play," said Keys of the sound she gets from her own instrument. “It was an idea that was born during the creation of my last album, As I Am. While we were there recording, we were able to create a really warm and beautiful sound using my C3 Neo and we decided that we wanted to capture that sound and make it something that I can take with me everywhere.

“I believe it is really important to have access to a great sounding piano and I hope this new virtual piano will inspire others and help them to hone their craft, regardless of their economic situation.”

Keys unveiled the new sound on Yamaha's newly-launched Avant Grand – a hybrid piano that will be available later this year.