EAGLE -- Justin Neilsen's music class starts the same way everyday -- with a drum circle and a little cowbell.
Neilsen's School of Music in Eagle has just about every instrument it could possibly need in its limited space.
But Justin will tell you there is one piece he would love to procure.
"Wanted one for a long time but never had one," he said.
It's a gimmicky gadget you may have already seen.
"How old would I have been in the 80s when I saw Tom Hanks do it," said Neilsen.
The FAO Schwartz big piano became almost as big as the movie "Big," carrying a price tag that is also big -- around $300,000.
So where would Justin find a dancing grand piano that didn't break his bank?
"Well we call it the Monster Piano," said Ken Cenell.
As it happens, just down the road.
Ken Cenell considers himself an entrepreneur, marketing almost everything -- from magazines to laser printers to monster pianos.
"Just describes that it's a piano and it's a monster," said Cenell.
It took Ken six months to make his first one out of wood and about a mile of wire.
Now, it's high-grade acrylic and sophisticated software.
This from a man who has no idea how to play a piano.
He has only a 1960s education in electronics.
"So it's mainly just me and Google," said Cenell.
What Ken and Google built has five octaves, 60 keys and 128 different sounds, including operatic voice!
"So this piano talks to you, it teaches you, it shows you how to play songs that are in its memory," said Cenell.
It's also a fraction of what FAO's big piano cost, roughly around $16,000.
Which is how Justin was able to squeeze it in his budget and his classroom.
"I had to get a room with that extra few feet at the end there," said Neilsen. "This is a 100 times better way to get a 6-year-old to have any interest in learning their C-major scale or something like that."
