PSR-OR700 - Yamaha PSR-OR700 » Touch Response

Yamaha PSR-OR700 61-Key Arranger Workstation

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:32:22 +0000

The PSR-OR700 Arranger Workstation from Yamaha features some very cool content, dedicated “Scale Setting” panel buttons for on-the-fly scale tuning, MegaVoice and Modeling Technology, and USB jack for connecting peripheral storage devices. The keyboard has 61 touch-sensitive keys, 96-note polyphony, 314 accompaniment Styles featuring 146 special World Styles, large screen, a special selection of World Voices and 22 Drum Kits. Ease of operation – Direct Access Button, Music Finder, Quick Record, One Touch Setting (OTS), Multi Pads, Built-in Help, Demo, Mixing Console, Registration Memory, Performance assistant technology Dynamic Voices and effects – The keyboard comes with 813 voices, is 96-note polyphonic and has 4 Effects blocks plus Reverb and Chorus Professional Connections Keyboard – 61 Keys (C1 ~ C6) with Touch Response (Initial Touch) Polyphony – 96 notes max. Display – 5.7 QVGA B/W LCD capable of Lyric and Score display 813 Preset Voices – 317 (more…)

Tips On Buying Portable Keyboard

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:01:36 +0000

Buying a portable keyboard can be a very confusing task when you are not sure what to look for out of so many different interesting models. So it is very important to acquire some knowledge about the manufacturers, number of keys each model has and the connection i.e. whether it works with MIDI port or USB.
There are many well-known synthesizer brands in the market like Yamaha, Casio, Korg, Roland and some more. Apart from these there are many cheaper alternatives too, but you cannot expect equally good quality output from these brands. You may not find a good quality portable keyboard at a cheap price, but rest assure paying higher will be worth it. You will not get much confused if you keep your mind set for some particular brand.
There are keyboards in market with 32, 49, 61, 76, and 88 keys. Choosing the number of keys depends upon your use and knowledge. If you are a beginner then keyboards with 32 or 49 keys will be enough. Those that are with 61, 76 or 88 keys are good for the professionals or players who have completed a few levels.
A full sized piano has 88 keys. So if you want to learn piano with the help of a keyboard then an 88 keys full-sized keyboard is a must. The lesser the keys the more is the keyboard portable. The more the keyboard is handy, lesser will be the price. The only problem with the less key keyboards like 32, 49 and 61 is that while playing a full composition, transposing is needed.
There is another option of touch response in a portable keyboard. With the help of this touch response a keyboard sounds like a piano. It also gives greater control while playing. It improves the grade of performance as the keys are sensible to your touch. If you touch the key softly then the sound will come a little low and if you press the key harder then the sound will be a comparatively louder.
There is a LCD display on portable keyboards that helps to see the settings with which you are playing it. The modern portable keyboard also shows other details such as the modes or about the lyrics or scores of the song etc. This display makes them much easier to use.
All these portable keyboards can be connected to computers. They are connected with the help of special MIDI interface or USB cord. Most of the portable keyboards also have the option of recording. With the help of this you can record songs into your keyboard and can play it whenever you like. This option is very useful as you can record what you have practiced on your keyboard and can use it to improve your performance.
You can buy your portable keyboard online, as there are many good online dealers. There are even possibilities that you can get them at a lower price as most of the websites usually quote a discounted price.

Common Keyboard Features

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:31:27 +0000

An electronic keyboard used by a common amateur and a musical synthesizer used by professional musicians conveys a great deal of difference. We can see that the former is mainly the economical sampler while the latter is an electronic instrument that is proficient in creating various sounds through the creation and arrangement of signals of different frequencies.
The sampler begins with numerous recording and plays them again in different sound configurations instead of starting from scratch and this makes it differ from a synthesizer. However, this is already more than enough for all children and most amateurs. Unlike the synthesizer wherein most of individuals won’t know what to do, the keyboard offers a wonderful deal of reasonably affordable entertainment for several people.
A lot of potential and awesome features make keyboard a great instrument. These given features of the keyboard may or may not be available on the given instrument; it depends mainly on the cost. The keyboard’s sound or music will air like a “true” instrument due to some features that allow the players to enhance their skills in controlling the duration and speed of the note. The feature that enables two instruments to be played at once which is very technical in nature and this in reality is a feature that can only be possible using two different instruments. The appeal of keyboard to the consumers is enhanced by including all its special features.
Mid and higher ranged type of keyboards typically include touch Sensitivity or Velocity (Touch Response) as one of the features. Unluckily, you cannot just find it on the very cheap keyboards available on the stores, so you have to save a bit if you want to buy such instrument with this feature. Keyboard is designed to imitate the piano, an instrument that has a great Velocity sensitivity at which their keys are hit. The sensitivity to Velocity creates softer notes for slower presses while louder notes for faster ones. The sensitivity and resultant note volumes are mimed out by the Touch Response.
Another usual feature is the after touch. After the key has been pressed, sound modulation is enabled and allows the pianist to put in effects such as return or fade. The amount of pressure applied to the key determines the effect that will be added. When the feature was firstly created, in the music of the late 1980s, such effects became very well known.
Pianos are also mimed in such a way by the keyboard as they can create polyphony effect. It is supposedly possible to key every single note at the same instance when using piano. Low-priced keyboards, on the other hand often, allow only playing a single note at a time particularly those designed for kids. You can key in a lot of notes, at times, greater than ten all at the same instance in more pricey keyboards that includes polyphony effect.
More than one type of instruments can be mimed by the keyboards and sometimes, far way beyond the piano instrument with its multi-timbre feature. Up to eight various instruments at once can be played by other keyboard models.
Chords, speed of rhythm and samples on electronic keyboards or auto generated content are determined by the tempo feature. The sample that the piano players wants to add on their music is easily accessible and they can also change the beat or the tempo consequently. This proves to be one of the common keyboard features being used often.

The Features Of The Common Keyboard

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:20:09 +0000

There is a great deal of difference between a musical synthesizer used by professional musicians and an electronic keyboard used by a typical amateur. While the former is an electronic instrument capable of producing a variety of sounds through the generation and combination of signals of varying frequencies, the latter is basically an inexpensive sampler. The difference between a sampler and a synthesizer is that a sampler does not create sounds from scratch, but rather starts with multiple recordings and plays them back in various sound configurations. Yet for many amateurs and practically all children, this is more than enough. Keyboards provide a great deal of relatively inexpensive entertainment for a great number of people, most of whom wouldn’t know what to do with a real synthesizer if given the opportunity.
Keyboards have a number of potential features, and whether or not any given instrument includes them simply depends on the price. Some of these features improve a player’s ability to control the speed or duration of a note, thereby making a keyboard sound more like a “real” instrument. Others are more technological in nature, such as the feature that permits two instrument sounds to be played at once, a feat that in the “real world,” can only be accomplished by two actual separate instruments. All of the features are designed to improve the consumer appeal of the keyboard.
Touch response (also called Touch Sensitivity or Velocity) is not usually included in the least expensive keyboards, but it can usually be found on mid- and higher-range models. Pianos, which keyboards are often intended to imitate, are sensitive to the velocity at which their keys are pressed. That sensitivity produces louder notes for faster presses and softer notes for slower ones. Touch response imitates that sensitivity and its resultant note volumes.
After touch is a common keyboard feature. It allows for with sound modulation after a key has been hit, permitting the player to add effects such as fade away or return. The effect added is determined by the amount of pressure applied to the key. Such effects were particularly popular in the music of the late 1980s, which is when the feature was originally developed.
Polyphony is yet another effect that allows keyboards to mimic pianos. On the latter instruments, it is hypothetically possible to play every single note at the same time. Contrarily, less expensive keyboards, especially those designed for children, often permit only one note at a time to be played. Polyphony allows the artist to play more than one note at a time, sometimes more than ten at once on more expensive keyboard models.
The multi-timbre feature allows keyboards to go beyond the abilities of a piano and mimic more than one kind of instrument at a time. Some models are capable of “playing” up to eight different instruments at once.
The tempo feature determines the speed of rhythms, chords and other auto-generated content, or samples on electronic keyboards. The player is able to select a sample they wish to use with their own music and then alter the tempo accordingly. Needless to say, this is one of the more commonly used features of keyboards.

Why Should You Buy An Electronic Keyboard?

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:57:54 +0000

Many people will buy a battery run toy keyboard rather than an electronic keyboard. More often than not the reason is safety and price. Obviously a toy version is much cheaper than an electronic version but if you are really into keyboards then electronic is something you should consider. Here we will discuss the very special sound technicalities that you can produce while using these particular types of instruments.Generally a keyboard of the electronic type has the following qualities. There is something called a touch response along with an after touch effect. The touch response is actually a touch sensitivity that these keyboards express when played hard or soft. This quality enables the player to produce prolonged and short, deep and mild sounds on the same note. It all depends on the pressure and the duration for which you are holding a particular key. The after touch is also of a similar type where you can modulate the sound depending on the pressure applied on any single key. Then there is the polyphony, denoting the total number of sounds that you can play at any one time. Usually, the lower priced children’s keyboards play only one single note at a time while on the more expensive professional types you can play many tones at the same time. A maximum of ten notes can be played at one time in any high end electronic keyboard.After this we come to multi timbre, rhythm, tempo and the split point. The multi timbre feature allows you to play many types of instruments at the same time. For example, you can play the piano, violin and the harmonium all at the same time, this is multi timbre. When using the tempo control, you just decide which rhythm you want and what speed you need, it’s simple. You can slow down as well as quicken with a touch of a button. With the split point however, you can actually split your keys into two different sections where each section plays a different instrument from the other. Say twelve keys play the piano while the rest play the mandolin. This is possible only with an electronic keyboard and you might find you can buy one for about the same price as a toy piano.

Yamaha Musical Keyboard – What is a suitable keyboard for Beginner?

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:41:39 +0000

If you have decided to buy your first musical keyboard from yamaha, then here is what you need to consider. Yamaha has a wide range of keyboards suitable for beginners, intermediate as well as advanced players, so it can get difficult to focus on what you want. You need to go in for a Yamaha keyboard that has touch response keys. An important aspect of learning to play keyboards is to play it with expression, and not just in a monotonous way. Touch sensitive keys are a must for that reason because then not all notes are played with the same volume, you can change it by applying different force. Besides, a keyboard with touch response keys also teaches your fingers to have better control over the keys.Another thing is to buy a Yamaha keyboard that has at least sixty-one keys. This is important if you want to seriously learn the keyboard. If you go in for a keyboard with lesser number of keys, you will nit be able to use your left hand. That means you will not be able to learn and play chords together with the melody; though you can learn the basics like learning to play the notes and timing, you will not be able to learn to harmonize. So what are the options? Yamaha YPT, PSR and lighted series keyboards are something that you can consider. You may even consider used-keyboard if you are on a tight budget. Cost is obviously an important aspect to keep in mind. It should not be a problem to use a pre-owned keyboard since Keyboards generally last for many years. You should even consider having a look at if you want something that is a bit cheaper.Yamaha Keyboard Reviews