The Yamaha Portable Grand Piano: How to Make it Suit Your Musical Needs

One of the many virtues of the Yamaha Portable Grand Piano is that it is so easy to move from one place to another. This is especially true for an apartment dweller like me who enjoys putting on the headphones and playing music at all hours. But, even as I speak of the virtues of this type of electronic musical instrument, I still had to learn to adapt to the Yamaha piano and make it suit my own musical needs. Certainly, an acoustic piano has a particular musical personality, one I was familiar with. Now, here was something different, an instrument with a vast array of control buttons and an almost intimidating promise of musical possibilities.

If you are thinking about buying a Yamaha Portable Grand Piano, then read on to discover my suggestions for how to make it suit your own musical needs. Like me, I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised by the musical fulfillment this electronic instrument can bring you.

The Synthetic Departure

The right attitude certainly comes into play as you are trying to make the Yamaha piano suit your musical needs. In my own case, I had to accept that the virtues of this electronic instrument are based on synthetic variations of musical sounds. The Yamaha electronic piano is not an acoustic piano, so why should I expect it to be? The sounds may lie comparable to a traditional grand piano, but they have to be achieved via the various compendium of instructions as they grace the pages of the accompanying manual. In order to make the Yamaha piano suit your musical needs, in other words, you have to first learn how to use it.

Shaping the Melodic Sound

Going further into the technical aspects of the Yamaha Portable Grand Piano so that it can suit your musical needs, it's necessary to address the many aspects of musical creation. As I discovered, it's not only the note that counts, it's also the resonance, or echoing feedback, that figures into the song's personality. To find the synthetic variation of resonance that is comparable to an acoustic piano, you will have to make use of the reverb function--a setting that ranges from lowest to highest. This feature will help you achieve that cavern effect that lends a hollow and lonely feel to your music.

You can further shape the melodic sound on your portable grand by using what is called the dual-voice feature. This can be preset to suit your musical needs and then be incorporated at the touch of a button. The effect is amazing because it sounds like two instruments are being played at the same time. Creating unique sounds can be quite a complex venture, yet one that is enjoyable because of the user-friendly nature of your Yamaha piano.

There are many other features of the Yamaha Portable Grand Piano that involve touch sensitivity, timbre, sustain, recording and MIDI. In all this, the point still remains that the Yamaha piano isn't an acoustic piano, but it doesn't have to be. Once you experiment with the various control buttons, you will quickly learn how to really enjoy this type of electronic musical instrument. You will learn, as I did, how to make this instrument suit your own musical needs.

Source: Personal experience
Yamaha Portable Grand (usa.yamaha.com)