PSRS900 » Piano Keyboard

Casio CTK-3000 61 Key, Touch Sensitive Personal Keyboard with MP3 Connection and World Music Library

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:32:59 +0000

The Casio CTK-3000 is an affordable instrument with a 61 Key Piano Style Touch Sensitive Keyboard, 400 total onboard Tones, 150 Rhythms and Digital Effects. Packed with great features such as Casio’s famous Step-up Lesson System, audio inputs for a MP3 player, USB port for MIDI implementation and a pitch wheel for additional expression over sounds. All this makes CTK-3000 more realistic and expressive than ever before at this price range. An affordable, full-featured portable keyboard. Click to enlarge. Standard-Size Keys with Touch Response The CTK-3000 features 61 standard-size keys and two sensitivity levels for a more piano-like experience, along with 48-note polyphony (24-note for certain tones). 400 Built-In Tones Find just the right sound with 400 built-in tones, and select from ten different reverb settings to add depth. USB Port For many musicians, the computer has become a music-making center. Connect the CTK-3000 to a computer (more…)

It’s Never Too Late To Learn To Play The Piano

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:41:20 +0000

Learning to play the piano is age irrelevant. Whether you are 16 or 60, are brand new to the instrument or haven’t played since you were a child, you can learn how to play the piano for your own enjoyment. It really doesn’t matter how old you are when you start.

Age is only a state of mind and should never be viewed as a barrier to prevent you from achieving a particular goal. Perhaps the circumstances of your life didn’t allow you to pursue your dream when you were younger; maybe you didn’t have any interest in playing the piano then, or you were simply too busy with your career or raising a family.

Whatever the reasons were that kept you from learning the piano, they mean nothing today. If you are truly passionate about playing music at this time of your life and you have the opportunity and the desire, it’s up to you to make it happen. And you can.

Do you have access to a piano or digital keyboard? Are you sufficiently motivated to devote the necessary time and effort to practice? If you answered yes to those questions, then you have what you need to get started on a joyous adventure that you’ll treasure forever.

Learning a musical instrument these days is even easier when you factor in the convenience and immediacy the Internet offers for self-study. Without ever having to trek to a private teacher every week for a 30-minute lesson, and for less than the cost of dinner for two, you can take advantage of an online piano course and begin learning scales, chords and other musical concepts right from your home.

It’s much easier than you think and before you know it you could be impressing your friends and playing your favorite songs. There is an abundance of online piano courses to choose from. They cater to all types of music, but essentially they teach the same thing.

Of course teaching methods will vary and they are many ways to check out which piano course may be right for you before you make your selection. What’s important is that you get rid of the myth that you are too old to learn to play the piano. That’s simply nonsense! Just get out there and go after your dream to learn the piano. You’ll be happy you did.

You Do Not Have To Go To Juilliard To Learn The Piano

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 10:40:14 +0000

Most people involved in the arts consider The Juilliard School to be the preeminent institution for aspiring musicians. It attracts the world’s brightest and most talented students of the performing arts. But what if you lack the ambition or skill to become a world famous musician, and you simply want to learn the piano for your own enjoyment? Is there hope for you?

There is indeed, and the solution is literally at your fingertips. You can learn how to play the piano keyboard by accessing an online piano course via your computer keyboard. That’s right! The Internet could become your “Juilliard” and by simply downloading the right online piano course, or logging on to the appropriate piano teaching site, you could be on your way to your first lesson in the next few minutes.

All you need to get started is a computer, preferably with a fast Internet connection, speakers, a digital keyboard or acoustic piano and you’re good to go. The lessons are prepared in various formats, such as ebook, audio and video, and they are structured so that you can make progress at whatever pace you find comfortable.

More and more people are going online to learn the piano because of the convenience it offers. You don’t have to travel anywhere to get instructions since everything is done from the comfort of your home. And how much does it cost for this convenience? Only a tiny fraction compared to today’s going rate for traditional private lessons.

You get exposure to the same material as every other music student. The lessons are comprehensive and are prepared by professional musicians, music teachers and others with many years of music experience. So instead of being in an auditorium with scores of other students vying for the professor’s attention, you get to enjoy virtual one-on-one interaction with a piano instructor who has walked in your shoes.

This creates the kind of relaxed environment that’s good for learning. It keeps you motivated and enthusiastic, and it directly influences how fast and steadily you progress. Best of all, there are no demanding entrance audition requirements.

Want to Quickly Learn Piano Online?

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 10:19:47 +0000

If you’ve been looking for ways to learn piano, chances are you’ve thought about online courses or books. Not only is online instruction fast and effective, but you can teach yourself right from your own home without ever needing to hire a private instructor. It’s now possible to quickly learn piano online – you just need to make sure you have the right tools.

First of all, of course, you need a piano or keyboard. Digital keyboards are available at most piano stores and even larger retail stores that aren’t specific to music. If you don’t have the money to buy a real piano, digital keyboards offer a cost-effective solution. Many of them sound very close to the real thing, too.

Secondly, you need to find the right resources. There are many different online courses and ebooks which can teach you how to play piano – some reputable, some not so much. It’s important to do thorough research before choosing an online course, because you want one that will suit your needs. If you’re a beginner, for example, you’ll need different instruction than someone who’s been playing for a year or more.

Another important thing if you want to quickly learn piano online is to choose a program that includes good email or even phone support. You want to be able to get in touch with a real person if you have questions. Most online piano courses include real instructors, so you can actually contact them if you have problems, questions about technique or your piano, or anything else.

It’s very easy to learn piano just through the internet these days, provided you have good, clear instruction and are willing to dedicate time and effort to it. As with any instrument, learning piano takes time, but even those who aren’t musically inclined can play with the right instruction and enough practice.

Choosing a Child’s First Piano – Important Facts You Must Know

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 09:58:34 +0000

For a child, learning how to play an instrument such as the piano will undoubtedly make a major contribution to his or her education and overall development. Studies have shown that children who begin to learn music at a young age will usually have higher test scores and even a higher IQ. These children often are more successful in school also, due in part to being more prepared to comprehend and conceptualize many challenges better than their peers. Studying and learning how to play on the piano is one of the greatest achievements a child can make.

A very important factor in helping to motivate a child to learn piano is for them to have their own piano or keyboard so they can practice their music and have a sense of ownership and pride about their musical instrument. Hopefully this will work to inspire the child to practice and continue to improve their piano playing skills. Of course, it is wise to determine how much enthusiasm the child has about learning to play piano prior to your decision to purchase one just for them. When a child is first learning to play on a piano, they won’t need a full size 88-key piano keyboard, but as their skills grow and they become more advanced piano players, they will certainly want to have a full piano with a regular sized set of keys.

A digital piano or keyboard is a wonderful idea for an introduction into a child’s piano playing study. A digital piano usually has the ability to record music and even download music files from the internet, which can be great learning tools to aid in the child’s piano playing development. Another added benefit of these features on digital pianos is the capability to save the music you play, and can e-mail it to anybody you want. Children can send songs they have played and recorded on their digital piano through email to grandparents or other relatives, and won’t they be proud! There are many more great features on most high quality digital pianos and keyboards as well. A majority of them have several pre-recorded songs that can be utilized as learning tools as your child plays along with the recording. On most digital keyboard pianos, the child can mute certain parts of the recorded songs and play the muted part themselves on the keyboard. This is a fun and excellent way for a child to learn piano, when it comes to learning to play piano, there is nothing better than hands-on experience.

Recording at Home Using a Computer or Hard Disc Recorder

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 15:03:46 +0000

Probably the first thing you want to think about before you start spending any money on getting a home recording facility together is, why do I want to record at home?
You probably already know the reason, but the clearer you are about this the better your results will be.
Do you want to just pick up your guitar on a whim and record the latest idea that’s passing by? Do you intend to record an album in its entirety at home and release it? Do you want to make podcasts to broadcast on the web? Do you want to ‘flesh out’ your musical ideas to get an idea of how the final product might sound. All are valid reasons for having your own home recording setup. Each one also suggests a particular amount of money you will need to spend to get the result you desire, and the amount of effort you need to expend making it happen.
What you will need.
From a basic standpoint you will need some way to record your performance or ideas – this could be into a Personal Computer[PC] or mac or onto a stand alone recorder. You’ll also need someway of getting the performance into the recording medium – whether that be via microphone or a piano keyboard. You will also need to find some way to ‘deliver’ your product – via mp3 mix/cd or podcast. All factors to consider as you set up you home studio.
What is best; Computer recording or stand alone?
I will confess that in my opinion and experience, the simplest and most effective way to record anything at home is with a stand alone recorder. Several years ago I recorded an entire album using Fostex DMT8, 8 tracks to do the lot- including backing vocals guitars and eveything. To those of you unfamiliar with what I mean by stand alone recorder then have a look at units from Fostex, Yamaha, Roland and others. In general they have a built in hard drive or media card which records data that you produce as a result of recording yourself. This can be as simple as engaging a ‘record’ button and playing or singing. There’s no fuss involved with this. Some of them also allow you to burn a CD at the end of the process so you can amaze your friends! There can be disadvantages as I will discuss later, but depending on your final aims as discussed earlier, you will make allowances for any shortcomings.
Recording onto a pc or Mac takes us into a more complex word, so if you’re not computer savy, or prepared to enagage in a long and sometimes frustrating journey I’d go with the stand alone unit.
Why is it more difficult to record into a PC?
Recoding into a PC has a minimum of 3 steps:
Input device-microphone/keyboard/turntable
Sound card-converts your ‘real world’ sound into computer language.
Recording software-does the job of ‘capturing’ your performance.
Once you have got your recording chain set up then it ‘can’ be as easy as using a stand alone unit, but to get to that point you have to deal with a number of factors-the #1 bugbear of most home computer recording nuts is a friendly tike called ‘latency’ .
Latency: ‘ something that is revealed later’.
For those not in the know, latency can be compared to hearing your voice echoing back from a canyon, heloooo-hellllllloooo. There is a gap between when you yell and when you hear your voice returned. If you plug in a microphone and set up your recording software and say the ubiquitous ‘hello’ you will get a similar effect!
Unless you invest in a super high end recording system such as ‘Pro Tools HD’, then this is something you need to work with as a home computer recording afficionado.
The reason we encounter latency is that the computer needs time to convert the analogue [physcal sounds via electrcity] into digital data; ones and noughts. With a good sound card this can take between 7 and 15 milliseconds [ yep that's 15 thousandenths of a second] and then about the same number of milliseconds to convert it from a digital signal back into an electrical analogue sytem that we can usefully use to hear the sound coming out of the computer. Bare in mind that our ear ‘notices’ a sound as an echo at around the 50 millisecond mark [ more on this later] – so if we have a sound card with 25millisecond [ms] input delay and 25 ms output delay then our ear wil perceive it as an echo- not much good to play along with as we will be out of time.
That’s pretty useless you might shriek, so how do people manage to do all this computer recording stuff at home? A-ha. Those clever people who make sound cards m-audio, Presonus, Yamaha etc have done something very clever, they instigated a process called ‘direct monitoring’.
Direct monitoring allows us to hear the incoming sound at its source- straight after you have plugged it in- instead of through the computer where you will pick up a substantive delay. You can still listen ‘though the computer’ if you choose, but in my experience it’s pretty distracting especially with large latency times. The other thing that your clever software program/soundcard combo will do is to record your new track in time with the others by making allowances for the current latency times.
In summary; For ease of use and less technology hassles get a stand alone hard disk recorder. For more complex productions consider getting a computer/soundcard/software combo, but be prepared for a sharp learning curve.

Houston Piano Company â the Easy Way to Get the Piano of your Dreams!

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:01:29 +0000

The piano holds a very special place in the hearts of all. The piano is widely used in western music for solo performance, chamber music, and accompaniment. It is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal. Although not portable and often expensive, the piano’s versatility and ubiquity has made it among the most familiar of musical instruments.

The piano is significant in Western classical music, jazz, film, television, and most other complex western musical genres. It has also found its way into popular music for the masses. Since a large number of composers are proficient pianists â and because the piano keyboard offers an easy means of complex melodic and harmonic interplay â the piano is often used as a tool for composition.

Modern pianos come in two basic configurations â the grand piano and the upright piano. Both types are popular with piano enthusiasts the world over. Pianos were, and still are, popular instruments for private household ownership, especially among the middle and upper classes. A large number of people, who may find it difficult to afford a fully-owned piano for them, can hire one at nominal charges. Locating a good deal on a used piano can also make oneâs dream of owning a piano come true, without breaking the bank. There is no dearth of resources on the Internet to help you locate such deals, or even buy a new one.

One such place is Houston Piano Company. Houston piano company buys, sells, trades and rents new and used pianos, both acoustic and digital. They specialize in first rate, new and used pianos of the most popular brands. Doing business with Houston piano company is a sheer pleasure. Their friendly professional staff has well over 100 cumulative years of experience in the piano business. Whatâs more, they also offer tuning, repair, moving and delivery services as well as piano lessons in their exclusive school of music.

The warehouse facility of Houston piano company has been associated with the arts for many years. Several movies have been produced on their sound stage. Many a professional artist has recorded in their sound studio, first under the name Mercury Studios, and then as Houston Production Studios. Today, acting classes, cinematography classes and actors round tables regularly meet on the premises.

Houston piano company is a great place to find the piano of your dreams. If you are working on a tight budget and cannot afford a new piano, the friendly staff can help you locate just the right deal on a used piano in excellent condition. These guys really understand piano and you will benefit immensely from their expertise and experience in this area.

The motto of Houston piano company is: âYou can pay for the very high rent and fancy chandeliers of our competitors or you can visit our Heights warehouse showroom for a terrific value and friendly professional service on a great new piano or used piano.â These words speak volumes about their confidence in dealing in pianos and also in the quality of their service. Just call or email their friendly and knowledgeable associates with your piano questions and requirements. Houston piano company is committed to help you find the right piano for your playing pleasure!

Beginners Can Learn to Play the Piano Online

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 08:51:37 +0000

You can start learning to play the piano right now, if you have an internet connection. Expensive pianos and ongoing piano lessons are no longer the norm. Anybody that has an interest in learning to play the piano can make a start thanks to the World Wide Web.If you want to get some inspiration, then watch a good pianist at work or keyboard player, there are plenty of videos available on youtube to inspire you. When a pianist plays the piano well, the listener can be drawn in to a very different world created by the expressiveness of the performer. Learning skills in general can be improved when learning to play the piano and children can benefit from this at school. Piano lessons can also help to have a better understanding of science and mathematics.
It doesn’t have to be expensivePiano lessons are now available to the masses not least because of the technological advancements of electric pianos and keyboards. Not too many years ago, if you wanted to learn how to play the piano your only option would be to buy an expensive piano. It’s easy to learn to play the piano online these days, and you can buy a used keyboard for next to nothing. You don’t have to spend a fortune when you are just starting to learn the piano or keyboard. An expensive piano is not going to make a lot of difference to a beginner.Improve your hand eye coordinationWhen you read sheet music, eye to hand coordination comes in to play and this process will improve dramatically the more you practice. You may be surprised at how fast this improvement will be.Choose your own practice timeWhen you take piano lessons with a teacher, you will normally attend once a week at the same time on the same day. If you learn to play the piano using a piano software course then you can choose your day and time of day when you have lessons. You can learn in the morning, afternoon or evening. You don’t have to wait for a particular day to have your piano lesson. Everybody has busy and quiet times so do more when you’re quite and take a break when you are busy. So if you don’t want to be tied to a teacher, online piano lessons is the way to go.It’s already been mentioned that to learn to play the piano properly you need a piano and piano lessons. There is also a third crucial requirement when learning to play the piano and that is you. Even though the process is considerably easier than it was you still have to practice. A piano, piano lessons and practice equals a great piano player.

Piano Software Courses Vs Piano Tuition Books (Part 1)

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 05:37:42 +0000

If you want to learn to play the piano, you can go to a piano teacher or teach yourself. If you’re going to teach yourself how to play the piano then you have to decide whether to use piano software courses or tuition books. Whichever method you choose you should be aware that there is no magic solution to learning to play the piano, whether you choose piano software or tuition books there is going to be a certain amount of study and self-discipline on your part to succeed.
Let’s look at the benefits and drawbacks of both methods of teaching yourself to play the piano. Both methods will help you to learn to play the piano or keyboard. Both will provide you with songs to play on the piano and both will include the necessary music theory required to play the piano. So which method is best?
The benefits of tuition books
The obvious benefit of using tuition books is the cost. When you buy a beginners tuition book for example “The Complete Piano Player” or if you’re using a Yamaha keyboard “The Complete Keyboard Player”. They are normally sold as part of a series, for example, book 1 to book 4 and each book costs about six to ten pounds. You just buy the book you need, which means it’s incredibly cheap to get started. Each book contains about twelve songs and each song will introduce something new to learn.
When first starting to play a keyboard instrument its normal practice to learn a simple piece of music that just uses five notes, typically C, D, E, F, G. This is always a good start because it immediately teaches you to use all your fingers on your very first piece of music. Tuition books and software will use this method of teaching.
The drawbacks of tuition books
The main drawback of these books are not the books themselves but the fact that they are designed to be used with a piano teacher. If there is something you can’t quite grasp then a piano teacher would have many ways to explain things. Without that help, your task can become overwhelming and many people will give up within the first three months.
The other main drawback is that tuition books dont teach you what you need to know before you start using the books. That is, the basics, what the notes are called on a keyboard, what are the notes called on sheet music, time signatures and time values. These are the basics that apply to all musical instruments and you must learn this first.

Black and White Piano Keys on a Portable Electronic Keyboard

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 03:35:25 +0000

The first thing you need to learn before playing the piano is the piano notes. What are they called? A regular piano keyboard has 88 keys on it including the black notes. The first notes to learn are the white notes, but how do go about memorizing the names of all those white notes.There are many different sizes of keyboards. Sixty-one and seventy-six note keyboards are standard for electronic keyboards, and pianos are traditionally eighty-eight notes. No matter what the size of keyboard there are only seven white notes to learn. Black notes are associated to the white notes and are known as sharps and flats.So, firstly let’s learn the seven note names. They are C, D, E, F, G, A and B. Wherever on the piano you play you will be using one of these notes names. You will see that from C to G is alphabetical, the reason I haven’t started with A is because when you start learning to play the piano you will be using C as one of the first notes you ever play and it will also be a very important note and will help you relate to the other notes particularly on sheet music.Now you know the notes, your next step is to find them on a piano. The easiest way to do this is to look at the piano keyboard, if you don’t have a keyboard, find a picture of one on the internet. Now, just look at the keyboard carefully and you will see sets of two black notes and sets of three black notes. Look at a set of two black notes first. Starting with the black note on the left, notice a white note to its immediate left this note is called C, the white note to its immediate right is called D, and this is also between the two black notes. Finally, the white note to the right of the second black note is called E. So all the notes in this section of two black notes starting at the left are called C, D and E. Depending on the size of your keyboard you will see up to eight sets of two black notes together, these are the same and also use our three notes C, D and E. The only difference between the sets is the pitch of the notes. On the far left of the keyboard, notes will sound lower in pitch and to the right, notes will sound higher.The next shape you are looking for is three black notes together and these notes are surrounded by four white notes. Starting from the left again these notes are called F, G, A and B. That’s it; you have learned all the white notes on a keyboard. The two black note and three note shapes are repeated on the whole keyboard and so are the notes. With a little bit of practice you should be able to find any note on the piano. Just remember that every two black note shapes are surrounded by C, D and E, and every three note shape is surrounded by F, G, A and B.