The Yamaha CVP Clavinovas are state-of-the-art digital pianos with many exciting features. With a true grand piano touch and tone, the CVP Clavinova reproduces the experience of playing an actual grand piano. In addition to the wonderful piano touch and tone, authentic voices and dynamic styles produce a truly professional quality of sound. The sophisticated but easy-to-use features make the instrument an endless source of musical enjoyment and creativity. Whatever type of music you have ever dreamed of playing, the Clavinova can make it possible. Detailed information about Yamaha CVP Series Clavinovas can be found on www.clavinova.com. (Just select CVP Series, and choose a model to explore).

The Clavinova has many features to aid instruction in your studio. For more information, check out Teaching with Technology.

The Clavinova Festival is a fun, relaxed performance opportunity in which all students can participate. Students look forward to it every year and can perform any type of music they choose to play on the most current Yamaha CVP Clavinova. With the wide variety of features the CVP has to offer the Clavinova Festival is a very thrilling event. Our youngest performer to date was 3 years old and our eldest was 94. Any age and any level is welcome - they just need a desire to have fun with music! This is a great way to keep students motivated, and add variety to your studio. It's also a great way to get your studio recognition in the community.

No - owning a Clavinova is not a requirement for this event. Sponsoring Yamaha Clavinova dealers will have instruments available in their store to assist your students with preparation for this exciting event. In addition, some dealers will be offering a loan program and may place a Clavinova in your studio for you and your students to experience and use prior to the event. Ask your sponsoring dealer if they will be offering a teacher loaner program.

Now is the perfect time to get acquainted with using technology. Just try it! Students today are very familiar with technology; many of them will be able to assist you in learning to operate the Clavinova. In addition to the manual, there are several wonderful, easy to understand DVD's and videos available on the Clavinova operation. Check with your dealer on the availability, or log on to Yclub Interactive for all of your CVP Clavinova needs. This is your one stop shop for Clavinova software, computer software, cables, support videos, and much more. To join, go to www.yclubinteractive.com and click on "register" and receive a discount on your purchase.

Ogilvy Music has also produced a wonderful User Friendly Manual with teachers in mind. For further information, contact Susan Ogilvy at musicsospace@earthlink.net.

Almost every music publisher has wonderful MIDI disks that accompany most student methods. To find out availability, check with your local music store where methods are sold, and ask them to look up MIDI file accompaniments in their catalog. You can also find this information on most of the publisher's websites. This is also a great way to motivate your students with exciting backgrounds for playing their regular lesson pieces.

The first place is to check with your local dealer. Many people in the Yamaha dealer network are very savvy on the use of CVP Clavinovas. If they are unable to answer your question, Yamaha has a help desk available at 1-800-PRO-YAMAHA (1-800-776-9262). If they are unavailable at the time of your call, please leave a message, and they will return your call promptly.

If you have a CVP300 Series Clavinova, do the following:

• If the Clavinova you are using has the USA Edition installed (if it doesn't, you can ask your dealer to install it), press Song Select and tab over to the "User Drive."
• Select the folder that says USA Edition.
• Another folder will show on the screen that says "HL Method Sampler." Select this folder.

There are 50 MIDI accompaniment files that go with 50 songs found in the Hal Leonard Piano Library. The song titles will be listed in the display. Select the song you wish to play, and press the green Play/Pause button located in the Song section of the Clavinova to hear the accompaniment and piano part. To remove the piano parts, select the Track 1/R and Track 2/L buttons located above the Play/Pause button. Tempo can be adjusted to allow all levels to perform comfortably. These accompaniments can even be used in the Festival.

Having a student play in their comfort level is very important. Select a song the student enjoys playing, and spice it up a bit by either adding a MIDI disk accompaniment or have the student experiment with different sounds. Anything is an acceptable piece of music, whether it's a published piece, or a piece the student has composed. As students become more comfortable with the Clavinova's operation, they may wish to create their own background. Please see Recording Chord Sequences for the CVP300 Series for easy to follow instructions to create simple performance backgrounds.

All levels are welcome. The emphasis is to have fun, and encourage students to be creative, and desire to continue with their music studies. Please see Arrangement Ideas for Yamaha Clavinova Festival Participants. Stay tuned to this site- we will continue to be adding exciting ideas and projects for your studio.

Do you have a specific question not addressed here? Contact us.