PSR295

The PSR-295 is a wonderful keyboard for people that want to learn to play music. We've beefed up the "Yamaha Education Suite" (Y.E.S.) found on previous models with a new version, Version IV. In addition to the standard Left and Right hand lessons, Version IV includes "Your Tempo" and "Repeat & Learn" modes. The keyboard comes with 30 pre-loaded songs, Flash ROM internal storage for adding more, and 70 additional selections on an included CD-ROM. Simply connect the keyboard to your computer via the convenient USB connector and transfer songs to the keyboard for learning or listening (PC only). The PSR-295 is the first in the line with recording capability and also features new performance assistant technology that allows you to play along with songs and not make a mistake – even if you're a complete beginner!

• Keyboard lessons/songs are designed for learning one hand at a time
• Your Tempo learning mode - progress at your own pace
• Repeat and Learn - repeat difficult to learn sections
• Lesson Grading - monitors your progress as you practice each lesson
• Lessons work with internal as well as downloaded song files
• Chord Dictionary - shows you how to play chords and tells you which chords you are playing by displaying the notes and chord name on the LCD screen

Learning to play songs moves to a new level of simplicity with the new "Your Tempo" learning mode. Call up a song, press left hand or right hand or both at once for two-handed learning, and the keyboard will speed up and slow down as you do, literally following you through the song. Once you get accustomed to where the notes are, you can keep the keyboard at one fixed tempo to learn correct timing. If you find one section of the song a little difficult, simply engage the "Repeat and Learn" button and the PSR-295 will stay on that section, repeating it until you feel comfortable. Then move on to the next section. And to top it all off, the Yamaha Education Suite also works with Standard MIDI Files (SMF), allowing you to learn songs that you choose. To add songs to the keyboard, simply connect it to your PC via the convenient USB jack on the back, and head out on the Internet (example:www.yamahamusicsoft.com) in search of your favorite songs.

The PSR-295 has many state of the art features to make connecting to your PC as quick and easy as possible. These features include the PC Button, which takes a snapshot of your MIDI settings so that you can instantly return to them with just the press of a single button, and a USB port for transferring song data from your computer. In addition, the USB port acts as a MIDI interface, freeing you from having to purchase other MIDI peripherals like cables and adapters to play music. Simply connect to your computer, open your favorite music software program and hit PLAY. That's it.

Playing piano is fast and easy with Yamaha's Portable Grand function. One dedicated button brings up a great sounding piano, stunningly rich and authentic in its sound and exceptionally responsive to your playing touch, as well as setting up the keyboard to play as a piano in full keyboard mode. On top of all this, a wealth of special piano-only "Pianist" styles, like Slow Rock and Stride, provide professional sounding piano accompaniment that change chords automatically as you do, while you play a piano melody on top!

The PSR-295 comes equipped with 487 voices that include stereo-sampled Piano, a selection of Sweet! Voices including Trumpet, Flute, Pan Flute, Soprano and Tenor Saxes, Cool! Organ and Electric Piano, 10 Drum Kits and 2 Sound Effects Kits. Sweet! Voices are special voices from Yamaha that reproduce all the natural expression and vibrato of their respective acoustic instruments. Cool! Voices feature long samples of electronically amplified instruments.

And for the utmost in compatibility, the PSR-295 is both General MIDI (GM) and XGlite capable. The Internet has thousands of MIDI song files available and you can rest assured that your PSR-295 will be able to competently reproduce these files.

You are also able to create sound mixes of your own using Layer and Split modes. Split mode allows you to have two different sounds on the keyboard at the same time, like piano on the right and bass on the left. Layer mode allows you to combine two sounds across the keyboard range. For example, you could play piano and strings at the same time. You're only limited by your imagination.

Performance assistant technology is a new feature from Yamaha that guarantees that you can't play a wrong note or chord. Here's how it works. Select a song and press the Performance Assistant button. Play the keyboard – any notes you like. Every note you play will fit the music! If you move up the keyboard, the pitch goes up. If you move down, the pitch goes down. Play a perfect arpeggio, or play chords in time with the music, or really "go for it" and play a solo. How about stride piano? No matter what you play, as long as the Performance Assistant button is "on", you're "on". Imagine being able to give a concert to your friends or relatives the very first day that you bring this remarkable keyboard home. Well, with the PSR-295 and performance assistant technology, you can! This feature also works with any XF MIDI files you download into the keyboard (for example, search for XF at www.yamahamusicsoft.com).

• 2-Way Speaker System
Separate woofers and tweeters deliver sounds with clarity and precision for more lifelike instrument voices.

• Bass Boost System
A special port on each speaker adds a powerful impact to bass sound reproduction.

• Stereo (Not just 2 Speakers)
We all know that stereo sound adds realistic character and spatial depth. But how can you tell if the portable keyboard you're looking to purchase is stereo or not? With Yamaha, the answer is simple. All Yamaha Portable Keyboards are true stereo.

• Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
Enhances sound quality with sophisticated digital effects like Harmony, Reverb & Chorus.

• Advanced Wave Memory (AWM)
Yamaha Advanced Wave Memory technology delivers amazingly realistic sound.

What's polyphony, you ask? Simply put, polyphony is how many notes a keyboard can reproduce simultaneously. The PSR-295 has 32-note Polyphony allowing you to play intricate arrangements and dense musical passages.

The PSR-295 comes with 135 built-in styles, waiting for you to play along with. It's just like having a built-in band. Call up your favorite style of music like Rock, Big Band or Country, press a chord or play Single Finger mode, and the PSR-295 will follow you through a piece of music, providing all of the drums, bass, piano, guitar, horn and string parts for you. And to make it easy and fun, when you select one of the styles, the One Touch Setting function will automatically configure keyboard parameters, such as voice selection and digital effects, to match that selected music style.

For a demonstration of "What is a Style", click here (1.3MB download - requires Macromedia Flash and computer sound.)