PSR172

The 61 key PSR172 may have an entry-level price, but don't be fooled; it comes with a host of advanced features – like the Portable Grand™. The Portable Grand button is perfect for beginners and students. No matter what buttons and features you've been playing with (for example, the drums or DJ), one touch of the Portable Grand button instantly resets the keyboard to the finest on-board piano, top to

bottom. Yamaha is known around the world for the quality of our acoustic pianos and this attention to detail is evident as you enjoy the warmth and clarity of the PSR172 Portable Grand stereo-sampled piano. And of course, the keyboard includes a Sustain Pedal jack on the back for practicing and playing piano pieces.

If your kid doesn't think keyboard is cool, wait 'til he hears this! Get the world of Hip Hop, R&B, Techno and all the hottest music in your Yamaha keyboard. Push the DJ button, hold down a key with your right hand, and you're groovin'!

Just what the teacher ordered! A fully adjustable metronome is just a button push away.

The PSR172 has 100 built-in songs with Songbook for you to learn to play, using the Yamaha Education Suite. The songs are separated into left and right hand parts, providing 7 levels of lessons plus a convenient chord dictionary.

In addition to the 100 songs mentioned above, the PSR172 also has auto accompaniment features that "follow" your playing. Simply select a style of music from the 100 built-in Styles (example Rock), play a single note or chord on the left side of the keyboard and play your melody on the right side. The PSR172 will create a backup band (bass, drums, strings, guitar etc.) and "follow" you through the song. You can play your songs and try different genres of music. It's both fun and entertaining.

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

In computers, more memory is always better. In keyboards, it's polyphony. In electronic keyboards, the more sounds played at the same time, the more memory is needed. More polyphony is always better. 16 notes polyphony is adequate for a beginner's needs.

In addition to the Portable Grand mentioned above, the PSR172 comes with a selection of voices from you to choose from – a total of 100 in all. Just some of the great sounds you'll find in this keyboard are trumpets, violins, electric pianos, harpsichord, organ, guitars and bass guitar. You'll also find 4 Multipads buttons that access 10 banks of phrases and drum fills. Just press one (or more) of the Multipad buttons and it will play a musical phrase or drum fill that will match the music you're playing! Very cool.

The music pathway to your computer and the Internet is MIDI – Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It's the way that electronic musical instruments communicate with each other and computers. With this keyboard, you have access to thousands of MIDI sources on the Internet.

The PSR172 features MIDI In/Out, Sustain Pedal jack and a Headphone jack for private practice.