EZ250i

Learning to play music doesn't have to be all work and no play. The new EZ-250i lighted keyboard from Yamaha comes bundled with Konami Keyboard Mania software so that once you're done practicing, simply connect the 250i to your computer via the convenient USB jack and challenge yourself to a multi-level game against the computer. Post your scores on line and see and how well others are doing. And without even knowing it, you're still learning to play music! Sound too good to be true? Well, read on and find out just what this keyboard can (or should we say, can't) do.

The EZ-250i is the first and only keyboard from Yamaha that comes bundled with Konami Keyboard Mania music software for the PC (Windows® only). Simply connect your keyboard to your computer via USB and let the games begin. This software challenges you to find notes on the keyboard (which light up to make it easier) before they disappear off the computer screen. There are different levels including practicing your timing as the notes drop or finding the actual pitch of the notes. In addition, there are variations that stop and wait for you to find the notes and then continue on. You can choose any tracks of the music that you like (even the drum track!) and load in new General MIDI songs that you download from your computer – for example from the Internet. The game is entertaining, fun and challenging, and best of all you're learning timing, pitch and other music fundamentals.

Our customers have told us that one of the more important features to them, is the ability to connect their keyboard to their computer. The EZ-250i has many state of the art features to make connecting 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 to and from your computer and playing the Konami Keyboard Mania software. 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 the included cable to your computer, open your favorite music software program and hit PLAY. That's it.

The EZ250i has a touch-sensitive keyboard, features a stereo-sampled piano voice and dynamic filtering; technology previously reserved for much more expensive, professional keyboards. In addition, you'll find that 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. But it doesn't stop there.

The EZ-250i comes equipped with 480 Voices that include all the sounds of the orchestra, synthesizer patches, 10 Drum Kits and 2 Sound Effects Kits. It is both General MIDI (GM) and XGlite compatible, making it compatible with pretty much every MIDI file available anywhere.

And no matter what level of playing ability your at, you'll appreciate being able to build combinations of your favorite sounds. Pressing the "Split" button divides the instrument into two parts, allowing you to have two different sounds on the keyboard at the same time, like piano on the right and bass on the left and "Layer" mode allows you to combine two sounds across the keyboard range. For example, you could layer piano and strings and play both sounds at the same time. With 480 voices to choose from, the combinations are only limited by your imagination.

The EZ-250i comes with 80 built-in songs with Songbook. But if you've never played before, where do you start? Well, if learning to play music is important to you, the Yamaha Education Suite, a wonderful set of music training functions, makes learning music incredibly easy. Seven types of lessons are available as well as a convenient chord dictionary.

Three keyboard lessons for each hand Timing mode: You can play the melody or chord by pressing any key using the correct timing. Waiting mode: Playback pauses until you find and play the correct chord or melody note. Keys illuminate to guide you to the correct notes. Minus One mode: Mute the left-hand, right-hand, or both parts of a song and play along nonstop. Lesson Grading – monitors your progress as you practice each lesson. Chord Dictionary – shows you how to play chords by lighting the keys.

The EZ-250i comes with 100 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 250i 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.)

• 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 EZ-250i has 32-note Polyphony allowing you to play intricate arrangements and dense musical passages.