Yamaha YPG235 76-Key Portable Grand Keyboard

Shopping for a digital piano? There sure are a bunch out there. You may have heard that Yamaha makes some of the best digital pianos in the biz, so that narrows your search down a little bit, but Yamaha themselves have a wide selection from which to choose. Where does the Yamaha YPG235 fit into this scheme? Priced right between beginner's pianos and higher end performance pianos, you can think of the YPG235 in one of two ways: with features like a 6-track recording sequencer and the Yamaha Educational Suite, it's the piano to get the beginning student that they won't grow out of any time soon, and with a Graded Soft-Touch keyboard and beautiful piano sounds, it's also the perfect performance instrument for professionals on a budget.

The Yamaha Portable grand Experience
While the YPG235 has a ton of fantastic instrument sounds, the centerpiece of this, and all Yamaha keyboards, is the lush grand piano. You probably know that Yamaha makes some of the world's finest acoustic grand and baby grand pianos. It only makes sense, then, that their digital grand piano would sound a notch above the competition. The true, stereo-sampled grand piano is lifelike and rich, and it's reproduced beautifully on the YPG235's built-in, stereo, two-way speaker system. Adding to the real-piano experience is the Graded Soft Touch keyboard. Comprised of 76, semi-weighted keys, it approximates the "action" of real, mechanical ivories. Plug a Yamaha FC4 sustain pedal in for dynamic damper effects and you've got complete and authentic control over your music. The Yamaha Portable Grand experience is, in short, the type of performance that professional musicians require, and students will benefit from having a piano that they'll actually enjoy rehearsing on.

The Yamaha Education Suite: Learn At Your Own Pace
If you've ever been frustrated by educational software in the past, the straightforward simplicity of the Yamaha Education Suite, or Y.E.S., will be a breath of fresh air. Y.E.S. presents an easy-to-understand and effective learning system that'll help students of any age become better players. Simply load up one of the YPG235's 30 internal songs (another 70 are included on CD-ROM) and the on-screen piano graphic shows you which notes to play. Next, choose one of the lesson modes: "Wait Mode" stops song playback until you play the correct note; "Your Tempo Mode" slows playback down when you play incorrect notes, so you can learn at your own pace, but start to get a feel for rhythm; "Minus One Mode" plays a song with one part removed, so that you can play along with the other elements of the music--think of it as piano karaoke, except you choose what part to play. These three modes follow a natural progression, each building on an ability mastered in the previous mode, and each lesson has seven levels of increasing difficulty to push those abilities even further. An automatic grading function provides you with honest feedback on your playing; no apples for the teacher here, just the hard, satisfying truth! There's even a chord dictionary for familiarizing yourself with common chordal voicings and intervals. Even if you're planning on eventually studying with a teacher, the Y.E.S. will give you a huge head start and distinct learning advantage, making your private lessons that much more rewarding.

Access An Infinite Library Of Music
Once you're comfortable with sight-reading, you're going to want to play as many different pieces of music as you can find. The YPG235 can help you there, too. A USB input connects the keyboard to your computer, and from there, the internet. Any song saved in the popular MIDI format can be downloaded to the YPG235, with real-time feedback displayed on the graphical keyboard. Your Yamaha can even playback this file so you can hear it before you play it yourself. Having trouble finding a particular song? Load up Yamaha's Digital Music Notebook, an online service that lets you download transcriptions of the most popular music of today, as well as additional lesson books. Load the songs directly onto your YPG235, or use your computer to print them out as sheet music. The Yamaha YPG235 is your portal to a whole world of interactive, musical entertainment!

Six-Track Recorder: Compose Your Own Music
The ability to sight-read notation will have you understanding music in a whole new way, so it'll only be a matter of time before you'll want to start writing your own. For the budding Bachs, Beethovens, or Sufjans out there, the YPG235 has a six-track sequencer built right in. Record a chord progression, than layer melody, counter melody, harmony, or whatever you like on top. Experiment with combining different instrument sounds in one song--the YPG235 has over 361 beautiful sounds to select from, including organs, woodwinds, strings. . . even drums and guitar sounds are at your disposal. Save your favorite work by uploading to your computer via the YPG235's USB port.

Amazing sound, feel, and advanced features meet a very friendly price on the Yamaha YPG235. Take it from the experts at zZounds: whether you're a seasoned player or a student just starting out, the YPG235 is a smart investment indeed.

The Yamaha YPG235 76-Key Portable Grand Piano delivers a piano-focused sound set that will propel your music to the next level. The YPG235 features 76 Graded Soft Touch action piano-style keys that are perfect for the beginner to the expert. A USB port is also included allowing you to download new Songs and Styles for playing. The interactive lesson feature lets you set your own tempo so you can progress at your own speed.

Features
76 piano-style keys with Graded Soft Touch

6-track sequencer allows you to record your own music

USB and Flash ROM to download new Songs and Styles for playing

5 types preset Master EQ

Interactive Lessons: Your Tempo mode helps you learn to play

Backlit LCD, panel lights, pitch bend wheel

Portable Grand Button: industry's best piano

Yamaha XGlite/GM voices plus Sweet!, Cool!, Split and Dual voice

Performance Assistant guarantees a rewarding music experience

Music Database 267 keyboard setups by song title

Technical Info

Keyboard: 76 Key with Graded Soft Touch

Display: Backlit LCD

Voices: 489 GM and XGlite Compatible

Dual/Split: Yes/Yes

Polyphony: 32 Notes

Featured Voices: 5 Sweet, 3 Cool

Music Database: 300 Song titles

Songs: 30 Internal/70 CD-ROM + 5 User

Y.E.S. / Lessons: Interactive Lessons

Styles: 160 + User (SFF)

Style Sections: Intro/Ending + A/B + Fill x 2

Sequencer: 6 Track / 5 Songs / 10,000 Notes

PC Button: Yes

MIDI: USB Slave

Storage Device: 373KB Flash ROM+Dynamic RAM

Effects: 9 Reverb / 4 Chorus / 5 EQ

Harmony: 26 Types

In/Out Jacks: Headphone / Sustain

Speakers: 12cm x 2 / 3cm x 2

Amplifier: 6W + 6W

Power Supply: PA-150 (optional) or 6 D Batteries

Included Accessories: CD-ROM, Manual, Songbook, Music Rest

Dimensions (WxDxH): 47 x 16.5 x 5.5 in.

489 voices, 32-note polyphony. 76 Graded Soft Touch keys. Power adapter not included.