Yamaha Tyros Made Easy 7 Audio CD Set Guide – Simon Smith Explanations

You have purchased your brand spanking new TYROS, you are left for quite some time wondering how on earth you are going to work your way through the thick manual that could also double as a footstool.

For those among us who like to dive straight into the deep end and would sooner avoid the manual opting for the more hardcore option of guess and hope, will soon get to the point where they may have worked the basics out, but are left feeling there is still so much to know!

A company named Simon Smith Explanations Ltd have created a 7CD set of Audio Disks that will allow the concerned TYROS operator of any level to listen and learn from the very basic functions such as selecting styles right up to the more advanced functions like multi track recording.

First question you may be asking is why choose the media Audio CDs? Well actually I was one of the sceptics who thought that using video was a much more effective way of presenting information for people to learn. However you soon realise from listening to just audio, you can concentrate solely on the keyboard itself rather then both the keyboard and a television screen making it more complicated to follow. Having listened to all the disks, I can say with confidence that this is a great way of learning how to use your TYROS and with the disks using Audio CD’s (Compact Disks) for holding this information, most people will have a Audio CD Player of some variation to be able to play and follow this medium.

Included with the pack is a nice case to hold your 7CD’s and a reference booklet. The 7CD’s are meant to be played over a 20 day period or you can just learn at your own pace. The CD’s cover the following aspects:

• Screen Basics (selecting and mixing sounds)
• Selecting Rhythm Patterns (& using controls)
• Understanding Auto Accompaniment
• Setting volumes
• Understanding Multi Pads
• One Touch Setting
• Music Finder
• Harmony and Echo
• Drawbars
• Registration Memory Part 1 (saving)
• Registration Memory Part 2 (organising)
• Song Play
• Song Guide
• Microphone (& vocal harmony)
• Quick Recording
• Multi Track Recording
• Record Editing Part 1 (edit a recorded song)
• Record Editing Part 2 (step time record)
• Multi Pad Creator
• Sound Creator (how to modify sounds)
• Mixing Console
• Style Creator Part 1
• Style Creator Part 2
• Style Creator Part 3

As you can see from the list, there is a varied and helpful guide through all the important aspects of the TYROS.

So setting the scene, enter the first CD into your CD player, PC or whatever you wish to use, sit down at your TYROS and begin to listen to your vocal instruction. Your information emanates from a very clear chap who slowly and steadily relays clear instruction on how to operate your TYROS. When I say clear, I really do mean ‘clear’ as well. Crystal clear, in fact you will be very hard pressed to find any moment where you lose track and start to panic. Even if you do wander off, you can always pause the CD track or rewind a little and work out where you may have gone wrong. Like I say this is unlikely as the instructions given are extremely precise.

There are downsides to this method though although minor are worth a small mention. Sometimes you do feel like you are listening to a train station announcement. By this I mean the voice can come over at times to be very emotionless of someone just reading a script. You can also get bored by the lack of stimulation by this process. You feel yourself and indeed your mind slipping into a stupor which leads you to pressing random keys on your TYROS. Then you miss some vital instruction and you have to rewind. Like I say this is only a minor fault and not something to be concerned about in the slightest, however worth a mention.

All levels of keyboard skills will find something useful from this CD set. Even on the more basic functions, each area of the LCD screen is explained bringing incite to new and exciting tools and features you can use to bring your keyboard to life. For instance the microphone on my keyboard has been pretty redundant as I have no singing talent unless you need your walls stripping of paint. However by following one of the lessons I found so much more. With the ‘talk’ function, by this I mean the button you press to tell your TYROS you want to talk through your microphone rather then have all the reverb, chorus and effects rumbling on to enhance your voice, you can add more subtle effects to add a little bit more interest. Quite a surprise and something I would never have looked for in the manual.

Conclusion

Lets face it we have spent quite a considerable amount of money for the privilege to purchase the keyboard in the first place, now spending around £40 to buy this CD set seems the best course of action for anyone. Crisp clear instruction and a great medium for presenting the information makes this 7CD set a must for any TYROS owner.

Yamaha Tyros Made Easy 7 Audio CD Set Guide

9

Rating

9.0/10

Pros

• Crisp clear instruction
• CD Audio a great medium for presenting the information

Cons

• Voice can come over at times to be very emotionless

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