The Times, Educational Supplement

Five Steps to Keyboard Skills

Digital keyboard sales are fast overtaking those of their conventional wood and metal counterparts. Advances in sound sampling and weighted actions mean they can no longer be considered as a cheap alternative to the real thing. It’s no coincidence that two of the most successful digital piano manufacturers, Yamaha and Kawai, also make concert grands.

Keyboard Coach is a software tuition program that recognises this change. The program has five levels, incorporating 25 modules and more than 150 lessons. In level one, students are taken through the basics of setting up keyboard-to-computer MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) connections and familiarising themselves with the sort of controls – rhythm, chords, tempo – that come with the electronic keyboards. If you get into difficulties with MIDI, software developer Charanga, provides telephone support. There is also a crash course in music reading with explanations of terms such as leger lines.

Levels two to five introduce a section of musical styles and encourage users to play along to a range of tunes with rhythm backing.

Lesson material is a good mix of more than 50 video-clips, aural and visual training, on-screen cues, printed music and a “keyboard roll” that identifies the note positions on screen.

Mark Burke, publishing director of Charanga, suggests there are five strands to the learning: “Students learn how the keyboard’s features work; they learn to read music and develop good hand skills; they learn to play songs by a process of copying and listening, and the build up hand co-ordination. Finally, they learn to play different keyboard parts – lead lines, solos, string and rhythm accompaniment – in a ‘real band’ environment”.

The key to the success of this program is the choice of material. Many children give up the piano between the ages of 10 and 13 because it’s not cool. They may not enjoy playing an exclusively classical repertoire and wish to learn something more contemporary. By showing them how to play in a virtual band environment, reinforcing the aural learning tradition and providing them with some catchy pop tunes, Keyboard Coach gives aspiring musicians a useful set of tools.

On completion of the five levels, students won’t necessarily have the digital dexterity or sight-reading ability to take on more advanced piano pieces, such as those for grade two piano. And Keyboard Coach is not intended to replace individual tuition. But, as music teachers know, personal direction in class is not always possible, and if Keyboard Coach encourages children to keep playing and to make and enjoy music with others it will have performed an invaluable function.

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Whether you’re a total novice or have tried to master the keyboard before, Keyboard Coach from Charanga will help you master the essential basic skills and even let you experience the buzz of playing with the band! Plenty of video sequences, Cool Songs and Band Trax to play ... you’ll be making sweet music of your own in no time!

On entering this world of music, the first thing you see is the Map Screen. To help you navigation through the program, the 150 or so lessons are divided into 25 modules spread over 5 levels. The lessons get progressively harder but total novices will find that, with the help of some of the 50+ video sequences, they will soon be practicing those Loops with ease!

After you’ve used the Configuration Utility program in module 4 and been guided through the process of connecting your keyboard to your PC, you’ll get a crash course in reading music. This is extended with additional lessons and modules in each level helping you to discover what all those signs and symbols mean so that before long you’ll be playing great Pop, Dance, Rock and Country tunes.

The Play By Ear sections of each level develop and expand your music-making potential through the use of real-time cues, video sequences and sound, until you are able to play even the most complex package uses small, easy-to-learn sections to teach co-ordination skills and music reading ability. Providing plenty of variety in each module, you can experience both the challenge of playing both solos with full audio band track accompaniment, and sample the adventure of being part of a band. With Keyboard Coach from Charanga you’ll soon be sounding like a real pro rather than just a two-finger player!

Daily Express

Although piano lessons are still popular, many schools are also offering keyboard lessons specifically designed around the features and facilities of modern home keyboards. The piano may be a more serious option but the keyboard can be much more versatile, able to sound like many different instruments and, thanks to its built-in drum machine and auto-accompaniment features, able to play along with you so you sound like an entire band on your own.

Keyboard Coach is an excellent computer-based tutorial program for anyone who wants to learn how to play the keyboard, ditching the dry theory of music (though notation is well, if briefly covered) and scales in favour of teaching you quickly how to play tunes, solos and entire songs – all the while using the electronic facilities on your keyboard to the full.

Designed for kids aged 10 and upwards, the program is divided into 150 lessons which start by explaining how a typical home keyboard works and take you right through to the point where you play the entire string section along to a pre-recorded song. Each lesson is accompanied by video clips which take you through the various stages step by step, while animated graphics clearly explain which keys to play when. And although Keyboard Coach uses Yamaha’s PSR-170 to illustrate its lessons, you can use it with all popular makes of home keyboard, including those made by Casio, Roland and Technics.

Traditional music teachers might throw their hands up in horror at all this fun but, if you have a home keyboard, Keyboard Coach is a flexible, long lasting and thoroughly modern teacher.

Inter-Active Magazine

Top teacher, Janet Dowsett FLCM LLCM takes a look at a new tuition program being packaged with Yamaha keyboards…

For the past few months any purchaser of a new Yamaha portable keyboard will have found a ‘Lite’ version of Keyboard Coach software – included in the box with the instrument – free of charge. This is a ‘taster’ of the full version of Keyboard Coach, a new computer software tuition program. Keyboard Coach is produced by the UK company Charanga, and follows on from their very successful Guitar Coach – first introduced in 1997.

Keyboard Coach is a self-study program designed primarily for novice players. It is fun to use, easy to follow, motivational and does not patronise the user. If you really cannot find a good teacher in your area, or if you wish to supplement lessons with another form of learning, this program is to be highly recommended.

Getting started is easy – simply follow the instructions which appear on the screen and you will discover how your keyboard works, how to place your hands, how to sit, and so on. Later the program teaches you how to read music notation, signs and symbols, whilst playing lots of tunes. Learn to play by ear…Learn to use the left hand single-finger chords…Now learn how to co-ordinate both hands to play solos. Using your newly acquired skills you can have fun with the Cool Songs section, and play along with the bands in the Cool Band Trax.

The whole concept is of a program designed to get people playing quickly, but properly. Keyboard Coach is not a ‘quick-fix’ – although you won’t progress beyond single finger left hand chords in this program. It has been carefully designed by a team of music teachers and musical advisors. I was impressed by the musical quality of the tuition, and also by some of the detail given. If you work hard, and do some proper practice, you should make good progress.

The program uses over fifty video clips, where the hands are seen playing, often from two different angles simultaneously. In addition, keyboard diagrams on the same page show notes lighting up in red and green, whilst a roll shows a preview of the note positions and duration. All of this is synchronised with the sound and encourages you to want to play along. You can play any speed to suit you, and can run the video clips at half speed to watch the hands more carefully (but beware, the sound will drop an octave when you do this). All the video clips use a Yamaha PSR170 – so, although the program can help anyone play any manufacturer’s instrument, a Yamaha owner will have a head-start! It doesn’t matter if you own a 170, a 740 or a PSR9000 – if you need some playing tuition, this will help you.

Playing with both hands together is the main stumbling block to people learning to play a keyboard. Keyboard Coach takes uses through four essential steps to ensure they overcome this hurdle: 1) Learn the right hand, 2) Learn the left hand, 3) Learn both hands together with the computers, 4) Perform both hands together on your own.

I particularly liked the Play By Ear sections where you can learn tunes and riffs by listening and watching the screen. It even gave me a few ideas on how to teach this subject myself to my own students!

Charanga have aimed to provide users with an engaging course that will enable them to take control of their instrument and teach them the skills necessary to get pleasure and enjoyment out of playing. In the process, people learn to play a wide range of musical styles and develop a good range of important musical techniques…and that’s what it’s all about in my book!

At £29.99 it’s useful, musical, and good value for money.

Oh, and by the way, it’s great fun! Inter-Active Magazine

Rating:

Computer Active

"Portable keyboards are among the world's most popular instruments, yet many of the people who own one find them difficult to master. Aiming to address this, Keyboard Coach is a multimedia course that aims to help keyboard users who are just starting out and want to get the best from their keyboards.

With more than 100 individual lessons, it begins with the basics and will soon have you getting to grips with the many advanced features found on most modern instruments. There is also specific advice for many current popular models with particular emphasis on voice, tone and style.

Video clips play an integral part with more than 50 sequences providing close-up views of a professional playing each piece. An on-screen virtual keyboard shows you exactly what to play and when to play it, and there's a useful crash course in reading music for anyone who might be a bit rusty.

The 32 example songs are mercifully free of pier-end Wurlitzer-style swirling and cover a diverse range of musical styles, from rock and country to techno and house. Rather than relying solely on MIDI instruments that don't always sound convincing, many of the songs you'll be learning are recorded by professional musicians and singers for a more natural sound.

To achieve the most benefit, hooking your keyboard up to your PC using a MIDI cable is highly recommended. Keyboard Coach can monitor your playing accurately and provide valuable feedback as to where you might need more practice." - Computer Active

"On behalf of YAMAHA-Kemble I'd like to congratulate Charanga on a truly superb product. The wonderful detail and excellent use of technology throughout Keyboard Coach provides the ideal environment in which to learn and enjoy playing keyboard" - Andrew Kemble CEO, YAMAHA-Kemble

"Another superb product. There is nothing out there that comes close to the usability of your coach products."

"Keep up the good work. Your software is worth every penny and I don't often think that!"

"An extremely good teaching aid."

"A first class product"