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Chris is the manager of ePianos and an experienced pianist with nearly 20 years in the digital piano and keyboard industry. Jas is a sales administrator at ePianos and is in the early stages of learning the piano. Here’s their talk on the Yamaha CSP-295:
Chris: We’ve just set up the new Yamaha CSP-295 in our showroom and, both being at different stages of our piano playing journey, we’re having a discussion about the merits of it for experienced players like me and relative beginners like Jas.
So, Jas, how many piano lessons have you had so far?
Jas: Literally one proper one, haha! I’ve mostly been learning from you guys so far, and I’ve made a lot of progress. I’ve got a few keyboards at home and have always enjoyed playing them but only at a basic level.
Chris: What’s your first impression of the Yamaha CSP-295?
Jas: My first impression is just its presence! It feels like you’re sat in front of a proper upright piano.
Chris: How do you think it might help you learn to play?
Jas: Well, the Stream Lights learning system will be fantastic. The piano-style weighted keys, of course, are going to be huge and help me learn the muscle memory in my fingers.
Chris: Sure. Do you get on well with the Stream Lights learning system as a beginner?
Jas: Let’s load it up and I’ll show you. I’ve loaded up “La Bamba,” shall I? I can load up the song, and the CSP-295, with its LED light panel above the keys, will show me which notes to play. I don’t actually read music much at all, so it’s fantastic to be able to jump in quickly and get playing a song.
Chris: Ah, yeah, I can hear a whole band playing along with you.
How easy was it to get that iPad connected to it, by the way? I know I just threw it at you and left you to it earlier!
Jas: Ha! Don’t worry, it was dead easy – just a USB-C cable from the iPad to a socket beside the music rest. It detected that it was connected and worked right away. Yeah, playing with a whole band with the automatic backing really helps you learn when the right time to play the notes is. It feels rather like an addictive game, actually! I could sit and play this for hours!
Hang on, let me slow this down! I was playing on fast, and it was getting a little ahead of me, a little in fits and spurts, so my rhythm and timing were falling behind. So, I went to the settings, and I’ve changed the Stream Lights speed to slow, and let’s try again. Much better now!
Chris: I see you’re quite comfortable using both hands when you play rather than just one.
Jas: Yeah! I’m starting to get really comfortable with this, and I’m even keeping up with the backing track to what I feel is a respectable degree. The song doesn’t have so many pauses in there!
That really was a lot smoother and felt like I was playing in tune. And, if I use the guide, the piano will wait for me to play the right note before speeding off too much!
My sheet music reading is still really at an infant level, so I’m relying on the Stream Lights somewhat.
Chris: Do you think you can eventually wean yourself off the Stream Lights system and actually read the sheet music notes?
Jas: Oh yes, the Stream Lights are so useful for now and keep me practicing, and the backing music gives back, frankly, way more than I’m putting in! Basically, Stream Lights will provide me with some loose muscle memory on moving my fingers over the keys. Every note I play is, in effect, a type of practice and makes me more agile next time I play.
I should be able to remember roughly where notes are when I’m still relying on the little red LED Stream Lights over the keys, as I’ve got the sheet music displaying on the iPad anyway. I’m gradually becoming more familiar with it.
Chris: And you can disable the Stream Lights too, can’t you?
Jas: Yeah, here, let me disable them now and let’s try.
Chris: Okay.
Jas: So, as you can see, I’m much slower without the guide lights but, hey, I’m learning, and it’s so useful to have the music so clearly presented on a bright iPad at eye level. And, since I’ve still got the song loaded, I’m getting real-time feedback from the piano as the backing track and band still won’t progress unless I’m playing the correct note. Sure, it’s frustrating, and the playing is a little slow, but I’m definitely learning.
Jas: How do you feel about the
When you’re playing this piano, what do you enjoy the most about it and how does it compare to other top models like the CLP-785 – which we mentioned it will probably rival?
Chris: Well, firstly, like you mentioned, firstly the sheer presence of it! It’s quite a large and substantial piano – rather like the Yamaha upright pianos. In the polished ebony, it’s also a gorgeous piece of furniture. Compared to other models in our showroom, like the middle-range CLP ones, it actually feels quite special and its height makes it stand out.
[eptv]
And when I play the keys, even for the first time I laid hands on it, as an experienced player, I instantly notice that in comparison to the CLP models we have behind us such as CLP-735, CLP-745, the CSP-295 has striking fidelity of sound. It’s very sensitive.
Jas: Hey, even me, as a beginner, can notice the difference in sound. Let me go and hit a key on the CSP-275 on the bass end, and let’s compare. Now, hear the same on CSP-295. Woah, you can so hear the difference! The CSP-275 is a faithful sound of a piano, but, I’m telling you, on CSP-295, even I can hear it. It’s like you can actually feel the strings vibrating through your fingers, even though there aren’t any in there!
Chris: I guess that’s the power of the improved speaker and amplifier combo on CSP-295.
Jas: Yeah, and I didn’t even have the volume very high!
Chris: You know, this is such an important point because people shouldn’t be fooled into thinking it’s all about volume. It’s easy to think ‘well, I wouldn’t need to play very loudly anyway,’ but it’s about the dynamic range, that’s to say how much sensitivity the piano will allow you. How much expression. And CSP-295 struck me as a piano that will offer me no shortage of room to express myself through my playing.
Jas: Interesting. I mean, CSP-255 for educational purposes, for people right at the beginning, would be fabulous, but you’ve got to think what is your standard going to be in 5 years? Are you going to be outgrowing it?
Chris: The worst thing is to see beginners artificially limiting themselves through owning a piano that doesn’t have this type of room for expression.
Chris: Does having an iPad with the Yamaha Smart Pianist app make the CSP-295 a little more fun for you?
Jas: Oh, totally, it presents you with more options and makes it easier for you to navigate the sounds and choose which way to learn or play.
For example, let me go to the Piano Room. Look, I’ve got a grand piano right there on the screen displayed beautifully, and I can switch backgrounds
and play in cathedrals for a huge amount of echo or change to an upright piano in a schoolroom-type venue. Of course, it’s changing only the type of echo, but illustrated this way, it’s really cool.
Chris: You’re playing with the layers there and getting carried away!
Jas: Yes! I’m enjoying that. You can add two layers like grand piano and strings or vibraphone and just play. You can even load up the songs to learn as before, and this gives everything a fresh feel as you’re adding your own touch of orchestration to it. For a total, or nearly total newbie like me, it’s just fun to experiment, and the Smart Pianist app makes it so clear and easy to do.
Jas: I was watching you use the Style backings earlier. How does that work?
Chris: The Styles are really fun on CSP-295. It’s a fun way to feel like you’re playing in a band rather than just along with one. You’re actually acting as a type of conductor to a group, and you can choose the styles of music.
Jas: Why do you like that?
Chris: Well, rather than a one-dimensional piano – just turn on and play – like traditional pianos. There are times when I want the engagement and a way to test timing as a player by playing with a bassist and drummer and other instruments as if they were real humans in a band playing along with me.
With this big picture of a band on the iPad, it gives a good feel for the type of music I’m going to be playing even though each style is given a basic name like ‘Standard 8 Beat,’ etc. Underneath this picture, there are large boxes named A, B, C, D which allow me to have some control over the intensity of the backing band.
When I start with variation A, everything’s quite simple – as you’d expect in a basic rock/pop band. But when I change to B by pressing the screen, the guitarist gets a bit more interested and involved and starts playing a few licks to show off! You can hear the drums become more intense too.
Jas: Does it make your playing pick up as you go along too? That’s to say does it give you a lift using the backing styles?
Chris: Oh certainly! In fact, it reminds me of playing in a live band which I don’t get to anymore being married with kids! My playing becomes more active as I hear the bassline and drums working to crescendos in each bar of music, and I start adding my own little flurries of riffs on the keys. It really does give you a lift, yeah!
Jas: You know, with this instrument, it doesn’t sound like it’s just a piano sound coming from some speakers, as we see in some lower-end models. With those, you play a note and you kind of can see the speakers and you know the sound is clearly coming out of those. With CSP-295, when you’re sat playing it, I don’t really feel I can detect exactly where the sound is coming out of. It’s a very enveloping sound as you play or even sit next to it hearing it being played.
Chris: Absolutely, just like a traditional piano. The connection between player and piano is almost one, and it doesn’t feel as boxed in as some of the models with smaller speakers and lower-powered amplifiers.
Chris: So, overall, if money was no object, Jas,… Do you want to take one home?
Jas: Is that an offer? Haha. In actual fact, I feel like the CSP-295 would last me throughout my grades as I do them and become a better player.
Chris: I can see you’re already having fun and learning things in the time we’ve been sat here next to it!
Jas: Totally. I feel like my learning curve would shoot up with this model. What do you think? Would you have one at home and why – as an experienced player?
Chris: Yeah, 100%. Just the piano specification itself, I know would be enough to satisfy me. Add to that the fact I can plug my phone in, and load up my own music to play through speakers – I showed that in a video recently – makes it all the better.
It feels like a piano with all the mod cons you’d expect in this digital age, but, you take your iPad or iPhone off the music rest and voila! You’ve got yourself a beautiful, classic-looking piano again. It’ll look great in my house!
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