CASIO

Casio Learning Keyboards History

Advancements into USB and user memory combined with the sukuzi method of "memory learning" - a modern methodology devised from the assimilation of 2 centuries of music learning lessons tradition throughout asia --Casio in recent decades have promoting the ancient and most proven leanring method - by aural and visual memory.

The Lighting series of keyboards allow more innovative teachers in the west to start to benefit from centuries of music lessons memory learning traditions previously lost to western culture, which enhances the ability to read by seperating fingering aural and reading skills to manageable levels.

The lighting system allowed students to develop at an early stage basic memory techniques and skills only practised by Western Concert Pianists, as lower level learning institutions in the west had and still have forgotten the importance of memory techniques which are only taught to advanced level concret pianists.

Casio Synthesizers

Casio Synthesisers 1982-1992 lead the way worlwide with many innovations in synthesizer modelling but focusing on the home user and first making high quality keyboards accessible to home users in the process pioneering features far in advance of their time

Casio, the Japanese consumer electronics company, was in the professional synthesizer business until 1992 and recently have have returned to it with the WK range
All of their 1990s synthesizers were digital, and involved menu driven programming interfaces.

The CZ line used what they called 'Phase Distortion Synthesis'. The VZ line used 'Interactive Phase Distortion' and the FZ line were 16 bit sampling units. The CZ line was among the first commercially available MIDI keyboards.

These were a family of low-cost Phase distortion synthesizers produced by Casio There were eight models of CZ synthesizers released: the CZ-101, CZ-230S, CZ-1000, CZ-2000S, CZ-2600S, CZ-3000, CZ-5000, and the CZ-1. Additionally the home-keyboard model CT-6500 used 48 phase-distortion presets from the CZ line. The CZ series were remarkably flexible synthesizers, and their price made programmable synthesizers affordable enough to be purchased by garage bands.

Yamaha later introduced their own low-cost digital synthesizers, including the DX-21 and DX-100, in light of the success of the CZ series.

YAMAHA

Portable Keyboards

These are 61 full size keys and some models have a touch sensitive keyboard (note this is not the same as weighted action at all ) . The Education suite provides a basic introduction to learning music

Arranger Workstations

Yamaha’s range of Arranger Workstation keyboards focus on fetures such as accompaniment styles, recording options and USB connectivity.

Music Database - similar to casio registrations settings , and the Registration Memory allows you to store your own favorite registrations.

Yamaha Portable grands

Portable grands lie somewhere between keyboards and digital pianos with varying features

They are between 76 keys and 88 keys . Some have graded soft touch and some Hammer action

Clavinovas

Portable grands lie somewhere between keyboards and digital pianos with varying features

They are between 76 keys and 88 keys . Some have graded soft touch and some Hammer action

Stage Pianos

The CP portable digital pianos range features hammer action and 88 keys full size

Clavinova

The CLP range are Yamahas Cabinet style digital pian os featuring 88 keys and graded hammer action as well as varying sounds and rhythms and other features model to model

KURZWEIL

Today Kurzweil is the keyboard instrument of choice in contemporary music for just about every Star player, as well as for stage piano
including to mention only a few:
# Richard Wright, of Pink Floyd
# Duran Duran
# New Order
# Frontline Assembly
# Delerium
# Alicia Keys
# Geri Allen
# Tori Amos (on her albums From the Choirgirl Hotel and To Venus and Back)
# Amanda Palmer of the duo The Dresden Dolls
# Lukas Wooller of Maxïmo Park
# Peter Gabriel
# Mike Garson
# Maurice Gibb
# Jean Michel Jarre
# Henrik Klingenberg
# Brian M. Murphy
# John Novello
# David Bowie
# Jordan Rudess, Dream Theater
# Alex Tirrell, Shryne
# Steve Walsh, Kansas
# Stevie Wonder (he was already a user of Kurzweil reading machines)
# Flood (record producer)
# Billy Joel, usually only in concerts.
# Roy Bittan
# Brent Mydland (Grateful Dead) 1987 until death (1990

* Raymond Kurzweil in 2002 Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, established by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
* Raymond Kurzweil received the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize, the US highest award in invention and innovation,
* Raymond Kurzweil received in 1999 the National Medal of Technology, the USAs highest honor in technology.
* Bill Gates called Ray Kurzweil "the best at predicting the future of artificial intelligence"

13 Honorary doctrates later,
for his many contributions, not only in inventing the Kurweil digital keyboards but many other scientific controbutions, the Wall Street Journal,
wrote of him" the rightful heir to Thomas Edison,” and PBS included Ray as one of sixteen “revolutionaries who made America”,
along with other inventors of the past two centuries Kurzweils musical keyboards company Kurzweil Music Systems produces
among the most sophisticated and realistic synthesized-sound creation instruments.

SUZUKI

Suzuki produce excellent student to intermediate skill level pianos and recently produced a a graded action Mini Electric Grand at a price and sound that has surprised the music industry. No other mini grand at this price point have the features or the sound this little gem of digital piano can produce, with a stunning finish to match,

KAWAI

Renowned for 80 Years of Japanese precision in Piano Craftmanship Kawai lead the way in Custom piano innovations and present a range of Pianos, Digital Pianos and Keyboards reknowned for rich sound, superb fatser piano key actions and especially suited to the classical piano tradition.

The only manufacturer who has created the an unsurpassed wooden keys and a true piano soundboard Digital Piano

Famous Concert Pianists Classical and other artists playing kawai ( kawai has now built over 24,000 pianos

Alex Alessandroni Rod Argent Michael Bearden
Boh Cooper
Steven Curtis Chapman Carol Connors Boh Cooper

Russ Freeman Junko Ueno Garrett Kirill Gliadkovsky
John-Paul Kaplan
Marty Grebb Mike Jones John-Paul Kaplan

David Korevaar Chad Lawson Joshua Levy

Jim Martinez Yuko Maruyama Neil Sedaka

Paul Smith Makoto Takenaka Michelle Tumes Earl Wild

University and Music Colleges and Symphony Orchestras housing famous kawai Pianos are too many around the world to mention but some in the UK include

Cambridge University Cambridge
Sherborne School Dorset
Northern Symphonia Gateshead
University of Keele Keele
B.B.C. London
Barbican Centre London
Maxims London
Princess Garden London
St. Brides Church London
Strand Theatre London
Strong Room Recording Studios London
Trinity College of Music London
World Trade Centre London
Newcastle University New Castle
Exeter College Oxford
Oxford University Oxford
St. Anthony's College Oxford
Aelfgar Comprehensive School Rugeley
Rackhams Sheffield
Wells Cathedral Music School Somerset
Civic Centre Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent
St. Hillary's School Surrey
Forum Theatre Welwyn
St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle Windsor