Casio Keyboard Free Lessons
Hilda Bagnoli
I wanted to learn to play a piano piece that I have in MIDI format on my computer by using my Casio LK-215's learning/lesson mode, which lights up the keys that should be played next. The keyboard can play the MIDI file from the SD card, however the keys do not light up, as happens with the built-in songs from its internal memory. Also, more importantly, upon pressing the lesson button (Step1,2 or 3), the keyboard does not wait for me to press the key for the first note of the piece, instead proceeds to just play the piece, as if I had just pressed the Play button, and does this without lighting any keys.
I tried several other MIDIs, all of which were in format 0 and had properly separated tracks (channels), one containing the notes for the left hand and the other containing the notes for the right hand. All these MIDIs work fine with the learning/waiting mode of my other (Yamaha NPV80) keyboard. I also tried converting the MIDIs to CM2 format (using Casio SMF Converter), but the keyboard behaves in the same way with the CM2 files as well.
I have also played around with many of the 16x16 possible combinations of the Keyboard Channel and Navigational Channel variables, but with all combinations I tried, the lesson mode still wizzes right through the MIDI.
The Navigation channel lets the keyboard know which tracks you are interested in. The number you are choosing here is selecting which track will be assigned to the "Right" hand part, while one number below what you choose is automatically assigned to the "Left" hand part.
You'll need to set Navigation channel to 2, however this will end up having the Left Hand as the Right part, and the right hand as the left part due to how the original MIDI file has been put together....no great drama, just remember to choose the opposite part for which one you want to learn.
Another thing to try is instead of playing straight off the SD card, load the MIDI files into the keyboard memory via the SMF Converter software. You'll also need to make sure you have the most up to date driver installed to establish a connection between your computer and the LK-215. (see here: =008&pid=340&rgn=5)
It worked! After setting the Nav channel to 2, the keyboard knows to light up the keys corresponding to the each hand, which means I can use my MIDIs in learning mode, which is why I got this keyboard in the first place. Such an under-rated method of learning to play the piano!
One more thing, Jared, if I may. Some of my MIDIs (e.g. this one) appear to have correctly-separated left and right hand parts when I open up the MIDI in a sequencer such as MuseScore, yet all notes appear only in the RH when I load the file to the keyboard through SMF Converter. Any idea how the MIDI needs to be transformed in order for the two tracks of the MIDI to also be recognised by the keyboard as a LH and a RH part?
I bought a LK-300TV many years ago in the hope I would be able to get the keys to light for songs I loaded. Various salesman weren't sure it could do that, or they were not convincing. The manual says this is "not supported." But I didn't want to study any programmed lessons, I wanted to jump right in to songs I want to play. That's why I bought it just as they were being closed out. I finally took it out of the closet last week.
I selected the resources on this list because they manage to avoid some of these shortfallings, but we have to keep in mind that a $0 price tag necessitates a bit of compromise on our part.
The video lessons have a high production value, with overhead keyboard views, displayed staff, and highlighted keys just like in many paid online methods. Josef has a clear, enjoyable way of teaching, and the comments are overwhelmingly positive.
The lesson topics are many and varied, including pedaling, rhythm exercises, adding emotion, finger exercises, and scales. However, the overall focus is on chords and improvisation with the intent of playing popular music.
The earliest beginner lessons are arranged into playlists in order to help students progress logically, and Tim goes the second step of dividing the playlists into three levels. However, after this stage, the lessons have not been organized into any sort of order other than the order in which they were posted.
For those who prefer reading their lessons to watching them, these websites present a solid option. Web pages also lend themselves better to a structured lesson plan than YouTube channels, so there is no guesswork in what to practice next.
The lessons are text-based, with images and audio files to demonstrate the concepts on the piano. The starter and intermediate sections deal almost entirely with theory, reading music, and technique rather than teaching pieces, but students should be able to apply concepts learned in the lessons to external music.
Zebra Keys is an old-school site that provides 50 beginner piano lessons free of charge. The lessons are divided into four levels: preparation, beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Each level is further divided into lessons on songs, chords, music theory, improvisation, and technique.
One misgiving I have about this program is that it seems to provide a surface-level understanding of concepts. For example, it teaches how to play certain advanced chords, but not in which scenarios they would be used. For this reason, I see Zebra Keys as a once-over-lightly piano resource.
Zebra Keys recommends their program for learners ages 13 and up, though also say that a parent could use the lessons as an aid to teach their children how to play the piano. Students who are interested in a quick intro to reading music, chording, and improvisation are best for this course.
Below are some great piano apps that cover just one or two aspects of learning to play the piano. These apps are fantastic supplements to other learning methods, whether those be in-person lessons, paid online courses, or free online lessons.
It will likely take a bit of trial-and-error to figure out which free resource is the one for you, or more likely, which few resources are the magic combo that will cover all your bases.
In my household, music is on all the time! And I mean all the time! My daughter, Hayley is a singer and an actress at the ripe age of 10 LOL and her singing teacher recommended she start playing a musical instrument to go along with her singing. Since a piano is a big investment, we wanted to try her out on a winning keyboard to see how she liked it. Enter the new Casio America CT-X700 portable keyboard, which we all love in our household.
With a back-lit LCD display, the Casio CT-X700 keyboard is a great keyboard for anyone who is interested in playing and loves music. It features 600 built-in sounds along with 61 Piano-type keys to truly encourage more musical play via your keyboard. With the built-in sound, it allows you to feel like you are the head of your own band. You can even bring it with you to friends houses to play along with them. It also has a USB-MIDI port so that you can easily hook your keyboard to any Mac, PC, Android or iOS device.
I love listening to the sounds of the Casio CT-X700! With a new instrument, you allow yourself and your kids a new level of brain function, esteem, fun, and creativity! Be sure to check out this amazing keyboard today!
One winner will receive this keyboard (value $180). This giveaway is run via rafflecopter so click read more to see the actual giveaway. The only mandatory entry is to visit the site an tell me your favorite feature in the comment section proceeding this post. While the other entries are optional, I highly suggest filling it out to increase your chances of winning. US only. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I like that this keyboard easily connects to my laptop, so I can take it when I travel to keep my streak on Piano Marvel! I took lessons as a kid and remember the basics, but I have grown so much in my ability by practicing every day!
The downside to this type of lessons is that you are not learning to read or play left hand notes properly, so you will be very limited in the kinds of songs you will be able to play. Also, you cannot just use any standard MIDI keyboard with these lessons. Typically you'll need a Casio brand keyboard with the 'Casio' chord feature. So, not only do we not recommend this kind of keyboard lesson, even if you are considering this approach, you may need to buy a different keyboard.
Sometimes this type of keyboard lessons will have chord symbols written on the sheet music, and sometimes the chords are written as notes on on the bass staff on the sheet music (with or without chord symbols above the treble staff).
While this approach is a little better than using one-finger chords, it still falls a long way short of learning to read and play the left hand notes properly and will severly limit the kinds of songs you will be able to play.
Our niche is A.I. keyboard lessons with the depth of instruction of a world-class teacher. There is no keyboard teaching system in the world like Musiah and nothing else that responds to your playing just like a traditional teacher in the way that Musiah does.
Why? Because our teaching method was continually tested and refined over an 18 year period with 80,000 real life students and 800 live teachers personally trained and monitored by Musiah inventor Brendan Hogan L.Mus.A, A.Mus.A. before being embodied as a revolutionary software invention known as Musiah.
No other keyboard method has been so extensively tested in the real world and continually analyzed, re-worked and improved upon to bring you the unique approach to learning to play keyboard up to 16 times faster that only Musiah can offer.
As your A.I. keyboard teacher, Musiah speaks to you and, pointing to the sheet music, he guides you and responds to your playing just like a live teacher. There is no keyboard teaching system in the world like it.
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