Recording Keyboard Output to PC

OK, so you've got an electronic keyboard (like the Yamaha PSR-295) and you want to record your music to files on the PC so you can email to friends, post on sites, etc. Sounds like a sensible goal and should be easy enough especially with a USB connection, right? Hang on...not as simple as that. At least I didn't find it so.

Yes, you can record your song to one of the "user" spots on the keyboard. No, you can't transfer this to the PC easily. Yamaha support confirmed that. None of the provided programs facilitate the task: 1) The Musicsoft Downloader is exactly that - a downloader, not an uploader. 2) I couldn't get the Digital Music Notebook to do it either.

Here's how I finally accomplished the task:

1. Install driver from CD and connect USB cable to PC
2. Get a MIDI "sequencer" program (E.g., Cakewalk, Cubase, or Logic); Some of those retail for around £100. I opted for the inexpensive option: Cakewalk Music Creator 3 for £19.
3. Set the "song out" Function on the keyboard to "on" (Note this may require fiddling with the PC mode" and then flipping "keybd out" to off; If you're just going to record direct play then no need to set song out - just set keybd out or choose PC mode 2)
4. Record on one of the MIDI tracks in the sequencer
5. Start song on keyboard
6. Stop recording and save output to MIDI file

Just a couple of other notes:

1. Make sure MIDI input source in the sequencer is set to keyboard (E.g., "Yamaha In")
2. Set MIDI output source in the sequencer to a source that can play output so you can hear it (I set it to "Yamaha out" so I could actually hear the output on the keyboard as I played it)

-Krip

Categories: Music_, Hardware_