Yamaha Clavinova Consumer Internet Warning

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CONSUMER WARNING ON INTERNET SALES
Yamaha Corporation of America (YCA) is the exclusive authorized United States importer and distributor of Yamaha musical instruments, including Clavinova digital pianos. These electronic products have a sophisticated array of features, and YCA has determined that a satisfactory customer experience requires services (including product delivery and set-up, and after-sale service and support) that can only be provided by an authorized retail dealer. YCA thus sells Clavinova digital pianos only through authorized dealers for sale via the dealers retail storefronts. If you are a resident of the United States, you can purchase a new YCA Clavinova digital piano only through those authorized dealers. For the above reasons, it is not possible to purchase a Clavinova digital piano over the Internet or on eBay from YCA authorized dealers. Many non-authorized retailers attempt to trade on the valuable reputation of the Yamaha name. They offer for sale Yamaha musical instruments that are not meant to be used in the United States. YCA is aware that instruments, including Clavinova digital pianos, that are not meant to be sold in the United States are being sold over the Internet and on eBay. YCA is also aware that these sellers may claim these instruments are safe and/or covered by the manufacturers warranty, or may not disclose the absence of warranty coverage. Clavinova digital pianos purchased on the Internet and on eBay, however, are not covered by YCAs warranty, and pose safety issues for U.S. users. Unauthorized instruments can be identified by any of the following: Has an ADAPTER on the Power Cord (see Figure 1 to the right) Has an altered Serial Number either on the back of the instrument (or under the keyboard) Had the Serial Number removed from the shipping box Does not have a UL mark on the Serial Number plate (see Figure 2 to the right) Does not have an FCC mark on the Serial Number plate (see Figure 3 to the right; mark is usually WITHOUT the words in the outer circle) Has Coffee, Candy or other consumables in the box Has a copy of the Torah, the Bible or other religious material in the box Has Church Supply Gift markings on the outside of the box. Was shipped to you in its original carton (not delivered by a local dealer) Instruments such as these are NOT intended for use in the USA. Beware of any website, including eBay, that offers for sale new Yamaha Clavinova digital pianos to residents of the United States. These sales are not authorized by YCA, and are not covered by YCAs warranty.

Figure 3 Figure 2

Figure 1
If you purchase a Yamaha Clavinova digital piano not designed for use in the United States, significant safety issues exist. Yamahas electronic products operate on normal alternating current and are designed for the specific requirements of the countries in which they are intended to be sold and used. The importation, distribution and use of such products not designed for the United States can result in (a) damage to the product, (b) damage to household wiring; (c) fire; (d) loss of insurance coverage and, in some jurisdictions (e) violation of municipal ordinances. In addition, any attempt to modify such products to enable them to operate on normal U.S. voltage and current may increase the above risks, and likely voids whatever non-U.S. warranty coverage, if any, as may have existed for the product. If you purchase a new Yamaha product not designed for use in the United States, that product will not be covered by a warranty in the United States. Only YCA Authorized Dealers can provide new Yamaha products with warranty coverage valid in the United States. And, only YCA Authorized Dealers are trained to provide you with service and support before, during and after your purchase. If you purchased (or know someone who purchased) a Clavinova digital piano over the Internet or on eBay, we suggest that you contact the seller to attempt to return the product. Be advised that the seller cannot provide a product authorized for use in the United States, and may not accept the return of the product and/or provide a refund.

If you have any questions regarding the purchase of a Yamaha Clavinova digital piano, please do the following:

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To find out if a dealer is authorized to sell Clavinova digital pianos in the US, please visit: Yamaha Dealer Locator, enter your zip code, click Next and then navigate to Musical Instrumnets >> Pianos & Keyboards >> Digital Pianos and then choose Clavinova Digital Pianos to view the results. To find out if a Clavinova digital piano you purchased was designed for use/sale in the U.S., please click here to complete the form. Please include your model number (including finish designation, i.e., CVP405PE or CLP380PM) and Serial Number.

Arrangement Ideas for Yamaha Clavinova Festival Participants
To prepare your students for the Yamaha Clavinova Festival, here are a few ideas that may help you understand some of the many exciting features the CVP Series Clavinovas have to offer. The spirit of the Festival is Enriching Lives Through Music Participation. This event is designed to be fun, and to challenge your students to create, and do something a little different. The Yamaha CVP Clavinova has many exciting features that we would like to introduce you to. With many different orchestral voices and effects available, the possibilities are endless. Be creative, and try something fun and exciting! You will enjoy the diversion, and so will your students! For an exciting variation to a piano voice, try combining the piano sound with some strings, or vocal sounds. Consider changing registrations for the different sections of the song. Registrations can be saved in the Clavinova in the registration memory section. The Clavinova has several banks of registrations available; so many combinations are possible if desired. If the selection is too challenging to change registrations during performance, the left pedal can be assigned to change the registration incrementally. This is a very handy feature! Save these registrations to a disk, so that once you have your setting refined, you dont have to go through the procedure again when you want to play your selection. o Procedure: Its very similar to locking your favorite radio station in the memory button of your car. Set-up the Clavinova with the desired settings, press and hold the registration button while selecting which memory you wish to save your setting to.
Try having your students add a very basic track in the sequencer (recording feature on the Clavinova). It is often very tasteful to add a basic bass line, a simple counter melody, or even a basic percussion part. For a bass line, you might consider adding a root-fifth pattern to a song. This will give you a great opportunity to discuss the harmony changes with your students and have them identify where the chord changes take place. For a counter melody string line, you may also want to discuss the harmonic outline of the music. Automatic rhythms can also be used and can really add excitement to a keyboard performance. o When using an automatic accompaniment pattern, use as many variations as you like, similar to what you might hear in a live band situation. Each automatic accompaniment pattern has 4 variations - A, B, C and D. A is the more simplistic band, and D is the most complex. There are also 3 variations of introductions and endings. For example, you may wish to start with a simple rhythm for the first section of the song. For the repeat, consider using a different variation of the rhythm. Try mixing and matching throughout the arrangement. These variations can be stored in the registration memory section of the Clavinova. For even more varied background, you can use the mixer feature to adjust the volume of the individual parts of the automatic accompaniment section. Each automatic pattern consists of 5 musical parts called drums, bass, chord, phrase and pad. The volume of each of these parts can be adjusted to create further variations of each rhythm. Again, these volumes can be stored in the registration memory section of the Clavinova, and then stored to a disk for repeated use.

Consider trying to emulate an arrangement done by a band or orchestra. The CVP Clavinova can record in up to 16 musical tracks, so some pretty elaborate arrangements can be made.
When working on a project like this, it can be a great time to discuss orchestration with your students. Be sure to show them that the musical instruments of the orchestra have ranges. You can introduce them to many exciting styles of arranging for these different instruments. Have students perform with commercially prepared software. This is a great opportunity for beginning students to sound wonderful, while having to count at the same time! Double benefit. Most students will love to play with a prepared background disk to their lesson books. Yamaha has lots of prepared software available for all levels of performers. Try out the StarLIGHTS Series books for beginners! Also, www.yamahamusicsoft.com, has plenty of MIDI software available for purchase including, StarLIGHTS, CueTIME, DISKOrchestra, You are the Artist, and more. Click here to check out the various titles. Let students play duets using fun and exciting sounds. By using the split keyboard feature the Clavinova has to offer, along with octave placement capabilities, the possibilities are endless.
Have fun, experiment, be creative. This is a wonderful opportunity to give your students confidence, and to have a wonderful, positive experience sharing their music!