Yamaha DRX-730BL, PSR-630

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In the rear panel of your PSR-730/630, there are MIDI terminals (MIDI IN, MIDI OUT), a TO

HOST terminal, and a HOST SELECT switch. By using the MIDI functions you can expand

your musical possibilities. This section explains what MIDI is, and what it can do , as well as

how you can use MIDI on your PSR-730/630.

MIDI Functions

What’s MIDI?

No doubt you have heard the terms “acoustic instrument” and “digital instrument.”

In the world today, these are the two main categories of instruments. Let’s consider an

acoustic piano and a classical guitar as representative acoustic instruments. They are

easy to understand. With the piano, you strike a key, and a hammer inside hits some

strings and plays a note. With the guitar, you directly pluck a string and the note

sounds. But how does a digital instrument go about playing a note?

As shown in the illustration above, in an electronic instrument the sampling note

(previously recorded note) stored in the tone generator section (electronic circuit) is

played based on information received from the keyboard. So then what is the

information from the keyboard that becomes the basis for note production?

For example, let’s say you play a “C” quarter note using the grand piano sound on

the PSR-730/630 keyboard. Unlike an acoustic instrument that puts out a resonated

note, the electronic instrument puts out information from the keyboard such as “with

what voice,” “with which key,” “about ho w strong, ” “when was it pressed,” and “w hen

was it released.” Then each piece of information is changed into a number value and

sent to the tone generator. Using these numbers as a basis, the tone generator plays the

stored sampling note.

● Acoustic guitar note production ● Digital instrument note production

Pluck a string and the body resonates the

sound.

Based on playing information from the keyboard, a

sampling note stored in the tone generator is played

through the speakers.

Example of Keyboard Information

Voice number (with what voice) 01 (grand piano)

Note number (with which key) 60 (C3)

Note on (when was it pressed) and Timing expressed numerically (quarter note)

note off (when was it released)

Velocity (about how strong) 120 (strong)

Tone Generator

(Electronic circuit)

Playing the keyboard

Sampling

Note

Sampling

Note