YAMAHA PSR E423 KEYBOARD

[ThomasM]

Newbie here. Looking for answers to many problems.
Have a Yamaha e423 digital keyboard. Went to youtube to see if I could find a solution - no such luck.
I'm 66 yrs old
I'm practising my head [er] fingers off playing melodies. My problem is playing chords with the melodies.
I can't see how these young kids 4 & 6 yr olds can play chords and melodies together and make it sound beautiful!
My mind just don't work like theirs.
I'm getting used to the keys, notes and fingers.
My problems come up when I'm combining chords with the music.
I have to search for the chords which slows down the melody tempo [if you can call it that]
I want to set up the chords section so it'll play the chords as I'm playing the melody

 

[The Y_man]

Welcome Thomas.

Trying to figure out what you are wanting......

Are saying "searching for chords" as in trying ot figure out the "correct" chord to play for a particular song, or just figuring out "how to play the chord"?

The Y-man

 

[DickR]

Hi Thomas,

A friend of mine can't read music at all but plays the stars from heaven. When he figures out the melody with the right hand than on a piece of paper he writes down the chords for the left hand when he figures out the correct one.
Yes he learnt that keys are named from C up to the next C.
So his songsheet looks like C - G - F - C - D - etc etc
BTW he is using mainly black keys only and uses the one finger accompaniment to begin with. After some trial and error he plays it by ear sings fantastic blues etc and he does gigs!
I can read music and play since I was a kid (I am 70 now) and I am jealous.
Main thing is HAVE FUN!

Regards
DickR

 

[ThomasM]

Hi Thomas,

A friend of mine can't read music at all but plays the stars from heaven. When he figures out the melody with the right hand than on a piece of paper he writes down the chords for the left hand when he figures out the correct one.
Yes he learnt that keys are named from C up to the next C.
So his songsheet looks like C - G - F - C - D - etc etc
BTW he is using mainly black keys only and uses the one finger accompaniment to begin with. After some trial and error he plays it by ear sings fantastic blues etc and he does gigs!
I can read music and play since I was a kid (I am 70 now) and I am jealous.
Main thing is HAVE FUN!

Regards
DickR

I can't read music either. A friend who is an accomplished drummer and guitar player can and has been trying to accustom me to naming the notes on each line. The standard E-G-B-D-F does fine and works as does 1-2-3-4-5 plus F-A-C-E. When I go to naming notes I have to think of that little poem so I get the right ones. I just learned the poem for the bass clef - A-C-E-G and G-B-D-F-A. This bass clef gets a little hairy. Now I know the notes from C to C on the next octave up and so on.
I play the melody slowly making sure I get the right notes. Sometimes I recognize a certain pattern of a song I already know, so playing it faster makes it sound like something. I find myself hearing songs on the radio or tv and try to duplicate them on the piano. I may play it over and over on the wrong keys but that changes when I move up or down an octave. Edelweiss is one that sounds bad on a lower octave than the middle or upper third octave. Of course I am limited to 61 keys on the yamaha.

 

[DickR]

Thomas, find on Internet 'chords and scales' there are tons of handy little tricks available to help you to play pretty well in a short time. I tried to upload here a ....doc file but for some reason it will not accept. Oh well....
61 keys is not a limitation at all and more than enough to do the job. Most pro's don't need more, unless you are playing classical piano.

 

[ThomasM]

that's kinda odd using only black keys. what if something requires a sharp or a flat? he's already playing those keys! anyway I think I found a true friend in you!

 

[The Y_man]

The 423 has Easy Chords.

Have the auto accompaniment going and you should only need 1 or 2 fingers to play chords - see "Easy Chord" on page 29 of the manual.

The Y-man

 

[Becky]

I'm a little late to this topic, but wanted to welcome you to the forums I hope the practicing is going well!