How to Connect Your Yamaha MIDI Keyboard to Computer?
Connect your Yamaha MIDI Keyboard to your computer and you can easily download or transfer midi song files between your pc and your music keyboard.
Have you been recording your own songs on your Yamaha keyboard? It would be a good idea to store them on the computer if you have several of them.
It's convenient from a storage perspective and it's to distribute it if need be.
On the other hand, if you are keen to learn to play one of your favorite songs, just download the midi file for that song from the internet and then onto your Yamaha electronic keyboard. And you are ready to use that song.
But before you can try out either of these options, you should connect your Yamaha MIDI keyboard to the computer.
MIDI Connection
USB-to-Midi cables (interface) are available to make the connection between computers and Yamaha midi keyboards.
Every Yamaha piano keyboard has MIDI ports on the rear side which you need to use.
By using an optional accessory like the Yamaha UX-16 cable to make the midi connection, you can make your Yamaha keyboard communicate with your PC.
While making the connection, make sure the cables are connected from IN to OUT, and from OUT to IN.
Music Downloading Software
Now you know that you can take your user songs stored in the flash memory of your Yamaha and pack them on to your computer.
You can download/transfer your favorite songs from your computer to your Yamaha midi keyboard.
But to be able to transfer the songs from your computer to the keyboard's FLASH ROM, you will need to use Music software that will let you do such tasks.
"Yamaha Musicsoft Downloader" software is one such application, which usually comes bundled along when you buy your keyboard instrument.
Checking the MIDI Connection
Before you can start using the midi software, you will need to be sure that your Yamaha keyboard is connected properly to the computer.
To do this you can use the "Connection Check" feature within the software which tests whether the connection is working properly.
If for any reason the connection check gives an error, ensure that the MIDI-In of the interface cable is connected to the MIDI-Out of the Yamaha keyboard and the MIDI-Out of the interface cable is connected to the MIDI-In of your Yamaha keyboard.
How to Do the Transfer
Here's a video that shows you how to transfer song files between your keyboard and the computer. You have to scroll towards the middle of the video from where the actual stuff starts.
Once you launch the application, you will find the "File transfer utility" within this software that will let you do the transfer.
Under the "Electronic Musical Instruments" section, you will find the Flash Memory and the System Drive locations of your Yamaha keyboard.
The System Drive shows the User Song locations (Song locations 103 to 107), whereas the Flash memory shows you everything that is stored on the Flash memory (Song locations 108 onwards) of your Yamaha keyboard. It also shows information like how much free space is available on your Flash memory.
Sites for Downloading MIDI Songs
You can download songs from various sites. One such popular place is the www.music.yamaha.com site from where you can download your favorite songs and store it on your computer.
Once you launch the Yamaha Musicsoft Downloader application, you can access the memory locations of both your computer as well as your Yamaha Digital keyboard.
You can use the "Add File" button in the software to initiate the File transfer.
The Keyboards display will show the word "Com Mode" which means file transfer is in progress between the computer and the Yamaha music keyboard.
If you transferred the song from the computer to your Yamaha electronic keyboard, you can select the newly added song and play it as you would play any other song on your Yamaha midi keyboard.