CVP-509

— How may one enjoy a "Style", which is a distinctive function of the CVP Series?

Style is a function that automatically provides accompaniment by a variety of musical instruments according to the chord played by the left hand. Our top model, the CVP-509, is equipped with 442 accompaniment Styles such as rock, pop and jazz. The player can change the Style to enjoy a variety of ensembles in a single song. In addition to one person enjoying this function while playing alone, another way to use it is for a child to play a melody while their mother or teacher adds an accompaniment by playing a chord in the left hand area. There is another slightly more creative way of using it. Styles may contain up to eight instrument parts and each part can be independently turned on or off. If, for example, the player’s guitarist friend is visiting, the player can enjoy a session with the friend playing the guitar by turning off only the guitar part of an accompaniment Style. Or by turning off all parts other than the bass, the player can create a melody according to the bass line. We’ve done our best to allow each player to enjoy “Styles” in many versatile and unique ways.

— What originally motivated you to add Style to the CVP Series?

The Style function was offered by the earliest CVP models, and was developed to let an individual player easily enjoy an ensemble performance. Players can not only play the piano skillfully following the score, they can also enjoy playing with drums, guitar, bass and other instruments. By using Style, accompaniment by a variety of instruments is added according to the chord progression, letting players feel as if they are playing with their own backup band. I think that this function, exclusive to the CVP, gives each player a deeper enjoyment of music.

— Have any aspects of Style been upgraded in the CVP-500 Series?

The Style data provided in the CVP-500 Series can be more elaborately crafted than the former CVP-400 models, contributing to more realistic accompaniment. Take the guitar, for example. The voicings and playing methods of guitars and pianos are fundamentally different. There are cases where chords that can easily be played on the keyboard of a Clavinova cannot be played with guitar fingering. With the Style data in the CVP-500 Series, no matter what kind of chord is played, it is replaced with realistic guitar voicings, achieving a natural guitar performance without it sounding like a keyboard version of a guitar. The CVP-509 can add effects to each instrument making up the accompaniment, such as distortion to the guitar and rotary speakers to the organ. This lets players enjoy accompaniments that take greater advantage of the distinctive features of each instrument. Furthermore, a new Style, Free Play Style, never offered before, is provided on the CVP-505 and 509. This is a special Style without a rhythm part. It allows for more expression without the restrictions of tempo.

— Please tell us about Music Finder and Music Finder⁺, which are functions related to Style.

With the Music Finder function, when a player selects the piece they want to play, it automatically sets a combination of accompaniment Style, voice and effect suited to the piece, which is called a Record. It includes a Search function, which can be used to search for the name of a piece, and also for a Style name or even genre. This function is convenient because when the player wants to play a certain piece, it eliminates the process of selecting one of hundreds of accompaniment Styles, setting the voice, and adding effects. Players can perform a Style immediately after they have decided to play a piece. Music Finder⁺ is a service that lets players directly access the internet from their Clavinova. For example, it downloads Records. This means that players can add new combinations of accompaniment Styles, voices and effects to their own Clavinova. There are more than 4,000 of these Records, and all can be used free of charge. Players can also download Collections, which are groups of Records of various pieces by various artists. They can also download a Performance Guide that lets them hear samples of each Style performance. If players use this data, they can, in addition to the score and chord progression, also confirm the melody to practice a Style performance. More than 1,000 are available at a price of $1.99 per piece. Of course, players can listen to them before purchasing them. We hope that people will use Music Finder and Music Finder⁺ to make it easier to use and enjoy Style performances.

— Do you have any other comments?

Our Style data is in effect, a synergy of the skills of many craftsmen. It has been refined by our voice and effects creators, our software, MIDI and Style programmers, and the people who check all of these complex processes. Therefore, all of the Style data and recommended accompaniment Styles are creations important to us. We want Clavinova players to have fun performing with as many Styles as possible so they may fully enjoy playing their CVP model for many years to come.

[ Interview took place in March 2010. ]

— The top Clavinova model, the CVP-509, provides 1,291 different voices. Why so many?

So that players can get the most enjoyment from Style, the automatic accompaniment function available only with the CVP Series. For example, assume someone plays a pops number with one Style. In this case, guitar, bass, electric piano, drum kit, synth pad and percussion voices for the accompaniment are necessary in addition to the melody voice. No player continuously plays one song in a single genre. We imagined how players will most likely play a song, and will use it with many voices suitable when played with a Style accompaniment. Therefore, just for guitars, we provide many kinds of guitar voices. We also do this for other instruments such as piano and strings. This is why is the CVP-509 is equipped with so many voices that people are amazed when they see the specifications. So while enjoying a Style performance, players unconsciously and skillfully use a rich variety of voices.

— What kinds of voices are Super Articulation and Super Articulation 2?

Super Articulation, offered on the CVP-505 and 509, is a voice that allows the expression of articulation. In other words, richly expressive sounds of musical instruments. In the case of a guitar for example, the scratching sound of the strings. For saxophone or trumpet, the Clavinova keyboard can express the performance styles of actual instruments, such as legato without taking a breath or a smooth pitch bend. The timing or playing ease to reproduce the distinctive playing techniques of these instruments are smoothly integrated, so the player can perform these with ease. Voices that require a year of practice to play are meaningless (laughs). The CVP-509’s Super Articulation 2 has even more musical instrument-like natural expressiveness. It divides a single sound into the start-up of the sound the instant a key is pressed, the sound that is extended when the key is held, and the sound the instant the key is released, and instantaneously combines these according to the performance. This means that the expression of legato and staccato, which are vital for wind instrument performances, becomes very natural. When performance methods such as vibrato or glissando are added, there is no end, but I think this ensures that high levels of reality and musicality can be felt, even when playing only do re mi fa so la ti do.

— Please tell us about your dedication to creating the sound of the Organ Flutes and their distinctive playing method.

My focus in sound creation is harmonizing noises. An organ is an analog instrument, so when it is played, subtle noises are mixed in. But this is also a strong point of organs. The degree of retention of these noises was decided after considering the balance with other instruments usable for Style performance, through an exchange of views with organ experts. And it is now possible to simulate the organ sound harmonization method on the display. The CVP-509 is equipped with 20 kinds of Organ Flutes such as Gospel and Jazz, but it is possible to harmonize the sounds from these voices by raising or lowering the flute footage bar or by changing the switches. Because it’s possible to operate it while playing, it’s fun to search for the preferred sound.

— Do you have any other comments?

I have considered the question of why people try to make music. I think it is definitely because people enjoy imagining. For example, images or stories related to the five senses or to certain emotions. Musical instruments give us the ability to express these things. You can let people hear what you imagine, transmitting it to them as sound. And when a piece that a person has composed in order to transmit his or her own imaginings is performed, the person’s thoughts can be sensed. Because it is musical instruments that can artfully express such imaginings, we create sounds and have provided the Clavinova with a rich selection of voices.

[ Interview took place in March 2010. ]