Yamaha Clavinova Tutorials

How to Add Natural Phrasing to Your Performance

You can download PDF’s or Dorico scores to play along with the tutorial. The Dorico file is completely editable. You can download the free Dorico SE advanced music notation software from the Steinberg website

Download PDF Scores Download Dorico Files

Transcript / Instructions

Let’s transform this straight solo piano performance of a 12-bar blues pattern into a song with style (a real-time backing band), keyboard harmony and a super articulation voice.

Hi, I’m Christina Kay a piano teacher, and today we’ll take some simple piano pieces and transform them using the super articulation feature on the Yamaha Clavinova.

Super articulation simulates the natural characteristics of various instruments from the orchestra.

Feel free to follow along if you have a Clavinova CVP 600 series and up you can also download the sheet music (see above) and play along.


Flugelhorn & Super Articulation

Let’s discover the Flugelhorn voice (CVP-809 only).

  1. Turn on the Clavinova.
  2. Touch on the picture of the piano on the main screen.
  3. Touch Brass & Woodwind, Brass Solo section, and then touch Flugelhorn.
  4. Play Hornpipe from Water Music on the Clavinova.

Classical Flute & Super Articulation

Now we’ll explore some other solo voices, starting with the Classical Flute (CVP-609, CVP-709 & CVP-809).

  1. Touch Woodwind Solo, then Classical Flute.
  2. Play Auld Lang Syne. Tip - tap the middle pedal to activate the automatic glissando function.

Big Band Alto Sax & Super Articulation

And now for a bit of fun, we can play on the sax (CVP-609, CVP-709 & CVP-809).

  1. Touch Sax Solo and then Big Band Alto Sax.
  2. Play Auld Lang Syne.

Steel Acoustic Guitar & Super Articulation

Let’s look at another piece (CVP-605, CVP-705, CVP-709, CVP-805 & CVP-809).

  1. Touch Guitar & Bass, Steel Acoustic Guitar and then Steel Acoustic Finger.
  2. Play the Skye Boat Song. Tip - bend effects are added with accents.

The Complete Big Band Sound

For our last piece, we have the 12-bar blues starting with piano and just 1 note in each hand.

  1. Play the 12-bar blues in the piano room.

Now swing it to the next level by adding some jazz vocals, automatic harmonies and the famous Yamaha Big Band sound (CVP-609, CVP-709, CVP-805 & CVP-809).

  1. Touch Strings & Vocal, Jazz Vocals and then Shoo Bee Doo Bah.
  2. Press Home.
  3. To add harmony to our vocal part, touch Menu.
  4. Now touch Keyboard Harmony.
  5. Ensure that keyboard harmony is ON. Then touch Type.
  6. Down arrow to page 2 and select 4 Way Close 1.
  7. Press Home.
  8. Touch in the style area.
  9. Touch Standards & Jazz, Big Band, and then Big Band Crooner (This style is only the CVP-809. Please select a similar Big Band Jazz Style on your Clavinova).
  10. Press Home.
  11. At the bottom of the home screen touch Split and Fingering.
  12. Arrow to the left to select Single Finger and then Close.
  13. Ensure the accompaniment is ON.
  14. Select Intro III and Sync Start.
  15. Play the 12-bar blues with Yamaha Big Band sound, press G in the left hand to go.

News & Events

Artists

Downloads

Special Contents

  1. Home
  2. Products
  3. Musical Instruments
  4. Pianos
  5. Clavinova
  6. How to Add Natural Phrasing to Your Performance - Yamaha Clavinova Tutorials