Yamaha Pianos Serial Numbers

Dealers selling used Yamaha pianos may offer you misleading advice about the age of a piano. For your peace of mind, you need to check the serial number. All Yamaha pianos display a serial number beneath the top lid: in an upright piano the number is located on the upper right-hand side of the gold iron frame, whereas on a grand piano it is found at the front of the gold iron frame near the tuning pins in the front right-hand side of the instrument. Below is a list of serial numbers and the corresponding ages of the pianos to which they refer.

....Year..................Serial Number
1900-1926 .................. 10,000
1926-1934 .................. 20,000
1934-1938 .................. 30,000
1938-1947 .................. 40,000
1947-1952 .................. 50,000
1952-1958 .................. 90,000
1959-1960 ................. 120,000
1961-1962 ................. 180,000
1963-1964 ................. 300,000
1965-1967 ................. 570,000
1968-1970 ................. 980,000
1971-1972 ............... 1,340,000
1973-1974 ............... 1,740,000
1975-1976 ............... 2,150,000
1977-1978 ............... 2,570,000
1979-1980 ............... 3,300,000
1981-1983 ............... 3,680,000
1984-1986 ............... 4,210,000
1987-1989 ............... 4,690,000
1990-1992 ............... 5,080,000
1993-1995 ............... 5,390,000
1996-1998 ............... 5,590,000
1999-2001 ............... 5,920,000
2002-2004 ............... 6,060,000
2005-2007 ............... 6,300,000

More information on Digital Pianos

Comparison of the different digital piano brands:
http://pianocoversonline.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!94544F51A3069B73!237.entry

Comments & recommendation on the different digital piano brands:
http://www.ukpianos.co.uk/digital-pianos.html

Conclusion for Yamaha Digital Pianos:
The Yamaha's GH, GH3, sample dynamics, natural wood are "fancy terms to SELL you a more expensive piano"? The basic Clavinova is sufficient. The author practiced for his Grade 8 on a basic Yamaha Clavinova (15 years ago). It did him well. The difference in sound & touch is minimal, though slightly better as you go up the models. But not worth spending huge dollar amount difference for the slight improvement of touch. So maybe I will get a Yamaha CLP320 then. The YDP series are lower models compared to CLP series.

Getting a Digital Piano

After various months of evaluating, I have decided that I will get a Digital Piano instead. However, I still hope to own a grand one day. Main reason for going towards the Digital Piano route is because I stay in a HDB, I don't have a sound proof room, I can only practice at night during weekdays after work, and I don't want to disturb my hubby when he is reading his books, and disturb my neighbours. Imagine me playing and replaying the same song, part of the song, practising the scales & apreggios 4 - 5 hrs a day. Well, I think I should not disturb the peace and quiet.

Moreover, I intend to pass down this piano to my kids when they are at their learning age. Imagine one kid playing on the piano and the other trying to study. And imagine one kid practice after another, and then my turn. While, others just need some rest, some peace to study or read books.

Also, the lighter weight of the digital piano also makes moving the piano easier. As kids grow up, furnitures will need to shift/re-arrange to accomodate for each other and to create more space and so on. Moving an acoustic piano is difficult coz it is heavy, and because it is also important to choose where to place the piano. But I can put the digital piano anywhere.

However, I still hope to own a grand piano one day where we can play on it when we have mastered a song using the digital piano, to learn the techniques that only acoustic pianos have.

As for the digital piano which I am interested are the Yamaha Clavinova series. Because it looks nicer, with a cabinet and a chair that comes with it. Also, it is suppose to have the better actions which imitate that of a grand piano. And I wanted something that is not too expensive, so I am considering either CLP320 and CLP330. The main difference between the 2 models are that the CLP320 is using GH (Graded Hammer) and CLP330 is using GH3 technology. I tried both digital pianos. Actually I cannot feel the difference. But of coz CLP330 looks nicer, with more buttons, and suppose to have better technology that resembles a grand piano. But is like $500 more expensive. Is it worth it?

The difference between the 2 technology are given below.
http://music.yamaha.com/products/highlights/keyboardsAST/8.html

Music Composition Book

Recently, I bought a new book from Kinokuniya at Ngee Ann City:

"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition (The Complete Idiot's Guide)"
by Michael Miller

I feel that the book is very good. It helps me to understand how to apply the Music Theory which I have learnt. But it assumes that you already know your music theory, so it does not cover them, but rather explain how these theories are applied to music composition. It even introduce different musical instruments and explains how to combine them to form an orchestra. I suppose when you can successfully compose a piece (classical or pop song), you would have master a certain degree of music theory.

Keep the creativity flowing...