Major Joint Venture Debuts First Internet-Derived Product

Business Wire, Oct 2, 2001

Business, Internet and Education Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2001

Yamaha v-Player Provides Interactive On-Screen Notation,

Instrument Animation To Illustrate Correct Notes, Instrument Fingering, and Professional Backing Tracks For Hundreds of Song Titles

YMH Digital Music Publishing, the business alliance forged several months ago by three of the biggest names in the music products industry, announces its first product: v-Player, a freeware software program developed by Yamaha Corporation that can be used to learn hundreds of music pieces available for purchase online.

Yamaha v-Player software can be downloaded to a Windows-based PC from the company's website, www.yamahamusicsoft.com/vp, where hundreds of pieces of music are also available for $3.95 each. Once downloaded, the music selection can be viewed on a PC as an on-screen score and, at the same time, can be played through computer speakers to examine how the performance should sound.

The user, playing along on his or her instrument, can even slow down the tempo or even loop a particular section of music to practice difficult passages. An animated star keeps the beat, moving from measure to measure in time with the melody. In addition, an animated instrument displays in time the exact notes to be played, graphically highlighting correct keys or fingering positions.

Songs available online for v-Player include modern favorites like "A Whole New World" by Alan Menken and Tim Rice; whimsical delights like Randy Newman's "You've Got a Friend In Me" from the film Toy Story; classics like "It Might As Well Be Spring" by Rodgers and Hammerstein and "This Can't Be Love" by Rodgers and Hart; standards like Henry Mancini's "Moon River" or Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing;" movie themes such as Nino Rota's "Love Theme" from The Godfather; classical compositions from Beethoven, Vivaldi and Dvorak; opera selections such as "Una Furtiva Lagrina" by Gaetano Donizetti; and current hits like Mariah Carey's "One Sweet Day."

The Manhattan-based company is a joint venture between Yamaha Corporation, the world's largest musical instrument manufacturer based in Hamamatsu, Japan, and Milwaukee-based Hal Leonard Corporation and London-based Music Sales Group, the world's leading printed music publishers. The companies have joined together over the past several months to develop web-based digital music products intended for musicians and all music enthusiasts, transforming traditional sheet music into interactive digital music content that can greatly enhance the music education process through a personal computer.

Initially, v-Player pieces are available for flute, piano and keyboard, but the company plans to make available hundreds of music pieces for other popular instruments such as alto saxophone, clarinet and trumpet over the next several months, particularly as more students take up their instruments this fall and winter.

"The v-Player is more than just a tool; it's a fully interactive learning experience that will get more people involved in active music making, and help those who already play an instrument stay involved," says Seiichi Yamaguchi, manager of YMH Digital Music Publishing. "Being able to hear what a piece sounds like--being able to play along with accompaniment--adds immeasurably to the traditional practice experience. It makes learning and practicing music more fun than ever."

According to Yamaguchi, Yamaha is working with its alliance partners to merge digital music content with the company's next-generation musical instruments, such as Clavinova digital pianos, portable keyboards and guitars.

For more information about v-Player and YMH Digital Music Publishing, please contact the company at (646) 562-7660 or visit www.yamahamusicsoft.com.

YMH Digital Publishing is a joint venture between Yamaha Corporation, Hal Leonard Corporation and Music Sales Group dedicated to developing a range of innovative Internet-based products for professional musicians and music enthusiasts.