Casio caters to the musician in all of us

Remember when we were kids: just when a bunch of us would really start having some fun, there would be that inevitable call from one of the neighborhood mothers for little Junior to come inside to take his piano lesson. Grrrrrr! Actually, the entrapped youngster usually was no more thrilled about having to abandon his friends than they were. After all, not only were piano lessons a bore, they were hard work. What was that all about?, we'd wonder. Apparently the thinking was that if you didn't practice diligently and master technique, you never would become proficient at your instrument.

However, Casio, Inc., Dover, N.J., thinks it would be fun if musical instruments could be played by anyone. Its light-up keyboards feature a simple system that allows you to learn as you play. Since our second-grader has expressed an interest in tickling the ivories, we considered Casio's CTK-710 ($99.99), which is supposed to be ideal for beginners and children. There is a sing-along function, stereo sampled sounds, three-step lesson system, voice fingering guide, scoring, and a USB port. But ... call it the cockiness (er, confidence) of parenthood, we wanted our little guy to step up a bit, so we opted for the LK-2005 ($149.99). Its 61 lighted keys, HL sound source, 32-note polyphony, 264 tones, 129 rhythm patterns, 100 tunes, fingered chord auto-accompaniment system, and eight digital effects proved too much to turn down. Moreover, who can resist playing this gem, as the whole family has gotten into the act? Now it's our son who decides who gets to play, and when. Afterall, it's his keyboard, the lucky stiff.

For more information on Casio products--including men's and women's watches, digital cameras, and disc title printers--as well as the nearest retailers and how to order online, visit www.casio.com.

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