Operation Manual

26 KAWAI DIGITAL PIANO CN390
TUTORIAL
Using MIDI
Connect the LINE IN jacks of the CN piano and the LINE OUT
jacks of your external MIDI device with a pair of audio cables
(see the illustration above). Now you will be able to hear the CN
piano’s sound and your external MIDI device’s sound together through
the CN’s speakers. Use the volume knob on your external MIDI device to
balance it’s volume with the CN piano.
Now You’re ready to play.
Play the CN piano’s keyboard. You should hear both instruments as you
play. What is happening is that the CN piano is transmitting MIDI
information, what note you played, how hard (loud) you played it, and so
on to your external MIDI device. The external MIDI device reproduces
sound based on this information using its own sound module.
PROGRAM CHANGE
Press a SOUND SELECT button on the CN. You will hear the sound on
your external MIDI device also changes. Pressing a SOUND SELECT
button lets the CN piano transmit a “program change” number. A program
change is the type of MIDI command that tells the receiving instrument
what sound or instrument to play your notes with.
Actual program change information is just a number, from 1 to 128, not
an instrument name. You select the desired instrument with a specific
number. Not all MIDI instruments assign the same sound to the same
program change number. MIDI instruments that conform to the General
MIDI (GM) standard however “DO” assign the same sound to the same
program change number. For example program change #1 will always be
an acoustic piano sound on a “GM” compatible synth, and program change
#33 will always be an acoustic bass sound. Because of this, when
connecting two “GM” instruments together, selecting the right sound is
not a problem. The CN piano is not a General MIDI instrument and it’s
internal sounds do not confirm to the General MIDI standard. This means
when you select a sound on the CN piano such as Electric Piano, you will
probably hear a different sound playing from your external MIDI device.
What sound you hear will depend on the sound assignments on your
external MIDI device. Below is a chart of the Program change number/
sound assignment mapping for the first twelve CN piano sounds and the
first twelve “GM” sounds. Please see page 63 in the reference section for
more details. The CN piano can have different mappings depending on
the multi-timbral mode (explained later in this chapter).