Music to my ears--and fingers!

Here's the from above look at my new Yamaha YPG-635 digital piano:

And here's the from-the-side look:

OK, I think I know what some of you are thinking. She got a new macbook pro, a fancy new neon-green Sprint phone, and now a digital piano. Who does this girl think she is, huh? All I can say is I'm blessed--and grateful.

The new computer has made my freelance work, my blogging, and my life in general so much easier and efficient. And the digital piano? Well, let's just say I'm a starved-for-music piano player, who hasn't had a piano of her own at her disposal for 15 years.

So after we picked up this beauty, which is nicknamed a "portable grand" due to the 88 weighted keys and the great sound, I got in the car and started giggling.

Then I laughed out loud and started poking my husband. I would have jumped up and down, except that there was no room in the car, and David doesn't like to open the sun roof for such foolishness. I was a kid in her own musical candy shop.

The only glitch in my glee is that all of my piano books are at my mom's house, three hours away. And although I can pick them up in a few days when we go to visit, my fingers are literally itching. So sometimes I hop on the adjustable bench and start the "song" feature with "score" (music that appears on a small screen). That means I can play along while the piano plays a song.

And my hymnbook I inherited from my dear dad, that even has some songs marked in it, has been used also. Ever played "Amazing Grace" in honky-tonk piano mode? It's pretty hilarious.

But I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of this little instrument's features. 500 voices, auto correction (so it can even correct my error if I play a wrong note--sheesh!) and tons of tracks to record parts and make up my own musical orchestra. The possibilities are scary. Plus it can all dump into the audio program on my mac to make things really sing.

The problem? I have no clue what I'm doing. But the Yamaha Survival Kit will soon come to my rescue. Jason Nyberg, a product specialist, is going to walk me through the whole shebang via DVD. Oh, yes, I think Jason and I are going to become musical buddies. And, if all else fails, I'll definitely consider consulting the manual, too. Ha!

Stay tuned for more musical adventures on the YPG-635. Maybe someday I'll even get around to posting an audio clip.