Do the lights on Yamaha Clavinova CVP-94 work with Synthesia

Trouble with Synthesia, your keyboard, or adapter? Think you found a bug?
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If your keyboard has USB or MIDI ports, there is a tremendously high chance (>99%) it will work with Synthesia. See what you'll need on the keyboards page.
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mxm
Posts: 2

Post by mxm »

Hello everyone,

Does anyone know if the guide lights on a Yamaha Clavinova CVP-94 work with Synthesia?

Thanks and regards,
Lee
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

A couple years ago someone reported that the lights on the CVP-103 (released two years after your CVP-94) didn't seem to work with Synthesia. Until that post, I had been under the impression that the lights always triggered from external MIDI input in addition to playing notes locally... but it sounds like there may have been a time where certain Clavinova models didn't behave that way.

If that's the case (and it's not just that there is a setting buried in a menu somewhere that we're missing), Synthesia wouldn't have any way of telling your keyboard to light keys.
mxm
Posts: 2

Post by mxm »

Hello Nicholas,

Thank you for your quick reply.
After some investigating I think the midi-file has to be in the CVP internal or external memory to make the lights work. A midi-file on a floppy disk from Yamaha works fine, showing the guide lights, but when using the same midi-file with Synthesia from the computer the lights do not work. A workaround would be nice, if there is one.

Regards,
Lee
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

mxm wrote:A workaround would be nice, if there is one.
If the MIDI file has to be running from the Clavinova's own memory for the lights to work, I can't think of any workarounds. That is really unfortunate. That means the early Clavinovas are officially "incompatible" with the lighted key feature in Synthesia... making them the first one the list.

Thanks for the information, though I'm sorry I don't have a better answer.
thibaultmol
Posts: 2

Post by thibaultmol »

I have a Clavinova CVP-207 and I'm using the midi usb controller that was recommended on the website (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0035XDT3O/ ... 31_TE_dp_1)
I'm on the latest version of synthesia on ipad (4) using the usb to lighting adapter.

and I'm also not getting lights on any of the channels
I do see my keystrokes on the ipad when I press them so that means I've plugged in the midi ports correctly.

I'm not finding any settings on the piano to set a channel for the lights... Any ideas?
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

Is that one of the CVP's with both red and green guide lights? I think we've heard from one other user with the same trouble. Unfortunately, there may not be an easy workaround.

The story is that no manufacturer (that we know of, anyway) actually publishes a method for interacting with a keyboard's lights. Instead, what seems to work with every model out there -- except the red+green CVPs and "The ONE Smart Piano" -- is to send nearly-silent notes at the pitch you'd like to light up on a particular channel that varies by make/model.

Because it's technically unofficially supported by the hardware, it's been hard to get any advice out of them for the unsupported models. (I got the impression from "The ONE" folks that they intentionally made theirs proprietary only to receive a flood of requests for compatibility with other software.)

Third-party solutions like this one would work. Although, it's unfortunate that such a high-end digital piano would require any additional accessories just to get the lights working. (Even worse, that device only has 48 lights instead of 88.)
thibaultmol
Posts: 2

Post by thibaultmol »

It only has red lights (no green lights)
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

Well, the one we know about for sure had red/green. I suppose that doesn't exclude other CVP models from not working as well. (Sorry for the confusion!)

All of that said, I still suspect your keyboard doesn't have lights that can be operated externally (or at least, not by any mechanism we know about). :?
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