Semiconductor technology evolved dramatically in the 1980s, when MIDI functions were becoming standard on portable keyboards. This meant that more functions could be packed into each product as time went on. One advancement was the Scale Tuning function, which allowed users to play scales other than the 12-semitone scale. Before then, digital instruments were created based on the equally tempered scale used on pianos and other instruments, but research revealed that musical cultures around the world use scales other than the typical 12-tone equally tempered scale. These scales contain intervals that are half of conventional semitones, sometimes referred to as “microtones.” In Middle Eastern music, there are a number of scales called maqam, many of which comprise these quarter-tone intervals. These scales were originally conceived primarily for stringed instruments, so let’s examine the example of the guitar.

The note yielded by playing a guitar string while pressing on its 12th fret is exactly one octave above the note achieved by playing the open string. If the string were divided into four equal parts, the fifth fret would be located at the three-quarter mark, and the note yielded by playing while pressing on the fifth fret is four degrees above the note achieved by playing the full-length (open) string. On a typical guitar, five frets are placed (not equally) within this interval of four degrees to yield the pitches equivalent to semitones in the 12-note scale. But what happens at the midpoint between the first and fifth frets (the seven-eighths mark of the string)? That point is between the second and third frets of a typical guitar. In other words, dividing strings in half, then half again, and then half again yields pitches that do not exist in the 12-tone equally tempered scale commonly used today. Many musical cultures in Middle Eastern countries feature music and instruments that use these pitches, meaning that their music cannot be played on Western instruments tuned to the 12-semitone scale. Enter digital instruments, which are easy to tune and can be made to simulate instruments tuned to other scales. This kicked off a movement to equip portable keyboards with features to reproduce the music of various countries.

The PSR-62 released in 1986 included this Scale Tuning function and was billed as a portable keyboard capable of playing Middle Eastern scales. The upper right of the main unit featured a Scale Tuning button with an image of an octave’s worth of keys. Pressing the button would cause the tones of illuminated notes to be lowered by a quarter tone over the entire octave. The FINE-TUNE slider could be used to adjust the degree of the drop for more sensitive tuning. The keyboard could also store three scale tuning settings in its memory, making it possible to accommodate multiple maqams. The fact that this fine-tuning and the other tuning operations could be changed mid-performance is a testament to the designers’ intent to make the model feel like a musical instrument. The PSR-62 was deliberately designed for playing with Middle Eastern instruments, and these features and considerations boosted its popularity and sales in the region.

In 1990, Yamaha launched the PSR-64, the second-generation Middle East model. The new model included six percussion pad switches above the keys. Although previous keyboards allowed users to assign PCM percussion sounds to some keys, the dedicated pads—when combined with the Variation buttons—made it possible to play 30 different percussion sounds in real time. The percussion sounds included tabla, frame drums, and more, making the instrument sound truly Middle Eastern.

The KB model designation debuted in 1988 with the KB-2000. Two years later, Yamaha completed construction of a plant in Tianjin and began manufacturing portable keyboards there with a focus on selling the products in China. The KB series was the driving force, and the company released one model after another for the Chinese market, including the KB-100 in 1990 and the KB-200 in 1991.

Music education in China changed swiftly in 1986, when the national government announced its intent to formally incorporate “aesthetic education” (education in “artistic fields”) into its education policy. In the mid-1980s, Yamaha established Electone Instructor Training Courses in music colleges in China, and graduates would go on to teach courses focusing on the electronic organ at music colleges around the country. Amid this trend, portable keyboards came to be viewed as the first step in music education for young children, and their popularity soared. Given the cost of living in China at the time, portable keyboards were extremely expensive, and parents with a passion for education needed to save prudently to purchase them.

Through the early 1990s, Yamaha sold products in China with the same Voices and Styles as portable keyboards released in other countries. However, with the KB-110/KB-130 released in 1997, the company began creating products specifically for selling in China, for example by incorporating the sounds of Chinese folk instruments such as the erhu and suona. The models’ accompaniment Styles also included China 1 and China 2 for simulating music played in the country, enhancing customization to the target region. The demo songs even included a traditional Chinese song about picking tea and catching butterflies. With these features, the instruments epitomized local models, and the KB series sold so well that “KB” is still synonymous with “keyboard” in China today.

In the late 1990s, Yamaha unveiled the PSR-288, which included an LCD display. Later, LCD displays began appearing on KB series keyboards. The SKB-130 released in 2000 featured Chinese characters on the control panel, making it a completely localized model for the Chinese market (prior to then, local models were labeled with English letters).

Around that time, a female music group known as Twelve Girls Band emerged and grabbed the world’s attention with a fusion of traditional Chinese musical styles and Western pop music, inspiring many other groups to combine digital and traditional instruments.

In 2006, Yamaha released the PSR-C200. Since then, the company has focused on the consistently popular KB series. With an extensive array of distinctive Chinese instrument Voices and Styles, it is the keyboard of choice for everyone from music educators to hobbyists in China.

The generation that purchased KB series keyboards for their children in the 1990s are now retiring, and an increasing number of people are playing the instruments for their own enjoyment, demonstrating how deeply rooted Yamaha portable keyboards are in the music scene in China.

Musicians all over the world were using accompaniment Styles when they performed with their portable keyboards. In Japan, the instruments were still considered to be education- and hobby-focused products, for example Christmas gifts for children.

Given this, in 2000, Yamaha introduced the Japanese market to the PSR-J20C, which combined elements of educational toys and music education for beginners. The model is equipped with the Light Guide function, which lit up individual keys to show the player which ones to play next. Light Guide was very effective when combined with the Lesson function—it could be set to pause the accompaniment until the correct keys (the ones that are lit up) are played (in Japanese, this was known as the “play-your-way” function). Playing the keys as one would Whac-A-Mole resulted in the full song with complete accompaniment. Users could also choose from a variety of other practice methods tailored to their level of ability. Examples included the Timing function, which kept songs moving as long as keys (not necessarily the correct ones) were played at the right times as dictated by the melody, and the Karaoke function under which the accompaniment kept playing regardless of any errors in playing the melody. A voice guide was also included as a result of the diminishing cost of semiconductor memory during this period. The voice guide could be set to call out the names of the notes played (white keys only) or verbally describe the functions of each button when pressed, a truly unique feature for a portable keyboard.

At the time, digital pianos were rapidly gaining popularity in the Japanese market, which had ballooned to quite a large scale. However, there were few affordably-priced models available, so people who were unsure of how long their young children would play gravitated toward low-priced portable keyboards. The presence of this segment using portable keyboards as a substitute for pianos inspired Yamaha to alter the design to accommodate the market, for example including a Grand Piano button allowing users to change to the optimal settings for piano practice (e.g., turning off Auto Bass Chord).

The EZ series eventually assumed the mantle of portable keyboards with keys that light up; now, people who want to enjoy playing with Light Guide use EZ series keyboards, while the PSR series is the choice for pure keyboard experience.

The PSR-J20C, the first keyboard with illuminated keys (1999)

PSR-I425

In 2008, Yamaha established a sales company called Yamaha Music India to accelerate sales of portable keyboards in the Indian market. Four years later, Yamaha released the PSR-I455, a major evolution of the Indian model.

Indian folk instruments play distinctive roles unlike instruments designed mainly to play melodies. One such instrument is the tanpura, which contains four or more open strings that are plucked to create ambience. Given its resemblance to the buzzing of bees’ wings, the sound is sometimes referred to as a “drone” (as in male bees). The continuous sound of the tabla paired with the tanpura creates the signature feel of Indian music. Given the importance of these instruments, Yamaha equipped the PSR-I455 with a Tabla/Tanpura function that played looped tabla and tanpura patterns separately from whatever is being played on the keys.

The unit also included 10 preset songs for practicing raga, which are melodic frameworks unique to India. The songs help users learn raga scales, namely Bilawal, Khamaj, Bhairavi, Kalyan, Asavari, Kalyani, Hamsadhvani, Mohanam, Hindolam, and Sankarabharanam.

In 2019, Yamaha released the PSR-I500/I400. These models were produced at the company’s factory in Chennai, which came online that year, and gained popularity as “made-in-India” portable keyboards in every sense of the phrase. The PSR-I500 and PSR-I400 featured a new Riyaz function. Riyaz means “practice,” and supplies tabla-and-mridangam or tanpura accompaniment to make practicing more enjoyable. Another key feature is the “India” Master EQ that enhances the character of Indian instruments and music.

In 2023, Yamaha added the PSR-I300, an entry-level model designed to open up the world of Indian music to more people. Sounds with roots in Indian music have been appearing around the world in recent years; for example, EDM and other genres are incorporating Indian instruments into their mixes. With movies and other entertainment from India gaining popularity worldwide, the Indian entertainment market is booming, and performers are both increasing in number and enjoying more opportunities to perform, demonstrated by the rapid rise in the number of music events held in the country. In this context, Yamaha’s Indian model portable keyboards—tools that give people the freedom to play their own country’s music around the world—are playing a key role in accommodating demand for Indian music and entertainment.

PSR-B50

The same year (1998), Yamaha introduced the PSR-GR200 (also based on the PSR-195) to the Greek market. The model featured Greek dance Styles—namely Tsifteteli, Balos, and Hasapiko—as well as Bouzouki, Baglamas, and other instrumental Voices unique to Greece.

In 2006, the company released the PSR-R200 for the Russian market. The writing on the model’s control panel was entirely in Russian, and as the instrument was designed for the music education market, it also featured the Yamaha Education Suite (Y.E.S.). The following year, Yamaha unveiled the PSR-R300 (based on the PSR-E313), a higher-end model with a two-track recording function. In 2007, the company released the PSR-VN300 (also based on the PSR-E313) for the Vietnamese market. Although the control panel was mainly in English, Yamaha took steps to appeal to Vietnamese users, for example rendering song categories in Vietnamese and including Vietnamese songs.

PSR series keyboards in all regions from this period offered Musicsoft Downloader, a program allowing users with a Windows computer to download music data and install it on the keyboards. Given that the entire world came online around the same time, Yamaha was able to offer unique local content, driving up the added value of its portable keyboards. The use of Musicsoft Downloader to deliver hit songs year after year has contributed to a longer product lifecycle—for example, the PSR-A350 for the Middle East is still selling nearly a decade after its release (2016), and continues to play an important role in music education in the region.

PSR-A1000

The current model, the PSR-A5000 released in 2021, features substantial improvements in sound quality, including greater expressiveness thanks to newly resampled traditional Middle Eastern instrument sounds, and the sounds of Istanbul Strings, a famous Turkish string orchestra. With additions like Crossfade Portamento for moving smoothly and expressively between pitches and Chord Looper for recording sequences and playing them back in a loop to free up both hands for more playing, this portable keyboard is fully equipped for more advanced musical expression.

When Yamaha first introduced local models, the main aims were to provide tools for reproducing the characteristics of local music, and to offer linguistic localization. However, as the portable keyboard established itself in music education and other aspects of the musical cultures of these countries, they created a new vocation: the professional portable keyboard (digital instrument) player. Moreover, in terms of enabling people to play the sounds of traditional instruments with headphones and easily enjoy playing drums, grand pianos, and other instruments that are too large, loud, or rare to have at home, it is no exaggeration to say that portable keyboards have been a springboard for increasing the music-playing population around the world. As the years go by, fewer and fewer people can actually play traditional instruments, and authentic performances with them are disappearing even as the sounds are preserved in the form of digital instrument Voices. If new music is to be created while preserving the traditional techniques and music of each region, a deeper understanding of local music culture is necessary. To further understand other music cultures as a Japanese musical instrument manufacturer, Yamaha must continue to produce products by collaborating with local communities and implementing other initiatives.