Yamaha EZ-310

The Yamaha EZ-310 gives even the youngest musicians a way to get a headstart playing keyboard – plenty of fun, audible progress, and all without needing to read sheet music. At its core, this keyboard is identical to the manufacturer's PSR models, but with its light-up keys, cheerful pop songs, and bright white finish, the EZ-310 is especially appealing to kids. Of course, the onboard learning library includes the evergreen pieces that most students of the piano will practise at some point, but it also gives ambitious young musicians access to countless other instruments and musical styles. Thanks to Yamaha's tried-and-tested three-step system and comprehensive Keys to Success programme, learning will feel almost effortless, and improvements are sure to follow. As the young musicians' skills progress, they can begin to enjoy the keyboard's range of accompaniment styles, full-length songs, and Auto Chord Play function. The EZ-310 comes with all this and more already built in, meaning that practising solo and playing for friends and family is as easy as do-re-mi.

The standard learning function on the Yamaha EZ-310 is divided into three steps. First, the piece is played automatically, with the notes – or, more accurately, the relevant keys – shown by the coloured LEDs. The next stage focuses on timing, to give kids a feel for the melody's rhythm. The third phase covers the correct sequence of notes, where tones only sound if the right keys are played at the right time. Building on this, the Keys to Success lessons make it possible to learn complete songs, split into sections that can be practised individually: The notes for the right and left hands are first learned separately, then together. This approach has been shown to be ideal for children. After each section, there's a high score to visualise (and gamify) their progress, as well as further exercises to specifically train dynamic playing.