EMTA has drawn upon our reserve funds to purchase four new portable digital keyboards for use in our Jazz, Rags and Blues Festival and Musicianship Festival. We would like to maximize the benefits of our investment by loaning the keyboards to EMTA members in return for housing them and transporting them to and from those two festivals.

Here is Yamaha’s description of these new keyboards: “The Yamaha P-45 is an entry-level 88-key digital piano. It features Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) weighted keys that simulate an acoustic feel (heavier bass, lighter treble), AWM Stereo Sampling, and 6-watt dual speakers.” They come complete with a sturdy stand, music rack and adjustable bench. They are not professional grade, but they also are not just toys. They have a few alternate sets of sounds (organ, harpsichord, strings, etc.) but not the huge array of sound sets that some digital keyboards contain. (This is actually an advantage for our festivals because the student participants will be less likely to become distracted by the “cool” sounds they could make!)

If you would like EMTA to loan you one of the keyboards for your use, the stipulations are simple:

1. You must transport the instrument, stand and bench to and from two festivals per year.
2. You may not transport the instrument beyond your home for non-EMTA-related use unless specifically granted permission to do so.
3. Keyboards may be used for your studio teaching or for your own purposes, such as setting up a digital music notation station with a computer.
   Please contact EMTA member, Rick Asher, if you would like to have one of the keyboards delivered to you later this summer. They will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.