Writing with the 'Duchess': Amy R. Laurence
 Amy Laurence in her Dublin, Ohio teaching studio. |
BUENA PARK, CA (February 16, 2005) A self-published piano music composer, Amy Rebecca Laurence recently purchased a Yamaha CVP900 digital piano as a second Yamaha piano in her Dublin, OH teaching studio. Laurence has composed and published dozens of award-winning pieces on her website (www.amyrlaurence.com). The composer/ performer/publisher attributes much of her success to her first Yamaha purchase.
"In the late 1980s, I bought the only MIDI 88-key synthesizer available (a Yamaha PF80) to hook to my Mac Plus," notes Laurence. "I named the PF80 'Duke,' and had no after-purchase jitters, because with Yamaha quality, I knew I would be pleased. Using Duke, and Professional Composer to print out my first publishing ventures, my entrepreneurial world changed forever. Songs In the Night and Hymns in Black and White were published by RGK Heartbeat Music and distributed by Diadem/Spectra. I use Duke daily, and he's still going strong!"
Music has always played an important part in her life. A natural-born musician, Laurence began playing harmonica at age three. "I danced to bullfighting music around our 33 rpm record player," she recalls. "Music in my family was inextricably linked to breathing, seeing, tasting, feeling and expressing."
Laurence's newest musical link is the CVP900. "I call my new CVP900 that looks high tech and subtly bossy Duchess, so named for her clout and completion of Duke," says Laurence. "Nothing could provide 256K polyphony until Duchess arrived. In promotional ads, the CVP900 promised to feel exactly like an acoustic piano, sporting graded hammers and an action let-off you can actually feel. Duchess fulfils her promise, playing happily alongside Adrian (her Yamaha GC1 grand piano), who can be tuned to Duchess by putting a note in an endless loop, turning up the volume and isolating each string until pitches match."
"When I teach students, I can turn Duchess' volume up or down, dictated by whether the student needs to ‘shadow' my sound, or if I'm simply adding reinforcement to their learning curve," she explains." Duchess enables me to overpower a student's hefty tone with the turn of a knob. Parents get that happily glazed look of joy listening to their child play exactly what the teacher is playing in tandem."
"In the late 1980s, I bought the only MIDI 88-key synthesizer available (a Yamaha PF80) to hook to my Mac Plus," notes Laurence. "I named the PF80 'Duke,' and had no after-purchase jitters, because with Yamaha quality, I knew I would be pleased. Using Duke, and Professional Composer to print out my first publishing ventures, my entrepreneurial world changed forever. Songs In the Night and Hymns in Black and White were published by RGK Heartbeat Music and distributed by Diadem/Spectra. I use Duke daily, and he's still going strong!"
Music has always played an important part in her life. A natural-born musician, Laurence began playing harmonica at age three. "I danced to bullfighting music around our 33 rpm record player," she recalls. "Music in my family was inextricably linked to breathing, seeing, tasting, feeling and expressing."
Laurence's newest musical link is the CVP900. "I call my new CVP900 that looks high tech and subtly bossy Duchess, so named for her clout and completion of Duke," says Laurence. "Nothing could provide 256K polyphony until Duchess arrived. In promotional ads, the CVP900 promised to feel exactly like an acoustic piano, sporting graded hammers and an action let-off you can actually feel. Duchess fulfils her promise, playing happily alongside Adrian (her Yamaha GC1 grand piano), who can be tuned to Duchess by putting a note in an endless loop, turning up the volume and isolating each string until pitches match."
"When I teach students, I can turn Duchess' volume up or down, dictated by whether the student needs to ‘shadow' my sound, or if I'm simply adding reinforcement to their learning curve," she explains." Duchess enables me to overpower a student's hefty tone with the turn of a knob. Parents get that happily glazed look of joy listening to their child play exactly what the teacher is playing in tandem."
 A view of Amy Lawrence's Yamaha CVP900 digital piano and her teaching studio. |
"Duchess and I team up to practice when the rest of the household is sleeping," continues Laurence. "I prefer Duchess' touch, volume control, and 9-foot perfectly-tuned booming low bass, with or without headphones. No room remodeling needed to house this digital diva."
Laurence also notes that with the CVP900 "I can lay my hands on concert-hall tone in my own home. I also have accessibility to self-distribute my own recordings direct-to-digital without that robotic, electronic monotone of the 1980's. There's no expensive recording studio needed."
In addition to composing The Adventures of Wallace in Wonderland and the Little Hands series of piano books on Yamaha pianos, Laurence composed approximately 50 publications for piano solos, along with the sacred operas The Parables and The Minor Prophets, in addition to Spanish and English choral worship pieces.
The composer/performer/publisher has some immediate plans for her CVP900. "Waiting for completion are four musicals, which scream for orchestration-now possible with Duchess," says Laurence. "One musical is called Wrestling Jacob, a three-hour 'epic' drama with 33 scenes, 27 musical numbers, seven dance genres and a live Greek chorus. I want to list Duchess in the 'liner notes' of my next solo piano recording, as I anticipate everyone will want to know what instrument I recorded on and where!"
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.
Laurence also notes that with the CVP900 "I can lay my hands on concert-hall tone in my own home. I also have accessibility to self-distribute my own recordings direct-to-digital without that robotic, electronic monotone of the 1980's. There's no expensive recording studio needed."
In addition to composing The Adventures of Wallace in Wonderland and the Little Hands series of piano books on Yamaha pianos, Laurence composed approximately 50 publications for piano solos, along with the sacred operas The Parables and The Minor Prophets, in addition to Spanish and English choral worship pieces.
The composer/performer/publisher has some immediate plans for her CVP900. "Waiting for completion are four musicals, which scream for orchestration-now possible with Duchess," says Laurence. "One musical is called Wrestling Jacob, a three-hour 'epic' drama with 33 scenes, 27 musical numbers, seven dance genres and a live Greek chorus. I want to list Duchess in the 'liner notes' of my next solo piano recording, as I anticipate everyone will want to know what instrument I recorded on and where!"
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.
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