Summary of the content on the page No. 1
MD500 MIDI Keyboard
with Mini-Size Keys
Owner’s Manual
Please read before using this equipment.
Summary of the content on the page No. 2
CONTENTS Features .................................................................................................................................. 2 The FCC Wants You to Know ........................................................................................... 2 Preparation ............................................................................................................................. 3 Connecting Power ........................................................................
Summary of the content on the page No. 3
Features Your RadioShack MIDI Keyboard is a state- THE FCC WANTS YOU TO of-the-art keyboard with many exciting fea- KNOW tures. You can set the keyboard to sound like 50 different musical instruments. To accom- This equipment complies with the limits for a pany your music, the keyboard has 30 Class B digital device as specified in Part 15 rhythms, as well as auto accompaniments of FCC Rules. These limits provide reason- and percussion sounds. able protection against radio and TV interfer- enc
Summary of the content on the page No. 4
Preparation To connect a MIDI device to your keyboard, 2. Press the tabs on the battery compart- see “Making the MIDI Connections” on ment cover on the bottom of the key- Page12. board and pull up the cover to remove it. 3. Place the batteries in the compartment CONNECTING POWER as indicated by the polarity symbols (+ – You can power your keyboard in any of these and ) marked inside the compartment. ways: 4. Replace the cover. • internal batteries When the keyboard stops operating properly, •
Summary of the content on the page No. 5
before you disconnect it from the key- Listening Safely board. To protect your hearing, follow these guide- 1. Slide POWER to OFF. lines when you use headphones. 2. Set the AC or DC adapter’s voltage • Set the volume to the lowest setting switch to 9V. before you begin listening. After you begin listening, adjust the volume to a 3. Insert the Adaptaplug adapter into the comfortable level. adapter’s cord so it reads + TIP. • Do not listen at extremely high volume 4. Connect the AC or DC 9V level
Summary of the content on the page No. 6
A Quick Look at Your Keyboard SYNC/ RHYTHMS SONGS VOLUME FILL-IN List List LEARNING Speaker START/ Speaker TONES TEMPO STOP CHORD Number PERCUSSION List Keys Keys METRO O.T.S. TRANSPOSE DEMO MIDI POWER RHYTHM BEAT SUSTAIN PLAY TONE RECORD SONG Operation on Page 6). To make your own music, BASIC OPERATION simply begin playing the keyboard. 1. To turn on the keyboard, set POWER to Notes: ON. The POWER indicator lights. • The keyboard automatically selects Important: To prevent hearing damage,
Summary of the content on the page No. 7
3. Repeatedly press VOLUME UP or VOL- • If you enter an incorrect first digit, UME DOWN to increase or decrease the repeatedly press + or – to move to the volume. next higher or lower numbered tune. Notes: 3. Press START/STOP to start playing the tune. • The keyboard’s volume ranges from 0 (no sound) to 10 (maximum), and the You can change the tune by repeating current volume level appears on the Step 2 even while a tune is playing. The display. Each time you turn on the new tune immediately beg
Summary of the content on the page No. 8
You can play a preset auto-rhythm on the USING THE PRESET TONES keyboard in any of the following ways: Your keyboard can sound like 50 different • select and play a rhythm (see “Select- musical instruments. The name and two-digit ing/Playing an Auto-Rhythm” ) number for each preset tone is listed on the TONES list on the keyboard’s top panel. • synchronize the start of a rhythm with your music (see “Using SYNC” on Note: The keyboard has 8-note (maximum) Page8) polyphonic sound. This means that y
Summary of the content on the page No. 9
• To reset the tempo to its default (orig- keys you press determine the type of chord inal) speed, press TEMPO UP and that plays. TEMPO DOWN at the same time. You can set the keyboard to play with no ac- 6. Play the keyboard along with the auto- companiment or two different types of auto rhythm. accompaniment using the accompaniment keys. 7. To select a different rhythm, repeat Steps 1 and 2. • Normal — normal mode. Chords are turned off in this mode (but you can 8. To stop the auto-rhythm, pres
Summary of the content on the page No. 10
Or, to synchronize the start of the 4. To start the auto-rhythm before your selected auto-rhythm with your accom- auto accompaniment, press START/ paniment, press SYNC/FILL-IN. STOP. 6. Begin the accompaniment at the desired Or, to synchronize the start of the interval by pressing the desired accom- selected auto-rhythm with your accom- paniment key(s). paniment, press SYNC/FILL-IN. To play a melody along with the accom- 5. Begin the accompaniment at the desired paniment, press any key(s) to th
Summary of the content on the page No. 11
1. Press SONG, then repeatedly press If you want to play the tune with accompani- LEARNING until black dots appear next ment in the learning mode, repeatedly press to 21( .(< on the left side of the display. LEARNING until a black dot appears next to 0(/2'<2)). 2. Select a tone from the SONGS list and enter its two-digit number on the key- If you want to quit the learning mode, repeat- pad. edly press LEARNING until the black dot ap- pears next to 1250$/. Or, you can press – or + to move to the
Summary of the content on the page No. 12
4. Press TONE. The preset tone that Recording/Playing a matches the selected auto-rhythm Percussion Pad Sound appears. You can record any of the available percus- To quit one-touch setting, press O.T.S. 276 sion sounds onto any of the percussion disappears. pads. This lets you quickly select and play any percussion sound that the keyboard can make. USING SUSTAIN For added flexibility and control as you make Note: The keyboard clears any sound you music, you can set the keyboard so it sus- ass
Summary of the content on the page No. 13
Using MIDI Your keyboard includes a feature called MIDI Note: Connecting your keyboard to another (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). MIDI is MIDI device requires a MIDI cable (not sup- the universal standard for sending and re- plied). See “Making the MIDI Connections.” ceiving performance data between all types of electronic musical instruments, regard- MAKING THE MIDI less of the manufacturer. CONNECTIONS Using MIDI, you can play music on your key- To connect your keyboard to another M
Summary of the content on the page No. 14
1. Use a MIDI cable to connect MIDI OUT exchange data. As in a TV broadcast, on the back of the keyboard to the other different channels send different data. device’s MIDI IN terminal. 3. To transmit to the MIDI device, play the 2. Repeatedly press MIDI to select a MIDI melody using the keyboard’s black and channel. MIDI uses up to 16 channels to white keys. Troubleshooting If your keyboard is not performing as it should, these suggestions might help. If you still cannot solve the problem, ta
Summary of the content on the page No. 15
Chord Charts These tables show the fingering for the chords you play most often. 14 Chord Charts Suspended Diminished
Summary of the content on the page No. 16
15 Chord Charts Diminished
Summary of the content on the page No. 17
Specifications Number of Keys ................................................................................................................................................................ 49 Polyphonic Sound ........................................................................................................................................... 8-note (Max.) Preset Tones ........................................................................................................................
