Yikes. I finally got my Yamaha keyboard (PSR-270) attached to my MacBook so I can play and have Finale transcribe notes. I felt like I was back in WindowsLand.

First, you obviously need the cables. You can get some pretty cheap that go from the back of your keyboard to a USB input on your computer.

But, it turns out you also need a Yamaha driver. Yes, even for a Mac. You can get one here. To install it, just double click on the installation package.

Then you have to run Audio Midi Setup, a file you’ll find in your Utilities folder inside of Applications. (Or just use Quicksilver. Don’t tell me you’re not using Quicksilver! :) Even though it’s got big, attractive icons, it’s a pile of gobbledygook. You should see your keyboard in iconic form and should be able to drag the out arrow to the in arrow of the appropriate awaiting icon, drawing a visible line between the two, but, frankly, I don’t understand the whole thing.

I just know that it eventually worked. [Tags: midi tech_help yamaha ]

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