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Basic questions on registrations and songs

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jcm2016:
Hello,

I'm new to the world of keyboards, having purchased my PSR SX 900 a couple months ago.  Loving it so far!

I have some questions about songs and registrations.

1.  The keyboard came with some preloaded songs (9 or so).  Are these essentially just registrations that Yamaha have preloaded and also have lyrics and score files connected to them?

2.  I see references here to registrations being available for free.  Is the idea that someone has thought about a style, voices and other settings that work with a particular song, and give that away?  Is it correct that I'd need to source the sheet music somewhere else (or just know the song)?  I think in principle someone could include a file with the score and/or lyrics, but is that not common?

I purchased some registrations along with sheet music from Strawberry.  I've really enjoyed that and it has helped me explore the keyboard.  The registrations are simply the settings, not lyrics or score.  I've just started tweaking them.

Since I'm new to arranger keyboards (not new to piano or music in general), I wish I could find a guide that goes all the way back to the beginning of how to use an arranger keyboard.  I've looked at all the videos mentioned here for tutorials, and while  super helpful, I feel like I'm missing some basics (thus my questions).

Many thanks in advance!

Toril S:
On the main PSR TUTORIAL site press the tab lessons. Very useful  ! All functions of the Yamaha arranger keyboards are explained there.

DerekA:
A Song is actually a MIDI file, which is industry standard - it contains the notes for the song, arranged across a number of channels or parts. On a Yamaha arranger, when it plays back you can call up a score view which effectively reads the MIDI file and shows the "sheet music" live on the screen. Some MIDI also have lyrics embedded.

A Registration is a file in a custom Yamaha format which ties together a collection of settings (you decide what to include) which can include a MIDI song file, a text only lyrics file, panel voice settings, vocal harmony settings etc.  The registration is a set of pointers to things that exist elsewhere (midi files, text files, voice files, style files, vocal harmony files etc) , but it can include additional settings to "tweak" them (for example point to a panel voice, but change the reverb depth from the default). Note you cannot display a PDF sheet music file on a Yamaha arranger, so a registration can't point to a PDF.

So for your questions:

1 - These are MIDI files which Yamaha have preloaded on the keyboard. The score view can display the score on the screen. They have lyrics embedded in them.

2 - If you buy a registration, then you're getting the settings that can be used to play the song but you're probably not getting the associated MIDI file so you won't see the score on the screen.

mikf:
Derek has given you good information, but simply - a song is a midi and will actually play by itself.
 It sounds just like an audio (recording) but actually isn't. It uses the electronic information stored on the midi file to create the song through the sound module on your keyboard.
Registrations are just pointers to features that have been selected and stored, often for a specific song, but YOU have to play the song.
But not all registrations are for songs because you can also use registrations for general set ups. Best to get on the tutorials and learn about these things.

There are lots of registrations available on this forum, all are free. One thing to be careful about with registrations - because it is just a pointer to a feature on the keyboard, like a voice or a style or an effect etc, if it is not from exactly the same keyboard it may not work perfectly and you can have some tweaking to do. For example, they may have used a custom style and the registration will never find that on your keyboard. And of course they are just someone else suggestions, and may not suit you.   
There is also a feature called musicfinder which is suggested styles and voices from Yamaha for specific songs.  However, ultimately, most people learn to select these things for themselves, so while it might be handy for a new player, you might drift away from them later.

These keyboards have so many features that it can be daunting at the start to think you have to learn everything, but that is not necessary. It's like your iphone or computer, most people only learn about what they regularly use.
Mike

jcm2016:
Thank you everyone for the responses.  I've started looking at the Lessons section and indeed it has been very useful.   Much appreciated!

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