YGS Virtual Piano is a handy application that puts a neat virtual piano right on your desktop. It lets you play this virtual piano using the keyboard or mouse; support for external MIDI keyboard is also provided.
In my opinion, the best thing about this tool is the fact that it allows you to create, store and manage a collection of timbres (called “voices”). These timbres basically represent presets of sounds and notes played on different keys, transposition values, and loudness levels. You can save the new sound files to files with the .vpiano extension, or download already created ones on the producer’s website. Semitones and octaves can also be easily tweaked to your liking.
Though YGS Virtual Piano is a simple, neat, and straightforward, it’s not exactly easy-to-use. Its help file is rather superficial and many of the specific terms that its interface displays are unclear and insufficiently explained. Some beginners might have some trouble using this tool, and that’s quite surprising considering YGS Virtual Piano is pretty lightweight and simple.
Anyway, if you’re interested in a virtual piano with some interesting additional features, you should also consider giving YGS Virtual Piano a try, as you might still like it or find it to be useful, despite the aforementioned disadvantage.
Pros
- It allows to create and store a collection of the favourite timbres
- Reasonable price
- Lets you change semitones and octaves
Cons
- Superficial help file
- The advanced features of the program are unclear for beginners