Lowrey EZ4 Virtual Orchestra User manual

Owner’s Guide

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Thank you for choosing the Lowrey EZ4 Virtual Orchestra for your home!
This guide offers complete operational information to help you enjoy your new musical instrument.
Please read the guide and keep it close by for future reference.
Original Owner/Purchaser: Register your New EZ4 Lowrey purchase instantly by visiting www.lowrey.com.
Click on the Warranty Registration link at the top of the Lowrey home page.
Table of Contents
Important Safety Instructions......................... 2
Control Panel ................................................... 6
Let’s Get Started.............................................. 8
Power Button .................................................. 8
Home ............................................................. 8
Volume Pedal.................................................. 8
Master Volume ................................................ 8
ABC’s ............................................................. 9
MCS ............................................................. 9
Chord Memory ................................................ 9
Auto Bass........................................................ 9
Play ............................................................. 9
Listen ............................................................. 10
Headphones.................................................... 11
Setups ............................................................. 11
Style Setup...................................................... 11
Song Setup ..................................................... 11
Music Styles..................................................... 12
Style List ......................................................... 12
Selecting A Style ............................................. 12
Style Controls.................................................. 13
Drum Volume............................................... 13
Accomp Volume........................................... 13
Tempo/Downbeat Indicator.......................... 13
Tempo Control ............................................. 13
Lock Tempo ................................................. 13
EASY........................................................... 14
MCS-Music Chord System....................... 14
Red, Blue, Green ..................................... 14
Major Chord ............................................. 14
Minor Chord ............................................. 14
Seventh Chord ......................................... 15
No Chord.................................................. 15
Intro Ending ................................................. 15
Minor Chord Intro......................................... 15
Start Stop........................................................ 16
Fill ............................................................. 16
Sounds ............................................................. 17
Upper ............................................................. 17
Organs......................................................... 17
Vibra Trem................................................ 17
Orchestral ....................................................... 18
More ............................................................ 18
Dual Sounds................................................ 18
Orchestral On/Off ........................................ 19
Orchestral to Right Split .............................. 19
Harmony ......................................................... 20
Fake It!............................................................ 20
Lower ............................................................. 21
Dual Sounds ............................................... 21
Glide / Sustain................................................. 22
Bass Volume ................................................... 22
Features............................................................ 23
1. Keyboard Split............................................. 23
2. Touch .......................................................... 24
3. Drums Only ................................................. 24
4. Keyed Bass................................................. 24
5. Orch. Octave............................................... 24
6. Orchestral Level.......................................... 25
7. Transpose ................................................... 25
MCS Chord Chart.............................................. 26
Songs List.......................................................... 27
Song Setup List ................................................. 28
Assembling The Bench................................... 29
Warranty ............................................................ 30

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TEMPO CHORD KEY
123 C C
1
2
3
12
11 16 19
68
13
457
910 14 17 18
15
1. Power - Page 8
2. Home - Page 8
Pressing the Home button returns the EZ4 to its original power on setting.
3. Volumes - Page 8, 13, 22
Control the volume level of various sections of the EZ4.
4. Performer - Page 12
Each Music Style features three distinctive types of orchestration: Full Band, Pianist or Guitarist.
5. Music Styles - Page 12
Select fully-orchestrated musical accompaniments.
6. Style Controls - Page 13
Control aspects of each Style.
Intro Ending - Add a professionally composed Introduction and Ending to your songs.
Start Stop - Starts and Stops a Style.
    Fill-Addarhythmicbreakorll-intoyoursong.
Easy - activates Lowrey easy play features: MCS Chords, Chord Memory and Auto Bass.
7. Drum Volume - Page 13
Control the volume level of the drums portion of a Music Style.
8. Tempo - Page 13
Speed up or slow down the tempo of any Music Style. Tempo value is shown in the display.
9. Style Setup - Page 11
Select from among six complete sound presets for each Music Style.
10. Songs - Page 9, 27
Listen to prerecorded musical performances loaded in the EZ4.

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TEMPO CHORD KEY
123 C C
1
2
3
12
11 16 19
68
13
457
910 14 17 18
15
Control Panel
11. Song Setup - Page 11, 28
Select a complete sound preset for a song from a list of titles loaded in the EZ4.
12. Display
Used along with many features. Shows data, values and feature choices.
13. Feature Controls - Page 23
Scroll - Show different feature options
Select - Implement a feature option
Feature - A list of EZ4 control parameters
Contrast - Set the display contrast
14. Sounds - Page 17
Select from a variety of musical instrument sounds for the upper keyboard.
15. Vibra Trem - Page 17
Adds motion to organ sounds.
16. Lower - Page 21
Select from a variety of musical instrument sounds for the lower keyboard.
17. Fake It! - Page 20
   Addsolosand‘riffs’toyourmusicwithjustonenger.
18. Harmony - Page 20
   Selectdifferenttypesofonengerharmonies.
19. Headphones - Page 11
Connect a set of stereo headphones.

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Let’s Get Started
Power
Turn the EZ4 on by pressing the Power button on the left end of the
control panel. The instrument will fully power up in just a few seconds.
An Orchestra sound is on the upper keyboard. A Grand Piano sound is
on the lower keyboard. Orchestra and Piano is the Power On setup.
Home
Press the Home button anytime to return the EZ4 to the original Power
On setup.
Volume Pedal
Place your right foot on the Volume Pedal while playing. Moving
this pedal controls the overall volume level of the EZ4.
- Pressing the pedal all the way down is maximum volume.
- Pressing the pedal all the way back is minimum volume.
The Volume Pedal allows the player to add expression (changes in
the volume level) to their music.
Pedal Set to Minimum Volume
Pedal Set to Maximum Volume
When the Volume Pedal volume level is to loud, or too soft,
use the Master Volume control to decrease or increase the
volume level.
- The top button increases the volume level.
- The bottom button decreases the volume level.
You may need to press either button several times to reach
the desired level.

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ABC’s
Each key on the EZ4 is clearly labeled to match the music in the Lowrey Songbook and Lowrey Magic
class books. Follow the music and match the notes with the keys.
MCS
MCS - Music Chord System is Lowrey’s easy-play feature that makes
playing left hand chords easy. With MCS, you can play major chords
withjustonengerandobtainafull-sounding,musicallycorrectchord.
MCS is not a button. It is a feature that becomes active when you
press the Easy button or select a Music Style. When MCS is active the
Red, Blue, and Green Chord Lights above the left lower keyboard
become illuminated. These lights match the color-coded bars
printed in the music of your Lowrey Songbook and in Lowrey Magic
class books. Red is for C, blue is for F, and green is for G chords.
Chord Memory
Chord Memory continues sounding the last MCS chord played, even after the key or keys have been
released. This feature frees your hand to turn a page of music or prepare for the next chord to be played.
Chord Memory is not a button. It is a feature that becomes active when you press the Easy button or
select a Music Style.
Auto Bass
Auto Bass is the feature that plays bass along with you automatically, creating a full, rich sound.
Like MCS and Chord Memory, Auto Bass is not a button. It is a feature that becomes active
when you press the Easy button or select a Music Style.
Play
There are 20 songs in the Lowrey Songbook (that is included with the purchase of the EZ4) with
color-coded MCS chord bars. Your right plays the ABC’s and your left plays the color-coded chords.
ABC’s and Color-Coded Chords are used throughout Lowrey Magic, a leading recreational music
making class, which focuses on providing a unique and accessible opportunity for each person to
become musical in their own way rather than emphasizing the conventional method of musical
competition and performance.

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Listen
 Performanceofademonstrationsongand29songsfromtherstthreebooksoftheLowreyMagic
course are in the EZ4.
- Press the Songs button. The Display will show Demo Songs.
- Press the bottom Scroll button for Chain Loop, which will play all 30 titles in sequence repeatedly.
To begin Chain Loop play press the Start/Stop or Select button.
- Press the Start/Stop button to end play.
- To play individual titles press either Scroll button to select single titles.
PressaScrollbuttonrepeatedlytondthedesiredtitle.
- Press Start/Stop or Select to begin play of the title.
Scroll & Select
1. Demo Songs
1. Demo Songs 16. Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ra
2. Music! Music! Music! 17. Just A Closer Walk Thee
3. Jingle Bells 18. Aloha Oe
4. Marianne 19. Rocky Top
5. When The Saints Go Marching In 20. Paper Roses
6. Beautiful Brown Eyes 21. Spanish Eyes
7. Little Brown Jug 22. Release Me
8. Love Me Tender 23. Take Me Out To The Ball Game
9. I Walk The Line 24. Edelweiss
10. Bye Bye Love 25. You Are My Sunshine
11. It’s A Small World After All 26. Puff The Magic Dragon
12. Amazing Grace 27. Silent Night
13. This Land Is Your Land 28. Blueberry Hill
14. Beer Barrel Polka 29. Your Cheatin’ Heart
15. Oh, What A Beautiful Morning 30. Proud Mary

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Headphones
You can plug in a set of stereo headphones (USE STEREO ONLY) into the
Headphone jack, located on the right end of the control panel, so you
can play music in private.
Before plugging in a set of headphones be sure that the Volume Pedal is set to minimum volume-toe-end
of the pedal all the way up.
When headphones are plugged into the headphone jack the speaker system is muted. The volume
of the headphones will be controlled with the Volume Pedal, just like the speaker system of the EZ4.
SLOWLY increase the headphone volume to a comfortable level.
Setups
The EZ4 features a number upper and lower keyboard sound setups.
 -WhenyourstturntheEZ4onyougetVirtualOrchestra-thePower On sound, which is...
Upper Keyboard: Orchestral Strings + French Horn
Lower Keyboard: Grand Piano
Style Setup
The Style Setup button provides a complete upper and lower keyboard sound
setup for each Music Style that complements the selected style. Style Setup is
activated when a Style is selected.
Use the Setup as is or select different sounds or turn Style Setup off and
create your own.
Song Setup
Song Setup gives you 100 great sounding setups that are inspired by certain
song titles, plus 10 classic organ setups. A listing of the song titles is in the
back of this guide. Song Setup takes the guesswork out of selecting Styles
and Sounds for many songs.
- Press the Song Setup button.
With Ach Du Lieber shown in the Display...
Pressing the bottom Scroll button moves to the very end of the list.
Pressing the top Scroll button moves to the next selection at the top of the list.
The complete Song Setup List is on page 28.
- Press either Scroll button to choose from the 100 setups.
- Press and hold either Scroll button to accelerate through the listing.
- The Display shows the active selection.
- Press the Select button when the desired title is shown in the Display.
- Begin playing your song.
You will discover that Song Setups are appropriate for many different songs, not just the one given.
For example, the setup for Anytime works well with many country music songs. Amazing Grace is a good
setup for many hymns.

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Music Styles
Button Name Full Band Pianist Guitarist
Standards Frank & The Count 2-Beat Piano Guitar Swing
Country Roadside Café Rinkie Tink Country Basic
Smooth EZ 4/4 (8-Beat) Heart Songs Guitar 4/4
Rock 8-Beat Rock Memphis Piano 50’s Rock Guitar
Traditional March / Polka Classical Piano Jazz Guitar
Gospel Hand Clappin’ Gospel Ballad Guitars
Latin Ballroom Latin Piano Bossa Latin Guitar
3/4 EZ Waltz Southern 3/4 Guitars 3/4
Selecting a Style
Press one of the Style buttons. The LED will light red.
The Full Band Performer button lights red along with the Start/Stop, Easy and Style Setup buttons.
To select a different Performer group for the chosen Style simply press Pianist or Guitarist.
The lower keyboard splits, as shown below. See Features to adjust the Split location.
- Play your melody notes on the upper keyboard and on the lower keyboard right of the split point.
- Play your accompaniment chords on the lower keyboard left of the split point.
Keyboard
Split - F#3

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Style Controls
A number of features can operate along
with or control aspects of the Music Styles.
Control the volume of the Drum sounds
within a Style using the Drum volume buttons.
- The top button increases the volume level.
- The bottom button decreases the volume level.
You may need to press either button several times
to reach the desired level.
Control the volume of the Style with the Accomp volume
buttons.
- The top button increases the volume level.
- The bottom button decreases the volume level.
- The volume level is illustrated in the Display.
You may need to press either button several times to reach
the desired level.
Lock Accomp - To lock the Accomp volume at a desired level...
- Set the Accomp volume to the desired level.
- Press both Accomp volume buttons at the same time.
The DisplaywillbrieyconrmtheLock setting.
- To unlock press either one of the Accomp volume buttons.
Downbeat Indicator - When a Style is playing the four buttons of the Drum volume and Tempoashin
 timewiththetempo.ThebottomDrumvolumeashesontheDownbeatoftheStyle-therst
beat of a measure.
Tempo - Each Style has a preset Tempo. To increase or decrease the Tempo press the up or down
buttons.
- Press either button repeatedly to achieve the desired Tempo.
- Press and hold either button to accelerate the change in value.
- The value of the Tempo can be seen in the Display along with...
Chord - lower keyboard chord/bass pedal being played
Key - the key at which the EZ4 is set
Lock Tempo keeps the tempo setting from changing, even though different Styles may be selected that
would normally change the tempo.
- Press both Tempo buttons at the same time to lock the current tempo setting.
The DisplaywillbrieyconrmtheLock setting.
- To unlock the tempo press either one of the Tempo buttons.

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EASY - Just as Style Setup takes care of the right hand/upper keyboard,
EASY sets up sounds for the left hand/lower keyboard. EASY also
activates three features that support lower keyboard play: Auto Bass,
Chord Memory and MCS (Music Chord System). See page 9.
MCS lights above the lower keyboard match the color-coded chord
symbols in your black Lowrey Songbook and the music used in the
Lowrey Magic course.
Red is C, blue is F, green is G. MCS responds in a musically correct fashion when you play
multi-ngeredchordsorsingle-ngeredchords.
Red
C Chord Blue
F Chord
Green
G Chord
Major Chord - Any major chord can be played with the conventional three notes or a single note.
For example, to play a C MajorchordwithonengerplaythesecondCkey in the left hand / lower
keyboard section of the keyboard.
4
5
32
1
2Keyboard
Split - F#3
Minor Chord - Any minor chord can be played with the conventional three notes or with two notes.
The two note Minor Chord formula for MCS is... chord letter name + three notes up.
 -Therstnotetoplayistheletternameofthechord.
 -Thesecondnotetoplayisthreeup(totheright)oftherstnote.
For example, to play a C Minor (Cm) chord play the Cnote and the black Ebnote to the right of C.
Play both keys at the same time.
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5
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1
32Keyboard
Split - F#3

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Seventh Chord - Any seventh chord can be played with the conventional four notes or with two notes.
The two note Seventh Chord formula for MCS is... chord letter name + two notes down.
 -Therstnotetoplayistheletternameofthechord.
 -Thesecondnotetoplayistwodown(totheleft)oftherstnote.
For example, to play a C Seventh (C7) chord play the Cnote and the black Bbnote to the left of C.
Play both keys at the same time.
Keyboard
Split - F#3
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No Chord - Written as N.C. in your music, No Chord can be achieved using MCS by playing a group of
 three,four,orveconsecutivekeysatthesametimeontheLowerKeyboard,as
illustrated below. For example: C, C#, D or F, F#, G,Ab.
The MCS Chord Chart in the back of this guide lists the notes needed to form a variety of chords
using MCS in addition to the examples given.
Memory continues sounding the last MCS chord played, even after the key or keys have been released.
Turn the button off to hear your MCS chords only when you are playing the key(s).
Intro Ending adds introductions and endings to your songs.
There are unique introductions and endings for each Music Style.
- Press the Style button for your song. Use Full Band or select one of
the other Performer options.
- Press the Intro Ending button.
-Playtherstlowerkeyboardchordofyoursong;conventional
or MCS.
You can start the Introduction by pressing the Start Stop button in place
of playing a chord.
- Begin playing your song when the introduction is through and the Style is playing.
Watch the Display for a cue when to play.
 -Whenyouarenishedplayingyoursong,liftyourlefthandoffofthekeysandpressthe Intro Ending
button again to hear a professional sounding ending.
Minor Chord Intro - Hear a different introduction to the Styles.
 -SelectaStyle,selectaPerformer,pressIntroEndingandstartbyplayingaMinorChord;
conventional or MCS.

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Start Stop - The Start Stop button becomes lighted when a Style button is
selected.
- Press Start Stop to start a Style playing. The button light turns off.
- Press Start Stop while a Style is playing to cause it to stop.
The button lights again.
- Press Start Stop again and the Styles start playing again on the
  downbeat(rstbeatofameasure).
Use the Start Stop to temporarily pause a Style without changing the setup. Any lower keyboard chord
(conventional or MCS) will start a selected Style playing without pressing the Start/Stop button.
Fill adds a rhythmic break to a Style when the style is playing. Fill is a fun
feature to use whenever you wish.
- Press the Fill button while a Style is playing.
There are no set rules for using the Fill feature. Try using Fill
between sections of a song (Verse to Chorus) or whenever you feel
like adding a break. Press and hold Fill for different lengths of time
to hear different variations.
Fill may also be activated by pressing the Right Foot Switch.
Fill

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Sounds
Instrumental sounds for the upper and lower keyboard are arranged in categories of instruments in the
Sounds section.
- Press one of the instrument category buttons (Organs, Pianos, Strings, Ensemble...).
- Press either Scroll button to select an instrumental sound within the selected category.
- Instrument choices are shown in the Display. Play some keys to hear the sound shown in the Display.
- The More button holds a variety of additional sounds beyond the other categories.
Upper Keyboard Sounds
The Organ category sounds may be used alone or in combination with
the Orchestral sounds.
- Press the Organs button.
- Press either Scroll button to select different organ types.
- Choices are shown in the Display.
Organs
1 Sweet 3 Full 5Pipe 7Strings 8
2 Rich 4 Jazz 6Solo 8Strings 16
Vibra Trem adds authentic organ motion to the sound, like the
mechanical rotating speakers of the past.
- When the Organs button is selected the Vibra Trem feature is active
and has two speeds - Fast and Slow. Button light On = Fast.
Button light Off = Slow.

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The Orchestral category sounds may be used alone or in combination with the Organs sounds.
- Press one of the Orchestral category buttons.
- Press either Scroll button to select different sounds within the category.
- Choices are shown in the Display.
Pianos Guitars Strings Wood Winds
1Piano: Grand Guitar: Acoustic Strings: Ensemble 1 Sax: Breathy
2Piano: HonkyTonk Guitar: Country Strings: Ensemble 2 Clarinet
3Piano-El: Detune 1 Guitar: Jazz Strgs: Pizzicato Flute
4Piano-El: Classic Guitar: Nylon Violin Oboe
5Piano: Society Guitar: Hawaiian Viola Sax: Alto Sax
6Harpsichord Guitar: Rock Cello Sax: Bari Sax
More
1Accordion 11 Flugel Horn 21 Organ Perc. 2 2/3 31 Trombone: Tommy
2Animal: Cat 12 French Horn 22 Organ: Tibia Soft 32 Trumpet
3Animal: Dog 13 Guitar: Mute-Dynam 23 Organ-Rock 33 Trumpet: Muted
4Bag Pipe 14 Harmonica: Pocket 24 Organ-Combo: 60's 34 Vocal: Doo
5Banjo 15 Harp 25 Pan Flute 35 Vibes
6Bells: Church 16 Mandolin 26 Piano-El: Detune 2 36 Whistle
7Bells: Crystal 17 Marimba 27 Piano: Toy 37 Xylophone
8Brass Section 18 Organ: 8' Celeste 28 Sax Section 38 Xtra: Synth-Saw
9Choir 19 Organ: Church 29 Scat
10 Ens: Big Band 20 Organ: Perc.4 30 Steel Drums
Dual Sounds
Select any two orchestral sounds to play together.
- Press and hold a Sound button. Press either Scroll button to select a sound within the button.
Watch the Display to see the sound names.
 -WhileholdingtherstbuttonpressandreleaseasecondSoundbutton,thenreleasetherst
sound button.
 Therstsoundbuttonpressedwillbelighted.
   Thesecondsoundbuttonpressedwillashonandoff.
- Press either Scroll button to select a sound within the second button.
- Play and hear both sounds.