SFM Style Studio

Use a USB MIDI interface supported by macOS CoreMIDI. Connect the keyboard’s MIDI OUT → interface MIDI IN and keyboard MIDI IN ← interface MIDI OUT, then connect the interface’s USB cable to your Mac. Choose its MIDI input and output ports in SFM.

MIDI carries notes and controller messages, not audio. Listen through your keyboard’s speakers or your existing audio setup.

Cubase: File → Export → MIDI File. Use resolution 480 and leave export checkboxes off, including Export as Type 0, for a Type 1 file.

Cakewalk by BandLab: File → Save As / Save Copy As → MIDI Format 1. Save a .mid, not a .cwp project.

Saving a Cubase/Cakewalk project or closing the DAW does not send notes back. Select the MIDI again after every new export: SFM reviews the selected snapshot. Do not change the SFM project during the exchange. Test with a copy first.

The summary counts note events, not visible velocity bars; simultaneous bars may overlap. Review unexpected changes in Details before receiving. New or changed same-pitch overlaps and clearing a populated channel can require extra confirmation. No note changes? Choose Done.

MIDI contains source notes, not audio or rendered chord-preview playback. MegaVoice needs a compatible sound source; alternate CASM layers may need muting in the DAW. File validation cannot prove that an unrelated MIDI belongs to your project.

Choose Single screen in the Workspace controls for the connected three-area layout. On a smaller client area, switch between compact panes. The Inspector is shown on first entry; hide or show it as needed.

Choose Separate windows when you want dedicated Piano Roll and Mixer windows. Open or focus the Mixer, detach or dock the Piano Roll, and move the windows to your preferred display. These views share one project and Undo/Redo history. They are different from New window, which opens an independent Style project.

Detailed Voice, Effects and CASM editing, project save and STY export remain in the main project workspace. Closing a Mixer view does not close the project. Keep a copy of your original Style and save the editable project regularly.

Select the lane at the right of the Piano Roll lane header. Velocity edits note dynamics. Modulation, Volume, Pan, Expression, Sustain, Resonance, Cutoff, Reverb and Chorus are part-wide MIDI controller lanes.

For controller editing, choose All sources of this part. Source-only views allow note and velocity editing but protect shared controllers. Supported curves use editable points and Linear, Ease in, Ease out or Step interpolation. Preview through the connected instrument and use Undo/Redo to review each change.

Docked and detached Piano Roll views keep the same lane workflow. These controllers are MIDI instructions—not embedded audio or samples—and their audible response depends on the target instrument.

1. Connect the keyboard’s USB TO HOST port to the computer with a data cable, or use a suitable MIDI interface. Install the appropriate manufacturer driver if your setup requires it.
2. Start the keyboard normally. In SFM, open MIDI output and select the port that sends to the instrument.
3. For recording or MIDI left-hand chord input, open Recording and choose the input and channel receiving the keyboard.
4. Check the keyboard’s MIDI receive routing. Audio is separate from MIDI: listen through the keyboard or your usual audio interface/monitoring system.

SFM is not a software synthesizer or VST host. Its MIDI activity meter does not measure audio loudness. For supported live Genos effect controls, the keyboard must accept the relevant SysEx messages.

Open Style accepts supported Yamaha .sty, .prs, .sst, .pst and .fps files. Open project resumes .sfmstyle. Registration .rgt files are not Style files.

New starts a new project. Project is where you adjust the current project’s available structure/settings; you do not need to create it again.

For newly authored SFF1 Styles, choose a native SFF1 reference, match its meter and enable the sections you need. Intro/Main/Ending allow 1–32 whole bars; Fill/Break allow 1–8. Keep at least one Main. To add a missing section to that authored SFF1 project, use Project → Add / update current Style. New sections start empty; shortening that would lose events is blocked. This is not unrestricted section expansion for every imported Style.

Select a section, then a part. With Smart Tool, click empty space to add a note, Shift-drag to draw a long note, drag empty space to select a group, drag a note body to move it or drag its edge to change duration. Click an existing note to sample its velocity and, in From clicked note mode, its length. Ctrl+Shift-drag copies selected notes while keeping the originals. Use Tools → Note colors to change part colors without changing MIDI data. Use the Velocity lane and Undo/Redo as you work.

Triplet Grid: three equal subdivisions occupy the time of two ordinary notes of the same written value. For example, a 1/8 triplet Grid divides one quarter-note beat into three. It does not automatically shorten your selected Note length.

Timeline: drag the top ruler or yellow handle to point A. Space starts/stops playback. With Return on stop (Ctrl+W) enabled, stopping returns to A; disabled, it keeps the reached position. W stops and goes to the section beginning. Dragging the ruler during playback stops at the new position; press Space to resume there.

A quick right-click deletes a note; hold the right button on a note for about one second to open its properties instead. Grid and Note length are independent. With Snap new notes enabled, each empty-space click creates one note at the nearest Grid line; N toggles it. Choose a fixed Note length, Custom ticks, or From clicked note to reuse a sampled length. Moving/resizing existing notes remains free. Apply Quantize when you want timing correction; choose individual-event alignment or group offset, grid size and strength.

View / Zoom groups view controls. Ctrl+Up/Down adjusts pitch-lane zoom; Ctrl+Left/Right adjusts timeline zoom, including in the detached Piano Roll. Hide or show the Inspector to control detailed editing space. Interface text sizing is separate and remembered between launches. Event List is a read-only inspection view, not an event editor.

1. Open Source tracks beside Piano Roll source and inspect the source-to-destination routes.
2. Select an available source channel, including CH 1–8, in Piano Roll source to edit its notes and velocity.
3. For verified SFF2 Ctb2 routes, use Copy to source channel to create a sibling layer on an unused channel of the same destination. New copies begin with no active chords.
4. Set Active chord types, using Major/Minor groups or individual chord selections. Use exclusive assignment separately when you intend to prevent sibling overlap.
5. Apply, audition with the intended chords, save and export using the original imported scaffold.

Source root/chord describes the phrase as written; it is not the chord you choose for audition. Legacy Ctab and Guitar rules remain preserved/read-only. A layer can be silent because its chord is inactive, not because its notes are missing.

Choose the destination section and part, arm recording, select MIDI input/channel and review count-in and recording quantization. Record a short take, stop and inspect the result before continuing. Watch for duplicated MIDI routing or overlapping takes.

In Mixer, inspect Apply to all sections before editing: enabled targets the matching part across sections; disabled targets the current section. Editor inline Pan/Volume affects only the current section. Mute/Solo is for audition and does not change exported Style data.

Use supported Expression/Sustain, Chorus/Reverb, EQ and Filter controls gradually. Part-wide controller lanes and note-effect envelopes support expressive MIDI editing; return to All sources of this part when source-only mode protects those controllers.

Important DSP distinction: live DSP selections are stored for project preview; original Yamaha DSP/OTS bytes remain preserved on export. Hearing a live effect change does not mean a new global DSP/OTS setup has been authored into the Style.

Genos / Genos2: save your work, stop playback/recording and close MIDI apps. With the keyboard off, connect USB TO HOST directly to the computer. Hold PLAYLIST while powering on until USB Storage Mode appears. Normal playing is unavailable in this mode.

1. In Windows File Explorer → This PC, open the newly appearing keyboard drive. Its letter is not fixed. If Windows asks to format it, cancel.
2. Copy the existing Expansion folder to a dated folder on your computer, keeping its name, pack subfolders and filenames. Do not cut, move, rename or delete the keyboard’s folders; do not open or copy AUDIOREC.ROOT.
3. Wait until copying finishes, safely eject the drive, turn the keyboard off and restart normally without PLAYLIST. Never disconnect or power off while files are being accessed.
4. In SFM → Expansion → Scan Expansion, choose the copied Expansion folder itself—not its parent or the whole drive.
5. Close the library, open Tools → Voice, choose Expansion / User and search. Rescan a fresh copy after changing installed packs.

Other Yamaha models are not the same. Tyros5 documents MUSIC FINDER + power-on for its internal-hard-disk storage mode; that does not guarantee access to all Expansion resources. PSR-SX920/SX720, SX900/SX700, SX600, S975/S775 and S970/S770 manuals restrict copying/moving Expansion files. Do not assume the Genos procedure works or guess power-on combinations. Use the exact model manual and the in-app folder guide.

The scanner reads supported .vce/.drm/.sar/.sfx/.org Voice files under an Expansion folder. It does not unpack .ppi/.cpi/.ppf/.cpf, backups or Instrument Info. If no accessible supported folder is available, obtain lawful compatible files/addresses from your pack supplier or enter verified MSB/LSB/PC manually. This is not a full sample backup.

Reference: Yamaha Genos Reference Manual p.162; Genos2 p.169; Tyros5 Owner’s Manual p.104. See in-app Help for model-specific copy restrictions and source references.

1. Select the intended drum Voice first. Open Tools → Audio → Drum MIDI (Experimental) and choose isolated drum audio.
2. Trim Audio start/end to a complete musical phrase. In Source bars → destination bars, enter the actual source bar count and destination range. Source and destination must share the same meter.
3. For two source bars into four destination bars, choose source 2, Bars to fill 4, and When audio is too short → Repeat the available phrase. Choose a valid start bar and existing section length.
4. Press Analyze selection. Review hits, instrument guesses, velocities and note mapping against your drum kit. GM-default note numbers are not a guarantee for custom kits.
5. Listen to audio plays the original selection. Preview draft on MIDI output plays the resulting MIDI, including repeats or stretching. Apply only after checking it.

MIDI follows the existing project tempo. To hear it at the original speed, set the project tempo to the correct source tempo yourself. The alternative Source tempo + first downbeat mode uses the BPM you enter; it does not detect it automatically. Analysis does not change the WAV or create new sections.

Apply adds notes by default. Replacement requires confirmation and is limited to note starts in the chosen source/bar range. Other parts, CASM, Voices and controllers remain unchanged. Wrong cuts, missing hits and misclassified sounds still need manual correction.

1. Save the editable .sfmstyle project. Keep the original Style/reference available.
2. Open Export STY and read compatibility and licensing status. An internet connection is required for STY export.
3. Choose a supported format/reference and export to a new file or another folder. SFF1 cannot express every SFF2 Guitar, split-region or extended rule; renaming a file is not a conversion.
4. Load the result on the intended keyboard and test each section, chord response, transitions, endings, Voices, drums, levels and effects.

Do not interpret a file-validation result as a guarantee that every keyboard will sound identical. Voice availability, installed Expansion, Style format, firmware and instrument-specific rules all matter.

Select a section → Go to DAW → Open in DAW. Edit and export a standard MIDI file to any familiar folder. Return to Go to DAW → Receive MIDI file (or drag it in) → review → Receive edits. Save the SFM project.

Read the three-step guide and DAW export settings ↑. Keep original channels and bar positions. Do not change the SFM project during the exchange. Selecting a file does not apply it automatically; select the exported file again after each new revision.

1. Open Copy section / part in the Piano Roll toolbar.
2. Choose Source section, Copy scope and Destination section. Whole section copies eight parts; Whole part includes its source layers; One source track copies the chosen source channel.
3. Choose Keep original timing, Repeat or Fit proportionally. The destination retains its name and bar length; a phrase crossing its boundary needs fitting first.
4. Review the replacement scope, confirm and apply. The source and unrelated parts remain unchanged; one Undo restores the destination.

Section/part copy includes notes, Voice, Mixer, controllers, programs, pitch bends, source layers and supported CASM routes. Source-track copy retains destination part-wide Mixer/live DSP settings. Global Yamaha SysEx, OTS and project tempo are not copied. Channel conflicts and unsupported routes are blocked rather than silently rewriting unrelated data.

1. Choose New window and open another Style or project.
2. Select notes in the source Piano Roll and press Ctrl+C.
3. In the destination window, choose section and part, set the yellow cursor, then press Ctrl+V.
4. Review the result and Save. One Undo removes the destination paste without changing the source.

Paste adds notes, not Voice/Mixer/CASM settings. Relative timing is converted between PPQ values when needed. Existing section boundaries still apply: out-of-range notes are omitted and reported. Choose a long enough destination. This clipboard works between SFM windows in the same running app, not external DAWs.

Only one window controls MIDI hardware. Stop playback, recording and MIDI chord input in the current MIDI window, then choose Use MIDI here in the destination. Each window has independent Save, autosave recovery and Undo history.

1. Select a Library pattern, destination section and Drum Parts.
2. Review Source length and Target length in quarter-note beats. One 2/4 bar is two beats; one 4/4 bar is four.
3. For Fill/Break, Insert once at the end preserves one source phrase and leaves earlier destination beats empty. A longer source requires a different timing choice.
4. Choose Stretch to fit for one scaled phrase, or Repeat / trim to fill the target deliberately.
5. Apply, turn off Loop section and audition once. Undo restores the insertion.

Only selected Drum Parts and their source Voice/Mixer data are replaced. Destination section length, meter, unrelated parts, CASM and routing stay unchanged. Library preview loops the original phrase; it is not a preview of insertion timing. Rescan an older cached library to refresh displayed meter data. Previously duplicated project notes are not repaired automatically.

1. Create a new Style with supported basic CASM. Set the project meter and choose your destination section.
2. Optionally load a cut mix as Timing reference. Detect timing, then listen and confirm/correct BPM, meter grouping, first downbeat and bar count. Reference-only analysis creates no notes.
3. Add your separately prepared Drum, monophonic Bass and/or melody files. Each WAV/MP3 must be at most 10 MB and 120 seconds. Choose up to 32 bars (Fill/Break up to 8), within 120 seconds, and verify each file’s first downbeat.
4. Choose Phrase1/Phrase2 for melody. Enter the concert-pitch source key and matching target chord type. Intro/Ending retains the phrase’s relative progression; Main/Fill/Break requires one unchanged source chord. Imported/multi-source pitched routes are blocked.
5. Analyze and review notes, mapping, pitch, timing, duration and estimated velocity. Listen to the source and preview the MIDI. Select an appropriate Yamaha Voice separately.
6. For Intro/Ending, explicitly choose Set length to the selected bar count if needed. Shortening that would remove existing MIDI events is blocked. Apply only after review, then Save and test the exported Style on your keyboard.

One Undo restores the applied draft, including an explicitly changed section length. No instrument separation, chord recognition, major/minor conversion or embedding of recorded sound. Tempo, meter, CASM, Voices, controllers and unrelated notes are preserved. A short closing tail can be padded with silence only after confirmation; it is not automatically repeated. Read the scope and limitations above.

These existing SFM tutorials explain the connection and sound-selection workflow. Some controls may appear in different positions in V2.0.0; follow the current text guide above.

Watch: connect Audio and MIDI ↗
Watch: Yamaha and Expansion Voices / Drums ↗

No DAW is required: SFM is a standalone MIDI/Style editor for Windows and Mac. Go to DAW is optional when you prefer to edit MIDI in Cubase, Cakewalk or another compatible editor; it is a MIDI-file exchange, not a DAW plug-in or automatic project synchronization. It is not an audio-recording DAW, software synthesizer or VST host. For Yamaha-sound audition, use your compatible keyboard and MIDI/audio setup.

Use Windows 10/11, or macOS 13 or later on Apple Silicon or Intel. Yamaha PSR-S, PSR-SX, Tyros and Genos families are relevant target lines, but support is not identical for every model or feature. Match Style format, Voice/drum resources and firmware to your target. Genos-specific live controls and Expansion-folder access must not be assumed to work on every PSR. Test your own files during the trial.

A full-featured seven-day trial starts automatically on the first online launch of an eligible device. After that, a valid license is required. Internet access is needed for startup verification and STY export; the saved Expansion catalog and built-in Help can be read locally. For current license options, contact SFM support.

No. Audio → Drum MIDI drafts isolated drum clips. Audio → Style Assistant can suggest timing from a reference and draft separately prepared Drum, monophonic Bass and melody stems. Timing suggestions need confirmation; source keys/chord types are entered manually. Neither tool separates a mixed song, recognizes chord changes or generates a complete arrangement. You remain responsible for correction, Voice selection and keyboard testing.

Check MIDI output, keyboard receive routing, notes in the current section, Mute/Solo, levels and audio monitoring. Then confirm Voice bank/program values and installed Expansion. For source layers, check the active chord types. Matching a name in the catalog does not install the sound.

Use the startup language selector or Settings → Language to choose any of the 19 interface languages. Larger / Smaller text is remembered between launches. Find pitch/timeline controls in View / Zoom, use Workspace for layout choices, and Hide or show the Inspector for detailed editing. The Piano Roll source picker appears when additional source layers make it relevant. Help offers searchable guides and on-screen guidance; About & Credits is separate from Help.

SFM Style Studio is an independent product developed by SFM-1989, not a Yamaha product. Its strength is its integrated editing workflow, not a promise to replace every specialist function in every other tool. Yamaha and other product names belong to their respective owners.