Yamaha (manufacturer)
Encyclopedia
is a multinational corporation
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...

 and conglomerate
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...

 based in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 with a wide range of products and services, predominantly musical instruments, electronics, motorcycles and power sports equipment.

History

Yamaha was established in 1887 as a piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 and reed organ
Reed organ
A reed organ, also called a parlor organ, pump organ, cabinet organ, cottage organ, is an organ that generates its sounds using free metal reeds...

 manufacturer by Torakusu Yamaha
Torakusu Yamaha
Torakusu Yamaha was a Japanese entrepreneur who was the founder of the Yamaha Corporation....

 as (literally Japan Musical Instrument Manufacturing Corporation) in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...

 and was incorporated on October 12, 1897. The company's origins as a musical instrument manufacturer is still reflected today in the group's logo—a trio of interlocking tuning fork
Tuning fork
A tuning fork is an acoustic resonator in the form of a two-pronged fork with the prongs formed from a U-shaped bar of elastic metal . It resonates at a specific constant pitch when set vibrating by striking it against a surface or with an object, and emits a pure musical tone after waiting a...

s. http://www.global.yamaha.com/about/brand/index.html

After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, company president Genichi Kawakami repurposed the remains of the company's war-time production machinery and the company's expertise in metallurgical technologies to the manufacture of motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

s. The YA-1 (AKA Akatombo, the "Red Dragonfly"), of which 125 were built in the first year of production (1958), was named in honor of the founder. It was a 125cc, single cylinder, two-stroke, street bike patterned after the German DKW
DKW
DKW is a historic German car and motorcycle marque. The name derives from Dampf-Kraft-Wagen .In 1916, the Danish engineer Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen founded a factory in Zschopau, Saxony, Germany, to produce steam fittings. In the same year, he attempted to produce a steam-driven car, called the DKW...

 RT125
RT 125
The RT 125 is a German two-stroke motorcycle made by DKW in Zschopau in the 1930s, IFA and MZ in the 1950s and early 1960s, and DKW in Ingolstadt in the 1950s and 1960s...

 (which the British munitions firm, BSA
Birmingham Small Arms Company
This article is not about Gamo subsidiary BSA Guns Limited of Armoury Road, Small Heath, Birmingham B11 2PP or BSA Company or its successors....

, had also copied in the post-war era and manufactured as the Bantam
BSA Bantam
The BSA Bantam is a two-stroke unit construction motorcycle that was produced by the Birmingham Small Arms Company from 1948 until 1971...

and Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...

 as the Hummer). In 1959, the success of the YA-1 resulted in the founding of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd
Yamaha Motor Company
, is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation and its headquarter is located in Iwata, Shizuoka. Along with expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized...

.

Yamaha has grown to become the world's largest manufacturer of musical instruments (including piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

s, "silent" pianos
Silent piano
A silent piano is an acoustic piano where there is an option to silence the strings by means of an interposing hammer bar. A silent piano is designed for private silent practice. In the silent mode, sensors pick up the piano key movement...

, drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

s, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

s, brass instruments, woodwinds, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

s, viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...

s, celli
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...

, and vibraphone
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....

s), as well as a leading manufacturer of semiconductor
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...

s, audio/visual
Audio-visual
The term Audio-Visual may refer to works with both a sound and a visual component, the production or use of such works, or to equipment used to create and present such works...

, computer related products, sporting goods, home appliance
Home appliance
Home appliances are electrical/mechanical machines which accomplish some household functions, such as cooking or cleaning. Home appliances can be classified into:*Major appliances, or White goods*Small appliances, or Brown goods...

s, specialty metals and industrial robot
Industrial robot
An industrial robot is defined by ISO as an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator programmable in three or more axes...

s.

In 1989, Yamaha shipped the world's first CD recorder. Yamaha purchased Sequential Circuits
Sequential Circuits
Sequential Circuits Inc. was a California-based synthesizer company that was founded in the early 1970s by Dave Smith and sold to Yamaha Corporation in 1987. The company, throughout its lifespan, pioneered many groundbreaking technologies and design principles that are often taken for granted in...

 in 1988. It bought a majority stake (51%) of competitor Korg
Korg
is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners...

 in 1989, which was bought out by Korg in 1993.

In 2002, Yamaha closed down its archery
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...

 product business that was started in 1959. Six archers in five different Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 won gold medals using their products.

It acquired German audio software manufacturers Steinberg
Steinberg
Steinberg GmbH is a German musical software and equipment company based in Hamburg. It mainly produces music recording, arranging and editing software as used in digital audio workstations and VSTi software synthesizers.- History :...

 in January 2005, from Pinnacle Systems
Pinnacle Systems
Pinnacle Systems, Inc. is a California-based American manufacturer of digital video hardware and software for the consumer and broadcast markets. The company was founded in 1986 by Ajay Chopra, Mirek Jiricka and Randall Moore....

.

In July, 2007, Yamaha bought out the minority shareholding of the Kemble family in Yamaha-Kemble Music (UK) Ltd, Yamaha's UK import and musical instrument and professional audio equipment sales arm, the company being renamed Yamaha Music U.K. Ltd in autumn 2007. Kemble & Co. Ltd, the UK piano sales & manufacturing arm was unaffected.

On December 20, 2007, Yamaha made an agreement with the Austrian Bank BAWAG P.S.K. Group BAWAG to purchase all the shares of Bösendorfer
Bösendorfer
Bösendorfer is an Austrian piano manufacturer, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha. The brand is known for producing pianos with a uniquely rich, singing, and sustaining tone...

, intended to take place in early 2008. Yamaha intends to continue manufacturing at the Bösendorfer facilities in Austria. The acquisition of Bösendorfer
Bösendorfer
Bösendorfer is an Austrian piano manufacturer, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha. The brand is known for producing pianos with a uniquely rich, singing, and sustaining tone...

 was announced after the NAMM Show
NAMM Show
The NAMM Show is one of the largest music product trade shows in the world, founded in 1901. It is held every January in Anaheim, California, USA, at the Anaheim Convention Center...

 in Los Angeles, on January 28, 2008. As of February 1, 2008, Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH operates as a subsidiary of Yamaha Corp.

Yamaha Corporation is also widely known for their music teaching programme that began in the 1950s.

Yamaha electronic have proven to be successful, popular and respected products. For example the Yamaha YPG-625
Yamaha YPG-625
The YPG-625 is a digital keyboard manufactured by Yamaha. It is an 88-key Portable Grand.-Features:The 625 sports a number of features, including a large LCD display, 88 weighted hammer action keys, lower keys are weighted heavier than the upper keys like a real piano, and 500 "voices"...

 was given the award "Keyboard of the Year" and "Product of the Year" in 2007 from The Music and Sound Retailer magazine http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/ModelSeriesDetail/0,,CNTID%25253D65229%252526CTID%25253D205200,00.html.

Other companies in the Yamaha group include:
  • Bösendorfer
    Bösendorfer
    Bösendorfer is an Austrian piano manufacturer, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha. The brand is known for producing pianos with a uniquely rich, singing, and sustaining tone...

     Klavierfabrik GmbH, Vienna, Austria.
  • Yamaha Motor Company
    Yamaha Motor Company
    , is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation and its headquarter is located in Iwata, Shizuoka. Along with expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized...

  • Yamaha Fine Technologies Co., Ltd.
  • Yamaha Livingtec Corporation
  • Yamaha Metanix Corporation
  • Yamaha Pro Audio
    Yamaha Pro Audio
    Yamaha Pro Audio, Inc. is a company that offers a complete line of professional audio products for the live sound and sound reinforcement markets...


Corporate mission

is a Japanese word, used by Yamaha to describe their corporate mission. Kandō in translation describes the sensation of profound excitement and gratification derived from experiencing supreme quality and performance. A reasonable English synonym is "awe-inspiring".

Software synthesizers

Yamaha announced the singing synthesizer Vocaloid
Vocaloid
is a singing synthesizer application, with its signal processing part developed through a joint research project between the Pompeu Fabra University in Spain and Japan's Yamaha Corporation, who backed the development financially—and later developed the software into the commercial product...

 for the first time at the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 fair Musikmesse
Musikmesse
Musikmesse Frankfurt is a music fair held at the Frankfurt Trade Fair in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is the world's largest music fair and it has been held annually for over 25 years.The Frankfurter Musikpreis award is also handed out during the fair....

 on March 5-9, 2003.

Yamaha also began to get involved with the sale and production of Vocaloid applications themselves with Lily being the first; Lily was later sold via Internet Co., Ltd.
Internet Co., Ltd.
, or Internet, is a software company based in Osaka, Japan. It is best known for the music sequencer Singer Song Writer and Niconico Movie Maker for Nico Nico Douga, a video sharing website. It also develops singing synthesizers using the Vocaloid 2 engine developed by Yamaha Corporation...

's website. Their involvement continued with the VY series, with VY1 being the first, released in deluxe and standard editions on September 1, 2010. The VY series is a series designed to be a high quality product for professional musicians. The series is also designed with the intention to set a new standard for the Vocaloids for having no face, sex or set voice, but are designed to complete any song. VY1 saw a new approach to how the software handled the database of samples and improved the performance of the Vocaloid 2 engine.

Yamaha announced a version of the Vocaloid 2 software for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...

 and iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...

, which exhibited at the Y2 Autumn 2010 Digital Content Expo in Japan. Later, this version of the software was released using the VY1 voice. VY2 will also be released for this version of the software.

External links

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