MIDI Keyboard Input Help Please Yamaha PSR-290 Keyboard

Can I use a USB MIDI IN/OUT connector

yes. make sure it is mac compatible

Also, can u input piano chords without a MIDI keyboard

yes, but not as easily

would you say it is mac compatible

i've never heard of that brand/model, so i don't know anything about. unfortunately a good rule of thumb is; if it doesn't state that it's Mac Compatible, it probably isn't. there have also been a rash of problems people have been having with Mac os x 10.5 and waiting for companies to cpome out with updated drivers, so it' shard to tell which interfaces will work right out of the box at the moment.

here are a couple that have worked well in the past, but you'll have to do a little research to find out if they work with 10.5 yet (click the "MIDI Only) link in the right hand sidebar)

http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/Interfaces.html

do you have to input each note of the chord, or can you just type it in e.g. Gm7?

you can't type in a chord name, no. you can "draw"/place each note on the staff, or try using "Musical Typing" (Note: http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/GBFAQ.html#midikeys ). all in all a real keyboard is the best solution with alt methods being okay to touch things up, IMO

Good luck with it. If you have the time, perhaps you can post back and let the rest of us know how it goes so we'll know what to tell the next person in your shoes

definitely do all the research you can, the interfaces are fairly cheap, but still, no one wants to buy one that becomes a paper weight.

oh, and m-audio is a good company (i use one of their keyboards and love it), but a lot of their products currently have issues, as the drivers are still in the works. so do check company web sites.