I find the quickest way to getting up to speed is to FIRST spend an hour or so reviewing the manual (to cover basic OS features unique to that keyboard brand) and then set up the keyboard itself and start playing/exploring, refering back to the manual only if the need arises.

I like to begin exploring the new keyboard's styles/sounds by selecting a style and associated sounds and letting it trigger my creative mood to start playing a song that I think fits that groove. I move from style to style, customizing, tweaking & saving setups to my taste, moving on to another style and repeating. With my Technics KN5000 arranger keyboard's easy to use (intuitive) OS, I was able to customize arranger style templates in a very short time and started taking the keyboard to work (gigging) within just a few short days.

I then later (over time) like to read the manual from "cover to cover". Only by throughly reading the manual, have I been able to discover some valuable 'hidden' features & tips which are not readily apparent when playing/exploring the keyboard alone. - Scott http://scottyee.com