Hi Arranger Forum,

I've been playing keyboards since I was 13 years old (I'm now 45). I'm a hobbyist and I play by ear. I taught myself guitar chords and fake it with my right hand. I'm not terribly talented but it's not too difficult to make my X-1 sound good.

For the last several years I've been telling myself that I'm going to find someone who sings and donate some time playing at nursing homes. Actually "donating some time" sound a little too altruistic as I'm sure I will have a blast doing this. I've now found a good singer and I have no more excuses. I have a few questions for the good people on this forum:

1) For those of you that have done this before, what type of songs do older folks like to listen to? How should the set be mixed with regards to types of music such as patriotic, hymms, big band and so on?

2) How long should we play/sing for?

3) How do sing-a-long songs go over?

4) Someone who had done this before once said to keep the arrangements simple. Does this mean I shouldn't use the arranger function (chords/bass/drums) very often?

5) I need to buy a powered mixer. I would like something that sounds great amplifying a keyboard and vocals. Portability is also critical. Do I need 2 speakers? Can I achieve what I've listed on a budget of about $500?

6) Here's an X-1 question. I know how to save a single registration. Is there a way to load a group of single registrations so that you can access them quickly?

7)Any other suggestions you have are appreciated. I respect your opinion!

Thanks in advance for your help.

Bob W.