You hit the right spot, Gary. From an "entertainment act" point of view you can do whatever you want (with tools or without them) to entertain your crowd. I know guys that make a living from telling jokes in front of an audience. Their "tool" is just their talent to keep people "well entertained". So, I agree that in show biz (entertainement), the tool is not what makes a quality act. I am ready to recognize, without preconception, quality in a play along act (or in any act, really).

Now, those who say that "it's just show biz", should be ready to accept that an employer decides to hire a karaoke guy or a DJ instead of a live or "live" musician. The employer is just looking for entertainment and he may prefer to have something that works (some don't even know to distinguish quality). Seems fair to me, and I won't be shocked if I find out that I'm better entertained by a DJ or a karaoke session than by a bad quality "live music" act.

In spite of finding here a lot of useful information about ENTERTAINMENT, my main specific interest in coming here is the arranger keyboard playing techniques. And here I have to agree with Scott. There is little discussion about this subject, but it is crucial to the issue of whether playing with styles is boring (repetitive) or not. Watch the hands of a fine arranger keyboardist (like Michael Voncken, for example). The overall sound is awsome and it's not a hazard, but the result of a combination of musical skills, knowledge of the instrument features and specific arranger keyboard techniques (fills, fingering, mastering the use of the keyboard features, etc). Watching carefully the hands of a good arranger keyboardist, one can notice a lot of subtle things going on. They are VERY important in the overall sound. That's why we many times recognize that some players make any keyboard sound good.

Unfortunately I don't have the talent nor the time to improve my playing technique as I would like to, but I feel that the route for me is much more to improve my music skills and the arranger playing techniques, than buying new keyboards. The keyboard that I presently own has (about) all the features I need (for my level); all I need now is to learn more and to practice more. So, like Scott, I believe playing with styles can be closer to a live performance and are not repetitive if the player is a good musician and has a well developed technique. I also share his hope that we discuss more about specific arranger keyboard playing techniques.

-- José.

[This message has been edited by Route 66 (edited 02-25-2004).]