Squeak...Dom reads this forum religiously...

If he hasn't picked up on the underlying needs of arranger players from what we all have said, I can't think of where else he's going to pay any attention to it...

And personally, if I say I can do something on a keyboard, and someone says 'bull!', I am only too happy to illustrate it ain't. And take my knocks if I am exaggerating

And AFG... you don't give yourself or any of us anywhere NEAR the credit we deserve. I honestly believe I CAN hear the difference between a great player on a poor arranger, and a poor player on a great arranger. And I believe that most here can also.

As much as the arranger itself contributes to most peoples' playing style (primarily, LH chords, RH some kind of solo sound), I find it pretty easy to ignore a lousy RH solo, and concentrate on the style itself. You can't? How can you transcribe music if you can't ignore one player and concentrate on another? I am sure you can...

In all fairness, if you can't play as well as the factory demonstrations, how on earth can you make styles as good as the factory ones? Often the same players are involved... or at least ones with at least as much skill. Here in the West, we have to not only compare our demo playing with that of the factory demonstrators, but we also have to compare our style making skills with those same talented people. Perhaps this is something you don't have to endure, when making Afghani styles, but it is a real downer to have to compare your work with the top guys (and you have to do that every time you switch from a ROM style to using your own) if you make Western styles.
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An arranger is just a tool. What matters is what you build with it..!