I guess I look at this a bit differently than some. In my case, I'm a performer/entertainer/singer that uses a keyboard. I'm NOT a musician, I never claimed to be a musician, I didn't come to an Arranger Keyboard Forum to learn the basics of music - I came here a decade ago to learn about Arranger Keyboards and what makes them tick.

When I arrived I was greeted by Uncle Dave, DNJ, Fran, Boo, and a few others. I learned a lot from them - no doubt about it. Within the same year I had the opportunity to visit with all of the above members, with the exception of Boo, who invited me to go fishing with him in Colorado. I went to New Jersey and Philadelphia to see all of them perform, look at their sound systems, and learned a lot more about improving myself as an entertainer. It was a wonderful experience that was repeated on several occasions.

A few years later I traveled to the sunny south, drove more than 5,000 miles, and met up with Joe Waters from PSR-Tutorial and his beautiful wife. From their home in Virginia, my wife and I traveled to North Carolina to meet up with The Pro, (Jim), then to northern Florida, where we watched several other OMB performers ply their trade.

South Florida is where Eddie (btweengigs) entertains at various animal clubs and does an outstanding job at keeping the dance-floor packed to capacity. We keep in touch on the telephone and internet every week. The southwest coast of Florida is where Charlie Ohram applies his magic to creating and modifying style files that he shares with the entire world. Charlie also has a huge collection of vintage organs and arranger keyboards that in some cases he completely restored.

I traveled northwest and met up with Scott Langholff and his wife, had an enjoyable dinner at a nearby restaurant, and talked about entertainment opportunities on the Florida Panhandle. We also met up with Diki and Randy (saxman), had a few margarettas, and had lots of laughs that evening.

The next stop was Bossier City, LA, where I witnessed a true master performing - Don Mason. Like most of the audience at Ernest's Restaurant that night, we were enjoying the wonderful music and songs Don performed, most of which was country, but there were other song styles as well. His wife Susan joined us a bit later on and we feasted on some traditional southern cuisine. I learned a lot from Don, and still keep learning from him. He IS the master of arranger keyboards.

I also got to meet HankB (Lurker), a great entertainer in his own wright, and we talked almost daily for years after I returned home. I also met a number of other wonderful musicians and entertainers including Bill Pittman (semilivemusic), Deane (hammer), and some of the regions best guitar players.

On the way home we stopped in Mississippi, met with Bill Gross and his wife, and Bill is a fantastic technician and keyboard player that knows Yamaha's operating systems inside and out. I learned a lot from Bill, and he says he learned a lot from me.

A few weeks after returning home we had a wonderful visit from TonyM and his beautiful wife Lydia. I fired up the gas grill, burned some fillet mignon, they got to meet my daughter and grandson and we had a fantastic evening. Later that month, TomG and his lovely wife came to town, they went with me to a nursing home job, I applied my culinary skills on the grill again, and after dinner they headed off for another visit in New Jersey.

Over the years I've talked several times with Scott Yee and Bill from Dayton on the telephone, and a couple of times Captain Russ has called. I've learned a lot from both of them.

This forum has always been one that I considered as informational and educational when it comes to arranger keyboards, sound systems, mics, and a host of other equipment utilized by both home and pro players. It's a place where a person can come and learn the ins and outs of arranger keyboards from individuals who play for a living, as well as those who just play for their own, personal enjoyment.

Now, there are some folks here that are highly skilled and trained musicians. Some attended world renown musical institutions, some spent years learning every aspect of music on their own, and these individuals can play every chord known to mankind. In the world of music, at least from my perspective, these are indeed rare individuals, especially when they have the ability and knowledge to utilize this knowledge to make a living. For this, they should be applauded.

Then, there are others here, a much larger category, of which I and many others fit into - entertainers. We're not great musicians, we can play a couple dozen chords, our right hand abilities vary, and a significant number of us cannot read a note. However, when we step up to the keyboard, we immediately gain the attention and adoration of our audiences, we get their toes tapping, they sing along with us, they pack the dance-floors. We get accolades from everyone, including other musicians who happen to be in the audiences, some come up ask about the equipment and rave about the music we produce with these wonderful tools. In more than 50 years of playing guitar and arranger keyboard, no one, not even some of the best musicians in the audiences, has ever come up to me and said "Hey, you missed those passing chords on the bridge of Unchained Melody and the song really sounded lousy because of it." (Forgot about the one time Bill From Dayton said something about playing a song in a chord that it was not originally written. That was several years ago.)

As an entertainer, I guess I've been somewhat successful. When I have a day off, which is rare, if the weather cooperates, I go sailing on the waters of Chesapeake Bay. I get to take my grandson hiking, fishing, boating, and spend some time shooting wildlife photos. When the weather's really nasty, such as today, 101-degres, 100-percent humidity, I'll spend time learning a new song, one that I like but have never performed. I'll usually record the song, listen to myself, then spend time refining the song until I feel it can be used on stage.

I'll check in on the Synthzone, PSR-Tutorial, Sailnet, look at some of the posts, then go to work on something. This has been a daily routine for a decade and it probably won't change anytime soon. Tonight, I'll be performing at an upscale retirement community for about 120 people, I'll probably miss lots of passing chords, I'll have a ball, my audiences will have a ball, the dance-floor will be filled and with luck I'll have a Conga-Line snaking through the room and out into the corridors while playing and singing Hot Hot Hot.

I'm not really sure if this addresses the OP, but in some respects I get the feeling it was directed at me, and others, that have recently posted excerpts from musical performances. I sincerely hope not, but it sure seems that way to me. If that was the case, I'm glad you took time to watch the videos, and hope those that did watch them learned something from intent of the post, which was to show how a $29 video camera can be a beneficial tool at improving performances.

Gotta' go to work,

Gary