I'm glad your methods work for you Donny, but I'm still of the opinion that singing (with no playing) over a pre-recorded background is too close to Kareoke...the only difference would be the professionalism or talent of the vocalist.

Adding tracks to a SMF is difficult for some players, I suppose...I've never found it hard, as the correct chord changes have all been done for me ahead of time.

A Bossa style from "scratch" is still a Bossa style...to play a tune, the chord changes still have to be done by the player in "real time" unlike a SMF where the file's original creator determined what chords were used and where.

If singing over a SMF works best in some situations, by all means use one...nothing is set in stone. I just feel that singing over "live" style play (with Right Hand embellishments) is more engaging and less likely to sound exactly the same each time (again, my opinion).

i.e With style play, the performer can use Variations and Fills differently each time the tune is played...they can even spontaneously use a style from a different genre, or slightly alter a chord progression for a particular verse.

You don't need to defend your methods Donny...like you, I feel that the performer should do whatever it takes to get the job done as good as possible.

Ian