Rikki, not everyone can sing, however, most folks can be trained to sing on key - most, but not all. Some folks just cannot sing. That said, singing takes a lot of time to perfect and like any facet of music, practice is the key to success.

Believe it or not, Don Mason once told me that he really does not sing well and the only reason he did at that time is because the singer did not show up one night for a job. Over the many years I have known him, his singing abilities have improved dramatically and his vocals are second to none. Keep in mind that Don, like many of us that were are are currently on stage, essentially practice constantly.

Some singers, including myself, have taken vocal lessons at various colleges. For me, it was one of the best pieces of advice my wife ever gave me about music. Those lessons taught me breath control, level control and the importance of diction while singing. This also allowed me to switch to a headset mic, which provides me a lot more freedom while performing as an OMB entertainer using an arranger keyboard.

As for the S-970, I have only had the opportunity to play it once - it sounds fantastic. I currently own an S-950, which also sounds fantastic, but there seems to be a significant improvement with many of the voices and styles on the S-970. If I were still on stage every day, I would have upgraded to the S-970 when it first became available. Retirement pretty much eliminated any new keyboards for this old codger, though. I'm blowing all that cash on sailing expenses now.

Good luck,

Gary