I couldn't agree more Don, Just glad a respected professional like yourself has finally told it as it is.

I began on accordion at the age of 8, then at 15 learned to play the organ. So l can play bass pedals and left hand accomp. Like a few have said in previous posts l'm not adept at running up and down the keyboard with my left hand and stick to just full chords etc.

About 3 years ago l bought a new Tyros 5 as it was half price in a sale. l've since traded it for a Genos. I have added a lower keyboard and pedals. However by personal choice most times now l like to play using the accompaniment and styles.

l've never quite understood what the problem is in doing that and why some seem to look down on it. The way l see it, if you play an instrumental on piano or keyboard in a band with a drummer and maybe a rhythm guitarist etc you're using the drummer and guitarist as your backing the same as using a style on an arranger keyboard.

My all time favourite group is The Shadows. l love playing their numbers, but to get as close to the original drums etc l need to use a style specially made for whatever number l'm playing. The instrumental part is all my own playing. So cheating aside by using a midi file recorded with the full track, l've yet to hear any keyboard play the instrumental part of Apache all by itself. Maybe some will still look down their noses, but l still see myself as a musician.