Amen to that, montunoman!

In the end, the goal is to MAKE MUSIC, not ‘play an arranger’…

There’s so many, many different ways of doing that, playing styles on an arranger is just one tiny subset of the whole field. It’s got certain advantages, and a whole lot more disadvantages, particularly to players that play piano or full two handed keyboards.

But however you get there, don’t look down on anyone who gets there by a different route, and try not to box yourself in with a rote system. In the end, it’s about the music, not the gear, not us, not a ‘system’. Make music as many ways as you can, because every way of making it helps with every other way of making music!

When was the last time any of us went and played with a band, or another musician (guitarist, horn player, percussionist etc)? Your arranger weighs next to nothing nowadays, it’s no impediment to going and sitting in with a local band that doesn’t have a keyboard player, or sitting in with a solo guitarist and not using any tracks or styles.

It all adds up. Everything you do helps everything else when it comes to music! ❤️♥️❤️🎹