It truly amazes me how far (nowhere) you members of this forum have advanced in knowing anything about harmony, learning how to play chords when you all have the chord diagram included with your keyboard. This is one of the reasons why I dropped out of this forum. Few learn anything. Sure, you learn how to use Jukebox to download Midi that someone else has created and have learned some of the technical buttons to push in order to do one thing or another but you all have had a wonderful opportunity to be better musicians because of the fine capabilities that the Technics keyboards have given you through many years. Most of you have advanced to the later models as they came out and still know little about really knowing how to play the keyboard. Reading Hendershot’s post about diminished chords, I almost busted a gut laughing at everyone’s posts. You people are a riot! Talk about blind leading the blind! To begin with, Bob, your stating C#,E, G and Bb is a C7-9 chord. It is a C# diminish chord and nothing more. The so-called C7-9 diminish that you are actually referring to is a C7-b9. (C#,E,G,Bb and C in the bass) That is accomplished by playing the root note C along with C#,E, G and Bb. Of course, if any of you had the gumption to turn on your keyboard and put it in PIANIST MODE, you could figure out what makes one chord different from the other. The screen in the keyboard shows exactly the chord you are playing.

Most of you still don’t get it that the pre-set styles in the keyboard will not respond correctly in the bass when playing any decent harmony. These styles are created to SELL THE INSTRUMENT. They sort of sound good if you play a chord and let it run wild, much like a mouse after a piece of cheese. Actually using it in a song becomes another matter. I have mentioned over the years several times trying to encourage you to do your own bass patterns but no, you would rather suffer with what is in the keyboard or depend on someone else to send you something they created. Even if you don’t know how to arrange in COMPOSER, at least put one of your styles in COMPOSER that you use and change the bass line. Experiment! A bass line with several notes played in a measure will create nothing but discord harmony. This is why Audrey’s music doesn’t sound right at times. This goes for the rest of you, as well. Your bass notes should be primarily within a C chord by using C, E or G. I am talking about being in COMPOSER and composing in the key of C. None of what I have said will do any good because you are off on your own ‘stumbling gaily along’ playing, having fun but not understanding why things don’t always sound very good. Don’t blame the keyboard. It is responding correctly for whatever bass notes are in the pre-set style.

Bob, you will never get a C7-b9 using TECHNI-CHORD. However, there is a way around it and technically, you can get it if you play a C7th chord with your left hand, and play a C# with your right hand with TECHNI-CHORD on. Generally, this won’t work well when you are playing a melody line with your right hand. My point – because it can technically sound correct as a C7-b9, using it in a song is most unlikely unless the melody happens to fall on the C#.

Scott