Uncle Dave, I couldn't agree with you more! I just bought my first arranger keyboard because I needed it for the job I'll have this summer (summer here lasts 6 months, so it worths the investement). I am originaly a piano player, and used keyboards for some extra sounds live, or for sequencing songs. I was totaly against arranger "things" because anyone could sound good on them regardless of his skills.
Now I have one, I see that they can be very useful instruments, but still I try to use the arranger part the least I can. I do exactly what you do. Manual bass on the left, drums and piano or guitar or whatever suits on the right. But the owner of the place where I play wants to have the impression that 10 musicians are playing(eventhough he's paying only 3! ) and is very satisfied when he has it! So, I must use the "big band" to satisfy him. Stil, whenever I have the oportunity, I turn everything off and use only piano which makes me feel I'm playing on my ground.

It's good for the soul, and easy on the ears too. How many times can you hear the same rhythm trax anyway ?

Remember also that if you want to play some instrument solos during a song, without the full accompaniment, you can 'cancel' by pressing three adjacent notes on the acmp notes.
Eddie

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Eddie from Rotherham
www.yamahakeyboards.info

That only works in the "fingered" mode.

You know, I hear something similar to what Uncle Dave has posted from a lot of musicians. They tell me snide things like, "I try to keep things REAL"... in other words, they play as much as they can live and rely on arranger/midi etc. as little as possible. Some guys are so paranoid about sounding "mechanical" that they go to the lengths of multitrack recording themselves playing at home and use MP3 files on stage rather than risk using midi sequences that sound stiff. And telling people to turn off their machines and just play has a certain nobility to it, and as a pianist I do play only piano now and then myself. But this IS an arranger keyboard forum, or so the sign on the front door says, and I sometimes feel that what we're lacking isn't musicianship but digital virtuoisty and the self-confidence to take ourselves and our audiences into the future. Just as certain artists spend a lifetime developing the skill to be virtuosos on their instruments, I rarely see people becoming virtuosos with digital instruments and the latest in arranger keyboards in particular. Isn't the point to express ourselves? So why can't we use the full resources of modern keyboards to express ourselves like we can when we turn the accompaniment off? Is the problem in the arranger patterns or sequences that we use? If so, why don't we alter, humanize or reconstruct them so they don't act as a turn-off to us? Isn't it worth the time and effort, or do we appear to be faking something if we use our instruments to their fullest? Are musicians who use arranger or sequenced keyboards the "professional wrestlers" of music or something in the sense that we are petending to be something we aren't? We certainly see in the lukewarm reviews of pro arranger keyboards how little respect the mainstream musicians seem to have for these instruments, yet I wonder, how can we expect others to respect what we do if we don't respect the instruments ourselves? It seems to me here in the 21st century that there should be tolerance and maybe even the need for 21st century musicians: those who are stepping into new territory with the latest in music technology. This is both a commentary and an open question: why did we buy these state-of-the-art instruments only to wind up not using them fully or selling them, as in Uncle Dave's case with his PSR-2000? Is digital arranger virtuosity a joke, a naive notion, or is it just that the instruments themselves are not sufficiently advanced enough yet to allow us as musicians to realize what we hear in our mind's with them? I feel that we are poised to leap into a new era of music and performance capability, yet we seem to be resisting the momentum that technology is giving us... why is that and what must we do to overcome it?

Good points.

First of all - I have always embraced the newest technology, and if I may be so bold to say .... I have perfected the art of making the tool do exactly what I want(within it's limitations, of course). I have been making a living on far worse gear than I have now ... it's all relative. The tool is only as good as the craftsman.

Arrangers are not evil, or means of laziness, but the very nature of automation DOES diminish our own motor skills to some degree. Even this week - I've noticed, my bass hand is not quite as sharp as it once was. All skills require constant maintenance, and finger dexterity is no exception.

The name of this forum "suggests" that we are all arranger players, but I think it goes further than that. With our diverse mix of members, we are all PLAYERS ... of some degree, so giving hints and tips on better "playing" techniques only seems natural. I was slow to accept the arranger into my arsenal, because I always had TOTAL control over the arrangement .... by playing the bass and chords myself, and using a drum machine pattern for rhythm. I gradually came to an understanding with the arranger section by using it sparingly. Even with the full arranger running .... I play full chord accompaniment with my right hand - that's how I personalize the song. I need to add more "me" to each mix, other wise I feel like a front man with no control over the band.

I can never really hear any individuality from song to song if I DON'T do that.
EG: The standard 4/4 eight beat is used by Soooooo many songs - it would be musical suicide to just let it run and think that different chords make for different songs. It's important to add some "spice" to the canned stuff, and that's what I was trying top point out by advising us all to "turn off the arrangers" every so often. Same way with the 12/8 ballad style so popular in 50's and 60's music. I need to hear more than those piano triplets to keep me awake !

At the end of the day - we are all the same. Just trying to make a little music, whether it's for profit or for fun .... it's all good, and however you achieve that goal is a good and viable method. Use the means at your avail - listen to the advise of your peers, and most of all ..... have some fun. Geeeze, it HAS to be fun, doesn't it?

I'd go nuts in the corporate world. I'm so lucky that I'm able to eek out a modest living in this crazy, glitzy world of show biz. When it stops being fun ... then I'll have to stop too. Man, I'd hate to have to wear wing tips to work .... YUK !
DEFINATLY, not my style.

OK ..... I'm ready to buy a new keyboard now.
Oh yeah, I forgot ....... no one makes what I want.

Darn.

Nice response Uncle Dave. I join you in the quest not only to get the most out of our instruments but to be the musician that is the least technophobic in my area. And I still haven't found my perfect keyboard either. However, back to the roiginal topic of this post, Electronic Musician has posted the full text review of the Yamaha 9000 Pro online here: http://industryclick.com/magazinearticle...46652&siteid=15

Hey, this review isn't sooo bad... it's not bad at all in fact. Oh sure there's a tiny taste of arranger-snobbery in it, but very tiny. Beats the review that Keyboard magazine did. In fact, and I'll be honest here, I don't like the Live! Grand piano sound on the Yamaha 9000 whereas the reviewer for EM gushed over it. Read for yourself...

Esh http://www.mp3.com/esh

After reading all of the review it don't sound to bad !!!!!!!!!
Heck I might even buy one myself !!!!!!!! (he he he )
Enjoying the 9000 PRO
Denny