I know a lot of piano players that can't play arrangers. Most of them can't understand the concept of playing a chord with the left hand, then releasing it to do something else (fills, variations, change settings, etc.) all while playing riffs or melodies with the right hand, while singing, using both feet to control such things as vocal harmony, sustain, volume, etc. All this while thinking ahead to what song to do next that would be most suitable for the crowd and mood.
But they will smile knowingly and say "that thing plays itself, doesn't it".
And how many times have we heard women say "let it play by itself and dance with me". Well maybe not too many lately.
DonM

Hee hee. :-) Very well said, Don. ive gotten that a few times. Zack

and why does the conductor get all the applause?... because most of the composers are dead!

seriously though, very good points Mario.

I think an important thing worth stressing is that arranger button pushing alone can never REPLACE the 'heart & soul' of arranger keyboard performance: our skill & artistic expression as a 'live' player. We ALL need to remember to dedicate suficient time to improving our keyboard playing skills. With this as a foundation, we are then FREE to open up & express ourselves musically.

In addition to scales, arpeggios, & chords, this includes mastering synth specific techniques: utilizing pitch/mod wheel, aftertouch & other kb controlers to emulate the unique sound(s) of different acoustic instruments, understanding & playing within the normal pitch range of a given acoustic instrument, and understanding how 'certain harmonys' work with different instrument families (orchestration). I strongly recommend that everyone (if you can find the time) enroll in a music theory, music harmony (orchestration), music ear training, or synth-piano class at your local community college. I guarantee it will be time well spent and increase your musical knowledge to take your arranger keyboard playing to yet a higher level. - Scott

Hi Everyone,
My 2 Cents;
Arrangers are a true musical instrument. (period) There are those that think "we have it better than they do "`cause all we do is push buttons" Well we certainly do "push buttons" but it`s the skill and practice that "rises to the top". I have played a few instruments and the "modern- KB" is by far an instrument worthy of respect. Too many people do look down on us , but it`s our ability to master the difficult. It is a challenge to play "guitar" or "drums" However it is all there. What I mean is that you see the strings and you play, pick up the sticks and make a beat (not that easy). But when it comes to "arranger KB`s" we have to be part "musician" part "director" and even part "tech." So when somebody says to me that I "don`t play a real Instrument " I have the profound knowlage that they don`t have a "clue" and if they did they would find that they have a lot to learn. We "arrangers are the best of the musical tree, we can do it all".
jedi

I agree with many of the things said under this topic, and particularly with Scott's observations.

Many of the techniques he mentions are general techniques that each of us can learn in a good music school or learning piano (scales, chord progressions, arppegios in all keys).

Other techniques are more specific to the arrangers, like practicing a chord progression with the right hand and playing a bass line with the left hand (in split mode).

I also agree that choosing "your own style" for a particular song may be the best route to follow, specialy if the resulting performance has more soul and you "feel good" doing it your own way: the audience recognizes it quite often. I have several songs performed with styles not that close to the originals and they are well received by the audience.

But going back to the playing techniques, I would be very interested in knowing other arranger players' styles of playing. Here are the different playing "styles" (modes) in my performances:

1) One instrument over the whole keyboard, no drums (pianist mode), no automatic accompaniement.

2) Manual Bass (should I call it UD's playing style? ). The keyboard is in split mode. Drums, left hand is playing the bass line, right hand is generally playing a chord progression with rhythm (comping?). It's hard to play a melody line with the right hand in this mode, since the overall sound would lack of rhythm. So the melody line comes from the voice.

3) Auto accompaniement: the classical arranger style. Chords and an automatic bass line are triggered by the left hand, and the right hand play the melody or any improvisation of it.

A feature like the new "bassist" mode in the XD9 would allow a 4th mode, in which both the auto-accompaniement and a manual bass are allowed. Here, the right hand triggers the chords and than can do the melodic line.

Even the simplest playing mode (like the first one) can produce a great performance, if you play with heart and expression and if you understand the audience emotions. I had a fresh proof of this, during a big wedding party this weekend. The right tune in the right moment with the whole yourself, and everybody will be singing along with you, with the tears in their eyes, no matter the playing mode or style you're using.

-- José.

Absolutely right, Scott.

I've had my Korg i30 for almost three years and have yet to go outside its own styles for anything, and I'm not averse to adapting old songs to new styles, e.g. Dobie Gray's "Drift Away" played in the 'Groove' style at a slowed-down tempo really works well. Add in the 'New York Alto' for a dreamy, bluesy solo and the old song becomes something else entirely - an improvement over the original IMHO.

Big Red . . . Right ON!

- Scott

Scott,

I need to comment. I think that orginally the reason arrangers were looked down upon by musicians is because they SOUNDED LIKE TOYS. It wasn't until they improved the sound of them that they became accepted. I played a Yamaha PS6100 for years. I used it as an organ. I never used the arrangments because they sounded fake and toy like.
Remember the early Casios, Bontempies, and Yamahas? They were quite bad. Now even the cheap Casios and Yamahas are pretty good. There are so many musicians out there that don't have a clue how far arrangers have improved.

Tom

Hey.

in the yamaha KB's, just select full keyboard for the accompinaiamt style and it'll pretty accurately figure out the chords from whatever notes your playing. so then you can do a bass line also. and what more, in the 1k and 2k, if you turn on the layer voice, then it'll still take the chords from the bass, but you can also hear your bass. thats the great thing about yamaha, theres ALWAYS a way to get what you want done. there will always be some shtick you can pull. also, i think tom is making an excellent point. my first board was a psr-2, and i remember how ridiculous it sounded, ESPECIALLY compared to my 1k!! :-) Zack