So far, I've played 3 Fridays at this new place of mine. Firt 2 nights netted $26 and $34 dollars in "gifts"(tips) respectively. The 3rd night = ZERO. The difference???
I played the PA80 on top of the piano this week. I've said it before - people don't tip keyboard players as well as they do piano players. I thought I'd bring the PA so I could walk some bass lines and have a drum beat handy, but NO MORE !

If they want to see me pound the keys...then I'll gladly oblige. Forget the diversity. Forget the harmonizer. Forget Domani....
From now on, on Fridays.....I'm a piano player with a laptop. Period. It costs me too much $$$$$ to play the Korg.

Anyone else see this trend? I've noticed it for years, and years. Put up a lousy spinet, and you'll make money. Take a Tyros/9kpro/Genesis rack...... you become a "button pusher" to the dining mentality.
Go figure.

I definitely agree Dave, the trend is to tip more for Piano players (logically this doesnt make sense, however in practice, i think people misconcieve piano playing to be more difficult due to the lack of any electronic "help") I generally net 50 to 60% more thru tips at Piano gigs than Keyboard ones, for this reason, I reserve much of my keyboard playing for personal use or for laying down tracks

Wow, that is really hard to believe. Give them more for the dollar and you get less? Hmmm, whats the deal here. You suppose its just a coincedence? Is it worth trying again? And then, I suppose it boils down to what do they want and which way do you enjoy playing the music the most. I'd think you would enjoy playing more with the PA80, and if thats the case I would really think that your sincere energy would come across and make a big impact on the audience.....you'd think wouldn't you??

Just wondering...was the audience in a position to see your hands? I would bet a cookie that if you had a camcorder pointed at your hands with a TV monitor so the majority of the crowd could see what you're doing I bet you a cookie your tips go up higher than just the piano. Even if you didn't sing.

Who knows??

Scott Langholff

As to UD's observation:

That's why I think it's very important to have an Arranger Keyboard that also has excellent Piano samples. The Grand Piano Voice is THEE most important Voice on a Keyboard IMO and to have a "superb" Grand Piano Voice is the ticket. The more your Keyboard sounds like a Steinway D I feel the more the audience will be entralled and willing to tip plus the more the Patron will be willing to shell out for services rendered. People appreciate a good sounding instrument more than some realize. And the Grand Piano is the instrument of choice and preference in a casual social atmosphere and gathering with perhaps the Guitar and Elec. Piano coming in second and third. When I think of a Piano I think of an instrument that is at the heart and substance of Music in general. But I also feel that different crowds want different type music and sounds. Sure, Latin music thrives on the Brite and Octave Pianos but what would Latin music be without Percussion instruments, ie., "Drums", Congas, Bells, a good rhythm section like a Brass Section, Trumpet, Bass, etc. So there is definitely a place for using our Arrangers to their full capability and still getting paid for it especially when the crowd and need calls for it. But I agree with UD, do what works regardless of what you and I feel we HAVE to or WANT to do to try and please a crowd. As the saying goes, the customer is ALWAYS right, right?

Best regards,
Mike

[This message has been edited by Idatrod (edited 08-16-2003).]

i had the same thing happen to me. first
i use a spinet piano, roland tr505 drum
machine, and a set of bass pedals. everything
went great. then i added a synth on top to layer strings and a computer to add midi
sequences and it changed the perpective
of the crowd and a drop in tips. now i use multiple keyboards and no tips. i thinking about, dumping everything and going back to the basics. at least i'll keep my fingers in shape instead of using arrangers... i'll
be doing the work. hmmmmm maybe that's how
the crowd see it. who knows, just do what makes you happy and the rest will follow.

Following up on several of the topics here: as most here know I continue to play an all-instrumental gig using the 9000 Pro w/PLG150-PF grand piano expansion card and I do very well w/tips, album sales and general response. The 9000 Pro is large enough (76 keys) for the audience to assume it's a digital piano and I don't have to pile-on extra keyboards or use a laptop for backing/accompaniment. Very easy and confortable to gig this way. The only drawback is because I don't drown out conversations I'm sometimes assumed to be "background music"... some have even sarcastically said I do "live elevator music". But the piano is my main melodic instrument, people dance, and overall I get applause and pretty much the same respect a pianist would. My biggest compaint lately, because of the summer tourism season and my main gig is in a so-called family restaraunt, is that some parents send their unescorted and uncontrollable kids up to take up the dance floor (especially in those damn wooden clogs) which chases off the adults and leaves me to "babysit". I politely take a break when this happens with the management's full blessings.

I did succumb to temptation and tried one of those over-advertised X-10 "spy cameras" you see in pop-up web ads. It works very well - sends a clear wireless video signal to a small receiver that you can plug into any TV, and the signal even goes through walls. I set it up on a small shelf and focused it on my hands while I played and sent the signal to a TV in the lounge (you can see and hear me from the lounge but I actually play in the dining room). This impressed noone - the manager thought it was a neat gimmick for about two weeks but then the TV went back to it's normal routine of showing whatever ballgame was handy due to demand. What's that line about you can take horticulture but that doesn't mean she'll like it?

Bottom line.....get paid what your worth in the first place...
the tips are just gravy if any.

There is just no way of figuring out the audience. Playing two hours of dinner music at a dinner theater, I got $42 one night and zero the next night. Same music, different crowd.
Walt

Last week I was in Houston on business. In the lounge at my hotel they had live music for two nights. They had a grand piano with amplification, and the performer had a Roland RS-7 on top of it. He had the backing tracks playing from the minidisks, piping it all through the Roland KC500 amp.

I must say, the guy was exceptional - he had both the keyboard technique (miles beyond mine), and the ability to while playing with one hand, use the other one to reach over to the keyboard and press buttons which he could not see quite well, and keep adjusting the volume knobs on the amplifier behind him.

He was very friendly, and after we got to talking, he invited me to play a bit. Of course, I did not know his backing tracks, so I played straight piano. Well, several people came over to compliment me (no tips, but I don't think he got much tips either). In any case, I think that people enjoy the music which resonates with them, and not the one played on a particular instrument. In any case, this was a very gratifying experience for me.

Basically, what this gentleman does is no different from karaoke (playing along to a minidisk, or to a laptop sequences, as some of us do), but his musicianship is what sets him apart from a drunk making a fool of himself in front of a karaoke screen.

Regards,
Alex

Whats wrong with playing Midi files? I know a guy that records all his own midi file songs on a Synth and Arranger KB recording track by track only in his studio....then just Sings against his own Song Tracks at some of the best restaurants in the area making some nice money I might add...
But cannot play KB and Sing on stage at the same time....nothing wrong with that it's
"ALL ENTERTAINMENT" no matter how you do it!