[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nursing+home+keyboard+player+entertainer[/video]


I was noticing looking at many of these You Tube videos of how many entertainers are NOT using an arranger kb worldwide? Or Lugging in too much gear, etc,..Just doing their thing in So Many Other Ways making people happy & that's what it's all about...Hmmmmmmmm?

Thoughts

Seems like they've figured out how NOT to spend 4 or 5K every year or two on new equipment, especially since the NH residents couldn't care less. Just MY thoughts. Yours may vary.

chas

The audiences do NOT care how you entertain them, or what you use. It's a simple matter of heart and humility, combined with music and interaction that sells these shows. The tools are interchangeable.

I could only bear to watch a couple.

You get what you pay for!!


Regards,


Jerryghr

Jerry that's the point...they are all getting paid to entertain
..and it seems they enjoy it. Sometimes we as musicians are too hard & critical of ourselves....most want to be IN & OUT carrying as least as possible to get it done..

ditto

Not many Arranger used anywhere. Seems Kareoke is the way to go. As said the audience doesn't care.

Did see my dream job last night. Went to dinner at the Pink House in Savannah and had a drink in the downstairs bar beforehand. BabyGrand sitting in the corner with a mic. Music 7 nights a week with the fabulous David Duckworth on weekends and the bartender said the during the week players are just as good. We were with friends so had to leave before the music started but will go back.
Goes along with Donnys post about a good pianist doing those variations.

Things are changing out there Bill big time in the live entertainment field,....& let's clarify a pro singer singing to backing tracks either custom created & arranged is much different then armature drunken commercial KARAOKE singers using a display with running words, etc,..that said a great piano player with a killer voice or singer will ALWAYS be a Classic Act to enjoy.





just sayin'

I guess things are a bit different here. 80 percent of the NH entertainers here are playing arranger keyboards, about 18 percent play guitars and sing and 2 percent play an accordion and sing. Don't know of a single KJ or DJ doing the senior circuit in the Baltimore metro area, but there may be a few I don't know of.

Gary

Gary one city is a mere spec on the planet versus whats going on world wide as shown in all these videos regarding NH entertainment.

Ever since I saw Eddie doing a NH job I knew I had to make some changes --- for that reason I agree with Dave’s post.

My Logic:
Let’s say that I have learned to do what Dave is saying – now what do I use to produce my music? The keyboard will always be my choice. It’s the best tool that I have. Don’t play piano. Guitar does a nice job, but not as good as a full keyboard. I do not normally use backings because they limit my freedom. When there is no other way to get the flavor of the song I ma playing I use backings. (Midi)
I have to carry an amp and Mic; so, what’s left. the keyboard and a stand.

Bottom line for me --- I LIKE playing a keyboard! Big job, small job, NH, people who do not hear well, and small dollars are not the reason I leave my home and carry all my stuff. I want to share my happy with other people. I get a good feeling when I am packing my stuff and I see people who are in a great mood laughing and talking. I did it again – nice.

John C.
PS, at home most of my playing is on my guitar – the music is for me.

I have to agree with my friend John, but, I may be less inclined to tote equipment I do If I played more NH gigs. I average about three gigs a week, but only one NH a month. It matters not how big the job is, as I prepare for it like it was an important engagement. That is done for myself, and I derive a lot of fun from it and improve my programs at the same time.

It sounds like some treat it as a necessary evil to make a buck. A popular musician told me a long time ago that when music becomes just a job, to hang it up.

and if you played with others as a Kb player you would only have to play YOUR PART against the rest of the bands music,
just like a backing track,..we are talking nursing home entertainment here.
I have seen NH acts with just an IPOD, Wireless MIC, Bose compact, etc, and they loved it.. in & out 1 hr Bam!

Since my equipment/sound have improved, along with taking time on arrangements, my pay has doubled. 'nuf said. Taking in the minimum to make a buck sounds self serving, imo.

I agree with John. I like switching keyboards, that's some of the enjoyment for me. I

I agree with last few guys... I would rather play my preferred instrument for all the jobs I may do..

My complete comfort level was to have my G70 in front of me.. It was hard to haul sometimes but when set up, it was a winner,,, it gave me all the tools I needed..

Now that I have the BK9... I have the great sound, decent keys , and all the features I need to be comfortable on the gig..

Set up time is only a couple minutes... so where is the gain to compromise without an instrument.. for the sake of downsizing..

Besides I am a keyboard player... long before I decided to sing too..
and I am just as comfortable to play instrumentals..

I can change gears... play a request, and not be locked into your laptop/tablet pre recorded program..

Everything is more spontaneous … Happy birthday...right there... polka time out of the blue... covered..

Even if I play over a sequence I can vary what I am playing and give it a different look/sound... not possible on all canned, same old recording on the laptop..

Playing our instruments gives us our independence...

My 20 pound BK9 and my 35 pound Marantz sound system..

Now back to the original topic,.....why don't you see many arranger kb players at NH jobs judging by the hundreds of videos on You Tube around the world...?

Where are you looking, Donny? I know several arranger keyboard players that are in other states, performing at nursing homes, assisted living centers and retirement communities. And, for the most part, they are better paid than someone with an I-Phone, a mixer, a mic and amp.

When I was performing in the Florida Keys, I was one of only three arranger keyboard players between Marathon and Key West. Nearly all the other performers were guitar players that sang country and Jimmy Buffett songs. Because have guitar will travel entertainers are a dime a dozen everywhere you look, they never seem to command the higher pay scales. I know that the ADs here don't pay the KJs more than $35 to $50 for a one hour job. And, when those special parties needed an entertainer, the arranger keyboard players that could sing were the first people they would call. Same went for the corporate parties.

Now, I know that some of the I-phone KJs are darned good singers and have seen many of them perform. However, 99 percent of them had full-time day jobs which precluded them from doing the NH jobs because those jobs, as you well know, are in the middle of the day and mostly weekdays - not weekends. Consequently, this put them out of the loop, leaving those job slots wide open for those of us that were full time, arranger keyboard entertainers.

Many years ago, I played a 12-sting Yamaha guitar, sat on a bar stool with a Shure SM58 mic on a stand and a music stand with a 3-inch looseleaf binder loaded with lyrics. I was paid $50 a night, was booked pretty much every Friday and Saturday night and thought I was making good money. Then my loving wife pointed out that I was barely breaking even most of the time. She was right.

When I switched to an arranger keyboard, things improved drastically. I had variety at my fingertips, I was not constrained to a single instrument, but instead had a full band at my command and the audiences increased in size right along with my paycheck. Additionally, I was not restricted to the the constraints of pre-recorded backing tracks, which many of the DJs and KJs must contend with.

Finally, I was playing the instrument of my choice, which was no longer a guitar or mandolin. I was first and foremost an entertainer, and secondly a musician that could be creative, which was appreciated by my audiences as well as myself. I have many friends in the UK and Northern Europe that also perform the senior circuit, and they all use an arranger keyboard. Now, Don Mason got lazy, which is not a bad thing, Don, and decided he wanted to perform the nite club circuit, performing every night in the same location, which permits him to leave his gear on stage and not set up or tear down after each job. But, I clearly remember when he and his friend were out doing just when the rest of us did on the NH circuit and making a pretty good living at it, using of all things, an arranger keyboard.

Remember Bill Corfield (Bill in Dayton)? Bill was doing more than 400 jobs a year in the NH circuit using his arranger keyboard, and I assume that he still is.

Eddie Shoemaker is down there in Sunny Florida playing the NH circuit and the animal clubs and VFWs and American Legions using his arranger keyboard. On nights when he's not there, they usually have another keyboard player pumping up the crowds on the dance floor.

I don't know Donny, but it sounds like you are looking for some justification to sell your keyboard, but you won't get it from me - that's for sure. To me, it makes absolutely no sense at all. You know the old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Works for me,

Gary

No interest, so edited.

Gary
.... No need to get so defensive what you wrote is all well and good to a point.....I could extend my point to not many "arranger kbs" being used beyond nursing homes in bands, bars, clubs, and many other live venues vs other types of keyboards, etc, It's just the truth look around you or look at all the videos posted.... the Proof is there no matter how much we are biased and love to play arrangers nothing wrong with that, and I myself am proud to be one of those fortunate people that can play one professionally but I see what is happening and the changes are very real,.... As for me I can buy or sell at will,.... For now Korg Pa1000 is my choice and fits most of my needs,..like Uncle dave always says all my gear is always for sale.Using Arranger styles is just a tool not a crutch..
I'm a very flexible musician with an open mind always was...

Not defensive at all, Donny. I just seem to have seen a lot more arranger keyboards in action over the years, even in the nite clubs, restaurants, private parties, and bands. I know many of these guys personally, and have helped many get started in the musical entertainment biz over the years. They all seem to be doing very well, but the people making the best incomes, from what I've seen, are the arranger keyboard entertainers performing the NH circuit. The guys I know still playing the clubs are making the same rate of pay they made 30 years ago.

Gary

Gary 25 years ago ..my trio got $300 a night for steady club gigs..
When I left my most recent trio , 3 years ago.. we got $600 a night for steady club gigs..

Go back 55 plus years the 5 piece band I was with... got $60 a night as the house band..

All of the above were the top pay at the times..


I love the solo 1 hour gigs for $150... and 15 minutes from home...

Fran, I got paid the same for 1-hour solo gigs during the past decade, and every one of them was 10 to 20 minutes from the house, middle of the day, weekdays. Love it!

The solo club performers around Baltimore, Washington, Virginia Beach, Richmond, etc... all get on average of $100 for 3 to 4 hours on week nights and $150 for 3 to 4 hours on Friday and Saturday. Most of the places here do not have music on Sunday. This is the same rate of pay those clubs and restaurants paid 30 years ago.

I guess you can get more in Jersey because the cost of living has always been much higher than it is south of the Mason/Dixon Line.

Gary

Don't forget all the tips $$$$

Donny, locals don't tip here, or in the Florida Keys - but the tourist tipped very well. Very few tourists in Baltimore.

Now, I am probably one of the few individuals that reported their tip income on my 1040. I did this for several reasons, the most important of which was that it was the right thing to do. Additionally, this just might have prevented my from an audit, which no one really wants to go through. Finally, it allowed my to take the legal write-offs, which made my tax burden far less.

Gary

As Bill said, not many arranger keyboards are used anywhere , so why would expect to see them in a nursing home? I know a sax player/singer that keeps very busy playing at nursing homes. He brings his alto sax, an old boom box with a CD of about 100 backing tracks. He strolls around with his sax and sings ( without a mic) and the old folks absolutely love his show. He plays and sings his ass off with a bare minimum of equipment. Watching his show made it really hit home how talent/musicianship/showmanship and good people skills completely trump all the fancy gear.

Very true but probably falling on deaf ears. Trying to make yourself sound better than you really are is not the ONLY reason people buy arrangers, but it's probably the BIGGEST reason. Second biggest; most (but not all) can't play a regular instrument well enough to impress anybody, let alone get a paying gig. Stay tuned for a flurry of rebuttals and angry denials.

chas

Ditto Paul...
there are so many ways to entertain people and put a smile on their faces...

Very true but probably falling on deaf ears. Trying to make yourself sound better than you really are is not the ONLY reason people buy arrangers, but it's probably the BIGGEST reason. Second biggest; most (but not all) can't play a regular instrument well enough to impress anybody, let alone get a paying gig. Stay tuned for a flurry of rebuttals and angry denials.

chas [/quote]

Chas
I agree but in a limited way. I started using drum machines when my drummer moved and I couldn't find a decent replacement. Then on to Arrangers so I didn't have to carry two keyboards, bass pedals, and a drum machine. I can play piano and Hammond pretty good but your very limited in the Styles you can play with those alone IE: dance music.. Using an arranger has expaned my songlist greatly. Things now are changing again and its DJ's and Karaoke acts or a million Acoustic Guitar player/singers. I'm trying to go back to solo piano and vocals if I can fine the right place.
For home players the Arranger is just a lot of fun and does allow a mediocre player to up his game.

To be honest regarding live music the "war of the generations" is raging on big time, too much crammed into too short a period time in the last 30 yrs,.....but in 20 or 30 years that will all resolve itself when all the baby boomer players are gone and so is their audiences,...
so sadly enjoy it while it lasts, get the purists chips, snobbishness, & big egos off your shoulders and be glad you had a chance to be part of it for a while.
life is too short.

This has been debated here before. There are so many different skill levels here on the forum, we don't need to have the real vs faker arguments again. Personally, I can play other instruments "for real". As has been said earlier, it's a tool that that allows you to do more. Similarly to Bill, with different details I moved from acoustic accordion and a drum machine, to midi accordion and sound modules, to an arranger, which allowed me to play more genres of music that wasn't accordion appropriate (I know a guy that plays Pink Floyd on accordion, but shouldn't..really..). And easier on my back. Much easier to sit down and turn a switch on than connect peripheral equipment and strap on the squeezebox.

And Donny is right..we are aging and much of our audience is as well or further. We all love to play what we like, but not everyone is going to continue to want to listen to it. None of us want to be that guy we've seen whose privately loved music doesn't work in public anymore. All you can do is ride the wave until its gone, and be wise enough to know when that is..

Hi - on the opening (initial) topic of this thread - in my area (central North Carolina) I have asked many ADs (and folks at private functions I play at) if they had or knew very many others that "do what I do" (they think of it as "one-man-band") - and pretty much everywhere, they say things like "...never have seen anyone do what you do" ... then I ask another question or two, and they tell me that most of the other entertainers/musicians they know or use either play piano, play guitar, or use a laptop with recorded tracks. Most seem "amazed" what can be done with an arranger, but I guess there just aren't many players at least in my area, that know about arrangers, and there are apparently far more guitar players and "singers only" (who use recorded tracks).

Anyway, I have been playing at many places for almost 20 years and keep getting asked back ... so they must like the idea of an arranger player overall, even if they only have 1 person locally who does that (me) ... many places have asked me if I could play every week (or some similar 'regular' schedule), and since I still work full-time I had to decline and only play at each place about once a month ... (I do no more than about 6-8 gigs a month).

Side note is that I used to be in the suburbs of Boston, MA, and it was about the same "story" there too, although there were a couple of others that played arrangers (or organs) back then, in that area.

Jim / Raleigh, NC

Here in south florida, ft. lauderdale area we have lots of arranger players doing assisted living, condos, dances and parties, ect..Probably 75 percent of nursing home players are arranger players. Some of us use a track every so often for unusual requests like uptown funk or iconic songs that have a very demanding background.
The Ipad karaoke people are here too but not as popular because of the ability of players to "fake" a song if we are able or to do a medley if people are dancing or stretch a song.
As always I always say If I can play it live and make it sound great I will. \

MEL

Bill, you're correct; but you also touched on something else that's not talked about much that exists today that DIDN'T exist 'back in the day'. Nowadays, journeyman-type performers are expected to cover a gazillion different genre's in a single gig. That's where an arranger shines. Back in the day, if you were a blues performer, you played blues....all night. If you played jazz, or country, or rock, or folk, same thing. Now, with the aid of electronics, we can cover practically any genre' and sound pretty good doing it. Purists will hate it but the great unwashed masses will find it totally acceptable. As Donny would say, that's just the way it is these days. The question is, are you, as a PROFESSIONAL musician, willing to 'dumb down' a musical performance in order to eke out a very modest income. Truly high-end clubs/hotels/CC's/Restaurants will still favor a solo pianist/singer over any other kind of 'single' act. Always have, always will. Just no substitute for the real thing (and they know it). These are hard truths but nevertheless, truths.

We can deny it till the cows come home but Donny is correct; there are not only very few arranger KB's in NH's but probably even more so in other more audience-critical venues. We can't definitively prove this because we don't have scientifically derived numbers to back it up, but I CAN say that in my ENTIRE LIFE, I have never seen an arranger KB in ANY venue ever. Maybe I just lead a sheltered life (but I don't think so).

chas

Agreed Chas. The few times I've had the opprtunity to do a piano solo at a very upscale communnity I was appreciated for my musicianship. I had no tip jar as I was a fill in and didn't know the house rules yet but I bet I would have done very well on top of being paid a nice amount.
My tastes have changed and I do enjoy this type of thing the most.

I can't speak to the NH circuit, but there seem to be many on this forum that do or have done them- should we take a count?
Doing ethnic based social clubs and festivals I see it frequently with many of the guys I know in the business. Locally, two yamaha tyros users, two Ketron users, and one Technics user come to mind right away.

lets not forget OP is regarding WORLDWIDE calculations

Unfortunately, the gubment, colleges and universities haven't funded an in depth study on this subject, and likely will not, favoring studies of the sex life of an anopheles mosquito instead. Consequently, we can only go with what little, local knowledge we possess on the subject. Now, if someone has a published scientific study on this, I would love to see it.

Gary

Also the next time your performing in an NH and someone from the audience calls out...
"HEY YOU GOT THE MUMMERS STRUT IN THAT CONTRAPTION OF YOURS"?
the you realize no one cares how your doing it and all your talent is translated to the audiences now a days as some kind of musicbox/dj/canned music player,computer pilot operator, etc, etc,
..it's the sad truth,...and can you blame them for NOT knowing?
and why should they? in addition if you sing well at least they know something is happening that is "REAL"
...but as long as YOU are enjoying yourself it's all good.

Donny, I used to hear that kind of stuff until I began demonstrating to my audiences how an arranger keyboard works. I would usually begin by playing a well known song using the keyboard as a grand piano, then begin adding accompaniment instruments, drums, bass, etc...

The irony of this was one night while I was performing at a location where I had been performing twice a month for 15 years, a lady walked up on stage while I was singing and playing and began asking me questions about another song. I stopped playing and singing instantly, looked her, never turned off the mic and said "Maam, I cannot talk to you while I am singing and playing." She blushed and said to her husband who was sitting at a nearby table "Herb, he really is singing - it's really him playing too." Geeze Herb! It never happened again. Sometime, you must educate your audiences.

Ironically, the same thing used to happen when I was playing a 12 string Yamaha guitar, sitting on a bar stool and singing my heart out in a smoke-filled bar room to a bunch of red-neck drunks. At least once every night I played, someone would inevitably come up to me and begin talking as if I could answer them while playing and singing. Most of the time, I just ignored them, but some of the ladies, especially the younger, drunker ones, would really get upset that I was not responding to their questions.

Just another day in the life of a musical entertainer,

Gary

Just think in 30 years from now RAP will be done in NH's as the Golden Oldies.

Allan .......... makes me feel ill.

EEEEEEEWWWW

mel

That does propose an interesting question - what WILL be played in NH/AL venues 30 years from now?

In that case Allan, I hope my hearing goes before I go in there..

In my studio, ready to work on a bunch of new tunes to accommodate my different venues. Let me tell you, it is an arduous task. Anyone who thinks arranger playing is an easy way out, is full of it. And yes, I have 31 performances in August.

Zuki good luck to you & your music...btw what NH rig have you finally settled on as your main performance setup now.

So I saw the questions "what will we (or others) be playing in NH/RH type venues 30 years from now?" It got me thinking - presently, at NH/RH type gigs, I currently music from the 1930s/1940s (for the oldest people there), from the 1950s and 1960s (for the "younger" ones there). Maybe a few later than that too such as movie themes and Broadway shows from 1970s/1980s.

I imagine 30 years from now, the main music played (or DJ'd?) at RH/NH types of places will be 1960s/1970s music (For the oldest there), and 1980s-1990s music (For the "youngest" there) with maybe a sprinkling of music after 2000s too??

I likely won't be here in 30 years to witness it! :-)
Jim

Something we may see happen ... :-)

Thx Donny. 4X not quite ready. I'm rocking a bit more on this one, with VH, so taking my time. The 3X is great still and the K8.2s are forever - all I need. Love the Zen and 300 mic. Hope you are feeling better? Are you gigging?

Did I say Zen again? Lol

Been there.
Said that.
I was WRONG

No no no no no ...... I think I had already gone to hell for something I did really bad, like kicked the dog, or voted for..... ( not going to say). That would shatter my ear drums entirely.

Allan

That was HILARIOUS!!!....and actually kind of cute in a perverse kind of way.

chas