They have so many more ways to create music...
amazing what can be done as shown..

I've seen the looping thing done by a few guitarists here. Is entertaining to watch them build the song but then repetive and boring. The fad seems to have faded.
As for new players using Arrangers ? I just think its a lack of exposure and not being able to shake the stigma of the toy like arranger keyboards of the past.
When I play no one knows what I'm doing to get all the music out nor do they care. Its the final product and it seems to work pretty well for me. I do enjoy working with my sax player as it adds a bit of realism to the sound as people can relate to a sax better than an Arranger.
Finally , you just never see Arrangers in stores much. Too expensive to stock them so again , limited exposure.

I agree Bill....too many choices in gear and too many types of
audience music interests in today's world to satisfy all.
You have too fall back on a really generalized repertoire
playlist to try to get thru the gig.

The thing is that some people study very carefully what makes a video on YouTube popular; usually there should be some “wow effect” with decent overall quality. Aside from making impressions I don’t see how working with loops can be a lasting occupation. And we know that the same “wow” effect can’t work twice. These videos are shared as a conversation piece; the more views they get, the more YouTube offers them to watch and it keeps working as a circle.

None of songs that I play can be played with this method. Okay, maybe a few.

Clearly, musicians in these videos are very serious about music in their lives; not sure if we can judge by them a younger generation altogether.

I think, an arranger will “always” be a small and contemporary version of a home piano. Certainly, you can just buy a digital piano, which are popular as well; but I believe that some extra capabilities and smaller size are very tempting for a lot of people; and then it’s all about financial capabilities of a buyer; for someone it’s PSR-E463, for someone it’s Genos.

Also, any younger generation eventually becomes an older one. Not that they should come to an arranger afterwards; but, well, I’m watching now a black-and-white movie with Cary Grant, made in 1952, and I have recently watched a dozed films like this; so with no feeling of nostalgia (the films are totally new to me) I can say that in many aspects they seem to be superior to modern ones.

Listening to some hip-hop with friends now, a youngster can end up listening to Beatles or Sinatra in 20-30-40-50-… years; or to some renewed versions of these songs; and if this youngster is also a musician, he would want an arranger to play them.

There are a lot of old (30+) Russian songs in my repertoire which I learnt just because I liked to play them. My parents never listened to them when I was growing up, so it has nothing to do with memories or nostalgia. What I’m trying to say, I guess, is that it’s hard to predict the future, what will or won’t be popular, or how many more arrangers are there to be released.

Its not the arranger mechanic...

Its the content that chases them away..

Makes me wonder why yamaha only keeps adding 20th century music styles..

If they created a workstation with arranger capability where young people could create their own styles from audio loops and midi files.. it would sell big big big time....

Those HARD BUTTONS that say STYLE names should be eliminated from ALL ARRANGERS...JUST GO SOFTWARE ONLY...

Personally I want tons of BALLAD, ROCK, POP, & COUNTRY....AND NEW MUSIC...I don't want all that other stuff..Add in modern music..

Let me pick MY OWN MUSIC in the software...

..I don't WALTZ & I don't BOSSA NOVA, & I am 58...I don't JAZZ. why is it on my keyboard...Give me flexibility, give me choices

Add in modern music...You can LOOP & ARRANGE

I would add a dedicated drum machine too...

Whatever rumor about KORG is I am hoping they are along this line of thinking...

Rant over, love my ARRANGER & those buttons I will never use...

but that would split their profit margin...when they have two camps to make money with now.. way put it all together is their way of thinking $$$

Nothing to do with the keyboard or tech, it’s all down to the musician/entertainer, if they are good at their craft it doesn’t matter what they play. (Some musicians/entertainers don’t need anything but themselves)
Just do and use whatever works.

Bill

I sometimes have younger people come up to see what I'm doing. That watch me play and still have no idea. I tell them it's a new intelligent computer technology that follows the chords and notes that I play. That seems to make sense to them.
The ones that remember the old "toy" arrangers are old people like me. Do they still even make them?

I presume that most people I know do not actually know what a "chord" really means. They think of music as a melody and some additional noise that can be added as you wish. No judging - it's our nature to know something and to be ignorant about something else. And it doesn't stop these people from feeling and appreciating music. My point is that with an arranger or not there always will be misunderstanding. Even when I played an acoustic piano some people thought that I used some backing. But in your case you're safe because of your singing abilities. I think in Russia you would get an extra cash and attention for being "a real American"; though not sure if moving here would be a good idea (oops, I've already put it in you head... forgive me, please!).