I think I can answer 2 of your questions to Uncle Dave. By "single note melody", he means just playing a single note with the right hand. Usually, this might be the vocal line. Uncle Dave plays chords and harmony notes with his right hand.
By "signature line", I think Dave means a certain passage, bar or melody that is integral to a particular song. In other words, everyone would immediately recognize the song when you played that part. I can't think of a good example.
O.k.... never mind.... I'll just let Uncle Dave explain for himself...

Tom

Thanx Tom - that's mostly it!
OK here goes......
1)"This is because I ALWAYS play an original, live chord accompiniment >>
***I play the full chords with my right hand, mostly because I used to play BASS with my left hand before arrangers were invented. All I really need is a simple drum beat, a Bass tone, and a piano tone to play any song I know.

2)If you use right hand for chords, then would that mean that the Full Keyboard mode in psr2k is your preference?>>
*** No - I still use a split configuration so I can finger more intricate chords with the right hand that enhance the tonality without making the aranger cough & spit up. Full mode gets wacky sometimes with lots of passing tones or "substitute" chord voicings. I play very simple with the left, and add spice with the right.

3)Whats a single note melody?>>
*** Tom hit this one - Single notes at a time, like a singer would do with a melody. I want to hear MY chords and rhythm - not just the arrangers "stock" rhythms. Maybe that's why I like the more simple approach - it lets ME add the "color" and life to the arangement.

4)Whats a signature line and whats DC5?>>
*** Tom's right again - there are some songs like "Satisfaction" and "Day Tripper" and "Pretty Woman" that have very identifyable lead (solo) lines as a "hook" or signature to the tune - you pretty much HAVE to play these lines if you do the tunes.
DC5 refers to "The Dave Clark 5" - a British Band that came to the states in the 60's during the invasion. They were very much like the Beatles, and are one of the few examples of a band where the name of the group was NOT the name of the guy out in front of the band. Dave Clark was the drummer !

5)Whats the difference between a piano player and solo player?>>
*** A piano player is used to creating a "full arranmgement" within the chord structure of a song. That's why piano is such a complete instrument. It can do melody, harmony and rhythm all at the same time. Tough to do on a flute, for instance.
So - a flute player would be a solo instrument. Some players finger a chord with the left hand, and let the arranger do all the rhythmic work, while they play a solo line with the right hand (like a flute sound). This will sound ok, but can get predictable and repetitive as you play the same pattern for different songs. That's why I play my own chords OVER top of the arranger - that way I won't sound like every other user of the keyboard I have. Each pattern becomes "specific" to my style for the song, because I'm doing it live & fresh each time.

At first, happy new year to all
Uncle Dave,
sorry for these questions but I am a young owner with keyboards and I try to understand the different playing modes.

You play in a split mode and you play the bass with your left hand; with your right hand you play the chords and the melody but ?WHICH HAND? do you use for the recognition of the chord (for the accompagniement parts of the style)?
Do you play with the accompaniement parts take off?

I would appreciate a lot if you can clear up the mystery.

I'll be as simple as I can -
I very often turn OFF the auto arranger and just play the bass part MANUALLY.
Sometimes, when I leave the arranger on, I STILL play the full chords with the right hand because it adds "my feel" to the song.
I treat the rhythm section (everything to the left of the split point)as a group of sidemen, and NOT the feature.
Some of us played solo entertainer gigs long before the auto stuff was around. This is how I began, and it's very natural to me to be the bass player AND the piano player at the same time. Auto accmt is not always a helpful feature for me.

Thanks again, for your indepth reply. However, I am still a little confused about some things.

>>1)"This is because I ALWAYS play an original, live chord accompiniment >>
***I play the full chords with my right hand, mostly because I used to play BASS with my left hand before arrangers were invented. All I really need is a simple drum beat, a Bass tone, and a piano tone to play any song I know. <<

@@My question now is, (similar as STAM's), when you do play the arranger accompaniments, how does the arranger know which chord you want it to support?, or how do you let the arranger know?

>>>2)If you use right hand for chords, then would that mean that the Full Keyboard mode in psr2k is your preference?>>
*** No - I still use a split configuration so I can finger more intricate chords with the right hand that enhance the tonality without making the aranger cough & spit up. Full mode gets wacky sometimes with lots of passing tones or "substitute" chord voicings. I play very simple with the left, and add spice with the right.<<<

@@Does this mean that you have L, and R1 voices ON? And again how would the arranger know which chords you are playing, if you play a simple bass with your left, wouldn't the arranger get confused?
So you're playing bass with left hand on left side of keyboard, chords on right hand on right side of keybaord, and where is the melody being played then?

Pardon my ignorance on this. Let me tell you a little bit on how i play, maybe you can relate to me that way. When I play (and I am improving constantly), on the arranger I use the left hand only to pick which chord I want the accompaniment to be. Then once the chord is selected I leave the left hand be, unless I have voice L on, in that case I press hard or soft and keep it pressed until I don't desire voice L anymore. And with my right hand, I play the melody, which is usually a bunch of keys in the chord.
For example, if the chord I pick is C, then my right hand goes playing Cm, C7, CM7 key combination melodies. But these melodies are not "solo key presses". They are usually multi key presses, even the chord sometimes, or other chords derived from that base chord.
On the xp60, I play the bass line with the left hand, and the chords, and melody on the right hand. And when rps is turned on then i use the left hand to pick the rps key as well as play bass one octave lower, where rps is no longer existent.

Thanks again, for your patience.

Sincerely
Benz

If I play the Bass part manually, then the arranger stays OFF. If I allow the arranger to play - then I finger a chord with the left hand, but ALSO play the full chord/melody with the right hand.... just as if the arranger was off. I don't depend on the arranger top provide the feel... just the backing.(I almost NEVER use full kb mode for the arranger)
I don't play many melodies - I sing the melody. I hope this clears this up - I can't say it any simpler than that.
I admit that I use arrangers a little different than alot of other players, but I get alot out of them, and they provide me a tool, with which I can build upon to make interresting "live" arrangements on the fly.

Mostly, I rely on a simple drum beat, because I'd rather play the bass myself, anyway. I'v explored the strengths of the psr2k, and so far - it's best suited as my back-up band in 1)split mode - NO left hand sound.... or 2)split mode, MANUAL bass.

Uncle Dave, If you use your right foot for the sustain pedal, what do you use the left foot for?

Elementary, my dear Fran, since both hands and one foot are busy, he must use the toes of the left foot to count off the songs.
DonM

I have to stand on SOMETHING !!!!
Fact is - I hate having to balance on one leg all night. I use two pedals (connected)sustain & harmony on/off - both are triggered with the right foot.

LOL

Thanks Uncle Dave, that pretty much clears it up,
and thanks guys for the humor,
sometimes I wonder if i bought the arranger just so i could get an excuse to read your posts

hahahah, you guys crack me up!
I wish the best New Year to everyone, and pray that everyone is able to find peace, and forgiveness.