How do you match a style to a song?

I'm having a pickle of a problem selecting the right style for the right song.

Let's take a song like, "Be My Baby". This song has that signature beat in the intro and throughout the song, however if you select a regular 8 Beat Rock Style, it's just not going to sound like the song or that signature beat.

How do you guys match the beat to the song so that it sounds remotely like the song your playing?

Al

use a SMF & play on top




[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 08-06-2007).]

... or you could try to edit the style adding the missing part (after all you are a drummer, aren't you?), or could program a multipad to play on top of the style.
Re. Donny's suggestion, you could use the midifile to convert it to a style, complete with intro, verse, chorus, fills, etc.
The most difficult part will be transposing all the chord changes so that the part you will be converting will play in the same chord (usually Cmaj7).

Donny, I think that is the most honest answer I've ever read on the SZ. I have owned arrangers for about ten years now, but I always seem to rely on SMFs instead - for that reason. Arranger styles are great, but I guess I don't spend enough time with them to really know how to use them properly or shall I say efficiently.

Al, your question is probably one of the best questions I have ever read on the SZ. I want to know this answer too. The closest I've come to finding an answer is using the Music Finder (choose your name), but I'm guessing the real answer lies in learning our keyboard's styles inside out. I'm looking forward to other answers.

Kind of like what Donny said:

I download the original and play it on my laptop. The first thing is to get the correct tempo. From there, at least on my 3K, I try different styles by changing the style while playing (to keep the tempo default). I am working on a 50's medley and others and do it this way - works great for me.

As Dreamer said, I end up muting tracks to keep it clean and utilize my variations, endings, intros to the max.

I was up till 1:30 am doing this sort of thing - time races by

Good luck.

EMC Styleworks Universal easily converts any SMF to a style.....a must have program

http://www.keyboardstyles.com/styleworks.htm
http://www.keyboardstyles.com/stylefactory.htm


[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 08-06-2007).]

I see where this is going and that's great info. But i was thinking about the times you think of a songout of the blue and have no idea what style to use to play it on the fly.

Time signature dictates style.

Feel of the song (reggae,tango,cha cha,8beat etc..) is step #2.

Cassp this is where being a musician comes in ...ANY song can be played with any style if you know how to improvise & have great timing.

The first thing ..before you search for the right style is to record the progression in your "chord sequencer"..

Now if you are really good at this, you can start morphing different parts from other styles, and filter out particular parts to zero in on the tune...Most of the time you can come up with a workable style this way...

Of course you will need to get a G1000 to do this......


When I go through new keyboard styles, I play a style and then get song ideas from the style...then catalog them..This is easier then having a song in mind and try finding a style..

What keeps rattling in my head is a statement UD made a few years ago. Not a direct quote, but he said he uses 8-12 styles to cover his entire playlist. On the surface this sounds genius in that it simplifies the entire performance and you don't have fiddle-bit finding styles. However, when I try to do this, the song I play sounds vaguely familiar to the original due to the orchestration. Granted for simple sings with simple progressions, standard styles are fantastic, but I have trouble with those very specific songs like "Mony, Mony" or "Sweet Home Alabama", etc....

Donny, the problem I have with SMF's is that there is no leeway to the song. If you want to comp or go the bridge one more time because the crowd is grooving or the dance floor is filled, the SMF is difficult to control under live conditions. Aren't you stuck to the format of the SMF?

Fran...is the answer to create a specific style for each song you play? This brings up many more issues like; how do you store them and categorize them for quick and easy retrieval (non-specific to any one keyboard or brand) during a live performance?

Dreamer...yes I could record myself on midi-drums and create the style for each song, like the way midi-hits or other style houses do it. But then I face the problem of having styles that are TOO specific which means they would be hard to find and apply to other songs.

Donny, EMC styleworks looks good, but is expensive. Isn't it something like $495 US for the Full Version? Ouch, I could buy a boatload of SMF's or Styles for that amount of cashola.

Hi cassp

This is a good time to have some good generic styles that cover all the kinds of music you play in your user styles and/or Music Finder.

Combo type styles without a bunch of doo-wah horn backgrounds and other clutter would be the safest.

The styles can be easily edited to do 99.9% of any song you would want to do. It would also make a different way of picking songs for a gig.

One of my favorite approaches is to think what genre and speed will be best for the audience at any particular time. Will it be swing fast, medium or slow. Or will it be a modern song etc.

I think unless you want to make use of all the frills of the styles, that we have about 380 more onboard styles than we need.

I mean really when you think about it, how many basic styles are there that are used almost all the time.

Previously I played drums, and when you think like a drummer would, you can really narrow it down like:

4 Beat
2 Beat
3/4
Latin
8 Beat
16 Beat
Boogie
Shuffle
Disco
Ballad
Rock
6/8
Blues
Funk
50's
Reggae
Tango
Cha Cha
Rhumba
Samba

etc, etc. Anything like this ought to make playing an arranger keyboard easy instead of going through a ton of onboard and external styles.

Scott
www.ScottLMusic.com

Ok, I say we have a little contest/game. I'm going to call out a song and I want you folks to come up with a generic style (onboard) to cover the song. Let's see how this goes in proving my point.

1st Song which challenges the Bass line of the style rather than drums:

MY GIRL

Easy one...on a Roland..light rock..lightpop....light soul....

Turn off arranger for intro, play left hand bass...bring in drums...then you can use the arranger patterns...


Also as Dave and others use..12 styles are enough, if you play left hand bass...just use the drums and right-hand sounds...A strong vocalist doesn't need any more..

On Tyros 2 specific Motor City, Intro 3.

General, 8 Beat, play the bass line with some instrument with your right hand while chording in the left.

OR, do your own version with the built in bass etc.

On a Korg: Motown. Classic bass lines in variations 1, 2 and 4. Driving 4's in variation 3.

For Be My Baby with its distinctive intro: '8 beat 5'. Variation 1 for the intro and then into other variations for the hook, etc.

"Markers" can take care of all that no problem.... Roland & Ketron arrangers do that with ease....just set markers and make the SMF play any way you dictate

Its worth every penny & more...& like a said a must have for the pro using and arranger with styles.