The Satisfaction of NOT playing along to a Style

Just a simple drum backing and playing all that's needed.

Enjoy

Bill

Certainly, it's a nice change to play without a style, but I still enjoy playing along with one...especially if it's one I've modded for myself.

Alan McPike is one of my favorite multi-keyboard solo players...his site has all kinds of cool arrangements all done without the use of styles and includes some fine bass pedal work indeed.




Ian

Alan is one of the best around!!

Ditto for me. The thing I like about him most is his tastefulness....in both playing style and song selection. Also, he plays pedals like a bass player, not like an organist. I always really liked the guy.....a real musician. If most arranger players had his skill set, arranger sales would be down by at least 90% .

chas

One of the many things that impresses me about Alan, is the expression on his face and his body language while playing...he is experiencing pure bliss!

Everything just flows almost effortlessly.

When he plays behind a singer, his use of strings is exceptionally tasteful...and, he's certainly not using what I'd call, the latest in gear.

He doesn't let his technique get in the way of his playing, either. Often, he's playing with just one hand, and yet nothing seems to be missing!

I also like how he does those little drum fills...just dabs them in like he's painting a musical picture, or punctuating a sentence.

It's too bad there weren't more views of his bass pedal work...again, it appears to be effortless. I play bass pedals (used to teach them at Electone School) and man, I can really appreciate his skill, and, and as you say, he plays like a bass player.

Ian

It reminds me of playing arps on my Yamaha Motif XF. Very nice!

This guys is a REAL player. Good, innovative variations on the lead line.


What is the drum triggering device?

R.

According to Alan...

"Drum machines are an Alesis SR16 for patterns and left hand hits, and a Boss DR880 plays all the sounds.

Keyboards are YAMAHA KX88 mother ; YAMAHA SY77 - both midi-ed to an EMU sampler and a Korg Trinity on top with Roland PK5 bass pedals."

Ian

Billy, this guy is amazing...terrific pedal work.

Is that way you prefer to play...without a style...do you ever use one?

What kind of music do you primarily play when you don't use a style...what genre?

Do you do uptempo tunes where the bass pedals really get a workout?

Ian

Hi Ian

As far as styles go it depends on the music, (Although my favourite is heavy rock, (I’m a 70s guy) I enjoy most types of music (Never could get into punk though) including classical) but by and large it is just drums and occasional chord backing from the style to add variation when the chord progression is moving slow. (Hence styles have always been way down the list of priorities for me, however I do like experimenting with sound, which is why 3rd party sound support and editing is of paramount importance to have on any instrument I purchase)

Don’t play many really fast pedals these days as I am stiffer than I used to be (The downside of age), plus with other interests and a day job I don’t get that much time to practice or play.

The main problem with styles for me, is that if you listen to a live arranger player, 90% of them sound exactly the same as each other, (Their arranger forces them to play what the style dictates) whereas those that don’t rely on styles, develop their own individual style of playing. (This has always been my preference)

Bill

I never mastered playing the pedals on my orgel, three parts and vocals were just to much for me.. Thats where i switched to more piano and arranger type of playing styles..

However, of lately with all the articulations and controll you want to use for expressive sounds, i am using my feet more and more, for expression pedals, SA switches, soundchanges on the fly, damper, sostenuto, wah wah in real time, which works much more naturall for me as its paert ofd the process of creating that single solo sound..



instead of styles, i am using more and more arps and soon karma, keeping it simple, combining stuff out of nothing and creating my own sound... in the end the arps are so much fun to play around with on my Motif XS rack... cant way till my Kronos finally arives..

I get around the sameness in styles by editing, usually fairly extensively...I have a folder with donor styles that have interesting parts like string phrases and piano/guitar chording. I've also used converted styles from other manufacturers, mostly Korg; many of their styles have really nice donor parts due to being programmed over 8 bars or more.

Jazz styles are especially challenging to keep interesting.

However, sometimes you want styles (or at least parts of them) to be very repetitive, depending on the goal and genre.

All my custom styles are programmed over 8 bars or more, and I usually reprogram the three Intros to be available as extra Variations (able to play chords over them) and stop/fills rather than the easily identifiable factory programmed parts. It's also possible to use phrases and parts from styles from different genres by using the Groove & Dynamics feature in Yamaha's Style Creator to mold them into shape.

I don't play bass pedals as often as I should, I suppose...I have access to them, as we use them in the studio for several purposes, often as switches for functions on keyboards. Like Bill, I don't have the speed I used to have years ago, which is why playing Bebop and fast jazz/swing is much more fun (and sane) using styles, especially if I can reprogram with interesting bass lines.

To me, the bass line is the most important part of the style, even before the drums...I can play a style without drums, but if it doesn't have a bass line, it just seems to have no direction or foundation, especially if I am using alternate root chords (slash chords).

Arps are cool, but, at least for now, and for the genres I am playing, I don't find them as flexible as one of my own reprogrammed styles with at least 6 Variations, and additional parts can easily be added using Multipads, so I haven't seen the need for a Motif or an MOXF...I think Karma would be fun, but again, I don't intend to invest in more gear unless I have a specific need for it.

Ian

Ian could you post some examples of these custom styles, dynamic, groove etc,. so some of us can get an idea of what they sound like and possibly learn how to create them ourselves?...
sounds interesting.

Donny, my small "Frankenstyles" style collection (87 styles) on PSR Tutorial would have some good examples, as many were made using the described methods.

Many of the style parts (pads and phrases) have more movement and variety than the standard styles and, for example, the styles with organ in them feature an automatic speed up/slow down Leslie effect, mainly in Var C. String pads will play subtle phrases.

http://psrtutorial.com/sty/collections/ian.html

As far as describing style creation (I use the Style Assembly feature the most) , it was far easier to do clinics on style making in person than it was describing on-line, as seeing how it is done saves a lot of words which is why I was adding it to some of my store clinics/demos.

I suggested a YouTube style tutorial to Yamaha shortly before my retirement, but they weren't interested in the investment, and nowadays, I don't have the ambition for it either.

Ian

I have some of your custom styles that you posted on PSR awhile back.

They are terrific!!! I have incorporated several of them into my sets. They have allowed me to play several songs I would have not performed prior to receiving them.

Thank You.

Regards,

JerryGHR

Thank you, Jerry...I'm very glad you found them useful.

Ian

Personally, I really enjoy playing and performing with styles, especially those that are song specific. If I wanted to play without styles I would have learned to play the piano better, or go back to just playing my 12-string Yamaha guitar and using the old Roland drum machine. Sure, some variations of the styles are a bit too busy, so I just don't use that variation. But, by and large, those styles are really great, especially for an OMB entertainer.

I was horrible with bass pedals, and yes, I tried using them many times, but I lacked the coordination to use them efficiently. Consequently, I hired a great bass player, who was with the band for 5 years until cancer got him. Same was true with the fiddle. I could play a mandolin pretty good, and still have one hanging on the basement wall as decoration, but I couldn't play the mandolin and guitar at the same time, so I stuck with the guitar and hired a mandolin player, who was also a great fiddle player as well. This guy, a WWII vet who was a US Naval aviator, played the best bluegrass fiddle I've ever heard. He was still playing at age 95 when Alzheimer's got him. Our band's lead guitar player is still around, playing the NH circuit with a beatup acoustic, Martin guitar and singing Marty Robbins songs. He and I are the only ones still alive out of the 5 guys that were in the band.

One of the main reasons I switched to playing an arranger keyboard was the styles. When I heard that first keyboard I was hooked. I suspect that I'm not alone in this. Then, when I heard all the voices/instruments available, I was really hooked. For the first time in my life I was able to play the vibes using piano keys, and I had a drummer and bass player to boot - WOW! And, their timing was perfect - no drifting around anymore - life was sweet.

Now, I'm sure that some folks enjoy using their arranger keyboards as a single instrument - I'm just not among them. I guess I'm greedy - I want to use all the features. I want to hear that entire band behind me, wailing away on the drums, bass, rhythm guitar, and hitting those fiddle licks while I'm singing Alabama's Mountain Music and playing some right hand runs.

That said, Alan is an incredibly talented individual and can play circles around anyone that I know, personally. However, in all the years I've been on stage, I can assure you that after 20 minutes of that kind of performance, MY AUDIENCES would be throwing rotted produce at you. Neat stuff for playing at home, but that's about as far as it goes, at least IMHO. For me, give me some styles and I'm a happy camper.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program,

Gary

Thanx Ian I'll check these out..

I think where Alan McPike's non-use of styles really becomes important is because of his repertoire, which, although quite varied, still seems to focus primarily on instrumental jazz and swing with lots of improvisations.

He is not locked into the bass line dictated by a style, nor does he have to "play along" to any auto rhythmic comping provided by an accompaniment. He is essentially free to change gears anytime the mood strikes him.

That's what makes his playing so powerful...he is the bass player, the soloist, the rythym player, a part time drummer, an orchestrator/arranger, and he is exceptionally good at all of it.

Knowing what I know about playing multiple parts at the same time makes his performance all the more impressive.

And, he loses nothing when he accompanies a vocalist...he simply makes them sound even better.

He's the real deal, for sure.

Ian

Do you know what the bass pedals are midied to? You've got to get the sustain just right on the bass patch (usually acoustic bass) when you play 'toe only' (heel and toe is nearly impossible with spinet pedals). I had one of the first (aftermarket) sustain units on my old C3. It had TOO much sustain and never sounded convincing with the Hammond bass pedal tones. Not many guys played pedals, most being converted piano players (including Jimmy Smith) and the 'left-hand bass' with an 'attact' pedal hit (usually 'A') became the order of the day. A few, like Groove Holmes and Don Patterson, could actually play pedals but they were the exceptions. I almost always doubled the left-hand bass with the pedals which allowed me to use my left hand to more easily work the drawbars and 'comp' when required. After years and years, it becomes almost automatic. At this stage, arthritis has me only doing pedals on slow tunes. Oh well.

As for Alan getting boring after a bit, that can happen with anyone unless you're a hard-core fan (I am, btw). That's why Rock concerts are mostly show and short on substance. The only entertainer I've ever seen that didn't get at least a little bit boring after awhile was James Brown. If you could sleep through a James Brown show, you've probably got a sleep disorder .

Speaking of visuals, that's the other thing that Alan and others like him bring to the table; from a musical perspective, they're fun to watch. There is little doubt about who's doing what. Of course, it depends on whether the audience came to see an entertainer 'entertain' or hear a musician 'play'. As usual, different strokes for different folks.

chas

I'm guessing, but the bass is probably from the Emu sampler or, it might be a bass tone from the SY-77, which has a wicked acoustic bass...the same one that was in the DX-7 and used on thousands of recordings.

I've been a fan of Alan's for quite some time, and he never fails to inspire me to play (or attempt) the arrangements he puts together.

Having that total freedom away from full auto-accompaniment sure makes a difference, especially in jazz and probably blues as well. He can change directions (such as go into double time) at will, something you can't do very easily with a style, although I have a few homemade custom jazz ballad styles that will allow me to do that to some extent.

Watching Alan play, he manages to make it look almost easy...the bass line is the glue in his case...witness when he's playing very little right or left hand. Also, his brass and string phrases are amazing and he changes between keyboards very smoothly, even more noticeable when he's playing behind a singer. It's hard to believe he gets so much orchestration...almost sounds multi-tracked at times.

I find it harder playing full piano with bass pedals than I do with double keyboard (or organ) manuals...go figure. It's like my left hand is in the wrong place, or at the wrong angle.

Ian

PS...this is real nice...

Chas, I looked around as thorough as I could, but could find no info on the source of Alan's bass sound. Whatever it is, the sustain length is perfect. Maybe it's a modified sound?

Ian

Thanks, and you're right, it IS perfect. Sounds so much better than mine on the KeyB and THAT even has a built-in 'string bass' sustain on the pedals. Oh well, we'll just have to hunt him down and torture it out of him .

chas

Alan McPike main job here

Yes, Yes, Yes!!!

This gentleman makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up . His style of play is just right and his arrangements are just so so tasty !!

I don't see any mention of price on the Standardtrax site. They are great,

I got an email from Alan a few days ago, and here's his gigging setup...


top - korg trinity - no midi
middle - Korg tr61 - midi-ed to an Emu E5000 ultra
bottom - Yamaha kx88 midi-ed to Emu and Roland Jv880
pedals - Roland PK5 midi-ed to Emu for bass
Alesis sr16 for patterns - Boss DR880 for sounds.

Ian