I'm back to teaching in high school again...part time P.E...never taught that before but the teacher quit during the school year and the district needed help....but that's another story.

We're a small school so periodically I cover for a one hour music class...actually more in my comfort zone.

The music students(age 15 and up)have available acoustic guitars and Yamaha E3XX arrangers to play. In the same room, we have an acoustic piano and some sort of electric 88 key Yamaha, weighted piano.

At times, we'll pull out the E3whatever arrangers and I'll show them what I do (roughly)in live performances and, in addition, what they can do( again, sort of)with rap and modern rock.

When we're done, all the students ask if they can play the 88 key weighted keyboards and I turn them loose to do so.

When their turn comes up, they play everything from rock-roll to Fur Eliese(sorry missing the umlaut) to movie themes...as best they can. These aren't rich kids or anything like that....most don't have access to a nice piano and are grateful for the time they do get to play one....we are a poor district.

Thing is, to these kids(who are not accomplished), an 88 key piano feels like the real thing. They couldn't be LESS INTERESTED in what an arranger can do.

From what I see of future keyboard players(this age group), if I was Yamaha, Korg or whatever, I would throw a bone to us old guys playing arrangers, and focus on 88 key, weighted keyboards.



Rog L

Its what Casio is doing, they are adding arranger features again to a primarilly 88 key DP at under $1000 and people love and buy them, good quallity and affordable..

I checked monthly sales at Thoman.de (one of the biggest online shops ine EU) last week, and it surprised me that from the top 20 most sold keyboard products, 16 of them had 88 keys....

Since they can make under $1000 great sounding, nice keybed feel, lighter then 12kg DP piano´s who wants an arranger that only has the styles inside your grandpa plays..

Now, if you tought yourself piano playing, then what would you buy to take it a step further, The tyros 5 or the Montage?

we dont realise it yet, but all accompaniment you would ever want, can also be created with a Montage or even a MOXF...

I think that is a big reason kids aren't attracted too arrangers.

Also to get any satisfaction from playing arranger keyboards, one must know their chords well, play (or sing) melodies in their RH, and have good timing.

Kids have a great time with keyboards that they can create their own music (especially beats) on. I guess that's all possible with software...

I'm glad to hear that your students enjoy the piano though... That provides a great foundation for any direction that they may choice to go with their music.

Thanks for the replies.

For a good share of my life, I've been an acoustic guitar player. I started playing keys only a few years ago....well into my senior years.

But even I(besides my students)can enjoy the difference of playing a weighted keyboard vs. an organ touch...and I don't know what I'm doing.

Weighted keys make me(and apparently my students as well)feel like we're much more in control.

it depends on what you play... For playing piano and most other dynamic instruments i prefer a weighted action, but playing fast organ and synth action on a weighted piano action is not advisable, so thats where a 2nd keybed comes in with synth/organ action..

Som lighter 88 key actions like on the Kurzweil forte or the Nord Stage, Yamaha Motif and Korg Kronos are a trade off between the heavier piano actions and the lighter synth actions. kurzweil ans Nord are weighted actions.. While kronos and motif are still hammer actions but not weighted.

I agree. It is the same playing guitar. I only like playing with 10 or 11 gauge guitar strings. Light gauge strings just don't work for me, don't give me the same control. I play better with more tension.