Hello

This is an interesting post as I was just thinking today about posting some topics on using an arranger keyboard for jazz which I have done since I started using them along with the necessary variety of genres. I'm thinking their must be a few other people out there doing this and it would be interesting to see how those that are doing it at any level of playing and frequency are playing their version of jazz on an arranger.

I use a Tyros 2 which as I understand it has about the best set up for jazz chord recognition of them all.

For me presently, I think unless a player is an Art Tatum or Oscar Peterson type of player a 61 note keyboard is enough for many people, myself anyway. I have my piano voice set up so it is available in two different octaves as a preset. I prefer to do this with any sounds I like to play in a different range rather than rather than mess around with the onboard octave changer because it is too easy to forget when it is on or off, at least to my way of thinking.

If a player prefers 76 or 88 notes, or in my case anyway, if I play more and more piano voices and feel like switching to a larger keyboard, I'm thinking a good way to go would be to have a 76 note controller midied to the Tyros 2. I also understand the PSR3000 replacement may have 76 keys.

Since I have only recently taken an interest in the possibility of having a larger keyboard I have not tested out many electronic 88 note instruments except for the DGX5XX. On that keyboard I found the extreme high and low notes sounding pretty bad and would not consider using them anyway.

I am also thinking that most players that prefer more than 61 notes would find 76 keys enough for playing and wouldn't really need or miss the few extras. It would also be a bit easier to move and take up less room. If there are any players that use 88 notes I'd be interested in hearing their slant on it as what I'm saying here are mostly my present thoughts for my present and possible future needs.

I might also state that my comments are geared especially to my playing background and interests and being a trumpet and sax player, so I tend to like to sound like anything from a big band, which is my favorite to the combo sound. So, in other words I am speaking more as a horn player, former Hammond organist than a pianist, so others with more of a piano background may have some other ideas, which I'd love to hear about because as I've said am changing to a little more piano sounds and am also testing out using midi bass pedals which I was used to using on organs anyway.

Well, I have to run now, but I think some topics that would be good to talk about would be what fingering mode do you use under what circumstances, what chord voicing the different players are using comparing what a standard pianist would use on an acoustic piano as compared to what can be read properly with the automatic bass, or if some players are using standard piano voicings and just letting the auto bass play some occasional "wrong" notes or if playing Yamaha's version of voicing for the arranger is what they find better so it plays better bass notes and if you use a split or not if so where and how.

Just a few ideas for now.

One other thought. Hey, ScottY, are you passing along illegal info or what? What do you have that the rest of us shouldn't hear

Scott
http://ScottLMusic.com