Hey, don't knock 'vocal pitch correctors'.....that's what convinced us that Cher could sing .

I guess auto-accompaniment first reared it's ugly head in the 'home' organ and that was fine, as long as we kept it confined to a 500lb wooden console that could only be moved to a public venue by a moving company. If 'Uncle Henry's' neighbors could tolerate it and the family was willing to grit their teeth and bear it at family gatherings, so be it. But then they went and downsized the darn things, invented Rock-n-Roller carts, added mic inputs with vocal processors, and voila', the OMB was re-invented and became the keyboard equivalent of the three-chord teenage Rock guitar player. The difference is, SOME of the guitar players learned a few more chords; most of the arranger players didn't.

So, do I hate Arranger KB's? Absolutely not. They're fun and I own 3 of them. Do I think they are legitimate musical instruments (in the classical sense of the word), NO. Should they be banned from use in professional venues? From an economic (and personal liberty) point of view, NO; from a 'betterment of society' point of view, YES.

Let's face it, what drives the sale of Arranger keyboards and why are they sold mainly to old men who, after 50 years of practice, still can't play even one song on a piano at a professional level? Why do the truly creative (read 'young') and talented musicians today avoid them like the plague? Why is it that music store clerks don't know anything about them and 'big box' stores refuse to carry them for display? We have to face the fact that Arranger players are a very small minority; a VERY defensive one, but still a very small minority. Think about what we ask for in new instruments; better vocal processors, built-in MP3 and SMF players, lyric displays, chord sequencers, song-specific styles, and the list goes on.....anything that makes it easier for us to NOT PLAY.

We ridicule Jazz because it's difficult to play and demands more of the listener. We've gotten to prefer McDonalds to a fine restaurant. My grandkids LOVE these microwavable 'Mac-n-cheese' cups where you add some water, pour in some kind of powdered artificial 'cheese' mix, and stir, but they won't touch a single bite out of a great mac and cheese casserole prepared from scratch with fresh ingredients and baked lovingly in a real oven. I have to quickly remember that they're my own grandchildren to keep from strangling them .

HOWEVER, this is still a (relatively) free country, so if triggering someone else's STYLES on an arranger kb is your idea of how good music is created, so be it.

Being a 'tech geek', I still enjoy playing around with my arrangers, but less and less these days. Playing and rehearsing on a frequent basis keeps me aware of the huge differences between playing arranger kb and playing live with musicians. A place for each, I suppose, but definitely not the same. Will I buy another arranger in the future? Possibly. But not for the sake of providing inspiration; I get inspired by listening to the 'old masters' playing great music.

chas