This is an open question to eveyone on the forum regardless of which instrument you play. I spend a lot of time researching style content but since there are so many of you experienced arranger keyboard players right here, I would like to have your direct input on the following:

1. Which styles do you feel are lacking or missing on your current instrument(s). Please mention song references if necessary.

2. Which styles do you feel are "overserved" on your current instrument. That is; you have a ton of them but you rarely, if ever, use them.

3. If you had to choose just 10 styles to survive on a gig, which would they be, (they don't necessarily have to already exist).

Thanks to everyone in advance for your cooperation and suggestions.

Chris Anthony

Chris:
In partial response to your questions, I'd like to see style programmers continue to approximate what a live or real band/combo sounds like, i.e., tasteful riffs, licks, that really compliment that style. Maybe like what one hears on recordings. To me, each generation of boards shows improvements. The big band, jazz, older rock/pop styles which I use a lot are much improved. However, there's probably half the styles on my board that's never used. I'm still looking for a realistic western swing style that convincingly demonstrates the steel guitar, twin fiddles, comping guitar, etc. characteristic of that style. Otherwise, I'm pretty well pleased with what I've got.

Chris ,
Nice to see you post on the forum ! Dano

Hi Chris,
I do mostly Country/Western, Old time R&R, Blues and standards.
Nobody has enough authentic country/western styles, though Yamaha has made great strides in that direction.
I'm sure it's not the case with everyone, but I have little use for all the Disco, Rap, House-type styles.
I miss the great selection of Big Band styles that Technics has.
10 styles to survive;
1. 4/4 rock n'roll, with and without walking bass (Johnny Be Good)
2. 6/8 ballad (Unchained Melody, etc.)
3. Simple Waltz, suitable for CW or standards.
4. Blues Shuffle (Kansas City, Everyday I Have the Blues, etc.)
5. Swing/BigBand Slow and Fast (maybe that's two)
7. 2/4 country. (Good Hearted Woman, Johnny Cash)
8. Country shuffle with and without walking bass. (Ray Price, Merle Haggard, George Strait)
9., 10. 4/4 ballads, Country and pop
Now, if you JUST had these styles, they would need very simple backgrounds on a couple of variations, so they could be used on a variety of songs. Yamaha is good at this.
Good luck on the new keyboard.
Did you get my email at GEM?
DonM

Hi Chris:

Great to finally meet you in person at NAMM and see you back here on the forum too. Did you checkout the picture I caught of you demonstrating the 'new' Genesis?
http://scottyee.com
- go to the pictures page

Though I play a cross section of musical genres & styles, I find the jazz swing & ballad (brushes) most versatile for covering a wide variety of tunes (especially the standards). I'm looking for realistic sounding drum patterns, tasty drum fills & bass parts to complement (not compete with) the keyboard parts played live(by me).

BTW: I hope you will 'seriously' consider adding (to the GEM Genesis), 'rootless jazz type' chord recognition supported in both full keyboard & split modes on the Technics KN keyboards, and in split mode on the Ketron SD1 & Yamaha PSR keyboards. As I'm sure you're aware, adding this enhanced chord recognition will certainly broaden the appeal of the Genesis to traditional jazz keyboard players. - Scott

Chris...

Most of my audiences range in age from 50 to near death (we are talking Florida here)...but they have a very wide taste in styles and music in general.
Most every style I use comes from the PRS series or CVP. Kinda hard to narrow it down to 10...but here goes.....

My most used:
1. Lounge Piano (Misty, Teach Me Tonight, Summer Wind)

2. Jive (Run Around Sue, Back To Lousiana)

3. Simple 8 Beat (Lady in Red, Wind Beneath My Wings)

4. 4/4 Rock & Roll (Memphis, Jailhouse Rock, Johnny B Goode)

5. Combinations of Swing, Big Band and Big Band Shuffle1 settings (It Had To Be You, You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You, Satin Doll, Just a Gigalo)

6. Rhumba Island (Margaritaville, I Wish You Love) I also use Bossa and other Rhumbas, but find the endings cumbersome, too long and over produced in most cases.

7. Croco Twist & Twist1 (Old Time Rock & Roll, Takin Care of Business, and the Chubby Checker stuff)

8. Cha Cha Cha from CVP series. Most of the Cha Cha styles are way too over produced for my taste. (Brandy You're a Fine Girl, Under The Boardwalk...and Tea for Two types)

9. 70's Disco (I Will Survive, Celebration, YMCA)

10. A variety of Waltzes (Vienna for Delilah-
Simple for Ballroom stuff like Fascination- and Country for things like Could I Have This Dance, Bartender Blues.

In addition to Cha Cha mentioned above, I had to look long and hard to find a Merengue that I felt was not too over-produced.

House dance and techno is not much use to me.

Eddie

Hello Chris,
Great to see a company representation on this bbs!
As arranger I am still using a G 800, which is now over 4 years old, so not exactly a representation of todays arrangers, but missing styles are; oriental styles!
I do have quite some user made oriental styles but most of them are just not good enough or too limited.

As for the common western styles;
I could use more enhanced jazz,blues and dixieland(1920-1950) styles.

10 styles not to be missed;
About the same as DNJ.


I don't use the arranger professionally though, but just for entertainment between friends and family.

I use a kurzweil K2600 for composing.

As I will probably replace the G 800 this year, I am very interested in the genesys.

Again, great to see you posting!

Fred

The ideal arranger KB would have a TOTAL Flash memory for styles and come with a CD (or a bunch of discs) full of styles. Giving me the ability to create my own Custom Style Library to suit my particular wants and needs.

hey chris,
here is my simple list....
1-Oriental styles...(just make some improvment on the ones that comes with the wk8 and I would like some more khalije styles and modern saiyde)

2-I would like some support for reggae styles(please make at least 6 or 7 of them)


thank you chris.

p.s please email me if you don't what styles I'm talking about on number 1.

please

This is from the Sk880PS, style banks and tables:

-Bank 8-beat: very important bank, needs updating with quality styles from classical themes and styles.
8beat1- very nice and useful
8beat2 - very nice and useful
8beat9- nice and useful
SlowBeat- nice
SlowBallad- nice
6_8Ballad- nice

- Bank 16-beat: very important bank
16beat1- very nice and useful
16beat2- useful
16beat13- phenominal strumming guitar
16beat14- phenominal strumming guitar
16BtBallad- phenominal strumming guitar

-bank rock: important
slowrock2: nice and important
rest of slow rocks need updating to more ballad classical themes.

-bank Funk: no need for this bank. Can be stored in the harddrive.

-bank Dance1: Quality not quantity
Piano Dance: very nice

-bank Dance2: this mostly Disco bank, no need for it. store in harddrive.

-bank Jazz: Quality not quanity
Broadway: Truly very nice! (please many of that)

-bank U.S. TRAD: Quality not quantity, can be combined with the rest of TRAD1 and TRAD2

-bank TRAD1: important: concentrate on waltz please.
waltz(1,2): nice and important
RealVienna: very nice
OrchWaltz: nice

-bank TRAD2:
Twist1: very nice
Reggae: needed

-bank Latin1: very important
Tango: very nice
StandTango: really very nice


-bank Latin2: very important
Gipsy: very nice & very important (need many of them please)

-bank flash factory styles:
SpgtiWestern: very very nice
Classical1: very nice (classical needs its own bank)
Classical2: very nice
Shadows: very nice

-some harddisk styles:
*ST_BEAT:
8beat: very very nice (epoch ballad, millions of these please)


-support for GEM oriental disks. (please all sounds, styles, songs, and oriental drumkit) New oriental sounds and styles are also needed. For example Kanoun in WK2oriental is better than the one in the GEM oriental disks.

What is missing are two banks:

8-beat Ballads bank: Long intro and ending, Based on Quality classical themes, such as Love Story by Andy Williams

16-beat Ballads bank: long intro and ending, based on Quality classical themes, such as Engelbert Humpendink (spelling?)

Some wonderful bank ideas:

movie styles bank: Based on some very classical older movies such as: Star war theme, James Bond, Please no titanic , others

classical styles bank: based on famous classical pieces for example classical1, classical2... Mozart, Bach, Beethoven...

Please note that I love the minor key more than the major key. So Please have ballanced amount of minor key songs.

P.S, before I forget... there are some songs that have the verse in "slow rock" but the chorus in 4/4 or 8-beat. some of those please-ballad quality.

Thank you.

[This message has been edited by sk880user (edited 01-31-2002).]