How do you do this? I am using psr2000. I can't figure out how to get a good strumming sound that sounds real. Arpeggiating chords, that sounds find for little fills and arpeggiated sounds but I have heard these strum sounds on styles and wonder how you get that? How many fingers do you use to voice the chord? Anything you can tell me? I am talking acoustic guitar sound. I thought SolidChord or FolkGW_pick1 voice might do it but maybe there is some kind of certain RH technique you use? I think maybe it would sometimes also be best to do it on offbeats.

Bill...
On the 2000 I usually use Jazz Guitar or Nylon Guitar for the strum. They are both very mild and when the balance is set right, provides a great accomp.

You might also try some of the guitar Multi-pads. The 3K greatly improved the guitar multi-pads, but you may find something to your liking there.

Eddie

What are you DOING with your right hand? If you choose Nylon Guitar voice, do you just press three keys or four or five or just what? Any secret to what you are doing? Any certain settings off/on? I'll fool around with it some more, just wondering if anyone uses any tricks.

BTW, when I say strum, I mean ONE strum (per strike). Not some continuous sound. Like you strum down on an acoustic guitar.

What I do is roll the notes from left to right with my right hand (low to high), 4 notes would be great, if you can. I am not a guitarist, so it might not sound realistic to you, but sounds like a strumming guitar to me.
Starkeeper

If you are playing live, it is very difficult to do. If you are recording, there is software out there. Rhythm 'N Chords which interfaces with Cakewalk has a strum library and lets you create strums by using the left hand to make the chord and pressing down on different keys with the right hand for different strum types (up, down, bass, etc.) These strum chords resemble guitar chords, and not keyboard chords.

It's very tough to imitate a guitar strum live, but strides can be made, for sure.

Beakybird

I've got a decent sound going using FolkGuitar at the moment. Just single strums on offbeats. Also, another way that sounds pretty real is I use my right thumb to press the root note and then right after that on the next beat, use three fingers for the best of the chord. Kinda like you'd do when playing, striking the root as the bass note with your thumb or pick.

get a used digitar.
http://pro-music-news.com/html/04/e91114ch.htm

used to be like 250$ in late 90's.

Bill,

You can set the voice effect to STRUM, which is best suited for certain types of piano, but will work with any voice.

The best person to ask about this is Don Mason, who I consider a master with his right hand when it comes to arranger keyboard playing.

Gary

SLM ... I play a technics kn6000 and I've created a backing file for "Unchained Melody" and I use a '50's style guitar strum on just the second beat of each measure (I think... I'm not at home so I can't check) ... I use Starkeeper's method of left to right, mostly 5 fingered chords ... sounds good to me ...
I've used a 'jazz guitar' strum on the left hand in an old tune called "Perdido" ... It sounds something similar to the 4 beat strum the guitar player in our band had when we played the tune (it fits in well in a 40's medley), but I guess if you listen closely, you could tell it's not a real guitar ... But then, it's NOT ...
t.

Thanks Gary.
I actually release the left hand (the chord is on hold) and use both hands to strum the guitar.
Guitars have six strings. I hit the bottom "string" with my left pinky, then a couple of notes with two more left fingers and the rest with the right hand. Practice until it sounds like a guitar strum.
DonM

I guess for live acts there's no better way to play guitar chords on a keyboard like the methode that Starkeeper told. Maybe you wil try Don's six finger methode but be warned: "A guitarist doesn't always play all six strings together!"

In studio surrounding I use a sequenzer and many, many hours for a hand made accoustic guitar programming. There's no program which can play like a real guitarist. Fortunality I AM a guitarist. So I play the guitar part on a real guitar at first and then I program the sequence exactly like I'm playing it. You can imagine that this is a lot of work...

------------------
Greetings from Frankfurt (Germany),
Sheriff ;-)

[This message has been edited by Sheriff (edited 04-25-2005).]

Not only do I not do it the same every time, I hardly EVER do it the same every time!
DonM

One of the ways that works for me is to use two hands and split the keyboard, transpose the lower section to the same pitch as the upper and pick the guitar sound of choice. Then whang away with your left hand rapidly appoggiaturing (that's rapidly arpeggio-ing in one direction) upwards (for the pick's down stroke) and the right hand playing the same voicing appoggiaturing downwards for the up stroke. You can't easily do full 6 string voicing this way (too wide a chord for one hand!), but the rhythmic energy across 4 or 3 voice chords goes a long way towards giving you the energy that a rhytm guitar has. Perhaps try making the sound of the left hand split a little thicker than the right to emulate the weight that the downstroke usually has.

Have fun, and always practise to a drum beat - there are enough bad rhythm guitarists out there already!!

------------------
There are 10 kinds of people
that understand binary - those
who do and those who don't.

I think my method is closest to Don's

however you guys have given me some good ideas to experiment around with..

NICE THREAD!

.

Speaking as a guitar player I should mention that the voicing of the chords can make what you do sound authentic or inauthentic. The strings of the guitar are tuned in fourths and thirds, so real guitar chords are built around the way these intervals fall across the strings. "Here Comes The Sun" is full of lines built from these intervals, as are many other songs.

Simple changes to the way you finger and invert chords will sound more or less real depending on how close your voicing aproximate the intervals on the guitar. Standard close voicings like you see in piano chord books are right out. Ask a guitar playing friend to show you a couple folk type chords and try to reproduce the inversions on K'bd. You can do a good job with just 3-note chords if you get the hang of the voicing.

Douglas Wolfe
.

Personally i use both hands to voice the chord and alternate the each hand. For example ...play the root and the 5th with the left hand and 3rd and oct with the right. (or 3rd and 7th etc). Alternate the hands to make the strum sound. This works good for a song like "things we said today" by the beatles that has a fast strum. With others...like Josie by steely dan...I use and open voicing with the right hand and alternate in a similar manner but just with one hand. Both techniques work well. For fuller sound...say on "ventura highway" by america...record another track...on psr2k use the 12 string on one and maybe a reduced volume chorus guitar on the other...or nylon...you can mix the volumes later tho. I've recorded many like this..."you've got to hide your love away" by the beatles is an example.