Every now and again, on one of my clinics, or at a gig, I get the question, "Why do you use an arranger?"

We all have answers to "how we use an arranger" but I haven't seen a discussion on "why?"

Certainly, I have my own reasons, but before I get into those, I'd like to hear why others use this sometimes loved, sometimes reviled, but always controversial instrument....or why they don't.

We've all discussed why we use a certain brand of arranger, but I'm interested (and I hope you are) in why we even use one at all, or at the very least, what made us get into using one?


Ian

PS...hopefully Donny, Diki, and Fran will be back, or come back, to join in.

Hmm why, back in 1997 and few years then when i came to USA we used to go to a wedding,
5-6-7 piece live band, the rate was up to 3-4000$ per wedding (yeah i know, thats how Eastern
European, Turkish and M.E. weddings are done) and it was quite alright. On top of 3-4000$ we
used to get another 5-6000$ tip per wedding. Then suddenly one or 2 guys showed up with
arranger at smaller parties asking for 400-500$ a night...and people that were about to have a
wedding started being interested in the Arranger people and 1 or 2 got them to play. We lost
few weddings and started scratching our heads till ... we heard that one of our own band member
played a wedding without us, on an arranger...that was it...done. Now, in NYC itself there is over
200 Arranger players for the same type of music, each being its own band. You can probably get
a gig once in 2 years...thats why i stopped pla�ing live, not worth it...and the newest thing is,
half of the Arranger players now are DJs ONLY and now DJs are taking over everything.

Why do I use an arranger keyboard. For me that is not a difficult question.
I have a T3 and a KN7000 and both of these make me feel like a real keyboard player. I cannot read music, I only play with three fingered chords and I am not very nimble with the right hand but what my keyboard gives back to me is astounding.
I have played various other keyboards over the years but nothing compares to the new arranger style keyboards.
A whole orchestra in my spare room. What more could anyone ask.

Good topic, Ian.

I switched to using an arranger when I switched trios and exchanged my drummer for a guitar player. We started with using a drum machine and then moved to using SMFs. And arranger would permit me to play the SMFs directly and have a drummer, with styles, available if/when I needed him.

I was never very good at using styles until recently when I decided to go solo. I'm finding that arranger styles permit me to play more and decide exactly how I want to craft a song. Even though I still use a majority of SMFs, I hope to get to a 50-50 split next year and maybe tip the scales in the other direction the year after.

Cheaper than an organ. But you can turn a keyboard into an organ, right? I mean, add a midi keyboard (controller?)and pedals? So there's still hope after all. Only problem is, I'm probably too technically challenged (dumb) to set it up.

Taike



------------------
Bo pen nyang.

I use a arranger as a substitute to a band. As I play ethnic music, the local restaurants, social clubs & private parties simply can not afford to pay a 4-5+ piece band. There is more money in weddings but there are less frequent due to DJ's. Also with an arranger, all of the band members show up for pratice, no one is drunk and I don't have to share any of the take home pay with my arranger.

just my 2 cents.

Why not? It's a fantastic, extremely versatile, wonderful sounding instrument. And, I no longer have to share the proceeds with four other guys.

Cheers,

Gary

Hi Taike,

There are some folks on YPKO who have added another keyboard (and pedals) beneath the arranger, and seemed very pleased with the result.

The Yamaha NP-30 was deemed a good lower manual, as it has midi, and the action is light, but still velocity sensitive.

My issue would be the keyboards would not be close enough, and some of the arranger buttons would be not as convenient to access.

Some have cleverly used old organ cabinets to house the keyboards...and they looked pretty darn good.

Ian

It's very flexible.
Wonderful to use as One Man Mand, and when do some adjustments, edit and mute
some parts, then it's great when play as Duo or Trio as well.
Bought my first arranger last half of the 80'ies just for fun, never regret I
did.

Cheers
GJ

Yes, Gary...but what triggered your idea to use one professionally? Did you see/hear someone else use one, for instance?