Yes, more sense.

About one thing you are right Jamman the styles of Yamaha keyboards are so simple that even members of the Jostiband can play a Yamaha keyboard.

Yes they make it simple so everyboday can play. They are in the biz of making profit.

Hi Ian,
I done that too on my PA800.
Some of the styles just have too much going on.
Need the basic rhythm, but not neccesarily all the twiddly bits( for want of a better term)
I tried the country 3/4 the other day. Not really a country style user. Style had this awful finger snap or something in the percussion track. Muted percussion, now the style sounds great.
Another thing I've done is cut down on the number of bars. First 4 bars might work perfectly well for a song, next 4 something changes, no longer as suitable.

Not a singer, but maybe singers can use busier styles that don't work for instrumentalists??

best wishes
Rikki

Maybe we need something like a 'Layers' feature in future arrangers? You start out with a pretty simple part, then layer additional notes on top of it to make it busier, and give the player a control to bring it in and out at will? I know it sounds a BIT like what a multipad can do, but it's more than that...

I must confess, some of the ideas in the Audya ought to be looked at VERY seriously by the Big3. There seems to have been very little innovation for the last few years in BASIC arranger functionality. Sure, there's MORE of what we already had, more fills, more variations, more Intros/Endings etc., but there's been very little NEW added to the root functionality. The Audya's 'random' addition of extra flourishes fro time to time seems on the right path, to me.

What we are always looking for is variety, and a recreation of the 'live' experience. And, in my book, that involves some way of choosing whether you have a 'busy' or a 'studio' sideman as you play. Time for the Big3 to step up and redefine auto accompaniment, IMO. I'm tired of 'me too' features and more of the same stale pudding...

I hear you, Rikki,

My biggest issue with any arranger styles is the way the style transitions from Variation "A"(or 1)through to Variation"D"(or 4).

Most times one or two of these sections doesn't seem to even belong there, or it get so rambunctious I can't use it in a song at all.

That's why I assemble my own styles, or Frankenstyles as I've always been calling them, and I mix parts from within the style, or donated by other styles, until the style does a nice smooth and logical change from one variation to the next.

I even arrange the variations so that the first two, "A" and "B", correspond to verse 1 and verse 2, and variation "C" becomes the bridge and/or chorus, finally winding up with variation "D" for the final verse; basically the way a song is usually arranged.

I even use the intros as 4 or 8 bar variations, maybe if a song has a special section where the drums drop out or only the guitar plays...and many times I change an intro to become a fill/stop, because when you go to an intro while playing, it does it's cycle, and then the style goes back to the section you were on beforehand.

Style assembly is very easy to show someone, but very hard to put into words on a forum or in an email, so most of my style assembly/editing tutorials are done at my followup clinics.

I can spend hours editing and assembling styles...it's very easy to do on the Yamaha once you get used to it, and there are probably better style editors on the competitor's products, but, most people I show how to do the procedure, have no trouble at all afterwards...I often get newly assembled styles from my clients, and I'm happy to say, they do a great job of them.

But, there are still quite a few people who are content to buy or get third party styles rather than roll their own...many buy a new arranger just to get new styles...I only buy if I really like the newer sounds.

I think style creating/assembly/editing is a lot fun and very interesting....I can understand why you like it so much.

Ian

Ian, you could do a great service to many people if you posted your tutorial pieces on youtube, as many others have done for all sorts of things. How do you fancy that idea? I'm sure it would encourage those who wouldn't ordinarily bother or who aren't even aware of the possibilities.

I have thought about it, 124, but I don't have a camera.

I will, however, present the idea to Yamaha and see what they might want to do.

Ian

That's cool, good on ya Ian. Many small "point and shoot" cameras now have video capability. Some of them come with software that makes video editing easy.

If i where Yammy i would create a series of free video on how to use theirs arrangers, how to play with them, how to assemble styles ect..

Would create a website for it with registration and use theses contacts to send promo and "special offer" to the "Gold Members"; i'm sure it would be worthwile

See Yammy, you now own me dudes hehe

MJ