Ok folks: the arranger keyboard's no longer just your father's arranger of simply cha-cha's, trad ballroom waltzes and 50's rock and roll anymore.
Welcome to the 2nd decade of the 21st Century!
A German company, D-0-0 midi files & styles,produces & sells high quality arranger keyboard 'styles' for current hits as well as the older classics.

One new artist I especially enjoy the music of is: Bruno Mars, especially his powerfully moving hit 'Grenade', and of which D-o-o offers a Yamaha Tyros 4 'song style' of it for sale. Though Mars' has got a unique sound of his own, You can hear the influence Michael Jackson had in his songwriting and vocal style. Bruno Mars is Filipino-Puerto Rican American and raised in Hawaii. I look forward to hearing a lot more from this guy in the years to come.

Studio Live 'acoustic' Version:


Official audio CD Version:
Grenade

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Very nice tune, Scott.

Great singer, very much in the MJ vein, but still has a lot of his own sound.

Great background...simple, yet very effective, some really nice Nord Electric Piano work, and the vocal backup is very, very good.

Ian

Just in case you might have missed it:
don't forget to checkout the following official Video/CD release version too.
I personally like the above 'acoustic' version more though, and find its acoustic intimacy far more moving & emotionally powerful.

never heard of this guy before ......why all the hoopla?

He's probably never heard of you either...

You don't think he's talented, with a great delivery?

I do.

Sometimes it's just nice to appreciate something for what it is, and not who did it.

Ian

* The Guild guitar is a non-cutaway version of the one I recently sold to Bill Pittman.

* The Nord sounds GREAT.

* Live playing is still "DA BOMB"!


R.

I have my own musical enjoyment...there are many people who many never heard of, the music world is too branched & splintered out unlike years ago...most people are in their own niche`.....nothing wrong with it ...this guy just isn't for me.

Nord does electric pianos excellently. Their acoustics, seem to be loved or unloved...no middle ground.

One of the guys I jam with has a Guild the same as that one too, Russ...it's a beauty.

Why did you sell it?

Ian

Well, if I could sing as good as this guy, or as good as you, I'd be pretty happy.

He just might be the next big thing...he's certainly good enough.

Ian

Donny, because 'you' never heard of him, or?

You may not appreciate his brand of music but I think Bruno Mars demonstrates something special in both his songwriting & the emotional depth of his vocal delivery. To each his own I guess, but the fact that he was nominated for 7 Grammys and won one for 'best pop male performance for "Just The Way You Are" shows that I'm certainly not the only one impressed.

The other reason I felt it worth sharing is that this song is available as an arranger 'style' affording us the possibility of covering more contemporary tunes in 'arranger mode' now. Other contemporary pop tune favorites of mine, and appreciated by a diverse (5-70+ y.o) audience (and available as a song style from D-o-o as well, is Jason Mraz' "I'm Yours", and James Blunt's "You're Beautiful".

Russ, I certainly agree with you on that point, but realistically speaking, most of us here aren't lucky enough to play with band members at the caliber level of the musicians in the contract label videos I posted. What the arranger offers is the unique opportunity to improve our playing skill rehearsing a song (with auto accomp backup) to a level where we're finally able to hire seasoned pro musicians wanting to perform with us, yet in the meantime, allows us to gain experience rehearsing & even performing these songs on a solo gig (singing & playing the keyboard parts) or perhaps simply adding a backup singer/guitar player. The arranger provides the gig flexibility & lower band member rehearsal time & expense than rehearsing & working with a totally live band could. JMO.

Scott,
I was just about to write about how one of my favorite new artists is Jason Mraz and when I heard Bruno Mars on American Idol a few weeks ago I told my son who is also a big fan of jason Mraz and Bruno Mars that Bruno Mars reminds me a lot of Jason mraz. I really enjoy both of these popular new artists.

Bruno and Jason... I like them both. Do you hear a little of our own Beach Bum in their music?
Eddie

I think Bruno is great, and some of his songs are so darn catchy I may even do a few. Donny, steal your daughter's ipod for a day - you'll hear him in there! I may be doing the Lazy song this summer - it's perfect for vacationers!

The 'Lazy Song' is definitely among my Bruno Mars favs too.
and will surely bring a smile to everyone in the audience.

I wanted to add that I feel the 'scaled down' acoustic versions of these tunes (keyboard, guitar + vocals) is idea to create a live arranger mode performance singing (with VH) and playing all the keyboard parts live. Nothing cheating about that if you're actually playing & singing. In fact this arranger method requires the added challenge of producing live, the tasks of multiple live band members.

I've been using my midi guitar more and more, especially at the shore - it triggers the arranger and harmonizer and is so much more fun for me. The energy I get from strumming is way more than anything I ever get from playing keys. Guitar was my first love anyway, then bass ... next came the Rhodes, and THEN all other piano-like instruments.

So does that mean you like this guy's style of playing?

This makes me want to strip down some of those fat styles, and just make it work the same way.

A great tune, like the ones this guy writes, needs very little to bring it off.

Ian

Ian, I DO love stripped down styles - that's another reason I love the PA800. I have a dedicated button that shuts off all 5 accompaniment parts and just leaves the bass and drums running - I have a second button to turn the bass on so I can do that manually too. In smaller, quieter setting I prefer a more intimate ensemble. When the volume's pumping, the crowd is more likely to accept the arranger stuff, but when it's up close and personal .... smaller is better for me. As for Bruno's style - I like him a lot. I don't really hear any MJ influence, but I think he looks a little like Michael ... when he was a young black man.

I like capoing the guitar up 5 frets to put it in UKE range and playing Izzie's "Over the Rainbow" with the right words, of course!

Dave,

I think Bruno has that "vulnerability" and "cry" in his voice, that reminds me of MJ, but, slightly less pronounced.

He looks like Michael did right after the first few surgeries, and before his face deteriorated and started to slide off.

Depending on what I'm trying to get across to the listener, I sometimes take the Tyros4's style down to drums and bass and (this is where the value of rootless chording comes in) play piano, or Electric piano in the left and do the melody in block chords, Bill Evans style.

Works great for a lot of Stevie Wonder tunes, as well as Jazz and Country...well, pretty much any style.

Then again, I love using styles that I've added lush string phrases (that actually play phrases) and other bits, and just do chords and melody.

That's the beauty of style mode and the arranger in general,...I can alter the song's feel and arrangement, in real time.

Arrangers are all about choices...they allow us the type of band we want to play in, the type of music they play, they also really sharpen up our timing, especially from coming from a solo piano (or guitar) background.

Ian

I agree with Ian about how the arranger gives us choices.
In fact, imo the difference between a cheesy arranger performance and a pro sounding one has a lot to do with how we utilize the auto-accomp parts and integrate them with our live playing.

In general, for live arranger kb performance, I too prefer the scaled down approach so initially strip down the style to bass & drums only, and then selectively & sparingly add additional auto accomp parts as desired. I also make certain to MUTE all the auto accomp instrument voices that I play entirely live, typically the keyboard and/or guitar parts. Another important element to deliver a truly pro arranger performance is to 'never' allow the auto accompaniment to supply the lead melody by itself, especially in the intros and endings. After figuring what to play or improvise live during the intro & endings, I then delete or mute any lead lines included in the auto accomp. Another option is to retain the auto accomp's intro/ending lead melody line and simply play something live, like perhaps harmonizing over it.

Sorry Dave my daughter doesn't know who he is either! She like acts like Usher, Akon, Trey Songz, Chris Brown, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Fabolous, Rihanna, Wiz Khalifa
There's just so much other good music out there and btw what's wrong with what has been out there for years also?

Man, I just got off the phone with a good friend of mine...his three daughters were raving about Bruno.

He's not only a babe magnet, he's got the musical goods as well.

He is both a great performer, and a fine song writer.

Ian

I hope people remember his name a year from now ...he's just not in my musical world. enjoy.

I have a feeling this guy will do well, in spite of the competition.

Doesn't matter if he is in your musical world...he has created his own, and it's expanding.

Man, that song, Grenade, is so emotionally charged...almost brought a tear to my eye.


Ian

People cry when they hear me sing too...but for a different reason...Ha Ha!

It's ok don't worry Donny, Mars Bruno's already a national Grammy award winner, so I can guarantee you that 'millions more', will remember his name, and continuing to buy his CDs a year from now, surpassing even us.

Bruno Mars List of Awards

CD's? what's that in todays tech iTune age?

Legal D/L's

Ok, this is the second name this week I'd never heard of before. "Common" was the other one...

I didn't hear too much of MJ in his voice, but it stands alone and to my ears, sounds less affected than Jackson's did. MJ had a fine pop voice, but he embellished things so much that to me, it took away from his performance.

If you want to the influence game back another step. Go find some early Kenny Loggins solo albums. Jackson sang back up one one or two of his tunes. Each had this breathiness to their voice, which Jackson may have picked up, in part, to his experience with Loggins.