A new keyboard ALWAYS made me play better -- and that’s because it elevated my interest. I put more time in playing.

Judging a keyboard is one thing – but judging it’s effect on a performer is personal.

IMHO, John C.

The better your backing band, the better you play. Whether a live band, or your arranger, the same goes for both. And getting the best out of your arranger means having the most control over it.

Do you want a breakdown? Would you like the drummer to drop down to hi-hats and snare? If there's a 2/4 bar in the middle of the piece (but most are 4/4), is it easy to get to that control? Would you like hands free control of the Variations and Fills (so you can concentrate on just playing)? Is it easy to get to the Hold parameters (you just decided to medley two songs, but want the sounds to stay the same).

Maybe you are blithely oblivious to what the band is doing, Donny, but me, if I want them to do something, I'd like the tools to be able to pull it off, live.

Me... it's new styles. I don't really feel the need to change out my arranger. But new styles (and a good editing session so I can make them mine) gets my juices floating, John! 9/10 times, if you wait just a bit, conversions of the latest arranger's styles will appear for the older arrangers. Sure, they won't sound identical. But you can get them damn close!

As I've said before, most new arrangers, with new features - bet your bottom dollar that something has been taken off, moved, nerfed, made less effective. Two steps forward, one and 3/4 back! I just wish that somehow, these idiots designing these things actually KNEW what was a good feature, so they don't remove it!

Alas, I have a nasty feeling that many arranger R&D departments are run by people that would MUCH rather be playing a workstation (if they play at all!). That's about all I can come up with to explain some of the boneheaded design decisions so often made, these days...

I'm also of the opinion that one should "practice and practice and practice!" The problem nowadays is practice WHAT? In the old (pre-technology) days, with only a few vanilla-flavored arranger keyboards available, you had the time and energy to work on things like keyboard technique, improvising, rock/jazz/latin, etc licks, learning new songs, even non-musical techniques like learning to interact with an audience (much more stable and less crude than they are today), how to deal with the inevitble "hecklers," how to book jobs, advertising, etc.

Now, I don't know what to do first? There are so many directions to go in! Let's see, do I sit at the piano and work on my finger dexterity, do I learn more Ethnic music (I live in a multi-ethnic area and massive immigration is rapidly changing audience listening preferences), there's my blues and boogie woogie patterns that I'm trying to perfect, there's this new ABBA song I want to learn, there are Classical pieces I want to add to my repertoire, do I want to work on my "voicings" today, do I want to spruce up my walking bass lines, and Lord knows what else?

Or...do I walk over to my arranger keyboard and study this new era of "computer technology"...a new operating system, styles to edit/improve/delete/replace, drum patterns to put together (hmmm, would a real drummer do this?), how to play to sound like a guitarist, trumpet player, violinist, how do I EQ/add effects/filter my sounds, put performances together, etc

I'm getting tired just writing it out. I'm wondering how everyone else here manages to do it all between working on your "chops" and tweaking your machine. And then, there's the messy job of constantly hustling gigs. Even my nursing home accounts need to be nurtured regularly as there's always some unemployed novice musician ready to show up at their doorstep with a simple harmonica and a drum box and a $10 bill in his hand ready to hand it to the AD for the opportunity to play for the residents. (only kidding on that last one, but it's almost at the point where many are going out working for the equivalent of a ham sandwich).

I'm starting to look at the law of "diminishing returns." Is all the effort you're putting into practicing going to put the same amount of dollars in your pocket at the end of the week as spending that same amount of time marketing yourself.

Sad to say.....Donny is right in this respect. We might as well face facts. The audience doesn't care about or respect good music or good musicianship anymore....or whether you're playing a Ketron, Roland or Korg (or how well it's been "adjusted")......they just want to be entertained....and the more outrageous the act, the more you're going to be working. No different than the half-time Super Bowl show. Lots of glitz and pyrotechnics and flash.....keep everyone excited and the adrenalin flowing. Keep people in excitement mode. Somehow I can't picture crowds like that sitting there and wanting to be entertained by the Mantovani Orchestra or Jerry Vale....top headliners in the 50's when life was simpler and legit music was not only appreciated but expected and "respected!"

I'm sure glad I already know everything and don't need to practice.
Seriously all that stuff is sort of fun, except looking for jobs. I hate that.
I sort of pride myself on doing requests, so every time I get a request that I don't know, I try to learn it. I can't every time, but most of the time I can learn it well enough. It's a lot different these days. Find the lyrics and chords online, go to Youtube and see what it is supposed to sound like. Listen, play along with it, correct the chords that I found online, find the right tempo and a style that will work. Figure out what key is best for me. Then practice it. Play it for my wife. She don't pull any punches.
DonM

I hate DIKI. He sounds a lot smarter than me.

Mark good post, I'm on that same page. Once I got an arranger all the piano technique went on the back burner, I've spent more time learning the tech side of the arranger than working on playing.....not a good thing......but more fun. Add full time day job into the mix, family, other interests a few gigs here and there leaves little time for "practice".

All good points, some seemed laced with a bit of anger. If the criteria for judging is playing dollars and audience acceptance then most of the posts are right on.

My take:
1-Looking for jobs was a rarity, they just kept coming.

2-Practicing my arpeggios and scales was not a job, it was bringing to the point I wanted.

3-I excited when a new song came out; and just as anxious to play it in my style.

4-Always hated carrying the equipment in out.

5-I was not concerned about the competition, my cup was full. In N.Y. weekday gigs were rare; on the weekend we had three to four good paying jobs.

6-My last and most important -- I LOVE PLAYING MUSIC, EVEN IF THERE WERE NO DOLLARS OR PEOPLE.PLAYING IS A SPECIAL PLACE FOR ME.
If it came to supporting my family of six I made sure that I had another means to make that happen. I never wanted to have-to-play-a-job I did not like. My weekday job protected me from that. I truly love music and I did my best to protect that love.
Now at my age I look at my playing/performing dwindling career as one great blessing.

IMHO, John C.

Smoke and mirrors, brick!

(And a good spell-checker!)

I didn't have to worry about messing up my piano technique, because I never played piano!
DonM