All of us have x-amount of time that we devote to music. But how much of that time is actually devoted to music and how much is devoted to ......TECHNOLOGY. Researching it (what's the latest, greatest technological 'gadget' that's going to magically make me a better musician?), learning it (a time-consuming challenge for all of us, especially the technology-challenged OLD farts among us), making it usable and reliable in a 'live' environment, and finally, how to make our audiences think that it's US (meaning our raw talent and hard-earned musical skill) and not the technology.

Funny how the worlds best musicians play pianos and flutes andf oboes (and yeah, even guitars ) and NOT synths, workstations, and arrangers. Most have chosen one or more ACOUSTIC instruments, stuck to that/those, and devoted the bulk of their time to the task of becoming MUSICIANS. That would include mastering their instrument/s, learning music composition, theory, and performance........and finding a day job....oops, sorry, the devil made me say that .

Now I'm not saying that we should ditch the technology (in fact, it DOES make most of us sound better ). I'm just saying that perhaps we should de-emphasize the technology a little more and concentrate more on the music side of things. There is never more excitement on the board than when a new 'toy' shows up, and we anticipate the NAAMM and Mus...uh, the Frankfurt event (can't spell it ) like it was the second coming. Almost no one will disagree that most of us have barely scratched the surface of the potential of our current boards while heartily lusting after it's not-yet-announced replacement (which we will ALSO never scratch the surface of).

Now don't get me wrong, I love and am amazed by technology. I may be the oldest living 'geek' and have spent a career in an industry driven by technology. But while I understand how art and science can not only co-exist, but actually compliment each other, I also understand that one should not compromise the other.

My own journey has taken me back to my roots, the 'Hammond' organ, and these days 90% of my playing and 98% of my love is now directed to this one instrument. I'm going back and listening to the old masters and also the new (like Cory Henry) and getting a lot of pleasure out of trying new things that I never did before in 40 years of organ playing. The result; I'm having a ball and no longer suffer from GAS.

chas

This is something I've been trying to write about for years now, and it's been bothering me for years before that even.

Unfortunately, I don't have the lexicon to put my thoughts into words, so kudos to someone who DOES......and took the time to say what needs to be said.

I play all keyboards, but my practice is totally on the piano, milking that thing dry. That's why my PA3x is sitting there like a piece of furniture. The more time I spend trying to figure out the technology side of it, the less time I get to spend at the piano working on(quote: "mastering their instrument/s, learning music composition, theory, and performance").

There are only so many hours in a day. I'm starting to understand "you can do anything you want in the world, but you can't do EVERYTHING!"

Chas, with few exceptions, most of the world's greatest musicians are dead broke, or just dead. Fortunately, I'm not a musician - I'm an entertainer, and the arranger keyboard makes it so I can continue to entertain my audiences and make a decent living wherever I'm performing. I ran across some really great musicians in my lifetime on stage, most had other jobs because they couldn't make enough money as a musician to support their families. I talked with a couple local guys who were in the Navy Band and were hired by The Glenn Miller Orchestra while they were touring the mid-Atlantic region. They were paid $75 a day for their two hour performances, and these guys were the best of the best.

I personally dedicate about two to three hours every day to music at this time, and that has been fairly consistent since I first picked up a guitar back when I was 12 years old. I no longer do this 7 days a week, mainly because I'm too old and physically screwed up to maintain that kind of schedule.

As for the technology part, I guess I'm a bit more fortunate than most in this respect. I've been working with electronics and electronic gadgets since I was a kid. It just comes kinda natural to me to delve into the innards of an arranger keyboard, an amp, mixer, etc...just to see what makes them tick. I got my Ham Radio General Class license when I was 12 years old, built my own transmitters and receivers from junk radio parts I salvaged from the neighbor's trash cans when they threw out old radios, even built my own first guitar amp from junk parts. I kinda wish I still had it, just for posterity, though.

I'm one of the few guys on the forum that reads the instruction/user manuals from cover to cover while sitting down at the keyboard. I also have the repair manuals for nearly every Yamaha keyboard I've ever owned. So, I guess I have spent a lot of time with the technological aspect of music as well, depending upon who's standard is used to determine this.

For a couple years, a lot of time was also dedicated to the business aspects of music, which for me, was equally as important as being a good entertainer. I learned the ins and outs of advertising, marketing, bookkeeping, and set up my own retirement program more than 20 years ago. My wife and I talked about this last night while we were discussing my health issues. At age 75 I continue to work the same schedule I did when I was 55, which is insane. The big difference this past year is I took off for three months and went to the Florida Keys for the winter. Of course, I worked down there as well, but only three nights a week.

If I cannot resolve my back problem, surgically or otherwise, this will likely be my last year as an entertainer. It's quite difficult to play and sing effectively with excruciating pain in your back, while your legs go numb. Pain killers help to some degree, but not enough most days to make me pain free. Today was no exception. When I got finished the one-hour job, I was almost afraid to get off the stool fearing my legs would buckle beneath me. Next Tuesday I'll be visiting the neurosurgeon to find out what the next step will be.

Good subject, Chas,

Gary

I haven't had GAS in a long long while...the arranger keyboard I've been using these past several years is programmable so it basically doesn't get obsolete as I can update styles and sounds as necessary. The only things that will eventually wear out would be some of the hardware bits, but that's common for most electronic keyboards. Even acoustic pianos need maintenaince, such as tuning and regulation.

So I basically spend nearly all of my music related time actually playing and, either learning new tunes, or refreshing the older ones. The technology works for me, not the other way around.

I also play non-arranger keyboards several times a month, such as a beautiful vintage Hammond B-3 and occasionally an 88 note weighted action electronic piano, usually a Yamaha P-85, so I manage to keep those chops up fairly good, although my "main squeeze" is still my Tyros4, for its sheer versatilty. I like how it gives me the ability to play entirely on my own, with a virtual band (of my own choosing, I might add) that will play swing, rock, country, electronica at any time of the day/night I so desire.

For impromptu jams, having an Arranger Keyboard is pretty handy...just shut off the arranger parts that are being played by live musicians, or just use the instrument without accompaniment as you would a regular keyboard/synthesizer.

Since retirement I am thoroughly enjoying playing the music I want to play instead of having to choose tunes that showcased the instrument's features as was required on clinics/demos, although I still regularly pick tunes that challenge me and take me out of my comfort zone. I still exercise my sight reading skills.

Talking with other keyboardists on Skype, and watching players on YouTube also keep the lines of inspiration open.

So, to sum up, I spend most of my time actually playing keyboards, and try my best to keep the style/sound programming and other technical doodling to a minimum.

Ian

Gary, your story is a good one (except for your current health problems - which I can relate to, BTW), and your points about the business aspect of music (as a career) are spot on; HOWEVER, my post wasn't about any of those things; I wanted to take a break from those distractions (business, technology, entertaining, equipment, etc.) and talk about MUSIC AS AN ART FORM. So in that sense, isn't MUSIC the important thing here. Even if we think of it as a means to support ourselves and our families, the fact that we chose MUSIC as the PARTICULAR means is significant, and yet we seem to care more about the process than the product. We are willing to spend gazillions on the process of making music but very little on the 'raw materials'.

Sure, if you're an entertainer I can understand your emphasis on the 'total package' of which music may be a fairly small percentage, so very little of what I've said here pertains to you. I get it. You're in it for the monetary rewards and not the 'soul satisfaction'. But most of you think of yourselves as musicians first and it is to you that my original post was directed. Anyhow, any thoughts?

chas

I am a technollogy devotee...

yet from the 2 to 3 hours i make music each day (average), i play about one hour piano.

and then i start playing arranger style, and playing with self created sounds, trying to create unique ones and such, thats where the technollogy comes in. Yet the base is still plain piano..

My favourite thing is discovering new instruments and technollogies and finding ways to use and abuse them in musical creation.


I also spend a lot of time on my ipad, browsing the interwebs, and thats where the technollogy interest gets peeked, not when playing, but when not playing sitting in the living room with the fammily... when browsing the iunternet, i often feel like that little boy in a candy store..

All of the people I look up to as mentors talked about "paying you dues".

To me, that means learning from the innovators, learning the history and background of the players and the styles AND learning your instrument.

Then, you do your best to add to the collection of knowledge...make your contribution, however small, with refinements to the general art form.

I'm like Chas. I want to work 6 nights, do studio 30 hours, travel 6 weeks a year overseas, do lots of sound scores AND
still run my research and graphics company.


There aren't enough days. As hard as it is for some of you diehards to understand, I love my day work and night work equally. There are some crossovers, of course (film scores, jingles, etc.).

Then, there's the old problem of "playing yourself out of a job"...playing at the cutting edge of the style or instrument, which means playing way over the heads of the audience.


The result:STARVATION!

Chas, we BOTH deserve to slow down. Believe me, when I hear one of your tracks/roughs, you do NOT have to feel guilty about not "Paying your dues". Feeling that you have to keep it up is admirable....ME, TOO!


Your friend,


Russ

Chas, A friend plays keyboard way above average and plays Trumpet. He said there was no way he could ever improvise as good on the trumpet as a piano or keyboard, because you can see what you are doing staring at the keyboard.

Johnny Griffin, Dexter Gordon, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and a few other tenor sax players are not great musicians, they are geniuses. That's why it is hard for many to appreciate them. One comment here years ago was "I don't like Coltrane, he plays too many notes."

It's similar to us trying to really appreciate the things that Einstein did. These people are way smarter (Geniuses) in their field then we are able to comprehend.

The Country guitarist says "I'd go crazy listening to that Jazz!" The Genius says, How small is this guys brain to play 40 years of 3,4,5, chord stuff."

It's like one guy can do a tune up with plugs, wires etc. The other guy can take an engine completely apart, every single little piece and put it back together again.

I'll admit that if I lived for 1000 years and practiced everyday I could never play a good as the 4 Tenor sax player I mentioned above, nor do I know anyone on this board that could do it either, because we have not musical geniuses here.

Oh one more very important point. Ask any honest sax player and they will admit that Tenor is quite a step up harder to play than an Alto. If they say different, you tell them that Boo Hargis and a host of other sax players say that they are lying and if not they are extremely stupid, period.

Hi Charles:

Gary said it very well from my point of view. Thankfully, I am retired now and can spend as much idle time on my songwriting and recording as "the boss" will allow. I'm struggling to make or pass my objective of writing and recording 1000 songs before the "Grim Reaper" harvests me. One of my greatest problems is taking time to hear some of my early stuff, overcoming the desire to heave up my lunch, and getting busy trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. It doesn't always happen but I have "saved" many of my inept, inexperienced early starts and stumbles.

I'm currently at 955 and as Gary implied, it is a labor of love 'cause there sure isn't any money in it. Talent is not enough (not that I believe I have any) because it takes an equal amount of resources (money and people with influence) to get past the gatekeepers in Nashville, LA and NYC, etc.

If any of you are like me, it is an interesting and ever-changing learning process. Technology plays a larger factor than most of us admit... and I would be "toast" without the 910 Arranger. Sure, I'd love a Tyros or 950 but there is a fine line between breaking even and going overboard... LOL!

One thing is for certain, I admire you players who earn your bread and butter at an ever-dwindling gig market. This group here at the general arranger forum is unique to my way of thinking.

All the best,

Dave Rice

http://www.ShowCaseYourMusic.com/DaveRice/