Yes, styles can be repetitive, but they don’t have to be. There is so much you can do with a style while it’s playing.

The first thing I notice is many players just “leave it running.” They forget the meaning of “fills” or are too lazy to hit the “fill” pedal.

A favorite of mine is to put it on “synch start/synch stop. Jab away at the left hand for the first two choruses of a song and bring the style back in on the chorus (or anywhere). Or turn the style off altogether and start it somewhere in the middle of a song (Example: I Can’t Give You Anything But Love…..come in with the steady style on the “release“).

Then you can leave a “fill” running for 8 or 16 measures and end it by going into a different “variation” from the one you left.

You can use the “break” button for as many measures as you want to break up the continuity of the style.

You can stop a style anywhere and fill in a measure with a “pad:…..maybe 4 cymbal or drum hits, etc……and back to the style again

With a little creativity, and a lot of effort, styles don’t have to be boring!

Mark

All great ideas, Mark. I often use sync/stop when using one of Yamaha's (or my own edited version of) Free-Play styles. Leaving the style run gets boring rather quickly, so having these pauses/stops is probably a necessity rather than a choice.

I often take most of the parts from Ending I (except for the drums) which is usually a simple stop on a chord, and using Style Assembly, put these parts in Intro I. I leave in the Intro I's drums, removing the stick sound in the count-in, and voila! I've got a one bar break/fill stop that I can initiate a little early, and after it plays out, the style is returned to whatever Variation I was on, or decide to have it go to.

All it takes, is, as you say, a little creativity, and perhaps thinking outside the box, to add some variety to the patterns.

If you don't want to go through reprogramming Ending I parts to Intro I, often you can just hit Ending I and before it has a chance to fully finish, just press another Variation button (or Fill-in) to get back into the style.

Ian

Lovely rendition of Over the Rainbow, Ian. What's not to like about that? Well done.

Glad you finally posted that version of somewhere over the rainbow on the zone Ian . It's an excellent piece of work !

Styles are boring, no way. More like players are boring.

1-Pads
2-Four variations
3-When I push any of the fills they repeat over and over.
4-A dedicated button which turns all parts of the style except the Drums and Bass.
5-Dedicated buttons allowing you to turn off only the Bass or Drums or any other part of the Accompaniment.
6-The automatic stop and start. (Breaks)

As the style plays I feel the need to make it interesting. With all the above we can be very interesting using styles. I have been exposed to big band and 30’s, 40’s 50’s (Not very good at today’s music) long enough so that I hear what the styles needs in that part of the song.

OK, yes we do not stay on a music top without a few changing direction and whatever. Normally when I close down the forum I smile thinking of the few that try to dominate. Without these guys the forum would be a bit of a bore. I go to our form at least once a day, I like what’s going on it adds color. Boat trips, humor, weather, hidden anger, new gear, ways to do whatever, and just plain b—ll s—it.

I love it, it’s life. My unfulfilled dream was to sale a boat from New York to Florida. Gary often takes me there; how good can it get?

IMHO, John C.

Great post John.

Ian

Thanks guys. The CVP style I used is really cool...there is a similar style of the same name on the Tyros4, but it uses piano bass and drums instead of guitar bass and drums. Another variation of this type of style (without mega voices) is found on the 9000 Pro.

The double time in Variations C and D is great for breaking up a slow ballad without losing the total feel.

Ian

Ian, as a guitar player, I absolutely enjoyed your selection of inversions, and the chord rendering of what would normally be guitar sounds was fabulous.

the lead line was perfect, except for the limitations of the sample or sax programming (too much temolo-not very realistic). That, of course is not the players fault. Really nice work!

As far as style use, just don't let it be a crutch. There are options, as is shown in the video Donny posted. Excellent work.


There are also options...some high paying, to playing nursing homes.

We should all strive to improve...can't go wrong with that approach.

Thanks, again Ian. As my old music friends say....TASTY!


Russ

I all need is more cow bell.

I Don't always agree with things I read on Synth Zone but this time, I am 100% positive, that Synth Zone does need more cowbell...but only if we can also have MORE TRIANGLE.

Ian