One of the things I discovered about arranger keyboard user manuals was they were written by engineers, for engineers. In other words, they are very poorly written when it comes to the average consumer.

Many years ago, I was a full-time, freelance, outdoor writer for many publications. My very first assignment was for a small newspaper in Shrewsbury, PA, The Free Press, owned by the parent company, The York Dispatch. The article was to be about Catching Slammer Bluefish in Chesapeake Bay's Shallows. After writing the article, I decided to enlist the aid of a good friend, Lefty Kreh. The article was just over 4,000 words. Lefty took one look at it and said "If you want sympathy, show this thing to your mother. It's way too complicated, way too long and it will not hold the reader for more than 2 minutes before they go on to read something else."

Lefty went through the pages with a red pen, striking out most of the words and said "The key to success when it comes to writing a how-to, where-to article is to use the least amount of words with the least amount of syllables to get the point across. Then, and only then, will everyone one understand you." Lefty was the king of one-liner jokes and followed this by saying "Let me give you an example. There was a copy-boy that worked for the Miami Herald when I wrote for them, his name was Moses, and he was damned good at his job, but didn't make a lot of money. Moses soon discovered that if he worked overtime, he was paid time-and-a-half. He was elated. A couple days later he found out that if he worked weekends, he would be paid double-time. This went on for about 6 months - Moses was making more money than he ever dreamed of making."

Lefty said "At the end of six months, Moses was sitting at his desk, opening letters and one was addressed to him from his wife. He suddenly jumped out of his chair, ran to his car and drove off at a high rate of speed and fuel consumption. I picked up the letter and it said 'Dear Moses, there's gonna be some serious screwin here tonight, and if you're not here, you're not gonna be part of it.' Now, that woman knew exactly how to get the point across, using the least amount of words and the least amount of syllables."

That was nearly 50 years ago, and I never forgot his words. Lefty passed away about a year ago, and I miss him dearly. He was a great friend and mentor. I went on to write for 25 major publications and made a pretty good living until print media fell away to the Internet, which paid nothing. It was at this point when I decided to go to full-time as a musical entertainer. Prior to this, I was a weekend performer.

Don't be surprised if that user manual seem complicated - it is! Fortunately, we have forums such these to go to when the answer is not clearly spelled out in the manual.

Cheers,

Gary

Yes, Gary, the manuals are difficult to understand and follow. BUT I have to tell you sometimes even forum members explanations are equally hard to follow. I really do appreciate all the help given here and at PSRTutorial but sometimes this stuff just takes this old dog a little longer to get. Soooooo..... when a dummy like me asks what seems like the same question 3 or 4 times it may be that what is easy for the writer to understand is just way over the head of the reader. Fact is, I am somewhat embarrassed by my inability to get a concept when presented. My only saving grace has been, once I get it, I usually have it and that tends to open up more areas of the OP to persue.

Hey Gary:

You have not lost your touch at telling an interesting story. After reading, I was hoping our friend "Moses" did not have to part the Red Sea as he drove home. LOL!

Earl, when it seems impossible to communicate using text, I often resort to an ancient, standby mechanism, the telephone. Under these circumstances, I usually have the person sit down at the keyboard with the phone while I sit at my keyboard, then go over the problems and the solutions step by step.

Ironically, the most difficult challenge for most arranger keyboard players is learning how to create registrations and what the registrations do. The next most difficult problem for them is learning how to use the Music Finder Directory, followed by recording midi files and finally, doing live, audio recordings.

Because arranger keyboards are extremely versatile, and can do just about anything you wish, they became very complex. Kinda like climbing into the cockpit of a 757 with no flying lessons and expecting to fly this thing to the Bahamas - it ain't gonna happen!

All the best,

Gary

Gary, flying is easy. If you want to go up just pull back on the stick; if you want to go down, KEEP pulling back on the stick . Hey, you think flying a 757 without flying lessons is tough, try flying a 737 MAX8, even WITH flying lessons. And BTW guys, they're grounded, so stop trying to book your mother-in-law on one .

chas

Yes Gary I have been remiss in not taking you up on the phone sessions. i really don't want to impose on people, especially friends. Anyway, I'm taking your advice and just setting down and going through the styles one by one to include playing with the parts and using only bass and rhythm. Starting on the first bank and learning that most of the bass part are stuck on the root, playing a rhythmic pattern. I had assumed that the parts would be more complex. Haven't got that far yet. Only on the 2nd page. Will do more later. Spending a lot of time being a caregiver for the wife. She's still in a lot of pain and unable to walk. Operation on March 4th. They're saying it may be 12 to 18 months for nerves to grow back if ever. Not a good prognosis at the least.