In my opinion... without bass... there is emptiness.

I was brought up as an accordionist.. Left hand bass was a necessity.

And when I went to organ, pedals and left hand bass was still a must.

When we started to use synths (keyboards). You had to use a keyboard for left hand bass, or you weren't doing it right

I was taught with a strong background in chord structure, and it was natural to me .. playing left hand bass.

My left hand knew where my right hand was going, and both hands listened to the drums/ drum machine.

I don.t even need to think about left hand, it is almost automatic for me.. Any key feels normal.

When I play arranger keyboard today, I usually turn off arranger and play trio type stuff (left hand bass, piano, drums.).

Sometimes I will add the auto bass, and/or guitar part of a style.

For you guys that seem to struggle with left hand bass... you are thinking too hard.. listen to what bass players are playing.. listen to your drums, and feel the bass working within your chord structure..

Yes, because you know, it's all about dat ..................... hmmmm, forgot what I was going to say. Damn.

Fran wrote..."When I play arranger keyboard today, I usually turn off arranger and play trio type stuff (left hand bass, piano, drums.).
Sometimes I will add the auto bass, and/or guitar part of a style.
In my opinion... there is emptiness"

To me that sounds like emptiness ...what is the sense of playing an arranger KB if you shut off most of it's parts?..
What type of music scenario room is being played with just bass,drums, piano, alone ?....
lounge, restaurant, cocktail hour,?.....
what happens when people want to dance, or hear more pop uptempo tunes with vocals, etc, etc,..?
And how does the younger generation in today's music atmosphere embrace LH bass...?

Russ, what a beautiful explanation, you have heart my friend, thank you.

Tony, I spent a lot of time with midi accordion players, who did not play UUM PAH PAH. I am not sure I heard walking bass, but the sound was beautiful.

We set the accordion midi --- Bass button to lower vibes, Bass chords to mid vibes, and right hand to the higher vibraphone sound. He was then I vibraphone player -- and I never heard a better sounding Vibraphone; and it was not just the quality of the sound module.

John C.

Donny, you know as well as anyone - you fill the room with whatever the room is calling for - THAT'S the beauty of playing an arranger ...

Tony that may be true ....but sadly look around at live venues today not an arranger in sight......somewhere along the line things are certainly changing for the next generation and who can blame them......us old timers used what we had and now the next generation is embracing the technology they can use that we didn't have ...
Nothing wrong with that but to try an pawn it off to them is fruitless in many ways out of stubbornness, reluctance to change, or whatever...
Trying to get the younger generation today to play arranger KB is almost as bad as trying to get them into accordion. For example the Grammy's are coming on TV and watching a commercial the other day hardly knew or ever heard of 95% of who was going to perform on the show.. We'll just have to accept the changes around us musically and either absorb what is useful for us and our needs or just block it all out put blinders on,and continue in you own musical world and enjoy playing the way you do which works for me ..

Organs were fantastic, then people turned away from them and bought keyboards. They hated organs, and they loved keyboards???? Well how can you take an organ on a job? I did, I took the top part of a Wersi organ, which was removable, to my job.
Played at PGA National, the loved it.

Now it is arranger keyboards and work stations. Change is necessary for the young generation; there are very few that want to be just like Dad. The younger generation is filled with energy, life, a desire to be better than, a desire to grow, which is healthy. Music has changed, clothes have changed, values have changed, the list is long. This is not wrong, I did it to my father, and he did it to his father.

If you are working gigs/jobs, you should have what is needed. I fully agree. Give some thoughts of what you have given up to fit WHAT IS NEEDED. Reasons; dollars, the love of being out there, and there is more.

Since I became a home player, my love of music has grown. My playing is my happy time. It changes my mood, it gives me things to think about, it’s my toy, and now it is my new toy, a Sx900. This keyboard has brought pleasure, joy, it is a fantastic keyboard – The bigger picture; this keyboard came when I needed something, and it does what I want. IT FITS MY NEEDS. Be true to yourself.

If you are working jobs, buy what fits the needs of the jobs, it is the best way to go. There will be a time when you will reject the new, and you will know when it happens to.

I’m preaching again, it’s me, John C.

You are out of touch

You can turn parts of a style off, by design.. That is why we prefer arrangers... a matter of ease..

Try doing quick set ups on a workstation, and you can see why we use arrangers.

There is not emptiness with bass, piano and drums,,, Emptiness will only be from the player.

As for full out arranger parts playing... not me, I don't want that fake sound. And as a player, will not impress anyone (talk about a turn off to younger players).

If you ever look on the dance floor when young folks dance... they are hearing Bass and Drums... not any of the 2 chords and sounds … and the vocals (give me a break).

Like I said I prefer to use a basic trio set up ( and keep it real).


I wonder if millennial musicians will be here at SZ , when they retire, and what will the discussions be

Let me me understand this ......
when you play all parts it's a FAKE sound....
but when you mute parts and leave just Auto Drums, Bass
it's NOT fake sound anymore?...
No wonder DJ's now rule the roost ...
Ok back to playing fake music on my Roland EA7