What method do you use when:

1-Decicdng what song to play next. (Different style)
2-How do you find the song?
3-How do you find your keyboard set up?
4-Do you use sets?
John C.

1. Audiance reaction to last song, requests, watch faces of audiaance,
have a small go to list .
2. know your keyboard. You never know what song you will have to play next so set up you keyboard to be able to find it fast.
3 and 4 same answer as 2
MEL

1 Read the room, also take how hard the previous song worked your voice into account. Back to back throat burners not a good idea at my age!
2 & 3 All songs in alphabetical order in one List
4 Don’t use sets. I don’t play dances much, nearly all restaurants, so segues aren’t really necessary.

Mel, nice quick response. You are right about knowing your list and your keyboard. Audience reacting is #1.

Would you tell me more about your system of using both

1-Are you using a lap top or an iPad?
2-Favorite programs or apps?
3-How have you put them together?

Mel, this is another subject I'm using to keep my mind healthy – It may also help others.
Good health, John C.

I use and i pad for words with songbook+ app. I use karoake anywhere for my backup tracks if I need to. 99 percent of my playing is live but sometime you just can't do that with uptown funk for example in that case i play along with karoake track that I transposed into my key with ipad.
My styles are all filed by swing, rock latin,ect. I have some listed as mis . This I use for special songs I also have a show file where my show favorites are stored. My karoake tracks that i play along with are also on songbook on my pa1000 with the key ,and 4 sounds for each song. I can get to a sone just by sececting it and push start. I know what style a song is so I can just go tho that syyle select the song in that catagory and play. Kind of like a mini songbook. works for me

I forgot , on my I pad I have a large amound of my karoake tracks that I usuakky play live. I use this in case something happens to my keyboard or electric goes out I can play and sing with I pad and mic with my bose s 1 pros.
MEL

There are certain rules to follow on song selection. First and foremost, read the room. If you cannot read the room, you will not be successful in this business.

Next, never play a song that cannot be danced to - NEVER! Audience participation is extremely important and keeping a dancefloor packed to capacity is ALWAYS a good thing.

I never use sets, mainly because it makes you performance predictable. This is not what an entertainer should be.

I use Yamaha's Music Finder Directory, in which I programmed nearly 600 songs using onboard and third-party styles. I can select any of those songs within a few seconds, and keep the music flowing, thus eliminating dead time between songs, or at least keeping it to no more than a few seconds.

None of the above is difficult, and being a good entertainer does not require a degree in rocket science - just good old common sense.

Good luck,

Gary

Back when I was working steady I never needed a list but the golden rule of "Read The Crowd" was my guide. Now with so many songs I don't play on a regular basis I make a list for the event and use it as a guide but still follow the Golden Rule. Requests sometimes ruin the "flow" of the room and can take some time to find but I do try to work them in as much as possible.

When I first playing out, we had no music on the bandstand. Later on we had so many new songs I put together three different books. Traditional, Rock, and Ethnic

The last system I used playing out, was an Excel sheet in my lap top; 20 songs in a column, 5 columns. Each column a different category. One click, I had the song -- the song had the style and tempo.
Since the I am using OnSong App. – one swipe gets to the next song.

John C.

I recently got some great info from a player on the Facebook Arranger page on how to connect my BK9 to my Ipad. I tap a song on the IPAD and the correct registration comes up on the BK9. I love it.

That is really fantastic that your iPad and BK9 registration sync up like that. Does anyone know if the Yamaha sx 900 can do that too?

Bill, that's the best. Steve M. had it all worked an a post here in SZ.
John C.

The problem for me is, with my song list getting into the 400’s, there really isn’t any readable display system that puts them ALL up for selecting without the font being too damn small for reading!

So, at some point, you have to winnow it down a bit. My system involves just reading the tunes I’ve added in the last year, and counting on familiarity to remember the rest. I keep a hand written list (all caps!) that gradually fills up as the season progresses, by the end of the season they are pretty much committed to memory.

ButI can also read 8 or ten or so on the display page on my keyboard that I select the songs from, and usually a page or two either way if I’m pulling a blank and something pops off the list that will probably work..!

I seldom play dances any more unless I’m in a live band, so having that trigger ready to pull before the current song ends isn’t quite as big a deal as those that play dancehalls. And, to a certain extent, you can read the room all you like, but you’re going to have to only play the lollipops if you want to please all the people all the time. That’s not really my bag…

Edit: Just to clarify, I’m nor referring to reading a chart of the song, just the raw song list. I might need a bit of help from time to time with lyrics (didn’t really work as a full time singer until the last ten years or so), but somehow the music isn’t a problem! Then again, if I was doing thousands of jazz standards on request, I might need a fake book, but again, that’s not how I roll…🎹

I am using Encore, a music writing system; notes are placed on the staff, one-by-one. I enjoy witting music, it’s in place of the video games. I select a favorite song (36 measures) on one page. I can add pages to the writing. Click on the first song, first page – I have page numbers at the top of the page; click on the one I want. Each page has a different song. On the right of each page has the song title and its number. This is for home play. I’m in the mood of playing some Jewish songs, or some Italian sons, one click on each song and I am off.

The OnSong program displays lyrics and PDF files. I use this in the same manner. The big difference, no mouse, just swiping to the next song. The next song may hold one or more songs – they page will scroll down to the next song.
Both programs allow me to place information on the song – special chord changes and chord substitutions. Special melody lines, and whatever I feel is important.

Now you know how maintain a sensible attitude in these cray times.
Thanks for reading, John C.