I have a friend who has a 5000 with one variation or fill button that doesnt come back...it stays down. What can I tell him has to be done to correct that? Also, I have a song that has numerous chord changes. Is there a better or different way I need to play APC so as to not hear the hesitation when it goes from chord to chord?

Your friends button may need to be replaced,
but not easy to tell by forum.
Too frequently chordchanges is not alway any
good solution on autoaccompaniment keyboards.
You may try to reduse the amount of chords, and
things play just smooth, or better anyway, and
noone will notice if there are missing a eight
or quart or so
GJ

Hi Runner50,

If, by using the word "hesitation", you mean a rapid chord cutoff when changing chords, thus leaving a gap between each chord played, then may I suggest you select the LEFT voice in the sound setting menu, turn on sustain and adjust its length to suit your needs. Chords will then blend together smoothly as you transition from one to the other.

Gunnar's suggestion to use fewer chords is a method I use frequently when faced with too many chords to play and it works great.

Hope this helps.

Chuck

Chuck:

When you play your chords with auto play on, for example, if you hit GBD then went to CEG do you actually lift your 3 fingers off when changing to the next chords or do you leave whatever one may accompany the next chord. I find that the smoothest transition is when I lift off each chord and go to the next.

Would like your opinion...

mike

Hi Chuck and Mike,
I leave the notes that don't change down and just change the finger(s) that are required for the new chord. No hesitation with this method.

This is fine except where you may want to Note Edit the left hand. Here taking the fingers off before each change gives a much clearer display in the edit screen of where the chord changes are, if you want to go in and just correct one mistake in a song.

Agree that chord changes every quarter measure do not usually work unless the backing pattern is very simple, and sometimes chords need to be simplified with a complex backing.

Maybe hesitation has more to do with the timing of the chord change? Are you hitting the chord change just a fraction after the first beat has already started maybe?

Hi:

Please explain "note edit" and a "complex backing". What I have tried to do is hit the chord a fraction of a second before the actual chord comes in to play.

in the sequencer the note edit page provides a piano roll display that is the easiest way to micro edit the odd missed note etc after a performance.
if you change chords by just switching relevant fingers, the whole chord is not represented at the chord change point in the piano roll screen.
say you change from g to g7 just by swapping one finger from d to f.
at the point at which you changed chords, since the g and b notes have been permanently held down, all you see in the piano roll display is a new note of f.
If you lift all fingers before changing chords, at the chord change point you will see 3 new notes of g, b and f.
this is just easier and quicker to find your place in the song when micro editing the odd missed or miss timed chord.

complex backing is variation 4 most of the time. the busier the backing, with the more tracks playing, the worse it tends to sound if you try changing chords every beat, generally speaking, as Gunnar said.

if you are changing chords just before the beat there should not really be any hesitation?

Just a thought runner50 - is the APC being used with the 'MEMORY OFF'? if it is, then the rhythm will of course stop if all keys in the Left hand are released. I could be talking through my hat here !

------------------
Willum

Hi Mike,

Just checked in and I see you asked me a question. Here is the short answer - I always lift my fingers from the keys when changing chords. Now for a more detailed answer. Unlike most keyboardists perhaps, I play all chords in the root position. I like a lot of bass and I like the base to be the root of the chord rather than the fifth or some other note of the chord structure. It just provides a fuller sound and sounds better to my ear. It is a personal choice. It does mean I move my left hand around a lot when, for example, I have to play a Cmaj7, A7, D7, G7, and back to Cmaj7. I've used the more conventional approach, keeping the left hand within a narrow range of keys and playing inversions, but it is not my usual way of playing. Again, as I said, it is all to do with sound rather than ease of playing.

On a different note, Mike. I was stationed east of you at Griffis Air Force Base near Rome, New York in the 1960s. Central New York is beautiful in the summer and Oh so cold in the winter. Never shoveled so much snow in my life!

Happy keyboarding! Chuck

You may want to experiment with Left Part Hold, to see which setting is best for you.