With the current excitement of Synthzone members meeting recently, as well as people checking out each others gigs, I thought you guys might be interetested in seeing some stage shots which were taken of me performing (with the Yamaha PSR2000) at the wedding gig I played at last night. Setup was a breeze because I was able to plug into the decent sounding house PA system (JBL Eons).

Checkout my gig performance pics here: http://pbase.com/scottyee/gigshots

I'm also looking forward to seeing gig performance shots from others here as well. Please post and share.

Scott



------------------
http://scottyee.com

Nice pics Scott, by the way, what the heck is that Green thing? Disco light?

Hi Scottyee,

I didn't realise you were based around San Francisco. Its a while ago I was there, but I have very happy memories of it. Are you a 49's fan.

John Romero.

P.S. Interesting to see the Pics.

P.P.S I'm hoping to be out there again possibly next year. Perhaps I could get in on one of your get togethers

Hi Scott,
Nice "Pix`s" > It`s nice to see the Y2K in action. I like the "green-light" even if it is for "disco" set`s. Was that a "tely on a stand" ? Or a "gray colored spkr. pointing in the wrong direction", hahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good to see your having fun with the Y2K.
jedi

Hey Scotty, It that really you in those pictures?????
I guess I just didn't recognize you with your fine threads on and your hair combed.
Now I know why you drive a MERCEDES
Good pictures buddy,
Later dude,
Bebop

Excellent pics Scott!
Love the shades ...and I notice you don't cover the logo on the yammie like you used to on the technics. Also did you fire your 'backing group'? Those cutout dudes were cool.....where did they go?
Looks like you were having a blast anyhow!
Bravo
ttfn
Tony

Great Pics Scott , sure look cool with the shades!




With the SD1 you now own, I think Scottyee might just take you up on that

PS, These Y2K's look so cool for a "budget" keyboard scot, they really do!

J5



[This message has been edited by Jupitar5 (edited 06-22-2002).]

Ewww - A Karaoke moniter in the same shot as a live performer. Yuk!
(Nice of them to make room for you Scott !)

John: here on the east side of the SF Bay, we root for the Oakland Raiders, though there's been rumor that they may be eventually leaving the Bay area. In that case, the 49er's are the Bay Area's football team favorite. John, do let us know when you're in Northern Califoria. It will be a great excuse to have another California synthzone member arranger get toether & jam. Maybe you could use your influence to get Ketron to sell & support the SD1/XD9 in the San Francisco Bay area, as currently (as far as I know), there aren't any retail music stores here carrying them.

TonyW: Yep, I still occasionally take my cut out musicians with me, but I do charge more to include them, and since the client insisted on hiring a DJ too , the backup musicians had to go.

Leave it to UD to offer his ever 'provacative' comments. I REFUSE to host a karaoke show. My part of the deal was to provide live dinner show music entertainment. The revolving green lights, karaoke monitor , and DJ dance was (as customarily) reserved for much later on, after the guests get themselves drunk and crazy . . . thankfully long after I'm gone. At least it's nice feeling to be paid well, and not have to deal with the drunks, and get home at a decent hour too. So far, live musicians and karaoke continue to co-exisit here. - Scott

Scott,

The first thing noticed while looking at your pictures was the high position of your PSR2K in relation to your low seated height, as you should know...when first being taught piano there is an optimum seating height at the keyboard that lends to near effortless constant performance and aids correct fingering and dynamics, your playing position looks uncomfortable to me.

Secondly....a high keyboard placed in front of the player especially when playing full on to the room tends to reduce the performers bodily impact on his/her audience..one question Scott..who is the star of your show...you or the PSR2K.

larigot

ARRANGER ERGONOMICS
How you sit or stand to play not only affects your presentation...but has health consequences.

When performing, I never sit. Before I got the PSR 2000 I used a double keyboard set up with my left hand on the lower board and right hand on the top one. After many chiropractor visits, I saw myself on a video and noticed I was tilting to the left while playing. My chiro said the awkwardness of how I played was causing a mis-alignment that resulted in the pain I was experiencing in my neck and shoulders.

Since using just one keyboard, I think I now stand straighter...and the discomfort I used to feel after a gig has decreased a bunch.
Eddie

Yes,I too was taught not to sit too low (like Glenn Gould), play with flat fingers (like Vladimir Horowitz), or rock my body (like Stevie Wonder), but hey, these guys still seem to make beautiful music.

The pics may not show this clearly, but I'm actually 'standing' most of the time while performing (to maximize diaphramatic breath support for singing). I utilize a 'high' stool primarily to provide body support 'while shifting my weight between' my right and left leg in order to trigger the left/right foot pedal controller. I dunno about you guys, but the keyboard height & playing position I use works best for "ME" ! I experience no back, neck or shoulder pains. Maybe it's because the PSR2000 weighs only 23 lbs.

Believe it or not, I was performing 'standing' mostly, not seated. The 'HIGH' (not low) stool is used primarily to support my balance while switching my weight between left/right foot pedal controllers.



Arranger keyboard playing is NOT the same as playing an acoustic piano. I use the arranger to accompany my vocal performance. I use my LH to trigger the chords, provide the rhythmic pulse, and possibly add some occasional 1 or 2 note chromatic or melodic fills, while my right hand provides the upper structure chord comping: voicing extensions or alterations (9,b9,#9 13, #11, etc) and fills, and play the melody & soloing. The PSR2000's super light non-weighted action requires a radically different approach to playing than a traditional acoustic piano. Coming from a long background of playing acoustic piano, switching to a synth action was one of life's ultimate challenges for me, but once I realized I HAD to conqueor this, or give up performing altogether, the answer became clear. Lugging around a heavy 80 lb + kb gave me back and resultant hand/finger injuries and was no longer an option. I spent many frustrating weeks learning to re-adjust my playing style to accomodate the ultra light action of my first synth (Korg 01W) , but thankfully, I now proudly proclaim success because I now feel pretty much at ease switching between a fully weighted acoustic grand action to what appears to be the lightest flimsy keyboard action of ever: the Yamaha PSR2000 ! The difference between the way you play & sound on a synth action arranger & an acoustic grand may be different, but both can produce very musically satisfying results . . . And THAT's what COUNTS!



I'm certainly not worried about being upstaged by my keyboard. Who's the star?.... ME, ME, ME, of course ! ....

Scott

Scott:
I, too, enjoyed reviewing your gig pics and would pose a couple of questions. First, when playing a live dinner show, as you stated, are you front and center "the show" while folks are dining and conversing--i.e., you have their full attention or, are you providing background music to add to the ambiance of the event? Secondly, as a vocalist, too, do you ever use lyric cheat sheets, or is everything committed to memory? Just curious.
Larry

Scott,
One of the speakers seems to be located just behind you and behind the microphone. This is a situation that tends to drive a lot of feedback. Didn't you have problems with it?

-- José.

I'm rather surprised over all the detailed analysis & critique given to my recent gig shots. I posted my pics to encourage the rest of you out there (as well) to post pictures taken at your gigs too. So . . . let's see 'your' pics.

Matias: I luckily had no problems whatsoever with feedback from the speaker behind me. I was using my EV 757 dynamic cardoid mic and it never once picked up feedback. Actually, if any feedback were to occur (and it did'nt) it probably would have first come from the PSR2000's onboard speakers because the mic was situated much closer to these.

J.Larry: I was hired to provide the evening's dinner show music, in addition to 3 other acts: singer/guitarist (cocktail hour entertainment), a dance act (after dinner presentation), and DJ'ed dance music (later on). Whether a show remains just background entertainment or stands out as full blown show depends on how you choreograph it. As an entertainer, it's our job sense the 'feel' of the room and the mood of the audience. Once you know this, it up to you to direct where 'you' want to take it. Depending on the type of gig, I will (or not) use cheat sheets. For a casual, cheat sheets are fine, but for a successful solo 'show', it's definitely a distraction (not recommended). Generally, by the time the guests sit down for dinner, they have already intermingled & chatted during the cocktail hour, so by the time they're eating, they're ready to be 'entertained'. My first opening song (Big Band medley which included 'It Had to Be You', held complete audience attention, and then I shifted mood providing more mellow sounds (latin bossa etc), giving them a chance to focus on eating & relating
with friends again. I then bring them back with an audience participation tune which firmly cements their attention back for the rest of the set, allowing me to command full attention again, presenting a couple of classic ballads including: "I'll Be There" (classic Jackson 5 hit), and then finished off my show with the audience at the palm of my hands demanding an encore. It's all about pacing. The key to successful entertainment requires staying in touch with the energy of the room, and knowing how & when to move the audience.

An important thing I want to emphasize about gigging is that it 'requires' a lot of flexibility & adaptability because every gig brings a different set of unexpected circumstances. For this particular gig, I was hired to provide dinner show music entertainment. Part of the deal was that I could plug into the DJ's sound system, saving me the trouble (& saving them $) of having to bring my PA system. It was also clearly understood that I would be situated center stage during my performance. As it went, I ended up arriving (15 minutes prior to showtime) to find the DJ had already setup his equipment center stage. I could have easily created a scene and insisted he move his karaoke equipemnt stage left while I performed, but I'd also risk alienating him and he surely could have easily ruined my show by messing with the PA system settings etc. Though I wasn't positioned center stage, everything turned out well. The DJ went the extra mile to monitoring & maintain my sound levels throughout my entire showset. This included insuring the speaker behind me never caused feedback. I definitely would have never been able achieve & maintain the sound quality (while performing) that he could. In the end, both the audience & my client were happy with my performance, and even included a generous tip to express their appreciation.

Whew, I hope this answers all your questions. In the meantime, I hope others of you will post & share your gig shot pics too, so we can all critique and analysize YOUR pictures too death now too.

Scott


[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 06-23-2002).]

Hi Scott

I too enjoyed the pictures. That's a sturdy looking keyboard stand. What kind is it? It looks like your microphone boom stand is connected to the keyboard stand. Is that correct?

Scott Langholff

Scott,
I think you are confusing criticism with observations, obviously if you personally post pictures of yourself and your performing environment then people are going to take interest in what catches their eye be it posture, equipment or peripherals, I would have thought that was the main reason for sharing your most glorious moments with the forum or were we just to look and admire without passing comment.

larigot

PS, Are the dark glasses for the benefit of the IRS

hi Scott: The keyboard stand is a Quik Lok Monolith, model M-91. What I really like about it is because its rock solid (no bounce like the X type stands tend to exhibit ). The Monolith's revolutionary shape allows unencumbered floor space so foot controlers are easily accessed (including the rather large Yamaha MFC10, if desired) without restrictions. The stand (23 lbs) also folds completely flat and can sit at the bottom of the trunk of my car, taking up hardly any space at all, as its only 1-1/4" thick. My mic (mounted to an AKG mic boom) is attached to a separate portable mic stand. Unfortunately, as far as I know, the Monolith KB stand has no provision to connect a mic boom or stand directly to it.

For those quicky type nursing home/senior center gigs, I still take the cheapo X stand, but when I want to stand up while performing, nothing beats the Quiklok Monolith M-91.

hi Larigot: I really do welcome comments but I guess I didn't realize how 'in depth' the observations & analysis would become. I agree with you that keyboard height, as well hand & body playing position are important. I just felt that some of your observations were a bit off because I was not seated low, but actually standing & half sitting (on the stool). As far as the keyboard height position, after experimenting with different heights, this felt 'most comfortable' for me and certainly didn't seem to block my view of the audience or them of me either.

Larigot, Please post a picture of yourself playing your keyboard to give us an example of what you think the proper keyboard height and standing/sitting position should be. They say a pic is worth a thousand words, so do you have gig shots of yorself at the keyboard to share with us?

- Scott

Scott,

You will have to let me know at what instrument you wish to see me seated at as I perform on all keyboard based media from the
Piano thru Synth's, Arrangers, Multi-Keyboards, Theatre & Classical Pipe Organs.

Scott, if you've ever played or sat at a Theatre or Classical organ you would notice that your playing postion is dictated by the placing of the manuals but generaly organ consoles are built taking posture into account as there are times when playing for long periods are called for, as a rule I always try and keep a straight back while playing and when possible I keep my elbows slightly higher than my hands.

Scott, your style of act suggest's to me that you do not perform for very long periods at a time although I would not class you in the 'Take the money and run' school of entertainers and I hope you will admit to not being of that denomination. I regularly play at various hotels from 6pm till 12am on piano and even with good posture I still get back ache and I work as a part time fitness instructor with a good level of health so Scott beware or one day it could be a trip to the chiropractor for you my friend.

Another 'OBSERVATION' I made about your PSR2K setup was the configuration of your audio outs, from what I can see you have one lead in the 'main' out jack and one in the 'secondary' audio out, if this is the case then can you explain the reason for this, perhaps I'm seeing it wrong, incidentaly I do own a PSR2000 along with various other keyboards although none of them can replace my fine three manual custom made house pipe organ, I expect that instrument would frighten you to death Scott, tell you what I'll do! I'll post a picture of myself play that for you.

larigot

Good Shots Scott
Yeah, I was wundrin' about the feedback from the monitor too.
No problems???
I use a single Peavey "Impulse" at keyboard level, mounted on a mic stand. It's in your face but small enough so as not to be obstructive.
Again...Good Shots.

I'm first to admit that I have no experience or background as an organ player. I'm a vocalist who plays the keyboard primarily to accompany my singing. I realize elbows positioned slightly higher than the hands is prefered, and it's more the position my keyboard is at when I'm actually 'standing' up straight! For that particular wedding gig I only had to perform a 45 minute dinner set. I used to play those long 5-6 hour per night gigs too. For them, I definitely need to be seated and positioned similar to the way you described. Also, if I was in charge of handling the music for the entire night, I would have surely supplied my own PA setup as well, and run it stereo thru my EV & Bose PA systems. I really appreciated how easy this gig was, as I only had to walk in carrying my lightweight PSR2000 in one hand, and the KB stand in the other. Life's good to me. Ok ladies & gentleman , the Scott Yee Roast is now officially over. I now wanna see gig pics from the rest of you out there. Batter up. - Scott

Here goes...I hope this works, 'cos I not exactly a computer genius.
4 shots from latest Wedding Gig
http://sh-boom.freehomepage.com/photo.html

Leon, you did it right. Good photos.
Scott, I have a new gig. A friend of mine opened a lounge in the Atrium of a large motel. We built a piano bar out of an old grand piano shell. The piano keybed, in fact all of the soundboard and strings has been removed. We sit the PSR2000 where the keys used to be.
The best part is, he also has a 2000. All I have to do is show up, sit down and start work.
I'll try to post some pictures soon.
DonM

Hi Leon: Thanks a lot for sharing your gig shots. The Korg T3 is certainly a great classic synth workstation. Knowing you're a long time contributor to the arranger forum, I was rather surprised that you still don't own an arranger type keyboard yet . . . (or do you?). Can I assume that all your backup arrangements were pre-sequenced on your Korg T3? I used to gig this way, playing a Korg 01/WFD, before going the arranger kb route. The big advantage of arranger kb playing for solo gig work is the spontaneity & flexibility it provides, such as playing an additional chorus 'on the fly' (if audience mood dictates), or playing & triggering chord substitions and/or moving into another song or groove, at will. All this gives you the freedom to deliver a more 'live' & exciting performance than 'playing-along' with pre-sequenced material, because you are in control of everything (including the backup accomp parts and where they lead to) in 'real' time . I encourage you to consider an arranger keyboard as a future keyboard performance option. What style/type of music do you perform? It would be great if you could post a sample of your music (MP3 format) on your website. Thanks. - Scott

------------------
http://scottyee.com

hey Don,
Congratulations on your new upcoming gig venue. Your new venue setup is a very popular approach used by many club owners. I played a piano bar that used the exact same design configuration, except that the keyboard used was a Technics PR digital piano which included arranger functions. In fact, that was where I got my first exposure to an arranger (7 years ago). Don, look forward to seeing your gig shots. - Scott

LEON ,

Nice gig pics, and that KB brings back alot of memories of my old KORG M1 hooked to a Roland RA 90 arranger module.

Don M,

Way to go, congrats on your new gig. Sounds like a fun time. take some pics to show us ok?

Dnj

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 06-25-2002).]

Scott:
Thanx for the comments.
I use sequence, stored on disc, load them up and sort them prior to the set. For spontaneous or special requests, i utilize my Roland R8 as accompanyment and play either keys or guitar along with it.
Quick & Dirty & works for me.
Glad the pics made it thru okay.
Good luck in your future gigs.
Everybody out there....Have a great summer and thanx for all your help over the years.

Oh - My Gosh ! ALL the popups in that site - what a nightmare. I was redirected at least 6 times in 15 seconds. I hate forced advertising.......but good luck with your new studio setup, Leon !

Yeah I didn't like the popups either. I can't believe anybody would actually buy anything from a pop-up ad. Evidently someone does or they wouldn't be so popular.
DonM

Nice pics Scott

What are the 5 wires coming out of the back or ur PSR2K?

I usually have 2 (output, and electricity)

Mosiqaar,
Sometimes 'even I' forget out what goes from what to what. zap ! Let's see now, for that particular gig: two are for the 2 separate foot controlers, one's for the audio (mono signal), another for the mic, and the last to provide the juice (AC). Does 'that' add up to 5? - Scott

Thanks Scott, but tell me is it the Mic input or output in the back? This is one thing I wish to have on my X1 is a seperate Mic output, so I can control it seperately on the mixer, but I don't, so I have to adjust things to where my voice sounds good but also my keyboard sounds good, and one has to sacrifice for the other (usually the keyboard does the sacrifice )

Mosiqaar, the Yamaha PSR2000 not only includes a Mic input jack (1/4"), but also a mic (trim) knob to control the signal level coming in. On the other hand, the 2000 does not include a 'separate' mic output. I can easily adjust the mic level (vocals) & the keyboard's internal sounds (auto accomp, main, left, layer parts) separately, via the 2000's internal mixer buttons. I would expect you should be able to do the same thing on the X1, so I'm rather surprised to hear you report that you aren't able to do it. - Scott

The X1 allows you to route the mic output to a separate jack if you have the harmonizer board installed. At least that's how I remember it ....some two or three years ago.
Boy - it's been a long time since I had one!
Maybe the XD9 will RElight my fire....who knows. Tuesday night I played a straight acoustic piano bar - no gimmics at all. That's alot of work on my little pinkies! My left hand really got a workout THAT night.
Still....it was refreshing in some ways. The simple arrangement of vocal and piano - nice sound.
Anyway - check out the mic routing, I'm pretty sure I'm right about this.

Uncle Dave, what songs did you play that night and what type of acoustic piano comping techniques did you use: lots of walking (octave) bass lines, especially for those uptempo funky groove tunes right? I totally agree that nothing beats the sound of an acoustic piano & vocal combo, especially for those classic standards & ballads, but for rock & uptempo ryhthmic (drums) driven tunes it can be difficult to pull off with just the piano/voice alone. I can definitely feel for how your left hand felt after that night's acoustic set. I've 'been there'. Ouch! I now realize how spoiled I've become after discovering/playing arranger boards. Hey, life's Grand, even on an arranger - Scott

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 06-27-2002).]

I opened with "In my life"(Beatles) then I played "Summer Highland Falls" & "New York State Of Mind"(Billy Joel), and since I had a Hawaiian shirt on I did a medley of "Come Monday, Pirate looks at 40 and Margaritaville" for all the Parrot-heads.

After that ... it's a blur, but I remember doing the standard barroom sing-a-long stuff like Sweet Caroline, Build Me Up Buttercup, Brown Eyed Girl.... you know the drill.

Some standards that I remember playing were "Polkadots & Moonbeams",
"The Nearness of You", "All My Tomorrows"(and TONS more Frank ... it was an Italian place)

It was mostly a typical pianobar gig - no REAL rock & roll, some brodway tunes like:
"The Last Night Of The World"(Saigon),
"I Dreamed A Dream"(Le Miz), and
"Music Of The Night"(Phantom)
Then a few lighter fares like:
"People Will Say We're In Love"(Oklahoma)and
"If I were A Bell"(Guys & Dolls)
Both played in a more swing style than the play versions. I walk the bass sometimes on an acoustic too, because my left hand is almost worthless as a "real" chording hand. I play lots of I-V-I blocks with my left to add fullness and bass to the chords. I am always thinking BASS first, then the chords follow. Keeps me centered.
Add a handfull of Gershwin, Porter and Kern and you pretty much have the night. I only did three sets, but it was a nice change of pace. The piano was a 40 year old Knabe or something like that. It was OK, better than average .... but the glissando's KILLED my fingers. Plastic really spoils you fast !
The response was good, but the other guys that work that room really feature the guest singers, so I may not get called back - I'm not into the amature hour that much. In moderation, I can deal with it, but I can't handle a whole night of "Watch ME" from the peanut gallery. People are paying a premium for entertainment ... it should come from a professional, and not out of a bottle.

Anyone have new Pics?

Hi Scott.

Thanks for sharing the Pics.
Nice Raimbow Butterfly

Cheers
Armando

Scott...thanks for sharing. If it works for you...you're getting paid and having fun,
keep on 'keepin on'

Russ

Armando & Russ, that shot of me was taken quite a while back (June 2002), when I was gigging with the PSR2000. I can hardly believe (in Dec 2004) that I'll have been performing on the Yamaha Tyros for TWO YEARS! How's that for keyboard model loyalty? It's really amazing how time flies!

Here's a more recent shot (2/2004) of me performing with the Tyros :



[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 10-27-2004).]

U.D. is correct. You can route the microphone out a seperate output on the X1.

Tom

Thanks for the showing the pics.... and the information. You wrote:



This is an interesting idea, but you can only do it like that if you are singing and not when playing a solo, right? Then you have to use your left hand alone for the chords and that can be hard sometimes.

------------------
drdalet

Hi Scott, it seemed to me the comments about your posture were made out of love and care for you, not criticism.

I retired from the corporate world 2 years ago and took a position here in FL playing keyboard at church. From playing maybe 2 hrs a week, I suddenly started playing 20 hours, and ended up with tennis elbow, which has been plaguing me now for 18 months. One of the contributing factors was said to be that I had the keyboard too high. So just be careful!!

------------------
Graham

True. It's always reassuring to be reminded what a loving and caring group of friends I have here, and one the reasons I've hung tight with SZ folks for so long (over 5 years)

Graham, you're absolutely right that proper keyboard height is VERY IMPORTANT to avoid injury. You'll notice that I do heed advice, as my more recent pictures (performing on the Tyros) have me situated at a more approriate position.

Scott