"Arranging" with an Arranger Keyboard

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"Arranging" with an Arranger Keyboard

Postby Hugh-AR » 04 Jan 2021 00:59

"Arranging" with an Arranger Keyboard

Before setting off on the journey of reading this, you may like to listen to what it is I have been "Arranging" with an Arranger Keyboard.

Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab.
http://www.tierce-de-picardie.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=474&t=9483

When I first had my Tyros 4 the objective was to turn it on and play it. This is what I would do too if sat in front of a piano, or an organ. Arranger keyboards are characterized by their automatic accompaniment styles, which are essentially multi-part MIDI riffs that follow your chord changes, adding not just a drum beat but several virtual musicians worth of backing band as well. So your Arranger Keyboard allows you to hold off calling other musicians in to form a band because you have everything you need right at your fingertips.

But with an 'Arranger' keyboard you can also think ahead of what you want your keyboard to do. Yes, those automatic accompaniment styles may very well have everything in them that you want to hear, and it is possible to just 'play' something just at the press of a button. But if you are creative with your music and know what you want your keyboard to do, are those 'default' sounds you are given by Yamaha exactly what you want to hear? In this topic I am going to explain how I have gone about 'Arranging' my Arranger Keyboard and get it to do what I want it to do.

The song I want to play is Theme from A Summer Place. I want to play it in C and am using this basic chord progression for playing it ..

C - Am - F - G7.

I have listened to Henry Mancini playing it on YouTube and have realised there is a key change to A near the end of it, so these chords will become ..

A - F#m - D - E7.

This is a Waltz, so what choices do I have for a Waltz on my Tyros 4? Not a lot!

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Listening to Slow Waltz on VARIATION B, that will suit me .. with a few adjustments! This is after all an 'Arranger' Keyboard!

At the end of the following 'adjustments' there is an MP3 for you to listen to, so make a mental note of what I am doing. Probably the most difficult one to hear is where I change the BASS Voice as this is a very subtle change.

1. The 'default' TEMPO is 90bpm. Far too slow! So I have pressed the TEMPO button ..

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.. and increased this to 165.

2. Next, listening to what I have now I do not want to hear that 'string' sound in the backing.

The STYLE is made up of 'PARTS': RHYTHM 1, RHYTHM 2, BASS, CHORD 1, CHORD 2, PAD, PHRASE 1 and PHRASE 2. If you press the CHANNEL ON/OFF button ..

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.. you will see the PARTS listed on the screen, and they will say ON or OFF under each one.

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By pressing the bottom data control buttons (arrows) under the screen (numbered 1 to 8 ) ..

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.. you can turn these to OFF. This bottom button is a 'toggle switch' so pressing it again will turn it back ON (and equally, if it was OFF to start with then pressing that bottom button will turn it ON).

If you turn all the Channel PARTS to OFF and check them out individually, one at a time, you will hear what is in each PART. Those STRINGS I didn't like are in PAD, so I turned that to OFF.

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3. Now that those noisy strings have been switched OFF in PAD, I can hear a guitar playing a little 'ditty', and I don't want to hear that either. This is in CHORD 1 so I have turned that to OFF too.

You can turn any STYLE PARTS to OFF this way, so whenever you choose a STYLE for a song you should always check out what those members of your band are actually playing and turn the ones that are a bit 'over the top' to OFF.

4. Listening to that BASS playing, I reckon that it is a bit thumpish and short. You can change the instrument playing any PART, so I'll see if I can find a better sounding VOICE for my BASS. To change the instrument playing a PART you start with the same screen showing the Channel PARTS ON/OFF, but this time you press the top data control button (arrow) under the screen (numbered 1 to 8 ) for the PART you want to change.

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Immediately up on screen comes the VOICE currently chosen, and you will see at the top of the screen the Title is VOICE (REVOICE) .. so we're on the right track! For Slow Waltz the instrument playing is Acoustic Bass.

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I have listened to all the other BASS Voices and reckon the best one is MiniSub. It plays a longer note, and is a bit deeper and clearer as to which note is being played .. but as I said earlier, you really have to concentrate to notice the difference. But for me, it was worth doing as I do like to hear a good BASS.

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The MP3 of all this for you to listen to will be in a couple of REPLIES further down, as there is one more thing I have to do. To add my own PART with a 'Repeating Piano' into the backing.
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Re: "Arranging" with an Arranger Keyboard

Postby Hugh-AR » 04 Jan 2021 18:57

Next step is for me to program a PART into the STYLE to customise it for the piece I want to play. You may have seen videos of a demonstrator creating a STYLE from 'scratch'. They proceed to lay down the drum part, then a guitar part etc. Why would anyone want to do that? Bet they don't have a particular song in mind for the Style they are creating. They are just trying to impress you with a rhythm they are programming in, and no doubt are going to compose a piece of music from scratch too? On our Arranger Keyboards we do have quite a selection of STYLES we can use, so the trick is to find one that is the closest to what you want and make 'adjustments' to it to suit the song you are playing.

I have already mentioned above that you can listen to the component PARTS in a STYLE and set them to ON or OFF. And you can change the 'instrument' being played in a PART, as I have done with my BASS voice above. But you can also change the VOLUMES of the individual PARTS to get a better balance of what you are hearing. Maybe one PART is too dominant; or one could do to be a bit louder. We wouldn't dream of playing a melody using a saxophone that was so quiet you couldn't hear the melody; or so loud you couldn't hear the band accompanying you. We all have to be 'recording engineers' to a certain extent and make adjustments to get the balance right.

You can look at the VOLUMES of the MAIN setup by pressing the BALANCE button .. but you can't get at the STYLE PARTS this way. Instead, press the MIXING CONSOLE button as from this one you can gain access to all the volumes.

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By default, you get this screen, where you can alter the volumes of the MAIN setup, as you can with the BALANCE button:

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You have probably used this screen to change the Volumes of R1, R2, R3 or LEFT to get the volumes you want, but what about STYLE and MULTI PAD?

What you may not have realised with the MIXING CONSOLE button is that there are 4 different screens and you keep pressing the button to scroll through them.

Press it a second time and you get the screen for the VOLUMES of the individual STYLE PARTS.

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You can change the volumes of these by pressing the DATA arrows under the screen numbered 1 to 8, or using the sliders.

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Re: "Arranging" with an Arranger Keyboard

Postby Hugh-AR » 05 Jan 2021 23:45

Before moving on I would just like to go back to something I said earlier. A STYLE is made up of PARTS and you can turn any of these Parts to OFF if you don't want them in your backing. Listen to this STYLE, which is Charleston. The song is For Me And My Gal, and this first LINK is just the INTRO. Listen to and make a mental note of the BRASS instruments coming in in the backing. I have repeated this INTRO so you can hear it again. Sounds good in the INTRO as the BRASS is a prominent feature of it ...

Click the below to listen.
Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab.
INTRO bars for Me And My Gal

... but ... do I really want this backing PART to continue like this once I start playing the melody?

I have identified that this PART is in PHRASE 2. In this next recording I have kept the BRASS in PHRASE 2 ON for half a verse so you can hear how the brass really interferes with the melody. Don't want that! So for the second half of the verse I have turned the BRASS in PHRASE 2 to OFF. You can now hear the melody without it being interrupted.

Click the below to listen.
Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab.
A verse of For Me And My Gal, first with PHRASE 2 .. and then without.

The moral of this story is turn PARTS that are a bit over the top to OFF, not necessarily for the whole piece, but certainly for parts of it, or the same continuous repeated sound will start to grate on the ear.
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Re: "Arranging" with an Arranger Keyboard

Postby Hugh-AR » 10 Jan 2021 21:44

Back to the STYLE for Theme from A Summer Place.

Next. Changing a STYLE PART (Channel). Both the Percy Faith and Henry Mancini versions of this tune have a repeating piano in the backing, and the Slow Waltz on my Tyros 4 doesn't have this in any of the VARIATIONS. Listen to the below to hear what I am wanting to have in my Waltz Style.

Theme from a summer place (Percy Faith version)



On any Yamaha keyboard you can programme in your own STYLE PART, and this is how you do it.

First select the STYLE you want to change. And I have got VARIATION B highlighted.

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The STYLE is made up of 'PARTS': RHYTHM 1, RHYTHM 2, BASS, CHORD 1, CHORD 2, PAD, PHRASE 1 and PHRASE 2. In order to create a 'new' PART we first have to DELETE one of the existing PARTS (so we have to replace it) so best to listen to all the PARTS and decide which one we are not going to want to use and can therefore DELETE it. Press the CHANNEL ON/OFF button.

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The STYLE PARTS (Channels) will show on the screen.

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By pressing the appropriate bottom data control buttons (arrows) under the screen (numbered 1 to 8 ) ..

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.. turn all the PARTS to OFF. Then by pressing the bottom data control buttons under the screen again, turn each one to ON one at a time and listen to what is playing in that PART. To listen to the PARTS in turn you will have to have the ACMP button ON so it is lit up orange, ..

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.. activate the SYNC START,

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.. and play a chord. Then turn each PART ON/OFF in turn.

Click the below to listen to what is in each PART (in VARIATION B). There is nothing at all in the following PARTS: RHYTHM 1; PHRASE 1; PHRASE 2. So what you hear is RHYTHM 2; BASS; then CHORD 1; CHORD 2; PAD.

Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab.
Slow Waltz PARTS .. RHYTHM 2; BASS; then CHORD 1; CHORD 2; PAD.

First, a word about these names CHORD 1, CHORD 2, PAD, PHRASE 1, PHRASE 2. These words are for your benefit .. to enable you do identify quickly and turn OFF any PARTS you don't want to hear. So when you are programming something of your own into one of these it doesn't make any difference which one you choose to do it in. You can't program chords/notes into the RYYTHM section (why would you want to?); and it's best keeping the BASS PART for the BASS. So you takes your pick with the others.

In this STYLE, there is nothing in PHRASE 1 .. so I may as well use that for my Repeating Piano. If I did have to DELETE one of the other PARTS I think I would have chosen PAD as I don't like that at all!

Another thing to note. We are about to program something into a PART in MAIN B. What we put in will only apply to MAIN B. Whatever is in the other VARIATIONS will remain as they were. But ...

... please note that the PART VOICES allocated are the same across all 4 VARIATIONS. What I am saying is that if we change a voice in one of the PARTS (Channels) then the change will apply to all 4 VARIATIONS. With a different instrument, these PARTS will sound different. So we cannot eg; have a GUITAR playing the PART in CHORD 2 in VARIATION B; and TROMBONES playing the PART in CHORD 2 in VARIATION C.
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Re: "Arranging" with an Arranger Keyboard

Postby Hugh-AR » 21 Jan 2021 00:21

So we have the STYLE selected. In MENU press the DIGITAL RECORDING button.

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You will see these three options:

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The one we want is STYLE CREATOR, so press that. This is what we see on the screen.

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Let's check a few thing out before we start.

Right at the top it says STYLE CREATOR:Slow Waltz. That's the one!

Underneath it (in 1) says SECTION:MAIN B. That's good. We had it set on VARIATION B and that is what it has put in.
Then PATTERN LENGTH:4
    This is the number of bars before the backing PART repeats itself (sometimes called the 'Measure'). Now this could be tricky as when we program in our 'notes/chords' we have to fill the 'measure'. Mustn't stop what we are recording before the end of the measure; and mustn't record beyond the end of the measure (or you will get double notes playing).
In 2 it shows the TEMPO set up, which is 165.
    *Note:* When you are setting up a STYLE PART you don't have to have the TEMPO set at the speed the song is playing at. If you move down to 2 you can change the TEMPO to something a bit slower if you find it easier to do that when playing your 'PART'.
I normally like to have the TEMPO running at the correct speed when I am putting notes into a Style PART. I would normally have the Rhythm ON; Chord 1 ON; and Chord 2 ON. Then I can get 'into the groove' when I am playing notes. But Den pointed out to me that I could also have the METRONOME switched on and this would add that bit extra to enable me to keep to the beat. Note that although you can hear the METRONOME it does not form part of the recording (obviously!).

Slight diversion. Not only is there a METRONOME, but there is also a BELL, which sounds on the first beat of the bar. Now this is very useful when creating a PART in a STYLE because although the Metronome is very useful for 'keeping to the beat', how do you know how many bars (measures) you have played? By counting the 'bells' you can work out exactly where in the measure you are. Now as I already have my Tyros 4 set up so I can use both the Metronome and the Bell, if you haven't done this you would find it helpful to have all this available if you want to try using STYLE CREATOR or MINI PAD CREATOR.

In the MENU, press the FUNCTION button.

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You will get this screen.

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Press UTILITY and you will get this next screen, with CONFIG 1 at the top.

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On the left, move down one layer so that the second block is selected (2). By pressing the appropriate buttons under the screen you can change the VOLUME of the METRONOME (up to 127 .. I have mine set on 100); and you can turn the BELL to ON.
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Re: "Arranging" with an Arranger Keyboard

Postby Hugh-AR » 22 Jan 2021 23:14

I've probably lost you by taking too many diversions getting here, so I'll remind you of what I am doing. I'm trying to create a new PART (a 'repeating piano') to replace an existing PART in the Slow Waltz VARIATION B STYLE. Where should I put it? I had decided earlier when listening to all the original PARTS in the STYLE that there is nothing in PHRASE 1 so that is the obvious place to put it.

To get into STYLE CREATOR press DIGITAL RECORDING in MENU.

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You then get this screen.

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Then press STYLE CREATOR, and we get this .. which we have checked out.

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The screen above is showing the REC on RHYTHM 2, and we want to record in PHRASE 1.

I had said earlier that any PART we want to record into has to have the original Yamaha PART DELETED.
How do you do this?

Press and HOLD the DELETE on the right of the screen and you will see the following. Note the word DELETE above each PART.

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To DELETE a PART (CHANNEL), whilst still holding that DELETE button on the right (if you let it go, those words DELETE above each PART will disappear) press the top data control button (arrow) under the screen corresponding to the PART you want to DELETE.

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Then let the DELETE button go. As I had decided earlier, and you will see from the screen above, there isn't a Yamaha original 'part' in PHRASE 1, so this time I don't have to do a DELETE.

This next step is how to get into the PART we want to record in. This is similar to what we have just done. Yamaha seem to like this 'press and HOLD' lark in this screen!
Press and HOLD the REC CH (Record Channel) on the right and this time press the bottom data control button (arrow) under the screen of the PART (CHANNEL) you want to record into.

In this case it's PHRASE 1, so press the bottom arrow for 7. Then let the REC button go and you get this.

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You can see that the screen is now set up for recording into PHRASE 1.

Wow! We have got there! Yes?? Not quite! :roll: :roll:

Obviously when we 'record' we have to choose a VOICE to record with. The 'default' is GRAND PIANO .. but we can change this to something else of our choice. The VOICE Style Creator uses is always in R1. The Style Creator program has already set this up (so you don't have to do it). Look over to the right in the PART ON/OFF section and you will see that R1 is already set up.

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.. and the VOICE section has the green light on PIANO.

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Press the PIANO button and you will see the Voice selected.

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If you want another Piano Voice, choose one from P1 or P2.

If you want a completely different Voice, press the UP underneath and you will see this:

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Choose another Folder from P1 or P2, and then select another VOICE to do your recording with.
If you want to make changes to your Voice you can even do that at this stage.
Press the MIXING CONSOLE and you can do all the usual things with Voices, like OCTAVE, REVERB etc.

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When you have selected your VOICE press the EXIT and you will be back to the RECORD screen. There's nothing to say, but when you start your recoding it will be with the VOICE you have chosen.

We're finally there, ready to RECORD something .. in my case a 'repeating piano', and I'll do that in my very next post (promise!). :D :D
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Re: "Arranging" with an Arranger Keyboard

Postby Hugh-AR » 24 Jan 2021 00:43

Here we are, all set up to RECORD, and it's PHRASE 1 that has the REC in it.

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Grand Piano is set up as the VOICE. You can see the Grand Piano icon in the middle of PHRASE 1.

To RECORD into a PART

Press the START/STOP button.

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This flashes, indicating it is ready for you to START your recording. Don't press any notes yet as it will start the recording and catch you by surprise!

*Please Note*.. This START/STOP is a toggle switch. Press it once and it is RECORDING/PLAYING BACK. Press it again and it turns the RECORDING/PLAYBACK to OFF. Press it again and it's ON. Again and it's OFF etc.

With that light flashing in 'ready' mode, turn on the METRONOME.

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This also has the BELL sounding on the first beat of the bar. Also, under the screen I have turned to OFF, BASS, CHORD 2 and PAD. As I said, I like to leave the rhythm playing (and CHORD 1) as this helps me 'keep the beat'. You do this by pressing those bottom buttons under the screen.

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I am going to play a 'repeating piano' for a PATTERN LENGTH of 4, which means playing my chord 'on the beat' 1,2,3; 1,2,3; 1,2,3; 1,2,3 (that is, playing it four times). And what notes should I have in my chord? It must be a C chord, and where you play it will come out in the recording. So I have chosen E3, G3 and C4 played together as a chord (ie. a C major chord with the 'root' on top).

When you're composed and ready (Oh dear, this is where the nerves creep in .. same as when making a recording of a song), listen to the beat (it's in 6/8 time) and on the 1 (when the BELL sounds) hit that chord and play (for 4 bars) C C C, C C C, C C C, C C C.

As this is a Forum and not a magazine, I can actually let you listen to what I am playing and you can hear what it sounds like. I have only played this chord for 4 bars, but in this DEMO I have played the pattern twice so you can listen to it a second time.

Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab.
DEMO of 'Repeating Piano' on the C chord

This is actually quite difficult to get your head round. As a musician, you know the chords are going to end up as C C C, Am Am Am, F F F, G7 G7 G7. This happens when the STYLE follows the chords you are playing in your left hand. But to set up this PART you play the chord of C all the time (really goes against the grain!).

When you reach the end of the four bars playing this C chord you DO NOT press a 'STOP' button. Just leave it playing. The reason why I say this is because after those four bars the pattern will repeat itself. So you can listen to what you have done over and over. When you have heard the result of your efforts, then press the START/STOP button to stop it. If you are happy with what you hear you can proceed. If not, you need to DELETE what you have just done and do it again .. until you get it as you want it.

To do that, press and HOLD the DELETE on the right of the screen.
Note the word DELETE above each PART, and this time there will be a DELETE above PHRASE 1.

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Whilst still holding that DELETE button on the right, press the top button under the screen corresponding to PHRASE 1.

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Then let the DELETE button go.

You are now OK to do that recording again.

Having put this new PART into PHRASE 1 we now have a 'new' STYLE so need to SAVE this and give it a name.

But first, there is something else we can do to the recording in this PART before we SAVE it, which I will explain in my next post.
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Re: "Arranging" with an Arranger Keyboard

Postby Hugh-AR » 25 Jan 2021 22:28

Having completed recording our PART we are still on this screen.

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Note that there isn't a SAVE on this screen for us to 'save' what we have just done. This has to be done further along.

Having created this new 'repeating piano' PART in PHRASE 1, surely there is nothing else we need do before a SAVE?
Well, that all depends.
How good were you at 'keeping to the beat' and playing that piano 'evenly' with the beat? Not 'spot on'? :( :cry:

This SONG CREATOR program can sort that for you and get it 'spot on'.
This is called QUANTIZE.

Looking at the Tabs at the top there is one called CHANNEL. Move along to that, and you get this screen ...

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... with 1 QUANTIZE selected. Just above that it says, CHANNEL:PHRASE1. Yup. That's right. If you wanted to Quantize another PART you can change the CHANNEL (PART) by using the UP/DOWN arrows underneath the screen.

Now comes the difficult bit! For me, at any rate, as I don't 'read the dots'. It's asking you to set the SIZE by pressing the UP/DOWN buttons under the screen. The programme wants to know what time length you want each note to be accurate to, across the board (to get the notes 'evenly spaced'). I chose the note with the 3 'flags' on it (as it was in 6/8 time?) but have since discovered I would have got the same result if I had highlighted the crotchet, or the quaver.

To carry out the QUANTIZE you now press EXECUTE on the left of the screen, and a COMPLETED message will pop up for a few seconds when it has done it.

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Note that where the EXECUTE was, it now says UNDO. You can click that and go back to where you were if you reckon the Quantize has made a mess of it. You now need to listen to exactly what the program has done to what you have played.

To do this ...

I did say that the START/STOP was a 'toggle' ON/OFF switch in this program, so press that ...

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... and you will hear what has been done to your PART. Don't press any notes at this point or it will start recording them! When you have listened, press the START/STOP again to stop it playing. If you're not happy with what you hear, click the UNDO and try a different one.

One that didn't work out for me was the bottom left one, the crotchet with the 3 beside it. Listen to what the programme has done to my repeating piano when I chose this option.

This is what I had played originally:

Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab.
Repeating piano before QUANTIZE.

And this is what this QUANTIZE has done to my recording.

Do a right-click to open this up in a New Tab.
My 'repeating piano' after Quantizing with the bottom left option.

It's made a real mess of it! A clear case for pressing the UNDO!

When you are happy, press the SAVE that is on the right of the screen and give your new STYLE a name. I called mine SummerWALTZ. It has saved it in USER. I would like to point out that all the above is carried out on a COPY of the original STYLE, and your original style remains as it was. If you are trying this out just to see how it all works, you can EXIT what you are doing at any point and confirm that you want to leave without 'saving'.

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*Please Note* - there is no compulsion to QUANTIZE anything you have done. In fact, I usually don't. People say that you shouldn't QUANTIZE things you play because that makes them too computerised and 'regimented'. And if you wanted to do a little 'skip' in your playing, or come in just before the beat, then quantizing what you have played would remove all that. Just SAVE what you have done 'as is'.

Then press the EXIT. You may find that you have to SAVE your work again when you EXIT. Just replace the file you saved before.
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Re: "Arranging" with an Arranger Keyboard

Postby Hugh-AR » 26 Jan 2021 21:17

Below is a DEMO for you to listen to so you can hear the various stages the Slow Waltz STYLE has been through as it has been adjusted for playing Theme from A Summer Place. All these adjustments have been explained from the start of this topic onwards. Make a mental note of each step along the way.

1. The original Slow Waltz STYLE playing at the 'default' of 60bpm (beats per minute).
2. The TEMPO of Slow Waltz increased to 165bpm.
3. The strings in PAD and the guitar playing on the 'off beat' in CHORD 2 have both been turned OFF.
4. The little guitar 'ditty' in CHORD 1 has been turned OFF.
5. Changed the BASS voice from AcousticBass to MiniSub. It's a lot deeper, and clearer. A very subtle change, so you'll have to listen really carefully to hear the difference.
6. Put my 'repeating piano' into PHRASE 1. Note how the chord is changing as I change the chord in my left hand. If you remember, I had played the chord CCC, CCC etc. all the time when programming this part in.

*Note*: Having put my 'repeating piano' into PHRASE 1 I needed to check that the BALANCE of the various PARTS was as I wanted to hear it, which meant getting at the VOLUMES of each PART.

So I pressed the MIXING CONSOLE button twice ..

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.. to I get the STYLE PARTS up on screen ..

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That 'repeating piano' I had put into PHRASE 1 was way over the top (would have drowned everything else out!) so I have put the VOLUME of PHRASE 1 to 40. I have put the BASS to 50, and RHYTHM 2 to 79 (there is no Rhythm part in RHYTHM 1). Remember, I have turned CHORD 1, CHORD 2 and PAD to OFF so it doesn't matter what those volumes are set at.

Here below is the 'balanced' STYLE so you can hear those changes I have made. I do like to hear a LEFT HAND VOICE so have kept one in for this DEMO.

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DEMO of SummerWALTZ 'style'

I have put the resulting STYLE as an Attachment (below), which you are more than welcome to download and use (put it into USER). This is just the STYLE, so basically it is the Slow Waltz STYLE with my 'repeating piano' in PHRASE 1. You won't hear the LEFT HAND VOICE I have included in the DEMO as this is part of the REGISTRATION.
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It's all about the music ♫ ♪ ♫ Organ: Yamaha AR80 & Keyboard: Tyros 4
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Re: "Arranging" with an Arranger Keyboard

Postby Hugh-AR » 27 Jan 2021 22:12

When you look at the technology behind these keyboards I am always amazed at what they can do. You surely didn't think that when I programmed that 'repeating piano' into the PHRASE 1 backing PART that that would be the end of it?

Let's have a look at what we have got. We have programmed in to STYLE CREATOR a 'pattern' based in the key of C, in this case a 'repeating' C major chord (E G and top C .. ie. root on top) and have kept that same chord playing throughout the measure. But when we use the Style for playing something, instead of just playing a C chord all the time the keyboard plays that 'pattern', but based on the chord we are actually playing. I take my hat off to the people who managed to work out how to get our keyboards to do this. Without this happening we would not have a backing band of musicians playing along with us.

But as I said at the start of this post, all is not what it seems, and in reality programming in a PART is a lot more complicated than what we have just done. What are you like at identifying chords when you hear them? I am going to play a selection of chords using the Summer Waltz STYLE.

These are the chords I am going to play with my left hand, and what you are listening to is what the 'repeating piano' is playing.

These are the chords I am going to play.

    C, Caug, Am, C7
    F, Fmaj7, F7, Bb, Bbm
    F, C7, F

In this first DEMO you will hear all the chords above correctly because I have included a LEFT HAND VOICE in my recording and your ear is basically listening to the harmony produced by the LEFT HAND VOICE rather than the notes in the 'repeating piano'.

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Chords played with PHRASE 1 backing + a LEFT HAND VOICE

In this next DEMO I am playing exactly the same chords but have removed the LEFT HAND VOICE. So the only chords you hear are those played by the repeating piano. If you listen carefully there are three chords where the repeating piano is just playing a major chord and not the one it should be playing.

It's not playing C7, Fmaj7, or F7. It is playing the basic chords C, F and F.

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Chords played with PHRASE 1 backing only

So when I played that C chord in the programming of my repeating piano it has not resulted in every chord being picked up correctly.

This is because I have not played the correct "Key of C" chord when programming in my repeating piano.

So I had better explain what I mean by this.

The note of B is not a single note. It is three notes rolled into one, and these three notes are C, B and Bb. I call it a 'wild card'. But, you will say, you didn't include a B in what you played! And this is the point. I should have done. Instead of playing E G and top C as my 'C' chord, I should have played E G B. Then subsequently, when a Major chord is played, that B note will play the root (and not the natural 7th note of the scale); when a Major 7th is played then it will play that; and when a 7th chord is played then it will play that. Three different results depending on what type of chord you play in your left hand.

So what I am going to do now is to re-load my SummerWALTZ into STYLE CREATOR, DELETE PHRASE 1 and play my repeating piano again but using the notes E G B for my chord. So listen to the below to hear what I actually play into my programming instead of E G C. You may as well call this an Em chord, because that is what it is.

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Actual notes played in my chord for the programming (Em)

This DEMO below has those same chords, but this time, because I have used the 'wild card' of B in my programming, all the chords in my 'repeating piano' are playing correctly.

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Chords when using E G B in my programming

Now, there's one thing more to mention. The inversion of that Em chord you are using for programming, and how far up the keyboard you play it, will be reflected in what you hear. The higher your chord is in the programming the higher it will sound when you're using it. So here are the results of playing that chord progression with the programming Em chord played higher up the keyboard each time.

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Chords when using G B E in my programming
Chords when using B E G in my programming

So you programme in your notes according to how you want your backing PART to end up sounding. And you, as the musician, are the only person who can know that. To be honest, I was quite happy that for my Theme from A Summer Place my 'repeating piano' never played a 7th chord, and played the major chord instead. I was using a LEFT HAND VOICE, and that gave the harmony. You can overdo it and have too much of a good thing.

This completes my look at Programming in a STYLE PART. If you want to programme in a 'backing PART' that will play the notes correctly, then you use the note of B instead of C for programming.

More to come in this Topic .. setting up the VOICES; and creating the MULTIPADS with the HORNS to blend in with the melody.
It's all about the music ♫ ♪ ♫ Organ: Yamaha AR80 & Keyboard: Tyros 4
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