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shniggens

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Posts posted by shniggens

    "If it's too loud, you're too old....."

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, niacin said:

    if it’s too loud for you it’s probably in part cause they’ve lost some of their hearing. I gig with a bass player who has lost a good deal of his hearing and turns up accordingly so he can hear himself. It’s gotten worse over the years and i now refuse to set up on his side of stage. If he gets any louder I’m out.

    It's true! Drummer is already hard of hearing

    "If it's too loud, you're too old....."

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    That's what they tell me anyway when I tell them they are playing too loud. How do you get the imbeciles in your band to play quieter during practices? It's like the drummer and guitarist are in competition to be the first to go deaf. I may need to bow out. It's fun, but an average cover band is not worth getting tinnitus or hearing loss over....

    • Like 9

    Fitting in with covers of guitar-only songs....

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    What do you like to do in situations where your band wants to cover guitar centric songs that contain no keys on the studio recording? For instance, my band wants to do "Fell On Black Days" by Soundgarden, and they want me to stay put and join in. I tend to fall on organ sounds in these situations, but I don't want people getting organ fatigue (so to speak). How do you like to fit in with a guitar heavy song, particularly as a rhythm instrument?

     

    Keep in mind, I'm talking about fitting in WITH guitar players. Assume there is at least one guitar player in the band.

    Alesis QS and saving custom mixes on flash cards

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    OK, so I had a Vintage Keyboards Qcard in the A slot of both keyboards.  I was using the B slot for the custom card.  Seems that when I've removed both Qcards and put the custom one in the A slot (i'm getting aroused....), then it works fine on both keyboards.  So.....WTF?   

     

    My QS8 doesn't want to read the Vintage Keyboards card in slot B for some reason.

    Alesis QS and saving custom mixes on flash cards

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Oh thank goodness someone knows what I'm talking about ... 🙏

     

    Why would anything be different between the 2 if they both have been reset and the user banks are identical?

     

    Also, it only seems to be with mixes.  When I save programs to the card, they transfer over just fine.

     

    I did a test ... if I save the user banks to the card from the QS, they mixe sent to the card immediately sound different, even on the same keyboard.

    Alesis QS and saving custom mixes on flash cards

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I'm having a baffling issue that is about to drive me insane.  I'm hoping SOMEONE in here has some knowledge of what's going on.  Help me Keyboard Corner, you are my only hope .....

     

    I have an Alesis QS.7 and also a QS.8.  The idea is I can use my QS.7 with my band, and leave it at the rehearsal spot.  My QS.8 will stay at home where I can edit programs and mixes to have ready for songs we are doing.  Problem is, the sounds I save on the card don't sound at all the same when I move the card between keyboards.  Sometimes even having totally different program selections within mixes.  

     

    I've done everything I can think of to remedy this .... restore both keyboards to factory, reloaded the stock user bank on both boards from a sysex file, formatted the card.  Same behavior persists.  I thought these 2 keyboards were the same programming??

    Surviving a hand injury ....

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    Love that song! Coincidentally, I enjoy playing that one myself. Good work!

     

    Thanks. I'm in the minority of people who quite like that album. Probably because of the age I was when it was released. I remember walking an hour each way to the record store to buy it.

     

    It's one of my faves, too. Probably the best anti-war album ever. And, ironically, some of Gilmour's best work, IMO.

    Surviving a hand injury ....

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I know the feeling. Psoriatic arthritis is affecting most of my finger and wrist joints. Dexterity is gone, particularly in my left hand. I often get depressed about it, but I'm trying to force myself to play within my new skill set.

     

    You can clearly see the second finger of my left hand in this video.

     

     

     

    My strong suggestion is to work around the problem. Losing music completely is not an option for me.

     

    Love that song! Coincidentally, I enjoy playing that one myself. Good work!

    Playing with guitarists and the theory disconnect....

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

     

    and oh yeah you have to read it all in standard notation, no tab (call my wahhmbulance!!!)

     

    Which brings up ANOTHER point, which I meant to address in my initial post. I've yet to meet a single guitar player that can read standard notation. I would love to have fun with some Bach inventions by trading off with bass and guitar, but the guys I play with, and everyone I've ever played with, can't read standard notation.

     

    The guys I play with says "let's just work through the parts by ear", but that would take an eternity with classical music.

    Playing with guitarists and the theory disconnect....

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

     

    There have always been however, that minority of guitarists who can function at the highest levels in terms of musicianship. Barry Galbraith for example was an NBC/CBS studio musician who was known for his sight-reading skills, collaborated with the likes of George Russell (influential music theorist, composer, bandleader, author of Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization), arranged Bach Two Part Inventions for 2 guitars, etc. When the pianist couldn't make a studio gig, Barry jumped onto the piano and took over his piano parts. Frank Zappa was a prolific composer who just happened to "operate a guitar". Zappa's former stunt guitarist Steve Vai has always been a serious theory nut.

     

    I'm not denying this, and I am a huge Zappa and Vai fan. But it seems that these types of guitarists are few and far between (outside of the jazz realm)

     

    Which brings up another interesting point .... don't see many classical guitar players these days, either.

    Surviving a hand injury ....

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    A couple years back I had a hard crash on my mountain bike that resulted in a concussion and dislocation of my right pinky finger. It didn't quit heal correctly and I was left with a somewhat deformed pinky finger (curls inward, can't fully extend), and chronic pain in my middle and ring fingers of my right hand.

     

    I initially went into a deep depression, and considered stepping away from the piano altogether and picking up another instrument. I was already at a disadvantage because my hands are relatively small for a pianist.

     

    Slowly I started delving back into my classical roots, particularly Mozart and Clementi, to start working out my right hand. It's helped in getting back my confidence and stretching out my hand, but I still feel limited, and somewhat intimidated and discouraged. I can still play octaves, but on the side of my pinky. Tenths are out of the question. I fatigue quicker on piano, and prefer a non-weighted keyboard when playing with my rock band buddies.

     

    Anyone else experience this and have any suggestions on how to survive this both physically and mentally?

    Playing with guitarists and the theory disconnect....

    in The Keyboard Corner

    Posted

    I've noticed now after playing casually with guitarists for years that there is certainly a differing approach to our respective instruments. However, never learning the guitar myself, I can't understand why. Is it the mechanics of guitar? The layout?

     

    I know keyboard players typically learn through theory, as guitarists typically pick it up by ear. But when trying to convey simple things to my guitar buddies (including bass players), such as simple triads (for instance, when trying to convey "just arpeggiate the triad"), Or scale numbers (3rd, 4th, 5th, etc), key signatures .... I'm often met with a look as if I'm speaking chinese.

     

    Why is this?

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