montunoman

That's great advice especially since I'm meeting the pastor tomorrow. I did learn 10,0000 Reasons, which may or may not serve me well. The pastor just called me and told me that the church prefers Black artists such as Tysha Cobbs, Kirk Franklin, and Travis Greene. No problem, most of the tunes sound easy enough, and I think I prefer it to the (White) CCM, anyways. But I am less familiar with Black CCM or would those artist be considered gospel?

Thanks again for the great suggestions, I'm taking notes. Luckily I'm not in a big hurry, and I possibly could save some more money if some gigs come through. But at the same time I don't know if I really need a pro level digital piano as a jazz studies student. I'm pretty sure all "major" performances will be on the schools acoustic pianos which I believe are all Steinways. I just want a DP for some of the jam sessions/rehearsals and low key performances when an acoustic is not available.

Great suggestions and resources. I very much appreciate it! I am familiar with a lot of the tunes listed from the times I have sub as a drummer at churches. My interview is tomorrow so I better get to work!

Greetings, Kind of out of the blue I came into contact with two churches wanting to hire a keyboardist. I guess I passed the phone interview and now the pastors want to meet me in person to talk. I thought it would be a good idea to have a couple of songs ready to play and sing. The thing is, I am Catholic ( very open minded by the way, and I am accepting of all regions ...) I sub as a drummer in " non denominational" "charismatic " "spirit filled " type churches so I know what I'm getting into and I have a good feel for the music. But truthfully I don't seek out contemporary Christian music for my own listening pleasure so I'm not really familiar with artist names and the latest "hits" . So anyways I plan on playing and singing "Open My Eyes of My Heart" . Is that too dated or over played? Any other tunes you could recommend, for just keys and voice?

Thanks for the great suggestion- keep em' coming! Now that I think about it, it would be nice to have built speakers perhaps for rehearsing with a singer, or other low volume sessions. I do have an Ipad, but I'm not thrilled about the idea of using for sounds. I am not a tech guy, but I am finally using my ipad for leadsheets, so I should really get hip to using the ipad for sounds too.

Greetings: God willing, I will soon be starting a jazz studies program at a university, and I need a digital piano to take to jazz combo rehears, jam session, (in doors and outdoors) I thought a 73 would be ideal to have a smaller footprint and better portability. I'd be happy with a good acoustic sounds, Rhodes, a maybe jazz organ sounds too. Budget is around $1200. I do have some small powered speakers that should work fine in a jazz combo situation. The Yamaha p. 121 is priced right, feels and sounds OK, but the sounds are rather limited. I guess the greater concern is if this entry level keyboard would withstand daily commutes in the back seat of the car, and daily ensemble play, It seems like there aren't any other 73 KB in my price range, so maybe I should forget about the idea of a compact 73 and go with one of the many full 88 DP's that weight less than 30LBS? So any recommendation for weighted DP for my intended purposes would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I used a pair of Bose Compacts for several years as a PA system for OMB and small group gigs. They worked great but I started doing jobs that I felt needed the power of standard 12' speakers and 18' subs. I do have a pair of the Bose SA1 Pro for small jobs which work great too. I heard the newer Bose L1 Pro 8 are fantastic, so hopefully you can check those out and let us know what you think.

This is a fun game to play for a keyboard nerd while hunkering down during a Texas snow storm. I pondered this while I took a short afternoon nap and this is what I can up with: Chick Corea- I feel like he was so connected with the past, present and future of jazz, was amazing on acoustic piano, Rhodes and synths, always going different musical directions, not to mention a great composer and such a kind man. Ray Charles- He embodied the beauty and soul of American music, he was a true national treasure. Floyd Crammer- His unique sound not only changed country piano styles but rock/pop as well. \ I'm having trouble with a fourth candidate but I would say Liberace for his classical and pop chops, showmanship which brought our instrument front and center. Others I considered, Elton John, Billy Joel, Billy Preston, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Nat King Cole, Fats Waller, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dr. John, Alicia Keys

Yes indeed. Anyone care share tips on how sound better on a Rhodes (sound) For jazz style, for example do you modify LH voicings? I love the Rhodes sound but basically just approach it just as I would a piano, and I feel like it doesn't sound right.

Besides of course being a genius virtuoso, I have been always amazed how Chick could change stylistic gears so seamlessly . Acoustic piano, Rhodes, synth, straight ahead jazz, Latin jazz, rock/funk fusion, he could do it all! To me it never felt like he was changing styles just to be current, I always could hear the pure joy in his music.

Very late to the party, but I just got the Erskine app, and I enjoy how easy it it to use, mute parts, or isolate parts too . Best feature is you can recorded yourself and listen back how you sound. What a great feature!

I count my steps with an app on my phone, and my goal is get at least 10,000 a day but since the pandemic hit I average about 16,000. No gigs, and not having to drive my daughter to her school across town, and all over the state for her musical activities has given more time for my lite exercise which consist of walking, dancing, jumping on a small trampoline, jump rope, push ups, and barbells. The other silver lining of this pandemic has been more time to practice on my own, which I really love. I have always tried to eat reasonably well, avoid red meat, fast food, and sweats. I don't drink coffee, soda or alcohol and don't smoke either. I try to be in bed by 10PM and up by 4;30AM to start a full day of teaching.

Interesting thread! I'd listen to it a lot, pick out bits a pieces by ear, maybe figure out the structure like the chord progression. I'd look for a written transcription , read through it slowly, find some YouTubers that play it well and demonstrate it, and make my own short hand simplified chart. I probably not when the prize, because I usually change things up to fit my style or should I say "limitations" . ?

Wow, what amazing playing! Thanks for sharing your transcription. I can"t wait to try it out!

My condolences to Ronald and his family.

There"s no way around it, you either suck or blow.

Tongue blocking works best for me. I blow ( my harmonica) while driving too. The great thing about the harmonica is that you can play just about anywhere.

I have my Omni book out, and my Charlie Parker play list set up and will attempt to play along (at half speed ) to mark the occasion. Yesterday there was an old interview on the NPR show 'Fresh Air,' which featured many of Bird"s sidemen such Max Roach. If you"re a bebop fan you should check it out!

Sorry, I didn't realize that this is a 5 year old thread but it is interesting. I'm not sure if you could fairly compare Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to his sister. Due to the extreme constraints of the society, I can't see how a women could have gained much recognition and more importantly the training and encouragement that's necessary to achieve a high level in just about anything outside of being a mother, wife and house keeper.

I find music recorded in 20"s -40"s hard to listen to no matter how good the paying is. I recognize the greatness of the players but find it hard to past the poor and scratchy sound

There must be some used Casio Privias in that price range

Great insights, Richie. I very much like the idea of assigning as you say 'an imaginative framework ' to the songs that we perform. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Lot's of pop music has a very static progressions, corny lyrics or whatever.... So what would you do if you got a gig and the venue requested that you play it? I found out a long time ago you can't always play what you like.... I just try to make the best of it and have fun with it.

Sure, that's a very valid way to improvise, but sometimes it's fun to rip a scale over the whole progression.

"Giant Steps" it not, but it was requested and I am glad to be working now so why not? Besides it's totally playable with just piano or guitar vocal, actually melodic enough to do as a solo piano, and totally playable with a typical live band. Also it's pretty fun to solo over, and did I mention, lots of people like the song? We did it last night and got a good reaction, so it will stay on our play list for time being.