retrokeys Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 I find the best way to handle this request/demand is to smile sweetly and say "I'll try." Then is select the worst emulation I can find on the keyboard making sure the cheese factor is high, That usually puts paid to the request and all further ones. I've worked with horn bands. I love 'em and wish there were more around but like a lot of you here. I am not a horn player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin Funster Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 IDK I think it would be fun to play some version of 25 or 6 to 4 horns on that song. Unfortunately my favorite horn app doesn't have a 'bone that slides (c'mon guido). I may try anyways. Quote FunMachine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobadohshe Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 I'm surprised I haven't seen or chimed in on this thread until now. A huge part of my life is playing horns parts on keys, sometimes with real horn players, sometimes without. If you match the FEEL, and the actual NOTES the horns are playing, and it is the type of song with a punchy big horn sound, then a real horn section augmented by keys can sound great. Some of you have probably seen this before; here is a video of my band playing September with me supplementing the horn section. It just makes it sound bigger. 8 2 2 Quote Kawai C-60 Grand Piano : Hammond A-100 : Hammond SK2 : Yamaha CP4 : Yamaha Montage 7 : Moog Sub 37 My latest album: Funky organ, huge horn section https://bobbycressey.bandcamp.com/album/cali-native Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H. Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 Awesome playing and awesome vocals! Your singer just nails that high A past the falsetto parts in full voice and holds it for at least a full bar! 🤩 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Weiser Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 17 hours ago, nursers said: So so true - I've only had the privilege once of playing in a large orchestra (43 people) for a production of JC Superstar. As the synth player there's a section of 'I Don't Know How To Love Him' where the whole orchestra aside from me was playing in full flight. One of the most potent memories of my musical life sitting in the middle of that and watching the full power of an orchestra. Very cool! I know that version quite well - I worked on the live on NBC production back in 2018, which had the same orchestrations (or nearly the same). You must have worked with my partner Stuart Andrews? That production was one of the highlights of my career, a total blast. Lots of sand... but a great time. (They brought in something like 4 tons of sand, it got everywhere.) 2 1 Quote https://www.theboywhowantedtorock.com http://www.weisersound.com https://www.facebook.com/weisersound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Weiser Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 1 hour ago, Bobadohshe said: I'm surprised I haven't seen or chimed in on this thread until now. A huge part of my life is playing horns parts on keys, sometimes with real horn players, sometimes without. If you match the FEEL, and the actual NOTES the horns are playing, and it is the type of song with a punchy big horn sound, then a real horn section augmented by keys can sound great. Some of you have probably seen this before; here is a video of my band playing September with me supplementing the horn section. It just makes it sound bigger. NICE! That's how it should be done. You guys all sound great. Quote https://www.theboywhowantedtorock.com http://www.weisersound.com https://www.facebook.com/weisersound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursers Posted May 18 Share Posted May 18 2 hours ago, Dave Weiser said: Very cool! I know that version quite well - I worked on the live on NBC production back in 2018, which had the same orchestrations (or nearly the same). You must have worked with my partner Stuart Andrews? That production was one of the highlights of my career, a total blast. Lots of sand... but a great time. (They brought in something like 4 tons of sand, it got everywhere.) Dave, it's incredibly nice of you to think I was playing in one of the pro productions down here It was a semi-pro / regional production - the orchestra were very very good though! Quote The Keyboard Chronicles Podcast Check out your fellow forumites in an Apple Music playlist Check out your fellow forumites in a Spotify playlist My Music: Stainless Fields Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Link Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Here's an example of SD doing "My Old School" without a horn section. Apologies if this has already been posted. I did not read the entire thread. 3 Quote aka âmisterdregsâ Nord Electro 5D 73 Yamaha P105 Kurzweil PC3LE7 Motion Sound KP200S Schimmel 6-10LE QSC CP-12 Westone AM Pro 30 IEMs Rolls PM55P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.F.N. Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 I guess the key here (no pun intended) is context. I just started playing in a hobby band after being off the stage for 22 years, my ambition is to get back in the saddle to the point where my chops and self confidence are at the level where I can start participating in public jam sessions, something I did a lot back in the days, and one of the few things I REALLY love when it comes to music (to the point that this is the only thing "live" I can imagine doing these days, I just need to get up to scratch with my shit..). I was lucky to find this band, competence level is okay, and most of the members are pretty nice people too, and most importantly there is no ambition other than having a good time and eventually taking a pub gig or two, locally, for the H of it, but that's about it. However, the band leader (bass player) seems to once upon a time have been very active and in many ways is handling things as if he expects us to be a commercial product, a band for hire, from what I have understood based on information from the singer who "found" me (they were looking for keys), but at the same time they are in agree they are not. I had the first rehearsal with them last week (lots of energy, everybody was super excited, good fun!), and already before the rehearsal the band leader had tried pushing me by sending me (clogging my phone) audio and video clips (music videos) of other artists "versions" of the song, playing it the way HE wanted it to be like, and the singer has told me this is how he often does. Bad try, I'm not a kid, and I know what I want and don't want, so during the rehearsal he started talking about horn parts on some song, and I just took the word and explained that I am not there for this, if we want horns, let's get horns, as there is absolute zero economical interest, let's put up a note at some music school/conservatory and try to engage some young students who are looking for experience, the worst that can happen is that nobody calls! Then I explained that as a keys player, unless you are in a commercial act, a product - band for hire - playing horns, strings, and other BS parts, is not amazingly fun and that it's a completely different thing when you get 300 bucks in your hand after the gig, but in a hobby band for the H and fun of it, no way José! The rest of the band laughed and agreed, and the bass player kept kind of silent. So, no horns on my shift, but I'm not in it for the money, neither is the band I play with, if I was into making money I probably would have handled this differently, but considering my goal with this band, returning to the "scene" again, I just want to play, improvise, get the nerve back, on the stuff I like to play, which is definitely not horns, strings or any other "fill in" for something that else would be necessary for making the act sound credible in a public context aiming at adding value for the customer. (he's also imnsfho a quite shitty bass player... haha) 1 1 Quote "You live every day. You only die once." Where is Major Tom? - - - - - PC3, HX3 w. B4D, 61SLMkII, SL73, Prologue 16, KingKORG, Opsix, MPC Key 37, DM12D, Argon8m, EX5R, Toraiz AS-1, IK Uno, Toraiz SP-16, Erica LXR-02, QY-700, SQ64, Beatstep Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 1 hour ago, Chris Link said: Here's an example of SD doing "My Old School" without a horn section. Apologies if this has already been posted. I did not read the entire thread. If that band ever met 2020s Steely Dan it would punch them right in the face and then eat pizza off the unconscious body. 2 Quote Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamuelBLupowitz Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 On 5/18/2024 at 4:35 PM, Dave Weiser said: Very cool! I know that version quite well - I worked on the live on NBC production back in 2018, which had the same orchestrations (or nearly the same). You must have worked with my partner Stuart Andrews? That production was one of the highlights of my career, a total blast. Lots of sand... but a great time. (They brought in something like 4 tons of sand, it got everywhere.) Getting OT but I had forgotten that you worked on this production, Dave -- it's one of my favorite productions of JCS that I've seen (I have a real soft spot for that show, but also a specific set of stylistic opinions about how it should be performed that makes me kind of a pain in the ass about it). Quote Samuel B. Lupowitz Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Quinn Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 20 hours ago, Chris Link said: Here's an example of SD doing "My Old School" without a horn section. Apologies if this has already been posted. I did not read the entire thread. Wow, I don’t remember seeing this clip before. Skunk Baxter and Denny Dias on the same stage = guitar heaven! As much as I love the horns on the original I didn’t miss them in this performance. 1 1 Quote https://alquinn.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin Funster Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 This has always been the horns of a dilemma. 1 Quote FunMachine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.F.N. Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 Or as they say, there comes a time when you have to take the bull by the horn section! 2 Quote "You live every day. You only die once." Where is Major Tom? - - - - - PC3, HX3 w. B4D, 61SLMkII, SL73, Prologue 16, KingKORG, Opsix, MPC Key 37, DM12D, Argon8m, EX5R, Toraiz AS-1, IK Uno, Toraiz SP-16, Erica LXR-02, QY-700, SQ64, Beatstep Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Emm Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 Different angle... I've always loved brass, but it was never going to be my instrumental home. I'd go to symphonies and watch the brass section through 'opera glasses,' drinking it in. I also saw James Brown and those guys waxed the classical players. I thought I'd heard 'perfect' until then. Brass attacks have gotten better and better in synths and exact replicas now abound in sample libraries. I suffered from Reverse Posturing A-Hole Syndrome for years, shunning brass and guitar sounds as feeling like put-ons. I got the hell over that and realized that they were just added colors. I'd never try to fake anyone out by pretending I was soloing for real, but having 90% of the pizzazz available is irresistible. Bobadoshe sure lays that out properly! 1 Quote I have no magic powers concerning dentistry or cases involving probate, but my Mellotron epics set Jupiter a-quiver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MushMusic Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 It really depends on what you have to play the horn parts on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHJ2eNsV2e4 1 Quote E.M. Skinner, Casavant, Schlicker, Hradetzky, Dobson, Schoenstein, Abbott & Sieker, Rieger. Builder of tracker action and electro-pneumatic organs, and a builder of the largest church pipe organ in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 14 hours ago, David Emm said: ....shunning brass and guitar sounds as feeling like put-ons. I got the hell over that and realized that they were just added colors. Bingo. Any sound when approached non-idiomatically opens other avenues in composition, performance and music production. Sample libraries exist enabling composers and musicians to mock up scores and/or cover tunes using some semblance of the real sound. Otherwise, there's good reason for musicians to use sampled sounds in a creative manner similar to synthesis. The orchestra hit is an example of a sound that got a lot of mileage before it became maligned.😁 Nowadays, similar to brass pads, prepared piano type sounds has become a thing in Pop music composition and production. 😎 1 Quote PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.F.N. Posted May 30 Share Posted May 30 10 minutes ago, ProfD said: Bingo. Any sound when approached non-idiomatically opens other avenues in composition, performance and music production. Sample libraries exist enabling composers and musicians to mock up scores and/or cover tunes using some semblance of the real sound. Otherwise, there's good reason for musicians to use sampled sounds in a creative manner similar to synthesis. The orchestra hit is an example of a sound that got a lot of mileage before it became maligned.😁 Nowadays, similar to brass pads, prepared piano type sounds has become a thing in Pop music composition and production. 😎 Like when Synth Brass became it's own "instrument", makes me think about this tune. Back in the days I used a preset sound on D50 for this brass riff, though the song was released in 1985 and D50 released in 1987, so that was not what was used here originally, I also used a D50 electric piano/organish preset sound for the bridge.. haha! Quote "You live every day. You only die once." Where is Major Tom? - - - - - PC3, HX3 w. B4D, 61SLMkII, SL73, Prologue 16, KingKORG, Opsix, MPC Key 37, DM12D, Argon8m, EX5R, Toraiz AS-1, IK Uno, Toraiz SP-16, Erica LXR-02, QY-700, SQ64, Beatstep Pro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.