DJ styles

[Pauljun]

Are there some instructions or a guideline how to play with the DJ styles?

[Bachus]

Are there some instructions or a guideline how to play with the DJ styles?

Just play piano style..
And follow the chords that come with the style...

Wish there was an option to set a chord progression for a syle..

[pjd]

Hi --

The chord progression is built into the DJ style. (Hence, Backus's comment.) The entire progression will follow the root note played in the left hand accompaniment.

An example. Assume the chord progression in the style is Cm-Dm-Gm-F. Let's say that you hit a C note in the accompaniment zone. The arranger will play the progression Cm-Dm-Gm-F. If you hit a D note instead, the chord progression will be Dm-Em-Am-G. So, the root note tells the entire progression where to go.

Chord type is ignored, so only one note is enough to control the DJ style.

Hope this helps -- pj

Extra credit. One can built a DJ style to play anything including Schoenberg, Weber, Berg, ... 

[Eric, B]

Just play piano style..
And follow the chords that come with the style...

Wish there was an option to set a chord progression for a syle..

Agreed. At this point it is just a gimmick and not really usable ...
Eric

[panos]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7ETcjYG_JY

So they are kind like intros 3 of the normal styles I guess but repeatable.
You just have to choose the first chord and the rest 3 chords automatically will follow.
Can these parts be combined with normal styles with the Assembly function?
Have anyone tried it yet?
I hope the automated chord progression is shown on the screen so it will be easier for the player to improvise suitable melody lines.

[Eric, B]

It is not shown on the screen.
Only the first chord you play .... 

[Joe H]

... Wish there was an option to set a chord progression for a syle..

I converted some of the DJ Multi Pads to play normal.  I may try to convert the styles to do the same so we can play our own chords with the left hand.  Not sure when I will get to that though, I've got a full plate right now.

Joe H

[chesterkins]

Still trying to understand how to utilise/play these DJ styles 
Do i have to link up to their multipads
Where does it say which progression is for each root chord
Look in the manual  No help there

[EileenL]

Unless you are into this type of dance music I don't think many of us would use these styles. They usually play in a Minor key so really you just improvise a melody and maybe add Arpeggiator

[pjd]

Can these parts be combined with normal styles with the Assembly function?
Have anyone tried it yet?
I hope the automated chord progression is shown on the screen so it will be easier for the player to improvise suitable melody lines.

Hi Panos --

Hey, neat idea! I haven't tried combining them with regular styles through Assembly. A possible downside is that the normal style parts might be transposed in a way that clashes with the DJ style parts. I would expect the melodic/chordal DJ style parts to follow the in-built progression. Surely, one can reuse the drum/percussion parts!

The in-built chord progression is not displayed. It might be possible to insert the appropriate Sy*** into the style, load it, and see if the arranger displays the chords programmed into the Sy***. This sounds like a neat experiment, too.

If someone is into building styles and experimenting with different ways of using the arranger's style playback, I suggest studing the way DJ styles are built. The technical-side has nothing to do with dance music (or DJs), so please look past "DJ".

Yep, you're right. DJ styles are programmed in the same way as the full orchestrated INTROs with built-in chords. The difference is that the MAIN sections repeat (loop). The following blog post should provide some background info:

http://sandsoftwaresound.net/mining-the-yamaha-djx-ii/

All the best -- pj

[pjd]

Still trying to understand how to utilise/play these DJ styles 
Do i have to link up to their multipads
Where does it say which progression is for each root chord
Look in the manual  No help there

Yep, Yamaha hasn't been much help documentation-wise. I wish they published the root chord progressions in the Data List file.

If you have a DAW or notation program, you can load the style into the program and study the notes. Rename the style file with the ".MID" extension. Then, import the renamed file into the DAW/notation program.

The different style sections are indicated with MIDI markers such as Intro A, Main A, Fill In A, etc. Some DAWs or notation programs can decipher chord names from notes. Otherwise, a little music theory is a good thing.

Hope this helps -- pj

[panos]

I think the notes of each part will be shown also on the keyboard's screen if you record a midi song with just one minor chord just for some bars untili it finishes its progression.
Lets say if we press the Am Chord.
As Eileen said this kind of music is in minor scales.

[pjd]

I turned the MiamiHouse style file into a "piano reduction", imported the reduction into Sibelius, cleaned up the notation, and applied Sibelius' plug-in to automatically derive chord symbols. The PDF is attached.

-- pj



[attachment deleted by admin]

[Joe H]

The way I converted the DJ Multi Pads was change all the chords to CMaj7.  The "patterns" are the same, but now will following your left hand chords.  I'm sure this will work for the styles as well.



Joe H

[Pauljun]

Oké, now I understand (a little) how the DJ styles are set up en how to control them but what should I do with the right hand part. When I play keys (even in the correct chord) it sounds out of tune.

[chesterkins]

Yep  Thats where I am too
Understand the chord side but as soon As I try to play a 'melody' EVEN in the right chords it sounds awful
Maybe as Eillen says its not our kind of music  but still my 'technical' interest is still there

[EileenL]

You don't really play songs as such You just ad lib with note from the keys the style is playing in. The styles are really meant to give a rhythm and beat to people dancing or raving as they say. You can add arpeggio to right hand voices to add a more rhymical feel to it. To me it is more for youngsters who want to have a bit of fun. There are only ten of them so just experiment and see what you come up with.

[pjd]

Eileen's got that right! It's all about dancers and keeping the groove going.

Since your left hand is free thanks to the built-in chord progressions,  you can put it to work with the sliders and knobs. DJs add and subtract individual parts to add variety or to build/release energy (tension).

Another trick is to manipulate the filter resonance and cut-off on one or more parts. Or, apply and manipulate a DSP effect (delay, isolator, lo-fi, etc.)

Try adding audio snippets via multipads, e.g., "We come in peace for all mankind." Space themes are popular.

EDM has a musical language of its own, mainly to drive dancers into a frenzy.    (Unless you're into chill or downtempo).

All the best -- pj

[panos]

I have these styles but my keyboard cannot read them to play with them to see how it works.
For melody don't try lots of notes or something.

For start I would press play just to hear the drum pattern and with just one finger in just one note I would try to make something that fits to the rhythm.
Then I would apply this simple pattern to the chords of the style trying to add a few notes if they feet,
or just playing chords with the right hand.
But definitely not melody lines as we know them.

[pietropavan]

what is missing here for dance and DJ styles is:

- what to play with what style ? The playlist works the way around, it provides you a name of a song and the automatically sets the keyboard with the appropriate style and voicing but it would be great to know when Yamaha engineered a style what they were trying to play with that ?

- the chords progression must be displayed in the home page, also when playing intros and endings, it would be great to know where the melody goes, especially for beginners/ non pro musicians... i know it is possible to extrapolate that with midi, but why not showing it in the home page, that will provide more learning experience for beginners... in order to extrapolate those chords with midi it requires a kind of big job... just so easy to display those chords on the home page, Yamaha just do it !

- the playlist system in the Genos is there but who really uses it at its maximum ? I didnt see any song that comes with a complete set of text with chords and lyrics... also why not giving musician the capability of creating a song with lyrics in the Genos in order to take full advantage of playing along with a singer or vocalist ?

Regads,
Pietro.