Arpeggiate Left Hand on PSR SX900

[esserji]

Hi guys,

I'm trying to arpeggiate the left hand section on PSR SX900 but can't do it really. Can anybody help me out please?

Thanks a lot.

[mikf]

I would have thought the easiest way is to find,edit or make a style which has arpeggiated accompaniment.
mike

[esserji]

Where will I find such style files? I don't think I got any such built-in style with my keyboard.

[Toril S]

Many multipads have nice arpeggio patterns.

[EileenL]

The arpeggiator can only be used on Right hand voices but you can easily record arpeggio's to Multi Pads and use step record to get them right if you need to. Remember to record in the key of C. 

[mikf]

If you can't find an existing style, you can record arpeggios in a style using style creator. It wouldn't be difficult. Start with a style that is close to what you want and edit it, ie replace a style part with say a piano arpeggio.
mike

[esserji]

Ok I'll try that. Thanks ❤

[Joe H]

If you can't find an existing style, you can record arpeggios in a style using style creator. It wouldn't be difficult. Start with a style that is close to what you want and edit it, ie replace a style part with say a piano arpeggio.
mike

Has anyone actually tried this?  Can we record an arpeggio directly to a style Part using Style Creator?

Joe H

[mikf]

Joe, why would this be any different to any other style part? I am not suggesting using an arpeggiator, just play the notes as an arpeggio. He only needs to play one or two bars to record the style.
Mike

[esserji]

Has anyone actually tried this?  Can we record an arpeggio directly to a style Part using Style Creator?

Joe H

Oh yes, I just finished creating my first style with an arpeggio. I have arpeggiated piano for Main A and piano + guitar for Main B. You can try it yourself but before that don't forget to go through the Style Creator section of your Reference Manual. It helped me understand the tips and tricks.

[Joe H]

I was referring to recording the arpeggiator into Style Creator.  I decided to try it myself... it doesn't work.  So... I will have to record the arps as MIDIs and convert the MIDIs to Multi Pads and then style Parts.

Joe H

[esserji]

I was referring to recording the arpeggiator into Style Creator.  I decided to try it myself... it doesn't work.  So... I will have to record the arps as MIDIs and convert the MIDIs to Multi Pads and then style Parts.

Joe H

Were you recording the arpeggio in the key of CM7? Although recording in any key is possible but I noticed keys other than CM7 creates undesired result sometimes.

[mikf]

Joe is very experienced on arrangers and would know that. I think he assumed you wanted to use the arpeggiator, rather than just play straightforward arpeggios.
Mike

[EileenL]

There are lots of styles that will have arpeggios on the style already. These can be copied into a style of your choice using Style assembly in Style creator. Very useful and easy to do.

[esserji]

There are lots of styles that will have arpeggios on the style already. These can be copied into a style of your choice using Style assembly in Style creator. Very useful and easy to do.

Can you please share some of this type of style? That would make my life easy for sure.

[EileenL]

Look at things like Piano Ballads and 6/8 Ballads.

[Joe H]

Joe is very experienced on arrangers and would know that. I think he assumed you wanted to use the arpeggiator, rather than just play straightforward arpeggios.
Mike

The interesting thing about the arpeggiator is that you can create variations by "playing the notes" (play the arpeggiator) rather than just hold a single note or chord.  I also use the Live Control  Arp Note Gate Time assigned to knob 1 to vary the note length real-time as the arp plays.  The arps can also be used to play drum parts and recorded as MIDI files to create new drum patterns for either Multi Pads or style Parts.

Once I record the arp as a MIDI file, I can convert it to a Multi Pad using PadMaker-Midi.  Then import the MP into StyleMagic to convert it to a style Part to use with Style Creator Assembly on the keyboard.

There is no one software program capable of doing these combined operations so it's a piecemeal approach.  I can do this with the S970 arps and also arps playing from the Motif sound module. (which are fabulous). A special MIDI configuration and MIDI routing is necessary to get the Motif arps to play on the S970 using the S970 Voices.

Joe H

[Joe H]

A couple more comments on the arpeggiator.  I think the arpeggiator is the most misunderstood and least utilized feature of the newer arranger keyboards. It's a very powerful feature and wonderful tool.  The manuals say almost nothing about using the arpeggiator except turning on or off. Yet for their synthesizers Yamaha offers a lot of detail and how to use arpeggiators.

Phil Clendeninn at Yamaha has written articles on how to use arpeggiators and create your own arpeggios. (with the Motif and Montage) If anyone is interested I will post these articles on my BOX account for download.

Joe H

[esserji]

The interesting thing about the arpeggiator is that you can create variations by "playing the notes" (play the arpeggiator) rather than just hold a single note or chord.  I also use the Live Control  Arp Note Gate Time assigned to knob 1 to vary the note length real-time as the arp plays.  The arps can also be used to play drum parts and recorded as MIDI files to create new drum patterns for either Multi Pads or style Parts.

Once I record the arp as a MIDI file, I can convert it to a Multi Pad using PadMaker-Midi.  Then import the MP into StyleMagic to convert it to a style Part to use with Style Creator Assembly on the keyboard.

There is no one software program capable of doing these combined operations so it's a piecemeal approach.  I can do this with the S970 arps and also arps playing from the Motif sound module. (which are fabulous). A special MIDI configuration and MIDI routing is necessary to get the Motif arps to play on the S970 using the S970 Voices.

Joe H

That is a whole lot of important information. Thanks a lot for the insight.

[DerekA]

I've always had trouble with the arpeggios on PSR/Genos. They never seem to play in sync and the patterns are a bit random. I feel this is a shame because I had an E443 and the arpeggio on that just seemed to work really well. Perhaps it's because it had very little in the way of customization and I just don't know how to use it properly in Genos.

As you say Joe the manuals give very little information.

[Fred Smith]

Phil Clendeninn at Yamaha has written articles on how to use arpeggiators and create your own arpeggios. (with the Motif and Montage) If anyone is interested I will post these articles on my BOX account for download.

I'm interested, Joe.

Cheers,
Fred

[Joe H]

Below is a link to a zip file.  When you unpack the file there is a folder with 6 articles on arpeggiators.  Keep in mind that these articles related to the Motif and Montage synthesizers. A couple of the articles are focused on creating your own arps.  This does not apply to our arrangers since there is no arpeggiator editor.

There is a lot to take in on the topic and we cannot learn just from reading about arps. It will require playing the arps and practicing some playing techniques.  I think I will have to write a short paper on playing the arps on the arranger.  It will take at least a couple of days to do this.  In the mean time, these articles should help you get an understanding about using arpeggios.

A couple of quick tips:

1. To keep the arp in sync; press the key(s) on the first downbeat of a measure when playing along with a style. This will take a little practice.
2. Experiment with any arp by trying differing fingering patterns. eg; try just playing 1 note, then 2, then 3, then a 4 note chord. You will get different results.
3. Now try varying those fingerings real-time while the arp is playing to get variations on playback of the arp.  This will take some practice just like practicing scales. I call this technique "playing the arp".

https://app.box.com/s/ncvct8rw4j6s6mj2u9ei5tssd06nsvgq

Joe H

[esserji]

Phil Clendeninn at Yamaha has written articles on how to use arpeggiators and create your own arpeggios. (with the Motif and Montage) If anyone is interested I will post these articles on my BOX account for download.

Joe H
[/quote]

Sure Joe, that would be so kind of you. Please share a link to download when you post it. Thanks a lot.

[Joe H]

The link is above.

Joe H

PS: I'm working on writing a less technical article that applies to our arranger arpeggiator which is less sophisticated than the Motif and Montage arpeggiators.

[Joe H]

Sorry it took so long.  I've been very business with business and other things.

Here's a link to a paper I just wrote on arpeggiators.  You can read it on-line or dowload the PDF to your computer.

https://app.box.com/s/827d2fuqi6zh82am0iibcm0ra3swyk1k

I hope this helps someone in making use of the arpeggiator.

Cheers,

Joe H

[terryB]

Many thanks Joe, your a star for taking the time and effort to produce this paper. 
The arpeggiator on my Genos is something I wish to get a better understanding of, and this will be useful to achieving that.

Cheers

Terry

[Joe H]

Many thanks Joe, your a star for taking the time and effort to produce this paper. 
... Cheers
Terry

Thank you for the comment.  I'm not a writer, so it didn't come easy to write. The arpeggiator is one of those things learned best by doing. It's takes time and practice.  One thing I didn't cover is the fact the some arps will sound best with a certain Voice only. I suggested using the Grand Piano, but experimenting with different Voices will also make a big difference in the character of the arp and how it plays.

The OP wanted to know if we could use the arpeggiator with the Left Voice.  The answer is NO because the arpeggiator is interactive with our right-hand playing.  If we could assign the arp to the Left Voice it would play like a Multi Pad. So that's why I included the idea of recording an arp and converting it to a Multi Pad. That will accomplish the same results.

Joe H