Strumming Ukulele

[alanclare]

Is it possible to generate the sound of a ukulele strumming chords?

Alan

[Del]

Alan
I don't know about the PRS-S970 but on the T5 under Echo/Harmony it has strum in the list of options

[alanclare]

Del

Many thanks for the idea. I'm sure the answer is there somewhere.

Under Function Key/Harmony Arpeggio
Category Harmony Type Strum

This gives me a picture of what I want, but I don't know how to apply it. I've tried to apply it to an Steel Guitar, but how to make it Strum, I'm puzzled.

Alan

[Normanfernandez]

I have the strumming option on the S770.
When I get back home I'll test it and let you know.

[RoyceM]

I'm not sure what usage you need, but in the Hawaiian style there is a ukulele. Depending on your need, other instruments can be reduced or turned off. Because I was a ukulele freak as a kid, I always turn the uke volume up.

- Royce

[alanclare]

Royce

There's a very good uke, and a banjo. I just thought it might be easier to find out how to strum by using a guitar. But I couldn't.

Alan

[alanclare]

Surely someone out there knows if it's possible to play a chord and get the sound of a guitar/banjo/ukulele strumming?

Alan

[jwyvern]

I'm away from the keyboard at present so can't experiment. If the Strum harmony is not working for you isn't it possible to change speed etc in the Harmony settings? If it is not possible to get a credible strum sound that way can you use a suitable style with a strumming part say chd1, turn up the volume of that part and play LH chords to move the strums around appropriately?
Other than that can't you do it manually? Put say a guitar or similar in the left hand voice and play it with more rapid strumming chords yourself (instead of the usual smooth chord progressions). The style will continue to provide appropriate bass and accomp.

John

[alanclare]

John

I was hoping that there might be some way of using the Live Control feature to control the strumming speed while playing a chord, similar to that whereby we can control arpeggios.

I couldn't play repeated chords at the speed that I can play them on my ukulele. A straight chord is not the same sound as the rapid "glissando" of a guitar/ukulele strum.

Alan

[alanclare]

John

Your suggestion of finding a suitable strumming part from a style, changing the instrument to a uke, and playing the chords (or using the ACMP) with the left hand is showing promise. Thank you.

Alan

[Normanfernandez]

John

Your suggestion of finding a suitable strumming part from a style, changing the instrument to a uke, and playing the chords (or using the ACMP) with the left hand is showing promise. Thank you.

Alan

Did it work?

[alanclare]

John

Sorry I didn't get back to you. I couldn't get the authentic, "George Formby" sound out of it.

Alan

[EileenL]

SetR1 R2 or R3 to harmony strum then start the style and play along with it as you would with any other harmony picked.

[alanclare]

Sorry Eileen. How do I "Set R1 to harmony strum"?

Alan

[alanclare]

I go:

Function Harmony/Arpeggio Harmony-Strum

I press Detail, Assign Right 1 , the only Speed I can get is 4

I start a style going, play a note or a chord with my right hand and....no effect.

I matters not whether I have the Harmony/Arpeggio button lit. No difference.

Alan

[Patrick]

Hi Alan if you press the button Harmony on the KB (you can use a pedal too and a registration to control all the settings),it'llworks great, you can also add an other guitar on R2! Then adjust the volume, ...all the best Patrick

[alanclare]

Patrick

Thanks for trying to help, but see my previous entry - I seem to have used your suggestion in various combinations.

Alan

[Patrick]

Ok Alan, try to add some tremolo and use a delay on the voice with an amplifier; with the touch button on perhaps you'll have some more effects; all the best Patrick

[EileenL]

Hi Alan,
  You must be playing a chord with your left hand at the same time as playing the melody notes with the right hand. Just as you normally do.

[alanclare]

This thread has become an embarrassment to me. Please tell me where I'm going wrong.

Simple objective: get a guitar to strum.
Style: 80sPopRock
Right1 Voice: RockHero
Function Harmony/Arpeggio
Category: Harmony
Type: Strum

Play: Harmony/Arpeggio button is lit
Right1 selected and On

Start, Play chord C with left hand
Play chord C with right hand

No strumming

Help

[Patrick]

Hi Alan, perhaps these registrations can help you, all the best Patrick


[attachment deleted by admin]

[tyrosaurus]

I suspect that you are expecting continuous strumming as long as you hold down the right hand keys.

However the 'Strum' Harmony type only produces a single strum each time a right hand key is pressed!

This, coupled with the fact that you can't change the speed of the strum other than by changing the tempo of the style, makes it of limited use as far as I can see (hear)!

Since you are using the 'RockHero' voice which uses distortion DSP and starts to distort if you press more than a one key at the same time, by playing a three note chord in your right hand you will get the distortion which will mask out the 'strum'.  Even if you only play one note in the right hand with the 'Strum' harmony on, the voice will still distort since the strum produces the root note plus four more harmony notes.   Since the notes do not decay before the next note in the strum triggers, they effectively produce a multi note chord which distorts just like playing such a chord with the harmony off.

To get an idea of what the strum effect sounds like, turn off the DSP for the guitar voice, and with the style running and a left hand chord triggered, play just one note with the right hand.  Alternatively try using a non SA acoustic guitar voice instead.  You should get a single strum which I don't think is what you were expecting!


Regards

Ian

[Bruce Breen]

Hi Alan,
As Ian has mentioned (later in his reply), you need to be playing a chord with your left hand for the Strum to work.

Make sure your harmony/echo button is turned on. Then use Direct Access to go to it (press Direct Access and then the harmony/echo button).
Select the Strum type.
Then, while depressing a C chord on the left side (with or without the style playing), press just one right hand note and you will hear the C chord strum with the note you have just played. It will only strum once, so you need to be constantly pressing notes for it to continue strumming that chord.

Two nice things you can do with the strum when in the harmony/echo area -
1) Control the volume of the Strum.
2) Use the 'chord note only' feature.
If it is 'on', then it will only strum when you hit the notes of the chord you are playing (example C chord = C E G).
It will not strum when you play other notes besides the chord you are depressing with your left hand (example C chord -no Strum on D F A).
If it is 'off', then it will strum regardless of the note played.

If you only want to play (strum) chords with your right hand (not playing a melody), and only want to hit them once or twice per measure, then try the Echo at 4 speed (or 6, 8 or 12 for more 'strumming'). The Echo will speed up or down when you change the tempo, but it does not follow the chords that you play on your left hand.
For this method, if you play broken chords or a melody, of course you will then hear all the notes randomly echo and your 'strumming' will be lost.

Hope this helps...

[alanclare]

Patrick

Thank you for the two registrations. The Shadows guitar (a la Hank Marvin) is a voice that I'd missed and will prove to be a useful addition.

Ian and Bruce

You've unwound this puzzle that's been bugging me these last few weeks (see above).

Ian, "I suspect that you are expecting continuous strumming as long as you hold down the right hand keys." You were correct. The only experience that I'd had from entering the Harmony/Arpeggio area was to generate arpeggios with my right hand. These are, of course, continuous as long as the chord is held down. Also, one can assign the Live Controls to them. I was expecting something similar from Harmony/Strum. I experimented with the settings that you suggested and turned off the DSP for the guitar voice (that I'd chosen at random) and it certainly made it clearer what was going on.

Bruce, You too had spotted that I had wrong expectations of this feature. Your suggestion of using the "Chord Only" feature is an interesting one. I experimented with this and I can envisage applications for it, but these will be so rarely come across that I shall probably have forgotten all about it.

In the future, I may have a mental block that will stop me entering Harmony/Strum at all. Ian - you thought "limited use". I'd put it rather more strongly.

My thanks to all of you who have helped me survive this unfortunate thread.

Alan

[jwyvern]

This thread has become an embarrassment to me. Please tell me where I'm going wrong.

Simple objective: get a guitar to strum.
Style: 80sPopRock
Right1 Voice: RockHero
Function Harmony/Arpeggio
Category: Harmony
Type: Strum

Play: Harmony/Arpeggio button is lit
Right1 selected and On

Start, Play chord C with left hand
Play chord C with right hand

No strumming

Help

Alan if you are not getting a strum it may be because you have not assigned it to R1, which you need to do, in the Harmony settings, in addition to it not being the best voice as Ian has pointed out.
If you are still wanting a repeating quick strum similar to a ukulele probably the closest to that is the Trill setting. On Genos that is in the Echo category of Harmony whereas on the PSR it's likely to be in the main harmony list if similar to Tyros (assuming it's included). Try using it with ukulele or banjo or mandolin to start with in say R1 ensuring you assign it to R1 in the settings. The latter also allows you in this case to set the speed (in combination with changing the overall tempo) .
The effect starts when you play chords of 2 or more notes in the RH (regardless of whether LH notes are being played) so "strums" can be combined with playing single melody notes in the RH. depending on how you play.
John

[alanclare]

John

That's great! Echo/Trill, Assign Right1 using Banjo1 voice.

Nearest thing we're going to get to George Formby out of my PSR s970. I shall sleep soundly tonight. Thank you.

Alan

P.S. And you have a choice of speeds too!

[alanclare]

I've just dashed this off to show that a faux strum is just about possible:

Horrible, But Mine Own

[Bruce Breen]

That's a good song to play with...Long Way To Tipperary.
Looks like you used the Tremolo - yes, it will take some time to master.
Try a faster Speed setting (12,16 or 32)...?
The Trill may work for you as well...it doesn't use the left hand chord to work, just the right hand.
-------------------------
Forgetting the Strum type for a moment, you could try the same melody with the Block, or 4-Way Close1.
Or the Country Trio (for a higher pitched 'strum').
And the 4-Way Block2 gives more of a jazz/swing chord structure...!

Try these with and without the Chord Note Only turned 'On'.

You could also take a guitar strumming multi-pad, and change the voice(s) to suit you, and save in your user section.
Or, make a user style of the style you want, find a strumming part that you like from another style, put that part into the user style, and change the voice to suit (much work, me thinks!).

Again though, all of these new suggestions rely on the chord you are playing in the left hand.

Have fun!

[alanclare]

Bruce

As you could tell, I didn't give much thought to that rubbish. I just put up the first song that seemed as if it might tolerate a badly-played banjo, and lashed it together. I needed to get my lunch cooked.

Thanks (again) for your further thoughts on this.

I recall a situation round about the beginning of the year when you were the only person who knew our tune for "It came upon a midnight clear" and produced a score for it. I am once more indebted to you.

Alan

[DrakeM]

I stuck this guitar into a style and change its voice over to a Uke and then to a Banjo.

Is this what you are maybe looking for to use in your song?

https://app.box.com/s/zepvotp2ycbyao8divur779nhp42mgfe

Regards
Drake