3/4?

[maarkr]

I can't find a country 3/4 style? There are very few waltz style, 3/4, but what other country styles use 3/4?  I still don't understand the nomenclature.  I have MANY style downloads, including the nice ones converted from the G2.  Changing the time signature to 3/4 clears out all the good strums and rhythm.

[mikf]

You can't just change the time signature and think that will re do the style, and turn it into a waltz feel. Actually as far as styles are concerned, the time signature is really no more than a 'description'. Styles are made against a midi clock, not a time signature. The style maker gives it the waltz feel, by the way he lays down the beats.
I am not sure what arranger you have, but there has always been a country waltz on the presets on all Yamaha arrangers I have seen. I am sure that others here might have a few more they could post.
Mike

[BogdanH]

hi maarkr,
I can see SX900 in your signature... there are enough waltz (3/4) styles suitable for country music: FinalWaltz in Ballroom section and few more in World section.

Bogdan

[KurtAgain]

On the SX900, Yamaha has hidden the style CountryWaltz in the World category.
Likewise, for example, bluegrass.

[maarkr]

thanks, like I said, not knowing the different categories and nomenclature (ie, ballad, swing, shuffle, beat) well makes it daunting... and not being a usual fan of World and Ballroom, I didn't look there, but I thought some Country performers had some links since so many country songs are 3/4.  Asking the question here is easier than spending hours testing hundreds of styles and may help someone else.

[DrakeM]

I agree 100% with you. 

I have stated before ... there are not enough country styles on these Yamaha keyboards.

I had to hunt down parts from all over the presets categories to piece together for songs like "I'm some lonesome I could cry" and "Hello Darlin'".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZLF-xTZNzw

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

It takes patience but can be done.

[mikf]

There is a style management tool available from Peter Wierza called StyleFinder. It lists styles and I believe it can be sorted by time signature/tempo/genre etc. I dont know if it covers the SX900 and it only works on windows. I have Mac so cannot download it.
Mike

[KurtAgain]

You can find quite a few country styles on Chris Easdown's and Eileen Lowrey's pages.

127 country and gospel styles under Tyros1 Styles:
https://psrtutorial.com/sty/collections/chrisE.html

140 country styles under Tyros1/2/3 and PSR-S900:
https://psrtutorial.com/sty/collections/eileen.html

[mikf]

One of the biggest market advantages Yamaha has is the huge number of styles available. Having way too many styles is a far more frequent issue than having insufficient. They have to put some kind of sensible limit on number of style presets. But it's not a problem because if you want more styles in your favorite genre they almost certainly available  - by the thousand!
Mike

[DrakeM]

Yes, I hear there are thousands of country style. But weird there is only one country waltz.

[mikf]

Drake
I'm afraid To me a Country Waltz is a Country Waltz - other than change in tempo how different can they be?  I've used the pre-set Country Waltz style many times for different 3/4 songs, not all of them country. It's a pretty generic thing, you are not likely to get a lot of them because the accompaniment stays about the same. It's how it is in real life with a small band.
You can say the same about the jazz combo styles, there is not many of them either because they don't get very different. The difference comes from the lead, the harmonies, the vocal,  fills, etc.  The accompaniment stays pretty similar.
Mike

[BogdanH]

hi Drake,
Waltz is very popular in folk music in central Europe (hear example) which in my opinion, is more complicated than country waltz. And guess what: in keyboard, there not a single waltz that's even close to that! -actually I would be surprised if there would be.
What I'm saying is, there are so many variations possible, that we just can't expect all of them to be present in keyboard. You might say "not all, just few more"... Few more country waltzes, few more mexican waltzes, few more french waltzes, ... how many is enough to please everyone?
And that's why I love arrangers 

Bogdan

[KurtAgain]

Yes, I hear there are thousands of country style. But weird there is only one country waltz.

Yes, overall there are relatively few waltzes among the preset styles. Too few for me. This doesn't just apply to country music.

Eileen's country styles, which I pointed out above, include over 10 country waltzes. Some are somewhat similar, but some are also significantly different:
https://psrtutorial.com/styles/coll/Eileen/T1T2S9/CountryStyles.zip

[mikf]

There is also a fundamental difference in what people want from a style. Do you want a basic accompaniment that you play 'over' .....or do you want a style that does most of the playing for you. If it's the second, then you are going to need a lot of styles, all a bit different.
If it's the first you don't need many.
I think of country music on an arranger I think of Don Mason, he used very few different styles as far as I could hear, he just picked the tempo and one of the variations. It's what he played over them that made them different.
Mike

[DrakeM]

These Yamaha keyboards come with 2 Hawaiian styles and one is a Waltz. Really?

Because there are actually NO waltz Hawaiian tunes. The Hula is not a waltz ever. Yamaha is too FUNNY. 

If you use the same styles all the time it sounds and gets boring. You need to put in the correct stops and breaks with the styles.
Even the Jazz & Blues covers I do, I fix them to stand out as uniquely and different, it is call entertaining your audience.   

If you play Folsom Prison Blues as a Cha Cha. You might think is sounds cool, but your audience will think you're weird (IMO).

Drake

[BogdanH]

...
If you use the same styles all the time it sounds and gets boring...

Very true! And that's why we need and can modify them to our liking. Preset styles are only examples and if some style sounds "perfect" for some particular song, then that's only a coincidence that's expected to happen (at infinite amount of songs).

Even the Jazz & Blues covers I do, I fix them ...

yes... so where's the problem? 

If you play Folsom Prison Blues as a Cha Cha. You might think is sounds cool, but your audience will think you're weird (IMO).

Not necessarily... Example: Although it's not a country, I'm sure you know original Spanish harlem song. And here's a cover by great pianist Little Willie Littlefield -sometimes a change can be a nice surprise.

I think that part of the problem is also if we stick to particular music genre or type of music: over the time it simply becomes boring for the audience. And so a little cha-cha can't hurt 

Greetings,
Bogdan

[mikf]

Most of us semi pro musicians played in small bands, and small bands are the lifeblood of the live music scene.
Small band, - maybe keyboard, bass, guitar drums and singer. How different do you think that can accompaniment can get? And 4 or 5 piece would be a 'big' small band! But that doesn't make it boring. Every song is different, the tempo, melody, harmony are all different, and of course the vocal.
Mike

[andyg]

@drake 'Pagan Love Song' is one that I play to that Hawaiian Waltz. A little googling shows that the Mexican Ranchera style of music made its way to Hawaii and was adapted. Some of the resulting songs are in 3/4. "Adios ke Aloha" pops up in a search.

Not many 3/4 Hawaiian pieces, sure, but more than none!

[DrakeM]

@drake 'Pagan Love Song' is one that I play to that Hawaiian Waltz. A little googling shows that the Mexican Ranchera style of music made its way to Hawaii and was adapted. Some of the resulting songs are in 3/4. "Adios ke Aloha" pops up in a search.

Not many 3/4 Hawaiian pieces, sure, but more than none!

Nice try 

That is not a Hawaiian song. I did my research as I do an actual Hawaiian gig set. As I stated "There are no Hawaiian waltz songs." All Hula songs are 4/4 timing.

[Denn]

Hello Andy G. Would you like to send me a link to that Hawaiian Waltz style. I have tried and asked many times but got no results. A few Maori songs are in waltz time. I have the SX700, PSR S970 and a T4 so I would like it to fit into one of those kbd's. Thanks in advance.
Denn.

[KurtAgain]

Hello Andy G. Would you like to send me a link to that Hawaiian Waltz style. I have tried and asked many times but got no results. A few Maori songs are in waltz time. I have the SX700, PSR S970 and a T4 so I would like it to fit into one of those kbd's. Thanks in advance.
Denn.

Denn, there is a Hawaiian Waltz in Henni's inexhaustible style collection in this file: https://psrtutorial.com/styles/coll/Henni/MegaT3/MegaT3_H-J.ZIP

The style is called Hawaiian Bier Mega.S732.sty
(Munich Hofbräuhaus at later hours? )