My Initial Steps with vArranger2

[OldStudentLeon]

I am a beginning level accordionist and I am a new user of vArranger2/SD4. I have had the software only nine days. I thought it would be helpful for others to see what someone at my level can to with this wonderful software right from the start.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLMS6QnU1Xs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8IE9lBzOxM

These are very simple tunes, but with the embellishment of conventional chord sequences they sound quite acceptable, at least that's what my family and friends say. I especially like the tonal quality and stereo profile of the accompaniment produced by vArranger2/SD4.

Note that in both these videos, only the accompaniment sounds are produced by vArranger2/SD4. The treble sounds are produced by the Roland accordion. My reason is simply because I am already familiar with the treble sounds on my instrument, and by using what I am already familiar with I can play more comfortably. Hence I was able to produce these videos more quickly. Of course I fully intend to take advantage of treble sounds from vArranger2/SD4 soon. Progress takes time.

I hope this demonstrates the benefit of vArranger2 even to beginning level accordionists.
Leon

[Dan]

Very good, very good Leon

I will create a poll about the age of the vArranger users

I first thought that my vArranger will be used by the young generation because they were born with the computers. But finnaly, I have a lot of >60 old musicians who enjoy to play with vArranger.

You playing is clean, and the video quality is very good.

Continue sharing with us your music with your new software

Dan

[Lionel]

Hi Leon,

Happy to see you are getting on with vArranger OK

Good to see you showing others what can be done.


Lionel

[OldStudentLeon]

Thank you to both Dan and Lionel for encouraging me to post links to my YouTube videos as I learn vArranger2. Hopefully others will profit from my learning experience.

Here is the next video where I turn on the treble sounds of vArranger2 for the first time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oARZonZqTdM

See the text description of the video for details.

Dan, I anxiously await the results of your poll about the age of vArranger users.
Leon

[Dan]

Very nice video

This is a good example of a tyros 3 style played on a Ketron SD4.

I am always very happy when I hear a music generated using vArranger.

Please continue to inform us about your vArranger videos.

Dan

[OldStudentLeon]

Another example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCIqUQmG-Ng

Thank you Dan for your advice on tuning windows for best performance.
Leon

[Dan]

I was in my car bloked for 4 hours because of the snow, so I had time to watch your video from my phone

Dan

[OldStudentLeon]

In this video I try for the first time the selection of treble voices by using the Roland FR-7's pedal unit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZdcLc5PBHc

Note that I am not a performing musician. I am a beginning level student. This piece is relatively easy to play. My motivation in playing with an arranger is to increase the entertainment value of pieces that are within my performance capabilities. It inspires me to improve.

[Dan]

Very Nice video Leon.

I love the small video of the footcontroller.

Dan

[Bernie9]

Leon
I think you are coming along quite well with vArranger.  Stay with it.
Bernie

[EUREKA]

Hi Leon,

Well done !! Your videos are wonderfull and i enjoyed to see them with my familly.

Best regards from france   

[Brian]

Hi Leon,

thanks for posting your excellent videos.
Very enjoyable demos. 

Greetings from Ireland .... Brian.

[OldStudentLeon]

Due to a shoulder injury I have not been able to play accordion for over a month. The following link is to my first video since recovering from my injury. It's nice to be back, but I admit that I lost some ground. Hopefully this piece will help me recover my previous skill using vArranger2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uBaqU7q8i0

[Dan]

Nice demo !
I hope you will recover even better than before

Dan

[jan1kow]

What is the big screen your vArranger is dispayed on.
Is it a big TV?
jon

[OldStudentLeon]

Hello Jon,
The screen that you see is my computer monitor. Perhaps the screen looks big in the video, but it is not really very big, only 21 inches (53 cm). I position the computer monitor to demonstrate to viewers that I am using vArranger2 software.
Leon

[OldStudentLeon]

Here is another new addition to my performance repertoire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DV-0bHEPMU

[Dan]

Very nice Leon.

You seems to trigger vArranger features from buttons on the accordion right?

Dan

[OldStudentLeon]

Dan, you are very observant.

Yes, I noticed in the vArranger2 OPTIONS/CONTROLLERS window that when my FR-7 accordion is set to play orchestral treble voices, and whenever I press one of the orchestral voice buttons, in addition to changing the voice, the instrument sends a signal to vArranger2. Unfortunately, the very same signal is sent no matter which voice button I press. There are 14 voice buttons on the instrument, but the signal for each one is 93 on MIDI channel 1.

In the CONTROLLERS window I specified signal 93 on channel 1 to represent VARIATION UP. Thus, I am able to change two things, the treble voice on my accordion and the variation of the style on vArranger2, by pressing a single button.

Note that in my performance I use the treble voices of both my accordion and vArranger2 mixed together, and at the appropriate times I was changing the vArranger2's treble voices as well. But of course to do that I had to assign pedals on the foot pedal unit of the FR-7 to represent different voices of vArranger2. So in the performance I was pressing two controls, a button on my accordion and a pedal on my foot pedal unit, to change three things. Still, for a person like me with limited dexterity and skill, two controls are easier to press than three.

Of course because the FR-7 sends the very same signal for all of its voice buttons, application of this characteristic is limited. It is only useful for those pieces where I want a style variation to change in one direction and at the same time to change a treble voice on the accordion. It works for some of the simple pieces that I play, but for a more complex piece it might not make sense.

This reminds me of my original enquiry to you about the possibility of saving all of the definitions in the CONTROLLERS window for each song. I use this little trick in my home studio for recording a single piece, but I admit that it would be impractical to set up such song dependent definitions manually every time during a live performance. Being able to save such definitions for each song would be convenient. But of course if it is difficult for you to include that option in vArranger2 it might not be worth the trouble. Perhaps there are only a few people like me who would use it.

Leon

[Dan]

Controler 93 is the chorus amount.
I am sure that when you press presets on the accordion, it sends a lot of things, but the CTRL93 is just the latest.
We can maybe use the program change of every button, so you can use all of them.
But I need to change things a little bit, to allow you to set midi events manually in vArranger

[OldStudentLeon]

If you are correct and CTRL93 is only the last of several signals that are sent when I press a voice button, then yes, it may be possible to use individual voice buttons on the instrument to activate different features in vArranger2. The most logical feature would be to change the treble voice in vArranger2. Thus, pressing a single voice button on the accordion would simultaneously change voices on both the accordion and vArranger2. What a wonderful feature for accordionists.

[ari]

Is there a demo version I can download to check if it works with my hardware?

I use a netbook, an m-audio midi controller and roland sd-50 sound module with the One Man band software.
I would like to check how this one compares....

thanks in advance for your replies.

Regards,
Ari

[OldStudentLeon]

This piece does not contain a lot of variety, only one style variation change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP1RCQqNgCw

[OldStudentLeon]

Although I have officially recovered from my shoulder injury, I find that extensive practice still aggravates it. I find that assuming a lower sitting position helps. Still, I am managing to make some progress on my repertoire. Here's the latest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pGuR3k2ciQ

[Dan]

Nice! Sitting is good too

You seems to love Yamaha Tyros styles on Ketron SD4

Dan

[OldStudentLeon]

Thank you Dan for your response. I agree that the lower sitting position is good, but because it is a change for me I'm not entirely used to it. Still, I am adapting fast and I appreciate your approval. The reason for my higher, almost standing position in the past was because the instrument is more stable and controllable when it hangs more from the shoulders. So it is typical for beginners like me to prefer it. But as many have warned me, the higher position is more stressful to the body and may eventually cause injury. So here I am.

Yes, I do use the Tyros styles more than others, but not because I know what I am talking about. I actually have very little experience with this and I admit that my choice of Tyros styles is more because of the influence of certain friends who are fanatic about that instrument. I like to joke with them and say, "See, I can play a Tyros on my accordion." But to be honest, there are so many styles to choose from and a beginner like me has to start somewhere, so why not Tyros? Who knows, perhaps eventually I will tire of them. Well that will not be a problem since I can simply download other styles.

Of course the resident styles of vArranger2 and of other keyboards are good also. Indeed, I invite anyone to give me suggestions of other styles that they feel might be more appropriate for any of the videos that I have posted. After all, I am not a real musician. At this point my use of this arranger software is still an educational experience. And I must say that a virtual arranger, like vArranger2, with its nice, easy-to-use interface, allows a person like me to use it without getting overwhelmed by advanced features. Some of my friends have purchased arranger units made by Orla and Ketron and they still haven't figured out how to use them. Even though they are more advanced accordionists, they are amazed at what I am doing on vArranger2. And, I am amazed at the high quality of music that I can produce when I consider that my playing level is still beginner/intermediate. So instead of struggling with scales and exercises, I'm having fun playing popular music that my friends and family enjoy hearing. In the process I am building up a repertoire that may one day permit me to perform to an audience.

[OldStudentLeon]

Here is my latest step forward in my music education using automatic accompaniment with vArranger2 software. This particular accompaniment style, called "40's Big Band" works so nice it seems designed with this exact famous Glenn Miller piece in mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmFQQFbGSCQ

I have compensated for the inevitable deteriorating physical condition of old age by downsizing my accordion to a lighter, kinder, more gentle model. It allows me to return to a higher, more upright sitting position with the instrument hanging more solidly from the shoulders, while at the same time not aggravating my shoulder injury. Can you believe that the FR-3 is almost ten pounds lighter?

This piece also represents my latest step forward in using minor seventh chords, which require two finger combinations on the bass side. As you can read in the text information of the video, to play a G minor seventh chord, as called for at specific places in the music, I simultaneously press the G minor and Bb major chord buttons. I do this using the #2 finger on the G minor button and the #5 finger on the Bb major chord button. Magically vArranger2 figures out the combination. Hurrah!

I have noticed that when playing the A minor seventh chord in this manner (A minor chord button plus C major chord button) vArranger2 reports a C6 chord. My goodness, what's that? According to my chord chart the Am7 and C6 chords are enharmonic (they consist of the very same notes). I suspect that vArranger2 is reporting C6 due to the particular inversion (sequence of notes) delivered by the Roland accordion.

[Dan]

If vArranger receive C E G A, it will go for C6. If it receive A C E G, it will go for Am6

Maybe you can play a C chord with a BASS of A..

Anyway, nice video. I like the vA screen integration

The FR-3 seems very OK

[OldStudentLeon]

Hi Dan. I wasn't really complaining about the Am7 of my accordion being reported by vArranger2 as C6. I simply mentioned it for others who might notice it and who might think something was wrong. I view this only as a cosmetic issue.

I don't think I am at liberty to play a C chord button in combination with an A bass note button, as you suggest. As I explain in the text of my video, the bass note buttons and chord buttons of my accordion transmit MIDI signals on different channels, channel #2 for bass note buttons and channel #3 for the chord buttons. Also, vArranger2 in accordion mode receives bass note signals and chord signals on different channels, and of course I have configured it to receive them in the same channels that my accordion transmits them on, bass note signals on channel #2 and chord signals on channel #3. Correct me if I am wrong, but using the configuration that I describe, a signal sent on the bass note channel will not be interpreted by vArranger2 as part of a chord definition. It is for that reason that to play a minor seventh chord I use a two finger combination of chord buttons, not a combination of chord and bass note buttons.

But I am not complaining about this. Indeed, I view the ability of vArranger2 to receive signals from bass note buttons and chord buttons on different channels as an advantage. My understanding is that the people at Roland feel the same way, as indicated by the Roland accordion's default configuration using different MIDI channels for bass note buttons and chord buttons. However, this has the consequence that to play a minor seventh chord on an arranger, I must press a two finger combination of chord buttons, not a bass note button and chord button combination. I describe this in the text of the video. When playing a two finger combination of chord buttons I have no control over the exact sequence of notes (inversion) sent by the accordion to vArranger2.

Again, I am not complaining about this difference in chord identification between Am7 and C6 when playing the two finger combination of A minor and C major chord buttons. I simply mentioned it for others who might notice the same thing and think something was wrong. But I don't think anything is wrong. The two chords are enharmonic. To me, what appears on the screen of vArranger2 is only a cosmetic issue.

I agree that the FR-3 in the video is working well. Are you saying that because I said in the text of the video that my FR-3 wasn't working correctly? In the video I'm playing my wife Diane's FR-3. My FR-3 does not work correctly and it is currently on the way to California to be repaired. Hopefully when I get it back it will work just as well as Diane's.

[Dan]

The Bass and the Chords buttons are used to recognise a chord.
So if you press a BASS of A and a chord of CMaj together, you will get a Am7

Dan

[OldStudentLeon]

Dan,
I'm stunned by your answer. Evidently I have been under a complete misunderstanding about the fundamental operation of the bass note buttons and chord buttons of your software. I need to research this subject further before replying.

[Dan]

For simple chords, you don't need the BASS, but for some complex chords, you can use the bass notes buttons to help you to define your chord

[Dan]

Hi Leon,

With the latest version 1.11 of vArranger, you can now decide for each song, what your accordion program changes buttons will trigger !

Dan

[Lionel]

Man doesn't Dan look after you guys

Dan does more than his best to help those with a particular need.

Lionel