new member intro

[✪richkeys]

Happy New Year. My name is Rich and I am a new member here. I have intermediate level piano skills primarily from about a decade of piano lessons when I was younger. I never learned to play by ear so usually I need a piece of sheet music or chords in front of me when I play. I currently own a Yamaha SX900 arranger, which is my main instrument.

My musical interests are varied, from pop to classical to soundtrack to orchestral movie. I tend to gravitate to playing what I can best describe as "ambient cinematic" piano pieces (see link down below to Musescore piece as an example of this). Unfortunately I cannot find more pieces like this and do not have the ability to compose my own.

I also like lively new age/EDM/JM Jarre type beats with uplifting chord progressions that work well with the auto-accompaniment and multi pads on the SX900. So I love arrangers but I don't always play the typical old standards cover songs on them. I do use the SX's Style Creator but mainly use its style assembly function to mix and match specific style arps and phrases to existing styles to achieve what I want.

Before the SX900 I owned a MODX7+ for about a year and found myself trying to turn it into an arranger for the genres mentioned above. I saw a few MODX posts here about this topic. In the end, I found the MODX too complicated to program and replaced it with an SX900 which I am very happy with.

I heard this forum has several PA5X users. I am interested in the PA5X 76 as an addition to my SX900. I like the 76 keys, more acoustic piano options, the ambient pad sounds, more modern sounding styles, the dual player, and the Global Sounds expansion pack available for it. The PA's Song Book and Keyboard Set workflow would work for me. I am open to learning the PA's more complicated operating system, but I am just not sure about purchasing it, as it is an expensive risk. I am used to the Yamaha clear and crisp sound. I cannot find a PA5X in store to demo. Any thoughts are welcome.


link to ambient cinematic piano example, there is also a link on the page to the free PDF sheet music file if anyone is interested. It was originally a sound demo for a piano VST:
https://musescore.com/user/46906730/scores/8417993

[♔Chello]

@Rich

Many thanks for your exceptionally comprehensive introduction !
This is always appreciated.

The Pa5X is highly recommended, although it still has many bugs.
It is easy to learn its functions without reading the manual, as it is incredibly intuitive.

Alternatively, a Pa700 can provide almost the same for a third of the price, but is more cumbersome to work with with a different layout.

The Pa5X is the king of arrangers.

[⚖Robinez]

My musical interests are varied, from pop to classical to soundtrack to orchestral movie. I tend to gravitate to playing what I can best describe as "ambient cinematic" piano pieces (see link down below to Musescore piece as an example of this). Unfortunately I cannot find more pieces like this and do not have the ability to compose my own.

first of all, welcome on this site.

If you are looking for ambient cinematic pieces, just check my musescore set of sheets for that, it's filled with ambient cinematic material I play on the piano ranging from beginner pieces to advanced pieces.

you can find that setlist here:
Musescore ambient set

regarding your questions about the pa5x, i think it's a really good keyboard and great addon to the sx920.
I've created lot's of tutorials and demos about the pa5x on youtube, you could check that page to get an impression of the pa5x.

here is the playlist of my tutorials and demos

[✪richkeys]

Many thanks for your exceptionally comprehensive introduction !
This is always appreciated.

The Pa5X is highly recommended, although it still has many bugs.
It is easy to learn its functions without reading the manual, as it is incredibly intuitive.

Alternatively, a Pa700 can provide almost the same for a third of the price, but is more cumbersome to work with with a different layout.

The Pa5X is the king of arrangers.

---

My musical interests are varied, from pop to classical to soundtrack to orchestral movie. I tend to gravitate to playing what I can best describe as "ambient cinematic" piano pieces (see link down below to Musescore piece as an example of this). Unfortunately I cannot find more pieces like this and do not have the ability to compose my own.

first of all, welcome on this site.

If you are looking for ambient cinematic pieces, just check my musescore set of sheets for that, it's filled with ambient cinematic material I play on the piano ranging from beginner pieces to advanced pieces.

you can find that setlist here:
Musescore ambient set

regarding your questions about the pa5x, i think it's a really good keyboard and great addon to the sx920.
I've created lot's of tutorials and demos about the pa5x on youtube, you could check that page to get an impression of the pa5x.

here is the playlist of my tutorials and demos

[⚖musicalmemoriesuk]

Welcome to this excellent forum and resource

[⚖whitecolin1]

Welcome, although i like the sx900 the PA5X is a significant upgrade. The sound quality is excellent expect a far richer sound, although a far more programable keyboard.
Fortunately you have joined a group that has extensive  knowledge and content.
welcome onboard

[✪richkeys]

Welcome, although i like the sx900 the PA5X is a significant upgrade. The sound quality is excellent expect a far richer sound, although a far more programable keyboard.
Fortunately you have joined a group that has extensive  knowledge and content.
welcome onboard