Papa D Keyboard Chronicles #27: 512 Fun & Free Performances for your MODX or Montage

Unleash your creativity with 512 free Performances that are sure to inspire your imagination.
These Motif XF Performances are available from Yamaha here:
usa.yamaha.com...
Under "Other Downloads" it reads "Motif XF Performances for Montage", but these Performances also work with the MODX.

[@dealsbetweenfriends]

tHANKS. STILL LEARNING THE KEYBOARD AFTER 2 YEARS!>

[@darrenhirst9900]

You're one cool guy Dennis. Thanks for the videos.

[@tkrdennis]

Thanks Darren. I appreciate your feedback. Cheers, Dennis.

[@dekzan]

🎛🌌🎹 Thank you !! Awesome sounds.

[@slimshekar]

Dennis, I'm assuming that these would work for the ModX+ too?

[@hausquake24]

Yes absolutely, i just loaded these in2 my MODX6+

[@CarlosAmaralTI]

Hi Papa. Another question. When importing a library, why select (or not) "Job" ? What's the diference in selecting or not ?

[@tkrdennis]

HI Carlos. If you are importing a Library file from a USB stick you would not want to select "Job." "Job" would be selected if you wanted to rename or delete the Library.

[@juananglero66]

Can you play inversions with the left hand Nd the keyboard recognize it?

[@AbdiPianoChannel]

How can I install this in my MODX

[@stephenpaulrichard1403]

Did you ever find it? Just starting to look myself

[@Mrsergio-rg6jv]

j'en apprends tout les jours de se que l'on peut faire avec le MODX, à quoi ça sert d'avoir un arrangeur puisque le modx le fait!?

[@ThomAdams]

Are there any true mono pianos in any of the performances? Thanks for this video!!!

[@mauriciobarcellos100]

Thanks ! Can you tell me how to fix the weak sound in speaker ? Sounds Nice just in headfone.

[@robkoppens9966]

Thanks Dennis! I didn't know about the free performances. Some sound very interesting. I'll wait to get these until after a church wedding performance this month as I don't want to take any chances until that's over. As usual great playing there!

[@tkrdennis]

Hey Rob. I agree - it would be prudent to hold off on installing the new library until after your gig. Good luck with the wedding performance!

[@robkoppens9966]

@@tkrdennis Thanks Dennis! Hope it goes smoothly 😅

[@disneyboundfamily3899]

hi ! still available ? can't find it.... thanks

[@al-fredd9351]

Hola buenas. Donde puedo adquirir este paquete....

[@stephenpaulrichard1403]

How do i find this? Today. Is it under Montage?

[@pafnouticlavipiano]

Hi Dennis, These performances are great and you play them well. I would like to know what happens when you layer a polyphonic part (for example a piano) and a monophonic one (for example a synth lead). Is it possible to specify for the mono part to play the top (highest) note when many notes are played? This would allow to play a melody and 2-hand chords at the same time (rather than the Arranger keyboard style that some of the performances use here) Thanks for the information

[@tkrdennis]

Hello Pafnouti. Sorry for the delay! I didn't see this question until just today. I'm not sure I completely understand your question. If you mean is it possible to have polyphonic chords in the left hand, for example, and then single-note lines with the right hand, then yes, it's not only possible but many of the Performances shown here do exactly that. But when you say "play a melody and 2-hand chords at the same time" I don't follow. That would require three hands! The keyboard can easily be split at any location and completely different sounds assigned to the left and right of that split point. I hope this helps! Thanks!

[@xaverk]

This is possible. But maybe pain in the ass. If you do not play all chord notes at EXACT the same time, some other note than the highest will be choosen for the solo instrument and this sounds really terrible. Using the sustain pedal and practise a lot will give you the possibility to use this interesting effect for shure.

[@cdvanjou8902]

You show such great playing with my favorite board! Can You tell me the name of the song you played so smoothly with jazz Quartet?

[@tkrdennis]

Hi CD. If you’re referring to the Performance called Waltzing Quartet, the song I played was Bluesette by Toots Thieleman. I’m glad you’re loving your MODX! Thanks for tuning in.

[@cdvanjou8902]

@@tkrdennis thank you for the name of the song Dennis And Yes, I think it’s such a versatile board. Much into the 80s now making the scenes. But Bluesette really caught my attention! I’ll keep watching your videos! 👍

[@davem8687]

Thanks Uncle D for reminding me / highlighting these. I had installed these but they don't seem to come up when you press the normal CATEGORY button . I didn't realise there is a "- - - " sub-category (above INIT) which is where you can find these performances. Being of non-native MODX origin I think they do not have the sub-category assigned... if you can follow this. Anyway great sounds and great playing...

[@tkrdennis]

Hey Dave. Not quite -- in the Category Search area the 512 Motif XF Performances are there when the Bank selector is set to "All." The problem is they are buried with all the other Performances built into the MODX, so you would have to scroll through many many pages to find them all. And you would only find them if you knew what Performance name you were looking for. You are right about them not being categorized by sound type (Piano, Keyboard, etc.). To see what I mean, open the Bank drop-down and select "Motif XF Performances." Then touch any of the instrument category buttons and all 512 Performances will disappear. They are not categorized that way. Select "All" to get them to appear again. Because of these limitations I thought it would be a good idea to place the ones I liked into the Live Set area, as I mention in this video. My part 2 video is almost finished. In it I demonstrate 20 more of the XF Performances that I thought were pretty interesting. Stay tuned. Thanks!

[@winddealer1]

Looking forward to your favorite pick demos in #28. In the MODX how did the "intelligent chord and Bass" mode get enabled? Is that a Global or track setting? Might make for an interesting decomposition video comparing the extent of the Auto Arranger Keyboard features within the MODX verses a Genos / Tyros class instrument. Or not.

[@tkrdennis]

Hi again Alt. I just saw this. I don't know how the MODX is able to make somewhat intelligent guesses of bass notes based on chords played, as I show in this video. Maybe some day I'll research it. If you find out the answer, let us know! Thanks.

[@xaverk]

To answer your main question in short: It is all built in the several arpeggios. The older arpeggios coming from the MOTIF ES are not as smart guessing the root for example. But Papa D did not mention very interesting features like variations in the playing of some instruments (for example short fills in the drums every now and then, even responding to what your right hand plays! Very motivating.) Compared to the arranger keyboards, there is the advantage of sound tweaking, without any doubt. A disadvantage is that you have fills and ending patterns for the different instruments (that can be combined in any way you want) but no intro function. This is not a real problem for me. Another difference to Tyros/Genos etc. is that the arpeggiator function reacts too fast sometimes. For example the bass line seems to stumple when you change the chords too early or too fast. I discovered workarounds minimizing this effect by tweaking the quantization and other parameters that can be adjusted for every single track of the performance (!). What I like most with the MODX arpeggiator is that primarily you do not sound like a cover musician. You can if you want. There are several guys fiddling out performances for playing hits of the 80s and so on. Great work, but it was not the intention of the original MOTIF arpeggiator which should inspire you creating own ideas/songs. That‘s where the name of this great instrument came from.

[@winddealer1]

@@xaverk From time to time I enjoy doodling around with my old Tyros 4 with a fake book. Instead of trading the Tyros away (to only regret it later) I got lucky and found a good price on a B Stock Montage 6. Now all I need is another 10 years to play as well as Dennis :) Thank you Xaver K for the context on the Motif and sequences.

[@winddealer1]

Thanks Dennis for touring us through the Free Fun! Happy Holidays to you. Enjoyed your content this year. I liked your Night Cruiser jam.... simple progression with great licks. Latin for Beginners sounds similar to the same Intelligent chord arranger logic (with correct bass) found in the Tyros and Genos offerings. Your thoughts on Yamahas Rotary Effects...

[@tkrdennis]

Hi Alt. Thank you. The Night Cruiser bit was stolen (borrowed?) from George Benson's "The World Is A Ghetto," from many years ago. Yamaha's rotary effects have gotten better, I think, but still not quite up to Nord standards. I had a Nord Stage 2 keyboard before I bought the MODX and I think it had the best drawbar organ sound and Leslie effect of any keyboard on the market (not counting dedicated B3 clone keyboards made by Hammond and others). Still, having said that, the drawbar organs on the Montage/MODX are quite good IMO. Happy holidays to you too!

[@winddealer1]

@@tkrdennis Interesting, I'll check into Benson's piece... I'm still thinking about a Ventilator II one of these days. Agreed...more granularity over Drum and Rotor speed controls would be a welcomed update to the Yamaha Rotary Effect.

[@jdavisc1]

Will adding these overwrite other performances???

[@tkrdennis]

Sorry for the delay. I'm pretty sure that if there's not enough free space left in your MODX to accommodate the new Library then the import will not work. You will get a message telling you there isn't enough room for the new Library. I'm partly guessing about that, but I believe that's what would happen. I don't think the operating system of the MODX would just arbitrarily overwrite some other imported Performances.

[@CarlosAmaralTI]

Hi Dennis. How to ajust the "tempo" ?

[@tkrdennis]

Hi Carlos. After you select one of the Performances that uses the Arp function (most of them use Arps) press the Performance (Home) button. On the top right side of the page you will see a note icon with a number next to it. Just touch the screen in that area and you will see two ways to adjust the tempo: by typing a number in the "Tempo" box or by tapping a tempo in the Tap Tempo box. After you set a new tempo, if you want to save it you will need to press the Store button and then give the modified Performance a new name.

[@adinek28]

thanks man !

[@richardramirez3633]

Are any of these sounds on sound mondo?

[@tkrdennis]

These sounds are available as a single download at Yamaha’s website. The link is in my pinned comments above, right below the video.