Quote:

<...> Maybe you can develop a little remote to run from a battery powered wireless to run and switch tunes on the pc? Just kidding.

Stan



You can get USB footswitches from Delcom and other companies that allow you to record keyboard sequences. I have a 2 button switch I use at home to keep the strain off a previously injured "pinky" finger. I program one button for the shift key and the other for the Ctrl key. When writing styles I have programmed one of the buttons for approximately 5 key stroke sequences for repetitive tasks.

The advantage of a computer is this...no extensive push buttons.

Sure you can do a pre-arranged set list, but unless you are clairvoyant, how do you know what the audience will want in advance? With a laptop, you can decide what to play next in the last 10 seconds of a song and still start the next song with no gap between them.

It's all explained in http://www.nortonmusic.com/backing_tracks.html

I'd never want to use one of those multiple push button devices again. The fact that I can read the crowd and play what is appropriate for them helps me gain a competitive edge over the other duos in my area.

Last night we played at a new club, a large retirement community. Well it has been there for 15 or so years, but we never played there before. By pacing the crowd and playing the appropriate music at the appropriate times, we had the dance floor filled all night long. At the end of the night, the person who booked us told me that the dance floor has never been so full, the people have never been so tired at the end of the night, and the majority of people came up to him and said that we were the best band they have ever had in 15 years. We have two more dates booked with them already.

If we did set lists or had multiple push buttons between the songs, we couldn't have done that. Leilani and I are excellent musicians and Leilani is an excellent singer (I'm an adequate singer), but there are certainly other excellent musicians and singers around here. I firmly believe that what makes the difference is the ability to read the crowd, react to them, and help them have a great time. They have a lot of fun, go home tired and with a big grin on their faces, and they like the experience so much that the band that does that becomes first pick for the next dance.

Of course, you all can do set lists or take too much time between songs, and we'll continue to get the gigs

Insights and incites by Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com

100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks