Tag Archives: free download

Pop demo styles for Yamaha

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The new Yamaha PSR-E483 and PSR-E583 have new styles which have not yet been released for Genos and the SX series.

Since folks might be interested in hearing the new styles, Mark Wilburn and I teamed up to create a few quick and dirty Yamaha arranger styles based on the new E-series styles.

Please think of these styles as “demos“. They are far from perfect:

  • Two MAIN variations just like the E-series
  • One INTRO and one ENDING just like the E-series
  • E-series voices not the stellar Genos/SX voices
  • No effects beyond the basic E-series chorus and reverb
  • No chordal variations for INTRO/ENDING

If you have ever attempted style creation, you know how much work it is to add these features. That’s not an excuse — just admiration for Yamaha’s style developers! We expect Yamaha to bring these styles up to Genos/SX quality in the future. Thus, these styles today are “demos”.

If you would like to try the demo styles, here is the ZIP file (E-pop-v1.zip).

The ZIP extracts into a directory named “E-Pop”. E-Pop has three subdirectories:

  • Styles: What you have been waiting for (.STY files)
  • Source: Raw MIDI files and Cakewalk projects
  • MIDI: More raw MIDI song files (SMF Type 0)

If you want to try the styles, copy the .STY files to your arranger, load them up and play. The README.TXT file has some suggested chord progressions.

People who want to try their own hand at style creation will be interested in the Source and MIDI subdirectories. These subdirectories contain the raw MIDI files which we used to create the demos. Be sure to read the README text files for additional tips and information.

As to suggested song names, we drove ourselves crazy trying to match songs with the demo styles. Sometimes everything matched up, sometimes not. Please post your guesses on the Yamaha Musicians Forum where we lurk. 🙂

Have fun!

Copyright © 2026 Paul J. Drongowski

Reface DX acoustic instruments for ya

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One of my long-term projects is to collect and prepare acoustic instrument voices for Yamaha Reface DX. There aren’t as many high-quality acoustic voices as there are tons of bleeps and bloops. Most people associate FM synthesis with aggressive EDM sounds, but even 4-op FM is capable of so much more!

The project has come along pretty well. I’m now in the programming and tweaking phase to see if I can do better. However, the initial set of voices ain’t bad. Here is a table showing the voices and bank layout:

Bank 1

    1-1 Rhodes    1-2 Wurlitzer    1-3 LegendEP   1-4 E. Organ 3
    1-5 P. Organ  1-6 LargePipes   1-7 Cathedral  1-8 GentlePipe

Bank 2

    2-1 WarmPad    2-2 Wash3Strng  2-3 Wood+Horn   2-4 Woodwindy
    2-5 Warm&Cozy  2-6 RealStrngs  2-7 Horn 2 +1   2-8 FluteVoice

Bank 3

    3-1 HornSwell  3-2 SoftBrass   3-3 WoodEns. 4  3-4 Oboe 1 
    3-5 TrumpetMel 3-6 Trombone 2  3-7 Clarinet    3-8 Bassoon

Bank 4

    4-1 Wood EP    4-2 DynaString  4-3 Warm&Cozy   4-4 Violin -1
    4-5 WoodEnsFlt 4-6 Wash3Strng  4-7 HamB3       4-8 Real flute

The “+1” and “-1” are reminders to change the OCTAVE slider before playing. To do: Add and store transpose changes in the voice SysEx (SYX). Next version!

The first three banks are relatively stable. Bank four voices are experiments in progress, back-ups or patches that I don’t want to lose. To do: I need to collect and tweak a few solid Hammond-ish B-3 sounds.

I drew on multiple sources. Many voices come from Yamaha Soundmondo and the Reface DX Legacy Project. If you’re looking for raw material to start patches of your own, I recommend the converted YS200 voices at the Legacy Project.

The DX11 conversions seem to have a few issues, i.e., strings don’t sound like strings (even remotely). Fortunately, the YS200 and DX11 are based on the same synthesis engine (Yamaha YM2414). Go for the YS200 first.

Here is a link to a ZIP file with Reface DX acoustic instrument patches. Each voice is a separate SYX file, i.e., a file containing one or more MIDI System Exclusive dump messages. I use MIDI-OX to download patches to Reface DX. If I like a patch, I hit the Reface STORE button, choose a target voice slot, and confirm the store operation.

Have fun!

Interested in Reface DX? Here are a few more links:

Copyright © 2025 Paul J. Drongowski

Free stuff from Steinberg

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I’m looking into the new Steinberg Etude (sampled Yamaha C3X) piano VST instrument. As usual, I’m trying to keep costs low and found a few free Steinberg downloads that may help you out.

First, there is the free Steinberg Halion Sonic player. Like Halion Sonic, the player can run stand-alone. I don’t feel like diving into Cubase simply to host a piano VST instrument. The Halion Sonic player can run as a stand-alone VST host that does the business.

Next, you need pianos. 🙂 Steinberg offers three free pianos: Lo-Fi, Taped Vibes, and Sonic Atoms Novel. Each piano has its own character and potential uses. Lo-Fi is a messed up lo-fi upright piano for chillhop, cozy or retro. Taped Vibes follows in a similar vein, but it’s a sampled Wurli 200A. Novel is an upright piano from Sonic Atoms suitable for effected cinematic or straight piano.

While you’re at it, you might as well scan the VST instruments for other free instruments (including synths).

If you need or want conventional instruments, download and install the free Steinberg Dorico SE notation program. Dorico SE comes with a 3GByte library including a General MIDI (GM) sound set. Plus, you get to try Dorico.

One frequently asked forum question is “Are there any free notation programs?” Obviously, the answer is “Yes, Dorico SE”. I spent a few minutes with Dorico SE and it is highly featured for a free application. It makes me want to try the Dorico app for IOS, too.

Wow, that’s a lot of high-quality, free content!

Copyright © 2025 Paul J. Drongowski

A few words about my new PSR/Genos styles

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I promised to say a few words about the new styles in my free Performance Style Collection (Version 2).

Motif/MOX, again

Five of the new styles are converted from Motif/MOX Performances:

Bubbly Dub         77  Dub reggae (Long live King Tubby!)
Dresden At Night   91  Chill
Poppyhanger        90  Mid-tempo electronica (minor key best)
See The Show      100  Prog rock (ELP, Yes, Emerson, Wakeman)
Ticking Away      120  Prog rock (Pink Floyd)

In case you’re not hip to Motif/MOX terminology, a Performance is a style-like group of voices and arpeggios (musical phrases). Most of these Performances are available for Montage and MODX, too — load the “MOTIF XF Performances for MONTAGE” library.

“Bubbly Dub” is my homage to King Tubby. Dub is totally under-represented in Yamaha styles. Reggae, yea, but give me those funky effects! If I have a slam on “Bubbly Dub,” it doesn’t go far enough.

“Dresden At Night” and “Poppyhanger” are upbeat electronica. Feel free to tear them apart and use the phrases.

“See The Show” and “Ticking Away” should tickle prog rock fans. “Ticking Away” is obviously based on “Time.” “See The Show” is a mash-up of ELP and Yes. If you figure out how to tame “See The Show,” please let me know.

Swizzle them phrases

Ableton Live always seemed like a natural tool for style assembly. Finally, this dreary winter, I gave Live a try in this role. The end result is six new downtempo and funk styles:

Cool Revibed      85  Downtempo
DownTime          71  Downtempo
Funkin Style     114  Jabo funk 
Slow Walker       75  Downtempo (minor key best)
Slow Walker DJ    75  Downtempo DJ style (chord progression built-in)
Street Genos      90  Hip-hop (needs Vocal Beat Box)

These styles are based on mixed and matched MIDI patterns from various collections. I want to shout out Groove Monkee, Apollo Sound and Equinox Sounds. If you want to do downtempo, chill or the hippity-hop, look at these brands.

Mostly, I banged MIDI loops together in Ableton and adjusted a few notes here and there to put melodic parts into the same scale. “Slow Walker” was a challenge in this regard. Pushing the notes into the same scale took character out of the sound. So, I did a “DJ” style with the original notes/changes cooked in. “Slow Walker DJ” follows the root note, but not the chord type.

“Cool Revibed” has a slightly different process. I started with the rhythm patterns in the Genos “CoolR&B” style and then hung phrases on it like Christmas tree ornaments. Having the rhythm down is a good way to start composition, if the rhythm is inspirational.

As to Live and sound generation, sometimes I started with Live software instruments, got the MIDI patterns going, and found sound-alike Genos patches for the final assembly. Other times, I drove Genos directly from Live, picking out voices and DSP effects by hand in the Genos mixer.

Jam away

I’m a long-time fan of Jean Luc Ponty’s “A Taste For Passion”. I caught Ponty live sometime around 1980 — great concert! Keyboardist Allan Zavod (RIP) was under-recognized for his contributions.

“Sunset Drive” is one of my favorite tracks from the album. The “Sunset Drive” style is a jam-along style with the bass and chords cooked in.

Sunset Drive     136  Jammin' jazz by Jean Luc Ponty (Cm scale)

The style will follow the root note. So, start out in Cm7 and modulate down to Am. Then, up to Cm7, again. Fun, fun, fun!

One of these days, I will give “Beach Girl” the same treatment. Beautiful tunes, all.

Don’t forget, I have additional free content for Yamaha PSR, Tyros and Genos:

Copyright © 2024 Paul J. Drongowski

Free Performance Styles for PSR/Genos

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Been a while since I’ve posted. 🙂 That means I’ve been busy with a few hunker-down, wintertime projects.

At long last, I pulled together the second version of my “Performance Styles for PSR/Genos” collection. The second version has all of the V1 styles plus a dozen new V2 styles.

The V1 styles were translated from Motif XS/MOX Performances to Tyros/PSR. If you would like to read about the translation process, check these links:

These articles are still a good read if you are interested in creating original styles of your own. There is a short Getting Started With Style Files post, too.

The V1 style files target PSR-S950, which by now is old hat. So, the original V1 styles should be reasonably compatible with any post-S950 arranger.

The V2 style files take the collection into new territory. The V2 styles include contemporary genres like downtempo and make wide use of DSP insert effects. I developed the styles on Genos (gen 1) which supports a single insert effect on each style part. The V2 styles are compatible with Genos2. Some voices and DSP effects may not be supported by earlier arrangers. Genos1 still leads the pack in many dimensions!

Nonetheless, I encourage you to download the new collection. You might need to re-voice a style part or two and maybe redirect the DSP units which are available on your music machine. The styles are SFF1 even though a few new styles use Mega Voice. Being SFF1, you should be able to edit the styles with Mixmaster or any of the wonderful tools created by Jørgen Sørensen. I owe Jørgen a debt of gratitude since his CASM editor, OTS editor and Style Split/Splice programs are essential tools for any style developer.

Download Performance Styles for PSR/Genos (Version 2). The ZIP file includes a README text file. Be sure to check it out.

Copyright © 2024 Paul J. Drongowski

Motif styles for your arranger!

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I’m pleased to announce my collection of Motif performance styles for the Yamaha PSR-S950 arranger and its close cousins: Tyros 5, PSR-S770 and PSR-S970.

Motif and MOX are great song-writing machines with thousands of built-in musical phrases. In Motif-speak, these phrases are called “arpeggios.” Motif/MOX also have built-in “Performances” which combine these musical phrases into jam-along song starters. Although Motif-series workstations are not arranger keyboards, the Performances are fun for live jams, covering many modern genres (contemporary jazz, funk and R&B) which are underserved by arranger workstations.

To fill this gap, I translated 23 Motif performances to PSR/Tyros styles. In keeping with the original source material, these styles are stripped down and lean. No orchestration to get in the way! Some styles use only bass and drum. INTROs and ENDINGs are short and basic. Depending upon the source performance, a translated style may have only three MAIN sections. However, all styles bring the groove.

Many of the styles use Megavoice bass and guitar. Plus, I’ve added appropriate OTS voices. Of course, you’re welcome to ditch the OTS voices and replace them with your own.

Here is the link to the ZIP file: perf_for_s950.zip. The file unzips into a directory named “PERF_for_S950”. The ZIP file includes a short READ ME file with more information.

If you would like to know how I translate a Motif/MOX performance to a PSR/Tyros style, please read the following articles: