Tag Archives: styles

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

Free DJX-II styles: Version 2

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I’m happy to announce version 2 of my DJX-II styles for Yamaha Genos, Tyros and PSR arrangers.

These DJ styles are converted from the original Yamaha DJX-II patterns. If you would like to know more about the conversion process, please see: Mining the Yamaha DJX-II.

These are DJ styles, so they only respond to changes in the root note. The chord progressions are cooked into the patterns (just like intros and endings in regular PSR styles). I tried to find the best mapping from DJX-II patterns to style sections. Therefore, some of the DJXII styles have auto-fill, some do not. Longer “fill” patterns are assigned to the intro and ending sections which can play more than one measure.

Feel free to edit, rearrange and customize the styles in order to make them your own. I recommend Jørgen Sørensen’s excellent tools. Jørgen’s site also has documentation and tutorials about styles and style creation to help you along. Please check it out and support his work!

Click on this link to download the ZIP file.

Version 2 includes all of the files in the first collection. Version 2 adds Drum ‘n’ Bass, Disco, House and Trip Hop styles. The ZIP file includes a README.TXT file which should help you get started with the styles. I have also included PDF notation files for people who read music and want to know about the chord progressions, bass lines, and so forth.

Enjoy! The DJX-II style collection is free.

Copyright © 2021 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:

Performance styles for PSR-E443

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The PSR-E443 folks don’t get enough love, so here is a collection of performance styles for the E443 and the E433.

So, what is a “performance style?”

The Yamaha Motif/MOX series of synthesizer workstations have hundreds of factory “Performances” to to help a composer get started with a new song. A Performance has up to four independent voices (drum, bass, guitar, etc.) and up to six sets of related musical phrases — “arpeggios” in Motif-speak. The arpeggios are drawn from a built-in library of several thousand musical phrases in a slew of contemporary genres. Each set of phrases has a role (main section, fill, break) and the composer switches between sets while playing in order to lay down a basic arrangement or backing track. Even if you’re not a songwriter, the Motif Performances are just plain fun for jamming or practice.

I recorded and translated 22 of my favorite Motif/MOX Performances to PSR/Tyros styles — Performance styles. They play just like regular styles (follow chords in the left hand, play fill-ins when changing main sections, etc.) The styles are stripped down and are meant to be played. A few of the styles have only bass and drum, so there isn’t a lot of elaborate orchestration to get in the way. The introductions and endings are very simple.

This first collection targets the PSR-E443 and E433. The styles are SFF1 and should work on other arrangers supporting SFF1 although you may need to substitute different drum kits. The styles in this collection do not use Mega Voices. A more advanced collection with SFF GE and Mega Voices is being developed.

Since these are my favorite performances, the styles come from a funky, jazzy, fusion kind of place.

For more information, check out the README page. Then, download the ZIP file and have fun!

Free DJX-II styles/patterns for PSR/Tyros

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Once upon a time (around the year 2000), Yamaha was into beat boxes and other spiffy tools for creating dance, hip hop, and other forms of “electronic” music. The DJX-II groove machine was an entry-level keyboard designed for budding DJs and musicians. It combined a funky looking 61-key keyboard, pattern-based sequencer and basic sound engine into an all-in-one, battery-powered instrument with built-in amplifier and speakers. Genres included techno, trance, garage, hip hop, old skool and trip hop.

DJX-II

The musician or DJ could select from 70 preset patterns, each pattern with ten variations. The variations were further categorized into six MAIN patterns and four FILL patterns. The keyboard was divided into five 12-key zones where each octave performed a specific performance function. One of the zones selected the current variation allowing the player to switch between pattern variations. Another zone transposed the pattern into the current root key.

Yamaha still makes the original DJX-II patterns available through its support site. Each of the files is a standard MIDI file (SMF) containing a single pattern. Although they are in SMF format, the files are not immediately useable. The rhythm tracks are programmed for some truly ancient and arcane Yamaha drum kits, none of which adhere to GM or XG layout conventions. Further, the files cannot be imported and played as an arranger workstation style, i.e., they do not contain the information and format needed by a PSR/Tyros style.

Last December, I developed a process for converting a DJX-II pattern file to a PSR/Tyros style file. I wrote and posted an earlier article on the DJX-II style format and conversion process. I then got to work and converted fifteen patterns to PSR/Tyros style format.

The patterns are all on the jazz tip and they include some pretty hip chord changes! I quickly found that I needed to transcribe the chord changes and bass lines in order to play along. I used Sibelius First to notate the MIDI data in each pattern and saved the lead sheets in PDF files. Knowing the changes makes jamming easier and a lot more fun.

At long last, I’m ready to distribute the converted patterns. Here is a link to the the ZIP file. The ZIP file contains fifteen style files (one for each DJX-II pattern), fifteen PDF lead sheets and a README.TXT file with performance tips.

Update: Check out version 2 of the DJX-II style collection. It’s still free!

I strongly recommend reading the README.TXT file before using the new styles. The converted patterns behave like the new Yamaha DJ styles on the PSR-S670. You only need to play a single note in the left hand accompaniment. No chords are necessary because the chord progressions are cooked into the patterns. The note sets the root note for the progression and the arranger and DJ style take over from there.

Current and recent workstation arrangers should play these styles without problem, save the occasional kit or voice substitution. Good news for musicians with entry-level models (e.g., PSR-E443) as the style files are SFF1 and no OTS. Thus, entry-level arrangers should load and play these pattern styles, too.

Please enjoy playing with these “DJ styles.” In terms of the future, the DJX-II trip hop styles are genuinely sick and I hope to convert them one of these days!