DR CHAS SMITH when you program a keyboard....do you not play that section during performance and just let the keyboard do it?
"Programming" can mean any number of things. What you suggest can be one of them, but that's not it. (I haven't yet tried anything in which I'm not physically doing all the playing.) Typically, when somebody who's playing a musical says they're "programming" the keyboard, what that usually means is finding all of the various "sounds" called for (pianos, other instruments, sometimes sound effects), and getting them set up and stored in such a way that you can seamlessly switch from one to the next, in order, during the performance.
In traditional shows, the keyboard might only need to "be" a piano and one or two other instruments in a few passages, such as organ, celesta, accordion, or harp. More contemporary shows call for the keyboard and other electronics to be a much larger component of the show from the get-go, the setup and execution of which can get pretty complex. In some modern-day scores, the number of setups, or "patches", called for, from overture to exit music, can reach a few hundred; i.e., in some sections, you might be changing your setup, or sound, every few bars. So, this kind of programming can range from the very simple to something demanding considerable skill. I'm no genius at this. I have a professional level but not state-of-the-art keyboard, on which I've managed to learn enough to decently execute certain scores. (I don't get into things I can't handle.)
The bitch about this RAGTIME book is how lacking and inconsistent the instructions and notations are. It's maddening when one must guess at, rather than read and do one's best to faithfully execute, the arranger's wishes -- especially when it's obvious that critical information is simply missing. But BASICALLY, once I'm done with this prep work, I'll be able to play this book -- starting with the first "Heintzman Upright Piano", then switching to grand piano, harp, alto flute and clarinet, honky-tonk piano, organ, accordion, strings and brass support, and more -- all in order, instantaneously, by tapping a "switch pedal" with my foot so my hands never have to leave the keyboard.
That's sort of it in a wee tiny nutshell. Sorry that was so long, and I left a LOT out, but did I answer the question? You might as well say yes because that's all yer getting.
