Larry Tyler

Larry's Musical Background

I retired in 2006 as a university professor in special education. I live in Oxford, Mississippi.

My earliest musical experiences started in church, with much exposure to vocal music. Then, early-on, came a lot of radio listening (pre TV days) that included Saturday night rituals with the Grand Ole Opry. Three years of piano instruction during the elementary years was a good start, but I soon drifted away due to the intrusion of sports. Then, in high school, I picked up the ukulele, which quickly led to my first guitar. In college (early 60's), I was around guys starting a band playing hits of the day. The electric guitar and bass drew most of my interest and, shortly, I was in my first group, The Shamrocks.

Countless gigs over the years have certified my addiction to music and the love of live music in particular. Along the way, I developed an interest in multitrack home recording. Much gear later (reel-to-reel, cassette, to digital), I recently made the plunge into computer-based recording. Wow, what a learning curve for a non-techie! The primary purpose of recording was to create backing tracks to solo with on guitar. That introduced me to Band In A Box and, now, arranger keyboards. I've owned many arrangers, including Roland, Technics, and several Yamahas, most recently the PSR-S920.

In retirement, I play solo several nights a week at a private dining club, a blend of vocals and instrumentals. This experience has allowed me to move from guitar to playing keyboard more often. My play list includes everything from the 1920's through the 70's. The Great American Songbook, 50's to 70's pop tunes, and classic country fit the ambience of the room and interest of listeners and dancers for the most part. Occasionally, I'll add a more contemporary tune if it sits well within the play list. For special occasions and events, musician friends join me for duos, trios, up to a 10-piece group, including two vocalists. I'm basically an "ear" player, but do read chord charts and melody lines rather easily. (Photo of Larry at his keyboard in his little corner of the living room.)

Just Friends Band

Just Friends Band members Larry Tyler, Kelley Walker and Wes Walker (see photo below) delight audiences with skilled renditions of pop, jazz standards, rock, country, and gospel. Larry is skilled on both guitar and keyboard and provides vocals on a wide repertoire of material, including pop, jazz standards, rock, country, and gospel.  Wes Walker plays saxophone, flute, and clarinet and has performed professionally around the region for the past 30 years, including productions of West Side Story, Will Rogers Follies, A Chorus Line, and The King and I. Wes has backed prominent entertainers, including Johnny Mathis, Burt Bachrach, Wayne Newton, The Temptations, The Four Tops, and the Tommy Dorsey Band. His experience includes the Memphis Jazz Orchestra and the Memphis Symphony Pops Concerts. Kelley Walker has performed around the Memphis area for over 30 years with various bands, singing rock and roll, old standards and top 40 hits in venues including the Peabody Hotel, The Memphis Country Club, and Mud Island.

The PSR Site, with its contributors, has been very helpful in providing needed information. I've purchased several of the products offered by Joe Waters and found them useful. I hope the PSR Tutorial website will be around for a long time to come.

info: Larry has played the PSR-3000, Tyros2, PSR-S910, and PSR-S950. In 2014, Larry acquired his new Tyros5, in 2015, Larry got the new PSR S970, in 2019 the PSR-SX900 and in 2024 the new PSR-SX920.