Have you ever . . .

[Rayblewit]

. . . stepped up to your keyboard and said to yourself . . ."what will I play?"

Today I said to my wife as she was settling down to watch a chic flick "I might play some music"
Because my keyboard is in the other room I cannot dusturb anyone. . I said "I dunno!. . maybe whatever sheet music I left on the stand last time is what I might play"

So I went to my keyboard and looked at it and the mind went blank!
'What shall I play?' My mind was in la la land and confused. .

This happens to me often . . Do I play standards . . same old stuff which is not a bad idea since I can get better and better at it . . Or should I try some new stuff which excites me and envigourates my brain
Or do I fiddle with the keys and inspire myself and write new tunes?

Do you guys have this dilemma?

Ray

 

[CowboyNQ]

I try to learn new songs periodically as I enjoy the challenge, but I also like to practice my favourites too.

 

[Jeremykeys]

I generally just start by first, placing my fingers just above the keys and pressing them down.I then do this again but often in a different location. You'd be surprised at how true that actually is. I just make up music 90% of the time. Funnily enough, I have to learn one of my own songs for next Thursday. That's going to be more difficult than I can imagine.I don't generally learn how to play my songs. I just write them for fun. Once recorded, I"m moving on.

 

[Biggles]

I dig out something new, well not new, they are oldies but are new to me, for one of my compilation books.

Rattle the pseudo ivories to play as accurate as I can with no concern of the speed.

It helps me to i prove my sight reading.

One day I will get good at it, one day.

 

[chrissyr]

. . . stepped up to your keyboard and said to yourself . . ."what will I play?"

Today I said to my wife as she was settling down to watch a chic flick "I might play some music"
Because my keyboard is in the other room I cannot dusturb anyone. . I said "I dunno!. . maybe whatever sheet music I left on the stand last time is what I might play"

So I went to my keyboard and looked at it and the mind went blank!
'What shall I play?' My mind was in la la land and confused. .

This happens to me often . . Do I play standards . . same old stuff which is not a bad idea since I can get better and better at it . . Or should I try some new stuff which excites me and envigourates my brain
Or do I fiddle with the keys and inspire myself and write new tunes?

Do you guys have this dilemma?

Ray

omgosh thats weird cause thats EXACtly what happened to me this am actually,...I was at the Steinway GrandPianoShowroom checking out their new grand piano additions...the NICE manager was on duty today lol..he doesnt mind at all if i play my brains out on every single piano (right now thats around 25)...i hopped from one to the next playing these BEAUTIFUL CREATURES in complete ECSTASY lol..at about Steinway #7, ..i put my fingers down & .....TOTAL BLANK!...i was so enamored with these GORGEOUS instruments i think my brain did something similar to what must happen to a teenage boy if he walked into a showroom of Victorias Secret Models lol! ..i turned into a drooling worshipping idiot lol...Whenever I go to play mine at home & i cant thinkof what to play..i always do either:1.turn on pandora & play along with every song that comes up (that always inspires me)..or 2.I say to myself 'play what youre feeling right now.' ..& i just start playing my emotions out...(sometimes it ends up sounding good but sometimes what i start playing gets so sad & emotional i quit & go listen to disco lol.)

 

[Jeremykeys]

I guess that's happened a lot of times. The thing is though, I haven't even glanced at sheet music in decades. I usually just make up something on the fly. Pretty much every day. I know I really should get back into reading music again though. I guess I'm just too lazy!

 

[Giner]

I guess that's happened a lot of times. The thing is though, I haven't even glanced at sheet music in decades. I usually just make up something on the fly. Pretty much every day. I know I really should get back into reading music again though. I guess I'm just too lazy!

That's pretty much the way it works for me. Whatever pops into my head, I just sit and play it. Many years ago I gave learning to read an honest try, but then, as now, my ears are too fast. I do keyboard/vocals in our duo and I can handle keys like C, D, E, F, G, and A, but I generally stay away from the b and # keys. I will, on occasion, to fit my vocal range, use the transpose button (I'm not above that ). So, all in all, it works out.

 

[Jeremykeys]

These days, most of my playing is at home in my studio although on the weekend we did have a jam in the basement. I rent my house and the landlord who I've known for more than a few decades, has a truckload of gear set up in the basement. Full drum kit, bass guitar amps, his massive rig, P.A. and a control room with mixers and all the recording stuff needed. The drums are all miked up, guitar cabinets miked, bass is D.I.d and I just plug in my keyboards. These are real jams. Not cover songs allowed. We make it up right there on the spot. Generally I'm the guy who starts something so I just pick out a sound and go with it. It's fun.
On the other hand, in my studio, I play a lot of guitar and bass. Sometimes tons of keyboard tracks and then sometimes none. I like to write and record my songs. I have them on my Soundcloud page.
Feel free to have a listen and share them if you like.
Here's a link to one of my songs. You can find all of them by scrolling up or down.

https://soundcloud.com/jeremykeys%2F01-a-pirates-lament

 

[happyrat1]

My process is quite a bit different than you guys. I don't really learn songs per se.

From day to day when I'm practicing, I usually just crank up a netradio station or my MP3 collection and start following along.

If I'm feeling lazy I'll play along with pop or blues tunes that don't really explore any weird key signatures, but if I'm feeling feisty and adventurous I'll try and follow along with jazz or prog rock stations where the keys are all over the map.

It's a great way to develop your ear as well as your ability to anticipate where a tune is going when you've never heard it before.

Usually within two to four bars I can pick out the gist of it.

Then once or twice a month I fire up the studio, and if I'm not screwing with the software and hardware configurations for two hours straight, I'll start off by programming and recording a drum track, then feel my way thru a bassline, then finally add lead and harmonies to the mix. This process can carry over for a couple of days once it's started.

I hope you enjoyed your peek inside the laminated rat brain.

Gary

 

[Jeremykeys]

As Dislexic the Borg once said, "Your ass is laminated!"

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Sometimes I just start with Voice #1 and start going through the different voices on my keyboard until I find one that catches my fancy, and I start picking out a (simple) melody with it. You'd be surprised-- or maybe not-- how different voices tend to suggest melodies, perhaps because they remind you of something you heard once.

 

[Jeremykeys]

I do that too but now I mostly build my sounds. I've been making sounds on synths for years. I do admit though that I have a certain fondness for the Hammond and Leslei sounds that I have on my Kronos. I bought a bank of sounds from KSOunds some years ago called Organimation. money well spent. With the Korg Kornos, I like that my faders become drawbars like on a real Hammond and I can play them in real time.

 

[Giner]

Jeremy, I enjoyed your Pirate's Lament. It put me in mind of someone I can't quite put a finger on. How wonderful you have access to all the toys, too.

 

[Jeremykeys]

Thank you. I had a lot of fun writing and recording it.
Feel free to share it with your friends.

 

[Rayblewit]

We make it up right there on the spot. Generally I'm the guy who starts something so I just pick out a sound and go with it. It's fun.

When you develop a cool riff or generate an awesome sound . . do you write it down straight away on the blank staff? Or do you forget it in five minutes as you are into the next tune?
Sometimes I have played a few "wow factor" tunes at random accidently and then moved on. Then I forget what I just played which was "wow"
I get annoyed that I did not write it.

I do love playing making it up and quite often a sweet sound will evolve worth developing. I get shitty if I do not put the dots on the staff because sure enough I will forget it.

I liked the Pirate tune too.
I really think you have song writing and playing talent worldclass. I have said that before as I have listened to many of your tunes Jeremy.

Wasted on soundcloud. Should be on the mainstage worldwide. Your songs would sell for sure.

Cheers Ray

 

[SeaGtGruff]

If I get a little bit of melody in my head, I'll see if I can get it down before I lose it by using a simple notation program like NCH Crescendo.

But it's also nice to have a basic "song record" function on my keyboards, so I can start recording before I do any noodling. Later I can save it to a MIDI file and import it into a DAW to grab any bits and pieces that were worth keeping.

 

[Jeremykeys]

When you develop a cool riff or generate an awesome sound . . do you write it down straight away on the blank staff? Or do you forget it in five minutes as you are into the next tune?
Sometimes I have played a few "wow factor" tunes at random accidently and then moved on. Then I forget what I just played which was "wow"
I get annoyed that I did not write it.

I do love playing making it up and quite often a sweet sound will evolve worth developing. I get shitty if I do not put the dots on the staff because sure enough I will forget it.

I liked the Pirate tune too.
I really think you have song writing and playing talent worldclass. I have said that before as I have listened to many of your tunes Jeremy.

Wasted on soundcloud. Should be on the mainstage worldwide. Your songs would sell for sure.

Cheers Ray

Thanks Ray! You're too kind. No big stage for me anymore. I'm now a "put yer feet up and sip a whisky before I go to bed" kind of guy.
As for the "accidently Wow factor" ideas, well, everything does get recorded. We have mics on all of the drums, guitar cabinets, and direct boxes for the bass and keyboards. I also often have my Zoom digital recorder filming and audio recording the jam.Most of it pretty much just gets forgotten and ignored though. Sad but true.
I'm not on Facebook but apparently a lot our stuff is on a page called Scarberian Proggers. Andy, the guitar player and owner of the house and basement jam spot likes to put things up. I've never really seen anything but if you're interested, fell free to take a look. I can't tell you what it will look or sound like though.
Cheers!

 

[Rayblewit]

Thanks Jeremy, but I do not use facebook.
Not really interested in following.
Cheers man!

 

[Jeremykeys]

Fair enough. I have no use for Facebook either.

 

[Biggles]

Jeremy

Just had a look at the Facebook page and he has not posted anything new since 2016.