Hi. It's about time I introduce myself. I'm Mozartian because I love playing Mozart pieces on my clarinet. Real name is Jerry. My mom played piano and church organ and gave me a few lessons when I was young until I told her I really don't like piano. I haven't played piano since. Oh well, at least she didn't act crushed.
But I have always been attracted to the keyboards and owned a cheapie or two over the years but never had time to do much with them. Now retired, I do have time. I am inspired by those who play by ear. I have been excessively square with the clarinet, always relying on the written notes, no need to learn chords and progressions, which is the heart of music. Seeing my older brother improvise on keyboards playing honky tonk and rock n roll suggests that it may be possible for me to do my own version of improv. So, I intend to use the keyboard as a means to break out of my box, learn some chords and progressions, and grow into at least a portion of the capacity of the instrument I have chosen.
The keyboard I chose is the Casio WK7500. Why? Because 1) The variety of voicings, most pretty decent. 2) The good quality and variety of the organ voicings and the flexibilty via the drawbars. 3) The 76 keys and decent keybed. 4) The mike input for recording my clarinet with midi backgrounds or whatever I eventually create. 5) The excellent reviews plus comments about it on this forum.
Anticipating the keyboards' arrival within the next few days, I have researched many software assisted and internet keyboard/piano teaching programs and decided on eMedia's Piano and Keyboard Method purchased on Amazon for $49. I thought that Piano Marvel and Playground Sessions were also quite good but the one I chose fit my interests better. I've also picked up a small book called "How to Play Keyboards" by Roger Evans that provides a quick start on using "Casio Chords" to begin playing simple melodies.
I'm currently researching chord books. A couple that caught my eye that appear to fit my immediate needs are A Piano Chord Book You Can Actually Use and Piano Chords and Progressions.
And for later on, I'm anticipating downloading midi files to integrate with both learning the keyboard and improving my clarinet skills. Having reviewed the features of several notation and midi programs that appear to suit my needs best, it appears Notation Musician or Notation Composer would be the best fit. Why? For me, the user interface is more intuitive than several others, they both have great practice features, and Composer has the additional capability of scanning sheet music and converting them to midi files. Why would I want to do this? To create accompaniment for practice on the clarinet and to practice parts on the keyboard. But all of this midi stuff is several months away after I get some keyboard basics under my belt.
But its a plan.
Thank you guys for all the great tips and advice, your enthusiasm for the topic of keyboards, and your willing spirits wanting to help others.
But I have always been attracted to the keyboards and owned a cheapie or two over the years but never had time to do much with them. Now retired, I do have time. I am inspired by those who play by ear. I have been excessively square with the clarinet, always relying on the written notes, no need to learn chords and progressions, which is the heart of music. Seeing my older brother improvise on keyboards playing honky tonk and rock n roll suggests that it may be possible for me to do my own version of improv. So, I intend to use the keyboard as a means to break out of my box, learn some chords and progressions, and grow into at least a portion of the capacity of the instrument I have chosen.
The keyboard I chose is the Casio WK7500. Why? Because 1) The variety of voicings, most pretty decent. 2) The good quality and variety of the organ voicings and the flexibilty via the drawbars. 3) The 76 keys and decent keybed. 4) The mike input for recording my clarinet with midi backgrounds or whatever I eventually create. 5) The excellent reviews plus comments about it on this forum.
Anticipating the keyboards' arrival within the next few days, I have researched many software assisted and internet keyboard/piano teaching programs and decided on eMedia's Piano and Keyboard Method purchased on Amazon for $49. I thought that Piano Marvel and Playground Sessions were also quite good but the one I chose fit my interests better. I've also picked up a small book called "How to Play Keyboards" by Roger Evans that provides a quick start on using "Casio Chords" to begin playing simple melodies.
I'm currently researching chord books. A couple that caught my eye that appear to fit my immediate needs are A Piano Chord Book You Can Actually Use and Piano Chords and Progressions.
And for later on, I'm anticipating downloading midi files to integrate with both learning the keyboard and improving my clarinet skills. Having reviewed the features of several notation and midi programs that appear to suit my needs best, it appears Notation Musician or Notation Composer would be the best fit. Why? For me, the user interface is more intuitive than several others, they both have great practice features, and Composer has the additional capability of scanning sheet music and converting them to midi files. Why would I want to do this? To create accompaniment for practice on the clarinet and to practice parts on the keyboard. But all of this midi stuff is several months away after I get some keyboard basics under my belt.
But its a plan.
Thank you guys for all the great tips and advice, your enthusiasm for the topic of keyboards, and your willing spirits wanting to help others.
