What does it really mean to "play keyboard"?

[BKN4691]

This is inspired by a recently resurfaced old thread from one of our "one-and-done" members that was replied to 13 years late

The late response touched on this somewhat, but what I thought was really interesting was the OP's comment "there is no good keyboard teacher available so that is why I decided to learn piano".

I'm sure most of us here recognize there are pretty big technique differences between playing piano, organ, arranger keyboard, synthesizer, etc., not to mention the various styles/genres. And also that there are a lot of variations of what is described as a "keyboard" (arranger, workstation, stage piano, etc.). I imagine when an aspiring player first states that they want to "learn to play keyboard" they're likely envisioning something like they've seen/heard from Yes, ELP, Pink Floyd, Dream Theater, etc. I think if they were specifically looking to learn to play piano they would probably state that. But otherwise: who knows?

So I'm curious: If someone says they want to learn to "play keyboard", or they say "I play the keyboard", what pops into your head, or what questions do you have for them?

P.S. If a discussion already exists on this subject, feel free to point me to it or have it merged.

 

[happyrat1]

I'm self taught and play mostly by ear. Lots of early blues musicians had no formal training at all, but to me learning music is simply learning to speak music with your fingers. It's a matter of training your fingers to play the patterns that make up the riffs and melodies of a popular song.

What I'm saying is that there is not simply one useful method to learn a new language.

Like learning Spanish or French, fluency comes with practical application.

 

[Biggles]

What they said /\

 

[Bouncingogre]

I was taught piano from an early age, but transitioned to organ at around 14.
I now play Arranger keyboards, and love the versatility of them.
I play from sheet music and by ear. I won't buy a new book of music until I can play all the numbers in the book I'm currently playing.
Lots and lots of practice is the key. All instruments have their own characteristics, and even how you touch the keys is important.
I aim to play for at least 2 hours a day, but often much longer. I still love the sheer size, sound and challenge of an organ. Then you get to give your feet a workout too!
I like Gary's description. It's learning to speak music with your fingers. So true.
As an old guy, playing an instrument is very satisfying. There's always something new to learn, which keeps the brain active.

 

[Rayblewit]

Like Gary, I too are self taught.
Like Bouncingogre, I play EVERYDAY for a couple of hours at least.

What's it really like to play keyboard ? You ask.
It is my hobby an obsession, addiction.
12 years ago, I did not know how to read music or relate it to piano keys. No Idea!
I borrowed a library book "idiots guide to keyboarding"
It took dedication and determination to learn it and eventually excel.

I never did any music at school.
I was 60 years old when I started keyboarding.
It is never too late to learn and play.
I am almost 73 and life is young as far as I am concerned. . music wise.

 

[amwilburn]

We actually *did* have a school with keyboard teachers. They were almost always full booked; more popular than our traditional piano teachers, except with the Chinese parents crowd (Chinese culture dictates everyone has to learn piano. And only 'traditional' counts, which has ruined countless children's chances of learning music for *fun*). Lucky for me, my dad knew the difference and after I quit piano lessons (after 3 months) he sent me to keyboard lessons. My wife wasn't so lucky, was forced to take traditional piano for 10+ years (she graduated from RCM grade 9) and doesn't go near our digital piano or keyboards at home, since to her it was treated like a chore rather than a pleasure.

I say *did* because after 50+ years, over 1300 students, we suddenly closed our music school in 2023. I'm not entirely sure *why* we did, but even I learned here, some 40+ years ago. I only took 4 years of keyboard lessons here, and you can see the results on my youtube channel!

Mark

---

www.youtube.com/MarkWilburnTLM/Videos
DX7, CLP300, PSR60, Roland E20 + MT32, CVP309, PSRS970, Fender Std Strat, Squier RB3 Midi Strat, Ibanez SA262, Yamaha CG131, Fujiyama FC390, TUC-Kitty

 

[happyrat1]

It's a shame you limit your skills to an arranger. It's one thing to sound like a cheesy recording of an old timey orchestra, but if you really want to emulate Hans Zimmer or Danny Elfman, then you really should go multitrack with honest to god synths supplying rhythm and percussion.

The results would be so much more satisfying.

But it looks to me like you own or work in a keyboard music school and music shoppe.

There exists near me, a place called Merriam School of Music. I've window shopped there a few times and saw a perfectly good RD-2000, FA 08 and an F 09. I can't say I liked the build quality from a quick hands on but surely you must do some. noodling on an honest to god workstation from time to time? Anything analog in stock?

 

[happyrat1]

BTW, 95%% of ground floor space at Merriam is filled with concert grands. The Rolands and Kawais are squirrelled away in a small corner designed as an E-Piano ghetto. The school part exist in the basement and second floor sections.

 

[amwilburn]

Oh I *have*. But nothing beats the thrill of playing it all live, after using my own custom designed beats and accompaniment (if any; some sections of my demos have no accompaniment, just the drums)

When I compose new music? Yes I do multitrack. But for live recreations, it's just so visceral to be responsible for everything live; if I stop playing, nothing happens except the drums. And for *those* keyboards, my favourites are MODX and Nautilus.

Doing a single track live take on top of pre-recorded midi tracks doesn't appeal to me; I *would* be interested in doing a 16 (or more) track video where I show recording each track, in a separate video screen, and paste them altogether, but that's beyond any of the free video editing software that I've found.

Yes Hans Zimmer uses multitrack recording. But did you ever see Vangelis (one of the greatest film composers of all time) playing *live* on his (admittedly custom made) arranger? That's exciting to me

In fact, all the modern Yamaha arrangers and digital pianos with Registration banks let us all pretend we're Vangelis, as they let us do essentially the same thing! We all enjoy music differently; that doesn't mean I don't enjoy how others make theirs; I really dig your synth creations, too

Oh, I thought I'd stated this before (my bad if I haven't): I work for a music retailer (Tom Lee Music) and I can honestly say I started training here in the 70's! So when I say I've been doing this a long time... We're the largest Steinway dealer in Canada & China, largest Yamaha dealer in China, and one of the largest Yamaha dealers in Canada as well. (Steinway Piano Gallery is part of Tom Lee Music Canada, which is in turn part of Tom Lee Music global)

Mark

 

[happyrat1]

I've bought a couple of boards from Tom Lee out in Vancouver as well as Axe Music out in Edmonton back before they were bought out by L&M way back in the stone age when internet purchases weren't charging HST.

Good service from you guys.

 

[Biggles]

It's a shame you limit your skills to an arranger. It's one thing to sound like a cheesy recording of an old timey orchestra, but if you really want to emulate Hans Zimmer or Danny Elfman, then you really should go multitrack with honest to god synths supplying rhythm and percussion.

The results would be so much more satisfying.

But it looks to me like you own or work in a keyboard music school and music shoppe.

There exists near me, a place called Merriam School of Music. I've window shopped there a few times and saw a perfectly good RD-2000, FA 08 and an F 09. I can't say I liked the build quality from a quick hands on but surely you must do some. noodling on an honest to god workstation from time to time? Anything analog in stock?

Gary

Just because it is an arranger does not mean you are stuck with the cheesey stuff.

The “Style” play can be active but the drums, bass, and left hand side of the split can be whatever you have on the list of instruments.

You can have just the drums and bass on the left and still play Style, you can have as many synths either side of the split as you want.

With a decent arranger the character of the synth can be adjusted in real time, OK maybe not as much as in a dedicated synth but it is still possible.

 

[happyrat1]

I'm still hearing cruise ships and nursing homes....

 

[Rayblewit]

They don't get electronica music on cruise ships or nursing homes. LOL!
Maybe it's time to start a new trend eh Gary?

 

[SilverfoxUK]

There are some very different skills involved here. Like most I learnt to play the piano moving onto the organ later. I learnt to read the dots and battled away quite nicely. What I found was that playing by ear was amazingly difficult. I knew the chords and scales because I had had to learn them but playing by ear I think uses a different part of your brain. So horses for courses. I struggle with keyboards because I'm looking for something to do with my feet. A piano is touch sensitive in every respect of the word. The early organs were pretty numb, you play the note or you didn't. I managed to get a couple of hours on a 3 x 19 Wurlitzer over the weekend. The old girl is just over 90 years old but plays beautifully. The Wurly like many other theatre organs has second touch. So the skilled (I'm not quite in that set) can play a tune beautifully with just the left hand. The fingers of the left hand play the chord and by pressing forcefully with the thumb on the upper key a second voice is added to play the melody. Clearly this leaves the right hand to create mayhem. However you play the instrument enjoy it, there is no right and wrong.

 

[Dasntn]

This is my take on it. I think of myself as someone who plays keyboards - I had piano lessons for a couple of years when I was 10 years old or thereabouts and I guess that gave me some of the basics but I didn't stick with it. Moved on to guitar, then flute, then bass guitar which has been my main instrument for 40 years in many bands.
But keyboards kept creeping in - first as an early poly synth from Italy in the 80's which stayed at home, then a PSR in the 90's. Then I started to do a bit of keys along with bass when I got a Yamaha MM6 - a bit of piano, a bit of strings. Four years ago I joined the first band where I was just on keyboards (heavy metal covers) and now in my second band (pop/funk) in that role.

I think, as a keyboard player, I can do a bit of piano - not enough to call myself a "proper" pianist, but to accompany a number of songs, I can play a bit of Organ (channel my inner Jon Lord), and a touch of clav. Plus I get to listen to songs that we are covering and see how much of the strings, brass, synths etc I can bring in, and that makes me aware of the songs in more depth than I ever was before.

So, what do I think a keyboard player is (or can be)? Someone who really listens to all the parts in a song!

 

[mwtzzz]

Start with piano and piano lessons. You can play any other type of keyboard once you have that foundation.

 

[amwilburn]

I'm still hearing cruise ships and nursing homes....

If I heard someone else play a Top Gun Medley or Pirates of the Caribbean Medley, or Back to the Future, Star Wars, Star Trek, or Bohemian Rhapsody being played live on a cruise ship, you bet your butt I'd be awkwardly dancing along with them, too!

Any nursing home with a soundtrack like that would be *lit*

Shameless self plug? Yup! But I'm pretty good at what I do And yes, I work in a really fun store, and I'm not even the most talented singer or pianist at our store (I'm the 2nd best singer, and about 6th best on piano, *but* nobody else here knows the keyboards like I do. I also love Nautilus, Modx, the venerable MicroKorg (which was in production for over 20 years, unchanged! That's how good it was!) and Moog Sub(sequent)... that thing sounds *deep*. And yes, I've been programming synths since the 80's, incl Rolands, not just my dx7. In fact one reason I'm so excited about the G2 is because for the first time ever, I can include those classic dx7 sounds *in* the arrangement, including the accompaniment. Pus it includes the DX7ii, I only purchased the monaural mk1...

Mark

---

www.youtube.com/MarkWilburnTLM/Videos
DX7, CLP300, PSR60, Roland E20 + MT32, CVP309, PSRS970, Fender Std Strat, Squier RB3 Midi Strat, Ibanez SA262, Yamaha CG131, Fujiyama FC390, TUC-Kitty

 

[BrianT]

I don't think just "playing a keyboard" is enough information to really understand any more than, say, "driving a vehicle". What is it? Is it a moped? Is it a car? Is it a truck? Is it a railroad locomotive? All different but all "vehicles".

It's a place to start, though, at least the beginning of a conversation. I've known of people who could play some pretty intense riffs on a "keyboard" but wouldn't really be able to do much if sitting down to an acoustic piano. And I've known others who could play an acoustic piano very well but wouldn't quite know what to do with a synthesizer. And some are at home on almost any keyboard you could throw at them from harpsichord, pipe organ, concert grand piano, Nord stage, Genos 2, just about anything.

 

[saguaro_48]

This is inspired by a recently resurfaced old thread from one of our "one-and-done" members that was replied to 13 years late

The late response touched on this somewhat, but what I thought was really interesting was the OP's comment "there is no good keyboard teacher available so that is why I decided to learn piano".

I'm sure most of us here recognize there are pretty big technique differences between playing piano, organ, arranger keyboard, synthesizer, etc., not to mention the various styles/genres. And also that there are a lot of variations of what is described as a "keyboard" (arranger, workstation, stage piano, etc.). I imagine when an aspiring player first states that they want to "learn to play keyboard" they're likely envisioning something like they've seen/heard from Yes, ELP, Pink Floyd, Dream Theater, etc. I think if they were specifically looking to learn to play piano they would probably state that. But otherwise: who knows?

So I'm curious: If someone says they want to learn to "play keyboard", or they say "I play the keyboard", what pops into your head, or what questions do you have for them?

P.S. If a discussion already exists on this subject, feel free to point me to it or have it merged.

I was "forced" to take piano lessons as an 8 yr old in 1950. Never enjoyed it but when I was in my 50's a Yamaha arranger/keyboard caught my interest. But no teachers around... and this was on Long Island NY with a populatio in the millions! I knew chords and realized the idea behind auto accompaniment. Things finally clicked months later when, at a New Years eve party i spent some time watching a soloist entertain on a similar keyboard. I saw how he used the intros, the more complicated accompaniments as the song progressed, along with the type of instruments that worked. Finally, I realized it was necessary to listen to the actual music as played in the original recordings to try and get a better style and instrument selection. Unfortunately, I did not inherit an "ear" fit music and found it very difficult to do the analysis necessary. I guess the good players have that ability. So, in deference to my cohabitanrs, and neighbors, I use head phones more often than not.
Happy holiday.

 

[Biggles]

Watched a series of programmes on the Rolling Stones, one band member per episode.

In it Keith Richard said he just plays riffs.

The guy has not done bad just playing riffs.

Came out that Charley Watts, is regarded as one of the greatest all rounder drummers of all time.