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Topic ClosedHow can i become a better keyboard player?

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mono View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 11 2012 at 05:29
As a keys player, I would also recommend lessons (once a week). 
You'll know when you've had enough lessons, take another 6 months at this point before deciding to stop the lessons.
Unfourtunately, it is very hard to learn the piano on your own, and I saw it to be more efficient to take courses.

That will get you some technique.
Then the best way to improve your playing would be first to try and reproduce other pieces, then trying to improvise little by little (first on know progressions, then in an increasingly 'looser' fashion).

Of course, these two steps can be done more or less at the same time.
After two or three years of experience, you can already try out some stuff on your own.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 10 2012 at 18:25
Originally posted by Desert_Storm Desert_Storm wrote:

Originally posted by Dayvenkirq Dayvenkirq wrote:

And what if you want to just improvise? I personally found key signatures and fingering exercises (as the minimum requirements for basic improvisation, unless I forgot something else) very useful for learning to play the piano when it came down to sight reading.


From this point on I can only speak as a guitarist, since I'm not good keyboarder (see above). On guitar we learn improvisation by learning the scales, not just playing them up and down but in groups of four, groups of three, or up and down in thirds (e.g. c-e-d-f-e-g-f-a-g-h-a-c-h-d-f-c and back) etc., which makes it easier to use the scale in improvisation for fast runs and things like that without just playing the scale one note after the other. Of course, learning the scales is one thing, the other one is to learn where you can use them, e.g. "would I play d-dorian or d-aeolian over a Dm7 chord?", and how they differ in colour. 
The other main thing we do on guitar is learning to play arpeggios (starting with triads and going up to 7-9-11-13 chords), which tend to sound very nice in a solo too, and make some contrast to just playing scales. Here, too, it's important to know which arpeggios go over which chord(-progression).

I guess that, basically, what sounds good on a guitar will sound fine on a keyboard, too. I can't get into any specific techniques, but those are basics used on probably any instrument. Smile

Great! Thanks for the tip, do' Smile . I usually rely on fourths and fifths, occasionally playing a note from an extended chord or a suspended note. I like to think of an improvisation as an experiment bound to theory, technique, and attitude.


Edited by Dayvenkirq - April 10 2012 at 18:39
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 10 2012 at 14:12
Originally posted by Dayvenkirq Dayvenkirq wrote:

And what if you want to just improvise? I personally found key signatures and fingering exercises (as the minimum requirements for basic improvisation, unless I forgot something else) very useful for learning to play the piano when it came down to sight reading.


From this point on I can only speak as a guitarist, since I'm not good keyboarder (see above). On guitar we learn improvisation by learning the scales, not just playing them up and down but in groups of four, groups of three, or up and down in thirds (e.g. c-e-d-f-e-g-f-a-g-h-a-c-h-d-f-c and back) etc., which makes it easier to use the scale in improvisation for fast runs and things like that without just playing the scale one note after the other. Of course, learning the scales is one thing, the other one is to learn where you can use them, e.g. "would I play d-dorian or d-aeolian over a Dm7 chord?", and how they differ in colour. 
The other main thing we do on guitar is learning to play arpeggios (starting with triads and going up to 7-9-11-13 chords), which tend to sound very nice in a solo too, and make some contrast to just playing scales. Here, too, it's important to know which arpeggios go over which chord(-progression).

I guess that, basically, what sounds good on a guitar will sound fine on a keyboard, too. I can't get into any specific techniques, but those are basics used on probably any instrument. Smile
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 09 2012 at 20:32
And what if you want to just improvise? I personally found key signatures and fingering exercises (as the minimum requirements for basic improvisation, unless I forgot something else) very useful for learning to play the piano when it came down to sight reading. But don't lose your creative side, though Smile .
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 09 2012 at 08:11
Originally posted by PyramidMeetsTheEye PyramidMeetsTheEye wrote:

school, practise in music there are no short ways  

Completely right!

Get a teacher. If you don't have money, get him only for a couple of hours so that he can recommend you some schools and theory books and give you some kind of practise schedule.

In the meantime, learn chords and their inversions. Get used to take the shortest way to the next notes when changing chords in the left hand. Learn scales, and learn which of those correspond to what chord and what key. Try to play freely for yourself, playing some simple chord progressions with the left hand and improvising and trying out scales with your right. Additionally, learn to read music. Go to a sheet music store and ask for a classical school. Usually you can't get it too wrong with that.

I would say don't focus on technique too much if you're a beginner (but take that advice with caution, I would like to hear the opinion of a good keyboarder on that). I have only be playing for two years myself, as piano lessons are compulsery secondary subjects at the conservatory (no matter what your main instrument is), so most average keyboarders I know are people I met there. My experience is that there's much more that I can't play because I can't read it, or can't get it into my mind, or can't focus on both hands, and not much that I couldn't play because it was technically to challenging. Normally you will progress in a natural way, and the technique will develop as the pieces get harder.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 06 2012 at 10:59
Originally posted by frippism frippism wrote:

Well I'm not a keyboard player, but as a musician: practice technique until you hands tire. Stop and rest. Do it again. Repeat. The next day you'll find that you're much better at doing the exercise than you were the day before.  

Play by ear a lot. Just process stuff by ear continuously. This doesn't mean you should neglect reading from sheet music- try and play anything you can find. 

Obtain secret keyboard player potion. Drink it. Become ultimate keyboard champion of the universe.

LOL Totally agree. Try to learn as much theory as you can. I review my chord vocabulary, intervals, circle of fifths, modes, etc, as much as I can.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 06 2012 at 09:00
school, practise in music there are no short ways  
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 06 2012 at 06:54
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 06 2012 at 05:13
Seriously learn to read sheet music and translate that to a keyboard. KNOWING your instrument can be as important as playing it. I'm not the best musician all around but my understanding of theory allows me to trick people into thinking I'm super good
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 05 2012 at 01:32
Well I'm not a keyboard player, but as a musician: practice technique until you hands tire. Stop and rest. Do it again. Repeat. The next day you'll find that you're much better at doing the exercise than you were the day before.  

Play by ear a lot. Just process stuff by ear continuously. This doesn't mean you should neglect reading from sheet music- try and play anything you can find. 

Obtain secret keyboard player potion. Drink it. Become ultimate keyboard champion of the universe.
There be dragons
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 03 2012 at 10:20
Thanks a lot guys.
And any websites or study-guides you guys would recommend?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 01 2012 at 23:30
Practice scales, play every day, sight read whenever possible, learn music theory. Not to say I'm the best keyboard player even in this thread, but I've had lessons and have a few books. Best way is immersion and practice.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 01 2012 at 20:51
Take lessons.

Besides that, I don't play keyboard but I know a little about it, so I'd recommend that you try out the "Hanon" books, technique books that contain many difficult finger exercises designed to build strength and quickness in the hands.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 01 2012 at 20:47
How can i become a better keyboard player? Is it by just learning difficult songs, or am I missing something?
I wish i could find something like a "study plan" to improve my skills on a daily basis.

I don't know where to start. Can someone help me? Thanks
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