A thread for keyboard players
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Forum Name: Music and Musicians Exchange
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Topic: A thread for keyboard players
Posted By: The Pessimist
Subject: A thread for keyboard players
Date Posted: February 28 2008 at 09:16
This is, as mentioned in the title, a thread for keyboard players only. If you do not play keyboards, please kindly leave  Basically, i want to get to know different keyboard players like myself, and I'm also very interested in the various styles amongst you. So if you are on this thread, tell everyone about yourself! I would be glad to hear it, whether you are a jazz player, classical player, pianist, organist, synth user, prog player, accordionist, i want to hear about your opinions and about you  ------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Replies:
Posted By: Easy Money
Date Posted: February 28 2008 at 14:44
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Hey Alex, I've been playing keyboards for decades. I've played a lot of styles including reggae, progressive rock, Latin rock, acid jazz, funk, lounge exotica, experimental electronic and commercial stuff too.
Probably my usual style is a mix of RnB, jazz and some psychedelic influences. Some of the influences you might hear in my playing include keyboardists Jon Lord, Brian Auger, Larry Young, Herbie Hancock, Greg Rollie and Sun Ra, as well as guitarists McLaughlin, Hendrix and Pete Cosey, although I would not claim to play as well as any of those, especially Hancock. You can check out my acid jazz band at myspacemusic.com/zazerac ------------- Help the victims of the russian invasion: http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=28523&PID=130446&title=various-ways-you-can-help-ukraine#130446 |
Posted By: laplace
Date Posted: February 28 2008 at 14:50
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I've played for fifteen years or so, although if I'm pressured to actually perform anything, it sounds more like fifteen minutes. I'm influenced more by writers than keyboard players so I don't really sound like anyone else. I do love Mr. Minnear's keyboard play, though - sometimes I can incidentally sound like someone who has light-years more talent than I - and just generally, I'm a fan of the sound of the electric piano wherever it appears. ------------- FREEDOM OF SPEECH GO TO HELL |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: February 28 2008 at 16:09
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Kerry Minnear is absolutely fantastic. I love what he does in Gentle Giant's "Proclomation". Some really quite amazing stuff on there.
------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: kineto_zetetics
Date Posted: March 01 2008 at 14:18
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Two things Alex,
I notice that you don't mention Emerson except in passng. Do you rate Wakeman more highly and if so, why?
Secondly, in a previous posting you mentioned that your at Birmingham Conservertoire - are there any good vocal talents there who could sing prog (Tenor range)?
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Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: March 02 2008 at 09:31
On the first point: I rate King Rick higher than Keith for four reasons, 1. He went through a lot of pain to get to where he is now because of his wrist problem, and to go through that and be one of the most respectable names on a keyboard is very noble indeed IMO 2. I think his technique is a lot neater than Emerson's 3. Emerson has a lot of time issues; I've seen many a time when he goes out of rhythm, and it's not pretty 4. I find Wakeman's solos to be way more melodic than Emerson, and despite what Rick is capable of (and we all know that), he remains extremely disciplined with his playing. Keith's just ends up being one big mess with no real memorable moments at all. On the second point: Yes there are indeed plenty, however the best of what I know is a pianist/organist in my choir, my friend Jamie. He can sing a very large range and can convincingly get away with being a Tenor and a Bass. There are also numerous other talents in the building that I have heard, but not had the pleasure of meeting properly yet. Birmingham believe it or not is a torrent of raw and developed talent.------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
kineto_zetetics wrote:Posted By: kineto_zetetics
Date Posted: March 03 2008 at 14:48
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Alex, I wonder if you have done your homework here.
Firstly, I don't give a monkeys about the degree of discomfort/pain suffered by a performer, for me its the sonic product that is the bottom line. However, in terms of suffering with performance inhibiting problems I think KE has really been through the mill during the last 15 years with his numerous operations etc.
In terms of technique I partly agree. Emerson has been sloppy in terms of articulation, timing and phrasing since the early 90s. HOWEVER! If you go back to his halcion days (e.g. The 'Pathetique' from 'Elergy', or 'Karn Evil 9' from BSS) the standard of execution is outstanding. Have you heard "Elergy"?
Back in the early 70s Wakeman did some well planned and truly melodic solos (e.g. The solo from Jane Seymour during the 'King Arthur on Ice' gigs). Since this period it is my contention that most of his solos are unplanned and have little in terms of over-arching trajectory. I've seen him play several times in recent years (last time at 'The Robbin' (Bilston)) 6 months back. I suggest you listen to Emerson's solo from "Stones of the Years" (on the "Welcome Back My Friends triple album). It has a superb emotive trajectory and resolution.
Another key difference in the approach of these two players is the degree of tonality. Whilst Wakeman esentialy deals with scales and arpegios that would have pleased Mozart, Emerson has a wider tonal palette that certainly encompasses the innovations of the 20th century. Check out "The 3 Fates" (from the first "Emerson, Lake and Palmer" album for its block use of forths and seconds or "Creole Dance" for the use of tone clusters and extended 11th chords.
Don't misunderstand me - I've loved Wakeman for a long time and have been blown away by some of his work. However, there are (for me) many more memorable Emerson moments. I really think that you should go back and listen to the first five ELP albums and the last 3 Nice albums and then re-evaluate.
Thanks for the tip about the conservertoire. Ii was thinking of hiring a singer from there to record my latest project so that's a useful bit of inside info.
Cheers
KZ
Sunny Bournville
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Posted By: Mourndark
Date Posted: March 04 2008 at 15:23
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I've been playing for about 13 years - started playing classical, gave up and went to rock for a couple of years, then heard Keith Emerson play (specifically Hoedown and Creole Dance) and went back to classical like a shot. I now divide my time between full-on classical playing (Grieg, Rachmaninov, Khachaturian, Mussourgsky), playing keys in my new classic/prog rock band, fiddling with synths and working out Dave Brubeck and Keith Emerson pieces. On the Emerson/Wakeman debate, I have to go with Emerson. Although I don't necessarily like all of his stuff with ELP, he more than makes up for it with pieces like his Piano Concerto, Hoedown and Creole Dance (the latter I have many blisters from playing) That is not say that he is without his faults, and I still love lots of Wakeman's work. Combine Rick's right hand with Keith's left, and then you have a keyboard playing force to be reckonned with! |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: March 04 2008 at 16:41
Oh boy, you assume that because I'm still at school that I still do homework  As for the classic Wakeman vs Emerson debate (which has been going on for years no doubt), I still think that as a musician that tidiness and emotion are everything. Don't get me wrong, I love Keith's solos in Stones of Years and KE9, but i think Wakeman is slightly more inventive, even though his solos don't take as much from jazz as Emerson's. He has a unique finger position also that I find very interesting indeed, and it opens him up to more interesting stuff than Emerson's traditional style. I also saw a youtube video of Keith doing a similar thing to Oscar Peterson with a piano blues improvisation, and I was not impressed. It was a load of random notes strung together with the odd melodic bassline thrown in here and there, also musically quoting from Take A Pebble. There is not one thing Wakeman has done that hasn't impressed me. I've also recently discovered Kerry Minnear, and I think that he should be mentioned somewhere along the lines perhaps i'll make a poll about it...------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: March 04 2008 at 16:48
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Hi, I've been practicing the piano since age 9, and for the moment I'm participating in two different musical settings: a band which plays 'traditional' music like gospel, blues, rock, and a more progressive experimental collaboration: we're with two keyboard players and a drummer (style a bit like Michael Giles).
My keyboard heroes are Eddie Jobson, Tony Banks, Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Dave Stewart and Ton Scherpenzeel. My style is a bit Banks-like (unusual chords, yet not a lot of real dissonants) and Wakeman-like (not the virtuosity, but something in the style, with a lot of arpeggio's, scales and using more sunny major keys than average).
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Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: March 05 2008 at 11:58
I like it, just out of curiosity, what gear do you own?------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: kineto_zetetics
Date Posted: March 05 2008 at 12:10
*Alex, the homework comment was not meant literally but was a comment encouraging you to listen to the Emerson's previous work - You haven't responded to my question about ' Elergy' and if you haven't heard this, you must. Emerson has done traditional jazz piano stuff (ala the Peterson style stuff) which I agree is predictable. However, he has done some innovative solos (e.g. the solo from 'Pirates' which is based on 5ths ( a bugger to play). Generally speaking I don't find Wakemans stuff too challenging to play and the fingering based on the arrangements in the 6 Wives songbook are pretty much standard. His work on the later Yes albums (e.g. Tormato & GFTOne) are mostly based on diatonic arpegios - I used to play a cover version of 'Release, Release' which was fun. I find Emerson's fingerings much more chromatic and more challenging.
As far as being impressed by everything Wakeman has done ("not one thing that hasn't impressed me") he has produced around 40 solo albums and to my mind only the first 3 (plus the occasional odd track from the others) are first rate. Have you heard 'Rhapsodies' for example, some of the tracks on this are 6th rate! At the end of the day everybody's tastes are subjective and i've enjoyed both of these players for their own style. How do you rate Moraz?
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Posted By: Easy Money
Date Posted: March 05 2008 at 13:00
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I thought I'd weigh in on the Emerson-Wakeman conversation. I used to listen to both a lot a long time ago, but these days maybe Emersom occaisonally.
The difference is that Keith has developed his own personal harmonic language. You can hear his influences; Hindemith, Copland, Poulenc, Gershwin, Bartok, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Smith etc. but he puts all this together and comes up with something that is uniquely his. Wakeman's harmonic language comes from the era of Mozart and he really doesn't add anything to that, as has been pointed out already. ------------- Help the victims of the russian invasion: http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=28523&PID=130446&title=various-ways-you-can-help-ukraine#130446 |
Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: March 05 2008 at 17:17
Thanks. I just own a simple Roland JV 90. I don't have money at the moment for a larger equipment. Hopefully that will change some day.
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Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: March 06 2008 at 11:28
He is a very good player, probably one of the best in prog. However, I could not decide between him and wakeman, as both of their works with Yes are more than incredible. I also consider Moraz to be direly underrated comparitively; he was trained to exactly the same level as Wakeman, so it's kinda criminal if you think about it. What are your opinions? And what do you think of Thomas Bodin of the Flower Kings? By the way, the homework statement was also an innocent joke on my part ------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: sean
Date Posted: March 06 2008 at 18:15
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okay, i've been playing for about four years now. I started out playing classical, but got a bit bored by the rigid structure and the philosophy that I could only play other people's work. As much as I enjoy classical music I know I can't spend my life doing nothing but that. Now, I'm at a point where stylistically I play a sort of fusion of classical, free jazz, experimental, and rock. For classical, I like mainly romantic and 20th century composers. I like the other eras but they just don't influence me too much as a whole. I like to take the deep pathos I get from classical and also it's technicality and use that in the context of unstructured improvised music where I can do whatever I want (this is when I play solo). For bands I've played metal, psychedelic, prog, and hard rock/classic rock. Currently I play in an experimental prog metal band and another one where I'm the only member and I play with whoever I feel like playing whatever we feel like at the moment, which tends to go towards the free improv prog/jazz/rock type stuff. For equipment, I have a yamaha s08 synth, a hammond transistor organ, and a hohner melodica. I actually prefer to play acoustic pianos over anything else but i don't have the money or space for one at the time so I play them wherever I can. I also play a bit of accordion and keyboard percussion like marimba, xylophone, and vibraphone. |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: March 07 2008 at 17:13
Wow, quite the variety  I am also a lot more comfortable on an acoustic piano, the weighted keys just feel so natural. Have you ever played a Steinways? If you ever get the chance, I advise to do so! Gorgeous pianos to play I've always wanted to experiment with keyboard percussion, I am saving up for a marimba at the moment, it would make a nice addition to my keyboard rack. From what I've heard, Kerry Minnear is very sufficiant at keyboard percussion, I only had to listen to Knots and Runaway - Gentle Giant to establish that.------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: kineto_zetetics
Date Posted: March 08 2008 at 12:18
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I agree with both of you on the point of acoustic pianos. Sadly no synthesiser manufacturer has been able to match the feel of the action and the sensitive and linear control of dynamics of a real piano. The nearest thing I have is a Yamaha S90 but this is still a far cry from my Welmar piano. The worst keyboard I own in this respect is a PolyMoog whose keyboard is appauling. I tried tuned percussion for a while but couln't get on with it at all (great sounds though - saw Evelyn Glennie on Marimba several years back she was sensational).
Concerning Moraz - he is a great player. I had the privilege to have a jam with him once (on his Bossendorfer under a stage) - he wiped the floor with me. I love his first 3 solo albums (not to mention Relayer). Though I think he has maintained his level of performance (I've got two albums from recent years) I don't think that his initial degree of inspiration has survived and I find his recent work tedious.
Minnear is great and Gentle Giant were such a unique band. I don't think any band since has done counterpoint and rounds as well. I like the Flower Kings and have seen them a couple of times though I'm not specifically impressed with Bodin (love Stolt's work). My favourite contemporary players are Andy Tillison (The Tangent), Ryo Okumoto (Spock's Beard), Jem Godfrey (Frost), Tom Szakaly (Noddy's Puncture), Fredrick Hermansson (Pain of Salvation) and Fred Schendel (Glass Hammer).
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Posted By: sheeves
Date Posted: March 08 2008 at 17:45
| For the Emerson/ Wakeman debate, I would have to go with Wakeman. I like ELP's stuff more than Wakeman's solo stuff, but that's because of Greg Lake mainly. For me, Keith Emerson is probably better, but I like Wakeman more. Keith Emerson's music seems self-indulgent to me, which is fine sometimes, but it goes nowhere. He just goes on these solos that are technically amazing, yet they do not build towards anything. I personally prefer Emerson's organ work to his flying up and down the keyboard solos. |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: March 09 2008 at 09:43
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Those are near enough my feelings towards the debate, sheeves. I've always found Keith to be a little too bombastic and technical for me, a bit like comparing Portnoy to Carey on drums. Rick leads you into his amazing skills little bits at a time. As for the keyboard players you mentioned kineto_zetetics, I have only ever heard Ryo Okumoto (shook the guys hand at a Spock's Beard gig I went to ) and Andy Tillison. Both are superb. However, Thomas Bodin is a little deeper than that: he's quite laid back with TFK, try looking at his solo works. I was greatly impressed, he is also a very skilled songwriter.I'm off to play some Brahms now ------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: March 09 2008 at 11:23
piano, classical and jazz mostly. we have a real monster at home, a Bechstein D 280. wonderful instrument, but still nor completely payed for  . the monster takes up a third of our living room space, and we have a huge living room.here a catalog photo of the monster; if I had a scanner here I would post a pic of our own  -------------  A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: sean
Date Posted: March 09 2008 at 12:55
Looks like it's definitely worth taking up that much space. I wish I had space for that myself. |
Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: March 09 2008 at 12:57
yes, definitely worth it. a wonderful instrument ------------- A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: sean
Date Posted: March 09 2008 at 13:00
I have played Steinway before and it does feel amazing. To me, there's just more of a natural connection to the instrument when it's an acoustic piano. It almost feels as if a synth just doesn't have that at times. If you are a keyboardist, adjusting to percussion shouldn't be hard, it's just a matter of muscle control and disciplining a different set of muscles. The theory is all the same. It had been about a year since I had played marimba and a couple months I was at one and I found I was playing better than I ever had. But it definitely is fun and nice for a change of pace sometimes. For me though it was Zappa that really made me want a marimba, but unfortunately I can't afford one, they're pretty expensive.e |
Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: March 09 2008 at 14:11
I personally prefer the Bechstein to a Steinway. the Steinway is more brilliant, but the Bechstein has better dynamics. but of course a Steinway is a first classs instrument too; it is just a matter of taste what one prefers. among concert pianists about 90% use a Steinway and about 10% a Bechstein, with a minimal rest for other brands ------------- A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: sean
Date Posted: March 09 2008 at 15:24
I tend to just play whatever I can get my hands on, which in most cases seems to be a Yamaha, I don't why their pianos are so common it seems. My high school had one and my college has one as well. I don't particularly mind them but I've played ones that I prefer. |
Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: March 09 2008 at 15:57
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well, I also play on all that I can lay my hands on, but my favorite remains our Bechstein. and don't ask me for the price; it was ridiculously expensive
------------- A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: sean
Date Posted: March 09 2008 at 16:48
You saying that just makes me more curious as to how much it would cost, though anything above free is pretty much out of my range right now. How large is it exactly? I've never really played a full grand, only nine feet I think. |
Posted By: BaldJean
Date Posted: March 09 2008 at 16:59
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well, the longest diagonal of ours is 9 feet 2, or 2.80 meters (hence the 280 in the name) ------------- A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: March 10 2008 at 13:46
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About Yamaha, they make really great upright pianos. We have many at the Birmingham Conservatory, and I must say they sound beautiful and have a nice action. As far as grands go though, I can safely say I have never used a Bechstein, but I will be looking out for one. ------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: sean
Date Posted: March 10 2008 at 16:35
I will be as well, if Jean is saying they are so good I would really like to play one. |
Posted By: The Quiet One
Date Posted: March 10 2008 at 16:40
Lovely!!! Really nice, and I agree with the worth of space.
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Posted By: The Lackey
Date Posted: March 12 2008 at 11:34
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Hi. I play keys, for about, holy crap, 27 years? Wow I never thought of it before. Started around age 10. I have a roland Rd-250, just noticed last night the "split" button doesn't work anymore...it's slowly falling apart, but it is, holy crap again, about 17 years old. I use the Bosendorfer 290 vst, Gerritan personal orchestra , just got Chris Hein guitars (which is a lot to learn), I also have an Alesis QSR module. Using Cubase for recording. I also have home made electronic drums (which I can barely play) hooked up to a ddrum4. I have some material up to listen to. http://music.download.com/dollarsign - http://music.download.com/dollarsign which is prog rock stuff, that needs a better drummer for sure. the 'guitars" are a piano pumped through a boss module with distortion. (keyboardists should be able to rock with distortion too!) and some "serious" stuff at: http://music.download.com/thelackey - http://music.download.com/thelackey where you can hear a bit more of the Gerritan Personal Orchestra, which is a cool cheap(er) program for good sounds. I also do some satanic heavy metal, but I won't post that link  ------------- https://oatmealstout.bandcamp.com" rel="nofollow - https://oatmealstout.bandcamp.com |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: March 14 2008 at 13:27
Wow, I imagine all those years have got you pretty good at the instrument as well. Have you experimented with any other instruments in your time The Lackey? ------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: The Lackey
Date Posted: March 17 2008 at 21:38
I played some guitar and sax back in high school. I didn't like playing guitar really. I like the sound of guitars most of the time, but keys are way better to play. Guitarists have a bad attitude as well ------------- https://oatmealstout.bandcamp.com" rel="nofollow - https://oatmealstout.bandcamp.com |
Posted By: nightlamp
Date Posted: March 18 2008 at 15:34
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I studied classical piano as a kid, then switched to drums and percussion in high school + college. Mostly keyboard percussion in college... Started playing keys again in grad school (organ and analog-ish synths, some prepared piano)-- very non-technical, mostly droning textures, space noises, and percussive comping. I haven't played keys in a band for a few years, but I still play a bit (mostly ambient modal om-rock kinda stuff). Gear: Farfisa VIP233, Roland JP-8080, Blacet modular synth, Deagan vibraphone. Favorite keyboardists: Richard Wright, Herbie Hancock, Tim Blake, Klaus Schulze, Terry Riley |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: March 22 2008 at 16:36
 don't get me started on guitarists' attitude... late for practises, overdominating, always want f**king solos, always want to write songs, aparently keyboard players are NOT COOL in a band... it disgusts me ------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: Mourndark
Date Posted: March 25 2008 at 15:47
Also the inability to read anything that isn't tabbed, and sometimes even then... I do have to remind mine occasionally that keyboards have their place, especially whenthe keys man is the only one who can sing, and I will be allowed out the front when I finish building my keytar! |
Posted By: sean
Date Posted: March 26 2008 at 11:43
Luckily my band accepts the importance of the keys in the band  , but I have had quite a bit of trouble with guitarists in the past. |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: March 28 2008 at 13:50
Oh my, haven't we all ------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: sean
Date Posted: April 01 2008 at 12:42
My first band, firstly, it was called "Triple Corpse Hammerblow" thanks to the guitarist, whose only goal was to be "metal" and so each song was nothing but guitar solos consisting of nothing but speed picking and tapping, and he couldn't even tune his guitar so it all sounded horrible. |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: April 03 2008 at 15:24
Yeah, I've had the same experiences. Keyboard is a much more sophisticated and melodic instrument, which is why it is IMO a necessity in every band! ------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: sean
Date Posted: April 07 2008 at 13:26
Look at bands like VdGG and ELP, they're fine without guitars, yet guitarists have to always be the centre of attention. |
Posted By: Zitro
Date Posted: April 08 2008 at 08:09
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I have around 2-3 years of experience with keyboards and 1 year with guitars. Lately I'm seldom playing but when I am, I am writing music or every once in a while, recording a cover song. I write music in a classical way with a bit of rock and prog song structures and time signatures (I sometimes do rhythms so bizarre that I can't even figure out the time signatures myself, though one was 23/8). The songs are instrumental. My main influences are Rick Wakeman, Tomas Bodin, Classical composers like Mozart/Beethoven, and Final Fantasy music composer Nobuo Uematsu. www.myspace.com/hernysmusica. If it's still in there, "Bel-2" shows most of my styles in less than 3 minutes, "Ardent Mistrust" is a 'Godspeed You Black Emperor-wannabe', and the Growing ups 1/2 prog rock tracks with many twists and turns, especially the 2nd one. Also of note (if i don't take it out) is the sample of the 10min Crime vs Crime and the 2nd video in my profile which is an incredibly silly song math frustration with "catchy in a bad way" choruses |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: April 17 2008 at 08:14
Prrecisely, I always looked at guitar as a rhythm instrument anyway, I mean look at Count Basie's big band pieces, or most Tool songs. Both Freddie Green and Adam Jones are brilliantly disciplined, despite both of their abilities. That's how i think all instrumentalists should be like, not like... oh god i can't say his name... oh man this is hard... *cough* John Petrucci *cough*... phew. Anyway, back on the subject of keyboards, i think they fill out the sound much better than any guitarist around, and we are way more disciplined than most: surely a necessity in any band? Not just an added effect Not appreciated enough IMO.------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: Easy Money
Date Posted: April 17 2008 at 11:22
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Speaking of guitar players, I have done a lot of work with funk/jazz/RnB guitar players and they are so much more fun to work with than rock guitarists.
Funk guitarists tend to be much better team players and keep their volume even in the mix, and as an accompanist they tend to be a lot like keyboard players, adding nice melodic lines instead of big power chords that bury everybody. Most really good funk guitarists can also deliver the screaming solo if neccessary, which is usually the only thing rock guitarists are good for. Also funk/jazz guitarists tend to have a much better knowledge of chords such as 7ths, 9ths and chords with altered tones and extended harmonies. Older progressive rock guitarists such as Fripp, Howe, Akkerman and Manzenera tend to have a strong background in RnB/jazz, not just rock. ------------- Help the victims of the russian invasion: http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=28523&PID=130446&title=various-ways-you-can-help-ukraine#130446 |
Posted By: sean
Date Posted: April 17 2008 at 15:21
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^^^ Personally, I don't mind when guitarists do insane solos and whatnot. I enjoy doing that myself but like ELP says, there's a time and a place. A lot of guitarists seem to have trouble grasping that people might want to hear the full band and not just them. Also, I have to admit that sometimes I enjoy taking the role of the guitarist and doing Hugh Banton/Jon Lord type things with distorted organs or even just weird noises that are quite distorted, but I know my place in the band and I let everyone have a turn to do what they want. |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: April 18 2008 at 06:54
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I've been playing piano since I was 4, achieved UK Oxford Board of Music grade 8 when I was 15, and naturally, when I read for my music degree, Piano was may main instrument, voice second, as I also achieved grade 7 tenor and grade 8 baritone - despite the fact I have a wide vocal range that spans from reasonable contrabass (low C) to contralto (not falsetto!) (high F-G), I am not altogether comfortable enough in my tenor range to sing, say, the Duke's aria from Rigoletto or "Nessun Dorma" - although I could, at a push.
That's simply my qualifications, not a statement of how good I am or why my opinion should count more than anyone else's in any way!
While I admire what Emerson brought to rock music, I find his clumsy playing irritating sometimes, and I find Wakeman's compositions to be so trite that I find them painful to listen to as a rule.
I admire jazz pianists like Lennie Tristano, and classical pianists like John Lill - but I also like organists like John Lord, Tony Banks, Richard Wright, Pete Bardens, Mark Kelly - and especially Jimmy Smith for rock and roll feel.
I don't play keyboards in bands, generally, because I prefer to play the guitar, on which I am almost wholly untutored. I just like it that way as I find it much easier to improvise. I don't read tabs, but that's OK, because sight-reading has been second nature to me for a long time where improvising is not an option, and I have a well-organised musical memory where cover versions are concerned.
That said, I know how difficult it is to find a decent keyboard player, and will happily write or assist in writing keyboard parts - indeed, I tend to find myself correcting keyboard players I've worked with in sloppy harmony or alternative melody line suggestions.
Wouldn't you hate to be in a band with me  ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: April 18 2008 at 13:13
No, i think it would be a breath of fresh air, i too compose keyboard parts and i also compose/arrange for a string quartet; very hard work indeed! It is deeply gratifying however, looking back on an end product in music is like no other feeling, like pride on an extortionate level.Anyway, deepest of respects to you Certif1ed, you have obviously worked hard on the good old keyboard, very much commended ------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |