anyone composing without a piano background?

[felipescalador12]

I know how to play guitar and I know how the piano & music in general works. How to build chords, scales etc.. But I believe I am losing a lot by not playing fluently the instrument. I mean one can program lines chords etc, But a further management of the keyboard could lead to better ideas or not?

what do you think?

[H20nly]

^ Yes.

[pepezabala]

you're right. when I was sixteen and ditched piano classes because I thought it's enough to play punkrock guitar, that day my mother told me "you will be sorry about this decision". How right she was.

Still had lots of fun playing music all my life. But being able to read and write notation and being able to play piano well ... it could have been so much better.

[Muzik 4 Machines]

played guitar for over 20 years, never was able to play a keyboard instrument, but i learned theory and chords structure so i'm pretty fluent in piano roll

[psyfi]

Never been taught but can play well enough for my gigs. Never to late to learn anything so don't lament just get on it.

[Moody]

Viola and Bass background... I think those are not Piano...

[swishniak]

Never been taught but can play well enough for my gigs. Never to late to learn anything so don't lament just get on it.

or if you want to learn there are so many ways to do it - and many talented music teachers out there. just head to you nearest uni and tell them what you want to do. if you want to do that.

[Mixikyr]

Deleted post.

[simmerdown]

imo, knowing the theory is more important than the instrument...

you have to love the sound of your instrument, or you wont want to play it hours a day

i play bass first then write vsti parts to go with using the bit of theory i know, works for me... but if you want to play piano , play piano!

[Tone Deft]

one way I've taken on learning from time to time is to mimic that '4 chords 40 songs' youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pidokakU4I
if you have half a clue about theory you can play the I IV V vi chords. IIRC those songs are all I VI IV V. from there you can play around with using both hands at once, breaking the chords up, whatever.

and like I've written a hundred times, drop the scale plug in into a track, loosen up, open your ears and just play.

[pepezabala]

one way I've taken on learning from time to time is to mimic that '4 chords 40 songs' youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pidokakU4I
if you have half a clue about theory you can play the I IV V vi chords. IIRC those songs are all I VI IV V. from there you can play around with using both hands at once, breaking the chords up, whatever.

and like I've written a hundred times, drop the scale plug in into a track, loosen up, open your ears and just play.

yes, that's fine. I have been playing along to Nick Cave's Boatman's call album, that's some easy piano to play.

But still, I should have been learning jazz bar piano when I was a young man. I could have had so many girls.

[simonlb]

yes, that's fine. I have been playing along to Nick Cave's Boatman's call album, that's some easy piano to play.

But still, I should have been learning jazz bar piano when I was a young man. I could have had so many girls.

I often wish I'd learned to play jazz at a young age. I'd love to now but there's so little time especially with DJing and production on the agenda as well...

I played some keyboard (as in playing chords on the left hand and notes on the right) at school, and I played guitar from when I was about 14 although I don't pick it up much now. I'm actually starting to think I should pick these up again, particularly keyboard/piano; even though I don't want to make particularly melodic/orchestral stuff, the technical aspects of my production are progressing OK but sometimes there are harmonies/progressions in my head that I just can't quite get out. Hard to explain, but I know the sound I want to hear (it might just be two chords in succession) but I just can't quite bash out the right notes on the MIDI keyboard. Anyone else found that doing a bit of piano helps with this?

[psyfi]

I do think that instruments and technology lead creativity. I will write something completely different on guitar than I would piano and something drastically different using sequencers and drum machines. This goes beyond simply having an understanding of music theory and moves more in to the relationship you have with the instrument / technology and how you interface with it. I wouldn't considering it limiting in the absolute not to be able to play a certain instrument. Play what you want and create the way you want to. If that means learning a particular instrument to satisfy a curiosity for creating with a particular tool then do it.

[stringtapper]

Play guitar but want to play piano?

Best of both worlds.