Ableton Forum

So I have been wondering the best way to attack the learn processing here. I will admit I had no interest in learning piano, but now with electronic music production its obviously something I need to do.

I am curious how many out there are good players how many don't even really know how to play much but get by.

What is the best thing to focus on when starting out? I am not currently taking any lessons so just trying to figure the best way to utilize my non-keyboard skills for my production right now


Any tips are welcomed

a bad one.

horrible over here.

but by looping and slowly adding bits (and using UNDO a ton) sometimes I sound slightly less horrible

making an effort to try and be a better one over here. I'm not really satisfied with the limitations of my ability and fixing it in the studio. I want to be able to rock shit out live at any time and have it be GOOD.

So are you guys just relying on arpeggiators?

personally i happen to be the MOST amazing terrible keyboard player that exists.

remember you're playing "keys" NOT piano. More specifically, "synth"... pads, leads, basses, arps all get played a bit different.

I'd focus on understanding chord inversions, and playing your C major scale with confidence.

So, you can just always play in the key of C (all white keys) and use pitch plugin to change what key you're in, and the scale plugin to go major/minor or whatev. As you're fingers and mind get comfortable with one key, i think it can be easier to start addin stuff.

also trying stacking a bunch of different arps on one channel, and turn certain ones off for different sections. It can be way fun and a cool randomish but predictably cool sound.

evanb wrote:So are you guys just relying on arpeggiators?

Nah, I usually will decide what key I am playing in and the chord/notes that fit it, and put together a melody badly, then record it and either fix by sliding stuff around in the midi note editor or delete notes and punch them in one at a time.

Jekblad wrote:I'd focus on understanding chord inversions, and playing your C major scale with confidence.

So, you can just always play in the key of C (all white keys) and use pitch plugin to change what key you're in, and the scale plugin to go major/minor or whatev. As you're fingers and mind get comfortable with one key, i think it can be easier to start addin stuff.

+1

This is how I taught myself to play keyboards. I basically started by learning the simplest way to voice a C major chord (root, 3rd, 5th) and becoming comfortable with playing it in these three variations:

CEG (root on bottom)
EGC (3rd on bottom)
GCE (5th on bottom)

Once you learn these for most of the basic chords in the key of C [C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am), then the transitions between chords gets a lot easier, and the relationships between them starts to make sense (you quickly learn that the difference between a C major chord and an Am chord is just one note: CEG (root on bottom) -> CEA (3rd on bottom) ).

Later, you can start learning 7th chords and different keys. I remember being quite pleased with myself once I became comfortable playing the black keys, though this took a while.

Learning a little basic music theory will help with this, obviously. I do mean little... you really don't need to know too much, just the differences between major and minor chords and scales to start with so you can figure out what you are playing.

I might add that when classically trained piano players see me playing, they wince at my obvious lack of technique, since I hold my fingers entirely wrong. It's certainly enough to get by and compose, though.

I am terrible. I just play the black keys. You can't hit a wrong note in the pentatonic scale.

This is a predominately electronic forum, i'm sure we all suck and use the amazing technology we have to make us sound awesome.

I can play a bit, but i'm no virtuoso.

arachnaut wrote:I am terrible. I just play the black keys. You can't hit a wrong note in the pentatonic scale.

steve angello would agree

I don't know if you saw this video before but I've watched this countless times over the years, even he had minor mistakes but it makes you want to learn, he was very old as well....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqSulR9Fymg

I'm fortunate enough to have a very talented Keyboard player available for my studio sessions.

when it comes to piano..i suck balls...

pads and strings were really easy for me to pick up and write melodies to.

trilogy bass module sounds have made me sound like an awesome bassist.

I love the tone of the fender rhodes so i will just try note variations out to see what i can do.

worst comes to worst, i will chop a loop up and play it chord by chord and just rearrange the sequence.

i'm trying not to think about it
all my trax turn around the same scale learned 10 years ago ( from playing over a trax of herbie hancock)
sometimes i'm adding variation
the only problem i can't repeat twice something done so ....

HK