Ableton Forum

so.. any one succesfully making music without knowing to play piano??

I come from a guitar background and so far I can see piano playing is nowhere near lead sound or bass sounds you program in a synth.

so how can you succesfully produce music without a piano background? anyone doing it?

felipescalador12 wrote:so.. any one succesfully making music without knowing to play piano??

I come from a guitar background and so far I can see piano playing is nowhere near lead sound or bass sounds you program in a synth.

so how can you succesfully produce music without a piano background? anyone doing it?

I bet over 98% producers here are without piano background. It's all about experimenting and learning to know your own sound and constantly trying break out the box. At least you have some kind of background, there are plenty of those who have no background to producing what so ever, but that doesn't mean they couldn't do potentially do interesting music. I think a lot of classical training can sometimes even hinder you.

In my experience as a guitarist/pianist, those who are not "trained musicians" tend to be a lot better at the sound design aspect (making great synth sounds), because they can approach those things without all the clutter of what an instrument "sounds" like and how it should "behave".

I watch some tutorial vids from time to time and cringe at the awful technique of some producers when playing notes on a keyboard controller, but it still doesn't stop me being blown away by the sound it makes. So yeah - I'd agree with LeifonMars. Pretty much everyone is doing it without piano training. Modern technology is pretty awesome like that.

I have a modest piano background, taking lessons as a kid and then playing for myself while growing up.

but i have found that, one could make the most simplest melody, and then throw some Arps and/or beat repeats on that track and come up with something really complex. there is so many ways to chop up melodies these days its crazy

Hi,

Why not see it this way: The fact that we associate playing a synthesizer with black-and-white keys is entirely due to arbitrary tradition and convention. There is nothing in the idea of a synthesizer that by itself suggests a keyboard as the interface for the musician. It is convenient, and let us not forget - showing notes, chords, melodies and harmonies is probably most easily done on a piano keyboard. But you do not have any disadvantage as compared to a piano player except in specific cases (such as playing the synthesizer in a jazz band ).

I love the fact that in recent years, we have been seeing a heap of new alternative controllers, and while most of them are not yet used to play a synthesizer in the narrow sense of the word, we are getting there.

Knowing how to play the piano, will help you play keyboard instruments. If you want to have those instruments appear to be played by a keyboard/piano player in your productions, it will help. Otherwise, knowing some basic music theory (notes, chords, scales) and the basics of the style you would like to produce, will get you much further.

The keyboard layout is usually used for visual note input as it is very easy to follow (12 keys to represent notes and sharps/flats, then simply repeat pitched up or down). There is no need to go any further into the actual technique of playing a piano to produce a track (unless you want a piano in the track).

It's usually much quicker just to play a chord sequence or melody on the keyboard than to enter it with the mouse, so it's worth learning some basic keyboard skills. You can always fix the wrong notes and the timing afterwards.

i got my few piano knowledge from producing and arranging. i'm interested in music theory and so i learned on the piano playing chords. melodies and basses are no problem anyway after doing it for a couple of years. you never become a good piano player without lessons but for sequencer use you don't need to play realtime. playing an instrument is essential for musical thinking. but i doesn't need to be piano.

I learned the piano when I was younger, for about 7 years, so I dont know what it feels like to NOT have the musical knowledge of scales, progressions, melodies and things. One of my mates that I make music with does not have a musical background at all and sometimes he struggles to find 'the next chord' with synths and things. He will find it eventually, but takes him longer. So I would say that have a knowledge of music theory maybe helps your speed at putting your ideas into notes in the DAW, but not having the knowledge doesnt really hinder you that much.

Might be completely wrong about that, but I'm speaking from limit experience. Havent worked with many other producers.

Klauser wrote:I learned the piano when I was younger, for about 7 years, so I dont know what it feels like to NOT have the musical knowledge of scales, progressions, melodies and things. One of my mates that I make music with does not have a musical background at all and sometimes he struggles to find 'the next chord' with synths and things. He will find it eventually, but takes him longer. So I would say that have a knowledge of music theory maybe helps your speed at putting your ideas into notes in the DAW, but not having the knowledge doesnt really hinder you that much.

Might be completely wrong about that, but I'm speaking from limit experience. Havent worked with many other producers.

i agree with this. its hard to "find" the next chord. but humming it, and pinpointing it on your keys just takes longer

As someone who didn't know how to play a keyboard until recently I will say this: learning to play the keyboard will allow you to get the ideas in your head out easier. It's not necessary but a little can go a long way!