Instrumental sounds and their knowhow. Any enlightened one?

[luckycrystals]

Just wondering. There are so many types of instrumental sounds available in the synthesizer. Is there a definitive way that one should play these instruments? How should these instruments be added into the music? What kinda instruments go well with what kind of genre/rhythm/sounds? I understand that the job of a keyboardist is to mimick as close as possible the sounds that the original instruments play and to fill in when necessary so that the music sounds 'full'. Am pretty much at the experimental stage, and since I do not have a guru to learn from, was wondering if you guys could enlighten me a lil on the use of strings, pads, lead, wood, vocal ...etc. Hope I made sense.

 

[soft]

luckycrystals, to answer your question will take A-Z of music arrangement and Grade1-10 of music performance. ha.ha...

give you a hint. go search for full score from bands like

http://www.casiopea.co.jp

http://www.shakatak.com/audio/newaudio/viewshock.htm

learn to play their keyboard parts. better still, if you can sequence them, you can listen to how they put their arrangement together.

what is your music background?

 

[Cheez]

luckycrystals, I've answered your pm. But it's a good idea to post this in the forum rather than pm.

quick and short answer - there's no single fixed formula...

 

[elektrig]

=soft

hi do you know of any websites of their scores? casiopea's. thanks. i cannot really find much info on casiopea and can't read japanese.

 

[pianomankris]

There are conflicting views on this.

Some people believe that a synth should be treated as a 'piano with lots of sounds' (sorry - i know it's a bit crude ), whereas others feel that the sounds should be enjoyed purely in their own terms, and not placed in a context where one is still in the 'piano' mindset.

Yes, being a good player at the keys will certainly help with actual performance of certain pieces, but it will make you approach the instrument from the onset with a mindframe that would differ were you not an actual keyboard player.

Some would say if you didn't play the keys prior to getting a synth you would purely 'enjoy the sounds', which is part of the appeal of a synth.


You are at the best stage just now i.e. not in a fixed mindset, and not trying to make a certain sound become more like, for example, a string sound.

Enjoy the sounds, and play with the oscillators!


Listen to some music by Aphex Twin - he uses synths (among other things) very nicely. He may help you realise that the 'job of a keyboardist' isn't to imitate anything!! Do your own thing, and enjoy If you feel your technique is holding you back from expressing yourself, then get lessons