Role of a Keyboardist?

[Mr_KeyboardMan]

Ha ha ha ... In some bands, keyboardists are considered extra ... so female is prefered for "balance" in the band or as the "flower" of the band.

hmmm been hearing that a lot of time lately.

 

[DoubleBlade]

It's just like living in the early 1900s....

The guys get to pursue an education while the girls are forced to stay at home and learn homemaking skills....

And now take a look at our modern society today....

Guys and Girls have equal educational and social status....

 

[DoubleBlade]

hey keyboardman you in Ngee Ann now?

 

[Mr_KeyboardMan]

yeah in the library now ... he he

 

[DoubleBlade]

eh i'm at the atrium now....

you know how to config my notebook so that i can play online games using NPNET????

 

[Mr_KeyboardMan]

what games? battlenet cannot cos cant configure the proxy

I m now at the internet cafe

 

[DoubleBlade]

kk nevermind , but can play LAN on battlenet?

for instance my friend and i have WC3 Frozen Throne and we decide to play LAN using NPNET together...is that possible?

 

[Mr_KeyboardMan]

yeah that's possible ...

as long as yer not playing online out of the school network

 

[DoubleBlade]

ok thanks a lot....one day should meet up in campus!!!! anyways i can always get ur hp number from your post regarding your band sourcing for a vocalist.... :lol:

Back to topic....


I think if both a keyboardist and guitarist could do some harmonising licks together , i bet that would be extra cool....

 

[Mr_KeyboardMan]

that has been done many time ..
even common in jazz

In prog rock there's LTE and DT or even Symphony X doing it oso ... Jordan Ruddess and John Pettruci harmonization licks are my favourite.

 

[bongman]

Ha ha ha ... In some bands, keyboardists are considered extra ... so female is prefered for "balance" in the band or as the "flower" of the band.
hmmm been hearing that a lot of time lately.

so after all keyboardist has no value?

 

[Mr_KeyboardMan]

nah ... that depends on how other people view it. It's cos of different level of maturity lah ... many people dont know how to utilise a keyboardist in a band and making an arrangement for them ... instead they'll just say "Just play yer stuff and make ambience".

The thing is that the band and the keyboardist himself/herself must know what's the keyboardist role in a band and how he can contribute ... only then can a keyboardist be appreciated in the band.

 

[3notesAbar]

Steady la Keyboardman

Had any of you been born 10-20 years earlier, you'd easily realise how Keyboards aka. Synthesizers DOMINATED pop music. Guitars back then sounded miniscule, almost inaudible! You'd have to strain your ears to the max just to pick out the weak ass chugging from the rhythm...Anyway, i digress. It is correct to say that people back in the 80s probably wanted to hear pop music with more textures than just the ol' bass drum guitar format.

Now? If you talk about pop music, I think there's quite a nice balance between all instruments. Especially the easy listening type. New genres or sub genres of music have become so experimental and specialized. that they (on purpose) do with or without not just keyboards, but drums and sometimes guitars and basses!

Anyway my message is...Listeners/fans/appreciators > bands > individual musicians > ego.

">"stands for 'more than'.

 

[dhalif]

in order to have full playing spectrum over the sound of the band, you need to LEARN. u cant be playing shit and expect a band to let you play harmonized solos and whatnot... and then complain that u only get to play ambient sounds and chords and stuff. you cant carry earth when you cant carry a full bag of soil. like guitar, we know the sound of an 80s band.. big big shreddy solos.. so u cant solo then how to play solos? haha... den later complain "aiyahh the banddd like fuk sia.. only let me play rhythm guitar.."

credibility takes into place when playing roles matter. PROVE that you CAN do it.. i am very sure many bands will take you in and let you play EVERYTHING!.. but then again.. everything doesnt mean you solo everytime.. know the limit, quiet down when you must.

so STOP.. and THINK.. can i do it? and then you think about complaining or not.. im sure many are capable.. but minimized because theyre just totally in the wrong bands.. thats THE BAND'S LOSS!..

my purpose of this post? do not complain when u cant do something.. or you THINK u could but u cant. its sad..

 

[3notesAbar]

I think its time to ask ourselves something. To Sound good or Be good? Hey, tell you what i'm gonna join a band because i get to slappety slap slap slap the bass everyday. You like to hear slap bass everyday 24-7? Ok. Buy my cd loh. Will my bandmates appreciate it for long? Please la... Same goes with the ROLE of any instrument. If you have ONE role, and you do it 24-7, you'll end up frying your brains and those around you. Correct or not??


This brings me to something serious. How come we get people asking stupid questions when they 'know so much'? hahahaha. If one has relavant experience, then i have nothing to say la. What i been seeing WAY TOO OFTEN is people without relavant experience, coming in and asking relatively dumb questions, and not acknowledging the fact that they are here to Learn. Hey, but isnt a forum meant to be like say... a collective of ideas? This place is turning into Senoko... People come only, they leave, the place smells, and things ARE burning up, whether you like it or not.

I say this at the risk of judging people at face value, but hey, we are ALL learning. Dont be a smartass or snob here, it dosent prove anything. We take things here at face value, and try to help people when they ask Sensible questions. If not, i personally think that its a waste of time for everyone.

We dont have many music forums for Singaporeans. So please, lets all come here to LEARN ok? If you got so much pride save it for polishing your skills, make Maksim, Mark King, Mark Hoppus and whoever kneel to you!!!

 

[DoubleBlade]

errrrrr.....you guys referring to me?

 

[wangdexian]

Mark Hoppus and whoever kneel to you!!!

LOL. I like Mark Hoppus. :lol:

Well, basically just play what is needed of your role in the band. If you go slap slap slap bass in a pop punk song, wouldn't it sound like ass? Or a guitar solo out of nowhere... :roll:

And for the smartass and snob thing, I do agree. While I haven't seen it much here, those people who go like "this topic is dumb" or something are really dumb. We are all helping each other to learn and if they don't know or just don't want to help the person, they can choose to shut up. :roll:

 

[Cheez]

Wow. Threads nowadays turn touchy very quickly. But ok, we all need to let go of some steam once in a while.

Back to this topic. I think there may be more than one reason why keyboardists are not used they way guitarists are used in the band. But I think perhaps the main reason is keyboardists have an "interesting" attitude. Somehow they like to be placed on the pedestal.

No attacks here - since I'm a keyboardist myself. But I've seen many keyboardists/pianists tried to be the one in control - perhaps a little too much. I've been told of this by another elderly pianist in his 70s when I was a young punk. He gave me one of the most useful piece of advice I had - be humble and don't try to put yourself on the pedestal.

OK. So guys (non-keyboardists), what are your experiences with keyboardists? And keyboardists - any defense? (OK, I'm disappearing so don't anyone target me.... :smt087)

 

[atee]

I think you have to need a keyboardist to be able to appreciate one.

I haven't really jammed much with keyboardists (since I was one of those who thought they were redundant only a few months back) but now that I'm in a 3 piece band consisting of a drummer, a bass and only one guitarist/vocalist... I see things in a different perspective.

I'd thought it was alright then, because I was right in front of my amp and our songs didn't sound empty or anything. Then we had a gig and I heard the recording... Once the guitar gets into the solo the whole band sounded empty.

We have to face it. Not everyone can pull it off like RHCP.

Plus there are so many songs that only a keyboard can make perfect. A guitar, even with every effect out there or a variax where you even have a sitar in your guit, can't do everything.

Then again it all depends on the kind of songs you play. If you're all into the pop-punk music(to put it nicely.) today then I guess you won't need a keyboardist. Go turn up your gain and volume.

 

[DoubleBlade]

As a keyboardist/pianist myself , I truely agree with you that some keyboardist try to put themselves on the pedestal as even I myself am guilty of it sometimes and I try not to let it go out of control....

I have one reason which may sound a bit lame but it could be possible as well.The reason being that a keyboardist/pianist has control over 8 octaves while a guitarist has control over a maximum of 2 octaves.So this makes the keyboardist/pianist feel superior as he has more choice of tones at his disposal....

Attitude should be a major consideration when selecting a keyboardist.A keyboardist who can interact well with his fellow band members is often a more treasured possession than a keyboardist of the direct opposite.I feel that if a band can bond together as one with little or no arguements , they would surely fare better than a band who although if all it's members have diplomas in their respective instruments yet can't get along with each other...