Role of a Keyboardist?

[bongman]

certainly it all boils down to what music the band is playing.

if it's a pop/R&B song, normally the synths are important and the piano as well.

if it's a Rock power trio band, like Cream then the keyboardist can just warm his seat.

Bands like Dream Theater, Deep Purple, Yes, Asia and Genesis; the keyboards are important.

Unless you are in a band like Emerson, Lake and Palmer where the keyboards and synths are the key instrument, then you are king !

 

[DoubleBlade]

Basically I think that technicality in a keyboardist is not everything to a band when selecting a keyboardist...

Let me introduce Keyboardist A and Keyboardist B to you guys...

Keyboardist A : Can shred , has amazing technical abilities that one would probably think that it would only be possible if he was possessed by the devil BUT can't improvise for nuts...

Keyboardist B : Has a very good sense of improvisation BUT technical skills is a 100 times suckier than Keyboardist A...

Suppose if i select keyboardist A and suppose if we have a gig in a few months time.On the actual day itself 5 minutes before the band's performance.The leader or manager of the band says :"okay guys , we're gonna change the key of the song as our vocalist can't sing at that pitch , guitarist 1 and 2 here's the new chord progression and keyboardist I want you to come up with a solo in the new key."
If he has no sense of improvisation , he would not be able to come up with a solo in 5 minutes let alone do a impromptu solo on stage as he is soooooooo used to learning music the "scorebook method"....

Suppose if I swap keyboardist A with keyboardist B in the same scenario.

Although if the keyboardist has a fairly okay sense of technicality but has an ultra creative mind , improvising on the spot would be a breeze for him.We neglect his technical abilities and in the end what we have is a simple yet beautiful solo if not then a decent sounding solo....

Conclusion :

technicality isn't everything to music , there should a balance between technicality and improvisation...

 

[wangdexian]

Dude, in that case that's THE BAND'S fault.
They should have decided on the key and stuff long ago and practised... :lol:

 

[bongman]

improvisation skills are important in a combo band.
key change can be easily alter using the key transpose in the synth.

 

[DoubleBlade]

Dude, in that case that's THE BAND'S fault.
They should have decided on the key and stuff long ago and practised... :lol:

although it may be their fault , you still have to adapt to the situation or maybe their vocalist has a last minute sore throat , then they would have to change the key of the song...

 

[DoubleBlade]

improvisation skills are important in a combo band.
key change can be easily alter using the key transpose in the synth.

suppose if the keyboardist plays an acoustic piano on stage?

 

[wangdexian]

Yep, but it is the vocalist's responsibility to take care of his *precioussssss* voice... :lol:

 

[bongman]

improvisation skills are important in a combo band.
key change can be easily alter using the key transpose in the synth.

suppose if the keyboardist plays an acoustic piano on stage?

be wise to play a digital piano with good acoustic sound

 

[Silencer]

i typed and retyped and re-retyped my angry reply over and over again.

and in the end i deleted it all off and settle for this. what good will my angry words be? obviously things aren't going to change

 

[dhalif]

dont have to have excuses if you cant do something heh.. LEARN. btw... doubleblade.. if keyboardist A can shred and is technically proficient.. doesnt that mean that he can improvise already or no? i dont know how u guys term technical proficiency.. usually with guitars they compare with technicality with feel lol.. then again its never an excuse not to know how. u cant do.. u learn.. dont say tt guy no good because he cant change key like i do lol.. bugger can just transpose all the keys and play killer.. u can transpose or cannot.. den cannot play also for fuk ...

ill take a keyboardist like jens johannsen any day..

i agree with bongman aswell about genre coming into play in this issue..
hahaha something like... "those who cant teach math, teach gym" liek this case..lol those who cant play dream theater, play moffatts..

my point being is.. y ou should just be ready. be technical proficient and be everything that a good keys player should be.. but then again how do you define good? thats another issue u guys can flame each other bout.. muahaha. k bye..


EDIT: i just saw the post about the acoustic piano.. like i said again.. you should be ready and proficient in all areas.. so you dunno how to shred????? go learn.. no rush. and also, if you're in a band, would an organiser rent out a grand piano for the gig? i dont think so.. so thats pretty much took care of the acoustic piano issue.. but if u must.. den refer to the top sentence of this paragraph

id take KeyboardMan or Silencer anyday to play with me coz i heard them and i KNOW they sound GOOD.. so thats credibility..

 

[DoubleBlade]

my point being is.. y ou should just be ready. be technical proficient and be everything that a good keys player should be.. but then again how do you define good? thats another issue u guys can flame each other bout.. muahaha. k bye..

Yeah there are so many definitions to the word "good" in a musician and basically I'm just stating my point of view.Although there should always be a balance in every aspect but if you would ask me , a keyboardist with a decent standard of technicality would be feasable for me.No need all those fancy technical stuffs on the keyboard...

so now why is everyone flaming me?

I'm a learning pianist and the same goes we all here regardless of our instrument of choice.I learn from the people around me although I have no stage experience at all , there might be some aspects of my views that you might wanna oppose for those of you who already have stage experience.For that , I respect your views but I'm just stating my point of view and It's like I'm becoming the next Malex_sky....

by the way , not all digital pianos have a pitch shifter function....

Yes I can't shred but it isn't everything to me and since when people had the impression that I find all sorts of excuses because I can't shred.

Like I said , I'm here to learn as well and I don't wanna be the next Malex_sky....

 

[3notesAbar]

From my personal experience, some people learn quietly, while others have alot of comments to make while learning. lol

Well, its a forum man, 'Learn' all you can loh.

 

[DoubleBlade]

I guess I belong to the later....

 

[ChanMin]

:idea: