Danny O Flannagin Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Since the keyboard is the main way we interface with DAWs, I wanted to dive a bit deeper into learning how to play the keyboard. Does anyone have any recommendations for good online learning sources that goes over technique and maybe a bit of theory as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chim Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 This old site is still good : https://pianoworld.com/fun-stuff/piano-scales-and-chords/ Extended chords are fairly straightforward once you understand the counting system 3+4 semitones for minor vs 4+3 for major, it's the same method up into the 13th extension. The sus, dim and aug chords often get neglected on the keyboard as opposed to the guitar, they open a lot of new ground. Dim chords are particularly sweet when used right... but I'm partial to the passionate bossa sound. Classical theory is usually too dry for innovative pretentious synth & indie music. There are loads of useful and accessible Jazz resources out there however, look for stuff about the circle of fifths and chord substitutions. The circle of fifths is the foundation of keyboard wizardry. All substitutions are gold, fifth, third etc. There's always something clever to do, chords love shifting keys, or maybe try shit like transposing the bass melody to a substitute interval. One of my favorite melodies involved the bass running in a 2nd substition, you can't really believe it would work but it does. Synthesia/piano roll videos on Youtube in slowmo mode are great for practice The rest is just grit, if you want to play with both hands, practice fifths with the left hand while you play your chords, eventually you start freeing it up. For a four bar pattern with a C chord, alternate : C---G---C---G with your pinky and thumb. Oh right, probably look up correct finger placement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian trageskin Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 i don't believe you need to learn a lot about technique at beginner level (assuming you're a beginner). aside from hand posture, Spoiler this is pretty much what you want afaik and fingering (which you can learn intuitively by playing a lot - it's more fun than it seems), the rest you can figure out along the way. there are countless videos on youtube on the topic, just type 'piano technique beginner' or something in the searchbar. my opinion is that learning theory is where it's at. once you understand the core concepts of harmony you'll be able to do so many things and your technique will improve much faster. i might be wrong but that's how i see it. i wish i could recommend you a particular youtube channel for music theory 101 but i don't. for my part i just watched random videos when i started. as chim mentionned, learn about chords, scales, basic modes and the circle of fifths. everything opens up from there. unrelated but fun, all scales and their modes: https://ianring.com/musictheory/scales/finder.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian trageskin Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 these are melodic concepts, more advanced but inspirational i hope, even for a beginner skip the intro: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
user Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Obviously speaking from my own experience.... Taking a couple of lessons last year has done more for my playing than years of wanking about on my own learning scales and chords. Probably because a couple of concepts simply didn’t land with me until someone sat next to me and showed me some things and provided feedback. Because of these lessons I’ve been able to teach myself a few songs and this has improved my ability to improvise over my own stuff immensely. Something to consider if you find yourself getting stuck despite various learning resources. 2 things I’ve noticed; my hand independence, ability to play different timings and (obvs) general timing improves considerably when actually counting along, wether it’s playing a song or practicing scales. Counting still feels slightly awkward to me but in exchange I get freedom to play around and actually remember what I’m doing. Second thing is (possibly terrible advice) I stopped doing any specific hand practices etc but instead learn scales and chords, occasionally I’ll check the fingering for the scale but usually the fingering follows from what you’re trying to play anyway. The iOS app “chords” has been my goto app here, it’s mostly free, good interface. My YT piano teaching channel rec would be “creative piano academy”. It’s click baity, the guy is way too upbeat, most of the music is kitch and saccharin at best but there’s a load of vids and for me they generally provide a good jump off point. tldr: I was stuck until someone explained some shit and I found learning resources and methods aligned to my skill/level of apprehension. last thing, perhaps already mentioned but essential imho; learn inversions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian trageskin Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 in case you don't already know about it: make sure you understand what a tonal center is and what diatonic chords are so that you understand how tonal/functional harmony works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny O Flannagin Posted January 28, 2020 Author Share Posted January 28, 2020 Thanks for all the resources guys, definitely have a lot on my plate. Playing around with a basic Rhodes preset on Ableton and putting in the time to get a little better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ignatius Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 old standby for cheat codes http://keychord.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entorwellian Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 https://www.emediamusic.com/keyboard-piano-lessons/beginner-piano-method.html This is the best software I've used for learning keyboard. It's really good at teaching fingering, chords, scales, reading sheet music and also giving you feedback. It doesn't replace a piano teacher 100% and you can pick up some bad habits in regards to posture, how to place your hands on the keyboard, and what fingers to use on some of the harder chord transitions. For music theory, I've always liked: https://www.amazon.com/Theory-Computer-Musicians-Michael-Hewitt/dp/1598635034 Gives you the basics and how to piece together most stuff on your own. This will let you also write pop songs with little effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian trageskin Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 jazz chords/voicings 101 this is a really great channel btw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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