Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

How the heck do you do that? I know you have a wicked keyboard but how do you get the right guitar tricks on the Keys? It's not something I want to try (Ok yeah I do). Sometimes for simplicities sake and speed of course.

I'm working on a whole row of #1 hits at present. LOL!
Suppose you know your chords pretty well huh?

That's where I fall down. (Shush it RM)

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I just love learning. My brain doesn't work like most folks. It's more like an intuitive engine that knows when its time to speed up and slow down.

Oh what's that in the corner? That's new!

It is a combination of the good guitar sounds on my keyboard themselves, in combination with really good pitch-bender work. That little lever that bends the tones up or down.

But in addition to the pitch-bender, many keyboards today have various touch sensitivities and also various functions that can occur when used.

For example, like a standard piano, you know that many, if not most, synths today, are pressure sensitive, so that, like a standard piano, if you hit the key harder, the sound becomes louder, right?

Well keys today, also have things like "aftertouch" so that something occurs, but not until you lift your finger off the key. Or something else can be triggered if you are holding a key down, and then press it down even further.

And the pitch bender on my keyboard, not only goes left and right (for bending up or lowering the tone) but you can also hold the pitch bender UP rather than left or right. And I usually have that set for feedback, which emulates holding the guitar up to an amp, so that it gives all those cool feedback overtones.

So, with the pitch bender... I may play a fast guitar lick, with some bends or slurs thrown in, at the right places, and then on the last note of the riff, I may hold the pitch bender lever -UP- to finish off with the feedback, as if I had just done a blazing run, and then walked over to the amp to feedback that last note.

The trick to ALL this, is "thinking like a guitarist"

Bend notes where they would. Sometimes don't bend the note, all the way to the second note, but part way, cause guitarists don't always bend their notes to PRECISLEY the same place everytime.

Leave some human error or idiosyncrasies in there for realism.

Play around and have fun!

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Thank you very much indeed Craig this was very helpful.
I got the thinking like guitarist too, I totally get that.

Q. I guess you do this afterwards right when mixing?
Thanks Craig.

CraigMaxim wrote:It is a combination of the good guitar sounds on my keyboard themselves, in combination with really good pitch-bender work. That little lever that bends the tones up or down.

But in addition to the pitch-bender, many keyboards today have various touch sensitivities and also various functions that can occur when used.

For example, like a standard piano, you know that many, if not most, synths today, are pressure sensitive, so that, like a standard piano, if you hit the key harder, the sound becomes louder, right?

Well keys today, also have things like "aftertouch" so that something occurs, but not until you lift your finger off the key. Or something else can be triggered if you are holding a key down, and then press it down even further.

And the pitch bender on my keyboard, not only goes left and right (for bending up or lowering the tone) but you can also hold the pitch bender UP rather than left or right. And I usually have that set for feedback, which emulates holding the guitar up to an amp, so that it gives all those cool feedback overtones.

So, with the pitch bender... I may play a fast guitar lick, with some bends or slurs thrown in, at the right places, and then on the last note of the riff, I may hold the pitch bender lever -UP- to finish off with the feedback, as if I had just done a blazing run, and then walked over to the amp to feedback that last note.

The trick to ALL this, is "thinking like a guitarist"

Bend notes where they would. Sometimes don't bend the note, all the way to the second note, but part way, cause guitarists don't always bend their notes to PRECISLEY the same place everytime.

Leave some human error or idiosyncrasies in there for realism.

Play around and have fun!

.

Chippy wrote:
Q. I guess you do this afterwards right when mixing?
Thanks Craig.

Nope. I shred the keyboard like it was a guitar. LOL

And I can't help myself... but I find mysef making faces and gestures like I was shredding a guitar, rather than a keyboard.

WHY... WHY... didn't I spend a few years practicing lead guitar... WHY?????

LOL

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Doesn't matter Craig.
It's about your voice in any case which is great. No one can deny that at all.

CraigMaxim wrote:Nope. I shred the keyboard like it was a guitar. LOL

And I can't help myself... but I find mysef making faces and gestures like I was shredding a guitar, rather than a keyboard.

WHY... WHY... didn't I spend a few years practicing lead guitar... WHY?????

LOL

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Chippy wrote:Doesn't matter Craig.
It's about your voice in any case which is great. No one can deny that at all.

Very kind of you Chippy.

Thank you!

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