THIS MONTH

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If you’re willing to reach, things will improve.

Looking Up

By Ernie Rideout | December, 2007

What’s going to be important to keyboardists this year? If I had to boil it down to a single word, it’d be this: improvement. In the course of my many years here at Keyboard, I haven’t run into very many players who were interested in keeping things the way they are. As a group, it’s safe to say that categorically, we like to improve our skills as players, improvisers, composers, sound editors, programmers, and mixing engineers. We also like to improve our capacity for doing work by improving our studios, investing in software that gives us more power, and getting updated with the latest sounds.

Take a peek at what we have for you in this issue, and you’ll get a good idea of how we intend to serve these needs throughout the year. In the playing and improv department, you can’t ask for a better example to set for yourself than Kenny Barron (page 50). His lines, voicings, phrasing, emotion, and writing are all worth examining, no matter what style you’re into. His recorded legacy is deep and he’s still adding to it, so even our brief introduction to him this month can serve as your springboard to an entire Kenny curriculum.

In the gear department, if software isn’t already one of your main concerns for improving your stage or studio rig, it should be. Our roundup of the current incarnations of software samplers on page 28 will not only show you what the strengths and limitations of each program are, but also just how much power and musical potential you can put on your hard drive.

For an inspiring look at what a keyboard-based performance can be, you really can’t beat Justin Timberlake’s show. MD Kevin Antunes and Justin share a lot of their synth-heavy ideas with you on page 22; perhaps their experience will spur your imagination, too.

You can expect more of this kind of inspiration as the year progresses. We know you come to us for information that can improve your musical life, and by golly, we’ll deliver.

Happy New Year!