Be the Bass With These Left Hand Techniques

May 15 2013 2:13PM
Picture this: You got the gig and you’re excited about the music. You get to your first rehearsal and the bandleader wants you to play “bass” on a couple of things. You panic because you’ve never had to be the bass player and More...

Synth Soloing Portamento Master Class

May 3 2013 12:34PM
In the last two columns, we’ve explored the difference between single (legato) envelope triggering and multiple triggering, and the performance possibilities offered by each. In some synths, you can also vary between legato More...

Add Impact to Your B3 Bass Lines with Percussive Pedal Techniques

Apr 26 2013 12:48PM
A powerful technique used by most modern B-3 organists is to tap rhythmically on a bass pedal while playing the actual bass line on the lower manual using the left hand. Only occasionally do they play actual bass notes on the More...

Creative Concepts for Funky Keys

Oct 4 2012 3:00PM
Soulive, left to right: Alan Evans, Eric Krasno, and Neal Evans. by NEAL EVANS I GOT MY FIRST ORGAN WHEN I WAS 19, PRIMARILY BECAUSE IT WAS AN INSTRUMENT OF CONVENIENCE—if you can call a 400-pound instrument More...

5 Ways To Play Like Greg Phillinganes

Jul 25 2012 4:00PM
by Matt Beck ONE LOOK AT GREG PHILLINGANES’ RÉSUMÉ AND YOU’LL QUICKLY UNDERSTAND why he has risen to the top of modern music. Greg has toured and/or recorded with Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, Herbie Hancock, More...

Booker T Video Repost

Oct 12 2011 12:00AM
We've been meaning to catch up with Booker T. Jones since his Grammy win for the 2009 album Potato Hole--for which we interviewed him back in August '09. If you haven't heard his latest, The Road From Memphis, you're missing out, More...

Welcome to Keyboard's November 2011 Links Page

Oct 10 2011 12:00AM
Exclusive interview with the Flaming Lips! Evan Bogart talks songwriting, keyboards, and production. Miss our Summer NAMM gear wrap? It's online?     More...

Samurai Keys Multi-Keyboard Multitasking

Sep 1 2010 12:00AM
Often, our jobs involve playing multiple keyboard parts at once. As important as the music itself is, it’s also vital to make sure that your multikey rig works ergonomically with both your body and playing style. Keeping your More...

New Orleans Piano with Josh Charles

Aug 18 2010 12:00AM
Josh Charles knows a thing or two about New Orleans-style stride, boogie, and gospel piano playing. He should--at 13 years of age, he approached the legendary Dr. John and asked to be his student. After hearing what the young More...

Daniel Mintseris On Creative Wurly Comping

Jun 1 2010 1:00AM
The Wurlitzer Electronic Piano is loved the world over for its vintage sound. Songs like Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say,” Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” and Beck’s “Where It’s At” are just three of the countless More...

Chester Thompson B-3 Master Class

Feb 11 2010 9:41PM
In this web-only video master class, original Tower of Power keyboardist Chester Thompson--who more recently played with Santana--explains some of the secrets behind his unique, bubbling, rhythmic Hammond B-3 style on such TOP More...

Get Funky On The Rhodes2

Feb 1 2010 4:35PM
Pioneering keyboardists (such as Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea with Miles Davis, and Billy Preston with the Beatles) brought the Rhodes electric piano to the forefront of modern music. Soon it was the go-to keyboard of the ’70s More...

Get Funky on the Rhodes

Jan 22 2010 7:05AM
Influential recordings from the late 1960s by pioneering keyboardists (such as those by Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea with Miles Davis, and Billy Preston with the Beatles) brought the Rhodes electric piano to the forefront of modern More...

Michael Jacksons “Billie Jean”

Dec 1 2009 12:00PM
Michael Jackson created some of the most universally memorable — and downright funky — music of the last century. His hit “Billie Jean,” from the best-selling album of all time, Thriller, makes great use of synth bass and More...