Jazz Arranging for Keyboardists

May 16 2013 3:00PM
Keyboard players are naturally good arrangers. We do it every day while we’re writing, tracking, putting chords to melodies, and mixing our music. All of these activities involve selecting textures, achieving balance, and More...

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...

5 Ways to Play Like Regina Spektor

May 9 2013 7:09PM
I’ve lived in New York City’s East Village for nearly 20 years, and have followed Regina Spektor’s career from its early beginnings at the Sidewalk Cafe on Avenue A, just a block from my apartment. Regina’s keyboard work More...

5 Ways To Play Like Donald Fagen

Mar 21 2013 5:00PM
For over 40 years, Donald Fagen has had a monumental impact on modern music.  His jazz-tinged songwriting and funky keyboard work helped define the sound of a generation. Largely self-taught, Fagen regularly went to More...

One-Handed Keys

Nov 20 2012 5:00PM
WHETHER YOU’RE A KEYBOARD-PLUS-HORN PLAYER LIKE ME, or you're just looking for lean, mean parts to play on the fly, there’s a one-handed keyboard part for just about everyone. I concocted the following strategy out of More...

Piano Strategies for Vocal Pop

Oct 4 2012 3:11PM
THE KEY TO EFFECTIVE POP PIANO PLAYING IS TO BE STRATEGIC ABOUT HOW MANY VOICES YOU USE, what range you play in, and how you use dynamics. You don’t have to play ten notes all the time, or play constant rhythms that mimic 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...

Julian Velard On The Art And Technology Of The Two-Man Band

Aug 1 2010 1:00AM
When I set out to create my two-man band, it wasn’t out of synth-driven inspiration—it was purely based on economics. Most gigs leave me with just enough money for one man, and that man is me! However, after years of playing 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...

Finger Independence

Apr 1 2010 1:00AM
by Kiki Ebsen  In my touring career with artists like Colin Hay of Men at Work, Wilson Phillips, and my own band, it has always been challenging to find time to practice. That’s why I’ve come up with my own exercises that can More...

Voicings To Fit Each Song Section

Apr 1 2010 1:00AM
Your choice of chord voicings and the style in which you play them is one of the most crucial decisions you can make at the gig or recording session. This is as true for simple rock as it is for complex jazz; perhaps even More...

Ten Minute Technique - Warming Up Under the Gun

Jan 22 2010 8:10AM
by Josh DodesFinding time to practice is difficult for all of us. Whether you’re on the road, running from one gig to the next, or dealing with distractions at home, it can be daunting to keep your chops up. Whether at sound 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...

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