How important is it to be able to play keyboard?

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Some MIDI editors even have a step entry mode where you can press one note on the keyboard at a time. No recording tempo, no metronome required. Just like pressing keys on a typewriter or word processor (or clicking with a mouse). Every note that you enter will then step to the next beat or whatever, according to the note value/grid snap that you have set up. Then you can edit the notes and expression to taste afterwards.

However, that is still tedious to me even when compared to noodling a riff in one handed with the click track running ... that's what take lanes and comping are for! :D
Windows 10 and too many plugins

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rod_zero wrote:IMHO the important part of being able to play an instrument is that you can come out with ideas faster when composing, trying different chord progressions just by writing them via MIDI is time-consuming
If you want to have parts that are "keyboard" parts in your songs, i.e. piano, organ, harpsichord or synths, and you want it to sound like a human is playing them you have two options. Play them (or get someone to do it), which takes a few minutes or so, or program them, which takes a few hours or so for something convincing.

Recording a take live takes as long as it does to play. With practice, you can pull things off with 1-3 takes. So in the long run, you save yourself an awful lot of time if bother to learn to play an instrument. It's also generally quicker to record a basic idea for other instruments (i.e. non-keys) this way. You can then fine tune the programming in the piano roll so it sounds more authentic and less like a keyboard. It will get you half way to the finish a lot quicker.

How much of a benefit that really is to your music depends on what kind of music you make. There are some genres where programming in the piano roll is actually often the quicker route. If you don't need subtle nuances and are happy with hard quantisation and limited velocity variation, it's very quick to knock something up in the piano roll.

I would also argue that playing an instrument will also teach you a lot more about music and make you more likely to discover new things simply through the act of playing and noodling around. So it's an activity worth pursuing in its own right if you are interested in music as a whole.

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Aro wrote:Thanks for all the responses. I just wish I had a clearer idea as to what kind of music I want to create. Which direction to go?
I think the most important thing is just to spend time. Have fun and experiment. Let what entertains you be the guide. If you're playing a particular way and enjoying it then that is the beginning of your own style.

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Thanks everyone! I've decided to pursue piano further, if only for the enjoyment of being able to play an instrument. Whether or not it will be relevant to the music I make, time will tell.

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I've been playing guitar for about a dozen years, but I picked up piano a couple years ago, so I could be able to actually play the MIDI virtual instrument parts in a more "convincing and expressive" way.
Little did I know (even though I should have imagined) the major benefit would have been how invaluable it is as a composing/sketching tool for any musical genre which isn't "guitar-centric".

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I learned to play Melodica a few year ago. Its improved my keyboard playing no end. There's something about it being (literally) in your face that made it easier to understand (compared to a traditional piano keyboard). Maybe its that the vertical layout is more guitar like.

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i use my midy keybord as a tool very usefull indeed

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I am a horn player (sax,flute) got my degree with barely any piano (my fault)..... wish I would have gotten a lot more...too old now...go for it.... you will never regret it!!!

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Keyboard practice is a very zen experince, I’m finding it worthwhile. It trains your ability to focus, sharpens the minds connection to the fingers, builds confidence, strengthens discipline, feels good.

I noticed that I miss notes more when my mind wanders outside of what i’m doing. You don’t appreciate how fragmented our attention spans have become due to the environment we live in. There is this constant instinct to flip to this other tab or check on the notifications, but you have to put that all away while you are playing a song on the keyboard, the instrument requires your full attention. It feels great, just being forced to turn off all the distractions and collect your mind onto a single task, plus the feeling of accomplishment when you finally get through a piece without mistakes.

I’m only a few weeks into it though, doing beginner two handed excercises almost every day.

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Depends what genre you play. If its simple melodic riffs, drawing them in is just as easy as playing on a keyboard. It's whatever suits your workflow really. Drawing in certainly doesn't take hours as someone suggested. IMO.
I wonder what happens if I press this button...

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