Keyboard lessons for beginners: Practical tips on how to learn to play the electronic keyboards. Where do you find the best music keyboard lessons for beginners? The answer is right in your electronic keyboard. Here’s how to get the best out of your instrument.
Learn to Play the Keyboard: Introduction
Lot of people might say that learning to play the keyboards is comparatively easier as opposed to learning a piano.
To some extent it may be true, since you can still get away with a weak left hand.
At the same time, playing the electronic keyboards develops your musical sense considerably. You will get to know how the various tracks, for the different instruments, are laid out to construct a song and you start understanding a lot about music technology.
And over time, you anyways learn several more techniques for your left hand, and can play some songs in the piano style.
Keyboard Lessons for Beginners: Recommended Books & Resources
There are several ways in which you can learn to play the keyboards – Teacher, Books, Videos, Software. A personal teacher will help you to get out of the blocks much quicker! Besides, you can benefit a lot from the personal experiences of your teacher. If you are not keen on having a personal teacher as of now, you can look for alternatives like Method Books, and Videos/DVDs.
The information available on these sources can be really helpful since they start from the basics and move on to the advanced levels. Use one of these alternatives if you cannot go to a teacher for now.
How To Play Keyboard: A Complete Guide for Absolute Beginners (by Ben Parker)
Beginner’s guide to the electronic Keyboard, introduction to reading music, simple exercises to follow and practice, easy songs with chords to play. [easyazon_link identifier=”1908707143″ locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]Read more here[/easyazon_link].
Kids under the age of 10, can checkout Ben’s ‘[easyazon_link identifier=”1908707151″ locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]My First Keyboard book[/easyazon_link]’ instead – created for the youngest beginner.
- [easyazon_link identifier=”0825633567″ locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]The Complete Keyboard Player (by Kenneth Baker)[/easyazon_link]: Great for older beginners – teens and adults. Kenneth Baker’s books seem to be the most popular with older beginners.
- [easyazon_link identifier=”1118705491″ locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]Keyboard For Dummies[/easyazon_link]: another popular book for adults.
- [easyazon_link identifier=”0882846809″ locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]Alfred’s Teach Yourself to Play Electronic Keyboard: Everything You Need to Know to Start Playing Now! (Teach Yourself Series)[/easyazon_link]
- [easyazon_link identifier=”0825622867″ locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]Chords and Progressions for Jazz and Popular Keyboard[/easyazon_link]
- [easyazon_link identifier=”0793514428″ locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]The Billy Joel Keyboard Book: Note-for-Note Keyboard Transcriptions[/easyazon_link]
Music theory is the same for all instruments. And the basics of music theory can be learnt online (most of it is free). But you will need guidance to improve your playing technique, improving your ear. Also, make sure you understand all the electronic features on your keyboard.
Music reading is a good skill to acquire, but you don’t have to get intimidated by it. There are ways to simplify and song that you want to learn. For example, start with the right hand, then move to the left, and then you can try using both.
Learn to Play Piano Keyboards the Right Way with Learning Software
How to play Keyboard: Top Suggestions
Here are some useful tips that you can use right away to learn to play the keyboard:
- Make Use of the Keyboards Built-in Lessons
Lots of valuable lessons are provided to you right within your instrument. Besides the built-in lessons, the numerous demo songs can provide you with valuable learning on how to choose styles, voices, on how to use both your hands, and what chords to play.It is right in there. You just have to be observant!
Learn how to playback the variety of songs that is available on portable keyboards, and use it in your keyboard learning.
- Use the Full Fingered Mode
Full Fingered Mode: Playing in the Full Fingered Mode basically means playing in the piano style, using more of your left hand.The full fingered mode available in most of the keyboards is suited for this style of playing. Ability to play in this mode, along with the appropriate use of fill-ins, would mean that you have learnt to play the keyboards to an advanced level.
- Appropriate use of the built-in Rhythms
Playing the electronic keyboard is fun compared to the Piano because of the various built-in musical styles and its capability to produce sounds of various musical instruments.The basic principles that applies to learning a piano also applies to learning the electronic keyboard, though the left hand may have limited things to do initially on a keyboard. As on a Piano, the names of the various notes remain the same on a keyboard.
Also Read: Best Music Keyboards for Beginners
- Make use of the Demo Songs in the Keyboard
Every portable keyboard has a selection of built-in keyboard demo songs, which is created using the sounds and styles of that particular instrument.Have you tried listening to the demo songs available on your portable piano keyboard? If not, go ahead and listen to them. They have all been recorded using your portable piano.
The keyboard demo songs help in demonstrating the capabilities of the instrument to you as a user. It is basically to tell you how the songs will sound on your keyboard instrument, if you were to completely utilize its potential.
Another important use of the demo songs is that you can use it to learn some of your favorite songs. The demo songs usually contain a selection of some of the most popular songs of all times, so you may go ahead and learn some of them. These resources will be some of the best music keyboard lessons for beginners.
With portable electronic keyboards, you can playback a variety of songs. These songs are usually available in three forms.
- Preset Demo Songs: The ones that come built-in the keyboard.
- Songs Disks: Some keyboards come with supplementary data disks, which have additional demo songs. You can even buy commercially available XG/GM song collection disks. The tempo setting of some commercially available disk songs is fixed.
- User Songs: These are the User songs that you record to a data disk. With easy-to-use song recording features, you can record your own keyboard performances to a data disk as a User song.
Every piano keyboard has a Demo button that plays the various demonstration songs. It starts playing the songs in a particular sequence. You can choose to skip to any particular song that you like, using the appropriate buttons. Except for the preset demo songs, a data disk must be inserted in the disk drive for you to be able to playback a song.
- Learn to Create Music
when you learn to play keyboard, you have access to all the tools that you need to create your own music. Most keyboards also have a built-in recorder which allows you to record tracks, similar to how its done in a studio.The advanced keyboards have several editing features as well, so learning to play keyboard can actually be a good thing for you!
- Practice Regularly
- Keep it simple initially
Make sure you practice regularly and stick to a fixed time of the day.
Begin with finger exercises, play them for a few minutes and then play songs. Move to difficult songs gradually.
Learn to use the fill-in buttons; it removes monotony! Using it correctly from time to time, to alter the accompaniment, will make your playing sound professional.
Learn a few chords and then try to play as many songs as possible based on those chords, this will give you confidence.
Playing chords is not difficult on a keyboard, but you will need to learn to change the chords on the right beats when playing on a rhythm.
Also, you will need to know about chord inversions when you start, since you may not be playing straight chords in the accompaniment area.
Final Thoughts
Once you learn to play you could be the life of a party by playing some catchy tune you hear on the radio. You can also spend your free time playing your keyboard by yourself and rediscover yourself in music. However, you cannot do much of this if you do not really know how to play the keyboard, can you?
Some would first try borrowing a piano from a nearby friend or relative and try to learn using small cheat books that teach chords and not the fundamentals of playing the keyboard. What ends up happening is that you will either hire a piano teacher or quit trying to learn in the first place. If you have the cash to spend you might even be considering buying a piano for yourself but it would not be a wise investment because you do not know if you are going to stick it out in the music industry. For all you know, you may just be an amateur keyboardist that is here to try out playing.
One viable option is to learn how to play keyboards using your computer and other software that makes use of the computer. With the wonders of technology, you can definitely make this happen for you. Surprisingly, YouTube has been in the forefront with free tutorials teaching how beginners can learn how to play the piano. It also works for other instruments but the most popular videos rounding the internet are videos of popular tutorials. So use these videos as part of Learning to Play the Keyboard. The computer can also be used to learn through special software. Learning using the computer maybe the most cost efficient and time efficient way. its also cheaper (compared to hiring an instructor) and you can learn it at your own pace.
The basics remain more or less same irrespective of whether you’re learning keyboard or the piano, so don’t worry about that, especially if you’re unable to afford a piano as of now! Its perfectly alright to start learning on a keyboard!
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KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.
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