Performance Enhancers for Live Keyboard Players

Date:2020/3/3 10:20:42 Hits:

My very first live keyboard performance was at a Lowrey Organ show back in 1970. I was supposed to play some written piece that I didn’t like very much, but at the last minute, I decided to improvise on the theme from The Odd Couple TV series instead. The audience really seemed to like it, and they had no idea I was playing by ear. I was only eight years old at the time, but I knew that playing keyboards had permanently supplanted “being an astronaut” as my dream job. (Plus, 2001: A Space Odyssey made being an astronaut seem way too scary.)

Here are a bunch of things I’ve learned playing live keyboards over the past 50 years:
If it’s possible, see if you can design your rig so that it can be transported from the car to the stage in one trip. You can use a dolly or roller cart if it helps. The idea is that you never have to walk away from your car with half of your precious gear left to fend for itself. It also makes setup and tear-down a lot more enjoyable.

You really should have a backup keyboard ready to go, especially if you’re driving far from home. If your gig only requires bread-and-butter sounds, such as piano, electric piano, strings, horns, pads, and leads, find a lightweight, low-cost keyboard that you can leave in your trunk until that dreaded day when your main keyboard acts up or gets damaged. Plus, it’s fun to have if you want a musician friend to sit in for some songs (without having to take over your rig). If you’re flying and can’t take an extra keyboard, find out if your keyboard is available as a backline instrument. You’ll need to have your keyboard’s data backed up to dump into the borrowed keyboard (see below) in case your keyboard gets rerouted to Hawaii.

You should always have your presets saved on something that’s not traveling with the keyboard. Most keyboards these days allow you to save your entire setup as a single file to a USB thumb drive or SD card. Just remember to keep that removable (or a duplicate) drive somewhere other than with the keyboard. If your keyboard saves files via a SysEx dump, consider buying the necessary cable (or interface) that allows you to import and export that file to and from your cell phone, tablet, or laptop. That way you can turn a borrowed, rented, or purchased replacement keyboard back into “your” keyboard. (Don’t forget to back up the data from a borrowed or rented keyboard so that you can return it without your personal presets on it.)

Create a separate preset for every song, even if it’s identical to a preset for a different song. I get it — you’re thinking, “But I use the exact same Electric Piano sound on six songs. Why should I have six duplicates of that preset?” Here are several reasons:

Your presets can then become your set list. Just put all the presets in the correct order, either by hand, via an external Librarian, or, if your keyboard has the ability, by assigning your presets (in show order) to a Favorites bank.
Separate presets per song allow you to put hints in the titles about the song’s key, or on which keys the sound effects have been placed, or even the first words of the song to jog your memory.
They also allow you the freedom to store changes in volume, effects settings, and performance controls that make it easier for your sound to be exactly right for that particular song. You can also use a unique character, such as an *, @, $, or = symbol in the front of your title to indicate which band or performance this preset was designed for.

Sequence a small crazy section of a song. If you’re playing a song that has a dense, complex intro or bridge that’s too much for only two hands, you can create an onboard sequence that you can trigger at the right moment. Leave out one of the parts for you to play live along with the sequence so that you’re not just a button pusher.

Use your own samples to create atmospheric intros, bridges, or outros. Sometimes you can get away with leaving some gear at home if you have a WAV file of the required ambient effects made by that gear. Obviously, not every keyboard can play back user-created samples, but keyboards that have finger pads often can. Sometimes it’s easy; sometimes it’s not. But the end result is always worth the effort.

Use samples to create vocal boosters. If there’s a difficult harmony part, make a real-time recording, or an overdub, on your computer. Then, break down the recording into individual words or short phrases. Put each phrase on consecutive keys. Now you can give your vocalists a confidence boost during rehearsal by getting them used to how it should sound. And if you ever have to do a show without some of your background singers, you can still sound full.

And my final tip: If you have a complex rig with two or more keyboards, consider using two stands to create an “L” shape instead of vertically stacking them on a single stand. You’ll have better manual and visual access to each keyboard, and you won’t have to play with your wrists at awkward angles.

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