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yeah..so i find the hardest thing for me is making good melodies. basically i have no musical knowledge or theory and never played an instrument so it takes me forever to find a good combo of notes. i do have somewhat of an ear for them because i can tell what sounds good and what doesn't...but basically it just takes me longer than i would like to find a melody that im happy with.

so where should i go first to learn how to play better? should i just get a musical theory book and keep practicing? or should i look into like online piano lessons or something? im not sure if the musical theory books will actually help me learn to play the keyboard or not.

This seems to float around a bit i had a read through it last week because i found i needed to brush up on my theory as i stopped playing guitar and piano years and years ago. anyway here it is hope it helps
http://www.scribd.com/doc/5220863/Raven ... -Theory-06

Oh and i know it looks like a massive TL;DR but for the most part its worth it. Just have a look through the first few basic sections then try and play something out with your new knowledge. I find the scales section helped me alot.
Hope this helps.

BevOh wrote:This seems to float around a bit i had a read through it last week because i found i needed to brush up on my theory as i stopped playing guitar and piano years and years ago. anyway here it is hope it helps
http://www.scribd.com/doc/5220863/Raven ... -Theory-06

thanks man, much appreciated . ill def give it a read.

do you think its worth it to try and get some lessons whether they're online or whatever? or should i just keep reading musical theory and practicing?

See how you go with reading a bit of that link and if its not helping you with the practical part of it go grab a lesson or two and let them know specifically what you want to know, what its for and what you already have a decent grasp on and im sure they will be able to help you out with the physical, actual "playing the keyboard better" side of it.

BevOh wrote:See how you go with reading a bit of that link and if its not helping you with the practical part of it go grab a lesson or two and let them know specifically what you want to know, what its for and what you already have a decent grasp on and im sure they will be able to help you out with the physical, actual "playing the keyboard better" side of it.

yeah i guess at this point i think its more of just not knowing the right notes to hit, rather then the physical...i think anyway.. so ill just have to keep reading and practicing. and if im still having trouble after i feel i have spent a good amount of time and effort learning, then ill look into lessons.

lyons238 wrote: yeah i guess at this point i think its more of just not knowing the right notes to hit, rather then the physical...i think anyway.. so ill just have to keep reading and practicing. and if im still having trouble after i feel i have spent a good amount of time and effort learning, then ill look into lessons.

in that case that link will help you out just fine. definitely made my melodies etc sound better because i actually knew where to place the notes and which cords were which so everything was nicely in key

BevOh wrote:

lyons238 wrote: yeah i guess at this point i think its more of just not knowing the right notes to hit, rather then the physical...i think anyway.. so ill just have to keep reading and practicing. and if im still having trouble after i feel i have spent a good amount of time and effort learning, then ill look into lessons.

in that case that link will help you out just fine. definitely made my melodies etc sound better because i actually knew where to place the notes and which cords were which so everything was nicely in key

thanks again for the link brah

if anyone else has anything that they think would help, dont hesitate to post it up . also can anyone recommend me a good book for musical theory for someone not so advanced? would be nice to have a book lying around so i can just grab it and read even if im not at a computer.

If you have cash that your willing to spend take music theory classes/Contemporary keyboard lessons. Its really helpful because you are playing songs and stuff, which gives you better understanding of melody composition.
One thing that i first learned in those classes what the direction of the melody, like going up and down. It'll also improve fingering on the keyboard/piano which can be very useful in melody making on your midi keyboard then to the DAW.

alongside, as said above research scales/modes/chords and ask your teacher about them. Sometimes i understand information better when its explained to me in real life...dunno I think im mildy retarded.

Regarding musical theory books, I think any one could be good since they all exlpain the same information. I borrowed mine from my little cousin (8 years old) the book is like cutesy and shit with little notes/excersises to fill out as you go along.

Good luck.

honestly i took some piano lessons and it was a waste of money.

the key to getting good at piano, i realized, is having an intrinsic passion for it. something that mundane lessons couldnt seem to bring out in me, in fact the routine-ness of it all made me dislike piano.

just find a bunch of songs you like, that have good melodies, and work it out by ear. it takes really long at first but youll eventually start getting better at it and youll be able to do it faster.

ive gotten pretty good through what ive been able to gather for free online. all the "rules" of piano dont really apply to a casual keyboardist who just wants to be able to play at a level that makes composing songs easier and more organic. if you plan on getting a scholarship to julliard though, or playing at carnegie hall, then go take some damn lessons.

its about your ear more than anything, hearing those intervals, and eventually understanding the theory behind it. a pair of headphones and some good songs are a better teacher than anything out there in my opinion.

hope that helps

I say go on YouTube and learn claims songs Gotitans999 gives really good tutorials on there I never took lessons and that's how I learned piano. Just learning and practicing songs from youtube

ok thanks guys. so ill get a book and keep reading tips. and practice on youtube. id rather that than lessons anyway.

Will get some piano lessons before I die. Anyone in the southbay with teaching experience, hit a brother up.

I think it would be very very helpful.

this is useful for figuring out melodies and basslines

http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/piano/

nowaysj wrote:Will get some piano lessons before I die. Anyone in the southbay with teaching experience, hit a brother up.

I think it would be very very helpful.

where is southbay? norcal?

The Complete Keyboard Player books by Kenneth Baker are the books I started learning from all those years ago when I was having lessons. They're mostly filled with old pop songs but since it's melodies you want to improve on then they'll probably help a fair bit and they've been around so long you'll probably be able to pick them up dead cheap second-hand somewhere.

BryceFury wrote:The Complete Keyboard Player books by Kenneth Baker are the books I started learning from all those years ago when I was having lessons. They're mostly filled with old pop songs but since it's melodies you want to improve on then they'll probably help a fair bit and they've been around so long you'll probably be able to pick them up dead cheap second-hand somewhere.

Same books I use!
They are great.

take piano lessons. it won't be easy at first... but what is?

Practice. Pull up a piano preset and just play for a few hours a few times a week.

RandoRando wrote:where is southbay? norcal?

chea!