So Much Fun

Up until very recently, I used to learn to play the piano on a keyboard. When I bought the keyboard, few years back, I had no idea that a keyboard is a different instrument than a piano. The same white and black keys gave me the impression that they are the same. Hence even when looking for music classes to join, I always looked for Piano Class. And when I joined one, I started learning from a Piano method book, John Thompson, instead of a keyboard book. Which meant that I never really explored the instrument I had at hand.

Now that I bought a Digital Piano, the keyboard just sits there in a corner, and I have not played in even once. Which is something I didn’t like. Also, when friends come over and look at both the piano and keyboard, they have the same question, how are they both different. I can tell them some basic differences and show them some of the features of the keyboard, but I realize that I myself don’t know much of what a keyboard has to offer. Hence, I wanted to start exploring the keyboard as well, just to learn what I can do with it and also because I feel that it is much easier to play pop music on the keyboard and make it sound good. So I got myself a beginner level keyboard method book from Alfred.

I didn’t really research a lot before selecting which book to use. I just wanted to get started. Since learning to play the piano is still the primary goal that I have, playing keyboard is going to take a backseat, at least for a while, until I can produce music from it which really sounds good and makes it a pleasure to perform for others.

I just played the lessons in the first few pages, and obviously all of them are very basic. But through them, for the first time, I actually tried playing something in a different voice than Grand Piano. And it sounded good. The rhythm added even more flavour to the piece. I was fun to try different rhythms, match my playing with it, use different voices, different tempo, etc.

I am not really sure of this, but I think learning keyboard would provide a very different skill set to a person than playing a piano. When playing a keyboard, one would have the option to try out various arpeggios, voices, rhythms, etc and decide which work for a particular piece or a particular kind of music and which don’t. One can also try to create different arrangements of a song. All of these can begin from the initial few weeks itself, which I feel is very difficult in the case of piano.

Since this is just a fun activity that I want to try on the side, I don’t think I would be doing any recordings, and don’t even know if I will play regularly. But if I do make some progress, and am able to play something which sounds great, I will publish it.

Hopefully, the keyboard will let me be a One Man Band, like the guy in the photo :)