Keyboard Magazine

What Traditional
Piano Teaching
GETS WRONG
HANS ZIMMER ON INTERSTELLAR | ARTURIA KEYLAB 88 | YAMAHA P-255 | SCOTT HEALY | PLAY LIKE MEHLDAU | MORE LESSONS!

5 Ways to Play
Like Jazz Genius
SCOTT BRAD MEHLDAU
HEALY
Grammy- Play Killer
Nominated LEFT-HAND
Jazzer and BASS
Conan
Keysman

HANS
ZIMMER
Launches Pipe Organ into Space for

INTERSTELLAR
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CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2015

TALK KNOW
10 Voices, tips, and breaking news from the Keyboard community. 40 BEYOND THE MANUAL
Live dangerously, and tweak your
NEW GEAR presets!
3

12 44 SYNTH SOLOING & b

Our monthly wrap-up of the most interesting products from the
keyboard, recording, and professional audio worlds. Apply last months Steve Winwood
3
lesson to your own playing. & b
HEAR
46 DANCE
14 COVER STORY Make a bass loop out of a vocal.
Oscar and Grammy-winning composer
Hans Zimmers beautiful scores have
become part of the fabric of our film- VIEW
REVIEW
going lives, from The Lion King to 12 Years
a Slave. His latest project is the sci-fi epic 48 MIDI CONTROLLER
Interstellar, and we take you into Zimmers Arturia KeyLab 88
studio and behind the movie music.
52 DIGITAL PIANO
22 GURUS Yamaha P-255
Conan keyboardist Scott Healy offers
musical memories and tips to hone your 56 APP
craft. Korg Module

24 DEPARTURES 58 VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT

Too soon after our October cover feature, Applied Acoustics String Studio VS2
we say good-bye to Faces, session, and solo
great Ian McLagan. 60 AUDIO INTERFACE
Novation AudioHub 2x4

PLAY 62 HEADPHONES
Blue Mo-Fi
28 BEGINNER
This months Key of One column takes 64 PLUG-OUT SYNTH
a critical look at the potential pitfalls of Roland SH2
traditional music education.

30 JAZZ
CODA
Five ways to add Brad Mehldau-isms to 66 Five things that engineer, producer, and saxophonist
your own playing. Dana Nielsen has learned about mixing.

34 POP
Jeff Babko shows you how to play killer
keyboard bass. Online Now!
Download our monster Ableton master
36 TECHNIQUES class, featuring Live and Push tutorials and
Wicked warm-ups to start your session. artist proles!

keyboardmag.com/February2015
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TALK VO IC ES FRO M T HE KEYBOARD COMMUN ITY

Comment directly at
keyboardmag.com

Editors Note twitter.com

keyboardmag

Like many musicians, my point of entry into key-
boards other than piano was the Hammond or-
gan. It was Booker T.s Hip-Hug-Her and Gregg
Rolies solos with early Santana that made me go,
Wow, what was that? and then start looking for
any album I could find with a B-3 on the cover
which Id then put on a turntable atop my grand-
parents L-100 spinet and try to play along.
So Im pleased to announce that todays Ham-
mond company has launched a video channel,
Hammond TV (youtube.com/hammondtvusa),
headed up and hosted by singer-songwriter-
keyboardist (and fellow Hammond-phile) Emiko.
I wanted to share a bit of her enthusiasmwhich
reflects my own:
facebook.com
The idea of the Hammond organ needs to be
KeyboardMagazine
about more than legacy, Emiko beams. It needs to
be about the future. One day, after shooting a music
SoundCloud.com
video in L.A., I called Gregg Gronowski of Hammond
KeyboardMag
USA.Within five minutes of our conversation, he
asked me to write up a formal pitch and I did.About
Keyboard Corner
a week later, he told me I had a green light.
forums.musicplayer.com
I think the first time I heard a real Ham-
mond, I was eight years old.When I became a
email
Hammond-endorsing artist, they asked me for
keyboard@musicplayer.com
a quote and this sums it up: Ive always been
a Hammond player but never knew it. I was a
concert pianist as a child, but the minute I laid
hands on my SK1-73 I knew the organ was it. So, learned to play a lot better, a lot faster. So yes,
this isnt just another YouTube channelits a this is a bit of a plug, but check the videos they
network in its infancy.And it wont just be about already have upthese are not infomercials for a
Hammond USAs roster artists, but about players keyboard; theyre interactions with great artists
and fans of the sound all over the world. Were that any enthusiast will get a lot from, and well be
also going to have contests where musicians can co-hosting many of them on our own site. (Leave
submit their own videos, and we have tons of that embed option turned on, Emiko!)
new artists coming up.
I cant help thinking that if Id had a resource
like HTV when I first caught the B-3 bug, Id have

HTV host Emiko with renowned Stephen Fortner

keyboardist and singer Ellis Hall. Editor

My First Composing Rig Bear McCreary

________________.
Millions hear Bear McCrearys music every week via The Walking Dead, Outlander,
Constantine and more, but his journey to lm and TV composition stardom began
decades ago. I started piano lessons when I was ve and always tried writing music, but
never felt I could develop my ideas fully in my head as a little kid, says Bear, who idolized
composers Jerry Goldsmith and Danny Elfman at the time. I had a Casio keyboard with a
very modest recorder back then, but I was always itching for something more.
Everything changed during his freshman year of high school, when he constructed
his rst true recording rig. My mother got me a Yamaha PSR 510 keyboard and a simple
digital effects unit with delay, reverb, and chorus, he says. Then, my father got me an
SM57 [Shure mic] and a Windows 95 computer with MasterTracks Pro for sequencing
and Encore for notation. But the real killer was a Tascam four-track recorder.
Thus armed, McCreary would spend hours sequencing sounds from his Yamaha in
MasterTracks, recording the results to the Tascam, and later overdubbing vocals, guitar,
THOMAS MIKUSZ

trumpet, and beyond. I kept bouncing tracks and trying to get as many on that damn
cassette tape as possible, he says, laughing. The ability to record my ideas and go back,
tweak them, and layer on top of them was incredibly liberating for me. It accelerated my
understanding of orchestral music and narrative music, and really laid the groundwork for
what I do today. Learn more at bearmccreary.com. | Michael Gallant

10 Keyboard 02.2015
Key Secrets USB Batteries
Seemingly everything is USB-powered these days, including electronic music gear such as the Akai MPX16,
Novation MiniNova/UltraNova/Bass Station II, Roland TB-3, and Waldorf Rocket. Sure, you can run them
off a laptop or smart phone charger, but a hefty USB battery may work as well. Because I like to play mobile
gigs, I recently bought a Monoprice 10392 dual-port USB battery pack (monoprice.com, $20). With its
8,000mA capacity, this 4.5-inch-long, metal-clad beast powered my Korg Triton Taktile, a motorized LED
mood light, and a Ploytec PL2 synth (hanging off the Taktiles MIDI jack) for ages. The Taktile draws only
550mA, so theoretically the battery would last 14.5 hours. David Battino

+30 Our February 1985 cover guy was Seth Justman, keyboardist for the J. Geils Band, who
that year charted with the theme song to the movie Fright Night. Best known for hits in-
cluding Love Stinks and Centerfold, the group were about
to head out on tour, and Justman revealed his approach to
YEARS synth orchestration and updating J. Geils classic blues-rock
sound. Composer Jerry Goldsmith talked to Keyboard about

AGO his use of electronic music to score films like Supergirl and
Gremlins. In Keyboard news, Little Richard was in court suing

TODAY multiple labels for his royalties, and Thomas Dolby was in
the studio producing Brit-Pop band Prefab Sprout. We also
reviewed the then-new Oxford OSCar and Rolands MKB-1000
keyboard controller, and featured a super-80s ad for Casios CZ-101. Barbara Schultz

Talent Scout

Gustav Steinhoff
BY JON REGEN

Dr. Gustav Steinhoff is an accomplished keyboardist and composer; hes also

been the Director of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at the University
Medicine in Rostock, Germany, since 2000 and has been credited with the
rst human cardiac stem-cell therapy in heart disease in 2001. Find out more
at www.jazzatheart.com.

MUSICAL TRAINING:I started piano lessons at the age of seven in Germany. I then studied
church organ at age 13, jazz piano at age 18, and contrabass at age 23. My musical education
included classical and modern improvisation techniques, with a focus on rock and jazz piano.

FIRST GIGS: 1978 to 84with the rock band FRAPN around Kleve, Germany.
MUSICAL INFLUENCES: Johann Sebastian Bach, John Lennon.
WHAT IM LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: Anyone With a Heart by Iiro Rantala String Trio.
INSTRUMENTS PLAYED: Piano, Hohner Clavinet, Fender Rhodes, various synthesizers and church organs.
MY BIG BREAK: In 2004 I joined forces with the jazz singer Christina Jaschkowiak for the project Jazz at Heart. To date we have released four albums.
LATEST ALBUM: Storyboard (2013).
FAVORITE KEYBOARD GEAR: My 1913 Steinway Model O grand piano and a Fender Rhodes 73.
WHATS NEXT: More concerts with Jazz at Heart in Rostock, Germany and a new album to be released next year.
ADVICE: Music is the best medicine for the heart.

02.2015 Keyboard 11
NEW GEAR
BY GINO ROBAIR
CUBASE 8 PRO
WHAT A major rev with studio-grade effects,
VCA faders, and group routing for multiple
channels, stems, and buses. Chord Assistant,
Chord Pad, VST Bass Amp, and Acoustic
Agent drum kits are other highlights.
WHY The audio engine redesign provides
better performance with multi-timbral and
disk-streaming instruments.
$599.99 | STEINBERG.NET/CUBASE
ALESIS VI CONTROLLERS
WHAT Semi-weighted, velocity-sensitive USB-MIDI keyboards with full-size keys,
Aftertouch and assignable trigger pads, knobs, buttons and software editor.
Available with 25, 49, and 61 keys.
WHY An inexpensive bus-powered controller with playable keys and a host of
controls to use with the bundled Ableton Live Lite.
$169.99-$249.99| ALESIS.COM
12 Keyboard 02.2015
WILLIAMS LEGATO
WHAT A lightweight (20lbs.) digital piano with 88 velocity-
sensitive, weighted keys that offers ve sounds (piano, e-piano,
organ, synth, bass), reverb and chorus, splitting and layering,
and a USB port. Runs on batteries or AC.
WHY Designed for beginning to intermediate players who want
something portable.
$199.99 | WILLIAMPSPIANOS.COM
TEMPORUBATO HISTORIC
HARPSICHORDS RUCKER 1628
WHAT Sample-based dual-manual
harpsichord for iOS that offers
historic tunings (Werckmeister,
Kirnberger, Vallotti, meantone), all
stops and combinations, key-release,
manual coupling with adjustable
onset delays, and supports Core MIDI,
AudioBus, and InterApp-Audio.
WHY Who can resist a historically
accurate instrument priced under $10
that pulls out all the stops?
$9.99 | TEMPORUBATO.COM
MOTU MONITOR 8
WHAT A WiFi-controllable 24x16x8
monitor mixer for studio or stage
with a USB interface and 6-channel
headphone mixer. AVB connectivity
streams 32 channels from networked
MOTU interfaces. Works as a
standalone headphone amp and
48-channel mixer.
WHY You want a state-of-the-art audio
networking system for recording or live
performance.
$995 | MOTU.COM
All prices are manufacturers suggested retail (list) unless
otherwise noted. Follow keyboardmag.com/gear and @
keyboardmag on Twitter for up-to-the-minute gear news.
HEAR COV ER STORY

Pipe Organs Hans Zimmer on scoring

INTERSTELLAR
I Love HoW poLaRIZINg THIS WHoLe pRojeCT HaS beeN.
peopLe eITHeR HaTe WHaT We dId oR THey Love IT. THeReS
NoTHINg IN THe mIddLe, WHICH IS gReaT.

So says renowned film composer Hans Zimmer about the score to Interstellar, Christopher Nolans
blockbuster sci-fi epic about a farmer and former astronaut who journeys out of our galaxy to find
habitable planets beyond the ecologically devastated earth. Zimmers music avoided both the traditional big-orchestra Holly-
wood sound and more contemporary electronic tropes in favor of a haunting, and largely acoustic keyboard-driven scorein-
cluding a huge amount of pipe organ recorded in Londons Temple Church. The score also caused some controversy, as some
filmgoers felt it was mixed too loudly relative to the dialogue. There can be no question of its beauty and individuality, though.
We were privileged to talk at length with Zimmer about how he approached the film, and to Roger Sayer (see page 20), who
played all of the organ you hear in what is certainly the decades first great space opera.

SF: Id like to start by diving straight into
the loudness issue some viewers experi-
enced. Personally I didnt hear it or have a
problem understanding any dialogue, but I
know people who insist they did. How loud is
this score, in your opinion?
HZ: Well, we knew we were pushing the enve-
lope. We wanted to be extreme, but its not like
we didnt check it back. I mean, every Friday for
six weeks, wed go to a different theater in the
morning, at some ungodly hour, and listen to our
playback. We blew up a few speakers on the way.
Isnt that the way its supposed to be? [Laughs.]
We tried to be both the quietest movie and the
loudest movie. And we tried to do it in a way that
it was interesting. But I think part of it is just that
people are not used to this. Imagine if a 17th-cen-
tury person tried to have a conversation with you
in the middle of New York City right now. They
just wouldnt be used to the difference in ambient
sound. Culturally, our sound world keeps chang-
ing. Thats quite an interesting phenomenon.
Another part of it is, as a little kid, my mom
used to take me to the operamy first musical
experiences were largely opera. I never under-
stood a word, but I was always ended up crying
or otherwise being swept along by the emotional
experience. Musicians know this. There are so
many great songs where were still not entirely
sure what the lyrics are, but they get under our
skin. Another thing to remember is that Chris
Nolan isnt just the director, hes the writer. Hes ern European composers? Penderecki? Probably
very aware of words, and he does treat a film like
a songsometimes the words are more impor-
tant, sometimes the music is.
The plot arc of Interstellar has been com-
pared to Kubricks 2001. Did its score influ-
ence you, either positively or as something
to distance yourself from?
Youre thinking exactly what I was thinking.
I was completely daunted for a while by Kubrick
and 2001 and his use of classical music. Then one
day Chris and I were having this conversation,
which went something like, When 2001 came
out, the most familiar piece to people probably
was Strauss The Blue Danube. Everybody knew
that one. Maybe a smaller percentage knew about
Also Spracht Zarathustra. But then, did anybody
know the other music? You know, all those east-
not. It was just interesting music.
So Chris and I just decided, number one, the
job is to invent. Number two, just try to write as
well as you possibly can. Number three, dont get
scared. Dont get daunted by the precedent of
what Stanley Kubrick had done.

14 Keyboard 02.2015
 in Space!
How did the idea to make pipe organ so cen-
tral to the score occur?
So, we wanted to start on the opposite end of
the spectrum from where weve been for the last
ten years. Ever since we started doing the Batman
movies, we defined a certain style for us. That was
very much driven by action drums, kinetic osti-
natos in the strings, et cetera. So we went, if we
throw everything out from our vocabulary before,
where does that lead us?
Then one day Chris, in the middle of a para-
graph, goes, Have you ever thought of a pipe
organ? As soon as he said it, I just saw the shape.
Those big organ pipes look like the afterburners
on rocket ship. So visually, that seemed to fit right
into the image that I was trying to create. For me,
its vital that the score involves some sort of meta-
phor for the story. The other part of that metaphor
is that a pipe organ cant make a sound without
breath. In that regard, its incredibly human.
Another thing is that we wanted to celebrate
scientists in the film as opposed to them being
the nerdy sidekicksa bit like having the key-
board player at the center of the stage as opposed
to back behind the guitarist or singer! And by
the 17th century, the pipe organ was the most
complex machine people had created. It kept that
distinction until the telephone exchange was
inventedand you cant tell me Bob Moog didnt
see a telephone exchange at some point before
thinking of the modular synth.
What other sonic elements found their way
into the score? Any synthesizers?
Well, wed been avoiding woodwinds in the
scores for the last ten years, so we just went,
Time to unleash the woodwinds. I wanted to
keep the electronics to a minimum, but there
were certain things I just had to get [U-he soft
synth] Zebra out to do. The only other synthesiz-
er I really used was the Jonte Knifonium, which
is from this fantastic Finnish designer. Its a com-
pletely vacuum tube-based synth. Theyre pretty
rare, and incredible creations.
Once youd decided on pipe organ, did you begin
writing with a sampled or software version?
Yes. Because of the way Chris and I work, I just
write in a sequencerSteinberg Cubase. So I was
trying to hunt down a great pipe organ sample
collection, and I came across this plug-in called
Hauptwerk. Man, its really incredible. So I was writ-
ing with its Salisbury Cathedral organ [sample set],
which isnt a bad place to start. First, I had to spend
quite a bit of time learning the instrument. Isnt
that what its supposed to be like? Its not supposed
Hans Zimmers studio
doesnt house a pipe
organ, but certainly
looks like it could.
BY STEPHEN FORNTER
to just come out of the box and there it is.
One of the things I could do with the Hauptwerk
organ is, I could use MIDI CC 11 for putting all sort
of super-duper expressions into every line. Which
then became a bit of a problem once we went off to
record the real organ, because it cant do that.
Not via the expression pedals a pipe organ
has for each manual?
To some extent, but its not like you can go
from pp to ff within a note and back again. You
cant go to silence or come from silence, which is
what I wanted to do. What I did at the end of the
day, after wed recorded all the organ partsthe
writing is pretty intricate, so on a big cue we
might have 12 or more different oneswas to
put the audio tracks back in the sequencer and
superimpose expression maps onto them.
Speaking of which, how did you record the
organ at Temple Church?
Abbey Road Mobile set up a remote studio in one
of the side rooms of the church. It wasnt just the
organ; we had the orchestra in there as well. So we
had an enormous amount of microphones placed all
throughout that church. But I think the main mics re-
ally were a few Neumanns, about 20 feet away. More
were about 40 feet away from the main pipes.
02.2015 Keyboard 15
 It was great being able to really use the space.
Because an organ doesnt exist outside its acoustic
space, so you have to find the right space. The great
thing about Temple Church is, its in the center of
London but its completely isolated. There are just
the law courts all around it, and its basically a pe-
destrian zone, so theres no traffic noise.
Why is Cubase your tool of choice for compos-
ing before taking things to the orchestra?
I think the best software program is the one
that you know, the one you feel comfortable with.
At the same time, I have to give Steinberg props for
constantly trying to innovate. Ive got to be careful
here, but there arent that many companies who you
can rely on to update all the time and democrati-
cally listen to their users. With some features, you
go, Well, Id never use that, but then you go, oh,
wait a minute . . . It leads you to new creative pos-
sibilities. But you have to invest the time to learn
itor any program. Few people understand that a
computer these days is a legitimate musical instru-
ment that you have to study and get good at, just
like practicing your scales on the piano.
Throughout the film, I was struck by cues that
started off sounding like some sort of synth,
but as they evolved were clearly the pipe organ.
Theres a lot of morphing going on between
different things. And sometimes I would use
a choir as well. Id just go andI was trying to
confuse a little bit. I was trying to not just be a
purist about using the organ. There are also the
woodwinds. Sometimes you get a clarinet playing
something very soft, which is then taken over by
the pipes on the organ.
In cutting the movie, Chris Nolan was also
very mindful that if a note finished, we wouldnt
cut off the reverb or fade it down. Hed let the
shot hang there long enough for you to hear the
end of the decay.
I heard those. One exception is this scene
where Cooper is on the spaceship watching a
video from his family. When the video ends,
the cue that had been swelling cuts abruptly
to silence. It was jarring, but very effective
to convey that moment of his loneliness.
Yes, that cutoff was actually quite important.
You think its a piece of score, but its actually a
piece of source music. Chris was describing the
scene to me, all the frames I had to hit . . . and in
the end that hit every frame. We play with silence
a lot in this film, obviously. Sometimes, these
days a score is just wall-to-wall. So its weird that
we got that controversy about the loudness on
this score, which isnt wall to wall. There are large
chunks of this movie where people just talk with-
out music in the background.
16 Keyboard 02.2015
The organ is also offset by a lot of scrape and
drone sounds, which seem meant to be as
unsettling as being in outer space. What was
your source?
Theres a wonderful inventor and musician
here in Los Angeles called Chas Smith. He creates
these amazing musical sculptures out of titanium
and other metal. Hes forever up at the Boeing
factory getting scraps of weird, unpronounceable
metals, and he builds these musical instruments
out of them. Theyre either scraped or scratched
or bowed, or whatever other unspeakable things
he does to them. [Laughs.] I first met him when
we were doing Man of Steel.
By the 17th
E that we hear early in their scenes and that
century, the
pipe organ
was the most
complex ma-
chine people
had created.
In the 70s or 80s, everybody was forever saying
that synthesizers are trying to imitate and maybe
replace real instruments. Well, what we were trying
to do with Interstellar is imitate synthesizers with
acoustic instruments. Wed play things to the or-
chestra and say, Heres an overtly electronic sound.
How would you go and do that? There must be
something about your instrument that no one ever
let you do or that only you know. Lets hear it! I
remember Richard Harvey, who was conducting the
woodwinds, saying, Theyve spent their whole lives
not sounding like this. That felt like a triumph.
What was the most challenging scene for
you to write to?
I need to tell you how the whole project started,
because that informs everything that happened
afterwards. A couple of years ago, Chris said, If I
were to write one page, and not tell you the context,
would you write whatever [music] comes to you? So
a couple of weeks later I get this a beautiful typewrit-
ten letternot done on a computer. It was just this
very personal story between a father and child, and
Chris wrote about a son because I have a son who
wants to be a scientist. He came down to the studio,
and I played it to him. And its this tiny, very fragile,
personal piece about myself and my son, really. And I
get to the end of it and I sort of look at him and I say,
Hey, what do you think? And he goes, Well, I sup-
pose Id better make the movie now.
He then starts describing this huge canvas of
science and space and quantum mechanics and
relativity theory and all this stuff. I finally break
in and say, Chris, but Ive just written this tiny,
personal piece, and youre describing the vastness
of everything. And he goes, Yeah, but I now
know where the heart of the story is.
Which is Cooper and his daughter. Was this the
simple four-note melody based around A, B, and
then forms the basis for grander cues later on?
Thats the one. And then the first thing you
hear, when it cuts to black and the end titles start,
its literally that first-day demo. Its just me playing
in the privacy of my own neurosis, in my studio.
How did Roger Sayer wind up playing all the
organ for the film?
Through [composer and conductor] Richard
Harvey, really. We knew Temple Church because Ron
Howard had shot [scenes in] The Da Vinci Code there,
and Richard knew that the Harrison pipe organ had
been restored the year before, so it was in perfect
condition. So, who were we going to get to play this
thing? You have to have the person who knows it
play it, because each organ is different. Id never met
Roger nor heard him play, but I was hoping that a
man who I imagined just played hymns on Sundays
could be persuaded to get into this adventure.
We get there, meet Roger, and he says, I had
a look at the music. You know that great British
understatement that happens when you present
somebody with unbelievable technical difficul-
ties? They have a way of going, Well, lets just
have a go. He climbed up to the organ loft and
just started to unleash the thing. Ive never asked
him, but I have a feeling Roger might have a bit of
the heart of a prog rocker in him!
You knew he was the guy right then?
So I said to him, I wrote [the score] using
Hauptwerk and the Salisbury Cathedral organ
model, and he goes, Oh yeah, I have that at
home. Im very familiar with it. It was actually
then that I instantly knew we were going to be all
right. Number one, I wasnt talking to a Luddite.
Number two, it was reassuring to just play him
my demos in the headphones and hear him go,
I know exactly what stops youre using. I dont
have the same pipes, but here it is. Because of
course each pipe organ is different.
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You cant just pull up the same patch . . .
Right. Its not mass produced. In fact, I think
thats the sort of thing that goes through this
whole movie. Everything was handmade. We
hardly used any CG [computer graphics]. There are
a lot of miniature shots, we didnt use green screen
or blue screen. Wed just project the image, and
let the actors inhabit that world, which was great
for them. They didnt have to imagine what was
behind them or what planet they were on. That
was the sort of ethos of everything we were doing.
Thats why using valve synthesizers seemed to be
perfect. Using things which were custom-built by
Chas Smith were perfect. The Temple Church or-
gan was a one-off. Everything was a one-off.
Another thing I loved about the organ was
that there was a time when people invested an
enormous amount of effort and ingenuity in
building these devices, which were strictly there
to make beautiful music. What a concept, right?
Somebody dedicating their life to serving artists,
serving art, serving composers.
The money to do so would have had to come
from the Church, or a Medici-like patron.
Absolutely. Welcome to the Church of Hol-
lywood. Our times have changed dramatically,
whereby you dont get the Church or royal houses to
go and commission art anymore. Everybody loves
to go on about how Hollywood is repeating itself,
how its just some factory. But Im really happy that
this factory is one of the few placesto me the last
place on earththat commissions orchestral music
and live musicians on a daily basis. I mean, there are
so many productions being done. And nobody bats
18 Keyboard 02.2015
an eyelid when you say I want to go and write some-
thing for a symphony orchestraor a pipe organ.
Do you see any musical instruments today that
might follow the ethos of the pipe organ?
I think its happening more and more. I mean,
if you look at the whole Eurorack and modular
scene, all these little companies, all these people
being ingenious and spending their time building
incredible modules. I dont know if its true, but
I think theres more innovation and more people
building modular systems than ever before.
At the same time, I have all these beautiful
modular systems I basically picked up for nothing
in the 80 and early 90s. Because everybody was
The last place
on earth that
commissions
orchestral
music on a
daily basis is
Hollywood.
Just one of the
expansive racks
of modular
synths in
Zimmers studio.
going, forget about all that stuff. Its all going to
be digital. But its like the difference between a
violin and a trumpet. Theyre autonomous instru-
ments in their own right. So that sort of 80s
thinking that we were going to exclude every-
thing in favor of the DX7 seemed crazy to me.
On the other hand, I look at a lot of the gear
forums, and it just drives me crazy, because there
are all these amazing tools and instruments out
there, and theyre so much more affordable than
they were in the 70s and 80s. When I bought my
first Minimoog, it was literally a choice between
the Minimoog or a car. I picked the right thing.
Now, these things are so advanced, and wonder-
ful, and complicated, and almost nobody reads
the manual. It drives me crazy.
Even as the tools have gotten better and
more affordable, it has become harder than
ever to make a living as a musician. Any
thoughts on this problem?
Well, the whole idea that music is something
you give away or download for free is just ridicu-
lous to me. Somehow, people dont understand
that music has an intrinsic value, that the sec-
onds of a musicians life are ticking away just like
everybody elses. And he or she is creating some-
thing that he should be paid for and be able to
sustain a decent life with. The people who really
should be supporting musicthe record com-
paniescant do it any more. So the only place
left really that supports any sort of grand-scale
experimentation is Hollywood.
On that note, what would you say to some-
one who looks at your career and aspires to
make a living as a musician the way you do?
All I do is, first thing I think about in the morn-
ing is music, last thing I think about at night is
music. The part in between? Making music.
I actually did this experiment a few years ago.
I said, Okay, were going to close the studio down
from the 20th of December until the second of
January. Everybody go on holiday. Christmas
day, I was at home and hit speed dial, and in-
stantly the phone was answered in the studio,
and everybody there was going, Yeah, but we
just had this idea, and we just wanted to try this
thing out and blah, blah, blah. It just made me
laugh. Because their greatest Christmas gift was
to just go and make music. We do this because we
love this. And to me, its a life really well lived.
More of our conversations with Hans
Zimmer and Roger Sayer.
keyboardmag.com/february2015
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 Piloting the Interstellar organ
Roger Sayer is musical director and organist at Temple
Church in London, where Interstellars score was
recorded. That may sound like an improbable path to
being the primary musician on the score of a major
science fiction film, but as Hans Zimmer told us, he
was absolutely the right man for the job. Read a longer
interview with him at keyboardmag.com/february2014.

Describe the process of interpreting hans cues for the temple

Church pipe organ.
I didnt really see any music until the week before it was all to be
recorded. He was very specific on the score and the sounds that he
wanted, which he had obviously selected from [pipe organ plug-in]
Hauptwerk. When he arrived, he played some of his sampled music.
He would play a section from the score and say, Right, what can you
do? and I would come up with something similar.

how much of your own sensibility as a classical organist were you

able to bring to the score?
[Hans] was very good at allowing creativity. Obviously within a
framework, because rhythmically, the music had to be put together
with the other instruments, so I was playing to a click. So the freedom
of expression was really with sound, but also within the beatallowing
a bit more ebb and flow than you can get from a computer. I mean,
there seemed to be little point in playing it live if they werent going to
put the human emotion into it, and thats exactly what he wanted.

tell us about the organ itself.

We have 3,828 pipes. It was built for a Scottish estate in 1927. But
once the Temple organ here got destroyed in the war, the organist
at the time found this organ in the Scottish residence and brought it here. With 382 stops, we have a lot of choice. Some
of the pipes are as short as that of a pencil, while some are 32 feet in length. The bass is one of the most exciting aspects
of this organ. We have not just one 32-foot rank of pipes, but three, which obviously gives it a lot of welly. Other pipes
are very quiet and just purr and shake the building gently. Of course, you get to hear a lot of that in the filmthis sort of
shuddering that doesnt get very loud.

how do you feel about the unusual role the pipe organ plays in Interstellar?
I think its such a breath of fresh air. It gets away from this idea that the organ is something that just plays hymns and
leads the congregation. Of course it does do that, but as you and I know, the organ, particularly when its in a building with
fine acoustics, can capture almost every emotion possible. To put it bluntly, its an orchestra in a box. It has all colors you
need from an orchestra. And its the sort of instrument that people have the wrong idea about. Here, were showing that it
can live and breathe in the 21st century. It can tell a story; you dont need words.

Cameron Carpenter has a similar mission, but plays a digital touring organ for consistency and reliability. Virgil Fox
once did as well. Can digital instruments help popularize the organ again?
Id be more inclined to say they can popularize the repertoire. If youre in a place where you cant perform good repertoire
simply because the organ just isnt good enoughand organ repertoire is huge, second only to piano and songthen
youve got no choice. So theres a very good reason for doing what hes doing. But I think theres a danger [when] people
start to accept that as what the organ is. Its not. The organ is the pipes. You can play more musically, because its living
and breathing with air.
The point is taken up by Hans. Why did he come all the way from L.A. to London, when he could have made it all digital
himself? Because he wanted a human being playing an instrument that actually breathed. Interstellar is a wonderful thing
to have been a part of, and Im proud to have been associated with it.

20 Keyboard 02.2015
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HEAR GUR US

SCOTT
HEALY
*
THE GRAMMY-NOMINATED
CONAN KEYBOARDIST ON
HIS WILD MUSICAL RIDE

BY JON REGEN

SCOTT HEALY IS EQUALLY AT HOME BEHIND A HAMMOND ORGAN OR THE CONDUCTORS PODIUM IN A CONCERT HALL.
Best known for his quarter-century romp as the high-energy keyboardist in Conan OBriens television band, Healy is also a Gram-
my-nominated, classically trained composer of serious sonic merit. (And to top it off, hes a frequent contributor to Keyboard,
Where does he nd the time?) Healy took a break from his near nonstop rehearsal and performance schedule to talk about a mu-
sical journey that has spanned Bach to rock, and everything in between.

Youve amassed a pretty staggering rsum:
from your decades-long gig with Conan
OBrien to a Grammy nomination in 2014
for your album Hudson City Suite. How did
your musical journey begin?
I grew-up in Cleveland, Ohio, in a very musi-
cal family. My grandmother was a piano teacher,
my uncle played trumpet in a Dixieland band, and
both of my parents played piano by ear. So there
was always music in my house. My grandmother
had both a Hammond M-3 organ and a Knabe
grand piano in her living room, and my other
grandmother had an upright piano, just like my
family did. So I started plunking around on the
piano as soon as I could reach it.
Did you study music formally?
Yeah. I started taking piano lessons in first
grade, but I was already playing by ear at that point.
My Dad showed me a few chords, and my Mom
used to play and sing to me, so that got me into
playing Broadway and other kinds of tunes. One
thing that really jump-started my musical develop-
ment was that I began taking piano and theory les-
sonsa half hour of eachat the Cleveland Insti-
tute of Music. Those private theory lessons taught
me things like how to write notes on the staff and
how to understand intervals. They were incredibly
valuable, and they made me even more interested
in practicing and playing my instrument. And so I fusion gigs and music by Chick Corea and Herbie
took privately for years with different teachers, until
I asked around and found James Tannenbaum at
the Cleveland Institute. He was an up and coming
concert pianist and really kicked my butt. He got me
going on Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, and Bach.
So you were heavily into classical music back
then?
I was mainly a classical pianist until the age of
15, but I listened to everything. When I was 13, I
started listening to a lot of jazz and fusion music.
And growing up in Cleveland, there was no short-
age of rock n roll. It was in my DNA, and I got
an education in it listening to radio stations like
WGAR, WOR, and WMMS. By the time I was 14,
I started buying all kinds of records. But as far as
playing was concerned, my focus was on classical at
that time. Then I took a left turn and [got into] clas-
sical composition at the Eastman School of Music
in Rochester, New York. But I still had my hands in
lots of different things. I studied jazz composition
with Ray Wright in graduate classes, I gigged with
jazz bands and I practiced classical piano.
What did you want to do when you gradu-
ated from music school?
That was the beginning of my musical identity
crisis, because on one hand I was playing jazz/
Hancock, and I had a Fender Rhodes and an ARP
Odyssey. But I was still interested in all kinds of
orchestration and arranging.
How did you pay your rent in those early
years as a musician?
I graduated in 1982 and I moved to Bergen
County, New Jerseyright outside of New York City.
And I immediately started playing weddings. In fact,
I think I worked the first Saturday night I got there!
In those days, you could go out with your Rhodes
and play left-hand bass, and people would hire you.
I ended up on weddings with members of the Jazz
Messengers and the Mel Lewis band. Back then,
musicians played every gig they could. So I worked
in all kinds of bands, playing jazz, standards, pop
music, and everything in between. I was also leading
my own bandsfrom quartets and sextets to full
big bandsand scoring television commercials and
pops-type music for symphony orchestras. I was
also arranging horn charts for vocalists and ghost-
writing. So I was doing a little bit of everything.
At that time, who were some of the musi-
cians that had the biggest impact on your
playing and writing?
Definitely jazz artists like [saxophonist] Mi-
chael Brecker, [trumpeter] Randy Brecker, the

22 Keyboard 02.2015
 CONANS KEYS SCOTT HEALYS LATE-NIGHT RIG
Long time Conan keyboardist Scott Healy is using a streamlined rig for his television gig.
)
For piano sounds, Im using a Yamaha CP1 which I love, Healy says, along with a Yamaha MO8 on top of it controlling
a Yamaha Motif Rack for extra sounds and a Voce V5 module for organ. The Voce goes through a Hughes & Kettner
Tube Rotosphere pedal for my Leslie effect. Its punchy in a way a real Leslie is not, and its great for TV. On my left side,
theres a Hohner Clavinet D6, which is pretty much original, except Ken Rich
in Los Angeles replaced the pickups, and my wife replaced the strings and the
felts! I also use a Korg Radias, which I sometimes use to trigger the Motif Rack
as well.

band Steps Ahead, and Herbie Hancock, as well with a couple of records for me to check out. His plus have a solid piano sound, it works.
as modern musicians from the New York jazz words to me were something along the lines of,
scene of the time, like [saxophonist] John Zorn, Youre not quite cutting it. So he had me check- Your song Koko on the Boulevard from
[bassist] Mark Helias, [pianists] Fred Hersch and out things like a roots piano compilation that Hudson City Suite was nominated for a Best
Kenny Werner, and [bassist] Dave Holland. I was had tunes on it like the Amos Millburn Chicken Instrumental Composition Grammy in 2014.
also into electronics and early smooth jazz. The Shack Boogie and a few New Orleans second How did that project come about?
only thing I wasnt playing at that time was rock line rumbas. Max and Jimmy also wanted to play Ive been writing and arranging music for various
n roll and blues, which is funny because they are a bunch of Chicago shuffles and jump blues. So I kinds of instrumental ensembles since I came to New
now such integral parts of my musical identity. had my work cut out for me. I had to get my left York City in 1983-84. So while I was busy with Conan,
hand together, and more Dr. John and Professor I was always doing things on the side. I wanted to
What was your main keyboard rig in those days? Longhair kinds of right-hand riffs too. It was basi- stay artistically challenged. There was a day when you
My main rig was a Rhodes electric piano, until cally about finessing the New Orleans style and the could actually get a gig with a ten-piece band in New
the Yamaha DX7 came out. Having the DX7 and blues. And I had about a week to figure it all out! York City! I played a club in Greenwich Village called
also the TX7 module allowed me to become liber- The first thing I did was check out the Dr. John Visiones, where [arranger] Maria Schneider got her
ated from the Rhodes. I actually had a lot of fun play-along series, which I believe was released start, as well. I also played concerts in the Citicorp
playing and programming the DX7, and it got me by Homespun on cassette tape. I also checked out Center and Sweet Basil and all kinds of venues. So I
interested in other keyboards like Roland Junos, a lot of records by Professor Longhair, Johnnie was always writing and arranging, and when Conan
Oberheim Matrix 6Rs, the Casio CZ101, and Johnson, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard. I moved to Los Angeles in 2009, I followed and wanted
the Kurzweil K2000. Later, I bought a Pro Tools learned that a Chicago shuffle is different from to get my own band together right away. By fall 2010,
rig and started using it for scoring sessions. The a Texas or a Kansas City or a New Orleans one. I was rehearsing the band that ended-up on Hudson
Rhodes, on the other hand, was a clunky veteran of Learning these distinctly different piano styles is City Suite. I kept writing, meeting new musicians, and
my high school days. It was heavy and huge like a the key to understanding roots music. Jimmy was performing in Los Angeles venues like Vitellos and
boat anchor, and it had a hard action to play. Back a great coach, too. He has a near encyclopaedic the Blue Whale.
then I was more than happy to see it go. Ironically, knowledge of the records and knows when things The Hudson City Suite project started years back
I sold my Rhodes in 1986, only to track it down are right, and when theyre not! when I lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was then
and buy it back in 1993. Now I use it all the time. that I had the idea to write a suite, but I never fin-
Do you remember what your keyboard rig ished it. When I moved to Los Angeles, only three of
How did your gig on Conan come about? was back in that first installment of the the nine pieces were underway. I always had it in the
It all came from playing weddings in New Conan show? back of my mind to finish the suite; I liked the idea
Jersey! I met [Conan guitarist and bandleader] It was probably an old Roland RD-series digi- of a full record of thematically connected tunes. So I
Jimmy Vivino on a wedding gig, and we had a tal piano, as well as a Yamaha KX88 MIDI control- revised and finished the nine songs for the album and
great time playing together. He liked that I had a ler, along with two Kurzweil K2000RS samplers, recorded the suite in Los Angeles in 2012. Koko on
good ear and knew a bunch of tunes and styles. which I used for all synth sounds and organ. the Boulevard, the song that got the Grammy nomi-
I knew what to do in rock and rollI just hadnt nation, was one I started back in the mid 1990s.
had experience doing it. That kind of hard-edged, You played organ on a weighted keyboard?
boogie piano style has always been in my genes Ive been playing it that way on television for When you speak to young music students now,
since my early days in Cleveland. So in 1993, I 20 years, but I think as a pianist who plays a lot of what words of advice do you try to impart?
got the call to join Conans house band, which organ, it actually really keeps my hands in shape. Stay open, stay interested and always say Yes,
was fronted by Bruce Springsteen drummer Max I know it seems counter-intuitive, but Ive always because you never know which New Jersey wedding
Weinberg. He and Jimmy put that band together liked to have 88 keys and feel that extra weight. just may give you a 25-year television gig!
and tapped me for the keyboard chair. Even now, Im controlling a Voce V5 organ module
from a Yamaha MO8, which is an 88-key weighted
When you got the call to join the Conan keyboard. On the Conan show, it wouldnt be my Scott Healy on
band, how did you go about getting yourself first choice, but as I can only have two keyboards Hammond Organ TV
better versed in rock and blues piano? facing the front of the stage, and I need to be able
Max Weinberg showed up at the first rehearsal to split sounds and control another rack of synths keyboardmag.com/february2015

02.2015 Keyboard 23
HEAR D EPAR TUR ES

Ian McLagan
1935 - 2014
IAN MCLAGAN WASNT ONLY A GIANT BEHIND THE KEYBOARD, HE WAS A GEM
of a human being who, within minutes of meeting you, made you feel like a mem-
ber of his inner circle. He was the denition of optimism, and at the age of 69 was
still thinking about the next gig, the next song he would write, the next Hammond
organ he would nd and restore. Scores of musicians have paid tribute McLagan
since he passed away December 3, but maybe Ian said it best in his closing an-
swers to our cover story from the October 2014 issue: I am thankful to still be do-
ing this. And Im still learning! Truly, words to live by from a man who was, in the pint with him, spent the evening talking shop [B-
words of his own terric song, Pure Gold. Below are further tributes from some 3s and Nords] and meeting his band and friends.
of McLagans friends and colleagues. JON REGEN, EDITOR AT LARGE I got to tell him I loved his autobiography All the
Rage, which I recommend any keyboard player
I dont even know where to start. I bought Itchy- I got the chance to ask him about one of my all- read. Im thankful for that evening. ANDY
coo Park the moment I heard itI was 13 or 14 time favorite keyboard parts/soundshow he BURTON (KEYBOARDIST FOR JOHN MAYER)
and Ive chased his sound and feel ever since. The got the sound on the opening Wurlitzer piano riff
undisputed King of the Wurlitzer, a master of the on Stay With Me. Of course, he had a proper Ill always remember growing up listening to The
rock n roll piano, and oh what a lovely Hammond rock n roll answer: something to the effect of, Faces and the Stones in the late 60s and early
player. And he could write! We only met a hand- Glyn [Johns] just shoved it through an [Ampeg] 70s, and wondering who that was on the piano
ful of times, but he was an absolute sweetheart to SVT and set up a mic. Essentially how most great and organ. Ian McLagan is who we tried to to play
me. Weve really lost a treasure here. Rest in Peace. records were made! MITCHELL FROOM (MU- like when we first joined our rock bands because
BENMONT TENCH (KEYBOARDIST, TOM SICIAN AND MUSIC PRODUCER) of his distinct style and feel. Oo la la, brother,
PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS) well miss you RICKY PETERSON
If you are a keyboard player and want to know
Mac was the real deal. Deep soul, great chops, what to play in a rock n roll band, do your best to I was lucky enough to know Mac and had a lot of
groove always in the pocket. Whether hammering copy Ian McLagan, and you will be on your way. chuckles with him. He was a naturally funny bloke.
on the 88s, finessing a Wurly, or gliding on the KIM BULLARD (KEYBOARDIST FOR ELTON My fondest memories are from about ten years ago
B-3, he inspired us all and put smiles on our faces. JOHN) when he was in New Orleans working with me and
He was also one of the nicest and funniest guys John Porter on a Ryan Adams record. The session
Ive ever knowna true jewel of a man. RIP, my If you play rock n roll piano or B-3 organ in a band, was pretty grueling. Markeys Bar had the best Guin-
brother. The band upstairs just got a little better. take time to thank Ian McLagan. He was one of the ness in town, and wed retire there every night after
CHUCK LEAVELL (CURRENT KEYBOARD- first piano guys to be an actual card-carrying, full- getting through. Mac was the life of the party and
IST, THE ROLLING STONES) fledged member of a top-notch rock band. The Faces became so enamoured of the ebony nectar that he
were the cool, boozy pub band that somehow mar- ended up behind the bar pulling the pints and pretty
I finally got to meet Ian here in Austin when he ried loosey-goosey with sophistication. The Stones, much taking over the place. If we werent at Markeys
played a club downtown this year. He approached Beatles, The Whogreat stuff, but no official or the studio, wed be in my funky little French Quar-
his playing with such vibrant energy and he was [keyboard] guy that had the exalted power of actu- ter apartment, digging on scratchy old Smiley Lewis
happy, friendly, and a pleasure to meet. I was ally properly sharing the stage and studio as a band 78s on my beat-up record player, with cups of tea and
shocked to hear of his passing. Life can be frag- member. He was an equalnot just a rented cat to spliffs. Im going to miss him. JON CLEARY
ile.He will be missed by many. GREGG ROLIE come in to supply some formulaic parts and sound
(ORIGINAL KEYBOARDIST, SANTANA) filler for anothers vision, but an active, valued He was the guy that made keyboards cool. He got
member participating in dialogue with the other in- it right. He got his personality through. We all
Ian was a master of the Wurlitzer electric piano struments He got us into the party, man. A whole wanted to be the Mac of the band. MIKEY
and especially of the Hammond Organ. He was lotta cool just left the stage. JEFF KAZEE ROWE (KEYBOARDIST FOR SHERYL CROW,
a wonderful gentleman who will be missed, NOEL GALLAGHER)
although his recorded performances will live for- My first memory of Ian McLagan was hearing the
ever! PAUL SHAFFER opening Wurly riff on the Rolling Stones Miss
You and scrambling for the liner notes, thinking Exclusive performance
I got to work with Ian on an album when he was Who played that? I met Ian last year when I and more memories.
a member of Pat McLaughlins band. He was a was playing in Austin with John Mayer. I saw him
wonderful guy and, of course, a great musician. play with the Bump Band, then went out for a keyboardmag.com/february2015

24 Keyboard 02.2015
PLAY THE KEY OF ONE

What
traditional
Piano lessons

Get
Wrong
by Robbie Gennet

if youre a keyboard/Piano Player,

chances are youve taken piano lessons
from a private instructor or maybe even
gone to a music school to further your-
self. As a private instructor who has also
taught for years at an accredited music
school, Ive had a firsthand look at stu-
dents of all levels and ages, and have
noticed quite a few deficiencies across
the board. In this column, I will discuss
what things traditional music lessons get
wrong, and how you can correct them,
no matter what stage youve reached in
your musicianship.

There are several issues that I see with a lot of

students, many of whom are years into their
studies: the inability to understand or articulate
basic music/chord theory; the inability to im-
provise or free play; inability to transpose music
easily; the inability to see patterns in notes and There are a couple of ways that traditional mu- tion without teaching the music theory behind it.
chords; and the inability to play melodically rath- sic lessons fall short, and cause these inadequa- Think of notation like Latin (an ancient language)
er than just running scales. cies. One is that music teachers often teach nota- and music like math (a concrete set of numbers

28 Keyboard 02.2015
and formulas). Because traditional music teach-
ing is all about making you fluent in notation,
its akin to teaching you how to do math in Latin
without teaching you how to actually understand
mathor even that there is math to learn.
Plus, by being locked into notation, you are tied
to a rigid document from which few musicians will
diverge. What if, in order to have a conversation,
you had to pull a script out of your pocket and
read it as is? Not only would you not be convers-
ing, youd be inflexibly tied to the text, speed, and
dynamic. Reading notation has nothing to do with
understanding music at its base. It merely turns
you into a phonograph needle. Playing music as an
intuitive language that can convey your own per-
sonal expression and catharsis? Priceless.
Traditional music instructors also tend to em-
phasize how everything is different based on dif-
ferent shapes, rather than examine the commonal-
ity of the numerical formula for music. When I was
a beginning student, learning all the different
scales and chords was overwhelming. It seemed
like there was so much material, I didnt know if
I could remember it all. That illusion of difficulty
discouraged me from continuing with lessons be-
cause I figured I wasnt cut out for being a pro.
What I didnt realize at the time is that, though
each of the 12 keys is shaped differently, we are
still playing one numerical formula based on seven
notes starting on one, which is whatever key we
are in. The seven basic numbers have a sound, and
the order of the numbersand most importantly
the sound of those numbersstays the same,
regardless of the different shapes, as you can see in
the two uniquely shaped keys in Figures 1 and 2.
I didnt see that, as far as basic major and
minor triads, there is one of each in each of the
Fig. 1.
In these two keys, the shape is different but the numbers are exactly the same.
12 keys, making only 24 basic chords that exist, consideration when applying them to music, youll
period; that all those sixths, sevenths, ninths, and open up a world of expression, imagination, and fun!
elevenths, plus the sus chords, augmented and In the next Key of One column, well learn how
diminished fifths, and even your b2/b9 are just to build your knowledge of chord theory and maxi-
additions or tweaks to those triads, like frosting mize your use of inversions. See you next month!
on the cake. And if you really learn how to bake the
cake instead of getting lost in the frosting, you can
learn your way around the entire chord matrix and
develop a complete grasp on the art of interpret-
ing, writing, and speaking musicall while devel-
oping your ears ability to hear those numbers and
use them to begin singing with your fingers.
In order to stabilize the foundation of your
musical knowledge, lets re-affirm these five truths:
1. The beginning of the alphabet is ordered
ABCDEFG. Music uses these letters in the same
order. These letters have not only a sound but
also a multitude of relationships and patterns
based on scales, modes, and melodies.
2. The beginning of the number line is ordered
1234567. Music uses these numbers in the same
order. These numbers have a sound but only one
relationship based on their order.
3. There are only 12 keys and 24 basic triads.
The more you play on/with them, the better you
will be at using them. Robbie Gennet is a touring
4. The piano is a percussion instrument. keyboardist, guitarist, longtime
Therefore, you are a melodic percussionist who Keyboard contributor, and educator
can practice anywhere, not just on the piano. at Musicians Institute in Hollywood,
5. We get rusty at reading notation but do not California. His book, The Key of One
get rusty at understanding. Once we understand (Alfred Music) outlines a thorough
something, we can only build upon it. method for understanding music
When you were a child, you learned the alphabet without learning traditional notation.
and number line and you were able to understand You can get it at alfredmusic.com,
they were unchanging, concrete formulas that and take private lessons from Robbie
formed a foundation for a lifetime of conversing, at thekeyofone.com.
counting, and understanding. If you give the same
Fig. 2.
02.2015 Keyboard 29
PLAY JA ZZ

5 ways to play like

brad mehldau
BY BRIAN CHARETTE

For any pianist coming up in the hartFord, connecticut, area, it was impossible not to know about
the local jazz phenom Brad Mehldau. Even at a young age, Mehldau had already mastered both the jazz and classical idioms,
and was well on his way to becoming a bona fide star. He was among the crop of new young lions who ushered in the
resurgence of jazz in the mid 1990s. Lets examine a few elements of Brads work on both electronic keyboards and acoustic
piano. Practice these to inject a few Mehldauisms into your own playing.
F 7sus4 F min9

bb bb
add 3

bb bbb
F min7

4

F 7sus4 add 3 F min9 F min7

& 444
ex. 1.
&
F 7sus4 F min9

bb bb
add 3

F min7

bb b
F 7sus4 add 3 F min9 F min7

&
&4

?
? 44
1. double-duty
?
? 44
In his new group Mehliana, its com-

4
monfor Brad to comp interesting
Vox Continental
Vox Continental chords in a fast,repetitive rhythm us-

44 bb bb
33
Vox Continental
b bb
Rhodes
Vox Continental ing an organ patch, while he solossi-
&
3

bb 3 bbb
Rhodes
& 44
bb 3
multaneously on the Rhodes EP. Both
bb
Rhodes
&
Rhodes
&4
sounds usually have some sort of delay
3 or effect on them. To illustrate this in

?
? 444
3 Ex. 1, Ive chosen a Vox Continental as
3

?
my organ sound. For the effect, Im us-

? 44 ing a freeware delay with circuit-bent

properties called Fracture. The Rhodes
F 7sus4 F min9 F min7 spins a twisty line that ventures into

bb bb b
add 3
F 7sus4 F min9 F min7

bb bbb
3
add 3 atonal territory in the middle of bar

&
3

&
F 7sus4 F min9 F min7

b
add 3

F 7sus4 F min9 F min7 3. The rest of the motivic material

bb b
3 add 3

& bb
3

comes from the F Mixolydian mode(F,
& G, A, Bb,C, D,Eb,F) in the first and

?
third bar, and the F Dorian mode (F,

? G, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb, F) in the second

?
?
and fourth bar. When venturing out
of your current key, stay relaxed and
treat the outside notes with the

bb bb
3

& .. bb
3 6

bb bb nn 66
same physical approach as you do the
& ..
6

bb bb
3

& bb
inside ones. Just let your lines fall

..
3

& bb bb nn ..
naturally into other keys.

?
?
?
?
30 Keyboard 02.2015
Ex. 2.
G maj7 G min7 C 13 F maj7 2. Fugue It
4 b
& 4 j # b
Another thing I love about Brads play-

w
ing (especially from his early piano trio
period), is how he improvises fugues over

b w
jazz tunes, as seen in Ex. 2. To do this on

?4
your own, start by comping in your right

4 b hand, as you solo in the bass register

with your left. Then slowly trade lines
with your right and left hands until you
are playing two different solos with both
hands. Practice doing this on one tune
for a few months, and soon you will start
Ex. 3.

#### 4
E9 D sus2 to internalize the concept. Bachs famed

4 n
Well Tempered Clavier is the quintessen-
&

tial source for counterpoint, so refer to it
whenever possible for inspiration. In this
example, notice how one voice will rest

? # # # # 44 . j
n .
while the other one moves. Try to keep

w J J this conversational aspect between the

hands in your own improvisations. Also
note that our major and minor scales are
augmented here with a few chromatic

####
E9
4 embellishing tones. Check out the Charlie

& n
Parker Omnibook for more great bebop
lines to inspire your own improvisations.

? #### j J
3. Classical Chording
n
J
Repetitive, stabby chords like those in Ex.
3 appear frequently in Brads music. I of-
ten think this style of piano playing comes
from Franz Schuberts Lieder (German

####
D sus2 E
for songs), which were the precursor to
7

& n n wwww
pop tunes hundreds of years ago. In this
example, the right hand keeps time with
crunchy rock piano voicings, while the left

? #### n j
hand plays an interesting melody in the

j bass clef with notes coming from the E

n w
Mixolydian mode (E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D, E).
Brad will often pedal these chords to give
them a ringing, bell-like quality.

Ex. 4. 4. Analog Accents

b
& b b 44
Mehldau usually has at least one analog
modeling synth in his rig with Mehliana.
In Ex. 4, I play a fat, sawtooth bass line,
C min7 using the mod wheel for expression. The

? bb 44 . j n #
Mod Wh bass line is constructed mostly from the

b

C minor pentatonic scale (C, Eb, F, G, Bb,
C). There is also an E natural in bar 4
for a momentary major sound. When
a note is held, the mod wheel is added

b
to give a crazy LFO effect. I am also

&bb
5
throwing in in a few notes from another
mystery key. When slide stepping (as
this technique is called), try going a half

j
step up or down, or a minor third up or
? bb n b
Mod Wh

b #.
down. The interval doesnt really matter;

its the sound of moving to another key

that matters most.

02.2015 Keyboard 31
Ex. 5.
F min11
w ww ww ww
b b b b 4 www ww ww ww nnnn
& 4
Prophet Pad
? bb 4
bb 4 w w w w nnnn
Listening
n . j j n nn n List
b b bb 4 Rhodes

n
& 4 J BRAD MEHLDAU

? bb 4 nnnn
bb 4

www ww www ww
D 7sus4
5
ww ww
& w w Introducing Brad
Mehldau 1995

?
w w w w
#
# b
5

& . The Art of the Trio, Vol. 1

1997

5. Alls Swell
Another alluring texture of Brads electronic work is his use of dreamy pads: warm swells on a patchlike the Prophet 5 Largo 2002
sound used in Ex. 5. (I cheat a little on this example to make it sound like theres more than one keyboardist playing.
Here, Ive actually sampled both chords and assigned each to one key on my MIDI controller. The lowest F key gets the
Fmin11 voicing, and the D below it gets the D7sus chord. As I play the sampled chords with two fingers of my left land,
my right hand improvises on the Rhodes. Again, add a little swirly delay to both sounds. Most of the motivic material
from this improvisation comes from simple modes; F Dorian on the Fmin11 chord (F, G, Ab, Bb, C, D, Eb, F) and D
Mixolydian on the D7sus4(D, E, F#, G, A, B, C, D).

Mehliana: Taming the

Practice Tip
Dragon 2014

Whether playing piano with his trio, or using

spacey synths with his duo Mehliana, Brad Mehldaus
playing is always tasteful, lyrical, and uniquely
his own, says keyboardist and composer Brian Watch Brad Mehldau
Charette, who has performed and recorded with and Mehliana perform
artists such as Joni Mitchell, Michael Buble, and Hungry Ghost.
NILS WINTHER

Rufus Wainwright in addition to leading his own jazz

groups. Charette recently won Downbeat Magazines Hear Brian play the
Rising Star Organ award and just released the audio examples from
album Good Tipper. Find out more at www.brian- this lesson online.
charette.squarespace.com.
keyboardmag.com/february2015

32 Keyboard 02.2015
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PLAY POP

killer
keyboard
bass
BY JEFF BABKO

Have you ever been asked if you could kick bass on a gig witHout a bass player, only to Hesitate
over concerns over holding down the keyboard parts? Or maybe throngs of bass players telling you to stay out of the way of their
low notes has sent you into treble clef land for life? Well, Im here to assure you that playing keyboard, organ, or synth bass can be one
of the most rewarding roles youll ever take on.
Ive asked a few of my esteemed colleagues about their inspiration for creating killer keyboard bass parts. Totos David Paich, who played incredible Moog bass on
George Bensons Turn Your Love Around and Boz Scaggs Miss Sun says, The two biggest influences on bassfor me are Larry Graham and Stevie Wonder. Its all
in there! He adds, A Minimoog and [drummer] Jeff Porcaro are all one needs to get that feel. (Well isnt he lucky to have had both!) Paich also cites Greg Phillinganes
as being, in his words, the best. In turn, Phillinganes credits the honor and privilege of attending Wonder University for four years after literally absorbing Stevies
music as a kid. My only thought when laying a synth bass track is What would Stevie do? That is, except when recording Michael Jacksons Man in the Mirror,
where my thought was What would Jimmy Jam do?!
Master Hammond B3 player Larry Goldings cut his teeth playing in Maceo Parkers bass-less R&B band in the 1990s. On our Caffeinated Keyboardist podcast
(http://caffeinatedkeyboardist.podomatic.com), he explained that left-hand bass duties always took precedence over right hand comping, and that Maceo actually
introduced him as the bass player! And in a role reversal, New York City-based electric bassist Hagar Ben-Ari (from Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings) says she has
recently been getting exponentially more calls to play synth bass on gigs and recordings. She explains, Its instantly funky, theres a wider low end range, and I can
really explore and still cut through in the mix.
Lets explore four ways to build better keyboard bass parts.

ex. 1. 1. paich bass

F #min
~~~
G B7 E min A C/D Ex. 1 was inspired by David

? 44 >
- . - . - .
.
Paichs brilliant playing on the

. - . - . - # . - . # . - . .-.-.
Boz Scaggs song Miss Sun.
Notice the pumping R&B eighth-
note feel throughout. Its always
F #min
fun to milk the pitch-bend wheel,

-
G B7 E min A

?
as in the top of bar 3 and in the

5

. - . - . - # . - . # n # . - . -
shake of bar 4. Its also fun to

.-
~~~~
~~~

make use of the octave on synth

bass, as its effortless to play on
keyboard (as in bar 5). On the
fade of Miss Sun, Paich also
plays some brilliant over the
listening list kickin keyboard bass bar bass lines such as those seen
in bars 6 and 7. Lets also not
forget the ever-powerful gliss/
wipe in bar 8, or the sound of the
synthin this case, its got a bit
of wetness (via the resonance)
Hits! Boz Scaggs Bad Michael Fulfillingness Life on Planet and a bit of decay.
(David Paich on Jackson (Greg First Finale Groove -
Miss Sun) Phillinganes on Stevie Wonder Maceo Parker
Man in the Mirror) (Larry Goldings)

34 Keyboard 02.2015
 2. Have Your Phil
Ex. 2. Ex. 2 is a ballad reminiscent of
D/F #
Michael Jacksons Man in the
E min G D E bmaj7 F
Mirror and the bass line played by
?4 j 3

4 # . j . b b b . j
Greg Phillinganes. The sound here
is much more legato with sustain
a little more resonance wetness.
Note the little turn in bar 4, anoth-
er slick monophonic synth trick.
E min D/F # G D E bmaj7 F And in the last bar, the gliss only
5 goes downward, a la the classic
? j b b j . J J

~~~~~
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis produc-
# . . tions of the 1980s. (Listen to the
Human Leagues song Human.)

3. Wonder Bass
Ex. 3 harkens back to Stevie
Ex. 3. Wonders song Creepin. On that
track, he uses a more muted Moog
A bmaj7/C C maj7 A bmaj7/C C maj7
bass soundone that emulates a
? 4 . j j j
4 . . j #
pick bass sound, or the flat-wound

strings that James Jamerson used

on Motown records. Remember
that when playing bass lines on a
keyboard; your tone is as important
A bmaj7/C C maj7 A bmaj7/C F min13 as the notes you play. In bars 2 and
5
? . j j 6, the Moog bass doubles a keyboard

. . hook: another sympathetic musical

. trick synth basses often utilize.

4. Pure Gold
Ex. 4 shows what organist Larry
Goldings might have played with
Maceo Parker. Here we find a
Ex. 4. right-hand part that complements
r j r j
4 ..
the left-hand bass hook. Im also
&4
channeling some of Tower of Power
- . - bassist Rocco Prestias signature
muted ghost notes with my left
hand. (Check out TOP band mate
? 44 . # # ..
. . . . . . . . . Chester Thompsons jaw-dropping
. . . . left-hand bass playing as well!)
ghosted-------- Remember that, in funk music, the
feel has to be right. Always focus on
locking with the drummer and not
being on top of the beat. Its the
bass players responsibility to make
things feel good, and in these situa-
tions, the bass player is you!

Bass in Your Face

From the days of bass-less organ trios, through Bernie Worrells legendary synth Watch Steve
bass on Parliaments song Flash Light and contemporary dance tracks, keyboard Porcaro
bass has found its own special place in the low tones of music, says Jeff Babko, programming
best known for his spot in the house band on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He has Minimoog
recorded with Frank Ocean, Jason Mraz, Sheryl Crow, and Mark Guiliana. Babkos bass.
latest release, Crux, is out now. Find out more at jeffbabko.com.

keyboardmag.com/february2015

02.2015 Keyboard 35
PLAY TECHNI QUE

Wicked Warm-Ups
First Play in PErFEct timE,
tHEn Play as OUt as yOU Want!
Andy Burton

i startEd OUt On tHE PianO WitH classical training, First taking When I warm up on piano, I begin with exercises like
lessons from private teachers, and later studying at Manhattan School of Musics Hanon and Czerny (and some of my own variations
college-prep program. At the same time, I was always fooling around with blues and on them), along with scales and Bach Inventions.
boogie-woogie music, and dreaming of electric pianos, organs, and synthesizers. But I play everything with a metronome. This type of
the piano is still home base for me. Its where I started and got my chops together. material demands perfect note accuracy, rhythmic
precision, and even accents, so I always
Ex. 1a warm up with a metronome before
attempting to play anything with jazzy
syncopation, blues inflections, or flex-
ible time. Without having warmed
up, you can still play something that
sounds pleasing to the ear (like a
bluesy lick, for example), but because
your finger control and independence
are not at their best, you may or may
not end up playing precisely what
you intended. Dont fool yourself into
believing you are warmed up and can
play anything that pops into your head,
when actually, you cant. If you then
proceed to play something challenging,
youll soon find out that your playing is
sloppy.On the other hand, if you try to
play a Hanon exercise or a Bach Inven-
tion with cold fingers, any sloppiness is
immediately exposed. So thats where
Ex. 1b I begin at the piano, and where we will
start this warm-up lesson!

1. Hanon-Esque
Ex. 1a is a pattern that you can take
up and down the scale, a la the famed
Hanon exercises. This kind of exercise is
great for warming up, but I have found
after playing it that my sixteenth notes
can still sometimes be sloppy on the
weak subdivisions between the eighth
notes (on the e and a beats). To get
my sixteenth notes even, I will some-
times use a metronome and play these
weak beats on the clicks as opposed to
between them. Try this technique with
the Hanon-themed exercise in Ex. 1b.

36 Keyboard 02.2015
Ex. 2a

2. Back to Bach
Ex. 2a is an imitation Bach example
for you to play through. In Ex. 2b,
our pseudo Bach exercise is played
with accents on the weak rhythmic
subdivisions, where your metro-
nome clicks should fall. (This can
make a Bach invention sound like
some kind of mad uptempo swing,
but it exposes any mushiness in
your fingers and helps iron it out.)
Try this technique on pieces by Bach
himself to continue your journey
towards fierce finger independence.
Ex. 2b

Players Tip
Warming up methodically will instill
greater confidence and authority
in your playing, which will help you
develop strong fingers and a near sub-
atomic sense of time! says acclaimed
New York-based keyboardist, producer,
and composer Andy Burton. The current
keyboardist for John Mayer, Burton
graduated from Harvard University
cum laude with a BA in music and has
performed with artists including Rufus
Wainwright, Robert Plant, Ian Hunter,
and Darlene Love. He is now working
on his first solo album. Find out more at
twitter.com/andyburtonmusic.

02.2015 Keyboard 37
 Ex. 3

3. Blues and Boogie

After you have spent some time on
the previous examples and you are
really feeling the blood flow in your
fingers, try things with more jazzy
syncopation like blues and boogie-
woogie licks. Youll notice immedi-
ately how much better and consis-
tent your playing sounds. Then play
Ex. 3 either using the metronome
in the standard fashion, or even
with no metronome at all, and see
how it feels after having warmed up
in this way.

Reading List Must Have Warm-Up Books Watch Andy Burton with
John MayerLIVE at Rock
in Rio.
CZERNY
The Art Hear Andy play exclusive
HANON of Finger J.S. BACH audio examples from this
The Dexterity The Well- lesson online.
Virtuoso for the Tempered
Pianist Piano Clavier
keyboardmag.com/february2015

iew e!
ss rev su
i s ! i s
m e ni
nt zin Mi 15
Do aga 0D h 20
m 00 rc
rd 4
Ma
b oa he M e
y t h
Ke of nti
ng
mi
Co

38 Keyboard 02.2015
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KNOW B EYOND TH E M ANUAL

Fig. 1. To add punch,

Cakewalk z3ta+2s
rate-level envelope
adds a short burst
(in this example,
30 ms) at a sounds
beginning.

Fig. 2. moTus
machFive can
edit sample
start points,
thus modifying
an instruments
attack.

live dangerously:
Tweak presets
BY CRAIG ANDERTON

AdmiT iT: You juST diAl up preSeTS. iF You like Them, greAT. iF noT, You ness a bit). Ive stumbled onto some killer electric
keep dialing. Theres nothing wrong with that; you want to make music, not be- piano sounds by transposing electric bass sounds
come a synth programmer. But you dont have to create presets from scratch up an octave or two.
you can instead modify presets that are close to what you want so they become
exactly what you want. So lets check out some simple tweaks. Well assume a Add punch. This requires setting the attack
fairly standard synth architecture, but hopefully youll be able to translate these time to minimum, and an amplitude envelope
concepts to your particular instrument. with a hold control (or a rate/level type of en-
velope that lets you create a hold time). Set
Brighter or darker overall sound. Assum- Cool patch...too bad its not a bass. But the hold time to about 25 to 30 ms for a tasty
ing a lowpass filter is in play, turn up the filter it might make a good bass if you transpose one or spike that adds punch (Figure 1). Interestingly,
envelope amount. This leaves the attack and more oscillators down an octave. This also builds the original Minimoogs had a brief, inherent
decay characteristics in place, but kicks the on the previous tip, as you might want to reduce envelope hold time; Ive often thought this was
overall filter response higher. Similarly, you the highs somewhat so the bass sits better in the one reason that Minimoogs were considered
can darken the sound by turning down the en- low frequencies. punchy (and after I pointed this out in a previ-
velope filter amount. An alternative is to vary ous article, Kurzweil added a punch parameter
the filter envelope sustain level: increase for Why be normal? Some tweaks can create on some synths).
brighter, decrease for darker. This will likely in- entirely new presets if you apply a sound incor-
teract with the attack and decay characteristics, rectly. Take a bass patch, and transpose the Subtract punch. Many sample-based
which may add a useful variation to the sound oscillators up an octave or two (you might want instruments can edit the sample start time.
in addition to changing the tone. to refer to the filtering tip to increase the bright- Because an instruments attack usually

40 Keyboard 02.2015
 Fig. 3. Arturias
ARP2600V has
an Attack/Re-
lease envelope
generator for the
VCA and ADSR
envelope for the
filter. Increasing
the release time
on both adds an
ethereal, sus-
taining effect.

Fig. 4. An LFO
in Cakewalks
Rapture is modu-
lating pitch with
a small amount
of a variable,
low-frequency
waveform to add you hit the key, adjust the release control for the
subtle pitch ran- same amount of decay as the decay control.
domization.
Travel back in time. This requires a bit more
effort, but you can re-create the somewhat
random charm of older analog synthesizers.
Fig. 5. To make Route an LFO to one (or as many as you want)
NIs Massive of the oscillators in a preset, set the LFO for a
even a little very slow rate, and add a very slight amount of
more massive, modulation to change the pitch in an almost
check out the subliminal way (Figure 4). A smoothed random
effects section. LFO waveform is best for this, but if theres no
I like to add random option, a triangle wave will work in a
distortion, then pinch if its slow enoughor use two LFOs set
roll off some of the highs (and boost the upper mids) with the EQ. for different rates, and apply a very little bit of
signal from each one.

Dont forget the processors, especially

determines the punch, moving the start time
later will take out the pluck of a string, the
zing of a bowed sound (Figure 2), and the
like. But this can also add more punch with
instruments having an attack time, such as
wind instruments.
Sound is too sharp and thin. Turn down
the filter resonance control, which will also help
the sound sit more in the background. Converse-
ly, adding a little resonance often brings a sound
more to the forefront.
A more focused sound. Quite a few presets
detune oscillators somewhat to add a chorusing-
like effect. This can make a cool, gossamer
background sound, but to make the sound more
focused, set the fine-tuning controls for each os-
cillator to the same pitch (or at least closer to the
same pitch).
New-agey kinda reverb. Turn up the
amplitude envelope release control to add an
evocative, reverb-like lengthening to notes
when you release your fingers from the keys.
This can work really well for pads. Note: you
may also need to turn up the filter envelope
release control (Figure 3); otherwise, the filter
cutoff may go low enough to make the note
inaudible before the volume envelope fades out
completely.
Calling all electro fans. Make any preset
sound percussive by turning down the amplitude
envelope sustain control, setting attack and re-
lease time to minimum, and using the decay con-
trol to create a percussive decay. If you keep your
finger on the key, the decay will cycle all the way
through, but if you just strike the key briefly, the
decay will last only as long as your finger is on the
key. For a consistent decay time regardless of how
distortion. Onboard effects can twist a sound
around with very little effort. I was once asked
which synth I used to get that amazing funky
Wurlitzer soundit was a True Pianos acoustic
piano, followed by EQ to take off the highs, then
topped off with distortion. Distortion on organs
and NIs Massive (Figure 5) can also be a beautiful
thing.
And dont forget the modulation. Real-
time modulation controls, like footpedals and
aftertouch, are a great way not just to alter a
preset but do so in real time. Many presets dont
include these assignments because its not as-
sumed you have a suitable controller, but once
you crack the code on matrix modulation, its
easy to add real-time modulation to personalize
a preset. See the February 2014 issue of Keyboard
for suggested parameters that lend themselves
well to modulation.

02.2015 Keyboard 41
KNOW SYNTH S OLOI NG

THE ART OF SYNTH SOLOING

Winwood Redux:
Uses in Your
Playing
BY JERRY KOVARSKY

WHEN YOU TRANScRIbE ANd STUdY A SOLO FROm A FAvORITE PLAYER, 5 and 6); and the blues scale (1, b3, 4, b5, 5 and b7).
the way we did with Steve Winwoods style of playing in the January 2015 issue, Each scale/grouping of notes has its own sound
you want to absorb and apply what you learned from them to make it a part of your and flavor, and you want to limit yourself to specific
personal musical vocabulary. This way, you can wield the influence of your musical groupings rather than try to merge them all into
mentor whenever you play; in other words, the style of While You See a Chance one super-scale (1, 2, b3, 3, 4, b5, 5, 6, b7). That
can be employed to benefit non-Winwood songs. So lets apply what we learned in doesnt work as well. You want to create memorable
last months column to more general playing. melodic licks, not just run the scale.

The Notes/Scales be: the major pentatonic (1, 2, 3, 5 and 6); the major Some Licks
Steve Winwood used a pretty basic vocabulary of blues scale (1, 2, b3, 3, 5 and 6); the major blues Here are a few choices licks for each scale: ma-
note choices and scales. In the key of C these would scale with the added fourth scale tone (1, 2, b3, 3, 4, jor pentatonic: Ex. 2; major blues: Ex. 3; major

Ex. 1. The four main scales Winwood uses

C Major Pentatonic scale C Major Blues scale C Major Blues scale w/added 4th C Blues scale

J b n b # b J
4
&4
b n
1 2 3 5 6 8 1 2 b3 3 5 6 8 1 2 b3 3 4 5 6 8 1 b3 4 #4 5 b7 8

Ex. 2. Some pentatonic licks

&
3

w
j
&
3

Ex. 3. Some major blues licks

j
b n
3
& b
w
j b nJ
3

3
& b
w 3 3
3

42 Keyboard 02.2015
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Ex. 4. Some major blues w/added fourth licks

b
3
& n b
3

& n b w
w b w
w

3 3
& b
3 3
b
& b w
w

b w
w

Ex. 5. Some blues licks

b #jjn
bb ## nn b b
3
& b
3
& #n bb w w b w
b w
bb b w j
## nn bj jj jj jj
3
& #
3
n
& #nbb b w jj b
b bb b

Ex. 6. Chord progressions to practice soloing over

FF

& C
C/E D C C A F C

&
C/E D C A F C

CC A

& A
D F G[] C/G F E

&
D F G[] C/G F E

blues with added fourth: Ex. 4; and blues: Ex.
5 (note the extra-fancy last lick, which adds
some jazzy chromaticism).
There are so many ways to play licks like
these: Try varying the rhythms from eighth
notes to triplets, mix up the length of the
notes for more rhythmic interest, and try
starting the phrase on different beats within
the measure so they cross over the bar line in
different ways. As a synth player, youll want
to incorporate bends and modulation into the
phrases; be sure to try half-step, whole-step,
and larger bends, and work on slides up into
and fall-offs from notes as well. Most impor-
tant: Learn then in all 12 keys!
Using the Licks in Songs
To put this into practice, youll want to try
various chord progressions or songs, and like
Winwood (and others), just play licks in the
key center, instead of trying to outline each
chord specifically. Ex. 6 gives you a few ideas
to get started; note that this works well for
both major and minor key centers.
One of the lessons we learned last month
was that Winwood never played the traditional
blues scale on the I chord in the key (the C
major chord in these examples). He always
seemed to save those extra-bluesy licks for
another chord in the song, which keeps the
feeling more major and melodic, saving the
soulful color for just the right moment. So in
the first progression, twry using the C blues
scale once in a while on the Dm chord, or the
opening F chord. In the second example try it
on the F chord, and so on. Just dont overdo it;
a little goes a long way.
More Expression
Winwood also shared that he used a pedal to
control filter cutoff, and you can definitely
hear his lead tone change quality at differ-
ent points in a solo. Starting off a little bit
darker and opening up the filter as you build
your solo works well; so does adding some
filter cutoff modulation from the Mod Wheel
to your usual vibrato, as I have written about
before. Using a volume pedal/assignable pedal
controlling MIDI CC#11 (expression) is a great
addition, so you can swell into long, sustained
notes, and push more energy into a phrase,
just as a horn player would.
Original audio examples,
and chord progression
loop for soloing practice.
keyboardmag.com/february2015

44 Keyboard 02.2015
 KNOW DANC E

Make a Bass Loop from a Vocal

IN ABLETON LIVE
BY FRANCIS PRVE

SYNTHS ARE OBVIOUSLY GREAT FOR BASS LINES, BUT CREATING ORGANIC-SOUNDING RIFFS WITH WARMTH AND
motion can often be a challengeeven if youre a master at automation techniques. Fortunately, theres a technique for gen-
erating bass grooves that wiggle and wobble without spending hours adjusting pitch bends and LFOs. In fact, producers like
Tong and Rogers have been using this trick for years to great effect on their originals and remixes. This secret weapon is so
straightforward that even beginners can get up and running with a minimum of head-scratching. The trick is to start with a vo-
cal. You can use a lead vocal from one of your own tracks or a loop from one of your sample libraries. Heres how its done.

Step 1
Begin with a vocal excerpt that has some melodic motion.
Staccato passages are okay, but if you really want to get
that funky wiggle, find a smooth flowing passage and use
that as a starting point.

Step 2
Next, create a one-bar loop in your vocal clip, then move it
around to different sections, focusing on the rhythm of the
vocal so it complements your drum groove.

Step 3
Time to turn the vocal into a bass line! Step 4
Switch your warping mode to tones and Drop Abletons Auto Filter
transpose it down two octaves (-24 semi- on the vocal bass track
tones). If its a really high vocal, you may and set its cutoff to 350
need to drop it by -36 semitones, but stick Hz as your starting point,
with octaves to ensure that the tuning re- then adjust from there. If
mains relevant to your track. At this point, you want really deep bass
you should hear a growling vocal that sounds tones, lower the cutoff
a bit like something out of a horror movie. until youve got a bouncy
rumble.

Step 5
The funkiest bass lines incorporate spaces and rests to give
the wiggly bits more impact. To accomplish this, create a
clip envelope thats assigned to the clip volume (not mixer
volume) and cut out sections of the vocal until youve got
something a bit more syncopated.

Original audio examples.

Download our custom Ableton Live/Push master class!

keyboardmag.com/february2015

46 Keyboard 02.2015
REVIEW M I D I CONTROLLE R

ARTURIA

KeyLab 88
BY MITCHELL SIGMAN

ARTURIA HAS RELEASED A STEADY STREAM OF CLASSY USB/MIDI CONTROLLER

Snap Judgment
keyboard/virtual instrument packages over the past few years. Until now, all have
been of the unweighted 25-, 37-, and 61-key variety, but now Arturia jumps into the
big leagues with the kitchen sink edition, the 88-key, fully weighted KeyLab 88.
The company also sweetens the pot with its 5,000-preset Analog Lab virtual instru- PROS Superb keyboard feel,
ment, and the rst 3,000 units sold include high-end virtual piano instruments from handsome appearance, good
UVI and Pianoteq. How good is it? value, and huge sound library.

Overview
KeyLab 88s front panel and control layout are
almost identical to its more compact KeyLab 49
and KeyLab 61 counterparts. Beginning at the top
left are standard pitch and mod wheels, and an oc-
tave up/down selector followed by endless-rotary
volume, parameter/category, value/preset knobs,
mode buttons, and a Spartan (but super bright)
16x2 blue fluorescent display. Moving along, we
have ten multifunction assignable buttons, ten as-
signable endless rotary knobs, and nine assignable
sliders. Finally, we see standard transport controls
and 16 full-size illuminated MPC-style pads.
The keyboard itself is a fully weighted 88-key Fa-
tar action with velocity and monophonic aftertouch.
Like Arturias other controllers, the KeyLab 88
exudes quality with its all-aluminum case and lovely
solid wood end cheeks. Unique to the KeyLab 88
are two add-onsan aluminum and plastic music
stand, as well as a laptop (or tablet) shelf that effec-
tively extends the empty area at the top right of the
control panel by four inches. Both can be solidly at-
tached to the rear panel via simple slip-in keyholes,
and thoughtfully include rubber surfaces to prevent
unwanted movement. My only issue with the laptop
shelf is its right side-only location; right-handed
players might prefer a laptop or tablet on the left
so they wont need to take their dominant hand off
the keyboard. Also, Im not a huge fan of the pitch
and mod controllers above-the-keyboard location,
but in Arturias defense, 88 full-size keys make for
a large instrument, so this helps reduce its width.
And speaking of girth, its worth mentioning that at
just over 28 pounds, the KeyLab 88 is the lightest
fully weighted, 88-key controller on the marketa
virtual flyweight compared to 88-key controllers
from other manufacturers that squash the scales 60
pounds or more.
The back panel features a standard power
switch; a DC adapter jack; a breath-controller
mini jack; 1/4" inputs for expression, sustain,
and aux footswitch; and standard five-pin MIDI
in and out. In conjunction with the USB port, the
MIDI I/O jacks allow the KeyLab 88 to function
as a conventional MIDI interface. My example
was perfectly content with USB bus-power, but
an optional AC adapter can be used if USB bus
power isnt available.
CONS Pitch/mod wheel po-
sition, a few nicky controls,
and limited editability of
included Analog Lab virtual
instrument.
Included Virtual Instruments
Though most controllers these days throw some
virtual instruments or soundware into the mix,
Arturia really steps it up with the inclusion of
its Analog Lab virtual instrument software.
Originally released in 2010, Analog Lab distills
Arturias well-respected virtual keyboard instru-
ment collection into one easy-to-use instrument,
usable either as a standalone or plug-in.
Eschewing the fully editable user interfaces of
Arturias individual virtual instruments, Analog
Lab includes more than 5,000 presets; however, key
parameters, such as filter and envelope settings, are
editable and are pre-assigned to KeyLabs knobs and
sliders. The most recent Analog Lab edition includes
presets from Arturias legacy instruments: ARP

48 Keyboard 02.2015
2600 V, CS-80V, Jupiter-8 V, Mini V, Modular V,
Oberheim SEM V, Prophet V, Vox Continental V,
and Wurlitzer V, as well as the brand-new Solina V
vintage string machine and Matrix-12 V vintage
polysynth. Though the editable parameters offer a
fair amount of sound-shaping flexibility, hardcore
synth-programming types will no doubt miss the
ability to edit and create sounds with the full and
unlimited user interfaces.
Analog Labs instrument selection centers
around a novel, CG-rendered Studio View window
(see Figure 1), showing a studio filled with the
above-mentioned keyboard collection. Clicking an
instrument selects it and displays its sounds in list
form, along with attributes including the virtual
instrument name, sound type, user-programmable
favorite status, the sound programmers name,
and others. Attribute filters, such as instrument,
sound categories, and characteristics are easily
applied; these are tremendously helpful given the
epic quantity of sounds on hand. The lower half of
Analog Labs user interface replicates KeyLab 88s
front panel knobs and sliders, and up to 20 instru-
ment parameters are individually settable for each
control via small pop-up menus. The main UI also
lets you drag and drop 10 Snapshot sounds from
any instrument for quick recall via the front-panel
Snapshot buttons. Though they were easy to con-
figure, changing the Snapshots while sustaining
notes cut them off abruptly. For the finger-im-
paired, the chord menu offers myriad auto chord
assignment options for the 16 MPC pads.
In addition to standard single-sound Play
mode, theres a Multi mode, which lets users
stack and/or split two patches across the key-
board, each with independent level, pan, and
controller assignments, plus dual send knobs
for applying bus effects. Though not extensive
by current standards, Analog Lab includes a
well-rounded effects collection, including ex-
pected reverb, chorus, delay, flanger, phaser, and
overdrive, as well as more exotic flavors such as
Destroy, SubGenerator, and VocalFilter, all with a
generous array of user-tweakable controls.
With no true acoustic piano instruments avail-
able in Analog Lab, Arturia includes two third-party
virtual piano instruments: Modartt Pianoteq 5
Stage and UVI Grand Piano Model D. Exclusive to
KeyLab 88, both are lite versions (and upgradable
to full versions for a price). These are not hosted
within the Analog Lab environment; they can run as
standalones (in the case of UVI Grand Piano Model
D, its hosted inside the free-to-download UVI
Workstation app), or as virtual instruments hosted
by a DAW. For those unfamiliar with Pianoteq, un-
like sample-heavy piano instruments, it utilizes
physical modeling to create light-on-RAM but
heavy-on-CPU pianos, whereas UVIs Grand Piano
Model D features just under 600 MB of samples for
a more brute force, sample-heavy approach.
Sounds
With so many presets on hand, Analog Lab of-
fers an almost overwhelming number of preset
Fig. 1. Users can choose instruments
within Analog Lab by clicking the pic-
ture of the desired instrument in Artu-
rias virtual studio rendering.
choices, and suffice to say, covers almost any
analog synth noise imaginable, including scads of
massive Moog and Oberheim basses, subtle-to-
punchy brass, leads aplenty, tons of sound effects,
and more pads than youll ever need. The new
Solina V patches authentically nail the wheezy
divide-down string machine vibe and retain the
full versions tweakable three-band Polymoog
resonator for unique vocal filter flavors.
The virtual Wurly and Vox organ both ably
cover their namesakes and the presets explore far
more esoteric tones courtesy of their added param-
eters. Sometimes the added parameters and effects
get in the way, because the abundance of out
there patches can make it hard to locate signature
Wurlitzer, Vox, and Minimoog patches. Arturia
02.2015 Keyboard 49

could easily remedy this by adding a basic cat-
egory to the sound filter section (the filters that
sort patches, not the filters in the synths).
Pianos, Man
Two Pianoteq models are included a Hamburg
Steinway Model D, and Pianoteqs own K6, a mid-
sized grand of unspecified origin. To my ears, the K6
had more in-the-room personality, and a slightly
less clinical tonality than the Steinway model. Com-
pared to heavy-hitter sampled pianos, theres a very
subtle synthetic feel thats hard to put your finger
on, but both are fine-sounding pianos with excellent
dynamic range, and their wide variety presets make
them adaptable to any situation.
As for the UVI Grand Piano Model D, UVIs
heavy-handed iLok authorization scheme refused
to play nice with my MacBook Pro. After installing
four separate items (iLok License Manager, the
UVI Workstation host, the Grand Piano Model
D Grand sample pack, and a RAR file utility to
expand the sample pack) and numerous back-and-
forth emails with UVI tech support, I was never
able to authorize my computer to use it. I cant say
whether UVI or iLok was to blame, but when over-
zealous copy protection prevents legitimate cus-
tomers from using software, copy protection has
failed the software maker and the end-user alike.
In Use
The KeyLab 88 controller has a firm and positive
action with zero side-to-side key wobble, unwanted
bounce, or other unwanted traits. Its a little on the
heavy side, but not excessively so. My only nitpick is
with the keyboard velocity curve parameter; through-
out its 11 settings, I detected a difference in keyboard
response at the three highest settings (desirable), but
not much change at the lower settings. Perhaps dif-
ferent curves are happening internally, but the user
manual contains no details. The monophonic after-
50 Keyboard 02.2015
touch has a delightfully controllable sweet spot, with
none of the on/off behavior exhibited by lesser
controllers. This aftertouch response is also user-
adjustable, but I found it perfect as-is.
All the knobs and buttons behaved as expected,
and more importantly, exude the same solid feel as
the keyboard. The sliders have a nice feel, and the
illuminated MPC pads definitely give the impres-
sion that theyd tolerate a serious pounding (having
them attached to a large, metal instrument doesnt
hurt). The A and B bank buttons effectively as MainStage or Ableton Live.
double the number of available real-time controllers
for a whopping 20 knobs and 18 sliders of quickly
accessible controls. The knobs, buttons, and slid-
ers can be reconfigured to transmit just about any
desired combination of MIDI controller data, stor-
able in KeyLab 88s ten onboard program memory
locations. Switching between the stored programs
was a somewhat finicky affair, requiring two button
presses, a knob twirl, and pressing the knob. Front
panel controller functions can be edited either from
the front panel, or via Arturias free MIDI Control
Center utility, but as with many MIDI controller
devices, you may find it easier to leave the transmit
settings as-is and, instead, redirect controller data
within the destination device or software.
When used in conjunction with Analog Lab,
the knobs and sliders are automatically assigned
to editable sound parameters, making sound
tweaking a cinch. When running the full version
of the Mini V virtual instrument inside Apple
MainStage, KeyLabs controllers automatically as-
signed to the Minis parameter knobsvery nice!
Generally speaking, it can be a little off-putting
to have incredibly flexible and powerful synths
such as the Moog Modular V and Oberheim Matrix
12 V shackled into a preset-only configuration. But
the flipside is that the adjustable real-time perfor-
mance parameters for most of the instruments
include filter cutoff, resonance, and full envelope
Fig. 2. The main Analog Lab view win-
dow: Sounds are selected from the list
on the left; data lters can be set on
the right to narrow choices. The bottom
area displays KeyLab 88s controllers
and their current positions.
controls; this can get you very close to the level of
tweakery available in the full versions. And if you
own the full versions of any of Analog Labs includ-
ed instruments, sounds can be fully edited inside
without leaving Analog Lab; simply switch to Filter
View mode and click the picture of the individual
instrument. This is a fantastic feature, and its cer-
tainly motivation to upgrade to the full versions.
Analog Lab also features a Live mode for ar-
ranging sounds and multis into a master list for
live performance. Setting up lists is a simple drag-
and-drop affair, but its functionality is limited,
and theres no easy way to move sounds around
once theyre in the list.
I was a little disappointed that Analog Lab
was unable to host the included third-party piano
instruments. In a studio DAW-based environ-
ment, this isnt a significant issue, but in a live
setting, it necessitates hosting Analog Lab and/or
the piano instruments using a separate host such
Conclusions
Besides my quibbles with the velocity curve settings
and the slightly finicky program changing (KeyLab
88s internal programs, not its ability to transmit
MIDI program changes), the KeyLab 88 is a first-class
controller with great features, a beautiful exterior,
and a competitive price tag. At $799 street, it under-
cuts Rolands A-88 and Kawais VPC1 in both price
and weight. Though KeyLab 88 doesnt sport fancy
key surfaces or escapement simulation, many might
agree that these are unnecessary, marketing-driven
solutions in search of a problem. Even without Ana-
log Lab and the extra third-party pianos, the KeyLab
88 stands on its own as a fantastic controller at a
competitive price point. It wins our Key Buy award
on grounds of sheer bang for the buck.
Bottom Line
A premium controller at a great
price, with a ton of virtual instru-
ments thrown in.
$999 list | $799 street
arturia.com
 DIGITAL ACCESS
THIS DIGITAL ACCESS PACKAGE INCLUDES
1 YEAR (12 ISSUES)
DIGITAL & iPAD/iPHONE ACCESS

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REVIEW D I GI TAL PI A NO

YAMAHA

P-255
BY RICHARD LEITER

IN 2004 A DUMB RACQUETBALL MOVE MADE MY SHOULDER UNRELIABLE,

and my 75-pound stage pianos became just too heavy to haul to gigs. What half Snap Judgment
my buddies seemed to be playing then was a brown slab from Yamaha called the
P-120. It was everywhere, and as it was priced at only about a grand and weighed PROS First-rate emulation of
only 40 pounds, I understood why. Plus it had a serviceable piano sound thatwhile the agship Yamaha CFIIIS
it wasnt the 40-gig Synthogy Ivory sampled piano in my studio Macwas more concert grand. Downright
than sufcient for gigs. I lusted after the P-120s big brother, the P-250, but that wonderful editing app with
was a thousand bucks more and 30 pounds heavier. So ash forward a decade and zero learning curve. Balanced
imagine my delight sitting down to a new Yamaha board thats even lighter than the onboard speaker system ca-
P-120 (by two pounds) and sounds better than the P-250. The new P-255 exceeds pable of smooth sound at soft
my expectations in ways I couldnt have imagined a decade ago. and loud levels. Three-band
EQ at your ngertips. Very
The Piano Experience instrument. This is a convincing and emotional giggable sound array. Fun to
The Yamaha CFIIIS Concert Grand is one of the emulation that will invite you to play and explore. play and built like a tank.
worlds greatest pianos. And the first sound Of course, half that experience resides in Ya-
up in the P-255, G1, uses a multisample of mahas Graded Hammer actiongraded because CONS Three-character dis-
the CFIIIS. No piano sample coming through a the keys offer progressively more resistance as play makes some features
15W-per-channel onboard speaker system has a you step down the keyboard, just as an acoustic slow to get to. Graded ham-
chance of making you think youre playing a real piano does. Yamahas version engages you in a mer action, while convincing,
concert grand, but G1 captures the essence of pleasing way. For how I play, Id have made it a seems a bit sluggish at the
that fabulous instrument in a fundamental way. notch less resistant toward the bottom, but many bottom octaves. Beveled-cor-
You can listen critically to all 88 notes (which I pro players prefer an action with weight and sub- ner white-keys can get scrap-
did, natch) and you will hear the compromises stance. The P-255 doesnt quite feel like a Yamaha ey when youre grabbing big
any manufacturer must make to fit a fantastically grand, but it feels fantastic, and you quickly ad- intervals like tenths.
complex sample-collection into a mass-market just to it and exploit this actions pluses: a bounce

52 Keyboard 02.2015
that encourages you to rock out on rhythmic
passages, and a key dip that gives you more dy-
namic control on subtle ones. The other design
feature I would tweak is the bevel-cornered white
keys; they scrape your fingers a bit when youre
grabbing big intervalsfinger-wimps like me
prefer more rounded corners. But one nice thing
about those keys is the synthetic ivory playing
top, which absorbs moisture; even if youre not
sweating through some athletic Rachmaninoff, it
feels darned natural.
As youd expect from the top of Yamahas
P-line, the first-up piano sounds offer sample
enhancements that are now de rigueur: string
resonance that duplicates the sound of all the
non-struck strings that vibrate when a note is
hit; key-off samples that trigger when a note is
releasedslowly or quickly; and sustain sam-
pling, which reveals the complex mlange of
sound produced by the soundboard and strings
when you depress the damper pedal. It even dis-
plays the shadings of sound as you play with the
pedal at different levels. And all the grand piano
sounds have 256-note polyphony, which is as
good as you can get these days and is probably at
the limit of whats needed to convince your ears
and hands. I did quite a bit of recording and play-
back with this instrument, so I could hear what
it really sounds like, and its superbit held its
head surprisingly high next to Synthogy Ivory,
even. The only playing technique that challenges
the P-255s authenticity is extremely short stac-
catos that sound like striking a key with a finger
on the strings.
The P-255 is very much a performance piano,
without the synthesizer sound-shaping tools
of, say, a Motif or the Casio PX-5S, but the cus-
tomizing options it offers are all right at your
fingertips. Theres a three-band master EQ thats
always online, a bank of excellent effects (chorus,
phaser, tremolo, and rotary speaker) andcru-
ciallysome basic but delicious room and hall
reverbs. Yamaha has a 35-year legacy of digital
reverbs dating back to the legendary Rev-5, and
you can hear this provenance in the four simple
reverbs onboard the P-255. In fact, they dramati-
cally contribute to the emotionality of this in-
strument without suffering any of the cheesiness
that lesser reverbs can impart.
My verdict is still out on one feature of this
instrument. The Sound Boost button provides
three volume and EQ presets for a variety of
playing situations: accompanying a voice, cutting
through a band, playing a solo. The gradations
are subtle, and I never felt the need to use them
on the gigs. Lets say its my second least favorite
featuremy least favorite being the ten pre-
programmed rhythm accompaniments that are
acoustically exquisite but vexingly short at one
bar each. Even with the provided intros and out-
ros, one could do a lot better with these wonder-
ful drum sounds. And speaking of sounds . . .
Voices and Bells and Whistles
In addition to the four grandsthe CFIIIS, which
is the overall winner; a sparkly Live Grand; an
overly Bright Grand; and a slightly muted Ballad
Pianothe P-255 lays out 20 other must-have
gigging instruments. None pushes the limits the
way the stellar grand does, but all are respectable:
Theres a convincingly EQed Rhodes, a sassy little
Wurly, a tiney DX-7, and a swooshy Synth Piano.
There are also a couple of Jazz Organswith
and without RotaryPipe Organs, a scrappy
Clav, mellow Vibes, and two of the most authen-
tic Harpsichords Ive heard on a performance
keyboard, both of which will speak to your inner
George Martin. There are no surprises in the
Strings and Choirs: slow and fast. But the stand-
up Jazz Bass and Fender are well-defined samples
and a joy to play in Split mode, where Ive spent
more of my fooling-around time than on any
other digital piano; I sing, and this is a very sup-
portive companion to the human voice.
You can really hear this instrument step out
when you give it outboard amplification. So far
Ive put it through the Adam and Tannoy moni-
tors in the studio, my Barbetta 41c amps, and my
Yamaha DXR P.A., and the instrument voices
particularly the basses and pianossound ex-
pansive and complex. Having said that, the built-
in speakers are the possibly the best Ive heard on
a slab piano. There are tweeters firing at the per-
former and larger midrange speakers aimed out
02.2015 Keyboard 53
the back at a listener. Yamaha explains that the rear-
facing speakers are circular rather than oval, and this
makes all the difference. I would never use it on a THE P-255 CONTROLLER APP
gig un-amped, but the internal speakers are smooth
and musical at all volumes. And on both of the gigs
when I test-drove the P-255, the instruments sound
was unusually similar to what comes out of the amp
and P.A. Even in a 500-seat theater going through
the Meyer FOH system, the bass/keyboard splits in
particular were reassuringly accurate.
As youd imagine on an instrument of this qual-
ity, there are the by-now-expected USB and MIDI
connectivity options: Youll find a no-frills two-track
sequencer for jotting down ideas; it actually lets you
get in and alter a couple dozen MIDI parameters Fig. 1. The home page lets you
(voices, effects, levels, tempos) after you record, so choose your instrument with a
its more than just a notepad. And theres a digital nger wipe . . .
recorder that tracks up to 80 minutes of CD-quality Fig. 2 . . . or a touch on a grid.
stereo audio and ports it out to a front-mounted
USB flash drive. Theres also a USB port on the back
that hooks you up to an iPad or iPhone for what has ture Ive mentioned hereand loads morein a a moment layering with Figures 3 and 4, and youll
become, for me, the most surprisingly indispensable user world of highly realistic graphics and effortless see why I love this app.
feature on the keyboard. controls. Please direct your attention to Figure 1, The app handles every single function on the
which shows the home page: a carousel that works keyboard: Tasks like transposing, recording se-
The App like the Genie bar in a Mac Finder window. As you quences and WAV files, and editing splits are sud-
Yamahas controller app for the P-255 was clearly move left or right, the big instrument is instanta- denly a breeze. Even the more sophisticated settings
designed by sensitive human beings worthy of our neously the one youre playing. Allergic to scrolling? like Key-Off Sample Volume and Damper Pedal
love and gratitude. It lets you do every editing fea- Theres also a grid option, as in Figure 2. Spend just Resonance Depth are a slide away. Bored with Equal

54 Keyboard 02.2015

Fig. 3. To layer (in Dual mode), pick one
sound from the top and one from the
bottom. Every instrument features a
nificent piano sample, admirable electric pianos,
organs, Clavs and basses; and all the most impor-
tant functions are right at the working pianists
fingertips: transpose, split, and global EQ. Yes,
its weightier and pricier than the current crop of
entry-level slabs, but it feels more roadworthy,
and the Controller app is the easiest and most
fun user interface Ive seen on any keyboard. The
next price-leap up takes you into the world of real
wooden keys and triple-digit sound banks. But do
you need all that for your rock or jazz or worship
gig? And think of the great songs youre going to
write at home or in your hotel room using those
built-in speakers.
Fig. 4. Set the volume balance, shift
octaves, and dial in effect levels, then

Bottom Line
savvy description and a quality demo. save. Note: All changes are saved
within the app, not the P-255.

Dont be fooled by the built-in

Temperament tuning? Try the Werckmeister, and
dont forget to pick a new base note or your ma-
zurka will sound goofy. I spent hours dealing with
the buried functions on my old P-120. Sometimes
I wouldnt even bother balancing splits because it
was just too much trouble. This new app is so crucial
to my enjoyment of the P-255 that Id buy a used
iPhone 5 and Velcro it to the top of the piano. The
one thing Id change on this app would be to let me
store all my edits in the keyboard as well as on the
iOS device.
Conclusions
For the same reasons that the P-120 was ubiq-
uitous 10 years ago, the P-255 is going to be an ir-
resistible choice for a lot of players. Its got a mag-
speakers. This is a pro instrument to
be reckoned withthats also just as
apt at being your living-room digital
piano.
$1,999 list | $1,299 street
yamaha.com

family
from our

TO YO UR S
The Finale family of music notation software oers
something for everyone on your list. Learn more
at nale.com/family.

02.2015 Keyboard 55
REVIEW A PP
KORG
Module
BY FRANCIS PREVE
AS MORE AND MORE PERFORMERS HAVE INTEGRATED IPADS INTO THEIR LIVE
rigs, it was inevitable that a company would attempt a Holy Grail-type app that could
play the role of an all-around keyboard for casual gigsyou know, the kind Korg makes
lots of. That attempt is called Module, and its sound quality is nothing short of stunning.
For a mere 40 bucks, Korgs new Module iPad app
marks a sea change in whats possible for live key-
boardists, whether theyre performing in traditional
rock bands, jazz ensembles, or cocktail lounges. Its
collection of instruments is straightforward, special-
izing in piano and vintage electro-mechanical keys
like electric piano, Clavinet, and Hammond-style or-
gans. There are also a few essential synth elements
too, notably strings and brass (both ROMpler and
analog versions), along with a few classic pads and
standard 80s sawtooth comping patches.
When I first fired up the app, I was expecting
strong materialafter all, this is Korg were talking
aboutbut after a few minutes, I was absolutely
thunderstruck by the overall quality of these instru-
56 Keyboard 02.2015
ments. Each acoustic piano preset is derived from
the same set of grand piano samples, with slightly
different processing and EQ, but the source record-
ings are absolutely stellar, and in the context of a
live set they really cut through without that flat
sound that Ive heard in lesser iPad apps.
Same goes for the electric pianos and Clavi-
nets, which are absolutely gorgeous. While the
electric pianos are predominantly Rhodes-centric,
the included presets cover all of the essentials,
including a stellar phased version thats straight
out of the Steely Dan catalog. The Clavinets
are equally impressive, with a touch wah Clav
that absolutely nails the Stevie Wonder Higher
Ground sound.
Snap Judgment
PROS: Very high-quality ver-
sions of acoustic and electro-
mechanical keyboards like
piano, organ, electric piano,
and Clavinet. Multi instru-
ment includes essential gig
instruments (strings, brass,
pads, other classic worksta-
tion sounds). User-adjustable
velocity scaling. Module
instruments work in Korgs
Gadget sequencing app. Inte-
grated effects.
CONS: Requires iOS 8-com-
patible iPad. Tiny touchscreen
keyboard. No drawbar control
over Hammond-based instru-
ments. No splits or layers.
The organs are also impressive; however, they
lack any sort of drawbar control, which means
youre stuck with a mere 19 presets. Granted,
theyre terrific and cover essential jazz, rock and
gospel basics, but user customization is limited to
Leslie, vibrato, and overdrive parameters, which
may not be enough for some players.
The strings, brass, and synth patches cover the
bread-and-butter basics, with filter and envelope
parameters, but thats about it. Even so, for this
type of context (which is essentially cover bands
and lounge artists) theres more than enough for
playing the standards.
For adding final polish to Modules array of
keyboards, there are two processorsmodulation

Fig. 1. Among the myriad instruments Module offers are this B-3 style organ . . .
Fig. 2. . . . and this general-purpose poly-synth, called Multi.
effects and delay/reverb. Because theyre all based
on Korgs collection of workstation effects, these
effects all quite capable. I was especially pleased to
see the Korg Polysix ensemble and chorus in the list
of options, as the Polysix ensemble is among my all-
time favorites thanks to its rich liquid character.
to import sheet music into the list, so players
who depend on notation will have everything
they need within a single app. You can even im-
port songs from your iTunes library here, so if
you have backing tracks to coordinate as well, the
Set List solves that problem too.
There are also two expansion libraries for
Module. If you want to go beyond the stock
acoustic pianos, Synthogy Ivory Mobile Grand
adapts their desktop German Steinway sample
set for the iPad and goes for $19.99. Yup, Ivory
on an iPad. To augment the Rhodes sounds with
more Wurlies, go for Korgs Wurley at $9.99.
The second standout feature targets electronic
music producers who rely on Korgs impressive
Gadget sequencer. With just a few clicks, all of
Modules instruments are imported into Gadgets
library of synth options. Granted, doing this will
eat up an additional gigabyte of RAM on your iPad,
so thats a consideration. On the other hand, I did
a little experiment once the Module instruments
were imported into Gadget. Sure enough, you can
delete Module from your iPad afterward and Gad-
get will retain those instruments in its library, so if
you just want to add a bunch of top-notch vintage
gear to your Gadget productions and skip the live
performance angle, youre covered here too.
At this time, Module doesn't seem to offer
any way to play two or more of its instrument
engines at once via a split or layer on your MIDI
controller, which may inhibit it from being your
sole sound source for cover gigs. The Gadget im-
porting implies multitimbral capability, so we're
hoping Korg can add this in a future update.
Korgs list of achievements in the iPad market
is nothing short of groundbreaking. With Mod-
ule, those achievements expand from the elec-
tronic music production and vintage analog synth
realms into that of keyboard replacement. Splits
and layers you could quickly set up using the
iPad's touchscreen would drive that all the way
home. As its name implies, however, Module does
indeed replace the idea of the hardware sound
module from which you might draw the main
sound in your setup at any given time. And the
sounds that it offers for this purpose are so excel-
lent and diverse that it merits a Key Buy.
Bottom Line
Better than a hardware sound
In addition to basic audio recording tools, module, lives in your iPad, 40
Module also includes two features that really set bucks. Nuff said.
it apart. The first is a Set List function, which
allows you to reorganize your presets into various Price: $39.99 street
collections for live performance. This alone would korg.com
be a nice touch, but the function also allows you
02.2015 Keyboard 57
REVIEW V I R TUA L I NSTR UM E NT

Most of the real-time

tweaking you need
sits in String Studios
Play Window.

APPLIED ACOUSTICS

String Studio VS-2

BY MARTY CUTLER

APPLIED ACOUSTICS STRING STUDIO VS-2 REPRESENTS A MAJOR REWORKING Snap Judgment
of the original version, bringing a redesigned interface, new effects, a new library of
sounds, and other features. Rather than deploying an armada of samples to provide PROS Intuitive and neat User
realistic sounds, String Studio models the way strings vibrate when they are initiat- Interface reects stringed
ed by some technique, be it plucks, picks, bows, or hammers. String Studio includes instrument signal ow.
a standalone version along with AU plug-ins for the Mac, and Windows and Mac Wonderful-sounding hybrid
support for VST, RTAS, and AAX versions. instruments with acoustic
instrument characteristics.
Interestingly enough, String Studios long suit is not function. It also represents consistent design
the precise replication of stringed instruments in across most of their software instruments, so if CONS Single envelope and
performance. To be sure, there are plenty of decent- you understand the workflow of one instrument, LFO, a number of unexciting
sounding string ensembles, solo instruments, and the others shouldnt be too hard to understand. acoustic instrument emula-
ethnic impressions, along with acoustic and electric The Instruments header gives you access to tions. No swing parameter
bass and guitar. Whats most impressive, though, is bank- and patch-selection pull-down menus, with for the arpeggiator.
the way String Studio combines its modeling prow- file-saving buttons and a Compare button (visible
ess with a subtractive synth engine, extending the when youve performed an edit) handily flanked
instruments sonic landscape considerably. by the two menus. As this sits in the header, its
accessible no mater what tweaks youve made in sively audition patches as I do, youd appreciate a
User Interface any window. Directly to the right, a History menu more random-access, pull-down list to save time
String Studios user interface has been redesigned, scrolls back and forth between sounds you have shuttling between sounds, as with the softwares
comprising three windows that are organized by played during the current session. If you compul- bank-and-patch selection areas.

58 Keyboard 02.2015
 The buttons that provide access to the three
main windows sit dead-center of the header, with
global controls, such as volume, tuning, and the
number of voices you want to use at the right. The
Play window neatly arrays most of the controls for
real-time alterations you might want to make, with
basic tweaks for the instruments five simultane-
ous effects sitting just below the header, and ar-
rayed as a horizontal rack with buttons to engage
or defeat individual effects. Controls are minimal
(for instance, a lone ratio knob for the compres-
sor), but details are what the Effects section is for.
The row of controls sitting below the effects are
modules governing performance parameters, such
as tap tempo for the arpeggiators, Poly or Mono
modes, and an Error knob to create random vari-
ances in pitch, such as strings produce. The last
induces noticeable, but constrained variations.
The Unison module lets you stack and detune up
to four voices, but what makes this module cool
is a Delay control that shifts the onset of unison
voices, producing anything from a 12-string
guitar-type effect to bouncing bow or mallet
simulations.
You also get a Glide control with a Legato but-
ton, which is especially effective with the bowed
instruments, and Vibrato controls let you balance
free-running vibrato against adding more with
the mod wheel. Finally, String Studio is graced
with a modest but programmable arpeggiator,
with a Latch switch and controls for range, direc-
tion, span, and note value. Naturally, you can
sync to MIDI clock. Buttons just below let you
alter the pattern rhythms, but the absence of
swing parameters limits the feel.
Editing
Click on the Edit button to reveal four main mod-
ules, each holding between two and three sub-
pages; the order of pages flows from left to right,
following the logical signal flow of a stringed
acoustic instrument. Exciter shapes the initial
impulse that gets a string vibrating, and you
start by choosing from a bow, a pick, or one of
two types of hammer. Ensuing parameters vary
contextually, so selecting a bow for an exciter,
for example, will let you adjust force and friction,
whereas the pick will let you adjust its protrusion
(where you grasp the pick) and stiffness. Each of
these parameters has key follow, as those param-
eters are relative to pitch and string length.
The second sub-page, Geometry, deals with
where the string is excited; playing closer to the
neck or the bridge of a guitar to elicit mellower or
brighter tone is one good example. Modulating
the exciter position imparted a healthy amount
of realism to some of the guitars. You have dupli-
cate parameters for the damper module.
You may find that different editing modules
have similarly labeled parameters; for example,
Exciter, Geometry, and the String module have
damper parameterswhich is as it should be,
because damping a string is variable, interacts
with the body, and affects the overall perfor-
mance. The string module also lets you set string
tension and inharmonicity, which, in conjunc-
tion with the Error knob on the Performance
page can yield some interesting havoc, ranging
from funky to hilarious.
Next in line is the synthesis module, consist-
ing of sub-modules for LFO, Filter, and Envelope.
Its a fairly simple synthesizer with a decent
complement of filter types: low- and highpass,
bandpass, and notch, along with a couple of
formant filters that are switchable between
two- and four-pole types, you can tie these to the
LFO, the envelope generator, and the LFO, which
is syncable and has a few interesting waveform
shapes. The single envelope generator handles
only the filter, and lets you dial in a response for
attack rate and sustain level respective to veloc-
ity. A second EG would have been nice, but MIDI
Learn for practically every parameter takes up
the slack pretty nicely.
The last module in the Edit chain holds the
Body sub-module and a distortion stage on out-
put. Distortion is fairly simple, with drive, tone,
and level, plus a drop-down menu for distortion
types. Body, to my mind, is the big payoff, and
here, you can meld violins with guitar bodies,
pianos with cellos and bow pianos, and more.
You select a body from a row of iconseither
piano, guitar, viol, or what looks like a banjo or
drum headand below that, choose a size rang-
ing from tiny to huge with several points in be-
tween; adjust decay parameters for the resonat-
ing chamber; mix in a ratio of string to chamber;
and tweak an additional low- and high-cut filter.
The final window tops off the patch with up
to five effects. Equalization and a compressor are
fixed at the beginning of the effects chain, with
reverb at the end. In between, you can choose
from delays and distortion, or modulation effects
such as chorus or flange, phase shifters, wah-
String Studios Edit Win-
dow neatly tucks away a
wealth of sound-shaping
tools in the tabs at the
bottom of the panel. Note
the icons accessing differ-
ent string exciters on the
left, and instrument body
types on the right.
wah, and notch filter.
Sounds
These effects go a long way toward selling many
of the patches, some of which are not particu-
larly inspiring. The biggest shortfall is in the
acoustic guitar category. Some of these are quite
convincing, but dont hold up nearly as well as
the companys superb Strum acoustic and elec-
tric plug-ins. The electric guitars fare somewhat
better, and many solo violin, viola, and cello pro-
grams are quite good. Many of the synth patches
and hybrid instruments are spectacular, if not
realistic, and that is where String Studio shines,
with translucent, coruscating pads and smoky
keys imbued with inner motion.
Conclusions
If you are looking for spot-on, modeled repli-
cants of acoustic and electric guitars, violin-fami-
ly instruments, and related stringed-instruments
all under one roof, its doubtful that String
Studio VS-2 (or any other synthesizer, for that
matter) will meet your expectations. There are a
few attempts that come closeespecially in the
viol and nylon-string guitar families, but where
String Studio lives is in the irresistible conflu-
ence of mix-and-match modeled elements, the
chaos of instruments based on vibrating strings,
and subtractive synthesizer capabilities. If your
tastes veer toward guitars with piano bodies
played with a bouncing mallet through a reso-
nant, lowpass filter, youre in the right place.
Bottom Line
If youre into imaginative synthesis,
String Studio VS-2 will let you build
unusual sounds that will stand out
from the crowd.
applied-acoustics.com
02.2015 Keyboard 59
REVIEW AUD I O I NTER FAC E
NOVATION
Audiohub 2x4
BY FRANCIS PRVE
SOMETIMES A PRODUCT CROSSES MY DESK THATS SO OBVIOUS AND ELEGANT
that I can almost hear the competition do a facepalm when it hits the market. Case
in point, Novations new Audiohub 2x4.
Straddling the line between DJ rigs and bedroom
studios, the Audiohubs specs include two inputs,
four outputs, a headphone jack andheres that
facepalman integrated three-port USB hub. As
laptops get thinner and USB-powered controllers
and synths more numerous, theres a clear need for
an audio interface that can integrate all of the gear
that goes into a modern small studio or DJ setup,
ensuring that each has enough power to function
properly. On more than one occasion, Ive plugged a
nifty new USB-powered control surface or keyboard
into my MacBook Pro and found that the laptop
simply cant supply enough juice. The Audiohub 2x4
solves that problem beautifully.
From a live performance standpoint, the Au-
diohubs audio implementation is tailor-made for
club gigs. On the back are dual stereo RCA pairs for
outputs 1-2 and 3-4, with an additional pair of bal-
anced TRS outputs for channels 1 and 2. So if youre
60 Keyboard 02.2015
using it in a DJ rig, you can quickly connect it to a
standard mixer using off-the-shelf RCA cables. Hav-
ing additional balanced quarter-inch outputs in the
package is a huge plus for bands, soft synth-based
keyboard rigs, and home studios. Whats more, the
converters are based on Focusrite technology, so
they sound quite a bit better than many other boxes
in this price range.
Novations attention to detail is also evident on
the front of the unit, which includes three powered
USB2.0 ports, stereo RCA inputs (with switchable
gain), and a headphone jack that includes a handy
switch that shifts between monitoring outputs 1/2
and 3/4. This headphone toggle allows you to use the
Audiohub for cueing tracks in the event that youre
not using a mixer for that purpose. Theres also a
direct monitor switch for the stereo inputs, reducing
latency and making it quite flexible for basic studio
recording.
Snap Judgment
PROS Four channels
of audio outputs with
both RCA and balanced
connections. Integrated
powered USB hub.
Headphone jack is
switchable between outputs
1-2 and 3-4. Power supply
and USB cable included.
CONS Inputs are strictly
RCA. Not USB3.0-
compatible.
Bottom Line
The ideal interface for performers
who mainly need to get sounds out
of the computer and have lots of
USB-powered controllers.
$249 list | $199 street
novationmusic.com
As for knobs, there are only three: one each for
the stereo output pairs and a volume knob for the
headphones. While Id love to see a fourth knob for
fine-tuning input gain, the Audiohubs price is so
competitive that this is a bit of a quibble.
Rounding out the package are two amenities
that Ive noticed are starting to disappear from other
manufacturers offerings: an AC power supply and
a Novation-green USB cable. While the Audiohub
will happily serve as a USB-powered audio interface,
youll need to plug it in to the wall if youre going to
load it up with voltage-hungry USB-powered gear.
And while the bright green USB cable may not seem
like much of an addition, if youve ever set up on a
dark stage and searched for a black USB cable in your
bag, youll immediately appreciate it. Theres also the
now-ubiquitous copy of Ableton Live Lite as well as
Loopmasters software in the package, for those just
getting started in music production.
All in all, the Novation Audiohub 2x4 is bril-
liantly executed and frankly overdue. With a street
price of around 200 clams, Novation is bound to
sell a bunch of these to laptop DJs and keyboard-
ists who need to get sounds out of a software rig
and into the crowd.
REVIEW HEAD PHONES

Snap Judgment
PROS Great sound on all
types of sources. Active
amplication really helps
even the sonic playing eld.
Ingenious articulating design
makes for great comfort and
ergonomics. Cool looking.

CONS Built-in amps also

make them heavier than
most full-sized headphones.
Active mode imparts slight
noise oor.

Bottom Line
A genuine breakthrough in headphone
design, and denitely worthy of a
serious noggin-time audition if youre
shopping for a new pair.

BLUE $399.99 list | $349.99 street

bluemic.com
MICROPHONES

Mo-Fi
BY STEPHEN FORTNER
liking, and the earpieces can flip down out of the
way for when the headphones are around your neck
between takes. The ear cups are shaped like, um, ears
(you actually dont see that a lot), and made for a
nice seal around mine. I could move my head around
EVERY MUSICIAN NEEDS A GOOD PAIR OF HEADPHONES. (NOTICE I DIDNT vigorously, as one might when rocking out, and
say ear buds.) On the go, youre plugging them into different sourceskeyboard Mo-Fis engineering kept the cans solidly planted
here, laptop thereall of which have headphone outputs of varying quality. With where they belonged; other parts of the mechanism
Blue Mics rst headphones, the manufacturer tries to solve that problem by build- seemed to absorb the motion.
ing the amps into the cans. Blue is also out to reinvent headphone ergonomics. Ive After extended wear I found myself wanting
been toting a pair for about six months, and heres how Mo-Fi did on both counts. the ear cups foam to be a little firmer, though that
may be a matter of taste. Also, at a pound, Mo-Fi is
In the Tiffanys-blue box comes the Mo-Fi unit, a boards, I did notice a small increase in the noise floor and feels heavier than many conventional full-sized
charging brick, mini-USB cable (for charging only), in active mode. Its not enough to be obtrusive, but headphones, but I cant imagine how you could build
two custom 1/8" stereo cables (one of which has iPod you may notice it behind quieter program material. in amplifiers and have things be otherwise. I didnt
controls) , an 1/8"-to-1/4" adaptor, sueded micro- Verdict on the sound: Id mix on these without find the weight a problem, especially given the other
fiber pouch, and even an adaptor for those wonky trepidation, and theyve become the first thing I use comfort features.
dual jacks in airline seats. for picking up tunes or woodshedding sans speakers. Verdict on the ergonomics: pretty genius.
The long, skinny barrel end of either audio cable When the ear cups are touching, the amps shut off, My one big wish is for Blue to have added digital-
plugs in to the deeply recessed input on the left ear- conserving battery life. This works so well that I havent to-analog converters and USB audio input. On
piece. Surrounding that input is a collar with three charged them in a month and they still have juice. laptops, the subpar D/A is usually the bigger sonic
positions: off (in which Mo-Fi functions like passive Blue has always been known for bold industrial degrader than the output amp, so this would really
headphones), on, and on with bass boost. That last design, but Mo-Fi really reminded me of this fancy push Mo-Fi over the top. Maybe if they come out
setting may be there for the Beats crowd, but theres office chair called the Humanscale Freedom: As with Mo-Fi Pro. . . But lets not ignore a big advan-
no doubt that the active mode sounds fabulous. opposed to having adjustment controls for the seat- tage to them being simply active: You could use them
Overall, Mo-Fi is so accurate and detailed that I back angle, armrest height, and so on, it conforms on line-level devices that dont have a headphone
initially thought they had multiple drivers, not the to your body via a series of articulating and jointed output at all, given the right adaptors on the source
50mm full-range drivers in the specs. Going between parts. Mo-Fi does the same thing on your head. A end of the custom cable. How many headphones can
my MacBook Pro, iPod classic, and several key- tension wheel on top sets the squeeze factor to your you say that about?

62 Keyboard 02.2015
REVIEW PLUG- OUT SYNTH
ROLAND
SH-2
BY FRANCIS PREVE
WHEN ROLANDS NEW AIRA SYSTEM-1 SYNTH WAS FIRST INTRODUCED LAST
fall, there was a lot of talk about Rolands commitment to delivering a series of soft-
ware emulations of some of its most coveted vintage synths. In my original review, I
analyzed Rolands rst plug-outa spot-on re-creation of the classic SH-101and envelope that slides up or down into each note).
was really impressed with the potential of this approach. For live players, the Sys-
tem-1 provides an impressive alternative to gigging with vintage gear.
Just a few months after the release of the SH-101 never owned an SH-2, Ive used them in the studio.
plug-out, Roland has delivered a virtual version of While the SH-101s slightly plastic sound has made
the decidedly more obscure SH-2. Although Ive it a workhorse in the dance music era, the SH-2
has a distinctly aggressive synth-pop vibe, more
akin to Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails. It also
excels at greasy funk basses, especially with the
Snap Judgment resonance up a touch.
The SH-2s architecture is a bit deeper than the
PROS Breathtaking re-cre- 101s, which gives it more sonic flexibility. Where-
ation of original Roland SH-2 as the 101 is a single-oscillator affair, with sub-
sound. Faithfully recaptures oscillator for added low-end chutzpah, the SH-2
analog character. Improve- sports two oscillators. These are detunable over
ments include a new lter a fairly wide range, but like the original, theres
envelope and advanced no option for hard sync. In a departure from the
PWM. Can be used as either original, Roland has taken several liberties with
soft synth or loaded into the new SH-2 plug-out design. These new ameni-
System-1 as an alternate ties make the SH-2 a lot more flexible as a synth,
tone generator. while remaining faithful to the overall sound of
the original.
CONS Software plug-in is Like the software version, the original SH-2
a little CPU-heavy. Slight oscillators offered saw, square, and variable pulse
differences in oscillator fea- waves on each oscillator, with oscillator 1 also
tures may turn off purists. including a sine wave generator (a bit of a rarity in
itself) and oscillator 2 offering a noise mode. On
Bottom Line the plug-out, the noise generator is present but
the sine wave is gone. For most users this will be
Stunning emulation of a vintage rarity. trivial, but Id be remiss if I didnt mention it.
As for enhancements, the SH-2 plug-out is
$145 ($95 for System-1 brimming with features that the original lacked.
owners) street For starters, theres now a dedicated ADSR for the
rolandus.com filter cutoff. Whats more, each oscillators pulse
width can be modulated independently from a
64 Keyboard 02.2015
much wider range of sources, including either en-
velope, the LFO, the sub-oscillator, or the classic
SH-2 auto-bend feature (which is a simple pitch
This adds a lot of range to the oscillators charac-
ter, especially when the sub-oscillators audio rate
modulation is in effect.
Other upgrades include a few more waveforms
on the LFO, a few subtle changes to the envelope
modes, and the inclusion of the System-1s effects
and arpeggiator. The effects may not be a big deal
in a DAW environment, but in a live setting theyre
extremely handy.
I tested both the plug-in and System-1 plug-out
versions of the SH-2 and, naturally, they sounded
identical. Again, theres something about this
synth that has more girth and swagger than many
other synths from that era. Like Moogs of the
same vintage, the filter is a four-pole affair, but the
resonance is decidedly more in-your-face than a
Moogs, as cranking it will dramatically minimize
the lower harmonics. It also self-oscillates beauti-
fully, which is lovely for noise patches when the
keyboard tracking and cutoff are tuned correctly.
All in all, I was blown away by the SH-2s asser-
tive character and impressive depth as an analog
emulation, and I stand firm on my original assess-
ment that these digital re-creations can go toe-to-
toe with proper analog gear. If this is how Roland
plans to move forward with its System-1 products,
I cant wait to hear the next one.
Original audio
examples.
keyboardmag.com/february2015
 S P E C I A LT Y A D V E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N Product Spotlight
String Studio VS-2 - String Modeling Synthesizer
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String Studio VS-2 is a string modeling synthesizer
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source for a string.

With its picks, bows, hammers, frets, dampers,

soundboards, filters, and effects, String Studio
VS-2 is the perfect blend of acoustic modeling
and regular synth features you wont believe
how crazy you can go with a simple string.
SRP: $199
www.applied-acoustics.com
888-441-8277

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Buying or selling instruments through our Classified
Ads offers you convenience, a big marketplace, and a
wide range of instruments and prices. However, buying
mail-order does have its drawbacks, too. Keyboard advertise in
Magazine suggests the following guidelines to help keyboards
the buyer and the seller in these transactions: 1) Get specialty pages!
a written description of the instrument, which should
include the serial number. 2) Get front and back Specialty Sales Specialty Sales
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it does not meet reasonable expectations. (917) 281-4721 (650) 238-0325

02.2015 Keyboard 65
 CODA
THINGS
T HINGS
5
PHOTOS BY CHARISSA NIELSEN
IIVE
VE
L EARNED
LEARNED
A BOUT
ABOUT
Mixing
BY DANA NIELSEN
WHEN IT COMES TO STUDIO WORK, IVE BEEN FORTUNATE TO HAVE WISE
teachers that have shown me the way. It would be disingenuous to claim any of the
ideas in this article as my own; they are all things that Ive learned from peers and men-
tors that I later applied toward my own method. (A method, incidentally, that is con-
stantly under construction, growing, expanding, or otherwise being ddled with.) In any
event, Im grateful for the opportunity to share some of what Ive learned along the way.
1. Find the Drama
When Im mixing, I like to find the most
dramatic moment of a song and focus on that first,
then work outwards from there. Sometimes its the
split-second crack of a lone snare drum, or it could
be a whole section of a song, such as the last chorus.
This climactic section of a song and how you mix it
will determine your bandwidth, your headroom, and
how hard you can push the edge (if its a musical style
that requires edginess). Everything before and after
the climax can be shaped to support that moment.
2. Listen to the Lyrics
It seems obvious, but its not. (At least not
for me, as a sax player/instrumentalist who is more
accustomed to thinking about melody, phrasing
and harmony.) I recently told a well-known cli-
ent what I thought about one of his songs, a truly
beautiful track that we had spent hours recording.
I could listen to this song all day long, I said. It
just really makes me smile. He laughed and replied,
You mean the song about dying? Its easy to get
wrapped up in the technical aspectslike the sound
of the music or the voiceand thats a fine place
to start getting tones in the ballpark and shaping
a rough balance. But to mix effectively, you need
to be aware of the bigger picture, which is the song
66 Keyboard 02.2015
as a whole and the emotion that the artist is trying
to convey with each word. The words tell me what
needs to happen, where and when the music needs
to swell, and when it needs to simmer. Lyrics will
often dictate what a mix needs and doesnt need,
telling me when to feature (turn up) a musical mo-
ment that supports the mood, or tame (turn down)
elements which get in the way of that mood.
3. Ditch the Drums
Just for a while. I find it a great exercise to
see if I can create an engaging, finished-sounding
mix with the drums muted, as if it were recorded that
way. So much pop music revolves around a killer beat
and I love recording and mixing drums! But if the
mix is getting most of its power from a big rock drum
set or a huge banging club beat that youre listening
to all day long, its easy to miss important mix
opportunities within the rest of the instrumentation.
So I mute the drums for a while and see if I can still
make the song rock from beginning to end. When I
think Im there, Ill un-mute the drums. Its always
surprising and immediately revealing.
Neve 8068 over a Mackie 1402 any day. But if you
4. A Balance Is Not a Mix
Every good mix starts with a good
balance. Youve got your tones together; maybe
Grammy-nominated
mixer, engineer,
producer and
saxophonist Dana
Nielsen has amassed
credits that run the
stylistic gamut from
Neil Diamond to
Slayer and just about
t l in
every style i between.
b t His work can be
heard on albums by artists such as Bob
Dylan, Black Sabbath, Justin Timberlake,
Adele, Rihanna, and countless others.
Most recently, Nielsen mixed Damien
Rices highly anticipated Rick Rubin-
produced album My Favourite Faded
Fantasy. He also produced, recorded, and
mixed the forthcoming album All Rise for
the emerging hip hop artist Crown and
his ten-piece live band The M.O.B. Find-
out more at dananielsen.com.
youve filtered out some of that flabby low end
on the acoustic guitar and shined up that lead
vocal so it sits just right, and everything is
fitting together nicely. Creating a good balance
sometimes requires a lot of time, but it is just
the beginning. The fun really begins when you
start shaping your balance with automation
(either with an automation system on your
console or within your DAW, or simply by riding
the faders by hand while printing a live mix to
disk or tape). Thats when a balance becomes a
mix. Maybe you feature the guitar riffs between
vocal phrases, or push the bass during the guitar
solo. A balance is static. A mix moves. The best
mixes, in my opinion, surprise you and keep your
interest through each section of a song. And if its
done right, a mix moves in support of the songs
meaning and its featured performer (i.e. the
singer or soloist).
5. Dont Be Snobby
I feel just as confident mixing in the
box as I do mixing on a console. And I dont care
about fancy gear. Dont get me wrongIll pick a
had a great band and a Mackie, theres no ques-
tion I could work with that and have a great time
and make a fine recording.
 Experience The New Lead A1 At The NAMM Show
January 22 - 25 Anaheim, CA
Hall A - Booth 6464

The Lead for Speed

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Detune, Shape, Submix and Noise, to FM, AM and Sync.
Magical Mutator

Unique Like-function
takes snapshots of promising sounds while tweaking
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Meaty Unison
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Master Clock
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Read more and listen to sound demos:

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