How to Improvise on the Keyboard

Improvisation is an important technique for any keyboard player to know. Even classical pianists have been heard creating their own preludes and fugues on the spot, which certainly reveals something about the value of improvisation. Learning to improvise like the pros takes years of practice, but there are some basic steps you can follow to creating your own sound on the keyboard.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Know the key of the song you're playing. If you're doing a solo, you'll still need to pick a key to start in, unless you're improvising twelve-tone music, which is uncommon.
2. Figure out the chord progression you're going to use as the basis for your improvised melody. Most pop and rock songs rely on the tonic, subdominant and dominant chords for their harmony. These are the major chords that correspond to the first, fourth and fifth notes in the key.
3. Decide on a rhythm for your left-hand accompaniment. A pattern with some quarter-notes and some eighth-notes works well for simple songs. If you're a real newbie to keyboard improv, leave the left hand out and stick with the right.
4. Come up with a melodic idea in your head before playing. Sometimes you'll have to do this right before you start to improvise, but it gives you somewhere to start your melody.
5. Stay in key while you improvise. The simplest improvisations use only the notes in whichever chord's being played. As long as you use notes in the major or minor scale of your key, however, your melody will sound OK.
6. Use accidentals sparingly to spice your improvisation up. Half-step leading tones are probably the best bet. They'll give your melody a little extra color.