How to Play Support Chords on Keyboards

In many bands and groups, the keyboard is a "support instrument," playing along with the other instruments, maybe taking cues from the lead guitar or lead vocalist. There are a lot of ways keyboard players can choose to enhance the melodies that are already out front. Here's how to judiciously use chords to support a song.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Find the key. Yes, the cardinal rule is that everything must be in the key that the song is in. Some keyboard players might scoff at this, but when you get experimental with chords, there is always the chance that you might wander down the wrong garden path and into the tones of another key.
2. Listen to the melodies being played or sung. Try to find chords that complement the melodies, and also chords that don't drown them out. If a melody is always returning to C, you may want to go easy on the C chord, as it might sound repetitious or muddy. Match your chords to melodies with a fine-tuned ear.
3. Look to the drums or bass guitar for tempo. One key to supporting a song on the keyboard. You'll want to stay "in the groove" and on tempo. One way to do this is to regulate the rhythm of your support chords, for example, by only playing a chord once or twice in a bar, instead of flailing along and overpowering the song or running out of step.
4. Play support chords with an ear for keeping them in the background and crisp. This goes along with the tip on rhythm. You don't want to "muddy" the sound, so try to play support chords gracefully, sometimes with a lighter touch, or at less frequent intervals, to make sure they are a good complement to the sound that's going on.
5. Be creative with chord structure. Another way to subdue or minimize chord sound is to play only certain notes of a chord. You can also try other unusual forms of a chord, like an octave, to go along with some kinds of music.