How to Place Backup Sounds With Keyboards

You might be a shining star on the black and white keys, but if you're playing with a band, there are times when you may need to take a back seat. When musicians play together, nobody can have the lime light all of the time. Here are some ways to effectively give sound support to a song while playing with a band.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

1. Figure out the "mood" of the song. When you listen to what the other players are doing with a critical ear, you should be able to hear how much more sound fits in according to what kind of feeling you want to convey to the audience.
2. Find good complementary sound tones. A lot of playing backup on a keyboard is matching sounds to other instruments like strings or horns. Select good sound choices that go with your other sounds.
3. Consider dynamic levels. That is, listen to the song as an art piece and add keyboard or other parts according to a function. For example, to make the song more dramatic or powerful at a certain point, cue heavy key chords. Then, to soften the mood, dissolve your keyboard playing into light, soft two-note chords in the background. Making choices about dynamic levels will help your song become a better map of the journey it wants to send listeners on.
4. Avoid "muddiness." Always listen for that critical point where too many sounds blur clarity, and when you hear it, back off. Sound complexity is great up until the point where it all breaks down into soup. In fact, when you do hear a 'soupy' sound, talk about it with your fellow musicians. Some members may not be used to playing with a band. They might be using an "all or nothing" approach and dumping too much sound into the composition.
5. Use techniques like syncopation. Syncopated beats show up in between regular beats. Syncopation is one way to add keyboard sound without creating sound overload.