How to Use Synth Pads as Backing Instruments

Video Transcript

"BEN ANDERSON: Hi. I'm Ben Anderson with Expert Village, and I'm here today to talk to you about pad sounds in the keyboard. Pad sounds are common sounds used in supporting role for rock bands and any other sort of band. What a pad sound can do is really help fill out any empty space that would normally be there without the use of a keyboard. For example, a pad sound might sound a little something like this. Pad sounds tend to have a much lower frequency because their main purpose is to not stand out in the particular song that you might be using it on. It's there mostly as a support. That's probably one of the greatest things about pad sounds and there are many different types of pad sounds. That's just one example of 20 different pad sounds that I have in this particular keyboard. Some keyboards have less, other keyboards have even more and for support, there's nothing better than using a pad sound. In fact, when I play with my band, I use these pad sounds more often than any other different type of sound, mostly because I know my role in the band as simply being there for support. The good thing about pad sounds is you have all these different types of sounds that you can acces throughout you data bank of sounds. In this particular keyboard, there is a switch itself for particular pad sounds so all I have to do is just go to the pad sound and I can cycle through all different types of pad sounds. There's a sine pad that sounds like this. Another pad sound sounds a little like this. Those are a little more rhythmic pad sounds that you could possibly use. I tend to stick with ones that aren't as rhythmic because when filling, when being a supporting role, you're not there for rhythm, you're there often times just to sit and play chords and to sustain chords, to emphasize the chords that are currently being played."