Using Pitch on a Synthesizer

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Ben Anderson with Expert Village. And I'm here today to talk to you about pitch and why pitch is important in playing the keyboard. Pitch is used to help determine the level and frequency of a sound. There are many different pitches on a keyboard. On this one, there happens to be sixty-six pitches. Most standard pianos will come with eighty-eight pitches. And they all have a different sound and a different resonance to each one. On a keyboard, there is a pitch modulator switch. So, with the pitch modulator switch, one thing that you can do is by playing a pitch and turning it to the right, it will bring the sound out--bring the sound up one whole step. Now, if I do the same thing, but turn the switch to the opposite direction, it will bring the pitch down one whole step. And, at the same time, it will also find any pitch that's in between there. It will act as a slide, and will help slide you down to that pitch. One other function of the pitch modulator switch is that, by pushing up on the switch, you can affect the shakiness of the sound and give it what's called a tremolo effect. Keyboarders tend to use it--use the switch for a bunch of different reasons, mostly when soloing. They often use it when soloing to help bend the pitch. It acts as a similar--it acts very similarly to what you can do with a guitar on a guitar string, how a lot of guitar players will bend the string to help change the sound itself. It works in the same way on a keyboard as it will on a guitar."