Moderators isaac42 Posted August 27, 2016 Moderators Share Posted August 27, 2016 Arm is still hurting, and my physical therapist has strongly urged me to stop playing bass for a while. "At least give me a month!" he said. Well, no shows this week or next, and most rehearsals have been canceled, so maybe I can lay off a bit. But we did an experiment in one of my bands last week. Instead of bass guitar, I played bass on a keyboard. Now, I'm not very good on keyboard. ("You're not that good on bass!" I hear a lot of you saying, and you're right!) I don't have the manual independence to play a bass line with my left hand and another line, or even chords, with my right. Not yet, anyway. I've been able to do that in the past, though, so there's hope. The notes sound like a keyboard to me. The sound doesn't vary, and a lot of the nuance that's there when I play bass guitar is gone. My timing could be better, too. On the other hand, the keyboard goes lower than low E. Could go another octave down, if I want it too. There's no floppy B string to worry about (as I said above, the notes don't vary). I can have any number of different bass sounds at the touch of a few buttons. I can add in a chord or two here and there, especially at the end of songs, and I'll bet that a lot of people will swear that I was doing it clear through the song. I can play the flute lick at the beginning and end of Can't You See. True, it's never going to sound quite like a bass guitar, but the reverse is true as well. In short, there's potential here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 27, 2016 Author Moderators Share Posted August 27, 2016 So I went out and bought another keyboard. I've been using a Yamaha PSR270 for many years now. It's certainly not a professional keyboard, but it will do a pretty amazing amount of stuff. It can be a bit of a hassle getting into the right place in the menu to do it, though. My 'new' keyboard is a Yamaha YPT300. I was cruising thrift stores, as I occasionally see keyboards for $20-$40. I figured that, as long as I could get another at least as good as the PSR270, I'd be fine. I could use both, so I wouldn't have to be switching voices in the middle of songs. I went to a store I hadn't been in before, the St. Vincent dePaul next town over. Big place. They had not one, but two YPT300s. I'd never heard of that model, so I came home to do a little research. Looked good, so I went back. One looked to be in better shape than the other, and came with a rickety stand. $50. Turned out that it had the color of the day (or week, I dunno) tag, so I got it for $37.50. Got a power supply for it and tested it out, and it works perfectly, as far as I can tell. It looks more professional than the PSR270, and there are dedicated buttons for some of the functions that you have to access through the menu on the 270, such as split keyboard and dual voice. It should do me well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted August 28, 2016 Members Share Posted August 28, 2016 Sorry to hear about your arm. Mojo still coming your way. But OTOH, Happy New Keyboard Day. For some inexplicable reason I thought you were going to end up with a keytar. Anyway, good luck with the experiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 28, 2016 Author Moderators Share Posted August 28, 2016 That'd be cool, but keytars are played with the right hand. Maybe after the arm heals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted August 29, 2016 Members Share Posted August 29, 2016 I searched and found an ambidextrous keytar but no lefties:http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2011/08/14/the-ambidextro-keytar-twice-as-cool-as-regular-keytars/http://www.noisemademedoit.com/ambidextrous-keytar/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 29, 2016 Author Moderators Share Posted August 29, 2016 I think I'll stick with a traditional keyboard for now. I have at least some clue how to play that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted August 29, 2016 Members Share Posted August 29, 2016 Probably a wise move. Personally, I can't play anything without frets. Never tried an upright bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nice keetee Posted August 30, 2016 Members Share Posted August 30, 2016 I think I'll stick with a traditional keyboard for now. I have at least some clue how to play that. there you go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 31, 2016 Author Moderators Share Posted August 31, 2016 Rehearsal tomorrow, but it'll be a vocal rehearsal, working in our new singer. No need for me to play bass guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted September 2, 2016 Author Moderators Share Posted September 2, 2016 Rehearsal yesterday with a different band. Played bass on keyboard. Didn't totally suck, and was able to play a few chords in the upper register. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted September 2, 2016 Members Share Posted September 2, 2016 Things seem to be working out. Glad to hear it. Keep babying that arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted September 3, 2016 Author Moderators Share Posted September 3, 2016 Still am. Feeling better. Don't know if that's due to the PT and exercises, the rest, or both. I hope I can get back to the way things were. Eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members *BLEEP* Posted September 4, 2016 Members Share Posted September 4, 2016 Ray Manzarek, the bass player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted September 4, 2016 Author Moderators Share Posted September 4, 2016 Yep, he definitely pulled it off. Far better keyboard player than I'll ever be, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted September 10, 2016 Author Moderators Share Posted September 10, 2016 Played my first gig on keys Thursday night. It went well. I didn't sound too bad, and I seemed to be the only person who noticed my many mistakes. The bass lines aren't as interesting on keys as on bass guitar, but being able to play chords with the right hand is a plus. It really added something to be able to play some organ on House of the Rising Sun, for example, and the flute line on Can't You See. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted September 11, 2016 Author Moderators Share Posted September 11, 2016 Second key bass gig went pretty well, too. The band leader is amazed. He didn't realize that, while I've played keys in bands before, I've never played key bass before. When he realized that, his jaw dropped. Anyway, I'm still making a lot of mistakes, though I seem to be the only one aware of that. I'm surprised at how much easier it was at the second show last night than it was at the first show Thursday. And adding in some right hand stuff really adds to the band's sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted September 11, 2016 Members Share Posted September 11, 2016 Really glad to hear things are going well. As for being the only one aware of your mistakes, some of us are our own worst critics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted September 12, 2016 Author Moderators Share Posted September 12, 2016 As the guitarist said, to everyone else, they just sound like grace notes. "I meant to do that!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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