Anyone here play Keyboards and Guitar?

I started out playing keys in grade school, then picked up the guitar in high school. I tried to be a guitarist pretty much to the exclusion of other instruments. Ten years later, I got tired of the thing. This year, at age 27, I decided to return to keys only and began learning synthesis.

I could play guitar music OK, but I was very poor at creating original music on it. What came out was the same old cliche crap every time. There's only so many times you can play Back in Black before you start to wonder if you're not where you should be. Plus 1, the people/bands I was playing with were either not serious, too serious, or too stoned for my comfort. Plus 2, It's pretty much impossible to get a tone you're happy with, especially at reasonable volumes. Plus 3, I really hated keeping the damn thing in tune.

I'm much happier now as an amateur synthesist.

both are great. but I only noodle on synth and guitar. when I get serious and start laying down tracks I'm only trying to find parts already composed in my head. no jamming. not to make songs, anyways. it's sort of an experiment. I'll let you know how that's working out sometime next year.

/jonny

I can play both, but my proficiency weighed in percentages would probably be 70% keyboard 30% guitar. And that guitar palying would be rhythm playing, I can't solo worth crap on a guitar. Guitar playing for me is really more like for songwriting and entertaining people around a campfire

feel dirty playing guitar? is that a joke?

Well, it gave me a laugh

I play both. Sort of. I'm more of a composer when it comes to music than a player. Sounds kind of stupid, a composer that isn't great at either guitar or keys. I'm learned just enough to be a composer, but I'm working on my comp (soon to be mixing) skills more and more, not on playing. I took guitar lessons for 3 years and got into synths after that as I found that is what I was looking for all along. Took about 6 months of piano classes, but I would consider myself to suck at both. My focus is on composition and my playing gets me to almost where I want it. Once I get my compositions down and have my songs, I'll be playing out and at that time have to shift my focus on playing live, mostly singing, but playing what what instruments I need to.

You guys think singing or playing an instrument is harder from a live standpoint?

I play keys, guitar, bass and drums and TBH there are times when I wish I stayed focussed on one of them - keys.

On the other hand switching from one to the other is a nice change to keep everything fresh though I dont play guitar or bass that much.

What doesnt help is Im learning sax as well

As for feeling dirty? No - guitar is a great instrument to relax with on the sofa, and drums are great for lossening up after a crappy day and anyway - both my guitar and drums are digital modellers so count synths

I play both, plus bass and percussion, etc. I don't feel particularly dirty playing any of those. Not sure if it really helps my understanding of music or not. I guess it would, but it's a subconsious thing.

I hate to say it, but I have that same prejudice. In my case, I have first-hand experience to back up that viewpoint. I'm sure it has something to do with the region of the country in which I live. I can't give you an actual percentage, but way too many guitarists here I would expect to see on Jerry Springer (if I watched Jerry). Or they can't separate music and drugs. Or they don't read music and know squat about music theory. Or they don't understand that the material requires more than a beater guitar through their dad's old stereo. Again, that's my personal experience in Oklahoma, and not everyone here is like that.

Keys players, or more to the point, synthesists? We're more likely to be a bunch of friggin nerds. Yeah, the trance producers among us might be into the ceremonial chemicals. But, by and large, we are more mature, more likely to know more about music, more likely to have appropriate gear, and more likely to not appear on Springer.

For illustration, check the S/N ratio of HCAF versus KSS.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what my personal experience teaches.

I like to play both, and I don't feel so bad about playing guitar if I am playing acoustic in a bassline/chord kind of way to support singing.

But after I saw The Song Remains the Same, I cjust haven't been able to bring myself to play electric guitar. it seems so mastrubatory, so I made a diagram to express my feelings:

Prince

Stevie Wonder

Stevie Winwood

Mel Torme

What do they all have in common (and share with a multitude of other fine musicians)? Answer: THEY PLAY MULTIPLE INSTRUMENTS.

I started as a drummer. I've played drums, percussion, guitar, bass, keys, blues harp in professional situations. I've also spent some time with flute, clarinet, and violin. Can't say I'm a master of any of 'em (your fear, I guess) and I certainly don't play at the level of the folks listed above. But I CAN play 'em well enough to be in-demand, and I know that playing one helps me understand what the music and the musicians demand from that. So when I'm playing any one, I'm in touch with what's going on from the others - and I'm very aware of the overall arrangement.

I wouldn't change what I'm doing. And I've known more than one 'musician' who SHOULD play more than one instrument - so they can finally understand what's supposed to be happening on their own instrument.

For most of my "songwriting life", I wrote only on guitar. A little over 2 years ago, I bought my first keyboard and switched to writing piano based music. I found that keyboards had increased the level of sophistication in my music. Now, I'm looking forward to going back to guitar to see if the little discoveries that I made in the world of keyboards will improve my writing on guitar.

I play both guitar and synth. I never had a guitar lesson nor a piano lesson. I learned everything from friends and books. I could never decide which instrument was my favorite so I am decent at both but not great at either. I'd say I'm more useful as a keyboard player since guitarists better than me are a dime a dozen. I've only had one gig playing just guitar. Always synth or both. I was very disappointed when my latest cover band got a second guitarist, demoting me. It's kind of boring to just play keys when you're doing classic rock. Playing two instruments has really helped me on guitar more than kb. I may not be a great guitarist but lead guitarists always like me because I never get in their way.

why not have the best of both worlds - a keytar . (get me started again - lol )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gayGR4i0Xdg

fake version

Keytar smash

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uENIHgOX4lA

And lastly solo :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoIwV2shlf8

I'm a multi-instrumentalist. Primarily a keyboardist, then bass player, then drummer, then guitar. I am least proficient on guitar, only play rhythm, never had lessons, learned it watching my brother play. It became a necessity in most bands I played in where we had only one guitar player and I played the occasional 2nd rhythm.

GODDY!

Actually, I started adding guitar to my repertoire around 1999. Been playing keys since 1998. I like the expressiveness of the guitar and have yet to find a guitar sample that can cut through the mix with the "human" feel to it.

I can emulate a lot of different guitar riffs and such, but that human element is always missing. I imagine that the higher end samplers and sample discs such as Hans Zimmer Guitars might come close, but have yet to experiment with that to find out. I'm sure someone here has done so and can post their experience in this vein along with some samples of the results.

For me, nothing is as much fun as playing keys.

My two cents

I am a guitarist/keyboardist in our post-rock band. When we formed the band, I was the bass player. Then I started using a keyboard in the band for synth pads - kind of like a poor man's Geddy Lee. Our singer is now the bass player and I have taken over the guitar responsibilities originally envisioned for her. The founding guitarist always wanted that 2nd guitarist for the Mogwai/Explosions In The Sky type of multiple guitar sound. He and I trade lead guitar duties - not a big deal in post-rock, as the typical post-rock guitar lead tends to be slow and tremolo-picked. So everyone is happy.

I was given piano lessons as a kid - usual Aaron piano course stuff. I got up to "Grade 3" then stopped. My next piano lessons were in group classes at the college level and a couple of private lessons with a local gigging jazz pianist. I'm not a great pianist. I have enough skill to play the other guitarist's part against a bass line or a chord to get an idea of how the overall harmony would sound. I'm currently working through the Urban & Contemporary Worship Keyboard DVD. I just love the sound of modern gospel piano - its a fusion of older gospel, jazz, and R&B influences.

I didn't take up guitar until the college years. I had some private lessons. I only recently assumed the role of 2nd guitar in the band, so I'm just getting back into practicing on the guitar again after playing viola for the past couple of years, and cello. As a violist, I got to play with a couple of community orchestras, where I gained some insight into arranging and picked up some tricks for reading music that are useful for any instrument.

I fooled around with free improv on viola, guitar, bass, and Handsonic. I'm not a great free improv musician, but I learned from jamming with great free improv musicians and became comfortable with on-the-spot risk taking. Yeah, sometimes what comes out sucks, but that's the nature of taking risks. At least half of my parts in our songs are improvised every time we play - I'm not talking about just soloing but the also choices I make in pitch and rhythm when I play chords on both instrument.

I've just started playing on guitar whatever I learn on the gospel piano DVD. The piano voicings have to be played with some serious hand stretches - it does take some careful observation to not strain my left hand. I'm still working out the optimal height for my guitar when I strap it on - too high and its uncomfortable for strumming power chords, too low and I can't play those sweet close-voiced gospel chords without 2-handed tapping.

I do admit a problem with playing multiple instruments is the time one can spend mastering an instrument, especially if one has a day job. Say you have 2 guys who both have 10 hours a week available for music. One guy spends all 10 practicing piano, the other divides his time betwen piano, guitar, synth (learning to program one and set it up for performance is a separate art), and drums. After a year, the guy who spent 10 hours a week on piano is going to be a lot better on piano than the guy who spent 3.3 hours/week on the piano. I am content to work on what I can, given the time I have. I am not a gigging jazz musician, concert classical player, or in a prog band, so devoting endless hours to chops is not an issue for me.

We just came up with a new song idea where the other guitarist jams while I play sustained chords on synth with one hand and futzing around with knobs with the other - with the LFOs imposing a rhythm.

If you feel "dirty" from creating music from any instrument then you should give up music playing completely. As its inherantly a dirty practice to you. So stop playing and take up some other hobby.

Of course playing various instruments can inspire you with other instruments.

I play both- but I quit the guitar when I grew up and became a cyberpunk- in my first live shows with my first band syn.bio.sys I strapped my guitar on a mannequin and put it up front for the rock-n-roll chicks- while me and my partner played synths/samples in behind video screens- 110% electronic/ 110% digital

Chas, sometimes a guitar is just a guitar.

Perhaps you should listen to a healthy dose of Andres Sergovia or Elliot Fisk or Michael Hedges or Will Ackerman. I'm sure that these guys didn't crawl forth from the gutter.