Keyboard Magazine 2012-11 [PDF]

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CONTENTS

NOVEMBER 2012

TALK 10

Voices from the Keyboard community.

NEW GEAR 12

Our monthly wrap-up of the keyboard and pro audio industry’s most significant wares.

HEAR 18

LEGENDS With a career spanning three decades, five Grammy nominations, and over three dozen recordings as a bandleader, Fred Hersch has established himself as one of the most vital and original forces in modern jazz piano. Having survived a two-month coma in 2008, he now feels his playing is better than ever. Find out why we couldn’t agree more in this interview.

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BREAKOUTS Who are the new keyboard heroes? We’ve found six of the best players to watch in the coming year, in rock, jazz, B-3 organ, hip-hop, electronica, and singer-songwriter genres.

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ELECTRONICA Psy-trance duo Infected Mushroom returns with a glitchy, dubstep-influenced sound on their latest album, which will captivate even non-EDM fans. We’ve got the production story.

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PLAYLIST Music and DVD reviews, including the new full-length from Donald Fagen.

PLAY 36

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6

PROG Christopher Buzby of Echolyn serves up a prog rock primer. POP David Baron on new uses for classic keyboard sounds.

Keyboard 11.2012

58 KEYBOARD (ISSN 0730-0158) is published monthly by NewBay Media, LLC 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 125, San Bruno, CA 94066. All material published in KEYBOARD is copyrighted © 2012 by NewBay Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in KEYBOARD is forbidden without permission. KEYBOARD is a registered trademark of NewBay Media. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Bruno, CA and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to KEYBOARD P.O. Box 9158, Lowell, MA 01853. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2.

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KNOW 46

THE ART OF SYNTH SOLOING Ten power tips for getting the most out of hard sync sounds.

50

THE VIRTUAL ORCHESTRA Brass basics for crafting realistic sections.

54

DANCE Add swing to your tracks with dotted eighth-notes.

50

REVIEW This month... First look at Roland’s Integra-7 SuperNatural sound module.

Highlights from IMSTA Festa 2012.

58

ANALOG SYNTH Arturia MiniBrute.

62

CLONEWHEEL Clavia Nord Electro 4D.

68

STRINGS Cinematic Strings 2.

74

PERCUSSION Heavyocity Damage.

78

APP Yonac Magellan.

Trying Yamaha’s amazing CFX concert grand.

CODA @ keyboardmag.com/november2012

82

Five things Fred Hersch knows about playing jazz piano.

11.2012 Keyboard

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VOL. 38, NO. 11 #440

NOVEMBER 2012

EDITOR: Stephen Fortner [email protected] MANAGING EDITOR: Debbie Greenberg [email protected] EDITORS AT LARGE: Craig Anderton, Jon Regen SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS: Jim Aikin, Tom Brislin, Ed Coury, Michael Gallant, Robbie Gennet, Scott Healy, Peter Kirn, John Krogh, Richard Leiter, Mike McKnight, Francis Preve, Mitchell Sigman ART DIRECTORS: Paul Haggard [email protected], Damien Castaneda [email protected] MUSIC COPYIST: Matt Beck PRODUCTION MANAGER: Amy Santana GROUP PUBLISHER: Joe Perry [email protected], 770.343.9978 ADVERTISING DIRECTOR, NORTHWEST, MIDWEST, & NEW BUSINESS DEV.: Greg Sutton [email protected], 925.425.9967 ADVERTISING DIRECTOR, SOUTHWEST: Albert Margolis [email protected], 949.582.2753 ADVERTISING DIRECTOR, EAST COAST & EUROPE: Jeff Donnenwerth [email protected], 770.643.1425 SPECIALTY SALES ASSOCIATE: Michelle Eigan [email protected], 650.238.0325

MUSIC PLAYER NETWORK VICE PRESIDENT: John Pledger VICE PRESIDENT, PUBLISHING OPERATIONS: Bill Amstutz EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Michael Molenda SENIOR FINANCIAL ANALYST: Bob Jenkins PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT MANAGER: Beatrice Kim DIRECTOR OF SALES OPERATIONS: Lauren Gerber MARKETING PROJECT MANAGER: Tyler Reed MARKETING DESIGNER: Joelle Katcher MOTION GRAPHICS DESIGNER: Tim Tsuruda CONSUMER MARKETING DIRECTOR: Meg Estevez CONSUMER MARKETING COORDINATOR: Dominique Rennell FULFILLMENT COORDINATOR: Ulises Cabrera SYSTEMS ENGINEER: Bill Brooks OFFICES SERVICES COORDINATOR: Mara Hampson

NEWBAY MEDIA CORPORATE PRESIDENT & CEO: Steve Palm CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER: Paul Mastronardi CONTROLLER: Jack Liedke VICE PRESIDENT, DIGITAL MEDIA: Joe Ferrick VICE PRESIDENT, AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT: Denise Robbins VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT & MARKETING: Anthony Savona IT DIRECTOR: Anthony Verbanic VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES: Ray Vollmer REPRINTS AND PERMISSIONS For article reprints please contact our reprint coordinator at Wright’s Reprints: 877.652.5295 SUBSCRIPTION QUESTIONS? 800-289-9919 (in the U.S. only) 978-667-0364 keyboardmag@computerfulfi llment.com Keyboard Magazine, Box 9158, Lowell, MA 01853 Find a back issue 800-289-9919 or 978-667-0364 [email protected] Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or artwork.

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Keyboard 11.2012

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VO IC ES FRO M THE KEYBOARD COMMUN ITY

Guest Editorial Connect Remembering DIRK DICKTEN

Comment directly at keyboardmag.com

On August 10, Steinway and Sons and the music world lost a giant with the passing of master piano technician Dirk Dickten at age 53. Every piano tells a story, and almost every Steinway that left the Long Island City, NY factory told its Jon Regen (left) picks out his Steinway with help from Dirk Dichten. story with aid of Dirk’s formidable Elias album Solos and Duets. Minutes into that reskill and unquenchable exuberance. cording, with Elias and Herbie Hancock locked in In his workroom directly across from the famed a piano duel, I wondered, “How can I get my piano Steinway Selection Room, where pianists from to sound like that?” across the globe flock to choose concert grand Dickten was a true musician at heart, talkpianos, Dickten wrestled the oversized beasts into ing endlessly of his favorite recordings, playing shape with a trained ear and a skilled hand. In Hammond organ, and reading Keyboard, copies fact, this writer chose his own personal Steinway of which were always in his workroom. No matter piano at the factory alongside Dirk, relying on his how relentless his work schedule could be, Dickdecades of experience to find just the right one. ten always made time for artists who were visitA legendary tech in New York and around the ing Steinway. Our pianos were his pianos, and he world, Dickten tuned for everyone from the Pope wanted them to be right. to Keith Jarrett—a personal favorite of his. In fact, my first introduction to Dickten’s work was Jon Regen Editor at Large in the liner notes of the acclaimed 1994 Eliane

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My First __________. K ey bo ard So lo Danny Louis “I was studying in Boston in the ’70s and playing out as a trumpeter,” says Danny Louis, keyboardist of renowned southern jam-rockers Gov’t Mule. “The band I was in had guitar but no keyboard, so I ended up buying a Fender Rhodes and learning intros to a bunch of tunes.” One night, jamming on “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo,” Danny’s guitarist and mentor, Rick Hickman, signaled to him mid-tune to solo. “I freaked out because I didn’t yet have any licks on the keyboard,” Louis recalls. “I ended up scatting a little melody line to myself and getting through it. It was the first time I’d ever taken the instrument seriously as an improvisational tool. I still use that technique today. It’s a great way to get out of playing your own clichés.” To hear Danny with Gov’t Mule, check out By a Thread. | Mule.net | Michael Gallant

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Keyboard 11.2012

1.

Dig My Rig My band BPL plays live hip hop, with jazz/funk backing including myself, a rhythm section, horns, and usually no guitar. My rig consists of a Hammond M-3 modified to have drawbar foldback like a B-3, Hohner Clavinet D6, suitcase Rhodes, Minimoog, and sometimes an ARP Solina. I generally run the Rhodes and Moog into the house P.A., the Hammond through my Leslie, 145, and the Clav through a Fender DeVille. My Honda Odyssey and trailer have gotten the guys and gear to countless shows. On smaller gigs, I’ll play my Wurlitzer or Rhodes with a Nord Electro, usually running the Nord through my Leslie. I bought the M-3 when I was 12 years old and have been all about the vintage keys ever since. In terms of tone, inspiration, and recognition from people in the know, there’s nothing like the real thing. Rhett Huffman, Boone, NC, via email Rhett, we just watched “Looks Like” at youtube.com/user/BPLvids and it’s tight! –Ed.

Key Secrets Creative Tips for Your Gear Major General MIDI When exploring a synth, do you blow right past the General MIDI bank? Not so fast, soldier. Those 128 thin, generic sounds have a lot of potential. They were designed to play multichannel MIDI files, so they’re great for layering. That limited frequency spectrum keeps GM sounds from overpowering others in a mix or sounding muddy when stacked up. Try layering Banjo (program #106) to add bite to an analog synth, or Voice Oohs (#54) to make a bass line speak. Because GM sounds typically use fewer multisamples, you can also get wild effects by playing outside the standard range. I’m still finding uses for my ancient Yamaha MU128. David Battino

11.2012 Keyboard

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NEW GEAR BY STEPHEN FORTNER

NOVATION MININOVA WHAT Virtual analog/DSP performance synth. WITH Same three-oscillator sound engine as UltraNova. Improved vocoder with vocal-tune effect and included mic. Fully editable, with software editor. Eighteen-voice polyphony. Built-in arpeggiator, “animate” buttons for modulation, and honkin’ filter knob. WHY We already have one in for review, and the only thing “mini” about it is the keyboard. $624.99 | novationmusic.com

APOGEE QUARTET WHAT High-end desktop audio interface for Mac. WITH Four mic preamps on XLR/TRS combo jacks. Ability to record hi-Z guitar or line level. Six balanced 1/4" outs for multiple speakers or surround monitoring. Two banks of lightpipe in. OLED screen with touch control. Vaunted Apogee converters and clocking. WHY Because having this on your desk screams “class act.” $1,295 street | apogeedigital.com

YAMAHA NU1 WHAT Hybrid home piano. WITH Real acoustic upright action married to the first multisample set ever of Yamaha’s flagship CFX concert grand. Rich-sounding built-in speakers. Surprisingly small footprint. WHY It brings AvantGrand technology to a more affordable level—but even the AvantGrands (so far) don’t have the CFX sample. Plus, we played one recently and couldn’t stop. There’s just something sweet about it. $5,499 | yamaha.com

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Keyboard 11.2012

ROLAND INTEGRA-7 WHAT Do-it-all sound module featuring “SuperNatural” technology. WITH All the sound engines of the Jupiter-80, including acoustic, VK drawbar organ, and analog synth modeling. All SRX expansion board content also in internal memory. “Motional Surround” arranges them in multi-channel space and optimizes for stereo listening. Remote control iPad app goes deep. WHY It’s a 16-part multitimbral JP-80, plus all the legacy Roland sounds, plus an environment to mix them all in surround. In other words, a serious composer’s tool. $2,399 | rolandus.com

KORG KROME WHAT Comprehensive, affordable workstation derived from the Kronos. WITH Unlooped grand piano samples for every note. New premium vintage EP sounds. Touch-screen-driven sequencer with piano roll editing. Jazz Ambient Drums from Kronos included. Plug-in editor makes it fully addressable from a DAW. WHY It’s very powerful, very light, and the street prices are a lot lower than what we can print at right. 61 keys: $1,499 | 73 keys: $1,799 | 88 keys: $1,999 | korg.com

MACKIE DLM SERIES WHAT A new twist on powered loudspeakers. WITH Eight-inch, 12-inch, and subwoofer models, each with 2,000 watts. Onboard programmable digital mixer with flexible input and thru-routing, three-band EQ, and reverb/chorus/delay. Kickstand for floor wedge use; also pole or wall mountable. WHY They’re inexpensive, clear, light, and loud as hell. DLM8: $899.99 | DLM12: $999.99 | DLM12S: $1,199.99 | mackie.com

FOCUSRITE iTRACK SOLO WHAT Mic and instrument recording interface for Apple iOS devices (or Mac/PC). WITH Acclaimed Focusrite mic preamp plus hi-Z input for guitar, bass, passive Rhodes, etc. Plugs directly into Apple 30-pin dock connector. WHY It’s the best way yet to record acoustic and stringed instruments into GarageBand or multitrack apps like Auria. $199.99 | focusrite.com

XLN AUDIO ADDICTIVE KEYS WHAT No-fuss virtual acoustic grand, acoustic upright, and electric tine piano. WITH Studio Grand, Modern Upright, and “Mark One” instruments. Easy mix-and-match of mic positions. Fast load times in spite of rich, full sounding libraries. WHY Does for piano and EP what Addictive Drums did for kits: grab-and-go instruments that sound like you tweaked ’em all day. $179 direct | xlnaudio.com

All prices are manufacturer’s suggested retail (list) unless otherwise noted. Follow keyboardmag.com/news and @keyboardmag on Twitter for up-to-the-minute gear news. 11.2012 Keyboard

13

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HEAR

LEGENDS » B R EA KOUTS » ELECTR ON ICA » PLAYLIST

FRED HERSCH “I feel like this particular On Success, Survival, set is my best trio work and the Search for a to date,” says jazz Singular Sound pianist and composer Fred Hersch, referring to his new double album BY JON REGEN Alive at the Vanguard. “It’s a thrill to work with musicians who bring a sense of danger and respect to the bandstand.” DANGER AND RESPECT MIGHT SEEM LIKE OPPOSITES, but they’ve been key ingredients in Hersch’s career for the better part of three decades. From his myriad of recordings and performances in nearly every conceivable musical format, to his acclaimed work as a teacher, to his battle with AIDS and the two-month coma he suffered in 2008 (artfully documented in his mixed-media piece “My Coma Dreams”), Hersch has proven time and again that he’s a ferocious fighter both on and off the stage. With the release of Alive, the five-time Grammynominated Hersch returns to New York’s famed Village Vanguard for a celebration of the art of musical surprise. With elastic support from bandmates John Hébert on bass and Eric McPherson on drums, Hersch delights on a varied set of cunning originals and standards. Alive finds Hersch at once challenging and reaffirming the power and possibility of the jazz piano trio.

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Keyboard 11.2012

MARK NISKANEN

11.2012 Keyboard

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There’s a striking amount of interplay on the new record. How did you put this particular band together? Well, I’ve always had pretty interactive trios— going back to my first one with Marc Johnson and Joey Baron, and my longest running trio with Tom Rainey and Drew Gress, and later Drew and Nasheet Waits. I always loved John Hébert’s playing. But just like Drew Gress, I wanted a bass player who really knew harmony and who had done their homework, because I do care about chords. A lot of bass players can get away with playing ostinatos and odd time signatures, but they don’t actually know nuts-and-bolts harmony very well. I’m surprised, actually—I’ve played with some young bassists, and when I played an obvious substitute chord, they missed it. It’s like if it’s not on the page or in The Real Book, it doesn’t exist. There’s an elegance and clarity about Eric McPherson’s drumming that I really appreciate. When we first rehearse a tune, he’ll record it, take it home, and really think about ways to come up with something unique. That happened on our studio CD Whirl with the song “You’re My Everything.” My instruction to Eric was, “‘Poinciana,’ but not!” [“Poinciana” is a jazz classic popularized by pianist Ahmad Jamal. –Ed.] I wanted the backbeat that Vernel Fournier played on that tune, but I didn’t want to rip it off. So Eric came back with a very unique beat where instead of drumsticks, he used these weird implements. He’s just that kind of drummer. Unlike many live shows where the “show” part eclipses the music, there was a tremendous amount of humility on the bandstand. You’ve seen me play—I mean, I close my eyes 95 percent of the time. I’m reasonably self-effacing, and I just make a couple of comments to the audience about the tunes and how I or whoever else wrote them. But once we start playing, I’m really just music. I don’t need to look at the band, except for the odd cue now and then. Occasionally I will look up at Eric or John and have a little friendly contact, but we’re really just all about playing the music that’s in front of us. Not that we don’t experiment—I welcome input from my band. Sometimes they’ll drop out unscripted, or do things they’ve never done on a tune we’ve played a lot. I like to be surprised. The night I heard the trio, the Village Vanguard was filled to the rafters on a weeknight. Does that make you feel that 20 Keyboard 11.2012

even in this age of reality TV, people respond to heartfelt music? Yes. I joke about being an overnight success at age 56, but it can be done, and I’ve always stuck with that. There are a lot of pianists out there, including some young ones who are real firebreathers technically and very sophisticated in their musical language. I admire them— sometimes I think it’s too much, or it needs more seasoning, but I check people out all the time. That’s why I live in New York City. I still

If music is played by “hip cats” playing hip s*** for the other 3,000 or so hip cats in the world, it becomes insular.

have the same values about music that I have always had. I played with Joe Henderson for ten years, and in that time, we probably played the same ten tunes. But every night, it was new. Some nights, Joe would start his sax solo and I’d think to myself, “Okay, I’ve heard that before. It’s Joe Henderson 101.” But at a certain point, he’d launch out and it was like, “Wow.” I’d be trying to follow him. Joe and his bass player Sam

Jones had a huge influence on my playing. Sam was a master rhythm bass player who taught me about swing time in a very deep way. Point being, they were great technicians, but it was always in service of communication. The way you, John, and Eric interact on Alive reminds me of Bill Evans’ classic trio, where the rhythm section seemingly plays everything but what you expect them to. . . . Yeah. John Hébert doesn’t just hold down the fort, so to speak. He’s constantly adding something to the mix, but he can “walk it down” when called for. I’ve been thrown in the “Bill Evans bin” more times than I can think of, and I certainly take a lot from the spirit of his early trio, and I’m not alone. But I play nothing like him at all. People see a white guy who plays ballads in a trio and Bill Evans is the first thing they compare you to. They stuffed Brad Mehldau and Keith Jarrett into that bag. It’s not offensive, like being compared to Yanni or something, but it’s just not accurate. Someone once said, “Jazz is the sound of surprise.” If that isn’t happening, I can stay home. I don’t just want to hear a pre-arranged jazz show. I want danger. And this trio to me has the requisite amount of danger, and at the same time, the requisite amount of respect and depth, in equal parts. Jazz tunes can sometimes descend into what seem like rapid-fire technical exercises, but your songs resonate with fans of all kinds of music. Why do you suppose that is? If music is played by “hip cats” playing hip s*** for the other 3,000 or so hip cats in the world, it becomes insular. A lot of new jazz compositions have pages and pages of shifting meters and other technically challenging things, but I still believe in song form. Each tune I write needs to be about something. It should be about a rhythm, or a feeling, or a melodic idea. A lot of jazz tunes I hear have chords and a melody, but they don’t really seem to have a payoff. They don’t ever really get “off the page.” Do lyrics help with that? I love words. Norma Winstone has written fantastic words to a bunch of my songs. There’s a tune of mine I often do as an encore called “Valentine” that I wrote in 20 minutes and then sent to Norma in London. She usually takes her time writing lyrics, but for this one, she sent them back to me a few days later. And she

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said, “The funniest thing happened—I wrote these lyrics in 20 minutes!” We were completely on the same page. Now, when I play that tune instrumentally, I hear her words. “American Songbook,” or whatever you want to call that tradition, is very deep. As a teacher, how do you help students find their own musical identities? When I teach, the first thing I work on with anybody—even advanced professionals—is sound. How you get a sound, where it comes from, how to play from your center to the periphery and not get hung up in your fingers. If you look at the way drummers play, they’re constantly shifting their weight. They sit on a seat that swivels—on purpose! So I try to get my students to approach the piano bench more in that way. It’s about helping them find that sweet spot in terms of the mechanics of producing sound. That’s what I think gives me my own identity. Can you give us an example of this “mechanics of producing sound”? If you look at Herbie Hancock’s eighth-note versus Chick Corea’s eighth-note, Chick’s is much thinner, probably owing to his background in Latin music, as well as being influenced by early McCoy Tyner, as far as I can tell. Herbie’s a much fatter sound, and I hear his antecedents as Wynton Kelly and Bill Evans. So just like a drummer can tell from hearing someone play a ride cymbal, “Oh, that’s Tony Williams,” or “Oh, that’s Billy Higgins,” it’s a rhythmic signature. So the way I play eighth-notes—whether I’m playing a rubato ballad or straight time—it helps create my personal sound. So, what are the mechanics or physics of your sound? For me, the key has to do with posture at the piano. Instead of leaning backwards, I put my left foot back, almost on the ball of my foot, and that brings me forward so that I’m over the keyboard. Then when I go up to the top of the keyboard, my left foot pushes me up there. When I go down it balances me. The point is always to be adjusting to the keyboard, because it can’t adjust to you. I use the principles

developed by Abby Whiteside, through my own teacher of 30 years, Sophia Rosoff.

I going to write?” Over the years, my tunes have taken all kinds of twists and turns.

Were there particular piano players that sparked your investigation into tonality? The first was Duke Ellington. You can listen to a Duke Ellington recording from the 1930s or ’50s—one in mono and the other in stereo—and he always had the same sound. The second was Ahmad Jamal’s early trio. His clarity and the way he used the upper register of the piano really inspired me. Earl Hines is also huge. His playing is about as “out” as anybody’s, but the way he can mess with the time and always come back to the right place is remarkable. Paul Bley was a big influence as well.

It often sounds as if there’s a continuous conversation going on between your hands. Who inspired your sense of inner motion and countermelody? Bach, Bach, and more Bach. I have recordings of my playing way back when I was 18 or so, and I was using my left hand a lot even then. I just honestly felt like, “Okay, we have two hands, and only the piano can really do this,” that is, allow contrary motion from one end of the instrument to the other. So I felt like, “Why not?” Two things have been ingrained in everything I do. The first is that in Cincinnati, I studied piano with the wife of the cellist of the LaSalle String Quartet. So from a very young age, I listened to a lot of string quartets. The second is that from third to around eighth grade, I studied theory with a composer who was getting his doctorate. For both those reasons, the majority of the way I play traces back to my use of four voices.

There are a number of musical dedications on the new album. Is that simply to pay homage, or does it also serve your creative process? For me, it’s just sort of a way in to writing a tune. That’s all. The title track of my album Whirl was written for the ballerina Suzanne Farrell. Another tune of mine called “Miss B” was written for my partner’s dog. I’ve written tunes for everyone from Bill Frisell to Lee Konitz and others. I never want them to sound imitative, but I want to capture something about that person’s spirit in the music I write. “Sad Poet,” the tune I wrote for Antonio Carlos Jobim, doesn’t sound like him, but there’s something of his vibe there, especially in the way we play the time. What would you tell jazz musicians who have trouble making the leap from playing standards to writing originals? I started writing late in my career. Growing up in Cincinnati, you had to know a lot of tunes. I avoided writing because I thought to myself, “I’m never going to write anything as good as Monk or Billy Strayhorn or Wayne Shorter, so why bother?” Later, when I was working with Art Farmer and Sam Jones, they both said, “You should write!” So I started giving myself assignments. I said to myself, “I’m going to write a 32-bar ballad in the style of Billy Strayhorn.” Or, “I’m going to write a post-bebop tune in the style of Sam Jones and Oscar Pettiford.” It was just a way out of thinking, “Oh my God, what am

Can you shed some light on this approach to harmony? Sure. The only books I ask my students to buy are the Charlie Parker Omnibook, so that he or she learns how to shape those classic bebop “heads” in a relaxed and sparkly way, and the book of harmonized Bach chorales. I have them play one a day, and there are 371 of them. The chorales teach you how to pass notes between different fingers, and to me, they’re the Bible of voice leading. By contrast, the standard jazz method is to learn voicings first and then learn lines— which are based on scales that relate to the voicings. Often, this reduces pianists’ left hands to what I call “the claw,” which is just this stupid stabbing formation. Now, I may do that myself at fast tempos, but I’m very aware of what I’m playing down there. I don’t want to put my right hand in a box because of what my left hand is doing. So what I try to do is build things up from the bottom—from the roots with that clear four-voice structure. Then, when you add higher degrees of harmony, it has a solid foundation. Even when I improvise freely, many times it’s using just four voices.

Videos of Fred Hersch’s performances. keyboardmag.com/november2012

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Keyboard 11.2012

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In one way it means that I don’t play a lot of ultra-modern, extended harmony. But I find continual fascination in conventional harmony. I’m constantly saying things like, “Okay, you have four bars and you have to go from here to there. What are ten ways you can get there?” Did you play a lot of classical music as a young student? Yeah, but I knew from the age of about 13 that I wasn’t going down that path. I didn’t really have the kind of discipline or hunger to tackle big romantic pieces or Chopin études. So I spent most of high school playing James Taylor and Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder tunes by ear, playing in shows, playing violin, and singing in musicals. Later, I got bitten by the jazz bug and ended up in Cincinnati where I was lucky enough to learn in the greatest way possible: on the bandstand. How do you approach practicing? I set a timer for 20 minutes or more. I’ll play a tune, and I’ll keep stretching it—pushing it, modulating if I get bored, but I don’t stop

until the buzzer rings. Then I’ll give myself ten minutes to check email or have a coffee. Then I’ll go back for another 20 minutes and I’ll do something else. Often, I see young musicians getting overwhelmed by what they don’t know. It’s like going to the gym and worrying about the other 68 machines you’re not doing. You have to do the one you’re doing if you want to get anything out of it. You have to be present. When I first got into meditation, I realized I’d actually been doing it my whole life, just on the piano bench. It’s an active meditation—I’m focused on sound and how things feel, and when lapses of concentration come across my screen, I’m very quick to get back to sound and rhythm. Your playing is marked by a continuous sense of challenging musical convention at every possible opportunity. How conscious is that? Well, if I’m playing on the edge—phrase to phrase, honestly trying to improvise, then a listener who can follow along will hopefully be interested. The musicians who are my heroes are the ones who still practice. Like Sonny Rollins,

who’s still trying to get better. I look to those guys for inspiration. That’s something—to be 70 or 80 and still be vital and challenging yourself. To be a seeker. I think the job of an artist in society is to make things. I want to keep making things, and hopefully by now, I’ve earned enough trust that people will come along with me. The thing is, I was in a coma for two months in 2008 and I nearly died. I couldn’t eat for eight months and I couldn’t even think of playing piano. I weighed 106 pounds and all kinds of terrible things happened to me. Fortunately, my technical facility came back—in some ways even better than before. In fact, my general health is better now than it’s been in 15 years. I’ve been dealing with HIV and AIDS for more than a quarter-century, so I’ve always had that cloud hanging over me. But after coming out of all that, I think I’m playing much looser than ever. My perspective has changed. If I play a chord I don’t like, nobody will die—I’ve been there. I’m not advising anybody to have a near-death experience to get better at his or her art, nor is it necessary, but something in me just gave and a certain amount of freedom just happened. I’m a very lucky guy.

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6 of the Best Keyboard Heroes to Watch

IT’S A QUESTION WE GET ALL THE TIME: WHAT UP-AND-COMING ARTISTS ARE inspiring the next generation of players and putting keyboards and electronic instruments front and center? The following artists span a multitude of musical styles, and while they may not have started their careers only yesterday, they’re just beginning to get the recognition they deserve outside of deep-muso circles. They have one other thing in common, too: We’ve seen them all perform live, and were blown away in every case.

Extended interviews and artist videos. keyboardmag.com/november2012

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HIP-HOP

Kev Choice

Our first encounter with Oakland, California’s, Kev Choice was at revered jazz club Yoshi’s, where he performed his original hip-hop opera “The Chosen One” with live rhythm, string, and horn sections. His right hand played voicings and solos worthy of Chick Corea, his left hand coaxed Zawinul-like synth textures from the Roland Juno-G atop the piano, and his voice spoke poetry about a possibly messianic child born to struggling musicians. We managed to scrape our jaws off the floor by last call. Whether you’re a hip-hop fan or not so much, Kev Choice will change everything you think you know about the genre. | kevchoice.wordpress.com

collection of records in the living room that I remember listening to as early as eight years old. She had everything from Sugar Hill Records, Prince, the Whispers, Michael Jackson, Maze, and more classic soul. My uncle and cousin were aspiring rappers and DJs, so they had all the latest hiphop records at the time from EPMD, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, and so on. This was before I started playing piano. As far as playing piano and being an M.C., it kind of all happened simultaneously, because as I was beginning to write rhymes, I was also beginning to play, and had a little keyboard I use to record little beats to rap over.

What was your early music education like? I had a fascination with piano from a very early age but didn’t begin formal training until age 11 at Westlake Junior High. I took piano class as an elective, in seventh grade, which was offered in Oakland public schools at the time. After four months, I did my first recital playing Muzio Clemente’s “Sonatina.” After my first year, I was accepted into UC Berkeley’s Young Musicians Program.

Who were your big influences at school? At Xavier University in New Orleans, where I got my bachelor’s, it was Professor James Oakes, a concert pianist who specialized in African-American classical composers. The first thing my jazz teacher Herman Lebeaux did was to give me a Bud Powell record and say, “Go woodshed to this.” Getting my master’s degree at University of Southern Illinois, Dr. Willard Delphin was a huge influence.

Which came first: wanting to be a pianist, or wanting to be a hip-hop M.C.? My mother was an avid music fan, and kept a

What was the importance of formal education versus everything but?

They were both integral. As an undergrad, I was doing classical piano competitions and freestyle rap battles around New Orleans. From the beginning I took to non-formal ways of playing music, but I’d apply my knowledge of theory to enhance whatever I was doing as a hip-hop producer or M.C. After I got my degrees and started playing in hip-hop, R&B, and soul bands, most of the music wasn’t written down, so it developed my ear greatly to have to learn from CDs. What keyboards are in your rig right now? The Yamaha Motif for its extreme versatility and quality keyboard sounds. It has a wide array of Rhodes, nice pianos, and cool synths and strings. I also have a Roland Juno-G, which I love for the synths, basses, and cool pads. Recently, I got a Roland JX-8P, which has great synth strings and brass that I use to pad and add textures while I solo. STEPHEN FORTNER

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SINGER-SONGWRITER

Rachelle Lynn

In 2001, a 15-year-old Rachelle Lynn Gislason won a contest, allowing her to open for Nelly Furtado in their shared hometown of Victoria, British Columbia. The calibre of her performance won her a standing ovation—the first of a train of accomplishments that’s steadily been gathering steam. Her vocal range and keyboard chops are matched only by the stylistic diversity of her original album, Green Lights. | rachellelynn.com How would you describe your sound? Pop, soul, alternative rock. I’m big into melody, probably because of my jazz and classical background, and I’ve been told my music sounds like movie music. That makes sense, since I have a passion for film scores and would love to write them one day. You come from a very musical family. Describe their influence on you. My dad is a brilliant electric guitarist and multiinstrumentalist; he toured with Bryan Adams in the band Sweeney Todd. He taught me how to rock out on the piano at a very early age, and more recently, drummed on my whole record. By the time I was eight, I was hammering out songs

ROCK

What formal training is in your background? I started learning piano at age four, and had private lessons through age 17. I studied classical but dominantly jazz for about six of those years. My favorite piano teacher was George Essihos, who introduced me to jazz voicings and improvisation. He’d tell me, “There’s no such thing as a bad note—only better ones!” Who are your top musical heroes? For R&B, Stevie Wonder. For rock, Led Zepplin. From my pop songwriter perspective, Alanis Morissette, Chantal Kreviazuk, and Sarah McLachlan. For jazz, Bill Evans. What keyboards are in your rig now, and why did you choose them?

I grew up with a Yamaha G2 baby grand, so having a rich and dynamic acoustic piano sound is paramount. I had a Yamaha S80, then an S90, and loved their balance of piano and synth. For a track called “Innocence,” I used the S80 arpeggiator on organ along with one of its awesome string patches. I’ve been using the Motif ES8 for the last few years. What’s next? I’ve been collaborating with some great songwriters in Nashville. Two writing teams in particular are Daryl and Lee Ann Burgess, and Jon and Sally Tiven. I’ve been invited onboard a new publishing company, The Committee, founded by Morris Hayes [keyboardist and musical director for Prince] and Nicholas O’Toole [film composer and Open Labs expert] as a songwriter. STEPHEN FORTNER

Wes Bailey

We first discovered Wes Bailey when his band, Moon Taxi, played a show in San Francisco. Though his solos were as blazing as the best jam-band keyboardists we know of, his playing also had a keen sense of phrasing, melodic statement, and multi-keyboarding that suggested he was a much deeper musician than your average modal-and-blues-scale jammer. Talking to him confirmed our suspicions. | ridethemoontaxi.com

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such as “Taking It to the Streets” by the Doobie Brothers. My pipes are from my mom, who’s a phenomenal vocalist. When I was just six weeks old, she flew to L.A. with me to sing on the show Star Search. She’s also worked with David Foster. It’s pretty fantastic to have parents who are just as passionate about music as I am.

teacher; fortunately he encouraged that kind of freedom. I’ve been a jazz theory nut since high school, though, and you can’t fake that. 

How do you describe your sound? Moon Taxi is a melting pot. We used to be a jam band, but now our music is considered by many to be progressive indie rock. When we play live, I’m constantly trying to widen our sonic landscape. I’m usually playing three sounds on every song: big poly synths, screeching organ, and frenzied arpeggios all at once.

Who are your musical heroes? I really started to care about the music my teacher assigned when we got into Gershwin and Scott Joplin. The groove so many of their tunes had was ultimately my segue into jazz and funk. When I got into playing in bands, I became obsessed with [guitarist] Trey Anastasio of Phish. He’s been my main influence in composition and soloing style. 

What formal training have you had? I took lessons from age nine to 21, but faked my way through most of it. I’d be assigned a Mozart piece but would always do my own interpretation. It fooled my mom but not my

What was your earliest memory of synth, B-3, or a sound beyond acoustic piano? I saw the musical Cats when I was eight, and was entranced with all the crazy synth sounds. That show came out in the early ’80s and you can hear

Keyboard 11.2012

them from the first note of the overture. I’ll also never forget the first time I saw a DVD of John Medeski playing B-3 organ. My first synth was a Yamaha S90—great keyboard. What’s in your rig now? I love the piano sound on my Yamaha S90ES. The Nord Electro 2 is my favorite organ sound, and its Clav, Wurly, and Rhodes sounds are fantastic as well. Then there’s the MicroKorg, which has all my favorite vintage synth sounds all in one tiny keyboard.  What’s next? This year has been incredible so far. We released our album in February and have played some great festivals like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza since. We’re currently putting together the songs for what will become our next record. ROBBIE GENNET

ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC Matt Lange’s achievements in electronic music are the envy of peers and veterans alike. Graduate from Berklee’s Music Synthesis program? For starters. Co-program BT’s seminal electronic album, These Hopeful Machines? Check. Release numerous dance hits on the prestigious imprint Anjunadeep? Done. Develop sample libraries for top-notch companies like Sample Magic and Wave-Alchemy? No sweat. Run his own artist label on Beatport and iTunes? Yep—and all by age 26. | facebook.com/mattlangeaudio How did you get started in music? My parents had me take piano lessons when I was five, though I got bored with them at the time and just wanted to be outside playing. When I was eight I joined the Grace Church Boys Choir in New York City, and was avidly involved for the following six years until my voice changed. That lead to playing guitar in a hardcore punk/metal band, and as we grew apart musically I felt the need to teach myself how to record so that essentially I didn’t need a band anymore. What were your years like at Berklee? Berklee was an amazing place to be as an aspir-

JAZZ

Matt Lange ing producer. I always assumed I’d be in the Music Production and Engineering program, but soon found Music Synthesis, which combined elements of MP&E with sound design and music for picture. Two professors in particular really pushed me: Dr. Richard Boulanger and Dr. Jeff Baust. Dr. B [Boulanger], the driving force behind Max/MSP and CSound at Berklee, really honed me in on composition and arrangement, where Jeff pushed me on the technical front. Dr. B’s recommendation eventually led to my working with BT. How did you become an EDM artist? Working with BT opened a lot of doors in the EDM [electronic dance music] scene, so I thought that if I played by “their rules” for a couple of years, then later I could do what I really wanted once I had a following. It was a borderline naïve assumption, I know. Around the same time, I started developing sample libraries as a source of income. I created a small one at first for Sample Magic, and soon after, Wave-Alchemy approached me about work that later got released as their Tech House and Minimal library.

What’s the most insane thing you’ve done to create a unique sound? Off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything totally insane. Typically I start my sound design process with recordings I make, and they could be anything from field recordings to taking a screwdriver to an electric guitar, to taking a cello bow to various metals. I’m really attracted to organic, modulating, real sounds. What are your favorite tools for audio manipulation? U&I Metasynth, Native Instruments Kontakt and Reaktor, CSound, and GRM Tools. As far as hardware goes, I have an Eventide DSP4000 which I totally abuse, as well as a Fractal Audio AxeFX II, which, while marketed as a guitar processor, is an amazing sound design tool. FRANCIS PRÈVE

Craig Taborn

Keyboardist and composer Craig Taborn has been creating a sonic storm since bursting onto the Jazz scene in the 1990s. A soughtafter sideman who’s equally at home on both acoustic and electronic instruments, Taborn rocketed to international acclaim with his 2011 solo piano release Avenging Angel, his debut for imprint ECM Records. What formal training have you had? I had two years of piano lessons in the beginner/classical model starting at age 12, then three years with a great piano teacher in Minneapolis named Peter Murray, who guided me in the basics of jazz improvisation and taught me quite a bit about the larger question of music-making in general. Who are your musical heroes? A list would be arbitrary, but a few essentials include Horace Silver, Led Zeppelin, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, Minutemen, Miles Davis, Voivod, Anthony Braxton, Brian Eno, Morton Feldman, and Vince Clarke.

 

What was your earliest memory of synth, B-3, or a keyboard sound beyond acoustic piano? Probably a combination of some Ilhan Mimaroglu recordings with a lot of the electronic music my older brother was into when I was about 12: Kraftwerk, Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, and so on. The industrial stuff and the Mimaroglu made me go crazy for aggressive synth sounds, which led me to ask for my first

synth—a Moog Satellite I got as a Christmas gift when I was 12.   What’s in your rig now? My favorite rig is a good Steinway D piano. With the Chris Potter Underground, I use an 88-key Rhodes Suitcase. With David Torn and my own Junk Magic group—both heavily electronic—the recordings have Mellotron, Wurly, Minimoog, Hammond B-3, Rhodes, Farfisa, and also some circuit-bent gear. I also use quite a bit of computer processing with things I designed in Max/MSP. What’s next? A new piano trio recording to be released next spring on ECM. There’s also a new Dave Holland band called Prism recorded that has Kevin Eubanks and Eric Harland. I play piano and Rhodes in it and it runs a gamut from some harder “fusion” to acoustic jazz and spacey, chamber-y kinds of things. Also, more work with the pianist Vijay Iyer, and a group I’m getting together to do more electronic music. JON REGEN

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HAMMOND ORGAN

Akiko Tsuruga

Speed and precision are currency among jazz organists. However, the groove and grease of greats like Jimmy Smith and Jimmy McGriff are harder to come by—some would say you either got it or you don’t. Akiko Tsuruga has it all. Though her playing lacks nothing technically, she swings hard and visibly pours emotion— usually sheer joy—into every note. When she pulls full drawbars for block chord solos, step back and give the awesomeness some room. | akikotsuruga.com What was your early musical training like? I studied at a Yamaha music school. I played all kind of music: pops, classical, jazz, fusion. As a college student, I played classical organ at church. What was the first time you heard the sound of the organ and thought, “That’s what I want to do”? My first Hammond record was The Cat by Jimmy Smith. When I was three, my parents bought a small Yamaha Electone spinet. When it was delivered, the person from the music

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store played a couple of tunes, and I thought, “I want to learn to play that!” That was the beginning of my life in music. Who are your main influences on the Hammond? Dr. Lonnie Smith. I met him in Japan before I moved to New York City. After moving, I started hanging out with him and watched his playing as much as I could. Sometimes we’d practice together and I learned the difference between his playing and mine by ear. By watching him, I also learned how to build up a solo, how to use the expression pedal, how to play bass pedals, and he showed me a great trick about big block chord voicings. What’s in your rig these days? I have a Hammond A100 and Leslie 122 at my place, which I play every day. For gigs, I’ve been playing three or four days a week at a club called Showman’s in Harlem, and I bring the Hammond SK1 or SK2, often with a Roland KC100 or Hartke Kickback 12 amp, or a Leslie 2101 Mk. 2 speaker system. Other than a

vintage 122, my favorite Leslie to play through is the Hammond model 3300. Who would be in your dream band? Wes Montgomery, Stanley Turrentine, and Grady Tate! Also, Art Blakey, Grant Green, Philly Joe Jones, and John Coltrane. STEPHEN FORTNER

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Infected Mushroom BY LILY MOAYERI

AMIT DUVDEVANI AND EREZ EISEN HAVE BEEN MAKING MUSIC AS INFECTED Mushroom since 1996 with their first album release two years after. Since then, they have 18 full-lengths to their credit, an impressive feat for any musician, let alone in electronic dance music. Both formally trained on keyboard instruments, their compositions serve up micro-edits, chopped-up processed vocals, and synth-driven melodies that will coax surprised nods even from EDM haters, along with huge beats and drops (even by club standards) sure to keep the faithful returning. From their elaborate home studio, they spoke with us about turning another musical corner with their latest, Army Of Mushrooms. How would you distinguish the sound of Army Of Mushrooms? Amit Duvdevani: The last two albums, though called psy-trance by a lot of people, were influenced by heavy metal. This album is influenced by the electro, dubstep, drum ’n’ bass, and trance of the last two years. We might analyze how a Skrillex track, for example, is different from our own stuff. Then we try to combine the styles to sound like something in between. Same with our cover of the Foo Fighters track, “The Pretender.” We also listened to a lot of Pendulum. You both have formal piano and keyboard training. How did you make the transition to electronic dance music? AD: For both of us it was when trance music began in Israel in ’88. The first time we went to a dance party was in 1991. I went to the army for a few years. When I was released, I met Erez and we started playing with a computer and just one keyboard. Erez Eisen: It was a Solton MS-50, the best keyboard ever. Ableton must’ve gotten some ideas from it. The computer was a 386 PC that still had a “turbo” button. We used Impulse 32

Keyboard 11.2012

Tracker as our sequencer, with a sampler built in, which was very unique at the time. What are some key hardware pieces you rely on? AD: We believe in EQ from the Neve, crazy effects from Eventide, and serious mics and preamps. If we want some unique filters, we go to the Moogs. Vocals and guitars, we go to the Neve preamps. If we need a power lead, we go to the Nord Lead or the Roland V-Synth, but then it goes through the Eventide. If we want something really old school analog sounding, we go to our Doepfer A-100 modular system. How about virtual pieces? EE: Universal Audio plug-ins. Every track on this album has Pultec Pro EQ, Cambridge EQ, 1176 Classic Limiter, and Lexicon 960 Reverb— there are some newer reverbs, but this one always does the job. AD: We also use the Moog Multimode Filter plug-in a lot on this album. EE: We have all of Native Instruments’ stuff. Lately we’ve been using Massive and Reaktor. And the number one soft synth of all time is Spectrasonics Omnisphere.

How did the style changes from the last album affect the way you worked? AD: The newest version of [Steinberg] Cubase, 6.5, was a big change and we chopped and sequenced more vocals and other sounds in Melodyne. We also hadn’t used NI’s Massive before. EE: We have two or three kicks we’d always used, but this album is completely new kicks. How did you create these new drum sounds? EE: Usually we like everything to sound super-clean and precise. This time, we went dirtier. It was hard to say goodbye to the old kicks, but the new ones just sound better. For snares, we’ll take a can and smash it or hit a window and combine it with a sample from the Motif or V-Synth. The track “The Rat” has a lot of your signature chopped sounds in it. . . . EE: Every note is run through a different effect. There’s basically one lead, but it sounds like a lot of them because every segment of that lead was chopped and routed through a plug-in. Do you approach bass sounds similarly to how you do drums? AD: The problem with the bass, like on “The Rat,” is that hits on the kick itself so we need to sidechain it, which of course is a big thing in dance music. Erez built our own sidechain in Reaktor. Rather than lowering the volume so there’s no bass when the kick hits, it cuts the low frequency of the bass. Is that also done in the “Kick and Bass Solver” plug-in you give away on your website?

Erez Eisen (left) and Amit Duvdevani

EE: Yes. We used to do it manually by automating a highpass filter. But this took so much time because there are so many kicks and basses. I was looking for a quick sidechain-based solution that did that, but there wasn’t one. I mean, why put a bass there if there is no level? You’ve been doing your own mastering. Any good tips here? EE: We did listening tests on the iPhone. We were doing short mixes, converting them to 192-kilobit MP3s—the format in which most

people will listen to our music—and listening to them on the iPhone ear buds to see how they sounded. What gear are you using for your new live show, The Unveiling? AD: It’s us inside spheres, two “Death Star” looking pods made of plastic-coated insulation material with massive Smithson-Martin touchscreens controlling Ableton Live. There are vocals, but unlike our Legend of the Black Shawarma tour, no live guitars or drums. EE: We have the Roland PCR-800 as a MIDI

controller and the Yamaha Motif Rack XS, which is my main sound module. We run Ableton Live, which triggers a lot of the leads and chopped-up and processed vocals. There are two computers: a Dell and a Mac. Any tips for aspiring dance music producers? AD: Your first material is always going to sound bad. When we put out the first album we thought it was a masterpiece, which it’s not. Keep on it and eventually you’ll sound better.

Revisit the live rig from Infected Mushroom’s Black Shawarma tour in these videos. keyboardmag.com/november2012

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LE GENDS » BRE AKO U TS » EL ECTR ON ICA » PLAY LIST

DONALD FAGEN Sunken Condos The harmonic and lyrical genius of Steely Dan fame returns with a smoldering brazier of funk and blues-tinged vignettes that prove that no matter how many keyboardists he has made exclaim “Why in hell didn’t I think of that?” over the years, he still has fresh territory to explore. Tempos tend to simmer rather than burn, affording space for the musical motifs that seem to multiply with each listen. The wah-Clav groove of “Slinky Thing” is nasty enough to make D’Angelo jealous, and Fagen’s signature phased Rhodes is most prominent on “Miss Marlene,” whose rhythm rolls like a bowling ball launched by the lane-ruling heroine of its title. “Memorabilia” is a paradigm of Fagen’s subversiveness, in that the music is so pretty and the lyrics so poetic that it takes time to realize he’s on about something sinister: in this case, 1950s nuclear testing in Bikini Atoll. Want to go further back in time to Prohibitionera gangland? Your track is “Good Stuff”—a phrase that also sums up the record with Fagen-like understatement. | donaldfagen.com | STEPHEN FORTNER

DVD TONY MONACO Blues 101, Blues 102, and Bass and Comp In the early days of jazz organ, drawbar settings and playing techniques were closely guarded secrets. If you could peer over Jimmy Smith’s shoulder, you might have learned a thing or two while risking the master’s wrath. Jazz organ great Tony Monaco reveals all on his new series of how-to-play DVDs. Tony’s engaging personality comes across as he generously shares his insights. Beginners are introduced to the simple blues form in Blues 101, while experienced players can absorb Tony’s approach to advanced Parker-like chord changes in Blues 102. The two-disc Bass and Comp set is the most comprehensive resource ever produced for learning how to play left-hand bass and accompany a soloist. Tony teaches bass lines, offers reasons behind drawbar settings, and shows how effective playing just two notes in the right hand can be. The DVDs also contain PDF transcriptions that accompany the topics covered. This series is a must-have for keyboardists of all levels who want to play authentic jazz organ. | b3monaco.com | MITCH TOWNE

JOEY DEFRANCESCO Wonderful! Wonderful! What happens when Hammond organ master Joey DeFrancesco joins forces with rhythm section icons like guitarist Larry Coryell and drummer Jimmy Cobb? That question gets answered on Wonderful! Wonderful! Joey burns bright with a varied set of jazz tunes like the title track, “Wagon Wheels,” and Coryell’s simmering tribute, “Joey D.” With a limitless technique and a penchant for nearly non-stop improvisation, DeFrancesco proves once again that he’s the current king of the Hammond hill. | joeydefrancesco.com | JON REGEN

CHANO DOMINGUEZ Flamenco Sketches The acclaimed pianist and composer makes his major-label debut on this live album, revisiting Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue with a decidedly Spanish flair. Dominguez has carved out a singular sonic path for himself, marrying jazz and flamenco sonorities into a stew all its own. Here, Dominguez’s deft piano touch and wide harmonic palette lift storied Davis tracks like “Blue in Green” and “Freddie Freeloader” to new musical heights. Recommended. | chanodominguezmusic.com | JON REGEN

GRAHAM CENTRAL STATION Raise Up Have you been jonesing for funk? Real funk? The kind you can’t even call “funky” because the “y” implies something less than the funk? Larry Graham, the bassist for Sly and the Family Stone and (most recently) Prince’s live band, is here to help. Big, fat horn lines, tasty Hammonds, splatty synths, and of course, Graham himself showing us how slap bass was meant to be played—he did invent it, after all. There’s even a talkbox-driven anthem a la Zapp, “Now Do U Wanta Dance.” Duh. How could we not? | larrygraham.com | STEPHEN FORTNER 34

Keyboard 11.2012

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P RO G » P O P

Prog Rock Primer BY CHRISTOPHER BUZBY

I WAS RAISED ON CLASSICAL MUSIC BY BACH, BEETHOVEN, STRAVINSKY, CHOPIN, AND SATIE, BUT I STARTED discovering progressive rock and jazz in the 1980s when bands like Yes, Genesis, and the guitarist Pat Metheny crossed over into popular music. “Prog” (progressive) rock couples virtuosic playing with long-form song structures, and also incorporates extended solos and a healthy dose of instrumental interaction. Below are several musical examples of mine that I hope will help influence your own sonic explorations.

1. Synth Leads I like to create leads that are angular and raucous, bringing focus to the underlying chord progression or riff while soaring over it with a ripping lead, as in Ex. 1. The solo keyboard doesn’t always have to be a synth; sometimes an organ with overdrive or a Wurly works just as well. A fluid, relaxed right hand helps with any solo leads, as does using proper crossover fingering. On the web audio example, I play it on piano for clarity’s sake. Ex. 1.

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Keyboard 11.2012

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2. Left-Hand Parts The left hand in progressive rock is often misunderstood. Many people think that the bass player in prog covers all the low-end parts, but this isn’t always the case. The trick is to always complement the bass line with your left-hand keyboard parts. Exs. 2a and 2b demonstrate this, with the left hand’s ostinato pattern acting as the “melody” while the right-hand chords support it. Ex. 2a.

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3. Classical Influences Since progressive rock is influenced by classical and jazz, it’s essential to know and understand the music that came before you in order to create your own compelling originals. As the composer Igor Stravinsky is a hero of mine, Ex. 3 shows how I took a snippet of his “Firebird” melody and re-harmonized it two different ways. I then put a melody of my own over both of those new harmonies.

Ex. 3

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Keyboard 11.2012

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4. Piano Intros The bold piano intro is a staple in prog. Often, a song’s structure includes a preface or introduction before the main body of the song kicks in. Ex. 4 illustrates an original idea that sounds best when played on acoustic piano. Powerful piano intros grab the listener and pull them further into a song. Remember to keep your left hand slightly softer here so that the chords in the right hand are the focal point.

Ex. 4.

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Practice Tip “When comping, always remember that the left hand needs to be slightly quieter so that the right-hand chords can sing properly,” says Christopher Buzby, who has played keyboards with the acclaimed band Echolyn since 1989, and is Director of Instrumental Music at Abington Friends School in Jenkintown, PA. Find out more at echolyn.com.

See Christopher play live with Echolyn, get audio examples of this lesson, and download a bonus lesson on comping chords.

keyboardmag.com/november2012 40

Keyboard 11.2012

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P RO G » P O P

Familiar Keys, New Uses BY DAVID BARON

FOUR MAINSTAYS OF ANY REAL OR VIRTUAL KEYBOARD COLLECTION ARE THE HAMMOND ORGAN, the Wurlitzer and Rhodes electric pianos, and the Minimoog synth. In this lesson, my aim is to get outside the box of how these instruments are usually played and use them in ways that just might surprise you!

1. Hammond as Percussion The Hammond organ is a versatile beast. Most of us are familiar with the smoky growl, blazing leads, and warm pads it can emit. But the Hammond can also create interesting and unexpected rhythm track elements, as illustrated in Ex. 1. The harmonic percussion is useful here. Try emulating a funky rhythm guitar by playing short notes. For added effect, add a slow phase-shifter or wah. A delay set to dotted eighth-notes with a few repeats adds even more vibe. Integrate your chords against the rhythmic subdivisions—you can usually hone in on those by soloing a hi-hat, rhythm guitar, or shaker part. Ex. 1.

42 Keyboard 11.2012

Thin Is In

JINHI BARON

“Conveying chords with economy leaves more room for other instruments or vocals. You can also try using two voice chords to create less girth. Your mix engineer will thank you,” says New York-based keyboardist, composer, and producer David Baron. Baron appears on records by Lenny Kravitz and Michael Jackson, makes his own records on vintage analog gear, and plays keyboards in the band Media. Visit him at edisonmusiccorp.com.

2. Wurly as Bass The key to any keyboard bass part is to think like a bass player, and the Wurlitzer electric piano is a surprisingly good change of pace from Hammond or synth bass, as we’ll show in Ex. 2. Dynamics are your friend: Mark the accents in the bar by playing harder, bringing out the growl. Mix up long and soft notes. Try playing fewer notes. Add an envelope follower for some unexpected funk bass. You can also double the bass line on other instruments. A classic double is muted guitar with a bit of spring reverb an octave up, but you can use any monophonic sound with short decay. Ex. 2.

11.2012 Keyboard

43

3. Rhodes as “String” Pad The Rhodes is a lot more versatile than you might believe. One of the best uses for it is filling out the chords of a song in a way that’s not too dense, as illustrated in Ex. 3. Don’t play too hard or you’ll get the classic Rhodes bark. Voicings are key—try playing chords not too far on either side of middle C. Try open voicings, spreading the notes of your chords out so no two are too close. Adding suspensions that resolve can also help add an orchestral string feel, as can judicious use of passing tones. Finally, you’ll want a chorus effect. I love the old Roland Dimension-D, and I also frequently use the XILS Lab Chor’X. Ex. 3.

4. Minimoog as Vocal Double Producers frequently use effects to create interest on a lead vocal. Another great technique is to double the vocal melody with an instrument. The Minimoog is ideal for this. You can bend and gliss, and open and close the filter to emulate the timbre of a human voice. In the online audio clip for Ex. 4, I use a single sawtooth oscillator for its harmonic content, and medium resonance. Don’t send too much envelope to the filter; open and close it by hand so it gets brighter and duller just like the vocal. Learning to emulate a vocal can actually help you play more interesting leads even when you’re not doubling. Ex. 4.

Get audio examples of these techniques online. keyboardmag.com/november2012

44 Keyboard 11.2012

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SYNTH S OLOING » VIRTUA L OR CHESTR A » DA N CE

THE ART OF SYNTH SOLOING

10 Power Tips for Hard Sync BY JERRY KOVARSKY

FOR THE PAST TWO COLUMNS, WE’VE BEEN EXPLORING THE THEORY AND applications of hard sync. That’s when a first (master) oscillator is modulating a second (slave) such that their waveform cycles occur in lock step over time, and it’s responsible for a squawky, squelchy timbre we’ve come to know as “that Cars sound.” [The band, not the Pixar movie. —Ed.] This month, we’ll sum up with a cheat sheet of things to try with sync so as to maximize sonic interest.

1. Sync sounds benefit from some detuning of the master oscillator. To do this, set your synth to unison mode, which often includes a detuning feature. Many synths now offer a number-of-voices control, which lets you pile on additional voices to be detuned against each other. This can affect polyphony and CPU demand, but two to four voices is low-impact and works pretty well. Without this feature you can add a third oscillator set similar to the first but slightly detuned. Here, we see the voice detune parameters in (left to right) Arturia Minimoog V, Korg Mono/Poly, and Novation V-Station.

2. Use a pulse wave for your slave oscillator, and set an LFO to modulate its pulse width (PWM) at a slow to medium rate. This also adds a kind of detuned quality to the sound.

3. Adding some slow chorusing or flanging can impart some of the desirable detuning quality. Deeper feedback on the flanging will also help accentuate a swept sync sound.

46

Keyboard 11.2012

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the slave oscillator. Set a negative modulation value so that the slave fades out and back. Be sure to set the LFO with no keysync retriggering, so it keeps cycling constantly and doesn’t restart with each new key press. Set it to a fast speed and tempo-synced rhythm, or just assign a knob or wheel to the LFO tempo and freewheel while you play. This imparts a nice beating/pulsing quality. Here, the first modulation slot in Korg Mono/Poly routes MG1 (modulation generator 1) to the level of VCO2, which I’m controlling via CC 2.

5. For sync sounds that don’t have a dramatic pitch sweep, use a small amount of slow LFO modulation of the slave oscillator’s pitch to introduce some subtle movement to the sync quality. It’s like adding analog drift back in.

6. You can also set the LFO to be delayed, or to fade in. Here, you can try some faster LFO rates as well.

7. Set up an effect such as a flanger or vocal formant along with your sync. Modulate them with the same source as you’re using for your slave oscillator, or not.

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48

Keyboard 11.2012

8. Set up a very fast LFO (45–50Hz, in the audio range) to modulate the pulse width of the slave oscillator, as shown here in Arturia Minimoog V. Either set this permanently on, or bring in the LFO depth with a controller—it adds a nasty bite to the tone that goes well with sync. The amount of pulse width modulation is critical: too little and you won’t hear much, but too much can sound unmusical. 9. Because sync leads are aggressive, try processing your sound with some guitar overdrive or fuzz. A little goes a long way—you don’t want to sound like a fully distorted guitar, as this will mask a lot of the sync character. Just put the effect on a send bus to dial in some edge and attitude.

10. If your synth has this feature, try setting pitch-bend to affect only the master oscillator and not the slave. For example, Arturia Jupiter-8V (below left) has toggles for this. Now, when you bend notes, the timbre will stay the same. This is especially effective when you want to bend intervals larger than the standard two semitones: fifths, octave dive-bombs, and the like. Listen to the online examples for a comparison of this effect. Don’t see this feature in your synth? Turn off or zero the pitch-bend range in the usual place. Then, using whatever modulation routing scheme it has, simply assign your physical pitch-bend control of choice directly to the frequency of oscillator 1 (the master). Find the right modulation value/depth to produce your desired bend range, and you’ve tricked your synth into having individual pitch-bend per oscillator. This is especially cool in Korg’s Mono/Poly, which has four oscillators and can actually implement dual pairs of synced oscillators. In the screenshot below right, the Virtual Patch (modulation routing) area is set up to bend oscillators 1 and 3 (the masters) while leaving 2 and 4 (the slaves) alone.

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SYNTH S O LO ING » V I R TUAL ORCHE STRA » DA N CE

THE VIRTUAL ORCHESTRA

Brass Basics BY ROB SHROCK

LAST MONTH WE DISCUSSED GENERAL METHODS FOR GETTING THE MOST OUT of software-based orchestral instruments. Now, let’s dig deeper into each section of the orchestra, starting with brass. Getting realistic brass digitally has always been a challenge. Having played trumpet and French horn in school, I can attest to how quickly a player can switch between a wide range of sounds almost instantly. Soft pads, singing melodies, staccato stabs, swells, blasts, double-tonguing, and flutters are just some of the articulations separated by no more than a breath. So what’s the best way to navigate the options?

Timbre The timbre of all brass instruments goes from warm and mellow when played softly to bright and edgy when played loudly, and all of today’s better libraries provide multiple dynamic layers within the same instrument patch. While some patches may employ key velocity to control the volume and timbre of a note, the modulation wheel is commonly used to

go from soft to loud—a level control that’s distinct from MIDI expression and MIDI volume. In some cases, note velocity may be disengaged altogether or used to control another aspect of the sound, like switching between sustained and staccato articulations, as in Cinesamples CineBrass and Kirk Hunter Concert Brass 2. As the mod wheel changes the volume, the timbre also changes accordingly. This lets you sweep crescendos, descrescendos, and dynamic swells— the hallmarks of orchestral brass passages. This can result in quite a bit of controller data (see Figure 1) that may need to be tweaked later. Unlike strings, care must be taken if layering ensemble brass patches from different libraries, as it can result in a lack of clarity and a chorusing buildup from too many “players.” It’s more effective to seek out a specific patch that has the right weight and

tone, even if that means jumping between libraries between passages. Layering solo instruments from different libraries can create complex and interesting ensemble textures, however. When layering different patches, keep in mind that they rarely respond to identical controller settings in the same way. When layering patches that use the mod wheel for both volume and timbre, for instance, you’ll usually need to record the controller data separately for each, even if the notes were originally copied from one MIDI track to another. Switching libraries within a piece doesn’t necessarily need to be avoided, as disparate sonic combinations of timbre, size, and weight between elements are now common in modern TV, film, and pop music. Some composers even go out of their way to use artificial processing on their live orchestras and sample supplements to break up the “sameness” of the sound. So when the music calls for an articulation that’s executed particularly well in a specific library’s patch, just go for it.

Short and Long Notes Brass passages often weave between short notes and long sustains within a single phrase, and all of our featured libraries provide both sustains and variations on staccato, staccatissimo,

Fig. 1. In this Logic screenshot, the mod wheel data controls both the volume and timbre of the “Horns and Trombones Long” patch in Spitfire Albion Vol. I. 50

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Fig. 2. In the Velocity Map preset of Cinesamples CineBrass, the lower window sets the note velocity ranges that trigger three different lengths of short notes. When the sustain pedal is down, a long note is played.

and marcato together in some of their patches. In addition to the option of dedicating keyswitched patches to each articulation, other methods are employed that allow the note lengths to be switched in real time within the same patch. A collection of programs in CineBrass and Concert Brass 2 use a combination of velocity and the sustain pedal to choose the note lengths (see Figure 2). EastWest Hollywood Brass uses the mod wheel in some patches to pass through five length variations of short notes. Vienna Instruments, by far the most elaborate control interface, also provides Universal Performances that analyze your playing on the fly and do a fantastic job of translating velocity, note length, and other controller settings into very realistic sounding phrases played in real time.

Legato Transitions One of the most dramatic developments in recent sampling technology has been legato mode, which allows a sampled instrument to play monophonically when notes are slightly overlapped. Typically, a small transition sample is inserted between the two played notes that adds immensely to the realism, as the transitions are derived from real players’ performances. Most of the brass libraries feature a fixed number of players for a given patch, which I

consider a limitation that usually forces you to choose between, say, a trumpet ensemble of three players per note, or a solo trumpet patch. In Concert Fig. 3. In Kirk Hunter Concert Brass 2 under the Divisions Brass 2, automatic divisi progressively (and section, the E1 keyswitch chooses four players per single note. The automatic divisi is active, so notes in a chord realistically) halves will be distributed among the four players. the number of players as you add notes to chords (see Figure 3). For playing single-note pre-sampled flutters and rips to cover most of lines, whole, half, quarter, and solo divisions your needs. Often, these and other effects will are accessible by key-switching. be in separate patches and will require their own MIDI track.

Double-Tonguing, Flutters, and Rips

Dig In

Double (and triple) tongue figures are often a dead giveaway for emulations, and only a few libraries offer true samples of these articulations. CineBrass and Concert Brass 2 employ key-switching to engage both double- and tripletonguing samples, and the speed of the repeated note(s) is determined by the length of the note played with the following notes sounding on the key release. Hollywood Brass and Vienna Instruments use round-robin samples and require individual note-ons to create the effect. Flutters and rips are practically impossible to program, but all the libraries here provide

Mastering each library requires time and dedication, and getting sampled brass to sound realistic typically requires a good bit of MIDI editing. In a mix, jumping between libraries is not as abrupt sounding as when auditioning the sounds on their own, and the ear quickly adjusts when actual music is being played, so don’t be afraid to mix and match as needed. Also, holding different controller methods in your head is necessary to take advantage of the various libraries to their fullest, as none are perfect. However, the results are more than worth the effort.

Hear audio examples of realistic virtual brass. keyboardmag.com/november2012

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SYNTH S O LO ING » VIRTUA L OR CHESTR A » DANCE

Before: Here’s a two-bar loop with simple Cm7 and Gm7 chord stabs hitting on every eighth-note.

After: Here’s the loop with dotted eighth-notes. There are no rests between the chord stabs, and you wind up with five stabs per bar as opposed to eight, resulting in a cool five-over-four feel.

It Don’t Mean a Thing . . . BY FRANCIS PRÈVE ONE OF THE COOLEST TRICKS IN ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC IS BLURRING THE LINE BETWEEN THE 3/4 and 4/4 time signatures by layering dotted eighth-note rhythms over a four-on-the-floor feel, resulting in a syncopated groove. Deadmau5’s remix of “Not Alone” by Gianluca Motta, and “Viscosity” by Josh Gabriel, are excellent examples of layering a triplet feel over a 4/4 groove, which gives the track more swing, and can be accomplished simply by setting your quantization values to triples. “Jaded” (a Deadmau5 original), layers a tight three-over-four motif over a classic progressive beat, using dotted eighth chord stabs. You can cop this feel via traditional MIDI sequencing or using a tempo-synced LFO. To illustrate the power of this approach to rhythm, we’ll look at both.

MIDI Sequencing The simplest way to get a three-over-four feel is to record a two- or three-chord progression using eighth-notes, and then replace them with dotted eighth notes (each of which has the same duration as three tied sixteenth-notes) to give it that syncopated feel. (See screenshots above.)

Tempo-Synced LFO Another essential technique for layering dotted

eighth-note patterns over your tracks is to rely on synced LFOs in your effects. To get the hang of this, start with a filter effect that includes multiple LFO waveforms and set the LFO wave to a downward sawtooth. To do it using Ableton’s Auto-Filter device (at right), just set the LFO rate to 3/16 (three sixteenth-notes) and make sure that the Phase parameter is set to zero, otherwise you’ll have an offset stereo effect that, while cool sounding, obscures the target syncopation.

Step-by-step audio examples. keyboardmag.com/november2012

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REVIEW

A NALOG SY NTH » CLON EWHEEL » STR IN GS » PER CUSSION » APP

ARTURIA A RTURIA

MiniBrute BY FRANCIS PRÈVE

my favorite keyboard action in the studio now. Next to the parameter functions are transpose ARTURIA’S SOFTWARE EMULATIONS OF CLASSIC ANALOG SYNTHS such as the Minimoog, Prophet-5, and Yamaha CS-80 have been mainstays in digital switches and the pitch and modulation wheels. I must say, these wheels are tiny, so if you’re a studios for the better part of a decade. So when they announced an analog monohardcore soloist of the Wakeman variety, you synth called the MiniBrute, more than a few eyebrows raised. Sure, they’d done might feel a little challenged here. hardware with their Origin line, which packs a wallop when it comes to virtual anaSpeaking of the front panel, it’s covered in log. But real analog? For five hundred bucks, no less? knobs and sliders, with no menus or shift keys in other analog signals through its signal path. Brut- sight. One knob or slider per function—the way Overview nature intended. Bravo. ish indeed. Even as a newcomer to the increasingly crowded The MiniBrute’s construction inspires confimarket of desktop analog synths, the MiniBrute dence. Its plastic and metal chassis seems quite specs beautifully: a single oscillator capable of Connectivity roadworthy and its two-octave keyboard (which three simultaneous waveforms that go beyond There are three ways to control the MiniBrute the classic saw/square/triangle fare, a multimode senses velocity and aftertouch) feels wonderful— from your DAW or vintage gear: USB, MIDI, and a tad lighter than both my Dave Smith Prophet filter based on the ultra-exotic Steiner-Parker control voltage/gate inputs that adhere to the ’08 and Roland SH-101, but a bit springier than circuit, dual ADSR envelopes, a pair of LFOs, a one-volt-per-octave standard. Yep, this baby will my beloved Yamaha SK-50D. Frankly, I think it’s noise source, and an external input for processing convert USB/MIDI data to CV/gate so that you

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With a sub-oscillator and the ability to mix multiple waveforms, a noise source, and external audio at the same time, the MiniBrute gets the most fatness possible from a single-oscillator design.

can drive other analog synths, like a Tom Oberheim SEM or Doepfer Dark Energy. In addition, there are CV inputs for filter and amp, so if you’re in a modular mood, you’re covered. You can even switch the gate trigger to audio and route percussion into the MiniBrute for replacing drums. Arturia really did think of everything here.

Oscillators At first glance, the MiniBrute’s overall configuration is reminiscent of the Roland SH-101. That is, there are faders for blending the various waveforms, sub-oscillator, and noise generator. In other words, even though it’s one oscillator, it’s fatter than you might think, because you can have more than one waveform at a time. I’ve always thought this is the ideal method for implementing a single oscillator. Mixable waveforms are just the beginning. Each of the waves is implemented in a unique manner. The sawtooth section includes modulation rate and amount knobs for Arturia’s “Ultrasaw” mode—a stack of sawtooth waves all slightly detuned relative to one another—cribbed from countless soft synths and first appearing as the “super saw” on the Roland JP-8000 in 1997. Since the MiniBrute is fully analog, this version of the Ultrasaw really feels like it’s derived via

some sort of integrated chorus/ensemble effect. Ultimately, all that matters is that it sounds great and the LFO rate easily stretches into the audio range for grungy sideband effects. The MiniBrute’s square wave is pretty darned aggressive, and when recorded and examined visually in an audio editor, is slightly erratic in shape. What’s more, at the extreme low registers of its range, it has a slightly sawtooth-like slope, which gives it more presence and oomph in those frequencies. I have to give Arturia some major kudos here, as this is serious attention to detail circuit-wise. The triangle wave is another area of innovation in the MiniBrute. In addition to the expected muted odd-harmonic spectrum of the waveform, there’s a “Metalizer” knob that transforms the waveform into a bright, buzzy mass of frequencies in an extraordinarily musical manner. Arturia confirmed word on the street that this is a custom distortion circuit that operates by warping and folding the waveform; the sonic results are evocative of hard sync, especially when the amount is swept positively or negatively via its dedicated envelope knob. Even the sub-oscillator goes the extra mile, with a switch for either one or two octaves below the main tone and a waveform selector

that tha toggles between square and sine waves. While the square will generate classic SH-101 timbres, the sine is pure subsonic bombast and another reason that the MiniBrute wins in the cojones department.

Filter The Steiner-Parker filter—from the ultra-rare Synthacon of the 1970s—is an absolute gem.

Snap Judgment PROS Fully analog signal path. Unique and flexible oscillator waveform options. SteinerParker multimode filter with self-oscillation. Brilliant implementation of modulation resources. Converts USB/MIDI to CV/gate outs. Can process external audio. CONS Pitch and mod wheels are tiny. No preset memory. Output is monaurual.

Original audio examples of Francis’ experiments with the MiniBrute. keyboardmag.com/november2012

11.2012 Keyboard

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The MiniBrute’s back panel serves up a monaural master out, an audio input for processing signals through its synth engine, and jack. are on 1/8" mini d a headphone h d h j k CV and d gate t connections ti i i jjacks. k Multimode and fully resonant, it’s capable of a massive array of processing effects. In lowpass mode, it’s surprisingly beefy for a 12dB-peroctave (two-pole) filter. Highpass mode delivers the standard tweezed-out fizz, but goes a step further when the resonance is boosted into the upper ranges. It’s definitely the most aggressive highpass filter I’ve ever heard on an analog synth. Bandpass mode combines the nastiness of the highpass mode with a Daft Punk-ish aura reminiscent of the lead from their ’90s classic “Da Funk.” Even the usually boring notch mode works well here, especially for phasey effects. What’s especially interesting about the MiniBrute’s filter is that it can also self-oscillate when in lowpass or bandpass mode. Why? Because most two-pole filters can’t do that trick. I’m not sure what’s going on under the hood here, but self-oscillating filters rock, so I’m just gonna smile and play. There’s also a “Brute Factor” knob that does the classic Minimoog trick of routing a bit of the output signal back into the filter. At low settings, it adds dirt and grunge to the signal. At maximum settings, the feedback loop can quickly turn wonderfully nasty, with its character dependent on the selected filter mode. The cherry on this sundae is that the MiniBrute also includes a mixable external audio input, so you can process anything that strikes your fancy through the filter and amp modules. Considering how unique this filter sounds, this is a very big deal, and for some studios will be a major selling point.

Modulation The MiniBrute’s dual ADSR envelopes use sliders instead of the knobs found on the oscillators and filters. I love this design touch because it makes realtime adjustments to decay and/or release much more enjoyable in a performance situation. One envelope is dedicated to the amplifier, while the other can be used for the filter cutoff, 60

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aforementioned Metalizer amount, and/or pulse width, but not pitch—sigh. What’s more, both envelopes can be switched between fast and slow modes. Slow has more of a classic envelope feel, whereas fast is super-snappy and percussive. Both are useful, but fast is a godsend for punchy, plucky riffs, basses, and arpeggios. There are two LFOs on the MiniBrute, one that can modulate pitch, cutoff, amp and/or pulse width and metalizer amounts, and another that’s strictly for pitch effects like vibrato and trill. The more complex LFO includes multiple waveforms that run the gamut from sine to smoothed-out sample-and-hold, and all of the essentials in between. Each destination amount can be set separately—either positive or negative—although the pulse width and Metalizer amounts are shared. The rate can either free-run controlled by its own knob, or be locked to the arpeggiator speed, which is another lovely touch. The vibrato LFO is strictly for pitch, with its amount set via the mod wheel in real time. In an interesting twist, the waveform selector can be switched to either a bipolar sine wave or one of two unipolar square waves for positive and negative trills. This is really well thought out because bipolar square waves on pitch are decidedly unmusical—you lose the root pitch. Again, Arturia’s attention to detail is extraordinary. Regarding the mod wheel and aftertouch, each has its own switch for selecting the modulation source. The wheel can control the main LFO, the vibrato LFO, or (hallelujah!) the cutoff frequency. Aftertouch can control either vibrato amount or cutoff. The bend range on the pitch wheel goes from one semitone to a full octave with each extreme at either end of the range. Perfect. Finally, the integrated arpeggiator includes the usual four modes (up, down, up/down, and random), up to four octaves of range, and added niceties like note value and swing amount. While most people will rely on their laptop and a USB

cable for this type of flashiness, it’s nice to know it’s there if you need it.

Conclusions Within minutes of unpacking the MiniBrite, I moved a very famous analog workhorse in my studio to the corner of the room and plugged the ’Brute into my rig, knowing instinctively that I was going to be living with it for a long, long time. Despite its lack of a second oscillator for interval tunings, this synth is capable of a staggering range of textures with copious amounts of bass thanks to the sub-oscillator. Sure, you can leave the exotic options turned off and almost instantly get those vintage ’80s synth-pop sounds, but if you push the MiniBrute a little harder, this beast growls, grunts, and breathes fire—making it perfect for hard electro and dubstep sounds that you can’t find anywhere else. Arturia’s attention to detail on the MiniBrute is breathtaking. Every feature on this synth is implemented perfectly—and in over a decade of reviewing gear, I have never said that before. It sounds amazing. It can convert USB to control voltages. It can process audio through its engine. It’s brilliantly laid out. And it’s only five bills, if you don’t mind being on a waiting list. Whether you think of it as the perfect introduction to analog synthesis or a must-have addition to your studio, the MiniBrute is the most bang for your buck on the analog market today. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Key Buy.

Bottom Line For features and sound, the MiniBrute is the new bang-forbuck leader among desktop analog monosynths. $549 list | $499 street

arturia.com

REVIEW

ANALO G SYNTH » CLONEWHEE L » STR IN GS » PER CUSSION » A PP

CLAVIA

Nord Electro 4D BY AVI HERSH

NORD’S ELECTRO LINE HAS WON THE HEARTS OF MUSICIANS IN ALL GENRES who share a love of vintage keys. Its dual personality—tonewheel organ and rotary speaker on one song; piano, electric piano, Clav, or other classics on the next—has made it as welcome a main keyboard in some rigs as it is a second or third axe in others. Now, the 4D hits the scene with physical drawbars and the company’s current best organ sounds. Time to upgrade? Read on and decide.

What’s New First and most obvious are the drawbars. Second, the organ side of the 4D has the same sound engine as in the flagship dual-manual C2D organ (reviewed Aug. ’12). Compared to the C2 engine, which then trickled into the Electro 3, it boasts improved key click and harmonic percussion as well as a new rotary simulation and overdrive. There are also some cool upgrades to acoustic piano sounds, such as optional long releases and a dedicated panel button for string resonance (as on the Electro 3HP but not the “regular” Electro 3). A new delay features tap tempo and stereo ping-ponging. Nord also has doubled the number of live presets, improved support for volume pedals, and added MIDI-over-USB—the

lack of which was a sticking point for some musicians on previous Electro iterations.

Keyboard and Drawbars As an organ player, I find noticeable differences in resistance and bounce in the pack of current clonewheels. The feel of the Electro 4D’s keyboard is superb, with just the right amount of both. This had a direct and positive impact on my execution of runs, smears, and solos. I found I played cleaner and more precisely on the 4D than on other clones I’ve played in recent memory. What’s kept me from becoming an Electro user until now is the lack of moving drawbars, so I’m very glad to see them migrate here from

the dual-manual (and pricier) Nord C2D. To conserve depth, they’re actually drawbar-shaped tabs that slide within fader wells, but they respond like the real thing and have the right amount of clicky feel.

Snap Judgment PROS Killer new organ and Leslie emulation. Physical drawbars. Great pianos, EPs, Clavs, and other vintage sounds, all expandable by Nord-supported download libraries. CONS Still can’t split or layer organ with non-organ sounds—it’s one or the other.

Read reviews of the Electro 4D’s predecessors and hear original audio examples of the 4D. keyboardmag.com/november2012

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The Electro 4D’s drawbars are fader-like in construction, with the numbers printed on the panel rather than the drawbars themselves, but they move with the right amount of click. The four Program buttons in the center access the Live Buffers, which save all your tweaks on the fly and retain them with the power off.

Organ on the Gig My live rig consists of a (non-Nord) clonewheel for organ and an 88-note workstation for everything else, and the 4D review unit arrived barely an hour before I had to leave for a gig. Feeling brave, I left my familiar clone at home, and the Electro didn’t let me down. Right out of the box, the organ sounded great—noticeably better than the Electro 3, to my ears. There was just more body or meat to

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the sound, and the tone sat in the mix well but cut through when needed. The percussion also had just the right amount of “ping,” and both the long and short decay settings sounded spot-on. I realized the first organ patch on the first page was split for left-hand bass. One of the things I love about Electros is how easy they are to edit on the spot—a simple Shift and buttonpress took me out of split mode. At the next gig I found myself making edits to the same preset,

thanks to the 4D’s live buffers. These do a running save of whatever changes you make on the fly, are immune to power-off, and the 4D has four of them where the Electro 3 had two. For rotary simulation, I normally use Neo Instruments’ amazing Ventilator stompbox (reviewed May ’10), but of course I had to check out the 4D’s internal sim, which, like the C2D, boasts an improved Leslie 122 model. Long story short: It’s so good that I’d have no problem using it on

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Like previous models, the Electro 4D has a mode that routes only organ sounds to one stereo output and all other sounds to the other. This is useful if you’re using a real rotary speaker but want to send non-organ sounds straight to the P.A. gigs without the Ventilator. You can add reverb downstream of the rotary effect (which you can’t do with a dedicated rotary pedal), which I think makes the rotation sound a hair more realistic— as if a Leslie cabinet were in a reflective room— and sounds especially good in stereo monitors. Another nicety: The 4D’s improved overdrive can go from subtle warmth to Jon Lord-style grunge without sounding buzzy or digital.

Piano and Other Sounds The piano section offers toggles for string resonance and long or short release—the latter simulates loose or tight dampers—and these can affect sounds downloaded from the Nord Piano Library. The pianos have a great deal of detail and are very realistic across the 88-key range. Though not weighted, the keys were a joy to play piano on, and the octave buttons being in the center of the panel makes for fairly seamless shifts while playing. Timbral changes in response to your playing velocity sound markedly more

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smooth and natural than on previous Electros. While a good amount of the new piano sounds are preloaded, a DVD-ROM of the current library of all 4D-compatible samples comes with the unit, and is also a free download. In addition, the piano section offers a slot for sounds from the Nord Sample Library, which is distinct from the Piano Library and offers a wide range of sounds that go beyond pianos, EPs, and organs—including authentic, vibey Mellotron and Chamberlin patches. The Electro 4D can match several popular expression pedals to facilitate the authentic volume curve on organ sounds. With the parameter set to “Y7,” for example, my Yamaha FC7 pedal worked perfectly. This is also available for the Electro 3 in the latest software update.

Conclusions At only 15.3 pounds, the Electro 4D screams to be the only keyboard I take to many gigs. The only thing in the way is that like on previous Electros, you can’t split or layer the organ section with

the piano/EP/samples section, though you can split upper and lower drawbar settings within the organ. Still, it could easily replace my current clonewheel and take some duties away from the weighted ROMpler that sits below. Overall, there’s little not to like, and the drawbars make it eminently more playable than previous models. Add the improved sounds, rotary simulation, downloadable piano and sample capability, and the still-smokin’ Rhodes, Clav, and Wurly sounds, and the 4D has earned a permanent home in my gig rig.

Bottom Line The world’s most popular one-stop shop for serious vintage keys just got a lot more serious. $2,499 list | $2,199 street nordkeyboards.com

REVIEW

ANALO G SYNTH » CLON EWHEEL » STRING S » PER CUSSION » A PP

CINEMATIC STRINGS

Cinematic Strings 2 BY MICHAEL GALLANT

WHETHER YOU WANT DRIVING PIZZICATO STRING BASSES TO FUEL YOUR horror movie score or a soaring violin section to bring your pop ballad home, there’s nothing like a solid orchestral presence to give your recordings power and panache. That said, hiring the New York Philharmonic isn’t cheap, so what’s to be done? Enter Cinematic Strings 2, a Kontakt Player 5-based virtual instrument that seeks to bring the strings to you, packed with Hollywood dynamism. Its price, while not exactly in the impulse-buy range, is far less than many comparable filmoriented string libraries. Does CS2 deliver?

At a Glance Even before I played my first note with CS2, I was struck by the cleanliness of the design and how easy it was to navigate. CS2 offers five

string patches—first violins, second violins, cellos, violas, and basses—and as soon as you call one up, you immediately have mic mixing sliders in front of you. By customizing your mix

Hear sound clips from Cinematic Strings 2. keyboardmag.com/november2012

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Snap Judgment PROS Easy to learn and use. Streamlined design. Powerful, versatile, realistic string sounds. Kontakt 5-compatible. CONS Does not offer solo instruments. Key switches and program changes cannot alter the articulations of a note mid-sustain.

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amongst the three mic positions (close, stage, and room), you can easily craft a sound that feels more intimate and dreamy, or raucous and punchy, or whatever suits the mood. Just be aware that the more mic positions you activate, the more RAM CS2 needs. Also readily available on the main screen are a useful variety of standard articulations for each string patch, among them arco, tremolo, half and whole trills, marcato, pizzicato, and then Run mode, which is specifically designed for fast passages. Each articulation has a factory assigned key-switch that you can use to toggle between options, but it’s a simple matter to assign your own triggers, or use MIDI CCs to activate or deactivate the articulations you want. Click on the Advanced tab and you can tweak the length of notes in staccato, staccatissimo (even more staccato), and pizzicato settings, as well as adjust the intensity of the instrument’s Live mode (more on that later) and choose high or low playing positions, a parameter that gives you even more tonal variations to play with. It’s all right there, and that, in and of itself, is an impressive feat. CS2 seems to have struck an admirable balance between depth of tweakability and not making said tweakable options wildly intimidating or difficult to find.

In Use To my ears, CS2 delivers straight out of the proverbial box with string sounds that are vivid, dynamic, and . . . well, cinematic. Sustained

“Arco Bass” notes rumbled with a level of grit and menace that would make Christopher Nolan happy. “Pizzicato Cellos” brought to mind touching moments from movies like Forrest Gump and Up. “Violins 2” set in Run mode took me to the optimistic vigor of Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring. These are sounds that made me think in terms of pictures and stories: I felt immediately connected to them and inspired to compose. As a huge fan of live, organic string music, I found myself listening for telltale signs of digitalia as I played and, though I could indeed find ways to make CS2 sound artificial if I tried, doing so wasn’t nearly as easy as I would have expected. Executing fast “Violin 1” scales with the Run mode articulation setting, while applying the instrument’s Live mode (a cool feature that drops in custom samples to mimic the subtle rhythmic and tuning chaos of a live orchestra), sounded as realistic as I could ask for, and if I closed my eyes, it was easy to imagine myself listening to a live orchestra recording. That said, Live mode is not a panacea, and can sometimes be too much—some of my arco bass work actually sounded more vibrant and cohesive without it, so be sure to experiment with Live mode’s different levels of intensity. I enjoyed using the factory-assigned keyswitches to jump from staccato to tremolo to whole trills in real time as I played, and riding the volume with my keyboard’s mod wheel also added a great level of realism and control. If you’re new to this sort of thing, please note that using key switches in real time does take

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practice, but basically relies on the same musical and mental muscle you’d use to adjust B-3 drawbar settings or tweak a Minimoog filter. In the past, I’ve relied on drawing volume swells into my virtual strings’ MIDI data for added realism, but CS2’s ease of use allowed me to pour plenty of expression into my performances as I was playing them. Editing in dynamics after the fact proved largely unnecessary. One minor issue with key-switching and articulations: When playing, say, an angst-ridden viola line in real time, I would like to be able to switch a sustained note from half to whole trill without retriggering it. CS2 was wise to make it possible to switch articulations under the cover of a sustained note without affecting that note’s sound, but I would also have liked a way to turn that function off—and make such changes activate immediately. My only other gripe with CS2? It sounds so good that I found myself hoping for solo violin or cello patches of the same depth and quality. It was a small disappointment that such instruments aren’t included outside of a section context, though perhaps Cinematic Strings will oblige in an iteration to come. One final note: CS2 uses some hefty samples and can swallow RAM very quickly. The instrument gives you plenty of easy-toimplement opportunities to economize RAM usage—switching off unused articulations, loading and unloading mic positions, and so on—but to enjoy all that CS2 has to offer to the fullest, a powerful, speedy machine is a must.

Conclusions Given its synthesis of usability, power, and musical depth—at a reasonable price point to boot—CS2 is a strong choice for a wide variety of string solutions. Regardless of whether I’m writing theme music for a video series, mocking up a concerto, or doing nearly anything else that involves virtual bows and resin, I see myself happily turning to CS2 to give me what I need.

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Keyboard 11.2012

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REVIEW

ANALO G SYNTH » CLON EWHEEL » STR IN GS » PERCUSSION » A PP

HEAVYOCITY

Damage BY JOHN KROGH

HEAVYOCITY HAS BUILT A REPUTATION AMONG MUSICIANS, COMPOSERS, and producers for creating some of the most inspiring and ear-bending sample libraries on the market. Their latest offering, Damage, is a more tightly focused collection than previous efforts, but is every bit as creative, thrilling, and eminently useful for a wide range of projects. Though the marketing copy for Damage may lead you to believe it’s solely designed for composers who write dramatic and driving underscore (it is true that many of Damage’s loops and kits have a cinematic slant), the collection actually covers more musical territory than this and could easily be worked into pop, rock, and hip-hop contexts.

Snap Judgment PROS Loops of four and more bars make for plenty to work with. Impressive synthesis and sound-shaping controls available from the custom user interface. Stunning sound quality.

Overview

capability that “ordinary” libraries lack. The custom user interface is brimming with options for Formatted for Kontakt 5 and Kontakt 5 Player remixing and rearranging loops, improvising with (included), Damage’s content is divided into two types of samples: Rhythmic Suites (i.e., loops) and creative effects, and much more. In fact, when I Percussive Kits. Unlike many other Kontakt-based was programming grooves, it felt more like workproducts, Damage makes extensive use of script- ing with a well-appointed standalone software instrument than a load-and-go library. ing to provide users with a level of programming

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CONS It would be nice to have loops further organized into presets based on instrument type, such as “all hi-hat-like grooves.”

If Your Mix Sounds Good on These, It’ll Sound Good on Anything

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The new HS Series powered monitors were designed to be true studio reference monitors in the tradition of the famous NS10MS. That means, mixes that sound good on Yamaha HS speakers will sound good on anything. In fact, that’s the ultimate test of a reference monitor. Even better than that, HS series speakers not only sound good, they look great, too. The HS10W powered subwoofer complements the HS speakers and easily handles today’s bass-enhanced music or the most dramatic surround effects. The HS10W subwoofer uses a bass reflex design cabinet that maintains high efficiency and low distortion. You can combine HS50Ms or HS80Ms with the HS10W subwoofer to create different 2:1 (stereo) and 5:1 surround sound systems. So check out the new standard in near-field reference monitors at a Yamaha dealer near you.

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Three buttons along the top of the interface give you access to various parameter pages, which differ slightly depending on whether a loop or kit is loaded. All instruments have Main and EQ/ Filter pages, the latter of which features resonant highpass and lowpass filters in series, a threeband parametric global EQ, and the signature Punish knob, which dials in a combination of compression and distortion. It’s great for adding extra punch and spit. Added bonus: With kits, filter settings can be applied globally or individually to each sound, which is extremely helpful for fine-tuning the mix of a programmed groove. The Main page features a Master Effect section from which you can apply distortion, reverb, delay (tempo-syncable, of course), compression, and a lo-fi effect that reduces the sample rate and bit depth. An ADSR amp envelope is also on hand, and in the case of the multisampled kits it can be used to shape the characteristics of each discrete microphone perspective (close, room, hall—more on this later). It’s all wonderful stuff that helps to coax the most out of the existing material. Many of the presets also have what Heavyocity calls Trigger Effects, which is a catchy term referring to a set of effects that can be applied at random by holding down specific keys at the extreme upper register of the keyboard. For example, triggering G6 will apply a “glitch” insert effect. Using Trigger Effects is not unlike playing a Korg Kaoss pad. At this point I’ve barely scratched the surface. There’s a lot more to delve into with both the loops and kits, so I’ll offer this advice: Read the manual. Doing so will pay off for getting the most out of Damage.

Loops in the Element presets are arranged across the keyboard in a musically useful and thoughtful way. You’ll find boomier, darker, and harder loops toward the lower end of the keyboard, snares and mid-range material in the middle, and metallic hi-hat like patterns toward the upper register. This mapping scheme makes it easy to create an improvised rhythm bed with some degree of control, as you can watch a scene, reach for the type of sound you want, and get reasonably close to what you’re after. For my workflow, the Full and Element presets offer a great way to audition each of the four style categories quickly. Ultimately, however, I didn’t find these presets entirely useful for my purposes because I tend to program my own layers and patterns. That said, if you’re pressed for time on an action cue or are looking for instant groove gratification, the Menus are ideal. They have a finished and fully produced quality that would likely take hours to achieve otherwise using individual loops or kits. If you’re more of a control freak like me, then the Single Loop folder is where to start. Here you’ll find more than 900 individual loops that are combined within the Menus presets. (Tip: Each single loop includes a MIDI note reference in the preset name, so if you hear a specific pattern you like from the Menus, make a note of the, um, note, and then find it among the single loops.) Single Loop presets have the complete loop mapped to C1 with separate slices mapped REX-style starting on D1, so you can create variations or entirely new loops by triggering different notes. There’s also a MIDI-to-Host function that lets you drag-and-drop loops as MIDI performances into your sequencer a la Spectrasonics Stylus RMX. Nice.

“metals,” the detail and musicality of these kits is palpable. Close, Room, and Hall mic perspectives were recorded for the multisampled kits, allowing you to tailor the mix for more ambient or up-front results. And thanks to the custom interface, it’s possible to dial in the amount of each mic perspective directly from a single preset (much easier than loading and mixing separate instruments). You can even position individual hits/ drums within the stereo field via the Stage page, where you can simply click on the desired location within a virtual room. Gone are the days of tediously editing individual pan settings from the keymap editor! The remaining two kit categories, Hybrid FX Hits and Damage Kits, round out the collection with presets that run the gamut from gut-punching kicks, crushing metals, and trailer-esque stingers to slithering cymbal scrapes and highlymanipulated hits that would please the likes of Trent Reznor. Good stuff for your next action/ horror project.

Conclusions Damage’s instant gratification factor is ridiculously high, especially with the loops. In fact, at times I felt guilty about being able to whip up such fully produced beats and rhythm beds with nothing more than a few fingers held down. But fortunately for tweakheads like me, there’s plenty of programmability for customizing the sounds. Add to this the comprehensively multisampled drums, percussion instruments, and interesting rhythmic effects, and you have a collection that covers just about every imaginable need one might have for out-of-the-ordinary and cinematic rhythm tracks.

Rhythmic Suites Within the Rhythmic Suites folder are two subfolders of Loop Menus and Single Loops. In Damage-speak, Loop Menus are instrument presets with individual loops mapped one-per-key across nearly the entire keyboard. There are 16 Loop Menus in total that are divided into “Full” menu presets and three “Elements” presets for each of four genres or categories labeled Epic Organic Drums, Epic Tech, Industrial, and Mangled Pop. These descriptive names are quite apt and should give you a good idea of what you’re in for with each category.

Percussive Assault Similar to the Loop Menu organization scheme, Percussive Kits are organized into five categories/folders: Epic Organic Drums, Ethnic Drums, Metals, Hybrid FX Hits, and Damage Kits. Multisampled kits are available within the first three categories, and to my ears these are some of the most dynamic and inspiring drum samples I’ve laid my hands on. (Actually, calling some of the sounds “drums” is doing them a disservice.) From massive impacts and booming bass drums to delicate hand percussion and unspecified

Bottom Line Damage does “dramatic drums and percussion” better than anything we’ve heard. If that’s what you need, it doesn’t get better than this. $339 direct heavyocity.com

Screen-capture tutorial video by the reviewer. keyboardmag.com/november2012

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Keyboard 11.2012

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REVIEW

ANALO G SYNTH » CLON EWHEEL » STR IN GS » PER CUSSION » APP

YONAC

Magellan BY FRANCIS PRÈVE HAVING REVIEWED iOS SYNTHS FOR OVER FIVE YEARS NOW, I’LL BE THE first to admit that there’s a glut of credible modeled analog synths out there. Even so, I’m still sniffing out standout synths from smaller companies. Magellan is just such a synth. For around ten bucks, you get a pair of analog polysynths with quite a few bells and whistles, along with a twolayer step sequencer for creating retro-nouveau grooves. There’s also a bunch of extras like arpeggiators, chording tools, effects, and even the ability send the arpeggio, sequence, and chord info to other synths via MIDI. But the real focus, as it should be, is on synthesis power. The overall architecture feels a bit like a cross between a Minimoog and Reason’s Subtractor. Magellan’s three oscillators are straight-up analog-style affairs with triangle, square/pulse, sawtooth, and a few hybrid variations for good measure. There’s also a noise generator with a tone knob for adjusting the color. An FM section for oscillators 1 and 2 goes the extra mile with its own set of parameters and dedicated envelope, which is fantastic for grungy dubstep sounds and punching up the transients in your patches. Magellan’s dual filters are a cut above the usual fare, with three different lowpass modes (each derived from a different vintage synth), two highpass modes, two bandpass modes, a 78

Keyboard 11.2012

comb mode for flanger effects, a formant mode for getting vowel-like sounds, as well as allpass and notch modes for phaser effects. Some of the filters, notably the “Magellan” and “Voyvoda” lowpass modes, are really top-notch. The comb and formant modes are also excellent implementations that give this synth a lot of unexpected range. The filters can be set up in series or parallel, and each includes its own ADSR envelope for some advanced animation tricks, especially in combination with the FM envelope. A pair of LFOs rounds out the package, and each includes a one-shot mode so they can double as primitive envelopes if needed. Magellan’s effects section is another example of Yonac’s attention to quality, and frankly, these processors sound really great. All the essentials are present and accounted for, including distortion, flanger, phaser, chorus, stereo delay, and reverb. While adding all of these effects to a patch is going to chew up CPU and drop polyphony on a first-generation iPad, our tests indicate more recent iPads should be fine.

Snap Judgment PROS Great sounding analog models. FM and additional filter modes add a lot of sonic range to the synth. Big knobs and switches make for easy iPad tweaking. Integrated sequencer and arpeggiator. CONS With so many features, navigation can be a tad fiddly, especially for novices. CPU usage can be intense on first-generation iPads. BOTTOM LINE A versatile and punchy sounding duo-timbral analog synth to add to your iPad arsenal. $9.99

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FAIR USE IS FAIR PLAY You may know Harvey Mason Jr. as the award-winning songwriter and producer for superstars like Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. But you may not know that Harvey buys all the software he uses to help create his magic. Harvey believes in fair play and works exclusively with legal software. Respect yourself, your craft, and the work of others. Buy the software you use, and buy the music you love.

www.imsta.org International Music Software Trade Association New York • Toronto • Hamburg • Tokyo Tel: 416 789-6849 • Fax: 416 789-1667

UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND CIRCULATION (All Periodicals Publications Except Requester Publications) 1. Publication Title: Keyboard 2. Publication No: 0730-0158 3. Filing Date: October 1, 2012 4. Issue Frequency: Monthly 5. No. of Issues Published Annually: 12 6. Annual Subcription Price: $12.00 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication (Not Printer): NewBay Media, LLC, 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 125, San Bruno, CA 94066-3040 Contact Person: Ulises Cabrera Telephone: 212-378-0431 8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher: NewBay Media, LLC, 28 East 28th Street, 12th floor, New York, NY 10016 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Bill Amstutz, Publisher; 28 East 28th Street, 12th floor, New York, NY 10016 Stephen Fortner, Editor; 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 125, San Bruno, CA 94066-3040 Debbie Greenberg, Managing Editor; 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 125, San Bruno, CA 94066-3040 10. Owner: The Wicks Group of Companies, LLC 405 Park Avenue, Suite 702, New York, NY 10022 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding One Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or other Securities: None 12. Tax Status: The purpose, function, and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for federal income tax purposes has not changed during preceding twelve months 13. Publication: Keyboard 14: Issue Date for Circulation Data: September 2012 Avg. No. Copies No. Copies of Single 15: Extent and Nature of Circulation a. Total No. Copies (Net Press Run) b. PAID CIRCULATION 1. Outside-County Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 2. In-County Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 3. Sales through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid or Requested Distribution Outside USPS 4. Requested Copies Distributed by Other Mail Classes Through the USPS c. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation d. NONREQUESTED DISTRIBUTION 1. Outside County Nonrequested Copies Stated on PS Form 3541 2. In-County Nonrequested Copies Stated on PS Form 3541 3. Nonrequested Copies Distributed Through the USPS by Other Classes of Mail 4. Nonrequested Copies Distributed Outside the Mail e. Total Nonrequested Distribution f. Total Distribution g. Copies Not Distributed h. Total i. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation

Each Issue During Issue Published Nearest Preceding 12 Months to Filing Date 19,671 19,709 14,090

15,224

1,316

1,370

15,405

16,594

1,347

973

404 1,751 17,156 2,515 19,671 89.8%

973 17,567 2,142 19,709 94.5%

16. Publication of Statement of Ownership for a Requester Publication is required and will be printed in the November issue of this publication. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties) Bill Amstutz, Publisher (signed)

11.2012 Keyboard

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Product Spotlight

S P E C I A LT Y A D V E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N

NoteStar Yamaha Music Interactive, Inc. Available on the App Store

Keyboard players - Experience playing your favorite songs with a real band. NoteStar is Yamaha’s application for the iPad® that features hands-free, smooth-flowing, digital sheet music accompanied by professionally recorded audio backing tracks with vocals. NoteStar is available for free on the App store Each title is $3.99 USD

notestarapp.com/kbm iPad and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc.

Chromaphone – Creative Percussion Synth Applied Acoustics Systems Available Now

Chromaphone combines acoustic resonators to create drums, percussion, mallet, string, and synth-like instruments. Drum skins, bars, marimbas, plates, strings, and tubes form pairs that get sparked into life by a configurable mallet and a flexible noise source. Chromaphone’s preset library includes a wide range of expressive and responsive instruments that span from warm and mellow pitched percussions for melodies to punchy one-shots and kits for rhythm tracks. SRP: $199

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EXPLORER II Rob Papen Available Now

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ATH-M50WH Professional Studio Monitor Headphones Octavian - Keyboard Calculator

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Instantly see and hear 500+ scales and 50+ chords on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Also features Circle of Fifths, scale modes, chord inversions, descending scales, and much more. Keyboard Magazine said of Octavian 1.1.0 (Jan 2010): “It’s a cheat sheet no keyboardist should leave home without.” SRP: $2.99 USD

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Studio Furniture

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81

CODA

Left to right—Fred Hersch, John Hébert, and Eric McPherson.

5 THINGS I’VE LEARNED ABOUT Jazz Piano BY FRED HERSCH

I HAVE BEEN VERY LUCKY. I’VE APPRENTICED OR PERFORMED WITH MANY OF the all-time jazz greats, I’ve led my own ensembles, I’ve recorded my own projects and played solo concerts, and I’ve had the privilege of passing on what I know over 30 years of teaching. I didn’t study jazz much in any formal way, so I’ve mostly figured it out for myself. Here are a few insights I have learned along the way that may be helpful to you.

1

Piano Embouchure

3

The Little Things Aren’t So Little

Most of us aren’t great at multitasking—try texting and walking! My 91-year-old piano teacher, Sophia Rosoff (I still take lessons), defines music as “sound in rhythm.” The best way to quiet your mind and get rid of your self-judging “edit button” is to concentrate on the sound you get from the piano and how you get it physically. I call this “piano embouchure.” Then connect with the rhythm.

I was playing with the great saxophonist Stan Getz, and one night, I was dissatisfied with my playing. We talked about it and he asked me if I’d played anything that night that I hadn’t played the night before. I said, “Of course.” He said, “If you pay attention in a deep way to that new thing, that little ‘Aha!’ moment, and do that once a day, think of what you’d learn in a year!”

2

4

It’s the Melody

Many years ago, I was listening at close range to the great, underrated pianist Jimmy Rowles. He played the melody to a ballad, then the melody to another ballad, and so on. He could tell that I, as a young player, was waiting for the “jazz” to begin. He leaned over to me and said in his gravelly voice, “Sometimes I just like to play melody.” A great lesson, indeed—if you play a standard, learn the lyrics. If you play a Thelonious Monk tune, analyze it.

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Keyboard 11.2012

Don’t Second-Guess Your Gut

I played with saxophonist Joe Henderson on and off for about ten years. This was my grad school. From the first set, I’d just get a feeling that I should lay out behind his solo. He never looked at me or said anything—I just felt it. Likewise, when I came back in, it felt right. One night, I asked him about this. He said, “If you feel it, it’s right. If you’re thinking it, probably not.” In other words, overthinking will take you away from feeling and

into the mind—which is where doubt resides. This, in a way, is all you need to know about accompanying another musician.

5

Listen Intentionally

With easy access to any kind of music at the touch of a button, we can become “grazers,” listening without really hearing. So take a track you love and listen to it multiple times with your eyes closed. The first time for fun, the second for the rhythmic relationship between the bass and drums, the third for phrasing and use of space in each solo, the fourth for the pianist comping behind a soloist, the fifth for the pianist comping their own solo, the sixth for harmonic variation, and so on. Then try playing with your eyes closed. Interesting things will happen.

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