There Are Two Of Us In The Team

When we are playing in a more complete setup, such as with two electric guitars, acoustic guitar, two keyboards, bass and drums, sometimes we can see that the keyboardists are a bit confused because they don't know what to play for the song. It is common to hear people say, "There are two of us in the team and I am not sure what to play as it's possibly overlapping with what the other player will play." Sometimes it is true, but I want to say that it is possible to fill the remaining space available without having to overlap what other player will play.

1. Listen Well
The band for most recent Christian music are actually consisted of more than a keyboardist in the team for live recordings. Listen well to the song and try to filter every single instrument in the song, so you can recognise which one is the keyboard parts. Many songs are using synth sounds that are quite similar with the sound of electric guitar. However, if you listen really carefully to the song and get use to that kind of sound, you will easily recognise the difference between guitar and keyboard sounds.

2. Imitate the Orchestra
Many Christian recordings recently are using orchestra to add extra layers to their music. The most dominant instruments in the orchestra usually are the stringed instruments, although for some songs the brass sections are more dominant compared to the string sections. When the songs are heavily orchestrated, try to imitate the orchestra by using the keyboard. When you are playing the string or brass sections part, please keep in mind that you are imitating them. You need to understand how the orchestra players play their instrument, so the way you are playing the orchestra parts will sound real. 

3. Pad
Pad sounds are really useful when you are really have no idea what else to play. Pad sounds will fill the space remaining in the song nicely and it won't overlap with most parts that are played by other players in the team.

4. Play Nothing
As I have written before, "less is more." Many signature parts of songs are written for keyboards and sometimes that signature parts (e.g. intro or interludes) are the only parts that the keyboardist can play in a song. That's the fact. Then, what do they do in the verse or chorus of the song? Play nothing. Yes, I've listen to many songs where the keyboardist only play on the signature parts and then play nothing on the rest of the songs. The song sounds really nice even when the keyboardist play nothing on the verse or chorus of the songs. Really, less is more.



IF.
Let's Make a Joyful Noise.