How To Play Rock Music On Keyboard

Posted by Mike Schumacher

Learning how to play guitar, bass or keyboard is great if you are already familiar with music! If not, that’s okay too because all three of these instruments can be learned at a beginner level. All three use similar chords and song structures, so it is helpful to learn them as a group rather than individually.

Many people begin playing keyboards by learning the piano-style notes (white keys) first and then moving onto other styles. This isn’t bad, but limiting yourself in this way may prevent you from developing your skills more quickly.

By starting with some of the other types of white key notes (such as blues scale, C major chord, etc.) you will be ableutl develop your ear faster while also expanding upon basic musical concepts suchas scales and chords.

This article will go into detail about different style layouts for the keyboard and how to add new layers to what you know.

Learn to play songs using chords

how to play rock music on keyboard

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Chords are one of the most important parts of music. Most people can listen to a few notes and be able to tell you what key a song is in, but very few know how to actually PLAY A MUSIC COMPOSITION!

Most people learn how to play melodies or bass lines, but not both at once. They may learn some simple tri-tone (or whole tone) scales, but that’s it!

Scales are definitely an integral part of music, but knowing how to combine them with other fundamentals like chords makes it more complex.

Luckily, this has changed now thanks to technology! It is possible to access easy to use software programs that teach you how to play guitar, keyboard, drum set, etc. by learning chords first!

This article will go into detail about one such program that does just that! Check out our article below to learn more about GarageBand for iOS.

Learn to play melodies

how to play rock music on keyboard

The first thing you should learn how to do is to be able as quickly as possible to create your own musical notes. This is called learning to play music theory or music literacy.

Music theorists talk about modes, chords, scales, and arpeggios for this reason. These are all ways to make your own notes more efficiently!

You can start by playing simple sequences of notes. For instance, say there’s a main chord that makes up the backbone of an song. By dropping in different scale patterns over this chord, you get new songs!

There are many strategies for doing this. You could use whole steps (steps that go up only one note), half steps (ones that go down two notes) or quarter tones (that drop three notes). Use whatever works best for you!

Another way to do this is using ladders. A ladder is just like a step-scale except it has a second part that drops a third lower. So if your starting pitch was B, then the first part goes up a tone (A) and then back down a perfect fifth (D). That would be a whole ladder.

Then the second part drops a fourth (E) and that’s a half ladder. And the final part is a minor sixth (G) which is a quarter toned.

Learn to play rhythm

how to play rock music on keyboard

The next part of your music education should be learning how to play some sort of rhythm! This can be done by learning either an easy or hard rhythm system.

The easiest way to learn rhythm is the quarter note system. You simply count up with each beat as it comes in, then drop down one half note, and repeat. This is called a simple metric pattern and is very common for beginner musicians to know.

After you have learned this pattern, you will want to add timing to your songs. Add a second set of notes to match the first ones, and you have created a rhythmic unit or meter!

These units make up a song that people use to tell time within. For instance, the popular song “Happy Birthday” has two meters (tempo-lengths) of eight beats each. Eight being a number considered a perfect amount of beats in a row.

This song goes fast, so there are lots of quick short meters followed by longer ones, creating a kind of back and forth feeling.

Learn to read music

how to play rock music on keyboard

The first thing you need to do is learn how to read music! There are many ways to approach this, but one of the most common is learning using notes. This method uses symbols that represent each note in music and what position they belong in (or where in the song the note will go).

By learning the positions of the notes in songs, you can use your knowledge to make your own music or learn how to play existing music. Once you have this down, it’s easy to pick up new pieces or start composing your own!

There are several great resources available online and offline for beginners to read music. Many sites offer free lessons with interactive features to help you practice and understand the concepts more clearly.

Practice often

how to play rock music on keyboard

While there are many ways to learn how to play rock music on keyboard, one of the most important things is to practice! Just like any other skill, such as playing guitar or piano, practicing with your keyboard will hone your skills and help you achieve your goal.

It’s very common to feel discouraged when you can’t seem to get the licks or riffs right. Don’t worry, this is totally normal!

Fortunately, technology has made it easy to test yourself against what you know. There are several websites and apps that offer free lessons for every style and genre of music! Try searching YouTube or Google to find one that fits your liking and intensity level.

Use a metronome

how to play rock music on keyboard

A metronome is an instrument that helps you learn how to play music by ticking off beats in time with your rhythm. The most common use of a metronome is as a source of timing for songs, which is why it’s also called a song timer.

You can purchase a small device like this one from just about any store that sells music equipment. All types of people use them because they help anyone to learn music feel more comfortable using one.

There are two main uses of a metronome in learning how to play rock music on keyboard. One is practicing basic timing patterns or exercises, and the other is helping you maintain proper tempo (speed).

Practicing basic timing patterns

Most musicians start out playing piano without knowing anything else. They must practice their hands skills, but beyond that, there are many things that need to be practiced.

One of these things is timing. Musicians have different terms for this, such as measure-timing, beat-timing, or pulse-timing. No matter what term is used, the same thing applies here!

A beginner should begin practicing using a metronome before starting to read music. This way they will become more familiar with the tool itself first, then move onto harder materials.

Become familiar with common chord progressions

how to play rock music on keyboard

The second way to learn how to play rock music on keyboard is by becoming acquainted with some basic chords and song structures. There are eight major, six minor, five blues, four harmonic rhythm, and one natural solo pattern in guitar music that every aspiring guitarist should know.

These chord patterns can be used as starting points for composing new songs or pieces. By adding additional notes and/or melodies to these chords, your skills will continue to grow!

There are many great resources available online and through books where you can begin learning about these chord types.

Know the basics of tempo

how to play rock music on keyboard

The first key to playing rock music is knowing how to play at a steady, consistent speed! What tempo your song should have depends on the type of song you are trying to perform either as a musician or as a guitarist.

For example, if your goal is to be in a band then learning how to play some basic songs with a known tempo can help you get started. Many people start off by learning what it means to use a meter in music (like di-re-mi-re-do), which is usually discussed in terms of beats per minute (BPM).

But there’s more to it than that! It also involves determining whether the song is slow, medium, or fast depending on its rhythm and pulse.

And while BPM is important, writing down a song’s average bpm isn’t always the best way to determine the timing! For instance, a song could have very short bursts of quick notes followed by long rests, making its overall pace much slower than expected.

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