KEYS
THE“ KEYS” TO KEYS FEEL | David Pfaltzgraff
When we talk about keys playing for worship music we often talk about the same things- pads, shimmer, ambience, etc. Or perhaps we talk about the differences between one piano sound and another, or maybe even one keys player and another.
But there’ s something underneath all that that we’ re really talking about when it comes to all of it: we’ re talking about feel. But what exactly is“ feel”, and how can we as keyboard players become more aware of and intentional about it?
In my experience, the concept of keys feel can be broken down into three distinct, yet interconnected facets: the player’ s touch, the keyboard’ s physical response, and the programming of your sounds to interact dynamically with your playing. Let’ s take a deeper look at each of these areas and explore how they combine to form the complete picture of“ keys feel.”
YOUR FINGERS
Guitarists have been saying‘ tone is in the fingers’ for years now and it’ s no surprise that translates to the piano. We need to talk about your own hands, your own approach to playing. The foundation of keys feel starts right here, in the connection between your fingers and the instrument itself.
Everyone’ s touch is unique. If you’ ve ever heard two different musicians sit down at the same piano and play the exact same piece, you’ ve probably noticed differences in tone, style, intensity, approach: feel.
As worship keys players, our touch on the keyboard can go a long way to helping set the right tone for any moment of a worship music. Because worship music often demands a wide range of emotional expression, everything from quiet, reflective moments, to high-energy service starters, developing control over your playing dynamics gives you an increased ability to affect those moments of your service with the right feel.
If you’ re not in the habit of thinking about how hard, soft, or dynamically you’ re playing the notes you play, here’ s a simple exercise: play songs you’ re very confident in, as quietly as possible. Can you still communicate the mood of the song with clarity, even at low intensity? Then practice at higher dynamics, focusing on maintaining intentionality and control without simply banging on the keys. The goal is to build your dynamic range from whisper-soft to assertive and confident, seamlessly.
YOUR KEYBOARD
Now let’ s consider your keyboard or MIDI controller as a physical instrument. The physical response of the keys under your fingers significantly affects your playing. Keyboard action, the way the keys move, respond, and spring back, varies dramatically from model to model. In my experience most churches are using whatever keyboard happened to be bought by the last worship leader, or perhaps has chosen to buy a new one, mostly because it’ s red.
At one end of the spectrum are fully weighted hammer-action keys, which mimic the response of a traditional acoustic piano. These deliver a realistic feel, allowing nuanced control over dynamics and expression and feel‘ piano-like’ but can be more fatiguing for lighter hands, and aren’ t ideal if you’ re playing primarily synth or organ parts.
At the opposite end are synth-action keyboards,
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