which feature lighter, spring-loaded keys that respond quickly and require minimal effort. Synth-action keyboards can be perfect for fast passages, synth leads, and organ playing, but might feel less expressive when performing delicate piano parts. while playing forcefully results in brighter, more resonant notes. Digital recreations of pianos should aim to replicate this experience, and worship music demands it, but the truth is that there’ s a huge range of what is a subjective experience to replicate. hands represent the coffee beans themselves. Are they the right strength for what you’ re trying to brew?
Your keyboard is your coffee maker, needing to respond properly to the settings you choose.
Between these extremes is semi-weighted action, striking a compromise of lightness and dynamic expression. If you’ re in the market, try and head to the music store and try out a variety of options, playing the same phrases as you go and trying to notice the differences in feel.
And if you’ re a bit stuck with the current keyboard you have, at least take the opportunity to become more aware with how its response is impacting your playing. Is it light to the touch, heavy, or somewhere in between?
YOUR SOUNDS
Many keys players do end up taking the time to work on their touch and maybe even purchase a new keyboard with feel in mind. But it’ s a mistake to stop there, as there’ s a third component that serves as the final filter on the journey toward feel.
When you sit down at a real, acoustic piano, playing softly produces a gentle, warm tone,
What feels right to one player may be too heavy or light to another, but with modern software and hardware it’ s almost always possible to do a bit of menu-diving to adjust the dynamic response for your favorite sounds, and definitely worth the effort.
This principle easily applies to pianos and EPs, but it gets a bit less cut and dry when it comes to pads, organs, and other keys sounds. In those cases it’ s up to you to discern how dynamic they should be to give you the right feel.
Take pads, for example. It might seem logical to simply set a pad sound at a consistent volume level. But adding dynamic response, where softer velocities produce mellow, muted textures and louder velocities add brightness and fullness, may or may not be the right choice for a given song or setlist.
BRING IT ALL TOGETHER
I like to think of‘ feel’ like making coffee. Your
And lastly, the way your sounds are programmed to respond is like your coffee filter. If you put a ton of effort into sourcing fancy coffee beans, an expensive coffee maker, but run it through yesterday’ s coffee-filter all the nuance will be lost before you reach the cup.
I’ m using a coffee analogy because let’ s face it; the worship-musicians-love-coffee stereotype holds up.
When you get the ingredients, machine, and process just right, the result is a musical contribution that feels dialed in. Take some time during your next practice session at home to consider these three ingredients and I’ ll bet you’ ll find as least one area you can easily improve before Sunday.
David Pfaltzgraff Founder and Lead Sound Designer at SundaySounds. com, a site that resources worship keys players and guitarists around the world. David currently resides in Des Moines, IA with his wife and two boys. He enjoys volunteering in his church’ s worship ministry, old synthesizers, and a good super-hero movie.
SundaySounds. com
76 April 2025 Subscribe for Free...