KEYS
PICKING KEY SOUNDS ? | David Pfaltzgraff
‘ Can you just make it sound more full ?’ ‘ Could you make it more intense ?’ ‘ I just want it to sound like it ’ s happening in outer space !’
If you ’ re a modern worship keys player there ’ s a decent chance you ’ ve heard a variation of the above from a worship leader at some point or another . While the exact message varies , the theme is pretty common . Worship leaders often have a good idea of what they want the keys player to bring to the band but might not always know how to best describe it when they ask .
Like a band leader beatboxing to the drummer at least three times a rehearsal , the game of ‘ guess what I ’ m trying to describe ’ is a common and often challenging one .
As keys players we can serve our teams well to pick the keys sounds we bring to rehearsal with intention and get comfortable with how to interpret requests as best we can even if the terminology used isn ’ t always very accurate .
In today ’ s article I want to share three words that you should internalize and consider for yourself as you ’ re picking your own keys sounds / presets while preparing for worship at home .
FEELING ATTACKED ?
The first word is attack .
For a keys player , attack can be described in simple terms as how long a sound takes to fade in to its normal volume . These days , especially in software you can adjust the attack of pretty much any keys sound but it ’ s especially useful to dial in the way synths impact your overall keys sound and how that contributes to the band overall .
For example , you can pull from orchestral arranging ideas and use slower attack to emulate the effect of slow , dramatically bowed strings . Or if you need a certain song part to really stand out you could use a synth sound with a very quick attack time , so the initial sound is powerful and present in the mix . Just two examples , but there ’ s boundless room for creativity there alone and everywhere in between .
To get started , consider that all the sounds you ’ re using now already have an attack time , even if you didn ’ t play a part in specifically setting it . The next time you pull up a pad or lead sound you really love , notice its preprogrammed attack characteristics and think about where it might be useful or where it might benefit from some tweaking .
GET ANIMATED
Our second word is animation .
When used as a sound design term , the word animation can apply to any modulation , programming , or audio effects that add a sense of life or movement to a sound over any length of time .
For example , when you think of the absolute standard ‘ warm pad ’ sound you might immediately think that it has very little , if any change over time other than perhaps a gentle fade in from the attack . But when listened to more closely you ’ ll notice many of the greatest warm pads across industry standard hardware keyboards feature subtle timbre , modulation , or