KEYS
UNCONVENTIONAL LEADS | David Pfaltzgraff
Have you ever been sitting in the theater , end credits begin to roll , and said to yourself , “ I never would have cast that actor as the lead , but man , it just worked !”? For me , it was seeing Chris Pratt as StarLord in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film .
Sometimes , a lead you might not expect ends up being the most satisfying choice for the part .
Let ’ s discuss three unconventional choices for your lead keyboard sounds so the next time you want to add something unexpected to your worship band , you ’ ll be ready for action .
RING THOSE BELLS
I ’ m going to assume that like me , you ’ re most often using some combination of a piano and pads as your go-to worship sound . It ’ s cliche for a reason , as the pads glue everything together and the piano allows you to both establish the chord changes and add melodic interest in the right hand .
Many keyboardists struggle with adding lead sounds to their playing because they think it would get in the way of their piano and pads , so I want to dispel that myth with my first unconventional lead suggestion .
In your worship keys software or your hardware keyboard , look for a glockenspiel or bells sound and layer it in the right hand right along with your piano and pads , then blend the volume so it adds just a bit of sparkle and chime to your playing .
Popular bands like Hillsong have been using this orchestral-style bell sound for just this purpose for years and it ’ s a beautiful technique to accent what your right hand is doing without distracting .
Because the bell sound won ’ t infinitely sustain , it doesn ’ t get in the way of or cover your pads and it only serves to add brightness and a bit of note definition to the piano , making it a safe and subtle choice .
If you need to stand out a bit more , simply increase the volume of the bells in relation to the other sounds and you ’ re good to go .
BRING THOSE STRINGS
My second suggestion is to pull from the influence of artists like Jónsi and Sufjan Stevens , who regularly use orchestral instruments , especially strings and woodwinds to perform the lead melodic lines in their songs .
This can be traced back to hippie and disco music of the 70s and logically all the way back to classical music , where of course orchestral instruments played all the melodies .
In much of modern worship music , it ’ s common to rely on a bright , poly synth sound for your right hand lead parts , but orchestral instruments feature just as much brightness and a more organic character .
If you want to replace a supersaw , try a string ensemble with sustain , or if the synth you ’ re inspired by decays quickly over time , a nice pizzicato string sound can breathe new life into a stale arrangement .
If strings stand out too much in the mix , you can pull in some woodwinds , French horn , flute , or any number of other orchestral textures to find what works best .
The key is to notice the timbre and time elements of the synths you ’ re considering replacing with an unconventional lead and let that inspire your exploring .
FIND NEW THINGS
The worship songs rising to prominence today don ’ t sound exactly like what was popular even
90 May 2023 Subscribe for Free ...