SHOULD KEYS PLAYERS FOLLOW TRENDS?
If you’ re wondering what all of this oddly circular trend following might mean for you as a worship keys player, you and me both. If I had to guess, I’ d assume it won’ t be long before we too start feeling the need to acquire a taste for swirling flange tones and harsh, brittle clipping. I suppose if you choose to shift your perspective on things what might be harsh brittle on the one hand could be described as loft, saturated, and unpredictable on the other.
This has already happened several times in the last twenty years of worship. We saw it happen with the renewed interest in warm, analog synths, and then again with the bright FM synth tones of the DX7 from the late 80s and 90s falling out of fashion then rocketing back in over the last few years.
I also think as keys players we can serve as a bit of an anchor point for the band. I don’ t foresee the need for simple, pure piano sounds ending anytime soon, though of course there are a ton of digital, chorus’ ed out piano-like sounds currently trending. In the same way, I think bands will always need the keys player to help glue together the sound of the band, creating a foundation everyone can layer on top of and fill in between.
The types of sounds we use to glue may shift and change over time, and to be honest I do have a running list of things I want to try, running my pads through a flanger, running my electric pianos through a 424, etc. but if the tones we use to achieve our goals change, I think our role can be considered, comfortingly so, much more of a constant.
WHAT YOU THINK IS UGLY NOW …
The other thing that’ s on my mind, as I consider this unique moment in time, is that when we look back on it in the future it probably won’ t seem as unique as it does now. Music, creatively, life, are all a circle, which is where I found myself writing that article a year ago.
It makes me wonder, if the musical ideas, tones, gear, or technique that I might currently be inclined to judge as‘ ugly’ might be the very thing I’ m chasing after ten years from now. It’ s an invitation not to judge anything as subjective as music too harshly, to approach our role in the band with both open hands and open ears, and perhaps to acknowledge that we’ re never quite as‘ cool’ or innovative as we might think we are.
King Samuel was quite right, I think, there is nothing new under the sun, but that doesn’ t mean we can’ t have fun rediscovering and reinventing our approach every few years and as keys players that’ s both grounding and exciting. We get to carry the constant forward, while welcome the( old) new.
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.
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88 September 2025 Subscribe for Free...