How to teach Electronic Keyboards

A guide for pianists by Nancy Litten

Hors d'oevre

Two men, sentenced to die in the electric chair on the same day, were led down to the room in which they would meet their maker. The priest had given them the last rites, the formal speech had been made, and a final prayer had been said. The warden, turning to the first man, solemnly asked, ‘Son, do you have a last request?' The man replied, ‘Yes sir; you know how I love my keyboard. Please may I play it for one last time?' ‘Certainly,' replied the warden, ‘we'll fetch it for you'. He turned to the other man and asked, ‘Well, what about you, son? What is your final request?' ‘Please,' said the condemned man, ‘kill me first!'

Many musicians feel like this about electronic keyboard, although they may have used one occasionally instead of a harpsichord, or to transpose a song accompaniment. In this short space I shall try to show you how beneficial keyboards can be in developing musicianship.

The first thing to remember is that we are dealing with an entirely different instrument from the piano; as different as organ or guitar. If you use a keyboard to teach piano you get the worst of both worlds: inferior piano tone, touch, and range, without making use of all its exciting and liberating possibilities.

The first requisite is to procure your own instrument, and to get to know it thoroughly from the instruction book. Practise playing and composing on it. Instrumental sounds can be built up strand by strand (sequenced) until a full orchestral texture is reached.

Make an alphabetical list of the rhythmic styles so that you can access them quickly. Also learn how to use One touch settings, whereby you can record all the registration details of a piece for instant recall. This is invaluable for teaching and demonstrating, and enables you to spice up a performance with instrumental changes. (NB You will need to have batteries in the keyboard in order to retain these settings when you switch off the power.) Although makes and specifications of keyboards vary, intimate knowledge of one in particular goes a long way towards cracking the code of others. The differing terminology will be picked up as you encounter the various keyboards of your pupils.

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a word you will soon come across. It is the means whereby the music on your machine can be heard on someone else's (Midi Out) or theirs can be heard on yours (Midi In). There are many different ways of storing and sharing the data, such as floppy discs, USB leads and Flash memory cards. It is handy to be able to record pupils' pieces, which they can play back on their keyboards. They can alter the tempo without changing the pitch, or add one hand at a time and play along.

Posture is as important as it is on the piano. Ensure that the lower arms are parallel with the keys and fingers gently rounded. A keyboard stand is essential so that the instrument can be positioned at the right height either for sitting, or standing (as in pop groups.)

Main Course

Now down to the nitty-gritty of what to teach. We'll start with the right hand .

Voices : The different sounds on the keyboard are called voices or tones . They are grouped under headings such as Reed, Strings, Brass, Pipe etc., so that pupils soon learn about instrumental families. On the Percussion setting, each note becomes a different instrument. (There are small pictures beside the keys to indicate which ones.) Some pupils, particularly those who already play percussion, become adept at creating a genuine drum kit accompaniment just using the keys. The keyboard also creates sounds impossible to produce except on a synthesizer, such as ‘square lead, ‘warm pad' or ‘ice rain'.

Many instruments these days offer a range of oriental sounds too, but in case not, a dual voice of banjo and harp makes a passable imitation of Chinese dulcimer! Most keyboards have the facility for dual voice, (the layering of two sounds at once). There is a preset one on the instrument, (eg piano is usually twinned with strings) just as the manufacturers have chosen a voice to go with each style, but these can be altered by the player.

You may find that you have only one keyboard between two beginners. In which case it is vital to know how to split it in half, producing one voice from middle C upwards and a different one below, but both at the same pitch. Work out how to access split voice.

Touch : On low specification keyboards the ‘touch sensitivity/response' is hard to control, being either very loud or very soft, so for early players it is better to turn touch off, thereby giving notes an even volume. As on the organ, articulation and registration become all important. A staccato note can have the same effect as an accent, for instance. There is a volume control dial or lever near the LH, which can, as on a harpsichord, produce terraced dynamics, or else a pop-style ‘fade' at the end of the song.

It can be seen that the LEFT HAND is kept busy attending to many aspects of the registration.

Rhythm : The keyboard offers you a wealth of rhythmic backing styles from Samba, to Viennese Waltz, or Swing. It can be used on its own as a drum pattern and can be stopped and started during a piece. The tempo is chosen either with a dial, numbers, or a button which you tap until the correct speed is reached. Before pupils are adept at LH chords it is useful for them to have a rhythmic backing for their melodies.

Accompaniment : When the accompaniment is engaged, notes played from the F # below middle C downwards (although the precise note can be altered) produce harmonies. Without the rhythm engaged, you will hear soft string chords, which remain only as long as your hand depresses the keys. When sync-start is activated, a rhythmic orchestrated accompaniment in your chosen style and tempo will begin as soon as you play LH notes, and continue in one harmony until you change the chord.

At first, your pupils may want to make use of the so-called single finger facility whereby they play one note for its major triad to sound. On a Yamaha the short cuts to other basic chords involve adding notes below the tonic: a black note for the minor, a white note for the dominant 7 th and both for a minor 7 th . Casio is different, and they are called Casio chords. Although one note still produces a major triad, other chords entail the addition of white notes above the tonic; one for minor, two for the dominant 7 th and three for the minor 7 th .

As soon as you can, however, introduce the correct notes for each chord, so that harmonic understanding is developed. Some keyboards need you to specify which method you are using, but most will interpret either single finger or full fingered chords. In order to avoid unnecessary leaps, and to ensure that no melody notes are played by mistake, it is best to play each chord in the inversion closest to the F # dividing point. (This will not alter the sound; they are all realized in root position, except on keyboards at the very top of the range). So it will be seen that it is easiest to play B, C, and Db in 2 nd inversion, D, Eb, E, and F in 1 st inversion, and F # , G, Ab, A and Bb in root position.

Before a new section in the music the LH can insert a fill, which offers a rhythmic variation for a bar and helps to highlight the form of the piece. Many keyboards also give you a choice of orchestration: either a thin or a thick texture. You can add the ‘on board' Intro and Ending bars for each style; eventually pupils improvise over them or compose their own.

Harmonisation : Even in the very first lesson pupils can learn to supply tonic and dominant chords for a song (eg ‘One man went to mow') and soon they will be able to accompany tunes needing three chords (eg ‘My bonnie lies over the ocean.) Encourage them to sing and play at home too.

BOTH HANDS

The coordination for putting hands together is challenging at first. RH articulation is as on the piano, but LH chords must be played detached so that the instrument can ‘read' each one distinctly.

Practice for a piece is best done in stages:

1. RH
2. LH
3. Together, with the ‘accompaniment' but not the ‘rhythm' engaged.
4. Together, adding the rhythm, but at a very slow tempo. Work up the tempo gradually.

One of the most relaxing ways in which a pupil can be familiarized with the techniques involved is to improvise . Here are two examples:

1. LH chords C and F, one per bar. Style: Country Rock. Voice: 12 string guitar. RH notes C, D and E.
2. LH chords Dm7 and Am7. Style: slow 6/8 Ballad. Voice: pan flute. RH notes C, D, E, G, A

Pupils will happily play for hours!

To help more advanced pupils with both improvisation and composition , give them a harmonic structure and style over which to weave melodies. Here is an example:

Style: Boogie (4/4). Tempo: 110. Voice: Trumpet. Chord structure: (repeat as often as wished)

C7 / F7 / C7 / / / Dm7 / G7 / Dm7 / G7 / C7 / / / F7 / / / C7 / G7 / C7 / / /

It is important to get the balance right between melody and accompaniment. Each voice has a default volume (differing according to make) and some, such as marimba, are very quiet. Either the accompaniment volume can be lowered for that particular song, or the voice can be increased.

"Harmony" means something different on the keyboard. When employed it adds harmonizing parts to the melody in accordance with the LH chords. For variety, strings sound wonderful in trio mode and saxophones in block harmony; for country music the descant is idiomatic.

Dessert

Group-teaching the keyboard is fun because of the social aspect, and the opportunities for pupils to accompany each other. Games can be a part of the lesson, such as ‘Find the voice' or ‘Continue this tune.' Headphones are useful in a teaching situation, as during ‘practice time' the teacher can give attention to one child at a time; not all will progress at the same rate.

The electronic keyboard is by its very nature an ensemble instrument, in that you are accompanying yourself. However, its portability and wealth of instrumental colour make large ensembles possible, with all the attendant musical and social benefits. Pianists rarely get such opportunities . Keyboard orchestra music can employ accompaniments throughout, partially, or not at all. (If used they will need to be amplified.) Some of the parts can be improvised. Valuable skills are developed, such as learning to listen to each other, controlling the volume, and following a conductor. Individuals or groups of players take a voice each, and advanced players can split the keyboard and score-read two instrumental lines at once. Interesting textures are achieved with electronic effects.

Many teachers fight shy of embarking on such an activity, as there is little repertoire . National Electronic Keyboard Courses (NEKC) has suitable pieces for sale online via its website They are written for mixed ability ensembles, with the standard of each part stated, and clips of the music can be heard. The ‘Keyed Up' tutor books and CDs are also on offer; they are suitable for individual or group tuition and include interesting harmonies and counter-melodies for the teacher to play.

Safety must be given a high priority. Ensure that switching on the power is the final action before beginning to play and the first action before dismantling. If the group is not too big, place the instruments inwards in a circle, plugged into a large multi-socket in the centre, so that there are no trailing flexes where the pupils are standing. For larger ensembles tape down leads with gaffer tape, and remember that circular extension leads should be completely uncoiled when in use. Electrical equipment needs to be regularly checked. Using batteries avoids the problem of leads, but they are expensive and short-lived, and volume is weak; not all keyboards have battery compartments, either. It is a good idea to move keyboards in twos, each helping another with carrying. Prop open doorways in advance.

I hope that in this short time I have inspired you to make a start, and those of you who are already teaching keyboard can feel assured that what they are doing is really worthwhile.