If you’ve ever watched the professionals playing an AR or even listened to some ar-group member's performances, you will have been impressed by the Keyboard Percussion drum solos that some introduce as a highlight.
Although I can’t begin to explain how they do this, but probably like you, I just marvel at their prowess.
Instead here are a couple of ideas for making use of Keyboard Percussion in your own performances.
The Keyboard Percussion section comprises 49 drum sounds that can be played as a live drum kit from the keys of the lower keyboard or pedals. When you enter the programmable Keyboard Percussion Assign area, however, you actually discover that there are a total of 72 percussive sounds available to you.
Adding a cymbal crash to the end of your performance (the easy way)
This was often used by Peter Wood.
Suppose you are playing for the annual carol concert and coming to the end of the final verse of “O Come All Ye Faithful” and you would like a big cymbal crash to crown your grand finale. This is how to do it.
1 As you arrive at the final chord, press the Keyboard Percussion - Lower 1 button.
Each key has a pre-assigned percussion voice.
Play a few notes on the Lower Keyboard and you will hear what I mean.
You can alter these by choosing for yourself which sound is assigned to each key - and how to do this is explained in the next reply, but, for the moment, let us use the preset settings.
2 The Crash Cymbal is located on the C#3 key of the lower keyboard. So, as you play the last chord, give the C# key a short, sharp bash!
Note: The trick here is to strike the key hard enough to make the crash cymbal ring out - but keep it short enough, so as not to sound the note (which, being a C#, is unlikely to harmonise with the key you’re playing in).
That wasn’t too difficult, was it?
The problem is that, in order to sound the preset crash cymbal, you have to play a C# which, as we have already mentioned, is unlikely to blend nicely with your final chord.
So, another way to create the same effect (without clashing the C# against your final chord) is to use the Keyboard Percussion Assign feature.
If this interests you, then take a look at the next reply.
Peter