Author Topic: No__51___Exploring Keyboard Percussion  (Read 2199 times)

Peter Anderson

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No__51___Exploring Keyboard Percussion
« on: May 08, 2012, 10:00:38 PM »
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
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Peter Anderson

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Re: No__51___Exploring Keyboard Percussion
« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2012, 09:43:18 AM »
Adding a cymbal crash to the end of your performance (the musical way)

We can use the Keyboard Percussion Assign feature to match particular percussive voices that you want with the notes of the specific chord you need to play to end the performance.

1      Press the Keyboard Percussion - Lower 1 button.

2      Then, select User 1 from the screen

3      The screen changes to provide access to the Keyboard Percussion assign section.

4      Press the Assign button...
Note: This screen is quite similar to others we are familiar with, when one of the dotted voice or dotted style buttons is pressed.
This time, however, the ‘voice’ categories displayed are all percussion groups - Cymbals, Snare Drums, Tom Toms, Bass Drums etc.

5      Select the Cymbal/Hi-Hat category - if it isn’t already displayed.
The screen will show several types of cymbal - including Crash, Ride and Hi-Hat. You’ll notice that
you can’t actually select any of these from the screen because although the percussion voice is
highlighted when you press the button it reverts to normal as soon as you release the button.

Before we go any further run your fingers over the keys of the lower keyboard, pressing each in turn.
It may be that you will hear some pre-assigned drum sounds that may be lurking in the keyboard from a previous assignment.
Note: Even if you have never visited this section before it’s possible that some Keyboard Percussion assignments will have been imported into the instrument from software you’ve previously loaded.   If you find this to be the case press the Clear button once and release it.   Then, at the prompt “Assign all clear Are you sure?” press OK.   
This will delete any previously assigned percussion sounds from the keys.

6      Make a note of how you play the final chord in your performance.
For example, if the final chord is G Major you will play the notes G,B and D.     Note which key you press with your thumb as this is the strongest and, therefore, the best to use for striking the crash cymbal.
In root position this will probably be the D.

7      As you press and hold the Crash Cym 1 button, strike the ‘D’ key.
The crash cymbal will sound as it is assigned to the key.

8     Store the setting in a Registration Memory button.  Each time this registration button is pressed during your performance the keyboard percussion assignment will be recalled together with the sound currently in use.
Note: Only one set of Keyboard Percussion assignments can be stored in the instrument at one
time, which means that each time you create a new set of assignments you must save them to disk as part of the Registration Memory.
To see how to save these registrations – take a look at the next Reply.
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Peter Anderson

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Re: No__51___Exploring Keyboard Percussion
« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2012, 03:00:00 PM »
Saving Registration Memory settings (including one set of Keyboard Percussion Assignments)

1     Insert a disk into the M.D.R.and format it, if necessary.

2     Use the Song Select buttons to locate an unused ‘song’ number.

3     As you press and hold the Rec button on the M.D.R. press the red M button to the far left of the Registration Memory buttons between the keyboard.

4      If the Disk page isn’t already displayed on the screen, press the Disk button to the right of the display and it will appear.

5     Select Utility from the display.

6     Use the Song Select buttons to highlight the song you have just saved to the disk (e.g. Song 1).

7     Select Input Name and use the letters provided to give your registration a name (e.g. “O Come All Ye”).

8     Press OK to add the name to the registration data on the disk.

Now your registrations and your Keyboard Percussion Assign settings are safe.

In the next Reply you will be able to tackle something a little more challenging.

Peter
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Re: No__51___Exploring Keyboard Percussion
« Reply #3 on: May 30, 2012, 11:22:42 AM »
Setting Keyboard Percussion assign voices to the Bass pedals

Although this is easy to set up it’s quite difficult to use properly.   It is really one for the organists - and you’ll need to be able to play a ‘four in the bar’ walking bass pattern on the bass pedals in order to use it effectively.

First you need a medium tempo swing tune in your mind.

Then, instead of using one of the on-board swing rhythms, let’s use the Keyboard Percussion.
Select a registration for the song.   For ease, let's select the on board Blue Jimmy preset from the Jazz Organ category in the Registration Memory.
One reason for choosing a setting from the ‘Organ Preset’ section is that, generally, these presets don’t automatically set up an autoaccompaniment pattern as many of the other presets do.   
Because you will need to physically play the bass, this saves us the trouble of selecting a registration - and then having to switch off all the auto-accompaniment features.

1    Having selected Blue Jimmy press the lower of the two Keyboard Percussion buttons - marked Pedal 2.

2    Next, select User 2 from the display

3   The screen changes to provide access to the Keyboard Percussion assign section.

4     Press the Assign button.

5     Select the Cymbal/Hi-Hat category from the display.

6      Press the Clear button to delete any previously assigned percussion sounds from the pedals.

7      As you press and hold the Ride Cym 1 button, run your foot over the pedals, pressing each in turn.      (Don’t forget the black notes.)     As you do this the Ride Cymbal is sounded with each bass note.       As you play a four in the bar bass pattern, this light cymbal sound will form the basis of your ‘rhythm pattern’.     The difficult bit is playing the bass with a rock steady beat.      So lots of practice is essential.

In the next reply you will find out how to set Keyboard Percussion Assign voices to the Lower Keyboard.

Peter
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Peter Anderson

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Re: No__51___Exploring Keyboard Percussion
« Reply #4 on: June 15, 2012, 08:45:34 AM »
Set Keyboard Percussion Assign voices to the lower keyboard

1       Press the Upper of the two Keyboard Percussion buttons - marked Lower 1.

2      Then select User 1 from the display

3      Press the Assign button and select the Snare Drum category from the display.

4      Run your fingers over the Lower Keyboard, pressing each note in turn and, if you find any percussion sounds left over from a previous assignment, press the Clear button to delete them.    The sounds you have assigned to the pedals will not be affected by this.

5      As you press and hold the Brush Slap button play every fourth or fifth note. (Don’t forget the black notes.) 
As you do this the Brush Slap is sounded with each note you press.
Note: The reason for only programming to every fourth or fifth note is that this will provide a ‘random’ brush slap sound as you play chords with your left hand.   It also prevents the sound ‘doubling up’ if it is triggered by several notes at once - which doesn’t sound nice.
To make effective use of the brush slap your left hand chords need to be sharp and syncopated against the rigid four in the bar bass line.     As mentioned earlier, this set-up is easy to programme – but playing it is not!

Don’t forget to store the completed setting in the Registration Memory before leaving the Keyboard
Percussion Assign page, then save to disk.

Peter
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