i learned how to play in a weird way

[C0nAiSt1C]

I've been playing keyboard for around 5 years now. I started out with a yamaha psr 630. I know its a toy, but it was my way to learn. I now have a triton. I'm a seasoned vocalist, have been singing for 10+ years now. Unfortunatily I never really picked up any instruments until I bought my first keyboard. Music feels so natural to a singer. My instrument is my voice, and it feels natural. Anyways what I'm getting at is my ability to sing is far stronger than my ability to play. This was very frustrating, and for a time, I almost gave up on trying to learn the panio / keyboard. I could sing, scale up and down round and round, do all kinds of fancey vocal riffs. But when I would sit down at my keyboard, I would just completly die. After awhile, I started getting the hang of it. I was able to play progressions (ones i made up, and thought sounded cool), and sing a meleody to them. It hit me, my song writing abilities are coming in. The down side is that a lot of the progressions I would play I wouldn't know what exactly I was playing. I would play completly by feel and by ear. Still to this day when I play, half of the notes I'm playing, I dont know much about. I was always able to impress people vocally, but not with my keys up until recently. Now i sit down at the keyboard and just play, never know what will come out exactly, but I try my best to make it beautiful. They say, wow you're good, what are you playing? I say I don't really know, I just move my hands across the keys in a cordinated way, and create little offsets that create the UNF of the music, make it sound pretty. Somehow I need to focus, and take these little progressions I've taught myself and put them into something for production. Often when I try to sit down and do this I try way too hard, and get frustrated very quickly. When I'm not trying, not caring, relaxed, I just play and FEEL, and it comes out beautifully. The minute i start to take notice to what I'm actually playing, it all goes the down the drain. I do NOT know how to read music, I stricktly go by what my ears are percieving. Maybe some suggestions, or advice. Or someone with simular playing habbits.

hit me up via email @ c0naist1C@yahoo.com

[Byrdman]

Originally posted by C0nAiSt1C:

[QB][/QB]

The funny thing is that all the musicians who play the way you do go round feeling bad about not reading and not knowing a Neapoliton sixth if they are poured one in a bar and all us people who do read and do know about a boatload of theory really just wish we could play by ear.

 

A lot of fine musicians cannot tell you what they are playing. So if you want to learn theory, great, but what you have achieved already is very valuable and you should feel very happy about it.

 

I wish I had started out when I was young on voice instead of piano. I really think that is the best way to start out.