Many people believe that playing the synthesizer is not particularly different and can be done by anyone who has ever played a piano. But, unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, this is not the case. The synthesizer has many great features from classical instruments. Although, despite the greater number of possibilities, playing the synthesizer is still easier than playing the piano. This does not mean that the technology of this musical instrument will do everything for you, and you will only enjoy various melodies, but it will definitely simplify your task.

What is special about the synthesizer?

For many performers, playing the synthesizer with the left hand, and especially with both hands, at the same time can be difficult. Not everyone can combine a leading melody with accompaniment, and almost every synthesizer has an auto accompaniment function, which greatly facilitates the learning process and allows you to pay more attention to the melody. And learning the notes of the bass clef, which are almost always used in accompaniment, is not an easy task.

Thus, with the help of the developed capabilities of the synthesizer, the learning process becomes much easier and faster and there are fewer requirements for the student.

Piano training is a complicated version of the game, which lacks the assistance of effects, modes and all the different capabilities of the synthesizer. The only decoration of the game can be a pedal, which will add brightness and volume to the sound.

Basic requirements for the student:

1. Rhythm . No matter how much the synthesizer’s capabilities simplify the game, it’s unlikely to work without a sense of rhythm. But don’t rush to worry and check, rhythm develops over time, so don’t worry if the student’s melody has its own rhythm the first time.
2. Knowledge of notes, to begin with treble clef . Playing a synthesizer cannot do without a bass clef. But for beginning musicians, free playing with the right hand and reading notes from a sheet will suffice. The treble clef is not difficult to remember; it includes seven notes that can be located in different octaves. This is worth paying attention to, since the playing in each octave has a different sound, and creates harmony in the playing.
3. It is worth fully exploring all the capabilities of the synthesizer , effects, accompaniment, etc. This will make it much easier to learn to play the synthesizer from scratch.
4. With your left hand you need to learn to accurately hit the synthesizer keys . That is, to press chords without missing notes. This can be several chords for the entire piece, thanks to the auto accompaniment, but they must be clean.

Main functions and capabilities of the tool

Each instrument has a "tone palette". You yourself must listen to all the options and make associations with each. Perhaps this sound reminds you string instrument or a brass band, or perhaps a percussion sound. Usually, all tones are numbered, but it will be easier to choose the brightest ones and remember them.

2. Auto accompaniment.

You have already become familiar with this function above. Thanks to this effect, you can play the synthesizer in various genres and styles. Adds volume to the sound.

3. Recording.

This button will provide an opportunity not only to listen to your playing and draw conclusions, but also to combine recording with playing on a synthesizer. The two-voice effect sounds very interesting.

Fingering

This section may seem unimportant to you, but it is completely wrong. Positioning of fingers when playing
synthesizer is very important. Playing with one finger is at least inconvenient, and such a game does not look attractive.

The finger count starts with the thumb (1) and ends with the little finger (5).

Many of the notes have fingerings that will make things easier when playing the synthesizer. If not, then there are no clear rules for using your fingers; pay attention to the aesthetics of the game and convenience. It all depends on your fingers and hands, so fingering is quite personal, but it's still worth following the advice of the professionals. And, do not forget to monitor the condition of your hand. Careless and relaxed fingers are unlikely to be able to reproduce a beautiful melody.

Chords and arpeggios

Chords – pressing three synthesizer keys simultaneously. You will have to work hard at this skill. You need to hit the keys cleanly, without hitting unnecessary notes, which can ruin the entire sound.

Arpeggio – alternate pressing of notes from a chord. Simply put, a decomposed chord. It is much easier to play arpeggios separately on a synthesizer than simultaneously. But as you play, when you simultaneously need to play the main melody in your right hand, you will realize that pressing a chord at the same time is still easier.

Sight reading

It is important to be able to sight read music and play it instantly. This requires knowledge of notes and orientation in octaves and keys. You will very quickly get bored of memorizing several pieces and decide to increase your repertoire. This is where sight reading comes in handy.

Game based on video lessons

Visual memory and playing the synthesizer using video lessons is suitable for beginner musicians who do not know sheet music. Such a game will not give you development in musical endeavors; and you won’t learn any useful skills from playing the synthesizer like this, but it will help expand your repertoire, which is also important. Sometimes you just want to enjoy the performance of a popular melody, even if you don’t know the notes, and in such situations, video lessons are irreplaceable.

Using Effects on a Synthesizer

Using various effects, you can create music in any genre, style and rhythm. The main thing is to understand all the buttons of your synthesizer, because there are no unnecessary buttons on the instrument. It presents many game options, including even " independent game", that is, you just need to press a few keys, and the instrument itself will select the melody, chords and an interesting ending.

Bottom line

These tips will help you learn to play the synthesizer from scratch on your own. Strive, try, play and make the most of your instrument. Once you get past the “beginner” stage, you will enjoy and musical development will start to be easier. The main and most difficult thing is to start and diligently achieve initial skills, and the further you go, the more enjoyable it will be.

What if?...

Do you think that if a person can play the piano, does that mean that he can also play the synthesizer? The same keyboard, black, white keys, pedal... Everything seems to be the same... Not at all necessary! This only means that he will be able to play the synthesizer using only the functions of the piano. But the synthesizer has many other possibilities. And the best part for beginners is that you don’t have to know how to play the piano to learn how to play the synthesizer. Contrary to popular belief, by the way. The opposite is also true - if someone knows how play the synthesizer, it is not at all necessary that he can also play the piano.



In this lesson we will not discuss all the differences between these instruments and all the capabilities of the synthesizer. Now we will discuss only one topic - Why is it so much easier to learn to play the synthesizer than the piano?.

Here we must immediately make a reservation: in this article, and indeed on our website in general, we are talking about synthesizers with auto accompaniment, and for simplicity we simply call them synthesizers. If at this point you suddenly got scared and began to frantically figure out whether you have automatic accompaniment or not, then I hasten to reassure you - most likely, you do.

For those who learn to play the piano as adults, playing with the left hand is especially difficult. And when you need to play with both hands at the same time, this generally turns out to be an insurmountable barrier for many. Here some people try to play just with one hand, out of the idea that it’s better than nothing. But very quickly it becomes clear that without the accompaniment of the left hand the melody sounds poor, and that all the beauty is in the combination of melody and accompaniment (this is how we will conventionally divide and call the parts of the right and left hands). And since it’s impossible to play with both hands, classes are abandoned. Unfortunately.

The second difficulty is the notes. Oh those notes. If you can still somehow learn the notes of the treble clef, then the bass clef is a separate “song” for many. Besides, learning notes is one thing, but playing the notes is something completely different. Not everyone succeeds in this. If you knew how to play by notes, then it would be enough to disassemble the piece once, understand the difficult passages, and that’s it, you can play. But many - and we are talking specifically about adult students - due to the inability to read music, they simply memorize, or even memorize works, using only muscle memory. And in order for hands to be remembered, you need to play not once or twice, but much more. Therefore, learning one piece can take many weeks, and most likely months. The result of such a situation is still the same - the monotonous repertoire becomes boring, and classes are abandoned because “it still doesn’t work out.”

These problems do not exist if you learn to play the synthesizer. The fact is that you will mainly play with your right hand, and your left will only help enrich the melody with accompaniment. Here there is no need for complex hand coordination - this is the solution to the first problem. When you want to learn new song, one or two evenings will be enough for you. After all, you need to play mainly with your right hand, and learning the right hand part is quite simple. And this is the solution to the second problem.

So, let's summarize. What skills are needed to play the synthesizer?

1. Mastery of the RIGHT HAND. This includes knowledge of sheet music, mainly in the treble clef. The ability to play notes with one right hand is not particularly difficult.

2. Left hand plays chords. It’s even difficult to use the word “plays” here; rather, it simply “presses at the right moment.” In most synthesizers, you don’t even need to play the entire chord, just one note from it is enough, and the synthesizer will “finish” the rest for you. Do you know how to press a doorbell? What about your left hand? It's not difficult, right? Something similar is required of you when you play a synthesizer using auto accompaniment.

3. Sense of rhythm. It develops over time. More precisely, it “wakes up”, because you definitely have it! Don't worry about that for now.

4. Knowledge of synthesizer functions. Often, synthesizer owners don’t know why all these buttons are there. Don’t think about this either, the time will come and we’ll sort it all out.

In the first lesson we learned the difference between a synthesizer and a piano. This is the most important thing you should have learned today. In the next lesson we'll talk a little about the first skill - playing with the right hand. We’ll also learn about why you shouldn’t learn to play the synthesizer if you want to play works by Mozart, Bach or other classical composers.

You will succeed!

How to learn to play the synthesizer, and even figure it out on your own? This is exactly what we will talk about today. Before we start our conversation, we’ll give you just two settings.

Well, first of all, there is one universal rule: to learn how to play the keys, you just need to one day just take it and start playing them. In fact, the game is practical view activity, associated to some extent with the cunning of the mind.

Secondly, training is needed, because playing on for “young, mischievous” and completely green beginners is like playing football. Imagine how many goals a football player will score in a match if he “scores” his training. I think very little, what do you think? But constant training allows you to improve and perfect your skills. The results usually don’t take long to appear - what didn’t work out today turns out great literally the next day!

In addition to these “settings,” we note that in order for you to start learning to play the synthesizer and in order to hone your skills in training, you need to have this very synthesizer. Your own instrument, with which you are free to do whatever you want. Even if it’s the cheapest model (cheap doesn’t mean bad) or even a “toy synthesizer”, that will do for a start. If you are going to buy a cooler instrument, then you can read about how to choose a synthesizer in. Now, let’s return to our main question and take a closer look at it.

Getting to know the tool

In general, it’s enough just to turn on the instrument to start playing it, but it’s not a bad idea to get to know the basic capabilities of the synthesizer better. This instrument was called a synthesizer because it combines hundreds of tones of a wide variety of musical instruments and hundreds of ready-made arrangements in all possible styles. instrumental music.

Let's see what function on the keys this or that button is responsible for. So, what can our synthesizers do:

1. Play various instrumental tones (instrument bank). To make it easier to find the timbre we need, synthesizer manufacturers group them according to certain criteria: type of instrument (wind, string, etc.), material of the instrument (wood or copper). Any timbre has serial number(each manufacturer has its own numbering - abbreviated lists are usually displayed on the body, full lists codes for the tool bank are published in the user manual).
2. Automatic accompaniment or “self-pacing” – this feature makes playing the synthesizer much easier. With it you can play a piece in any style (blues, hip-hop, rock and others) or genre (waltz, polka, ballad, march, etc.). The best part is that you don't even need to know sheet music to create music with self-playing. You just started the process - improvise and enjoy.
3. In addition to the styles of ready-made arrangements, you can also experiment with the tempo and pitch (key) of the accompaniment being played.
4. The record button will save the melody you played. You can use it as the second part of your composition: just turn on the recording and play something else on top.

Now let's look at the operating panel of the simplest synthesizer. Everything in it is simple and logical, there is nothing superfluous. Synthesizer desktops are mostly of the same type. Look at the picture - on all other models everything is arranged almost the same:

Introduction to musical notation

Before actually sitting down at the keys, it is advisable to take an interest in the basic musical knowledge. Don't worry, there aren't that many of them! To help you - which our site gives to everyone. Fill out the form (at the top right of this page) to receive a simple and understandable textbook for those who passionately want to comprehend this brutal science.

What to do if you decide to learn to play the synthesizer yourself?

For those who have decided to master everything on their own, here are some tips. You need not to get carried away with theory, watching video lectures and reading thousands of books for dummies. Yours musical perception so fresh that you can learn a lot intuitively, the main thing is to practice more. This is the first tip.

In order for something to start working out, you will have to devote time to practicing the instrument - it’s very addicting, it literally “blows the roof off”, so in order not to sit at the instrument all night long, ask your relatives to tear you away from the synthesizer from time to time and put you to bed. This was the second tip.

Jokes aside, there are real problems that beginners have. Many beginners take on something that is temporarily too tough for them - there is no need to do this. If you want to play something complex, look for a simplified version of this piece, or better yet, start with single-voice melodies, simple exercises, and maybe even scales (some people like to play scales - they sit for hours without stopping).

Musicians have such a concept as fingering. This terrible word call the expediency of playing a particular note with one or another finger. In short: which fingers to press the buttons with? It may seem to you that this is all funny, but we cannot say enough about the importance of fingering principles.

Imagine: you need to play five notes in a row, five keys that are located one after another on the keyboard. What is the easiest and fastest way to do this? After all, you can’t use the same finger to poke all five buttons? Of course not! It is much more convenient to place five fingers of your hand (one above each key), and then use light “hammer-like” movements to touch the five keys.

By the way, keyboard players’ fingers are not called by their proper names (thumb, index, middle, etc.), but are numbered: 1 – thumb, 2 – index, 3 – middle, 4 – ring, 5 – little finger. IN good notes for beginners, a fingering is indicated above each note (that is, the “numbers” of the fingers with which these notes need to be played).

The next thing you need to learn is to play chords (three sounds played at the same time). Practice your movements clearly, moving your fingers from key to key. If some fragment doesn’t work out, play it again and again, bring the movement to automatism.

Once you have learned the location of the notes, sight-read them (that is, try to play an unfamiliar piece at an average tempo, making as few mistakes as possible). Sight-reading music is an essential skill for those who in the future want to not just mechanically perform memorized melodies, but quickly and without any difficulties play completely new pieces directly from the sheet music (this is especially useful at family meetings, parties - you can perform songs ordered by your friends).

How to play the synthesizer without knowing the notes?

Don’t know sheet music, much less have any idea how to play a synthesizer? Pamper yourself, feel like a mega-keyboardist - the auto accompaniment will help you with this. Mastering the skill of playing the synthesizer with the help of a “samograika” is as easy as shelling pears, complete the tasks according to the points:

1. Turn on the accompaniment function. We will still find all the buttons we need.
2. Know that left hand is responsible for the accompaniment, and the right one is for the main melodic line (it’s not even necessary to play the melody).
3. Select the style of piece you are going to perform. Decide on its pace.
4. Select the timbre of the instrument for the solo part (if you play a melody, if not, skip it).
5. Turn on a button like “PLAY” or “START” and the synthesizer will play the intro itself.
6. With your left hand on the left side of the keyboard (the closer to the edge, the better), play chords or simply press any key. The instrument will play rhythm, bass, accompaniment, pedal and everything else for you.
7. Right hand you can try playing some melody. Basically it's not prerequisite, because you can sing to the accompaniment you made!
8. Is the song ending? Press “STOP” and the synthesizer itself will play you an interesting ending.

In order to use all these modes, find a number of buttons on your model that are similar to those shown in the figure:

Do we study on our own or take lessons?

There are several training options, let's look at each of them.

1. Private lessons from a teacher. A good option for those who do not know how to discipline themselves. Compulsory attendance at classes and regular homework will force you to play something on the synthesizer sooner or later.
2. Synthesizer playing courses. Classes are held in the same way as private ones, only instead of one person, the teacher teaches several at once, which is not so effective.
3. Video lessons. A good teaching method: download the lesson, watch it several times and follow everything according to the teacher’s recommendations. You set the class time and deadlines for studying the material yourself.
4. Game tutorial (book, website, online magazine, etc.). Another good way to learn the features of playing the synthesizer. Choose the material you like - and go to the musical barricades. The big plus is that you can always go back and read (watch) the material you didn’t understand again and again.
5. With the help of a synthesizer “training machine”. On the display screen, the program tells you which keys to press with which hand and fingers. This method is more like coaching. You will undoubtedly have reflexes a la “Pavlov’s dog”, but this will not help you advance far in performing the synthesizer.

Of course, it’s impossible to learn everything about how to learn to play a synthesizer at once. But we helped solve the problems that all newbies face.

Tutorial for playing the synthesizer
Peshnyak V.G.
2001
part of the text is recognized (OCR), the quality is good
(pdf, 44.6 MV)

The self-instruction manual for playing the synthesizer by composer and teacher Vladimir Grigorievich Peshnyak is new teaching aid for a synthesizer. Unlike the “Synthesizer Playing Course”, intended for vocational training in children's music schools, a self-instruction manual involves mastering an instrument without a teacher. At the same time, the synthesizer itself becomes the main assistant for learning to play the synthesizer.
The publication is intended for the most wide circle music lovers - from schoolchildren who do not know how to play any musical instrument, to professional musicians who want to master a new instrument. And if beginners need to carry out training quite consistently practical tasks, without going into details and at first skipping some explanations of the essence of the synthesizer’s capabilities, then experienced musicians, naturally, have no need to read sections related to musical literacy, however, they are also recommended to consistently complete all tasks.
Of particular interest to both may be the section related to composing music and using a synthesizer in a composition.

The CASIO CTK-731 synthesizer model was taken as the main base instrument. The choice of tool is determined at an affordable price provided that all the necessary technical characteristics are available for home music playing and concert use of the instrument. Using the acoustic settings offered by the author, you will transform the sound of the synthesizer in accordance with your wishes. The tutorial covers the following possibilities: the ability to use various musical tones; divide the keyboard for simultaneous use in real sound from 2, 4 to 12 different timbres; play to your own auto accompaniment without knowing musical literacy and chord structure; unlearn new music, without having notes; create and voice over full-fledged phonograms of compositions, recording onto eleven memory tracks; create new original voice timbres and styles for auto accompaniment. You will learn about this and much more from the tutorial.

• INTRODUCTION
  • § 1.Tone bank
  • § 2.Transmission of sound signals
  • § 3.General MIDI Map
  • § 4.Mixer
  • § 5. Sequencer and synthesizer memory
  • § 6.Keyboard
  • § 7. Auto harmony (AUTO HARMONIZE)
  • § 8.Control panel keys (overview)
• LESSON I
  § 1. Tool location
  § 2.Turning on and selecting a game mode
  § 3. Auto accompaniment harmony control in CASIO CHORD mode
  § 4. Singing without a rhythm sequencer
  § 5. Rhythmic sequencer and accompaniment texture
  § 6. Individual elements of the auto-accompaniment texture
  § 7. Auto accompaniment style structure
  § 8. Singing with auto accompaniment rhythm
  § 9. Features of harmonization for the synthesizer
• LESSON 2
  § I. Synchronized play
  § 2. “Impromptu” mode (FREE SESSION)
  § 3. General scheme of form formation.
  § 4. First entry into the synthesizer memory.
  § 5. First saving on a floppy disk
• LESSON 3 READING NOTE
  § 1. Rhythm
  § 2. Pitch of notes
  § 3. Features of notation for the synthesizer
  § 4. We draw notes and play music!
  § 5. Harmonization.
  § 6. Subtext.
• LESSON 4. SETTING UP THE SYNTHESIZER
  § 1. Setting up synthesizer parameters.
  § 2. Saving settings in the registration bank (REGISTRATION BANK)
  § 3.Saving settings on a floppy disk
  § 4. Acoustics and effects (DSP)
  § 5. Panorama (PANORAMA)
  § 6. Voice volume balance (VOLUME)
  § 7. Transposing voices (TRANS; C.Tune)
  § 8. Fine-tuning the height (TUNE. FINE TUNE)
  § 9. Setting expressiveness (EXPRESS)
  § 10. Touch sensitivity (TOUCH RESPONSE)
  §11. Keyboard division (SPLIT)
  § 12. Overlaying keyboards
  § 13. Sixth keyboard!
  § 14. Selecting a tone (TONE)
  § 15. Synthesizing timbre (SYNTH)
• LESSON 5. DEVELOPMENT OF PIANO TECHNIQUE
  Scales, exercises, pieces
• LESSON 6. TEXTURE
  § 1.0 improper playing that distorts timbres
  §2. Playing “backing tracks” (Method of learning auto accompaniment parts)
  § 3. Playing “backing tracks” (Methodology for learning a MIDI file part)
  § “MISSM.mid” - demo file for the CASIO CTK-731 synthesizer
• LESSON 7. CREATE AN AUTO ACCOMPANIMENT STYLE AND RECORD A SONG
  • Creating an Auto Accompaniment Style, Recording a Song
    V. Peshnyak - AMBIENT (Pattern, Song)
    Auto Accompaniment Style Example (Pattern)
  • V. Peshnyak PIECES FOR SYNTHESIZER
    • Cranes
      Morning serenade
      Summer evening
      Spring mood
      Nostalgia
      Elegy
      Adagio
      Sad tune
• EXERCISES
  • No. 1 (Synchronized play)
  • No. 2 (Boogie)
  • Polka - gallop (exercise on form formation)
  • Four songs for one episode (V. Peshnyak)
  • Scales, exercises
  • Chant - piece in legato (V. Peshnyak)
  • Auto accompaniment bass line (rhythm and articulation)
  • MissM.mid (demo file for CASIO-CTK 731 synthesizer)
• FOLK MUSIC
  • Russian ditty
  • Whether in the garden or in the vegetable garden
  • New Year's (The little Christmas tree is cold in winter)
  • Harmonic Variations (Quail)
  • What do you need?
  • Through the wild steppes of Transbaikalia
  • ILedryk-Shchedryk (arranged folk song)
• VARIETY MELODIES OF RUSSIA
  • “Boogie with a scythe” (V. Butusov - D. Umetsky)
  • Under the blue sky - an example of textures (M. Volokhonsky)
  • Million scarlet roses(R. Pauls)
  • Smile (V. Shainsky)
  • Moscow windows light (T. Khrennikov)
  • Tired Sun (E. Petersburg)
  • Lilac Fog (unknown author)
• POPULAR FOREIGN MUSIC
  • I will wait for you - I will wait (M. Legrand)
  • Love story -

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learning to play the synthesizer tutorial

Would you like to learn how to play any of your favorite songs on a synthesizer? You can learn this in just 6 small video lessons with a total duration of 25 minutes. Don't you believe it? It's actually very simple. Any composition always consists of chords - modern, classical, jazz. It doesn’t matter at all, they all consist of chords, which means it’s enough to explain the basic chords to you and you can safely play any song. It's that simple! The training is so simple that even a child can handle it. In the last lesson, we will analyze in detail 6 modern songs, which is guaranteed to give you self-confidence and give you the foundations to move forward towards your dream. ATTENTION! This is not taught in music school. To get all the video lessons, you need to click on the "GO TO SITE" button in the video itself or follow the link in the description. See you in class!

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