I’ve been an amateur keyboardist
now for about three years. I was
originally a guitar person, but circumstances compelled me to adopt the
keyboard as my primary instrument since 2011 (I learned how to play it a year
prior). I still play guitar once in a
while (and bass occasionally) whenever I’m required to do so, and this particular
instrument will always hold a special place in my heart. But at this point, I have grown to love the
keyboard the most.
There is this distinct
pleasurable charm found in playing the keyboard. There is something romantic about it that I
can’t really put my finger on.
Maybe it’s the kind of
versatility that it possesses that other instruments don’t have. Sure, there are thousands of sounds you can
get out of the guitar with the help of guitar effects. But the different, unique sounds that can be
produced and simulated out of the keyboard are unparalleled.
Nah. That’s one of the things to love about the instrument. But, no. That’s not entirely it.
Maybe it’s because there are just
too many guitar players out there already, too many who subscribe to the
guitar’s musical philosophy. So I prefer
to be unique, and go for a lesser fancied instrument and approach on making
music: the keyboard.
The guitar’s seemingly
fundamental nature is to be “aggressive.”
There is this need to draw attention to itself. It is indeed awesome, but in a gratifyingly badass
kind of way. On the other hand, the awesomeness of the
keyboard relies on its ability to gently captivate and woo with its refined allure.
Sure, there are times that the
keyboard significantly blares prominently; especially if its purpose in the
song is to simulate the elements of brass instruments or to serve as the
central factor in stirring up the listener’s emotion. But there are more times that the keyboard is
subtle. You can’t really hear it without
making a conscious effort in finding the sound it produces that is lost among
the more dominant sounds of the other instruments. But it’s there, providing the needed sound that holds everything together, in
which absence would leave the metaphorical musical equation incomplete.
Just like the drums, the keyboard
is in the “background” of the performance.
But the drums are easily noticeable by its loudness. The keyboard, however, is comfortable at
truly being in the background. Just
there enjoying itself, making music, lost in its own little world, content in
supporting the other instruments, with no real priority at all in being
recognized.
I really can’t properly explain
why. It’s magical. That’s just how it is: I found myself preferring
the musical attitude that the keyboard brings.
For me, there is something greatly appealing and touching about it.
Maybe I’m just born to be a
keyboard player.
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