Practical Sound Design For Keyboardists

For All Live Keyboardists

We’ve all spent some amount of time working with synth patches…

Here is what you really need to know…

• Why having patches that sound good isn’t enough
  • The importance of the conception VS Manipulation shift
• The 4 things preset creators skip when building your sounds
  • How to optimize your patches for maximum playability
• How to stop wasting time choosing and morphing sounds
  • Why all keyboardists need a grip on sound design and synthesis

Dear Friends,

If you have spent the majority of your live keyboardist career playing other people’s patches, then I can tell you there is so much more available you haven’t even skimmed the surface of, and here’s why…

Our instrument is brand new….

Once upon a time, in the not so distant past, VSTs didn’t exist. But worlds have collided; Your piano had a head-on collision with your computer, and computers and pianos aren’t the same.

Computers are mathematical, precise, and bold.

Pianos are subtle, expressive, and sensitive

So without intentionality, we enter into a losing battle;

How do we get our synths and patches to sound and feel as expressive as good old wood and string?

It is possible!

The Sad News…

Most presets aren’t made with you in mind. Many synth presets are

• Resource-heavy,
• Created without any thought of context
• Not suited for live performance

Live Keyboard players have different needs than studio players and producers. If you have read this far then you probably know that:

• Nothing is worse than having your live set crash
• Having too many sounds loaded for a performance can be overwhelming
• Having different patches respond differently can be mentally taxing while you are trying to play

What you ACTUALLY need…

What you need isn’t great sounding patches.

You need functional patches created to be used in a flexible environment

When you load in a preset, even a great sounding one, it lacks the full potential offered to you by your keyboard combined with the power of Ableton.

• The touch sensitivity, if there is any, will be random, and differ from other patches
• Control of that sound will be specific only to that sound, leaving you with no effective way to control multiple patches

The Three Phases Of Sound Design That Leave Keyboardists Out

1. Sound conception
   1. A sound designer comes up with a sound
2. Sound creation
   1. A sound designer creates it using some sort of synth
3. Localized sound manipulation
   1. He throws you a few bones so you can slightly change the sound

The problem for us is that we need synthesis to look a little differently

What Keyboardists Need

1. Sound conception
   1. Comprised of a few, high flexible, context-driven patches
2. Sound creation
   1. Done with stability, and playability in mind
3. Global Manipulation
   1. Space left for each keyboardist to manipulate sounds on a global level.

Thinking of sound design in this manner brings all three phases together, to create patches that are stable, playable, and flexible.

In addition, understanding sound design in this manner takes patches and presets that previously would have been unusable in a live context, and grants you access to them as a part of your performance instrument.

If you have ever felt frustrated trying to make presets and patches work for you in a live context, hopefully now you understand why.

But Knowledge Is Power

In sound design for keyboardists, you will learn

• How to unlock the power of sound design as a keyboard player
• How, when, and where, to use audio effects
• The power and necessity of foundational patches
• How to holistically design sounds with live performance in mind

In addition to all of this, we will also cover:

• Essential live manipulation techniques
• Universal effects

Who am I?

I started playing the keyboard as a kid, and ever since then, I have been totally hooked.

I went to the City College of New York and got a bachelor’s degree in Jazz piano performance. But it was my post-college years that really set me down the path of understanding the real need we have for a solid education on playing keyboards live.

I worked in musical theatre as a music director for many years. During that time, I was constantly programming and playing insane keyboard parts sustainable and creatable only by computer.

What I learned during that time was that a lot of sounds felt terrible to play. I mean, anyone who has ever tried to play through Singin’ In The Rain using stock mainstage patches feels my pain.

But I didn’t have the facility to adjust them well. I eventually purchased some more expensive sounds and band-aided the situation.

But it wasn’t in musical theatre that my eyes were really opened to the power of sound design, it was actually at church.

Playing keyboards and musical directing a worship team forced me to figure out several things that the crux of this course is based on:

• How to create a live environment where my patches thrived
• How to use synths to create the sounds I would hear on records
• How to manipulate sounds to give me the most bang for my buck

I’ve been working as a professional musician and music educator in NYC for the last 10 years, and the three things described above have revolutionized everything about the way I perform and work.

This course is for you if…

• You want a holistic and practical approach to sound design
• You are tired of relying entirely on presets
• You want to be a big-picture thinker, who creates with context in mind

Here is what you will get when you buy:

• Lifetime access to 4 hours of course material where you will learn to master wholistic, context-driven sound design
• 5 foundational patches ready for tweaking in Ableton
• A copy of my very own live keyboard set up

This course is only $75

But here’s the deal, in comparison to what you will get in return, it is priceless.

Some of this information is out there on the internet for free. You could spend your hours searching to try and find it. You could probably piecemeal it all together and come up with something close to what I’ve put together for you here.

Over the last 5 or 6 years, that is exactly what I have done.

OR, you could start learning today, all in one place. And you can get the best of what I have learned over the years in a compact, easy to digest format.

Not only will it save you time searching the internet for answers, but it will also save you time in your set up because you will no longer be guessing at how to approach this whole sound design thing.

As a private teacher in NYC, I charge $70 dollars an hour.

That means to get the same value in this course that I am giving away for only $75 dollars you would have to pay almost 300 dollars.

But if all of the above wasn’t enough

This is an excellent method for quick reference while you are building sounds

In addition to that, I will share with you my 4 Audio bus effect racks for powerful live sound manipulation. This is a 20 dollar value, included with this course 100% for free.

If you’re not satisfied in 30 days, I will refund the full amount paid

There is literally no risk. I am so certain that sound design for keyboardists is going to revolutionize and equipt you to create wholistic context-driven patches designed for live performance, that I am willing to return all of you money if you don’t agree.

So here is the final offer

• Three hours of detailed video content teaching you to master holistic and keyboard specific sound design
• A copy of my live performance set (Including all my sounds) so you can dig apart what I have done and even use it for yourself
• A PDF booklet of all the audio effects contained in this course for quick reference when you are on the go
• 4 audio bus effect racks for powerful live sound manipulation
• 5 Foundational patches ready for tweaking and transforming

You know what’s included, you know all the value you are going to get, now its time to purchase.

When you click above, you will be redirected to a check out page where you can enter in your credit card information, or pay using PayPal.

Once you do, you will immediately receive access to sound design for keyboardists, as well as access to all of the extra’s that are included.

PS, the time is now. You can continue working with patches that weren’t built for keyboardists, or you can learn to create wholistic, context-driven patches that will step up your live performance, and save you hours of time scrolling the internet. If now isn’t the time, then when is? Click here to sign up now