Bored with piano...

[SostenutO]

Lately I have been bored with playing the piano. I have come to realize that all I can really do is comp chords and throw some blues licks in etc. There arn't any cool effects for piano. Nothing that is original or "awesome" or anything. There wasn't every a Hendrix of Piano who did something totally crazy with the piano and changed the way people played. With piano you can only play the notes, can't bend them or alter them or make kewl sounds. Its just....blah. The best you can do is slide off another note. Theres no Wah or Squeeling or Screaming etc......What should I do???!!!!

[Factor]

Oh yes there were "Hendrix"s of the Piano, but you might not have heard of them. Do you listen to jazz?

If so, at least check out Bill Evans, Keith Jarret and Herbie Hancock. They changed the way people play piano. Not neccessarily techniquewise, but in terms of content and harmonic depth.

[SostenutO]

I'll check out some more Herbie. I do listen to a lot of those guys though.
I guess I need some inspiration. I've just been noticing lately that a lot of those guys like Albert Ammons, Memphis Slim, Thelonius Monk, etc etc all played mostly the same thing....jazz/blues soloing over boogiewoogie etc bass lines. And that is mostly the best thing you can do. There's no real "lead piano" persay. And no awesome effects (except they do have some keyboards with tremolo bars and snyths are pretty kewl).

[carmencita]

Originally Posted by SostenutO

There wasn't every a Hendrix of Piano who did something totally crazy with the piano and changed the way people played.

Try Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt. Their contemporaries thought them insane and they changed the way people play!

[SostenutO]

Yes but I meant more along the lines on effects on piano. Like on guitar there are so many different things you can do to make awesome sounds and so much merchandise like wah pedals, effect pedals etc etc. You can't do that kind of stuff on piano.

And when I said Hendrix I meant about the differrent things he did to create new original sounds. I can't rub my piano against a pole and make some cool sounds lol.

[Mateo150]

I'd definetly recommend Herbie Hancock... I mean, geez, that guy is incredible. His sense of rhythm, timing, groove, harmonic/theory sense... amazing. But if your looking for effects and experimenting with keys, maybe some Medeski, Martin, & Wood (MMW for short) may be what your looking for.

[delicious]

you should checkout jordan rudess from dream theater;P. watch the live at budokan dvd you see him do some pretty cool stuff. plugged the keyboard into a distortion pedal and was shredding up guitar pieces on the keyboard hehe, and his also got that cool magnetic strip thingy under one of his controls on the keyboard where he slides finger across to change the tone or something. piano is boring, learn keyboard

[SostenutO]

I have hooked my keyboard up to a Wah-Pedal before and it sounded awesome. Maybe I should be some guitar pedals and use them with my keyboard. That'd be cool. They should start making effect pedals for keyboard though. Its not fair, guitarists really do have all the good merchandise and all of us know it.... :'(

[SostenutO]

I couldn't tell, in songs liek Chameleon, at about 40 seconds, is that piano or guitar?? first it sounds a lot like a real funky guitar than it sounds like a real funky piano lol.

[Mateo150]

those are keyboards... thats Herbie you hear there. The guitar and bass are pretty much static throughout the song and hold down the groove. Maybe some ear training would help out a bit to help distinguish all that. Get out there and listen to live music as well.

[Poparad]

Check out some of Chick Corea's electric playing (keyboards and Fender Rhodes). He makes some far out sounds with those.

[carmencita]

Chick Corea, yes! I once heard (and saw) him in Vienna, were he was picking the strings and playing with a felt-stick.
There are also a number of pieces for "prepared" piano (forgot the name(s), because I love the sound of a good, "clean" piano), where you e.g. place a big sheet of paper and a pound of peas on the strings. But maybe this is not what you are looking for

[Schmaus]

effects on guitar are a little overrated.

personally I used to use them alot...then I pretty much always go back to just delay or reverb and focus on the notes and how im playing them.

mabye you can be a hendrix of piano and invent some

Of course that isn't that realistic but you never know.

[fortymile]

i dont think piano is 'for' effects. and my biases are shining through here, but thank god.

seek out more whacked out harmony, and appreciate the moods the piano is capable of--it's all ya can do.

[SostenutO]

Im going to check out Chick Corea right now. Thank you. In Chameleon you say thats all keyboard?(even the funky guitar sounding strummy funky...thingy in the way beginning? at 40 seconds and 8:07 you can really hear it). anyway it is incredibly awesome, it sounds like it has some liquidy "wah" effect on it. Inspiring.