hello... need advice in buying a keyboard

[TheMusic]

hello everyone... I want to make some "Soloist Tracks" of some hyms to sing them at church... to do this Ill buy a keyboard... does a keyboad with an arranger be helpfull? what keyboards and-or computer programs do you recomend??

thanks
The Music

[abstractnoize]

If you want to have close to the real thing playing then any good Keyboard with "hammeraction" is good. That way you don´t get too overwhelmed when you have to play on the real piano and the keys/tangets all over sudden seem to heavy. Make sure it has 88 keys.

If it´s just to make music on the computer and have fun with it well then you´ll be needing MIDI Contoller Keyboards which are cheaper. The list is endless here on what brands. M-Audio, Edirol, Evolution etc. You´ll have to research on them and see what price range and speficification meets your need.

As for Computer music software, it all depends. How much are you willing to pay? What computer do you have, mac or PC.

In the meantime M-audio has some cool complete packages for the keyboard and software. Check em out here

[TheMusic]

<SPAN style="COLOR: black">Abstractnoize, thanks for the information. i play little keyboard just a couple of chords. what im looking for is something that will have every thing to make accompanament tracks for singers, and to take keyboard (piano) lessons. I have an IBM PC. GrooveLab by M-Audio looks like it has everything. im new to this. i want something that has everything needed to do accompaniment tracks and learn at the sametime. the Korg Pa-50 Professional Arranger looks like a good one. im looking for something less expensive.

[Bizarro]

Try out Band in a Box and see how that works for you. I think they have a free demo online you can download and try first. Band in a Box will do a whole arrangement just by picking styles and the chord progression. Very cool and very powerful. And not too expensive either!

[TheMusic]

Bizarro, Band in a Box exellent software. can do every thing. downloaded the demo. Ill try it out. thanks

[abstractnoize]

Originally Posted by Bizarro

Try out Band in a Box and see how that works for you. I think they have a free demo online you can download and try first. Band in a Box will do a whole arrangement just by picking styles and the chord progression. Very cool and very powerful. And not too expensive either!

I´ll second that. If you want everything for song arrangements that is. You´ll learn a few tips along the way too.

[Philcwm]

Hi,

an old thread I know but this might help someone!

I was in the same position as our friend, though I started to learn the Organ in my teens (40 now).

I bought an E-mu 0404 sound card which came with lots of LE software including Cubase, Ableton, Cakewalk, Amplitube and best of all Proteus X2 LE. I got a second hand Casio 61 note (synth keybed) for £25 in the local rag.

I then bought an E-mu X-Board which is semi-weighted and has a lovely action and lots of knobs etc. and again lots of free software including the full version of Proteus X2.

As someone suggested, to learn piano (which I'm doing now) you really do need an 88 note weighted controller and don't buy a cheap one because it affects your motivation.

I got a Yamaha DGX-630 (Littlewoods catalogue-interest free) and it has the best action I've felt, better than many acoustic pianos in my opinion.

To address our friends issues it has basic a arrangement function - 5 tracks with no editing but you can do that in cubase or whatever and download to the keyboard. Ideal if you need to take your backing tracks with you and saves the additional hassle of lugging a laptop and interface etc.

All I need now is a set of pedals and its organ city.