Choosing the right keyboard for your music

IAN BRADSHAW, marketing manager of KORG UK, offers some guidance on the latest keyboards for the modern church

[MUSIC HAS ALWAYS played an important role in worship, with instruments of varying types, sizes and complexity accompanying the human voice. The pipe organ is probably the instrument most commonly associated with music played in church: indeed, organs have been used in churches for hundreds of years, with the reportedly oldest playable pipe organ being located in the Basilica of Valère in Sion, Switzerland – built almost 600 years ago.

Going even further back, the earliest precursors of the pipe organ appeared in ancient Greece around the third century BC – the term organ deriving from the Greek órganon, a generic term for an instrument or a tool.

Over the past 50 or so years, keyboard instruments have been developed and improved at an ever-increasing pace, frequently adopting exciting and innovative technology as soon as it emerges. The range of keyboards currently available provides hundreds of options to suit a very wide range of applications and budgets.

Such a vast amount of choice can be bewildering, so this piece aims to make readers aware of some of the most important considerations when selecting an instrument for use in a worship setting. I’ll look at the different keyboard categories, their features and benefits, what you can expect in terms of performance and how they should be installed. Providing a simple introduction to these wonderful instruments will help you make a well-informed purchase decision, whatever the application.

Decoding keyboard categories

Throughout this piece, I will be referencing the principal keyboard families. The majority of instruments will fall into one of five of these families, but occasionally an instrument may bridge two. By understanding the general terminology, you should be able to significantly narrow down your choice.

Digital pianos: These typically have 88 keys and entry-level models will have at least 10 ‘sounds’. Typically, these will include a few acoustic pianos, a similar number of electric pianos, a harpsichord and a handful of other simple sounds such as strings, church and tone wheel organs, and sometimes choir.

There are many digital pianos at a similar entrylevel price point with 100’s of sounds, automatic rhythms, and recording. Consider those with caution, as including that level of functionality at a low price point is only possible by compromising on sound, keyboard quality and reliability. The majority of digital pianos include built-in speakers and amplifiers; those without lean more towards digital stage pianos or tend to be very low quality.

Workstations: This family is one of the stalwarts for Gospel and professional players. The genre was firmly established in 1988 when KORG introduced the best-selling M1. Workstations are completely self-contained instruments possessing a huge amount of flexibility. They will also boast the broadest range of high-quality sounds, including essentials such as pianos, organs, woodwind, string, vocal, guitar, bass and drums, as well as radical synthesizer voices. Sounds can be played individually, layered, or combined to create complete soundtracks or arranged into a full score using a built-in sequencer, with final production polish through multiple digital effects.

In terms of complexity, entry-level workstations have been cleverly designed to be very intuitive, with the majority of functions immediately accessible. At the higher end of the price range, they too have similar simplicity, but also have greater depth. Whatever level you chose, the user can edit and make changes to every aspect of the sound. With higher-end machines, you will find more accurate instruments, beautiful touch screen interfaces and extensive connectivity. Built-in amplification is not usually found within these types of products but, due to the broad user segment, a choice of keyboard configurations is usually available. interface that lends itself towards editing sounds ‘on the fly’. They can quickly recall sounds and they’ll feature a high-quality keyboard action. You will also find a variety of connections for external pedals and switches, as well as plenty of options for connecting to professional sound equipment. Just like workstations, they have a broad range of sounds, but with a particular focus on the various types of pianos and solo instruments.

With more recent stage keyboards, the different instrument groups are often separated on the panel with dedicated controls allowing for streamlined and intuitive control. Built-in speakers are rare, with the KORG SV2S being a notable exception – boasting studio-quality speakers developed by pro-audio specialist K-ARRAY.

Arranger keyboards: The roots of these keyboards lie in the two-manual home organs, which enjoyed huge popularity between the 1970s and 1990s; and just like their predecessors, these provide an autoaccompaniment in almost every imaginable genre. The accompaniments allow the player to perform immediately as if backed by a group of several musicians. The two-manual configuration is no longer mainstream, with just a handful of

The elegant and understated KORG G1 Air digital piano

KORG’s latest workstation, NAUTILUS, features a colour touch screen Stage pianos can be elegant yet retro, as with the SV2S

manufacturers still producing them. The majority of arranger keyboards have a single manual that can be split, giving similar playability to a twomanual organ.

Arranger keyboards are one of the most popular formats around the world, and as a result are available covering the broadest price range. As with digital pianos, low-cost instruments tend to compromise in some areas to pack in the features; but with advances in technology, models made today are light years ahead of those made 10 years ago. Similar to workstations and stage keyboards, higher-end arranger keyboards will have more detailed voicing, high-quality cosmetics, and touch screen interfaces. With their intricately programmed accompaniments they’re difficult to distinguish from a real band. Built-in high-quality amplifiers and speakers tend to be featured, providing impressive audio quality.

The synthesizer: This family of products is viewed by many as one of the most exciting groups of keyboards and is more or less where all modern-day electronic keyboards originate. At their heart, sound generation is centred on either a digital or analogue platform, each with its own very distinctive personality.

Broadly speaking, analogue synths are synonymous with a ‘warmer’ sound than their digital counterparts, as well as a more accessible interface to creating sounds. Modern-day analogue synthesizers, unlike earlier models, are extremely reliable and stable thanks to precision components, modern manufacturing techniques and microprocessor control. Over the past 10 years analogue synthesizers have seen a renaissance, going full circle from the early 1990s when digital synthesizers became completely dominant.

However, digital synths offer huge sound design capability with the potential to create unimaginable sounds, but that comes with a higher level of complexity. With the power of modern-day technology, digital synthesizers tend to have a particular synthesis style, often emulating analogue instruments or specialising in one or more methods. Although these devices are becoming increasingly powerful, they can never quite deliver the same result when emulating an analogue counterpart.

The mid-range PA1000 is unquestionably one of the finest arranger keyboards available today

The legendary KORG MS20 started life back in 1978 and is still in production The latest technology in digital FM synthesisers – Opsix from KORG

The powerful, simple and extremely portable KROSS-88 can be powered from just six AA batteries

Who?

If you are not the only person playing the instrument you need to consider who else will be using it and their ability to understand technology. Spending a lot of money on a complex instrument will, with investment in time, deliver fantastic results. But if the user(s) have little opportunity to explore an instrument, the full potential may never be realised.

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that, because you have bought the most expensive or ‘best’ model, that it’s necessarily the best for you and your application. Carefully consider if you want to simply play the instrument or create custom sounds. Think about your needs now and how these might change over time.

The type of keyboard is possibly the most critical consideration, as this is the main interface between player and instrument. Typically, they come in three flavours and, again depending on experience, will determine which type a player is comfortable with. Instruments with a fullyweighted hammer-action reproduce the same feel of a grand piano; the keys are heavier on the lower registers and get lighter as you go up the keyboard. At the other end of the range there are non-weighted keyboards. These have a similar feel to the electronic organs, popular between the 60s and 90s.

In between both of these, there is semiweighted; these ‘feel’ more premium to synthweight, providing a slight resistance while allowing a more comfortable and responsive connection with the player. With the graded hammer action, playing for an extended period can be tiring for some, making the semi-weighted a nice compromise of the two.

Where?

If your keyboard is only to be used for one application, it’s reasonable to assume it will remain as a permanent fixture. Many digital pianos are sold complete with a stand or a bespoke optional stand that will perfectly match each other, but in the case of stage keyboards the stand is mostly a separate and quite generic item. There are of course exceptions, but it’s important to consider the aesthetics within the surroundings, for example a metal ‘X’ stand would look out of place in an older or historical building.

Should you want a keyboard that can be used for a broad range of applications, easy transportation and storage should be high on your checklist. Although more of an exception, sometimes players may be asked to perform at locations without mains power. In those instances generators are usually called upon, but would be overkill if only running one or two pieces of equipment. With advancements in power efficiency, several great and capable professional instruments have the option to run on just six AA batteries or mains power.

Amplification

With any equipment, in addition to the points already made, convenience is an important consideration. An all-in-one solution with internal amplification and speakers can yield flexibility and simplicity as well as portability. In the past, instruments with built-in speakers had a reputation for delivering poor sound quality; but thanks again to technical advancements many instruments are capable of filling a small-sized room with beautiful sound. Where setting up is concerned, you just need the instrument and power, and within a little time you are ready to perform. In larger installations a built-in amplifier and speakers can be used for monitoring, but be mindful to check that the internal speakers can be switched off if not required, and that there are connections to plug into a larger amplification or speaker system. q • For further information visit korg.com www.ecclesiasticalandheritageworld.co.uk 37