{"id":12497,"date":"2020-11-24T02:14:33","date_gmt":"2020-11-24T02:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/audioordeal.co.uk\/?p=12497"},"modified":"2020-11-24T02:14:39","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T02:14:39","slug":"do-you-need-a-midi-keyboard-for-producing-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/audioordeal.co.uk\/do-you-need-a-midi-keyboard-for-producing-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Do you need a MIDI keyboard for producing music?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Getting started with making electronic music can be expensive and you may ask yourself whether you actually need a MIDI keyboard to make electronic music at home.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to get straight to the point and say that a MIDI keyboard is not essential for producing music, but there are a number of reasons why it is great…as well as a few alternatives you may want to consider!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those of you very new to music production, a MIDI keyboard is generally a keyboard that you can plug into a computer or synth. It won’t make any noises by itself \u2013 unlike electric pianos \u2013 but it has a huge amount of versatility because it can control anything in a computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ MORE: How to become a power user of your favourite DAW<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MIDI keyboards send MIDI messages to the computer which can control pretty much any software instrument (or VST<\/a>). Whether you have loaded a piano instrument or a dubstep synth, or even an orchestral ensemble, it can be controlled via your MIDI keyboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside notes, they can also send other control signals such as faders and playback controls. As you’ll see further down, these can come at a premium, but not a drastic one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While all good music software allows you to draw in the notes you need with a mouse, having a MIDI keyboard allows you to perform the melodies into the computer and record the grooves more naturally. When playing on a keyboard, you are jamming or performing ideas in real time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compare that to inputting the notes manually with a mouse, you can’t do it as the song is playing, so have much less of a feel for the music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you need to know how to play piano to produce music?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

No. In fact, almost all of the producers I know aren’t trained pianists. What you will find is that as you produce more and more, you do get better at playing the piano. That is, of course, provided you have been using a MIDI keyboard to record your melodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am by no means any good at piano, but having spent so much of my spare time making music, I am able to play and compose things more or less on the fly with my keyboard. I can’t do anything too technical, but I can lay down the chords needed with not too much trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you will get good at (quickly) is chords and simple melodies. It is then on to you to determine how much you want to learn. Many producers go their whole lives being unable to perform back their songs on a keyboard, because the computer assistance is so great it means they can get by with minimal skill. (I’m not saying producers aren’t skilled \u2013 you still need to be musically talented \u2013 you just don’t have to be a proficient pianist to make great songs<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What MIDI keyboard should I get for music production?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I’m going to be really budget friendly with this section, because I know what it was like getting into music little money to waste on frivolities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basically, any MIDI keyboard that connects via USB will be best for most producers. There are a few things to consider such as size and the number of keys, and after that, you are just looking at nice-to-haves which will be a case of balancing your budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Mini & Budget<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

If you aren’t too fussed about the “legitimate” piano experience, you may be good for a “mini” keyboard. These are cheap and compact and have small keys, but they are more than enough to record in the melodies and jam out ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They generally only have a few octaves at most, so don’t expect to play two-handed. But this is good because it keeps size down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally these come with “no frills” but some also have additional knobs or pads to add extra control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n