Re: Midi Keyboard for beginners

[davenelson]

I am the beginner. I know I want to use Ableton as my DAW so I have begun with a Novation Launchkey 61 and Launchpad Mini. But I am also learning piano with Melodics, and now I think I would like a weighted 88 keys piano to learn on, probably a Yamaha P45. I'm having a lot of fun and learning a lot about music, but wow, the price of things is really adding up.

[Willrock26]

I started with 32 Keys but ended up switching to 49. I thought it wouldn't be that important but it improved my workflow by a lot!

[gExpectations]

I just want to stress that especially when you have limited exprience don't overcomplicate the gear decision. People, myself included, generally overthink toolchain decisions and that is especially true for midi controllers. There are a couple very good reasons why it doesn't matter that much: (1) if you are not months or better years into producing, you're not set on a workflow, so you can't even make the decision what's best for you (2) getting a useful and productivity enhancing midi controller setup (thinking pots and faders), is a product of significant work and midi can be confusing -- it is also only possible once you set on your production workflow. Sticking to an ecosystem like NI alleviates that but also creates a type of workflow for you.

So with that, I would just buy really any keyboard, especially if you not yet proficiently play keys. I came to this conclusion after trying a bunch of flagship keyboards and overthinking these decisions for years. Imho, the most important question to ask yourself is: does it fit in a useable way into my production setup in terms of space. The second question would be money, the third question is number and quality of keys and only relevant once or if you're already good with a piano/keyboard.

I currently use a M-Audio Keystation MK3 49 on my desk. It fits well and as it is narrow, I can put my keyboard slightly elevated directly behind it. So I don't really need midi controls for navigation and editing either. I think the best 'on the desk' controller size is 37 keys or 49. 61 keys already gives you a nice octave range but you can easily deal with switching a 37 and especially 49 keys keyboard too. I also have a Kawai epiano as I finally started to learn to play the piano (and im old by now).

I also still have an Arturia Keylab Mk3 and I like it but I would have to put it to the side so its just too much of a workflow killer. Just for general use a couple of faders and/or pots really is enough to dynamically map it to the parameter you're currently automating.

I would stress here: the best investment of time right now is to just make music, as long as you have tools to do it (a daw, a couple instruments you like and some way to input notes that works for you) and stress about the perfect tool chain later. Because once you already set a way to produce / make music for yourself, what you need, will become apparent.

So that said here are my recommendations:
- For minikeys I recommend the Korg Microkey 37 (it actually comes recommend by the folks on vi-control, a lot of composers have recommended it there as a usable micro key keyboard)
- For a simple but useable desk Keyboard I recommend the Keystation Mk3 (its perfectly playable, cheap, narrow and lightweight)
- If you want to have a set of fancy midi controls, the M-Audio Oxygen Pro or Arturia or Arturia Keylab Essential -- but probably you will figure out what exactly you want to do with these controls a bit later
- If you want to stick to produce with Native Instruments you could consider getting a used Kontrol S MK3 (NI sells their refurbs on reverb) -- I only recommend this if you have a 1080p screen as neither their wrapper software nor Kontakt/reaktor scale
- an alternative desk controller with pads, I would recommend a Presonus ATOM SQ or a Launchpad (depends on daw and what and how you want to do things); the ATOM SQ still has double triggering issues but a nice layout

[gExpectations]

Btw. the reason I specifically recommended the micro key is that you want a 37 key keyed over a 32/25 one, as it gives you a full 3 octaves and reduces the need for switches already.

edit: as the og was lost, if your goal is to learn to actually play the keys I would get an epiano in the 500-700e range. But only do this if you already know you are gonna take lessons or a dead set on a practice regiment. If its just a vague idea, stick with a simple midi controller. You don't want to produce on your 88 piano style keys .

[UltraPortamento]

It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or a pro, three-note and four-note chords often cover more than an octave range, melodies can easily cover a two-octave range, and when you start changing chords and creating melodies, you will inevitably need to hit those octave buttons to accommodate your chord progressions, melodies, and bass lines, whether you’re a complete newb or seasoned pro.

Except a newbie isn't going to be doing that shit, are they? Fvck, I've been doing this for 40 years and I don't do that shit. By the time this guy is read for that stuff, he'll be able to make his own informed choice on where to go next. Right now he just wants to get started so something compact is going to be more than enough.

How dense your chords are isn't really a marker for how complex your music is. Beginners are ready for four note chords from day one. People who like 7th chords should just learn how to do them from the get-go and figure out the theory of why they sound good later.

Basically, decide whether you like the sound of wide chords and buy your keyboard accordingly. And if you have to go in blind, try to go for at least 49 keys.

[BONES]

And some of us never use chords at all. Why would you assume it's something anyone would want to fvck around with? I fvcking hate them.

[chromefile]

When I first learnt to play guitar I used one of these.

This is because all musicians uses small, stunted versions of their instruments when they're beginners.

ShortGuitar 1.png

[chk071]

Well, make no mistake. I'm sure small keyboards are mostly used due to space constraints, and portability. Not because they're aimed at beginners, or something.

If I had a 2x3 metres table, and use a desktop PC, I surely wouldn't buy a 25 key controller.