How to learn to play the synthesizer

Every creative person in his life at least once asked himself the question “How to learn to play the synthesizer?

“. Today we want to give a little introduction to this topic for beginners. This article cannot teach you how to become a virtuoso, but it will certainly give you some useful ideas and point you in the right direction. And it doesn’t matter if you want to become a live synthesizer or the best keyboard player in a rock band, the main thing is to start in the right direction.

The synthesizer

is a unique and interesting instrument. Many people think that it is impossible to learn how to play well without long lessons with a teacher, but this is not entirely true. All you need is a little knowledge about notes, fingering and chords, plus constant practice, and you can independently learn how to play songs, waltzes and any other pieces of music on the synthesizer at home. Today, there are hundreds or even thousands of online self-paced courses that will certainly help you, including on youtube.

What you need to know before starting

First you need to get acquainted with the device of the synthesizer, as well as study the terminology. Now there are a huge number of variants of this musical instrument, but they all share the same interface.

One – Learning the keyboard

Take a look at the keyboard and note that there are two types of keys – black and white. At first glance, it may seem that everything is complicated and confusing. But it’s not. There are only 7 basic notes that together make up an octave. Each white key can be said to be part of a C major or A minor key, while the black key represents either a sharp (#) or a flat (b). You can get to know and understand the notes and their structure in more detail by reading any literature on musical notation or watching a video course.

Before you start, you should get acquainted with musical notation, but it’s not necessary to get too carried away today – some of them, of course, know it, while others will be helped by the training systems built into the synthesizer – now this is a very popular feature – the notes are directly voiced by a pleasant female voice, and on the display you can see how and where it is located on the stave ..

Two – The next thing to do is figure out the correct hand position and fingering.

Fingering is fingering. In this case, notes for beginners will come to the rescue, in which a finger number is placed above each note.

Three –  Mastering chords 

It may seem difficult , but with a synthesizer everything is easy and simple. After all, almost all synthesizers are equipped with a screen (usually an LCD display) that displays the entire workflow and auto accompaniment, where you press one key and a triad (three-note chord) sounds or two at the same time for a minor chord.

Four – Playing songs. 

Playing songs on a synthesizer is not so difficult, but first you need to at least play scales – this is when we take any one key and play one or two octaves up and down in this key. This is a kind of exercise for developing fast and confident playing the synthesizer.

From musical notation, you can learn the construction of notes and now we can start playing. Here, music collections or the synthesizer itself will also come to the rescue. Almost all of them have demo songs , tutorials, and even key backlighting that will tell you which key to press. While playing, try to constantly look at the notes, so you will still learn how to read from a sheet.  

How to learn to play

There are two main ways to learn how to play the synthesizer.

1) Reading from a sheet . You can start learning on your own and further develop your skills constantly or take lessons and study regularly with a teacher. Having decided to study on your own, first of all, you will have to visit a music store to buy a music collection for beginners on playing the synthesizer. The next thing to do is figure out the correct hand position and fingering. Fingering is fingering. In this case, notes for beginners will come to the rescue, in which a finger number is placed above each note.

2) by ear . Remembering a song and finding which notes to hit on the keyboard is a skill that takes practice. But where to start? First you need to learn the art of solfeggio. You will have to sing and play, first scales, then children’s songs, gradually moving to more complex compositions. The more you practice, the better the result will be, and very soon you will be able to pick up any song.

Dare, strive for the goal and you will succeed! Good luck in your endeavors!

Purchase

Purchase. Before you buy a synthesizer , you need to decide on your needs, and understand what types of synthesizers are.

There are many different models on the market to help you learn how to play. You can hire a professional teacher or a pianist friend to help you, and there are many resources available for lifelong skill development.