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Portable. Affordable. Analog. Dave Smith, creator o the abled Pro-One (frst crush o many a synth Mopho Desktop
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geek), unleashes his 21st century take on an analog mono synth or the people. And i one voice isn’t enough, pair it with a Tetra or a ull-eatured, ultra-compact, fve-voice poly synth. Get the lowdown at davesmithinstruments.com.
“A sound that can get ear-shatteringly, gut-wrenchingly huge.” —Electronic Musician
“They’ve turned Jason Bourne into a synth; it’s dangerous, sexy and unforgettable.” —AIR Users Blog
“One of the 10 best music tech products of NAMM 2011.” —MusicRadar
“You created a monster! All hail Venom!” —The Crystal Method
“Venom is deep without being overwhelming.” —Francis Preve (Producer/Remixer/Sound Designer)
“Venom brings something completely new to the game. You’re going to hear this all over the radio.” —Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo)
“This type of flexibility and programming power makes Venom quite a serious synthesizer indeed.” —GearWire
Venom 12-voice virtual analog synthesizer Enter to win a Venom at m-audio.com/somethingwicked © 2011 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Avid, the Avid logo, M-Audio, the M-Audio logo, and Venom are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
CONTENTS
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COMMUNITY 10
Your pictures, anecdotes, questions, tips, gear, and feedback!
KEYNOTES Hot players, news, and reviews from the keyboard world. 12 Jon Cleary: Crescent City’s Keyboard King 13 Dam-Funk: Revitalizing Groove with Low-Tech Moves 14 The Editors’ Playlist
LESSONS 16 20 24
Brian Charette on Messiaen’s Modes for Jazz Improvisation R&B Tricks and Licks by Alicia Keys’ Keyboardist Onree Gill Larry Goldings on Organ Drawbar Settings
COVER STORY 28
NEW GEAR 2011: The Best from NAMM The musical instrument industry’s biggest party of the year was heavy on the keyboards, from the much-buzzed-about Korg Kronos to Casio’s price-busting WK-7500 workstation. We played ’em all, and checked out the best new software and recording gear, so here’s our takeaway.
ARTISTS 36
Ryuichi Sakamoto The prolific and enigmatic composer opens up about his new double album, his vintage keyboards, and his concern for the environment.
SOLUTIONS 38 40 42
DANCE Punch up your sounds by Adding Transients STEAL THIS SOUND Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine” PRODUCERS’ ROUNDTABLE Jon Margulies, Tritonal, Richard Dinsdale, Dan Kurtz, and Boom Jinx reveal their Software Secret Weapons
GEAR
Ryuichi Sakamoto on page 36
Small Synths with Huge Sound! 44 Novation ULTRANOVA 48 M-Audio VENOM 54 Korg MICROSTATION 58 Moog Music SLIM PHATTY
KEYBOARD (ISSN 0730-0158) is published monthly by NewBay Media, LLC 1111 Bayhill Drive, Suite 125, San Bruno, CA 94066. All material published in KEYBOARD is copyrighted © 2011 by NewBay Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in KEYBOARD is forbidden without permission. KEYBOARD is a registered trademark of NewBay Media. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Bruno, CA and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to KEYBOARD P.O. Box 9158, Lowell, MA 01853.
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D N A L K R I K S A L G U O D
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The state of virtual analog synths a dozen years ago.
More Online! Video report: Music gear at Macworld Expo 2011.
keyboardmag.com/april2011 Gear peeks and interviews from backstage at the Grammys! 0 4 . 2 0 1 1
Rachel Z and the Trio of Oz interviewed at the Jazz Standard. K E Y B O A R D M A G . C O M
7
eyboard VOL. 37, NO. 4 #421 APRIL 2011 EDITOR: Stephen Fortner MANAGING EDITOR: Debbie Greenberg EDITORSAT LARGE: Craig Anderton, Jon Regen SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS: Jim Aikin, Tom
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COMMUNITY CONNECT!
From the Editor
Tell us what you think, link to your music, share tips and techniques, subscribe to the magazine and our e-newsletter, show off your chops, or just vent! Your forum post, tweet, email, or letter might end up in the magazine!
I’m writing this on the return flight from my tenth NAMM show. With its generous specs and multiple synthesis techniques, the Korg Kronos was one of the stars, but for everyone who lauded it as a gamechanger, I heard someone else go, “I can run bigger sample libraries from my laptop” or “Why didn’t they do a multi-touch screen like on my $200 smartphone?” I’ve heard similar back-and-forth about every new workstation that’s come out over the past decade, which raises the question: Should we let consumer electronics set our expectations of the pro musical instrument industry? No, we shouldn’t. When you see a certain synth on every keyboard stand from your local bar to the Grammys, it’s reasonable to guess that the manufacturer has sold millions of them. Here are some real numbers: The DX7 owned the ’80s, but Yamaha made just 160,000 units. Acknowledged as the best selling pro keyboard ever,
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SOAPBOX Know When To Fold Up Every time I’ve mentioned this idea to a keyboard salesman at a store like Sam Ash or Guitar Center, I’ve gotten, “Yeah, that’s a great idea.” Remember the Yamaha Electric Grand? It came apart into two pieces for transport. If you have an 88-key keyboard today, you need a station wagon or a van to load it comfortably with your gigging gear. It won’t fit in the trunk of a car, and many SUVs are too short. How hard would it be to put a hinge in the center (or even off-center) of an 88-key digital keyboard so you could fold it and put it in the trunk of a mid-size car? Mike Moran, via email
Check out the Infinite Response Vax-77 . It does ex actly what you’re talking about, folding up into its own airport roller. It’s a MIDI controller, not a self-contained stage piano, and has 77 keys, not 88, but it certainly proves the conce pt. Since we reviewed it in the April 2010 issue, they’ve greatly improved the acti on and adde d templ ates for MainStage and Receptor. I have this latest version and totally love it. Here’s a link to our original review: keyboardmag.com/article/110695. Stephen Fortner
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the Korg M1 sold about 250,000 units. These figures were achieved over multi-year product runs. By contrast, Apple sold 1.7 million iPhone 4 handsets in the first three days. Point being, there’s no way any keyboard maker can buy electronic parts in sufficient volume to get prices down to where your dream synth with its 20" multi-touch screen, motorized faders, 500GB flash drive, and polyphonic aftertouch would retail anywhere near the ballpark of what you’d consider paying. At a conservative guess, I just described a $10,000 keyboard. On a distinct but related topic, today’s software instruments are undeniably awesome, but I regularly hear hardware-bashers comparing their laptop rig to an integrated keyboard instrument without factoring in obvious costs such as the audio interface, MIDI controller, host program, and even the computer itself. To put it another way, a $200 smartphone has way more computing power than the guidance system in Apollo 11, but without major accessorizing, it’s not going to fly you to the mo on.
FACEBOOK COURT OF OPINION Q: With all the websites, YouTube pages, and online forums dedicated to music gear, do trade shows such as NAMM matter anymore? Michael Chopak: Looking at gear in pictures and in video is nice and all, but it’s not the same as actually playing the gear in person. You can’t get “feel” from the Internet. Dave Smith: Yes, NAMM matters. Not so much for the larger companies as for the small, more specialized operations. [This isn’t Dave Smith the synth designer, but reader Dave Smith of Houston, Texas. —Ed.] Michael Gallant: The community aspect is invaluable. It’s a rare gathering of some of the smartest and most talented music folks around. The opportunities to hang, jam, run into random people you met five years ago, and meet new ones—you can’t even get a ghost of that experience via social media. Peter Gorges: NAMM and the Internet are complementary. The Internet has definitely replaced music trade shows as the tool for presenting new product releases to “end customers.” Shows are still great for international meetings you don’t want to have over Skype. This year I went to NAMM and spent 90 percent of my time outside the show floor. Roger Dale Huff: Of course NAMM is relevant. How else would we get to see the latest from NAMM Oddities? [www.otherroom.com/namm]
Joe Cres anti: NAMM is extremely important! It brings together important people in the industry and it builds relationships. NAMM showcases innovation, and creates a tangible excitement and anticipation in consumers that helps the industry grow and improve. Johnny Neon: Some of my greatest achievements and moments on earth came from NAMM. [For example], the prototypes I built myself went on to become the Samson PowerBrite series. Look at it like a family of everyone in music. Would you want to be in the family or not? George C. Mattson: NAMM pro vides the opportunity for peop le to see and hear equipment as the manufacturers intended it to be presented. The physical networking is invaluable. NAMM is the concert—all other media is the radio. Chandra Lynn: Sometimes, we have to get offline and create face-to-face relationships to go to the next level. The industry needs a forum for in-person networking. Also, I spoke on a “H.O.T. Zone” panel during NAMM and think this educational track adds significance to NAMM. Tracy DeMarco: Of course! Handson testing is the best way to know if gear is right for you.
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KEYNOTES
H O L L Y W I L
JON CLEARY Crescent City’s Keyboard King Fleet-fingered keyboardist, singer, and songwriter Jon Cleary has listening to him and Doctor John, to the boogie-woogie stuff and Fats been making a name for himself on his own musical terms since arriv- Domino. That music completely blew my mind. I loved New Orleans ing in the Crescent City some 30 years ago. Though rooted in the dis- piano. I knew that as soon as I was able, I was going to go there myself. tinctive blues and boogie of New Orleans, his chops run the full gamut I originally came here for a short holiday, but I wound up staying.” of anything funky. “I think that the music has to come first,” he tells me Cleary is fiercely focused on his own projects these days. He plays two on a rare day off between gigs in his adopted hometown. “When you start weekly solo gigs around New Orleans, and is currently crafting an album setting your parameters based on what supposedly will ‘advance your covering songs by famed pianist Allen Toussaint. “The project started career,’ you’re likely to dismiss musical ideas that you might otherwise out as a solo piano record, with me covering Toussaint’s song ‘Occapella,’” he says. “Now I’m actually going full circle and adding bass and drums work on. To me, the career part has to come second.” Cleary has obviously been making the music his first priority since on everything—and I’m digging it! It’s turning out great.” When asked about his acumen for reinventing other people’s songs, leaving Kent, England for New Orleans at the age of 17. His recent roster of top-tier gigs as sideman, bandleader, and recording session player— Cleary confesses that geography plays a large part. “I suppose I’m just from a long stint anchoring Bonnie Raitt’s band to leading his own Absolute very lucky to have lived here in New Orleans at a good time,” he says. Monster Gentlemen—shows that when you’re as good as he is, putting “I’ve had the chance to hear a lot of the players and bands that made this music what it is. So, what comes out of me is the sum total of all those your career second may in fact be the best way to put it first. experiences.” Jon Regen “I was lucky that I grew up in a musical family,” Cleary says of his formative years. “My Mum loved New Orleans Jazz—she was a teenager in the 1950s post-war years, when those records first started coming over Jon Cleary live with to England. She played albums by people like Louis Armstrong, Teddy the Absolute Monster Buckner, and George Lewis. Later, an uncle of mine moved to New Orleans, Gentlemen. Official website. and he’d send me these big, illustrated letters about the city and people keyboardmag.com/april2011 like [fabled blues singer and pianist] Professor Longhair. I had grown up
More Online!
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B R I A N D E R A N
DAM-FUNK Revitalizing Groove with Low-Tech Moves Catch a live set by Dam-Funk (a.k.a. Damon Riddick), like the one we caught at MoogFest 2010, and you’ll hear bass and beats that groove like Rick James, keyboard riffs that might have been played by Jan Hammer or George Duke, and chord progressions Steely Dan would respect. “Some of my influences are more sophisticated funk groups like Slave and Teena Marie,” he notes, quick to add rock influences. “Todd Rundgren is one of my favorite artists, and Prefab Sprout. I’m trying to push funk to a more modern, melodic forefront, to show people that funk can have beautiful elements—that it can have beautiful chords without being ‘smooth jazz.’ That it can sound urban, but like more than a jam band.” Dam-Funk’s drive to create this combination makes perfect sense when you learn a little about his early musical memories. “The f irst record I ever bought with my own money was Rick James’ “You and I.” But the first thing that truly opened my eyes and ears to the synth world was Giorgio Moroder’s Midnight Express soundtrack. I also love what George Duke did with Frank Zappa, and the synthesizer stuff Rush added on Hemispheres.” Running two and a half hours, his epic 2009 debut Toeachizown uses no loops or sequencing—an anomaly in today’s urban landscape. That’s a result of his childhood recording rig, which consisted of two cassette decks and a small mixer, between which he’d bounce and overdub. “You’d record some tracks on one, then take that tape out and put it in the other, then put a blank tape in the first one, push play on the second, and lay some more tracks alongside what you’d just recorded. Of course, you’d lose generations and get hiss, but I worked on that until I perfected it. So when I got signed, I said, ‘I’m going to pay homage to the way I came up.’ Now, even when I work in Pro Tools or Logic, I don’t
sequence. I don’t loop 16 bars of music. I’m not angry at that technique, but if I record an eight-minute track, you’re hearing eight minutes of me playing all the way through.” Where do the sounds you hear during those eight minutes come from? According to Dam-Funk, getting the most out of your gear is “just like if you get married. You learn things after years of being with someone. You don’t keep jumping on a new keyboard just for kicks. Sure, I like playing around with the new stuff, but I always come back to the Roland JX-3P, the Alpha Juno-1 and Juno-2 synths, and the R-70 drum machine. When I solo live, it’s on a Roland Axis, which was the first shoulder-strap MIDI keyboard they made. My live rig also has a MicroKorg. I also DJ, using Serato on a Mac, but I stick to my original material when I’m playing my synths.” In addition to Toeachizown, Dam-Funk’s upcoming retrospective Adolescent Funk will school you on just how expert he became at that dualcassette technique. In addition, he’s producing an upcoming album by former Slave vocalist Steve Arrington, who’s now signed to the same label, Stone’s Throw. “Steve is destroying a lot of vocalists who are out at this moment—and he’s 53. He hasn’t lost a beat, and he’s still progressing. That’s all that matters. As long as you stay true to your art, it just keeps growing.” Stephen Fortner
Extended audio podcast of this interview.
More Online! 04.2011
Dam-Funk’s live trio on FuelTV.
keyboardmag.com/april2011 KEYBOARDMAG.COM
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KEYNOTES THE EDITORS’ PLAYLIST Stephen Fortner DRIFTING IN SILENCE
Jon Regen CAKE
Lifesounds
Showroom of Compassion
From the title and the press release that came with the CD, I was expecting new age music suitable for a strict ly platonic massage. What I got was a soundtrack for an epic sci-fi film that’s yet to be made—the synth-soaked grandeur of Blade Runner meets the big-beat swagger of The Fifth Element . Unlike a lot of “ambient” albums, it simply never gets boring. Synthesist and composer Derrick Stembridge is a master of his craft, and Lifesounds is way hipper than anyone intended. (Labile | driftinginsilence.com)
Alt-hipster music fans rejoice! Cake is back with another helping of raucous retro rock. Best known for their hits “The Distance” and “Short Skirt/Long Jacket,” as well as their re-imagined cover of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” the band returns to funky form across the album’s 11 tranceinducing tracks, with keyboard duties shared between all. Check out “Federal Funding” and “Long Time” for just two recorded reasons why groove is still in their hearts. (Upbeat Records | cakemusic.com) THE LAST REPUBLIC
KIRSTEN THIEN
Parade
Delicious
This fire-haired songwriter’s voice strikes a perfect balance between the precise but homey crooning of Bonnie Raitt and the sheer incendiary power of Janis Joplin. But it’s the R&B grooves and stellar musicianship that put this record on our radar. Horn parts by Andy Snitzer and Kent Smith evoke the days of Stax Records. Very tasty B-3 comes courtesy of Bryan Adams and Dire Straits alum Tommy Mandel. Too macho for a taste of estro-rock? Delicious will have you asking for seconds. (Screen Door | kirstenthien.com)
Modern rock is alive and well, courtesy of British barnstormers The Last Republic, who meld the harmonic abandon of Radiohead with the piano-centric sound of Keane. On choice album cuts like “C.C.T.V.” and “The City,” The Last Republic injects vintage keyboard virtuosity into nearly every musical bar. From soaring Mellotrons to piano grooves anchored by a Roland TR-808 beat box, keyboard connoisseurs will most certainly find cause for celebration here. (Monnowtone | thelastrepublic.co.uk)
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LESSONS Brian Charette
has performed and recorded with Joni Mitchell, Lou Donaldson, Bucky Pizzarelli, Michael Bublé, and Rufus Wainwright, in addition to leading his own jazz groups. His latest album is called Learning to Count , and is available on Amazon and iTunes. Visit him at kungfugue.com for more info. Jon Regen
N I L S W I N T H E R
Messiaen’s Modes For JAZZ IMPROVISATION Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) was a French composer and organist who used the songs of birds, Indian rhythms, and symmetrical scales he called “modes of limited transposition” to create music he claimed had the “charm of impossibilities.” On first listen, Messiaen’s music sounds a world away from the traditional major and minor sounding system to which our ears are accustomed. The modes of limited transposition are seven scale-like groupings, defined by Messiaen in his Technique of My Musical Language as “formed of several symmetrical groups, the last note of each group always being common with the first of the following group. At the end of a certain number of chromatic transpositions which varies with each mode, they are no longer transposable, giving exactly the same notes as the first.” These scales offer many intriguing possibilities
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by Brian Charette
when used over conventional jazz chord changes. Because of their symmetrical construction, they sound somewhat key-less, and can therefore create a wellspring of interesting sounds. I don’t use these modes exactly like Messiaen does. I look at each of the seven modes as its own system that I can use as a substitute for the traditional jazz harmony I improvise over. I’m not sure Messiaen would approve, but I think you will quickly see that the modes are an excellent vehicle for improvisation. For the purposes of this lesson, we’ll skip the first mode (the whole tone scale) and the second (the half step/whole step diminished scale), as both are already widely used in jazz. In some of the following examples, I transpose these modes into different keys to demonstrate how their sound can work in limitless ways.
1. The Third Mode Ex. 1a is Messiaen’s third mode. From it, we can extract three triads: C major, Ab minor, and D augmented. Try playing overlapping arpeggios with these chords, transposing them to all 12 keys. Now, let’s put it into action. In Ex. 1b, I’m walking a bass line and playing a solo on the Hammond organ, using a ii-V-I progression in C major. Notice how when I reach the V chord, I play a third mode sound (here called Gmess3), then return to the sound of the I chord. If you transpose the three triads from Ex. 1a up a fifth, you get the following triads: G major, Eb minor, and A augmented. When I reach the V chord, I arpeggiate these triads in my right hand, as my left hand and foot keep the groove going. a)
Third Mode
& w w bw & 44 ‰ œj œ b œ œ œ œ œ ? 44 œ œ œ # œ
b)
Medium Tempo
D min7
nw #w w bw bw nw w œ œ bœ bœ bœ #œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ Œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ G mess3
C maj7
2. The Fourth Mode Ex. 2a is Messiaen’s fourth mode. I put it into practical use in Ex. 2b using chord voicings extracted from this mode, here called Cmess4. This works extremely well when comping on organ or other keyboards behind a soloist who’s playing outside of the indicated chord changes. ,
a)
Fourth Mode
& w œœ œ 4 &4 ? 44 œ
b)
C mess4
bw Œ b # œœœ .. œ œ
nw œ# œœœ J #œ
w #w w bw w w ## ˙˙˙˙ Ó Œ b œœœ œœœ Ó œ œ bœ œ #œ nœ bœ nœ
3. The Fifth Mode Ex. 3a is Messiaen’s fifth mode, which has an exotic, almost Middle Eastern sound. Let’s harness those intriguing sonorities in Ex. 3b. Here, I use this mode a sixth up in the key of A ( Amess5) over a slow, mantra-like bass line. a)
Fifth Mode
& w bw w w #w œ œ œ b œ n œ b œ œ b œ 4 œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ bœ nœ & 4 œ bœ ? 44 ˙ œ # œ ˙ œ b œ ˙ œ # œ
b)
Slowly
A mess5
w w bœ œ bœ œ ˙
3
˙
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