The art of playing keyboards in a band

[CDS814]

hey,
   Some friends recently asked me if I would play keyboards in their last couple of shows for their ska band. They write their own music, but dont really have knowledge as to keys or chords or anything, but i figure i can find that out on my own. What i need help with is exactly what to play. I dont know too much about playing the keyboard in a band and much less about the genre ska. Thanks for your help

[greyrune]

Well ska keyboards shouldn't be too challenging, for one it'll be pretty hard to even hear you over the guitar and wind.  If you know basic theory though you should be fine with a blues scale.  Ska is basically just jazz punk mix, so learn the notes on a guitar(it's quite simple each fret is a semi tone), and you should be able to work out what key they're playing in.  Most people write in a key even if they have no idea they're doing it.  Then i'd just copy their chords with the left hand and maybe add a little melody on the right.  If your wind section is any good they should also know what they're doing so they can probably tell you what's going on.  Just remember to keep it lively and mainly on the up beat.  I have to say i'm hardly an expert and have only ever played drums in a ska band but it can be good fun, just kind of go with it.  Hope this helps a little.

[whynot]

I can't be specific to this style, because I don't know it at all, but I have had to jump into bands and learn unfamiliar styles before, so I can tell you my general process.  The first thing I do is ascertain who is the sharpest, coolest (what do people say now?) in the whole band for the particular style.  I've usually found it to be the bass player, but it doesn't matter.  Whoever's the most fluent in the genre will be doing all the best things rhythmically, and the first playing I do is figure out the basic chords of the song and try to "hide" inside the rhythmic patterns of the cool person.  Then expand my chords if the genre uses expanded harmonies, but still play along with the best player for a while.  From the safety of my hiding place behind the bass player, I learn the basic patterns for the typical songs of the genre, then I can start to predict the empty places in the patterns, then I know where to start filling in.  I fill in the spaces with just chords first, then find a melodic person-- lead guitar, wind, singer, doesn't matter-- to play off of, and sort of imitate them in the empty spaces.  You can copy exactly what they just did for a beat or two, or copy it inverted, or just copy the rhythm but use different notes... I vary these imitations for a while, then start to get my own ideas I after a time.  Anyway, hope this is a little helpful.  Have fun! 

[Phillip]

I have never played keyboards in a ska band or anything similar.  However, i do sometimes play in bands for stage musicals - last week I was playing a string synth part in a production of 'Crazy for You', the Gershwin compilation musical.  For that sort of playing, the key points to focus on are compensating for variations in attack between the different voices on keyboards - especially in swing type numbers where one is playing off-beat with acoustic brass and wind which do not have the delayed attach inherent in synth string sounds.  Also bear in mind that when playing melody instrument sounds which hold on as long as you keep your hands on the keys, you can use the sustaining pedal to produce seamless switches between big chords - this can also be useful for hiding page turns.

Phillip

[andric]

Maybe this reply comes to late to be of use, but here it is:

Ska doesn't have much to do with jazz-- It's basically double-time reggae-- it came from Jamaica and got popular in the British punk scene.  You're talking 2-or-3-chord tunes, simple triads (usually no sevenths, definitely no higher extensions)--  root position is a safe bet.

There are a couple of specific rhythmic parts that might come in handy, which come from reggae and are used in ska (sped up).
1:  the Chuck.  Play the chord percussively on beats 2 and 4.  this can right around middle c or a little higher.  The guitar player might play this rhythm-- its ok to double sometimes.  You can play this one handed or double it in both hands.

2: The Bubble.  The left hand plays the chord on all the off-beats (the "and" of each beat), somewhere in the octave or so below middle c.  This part should be pretty quiet in the mix, and wants a light staccato touch.

For a good time, play the Bubble in the Left hand and the Chuck in the right hand.  (remember to keep the LH quieter and to dig in more with the RH).

Solos:
If the tune is in a minor key, you'll want to use the Aeolean (natural) minor.  Minor pentatonic works well, too (add the flat 5th as a grace note and you've got the blues scale).   (eg in A minor,  A C D E G A  and Eb as a grace note).

In a major key you might try using the blues scale of the relative minor.  eg, If your chord progression is C Am Dm G, you play the A blues scale:  A C D (Eb) E G A.  The major scale can sound pretty square, but sometimes it does the trick.   It some tunes the Mixolydian mode fits the chords better.

Oh, yeah, and you'll probably want to listen to a recording of the Skatellites!

Well, theres the crash course in ska!  I don't know if it does any good, but it was kind of fun to try and explain by typing in a forum!