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Comment by criddell | Hacker News Reader

When you say keyboard are you talking about a piano-type keyboard or a computer keyboard?

Computer keyboard .

Oh OK my bad, I didn't get that. Seems like a strange idea to me. If money is the issue, you can probably find a decent second hand MIDI keyboard for a very reasonable price.

Oh. Dismiss my message:)

Don't. Computer keyboards are inexpressive. You'll be giving up the ability to modulate note velocity/volume, for starters. Get a cheap MIDI keyboard for a few hundred bucks.

If instead of playing you're more interested in making cool sounds, I'd skip the keyboard completely and download a free DAW like Reaper, Ableton, or FL Studio.

Whichever route you take, the secret is practice. It always is...

> Don't. Computer keyboards are inexpressive.

Constraints can be a great thing.

It can be a great thing.

But it can't help you learn piano, which is what the top-level comment asked for.

Sure, but they can also be a hindrance, and that's been my experience playing music with my computer keyboard. If intervals are all you care about (and it's all you can care about) then I've found it easier to just enter notes with the mouse.

Alternatively, an Akai MPK Mini MK3 costs $100 and gives you twice the range, no limit on simultaneous keypresses, velocity sensitivity, a mod wheel, analog knobs, and velocity sensitive drum pads.

In this case it would likely be frustrating.

Many synthesizers (especially softsynths) map changes in sound to velocity, that is, how hard you hit the key. Hitting the key harder makes a different sound (e.g. layers more samples) than hitting it softly.

Not this one. It would be like finger painting, except you have to wear mittens.

It's not that bad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbRXKVcQ8EA

A little undermined by the fat finger within the first 10 seconds.

I think it's an intentional ornament.

I'm amazed by this.

At the same time, if this is the best one can hope for on a computer keyboard, I feel comfortable resting my case.

It's pretty bad... This person's obviously talented, but their playing is riddled with mistakes and timing issues. That's not an issue with their playing, it's the constraints of the medium. For example, `[etuG]` is a chord from the video that's impossible to play as it requires a modifier key for 1 of the 4 notes. Plus, the use of modifier keys and the number row for low notes means that the experience no longer maps nicely to a piano. It's effectively learning a bespoke instrument.

This isn't necessarily a problem. As you say, constraints can breed creativity. A good musician should still be able to play great music, but for somebody just learning it's a lot of unnecessary friction.

Music is about nuance, finesse, expressivity.

You don't have that with a computer keyboard. Music is hard, don't set yourself for failure so early, for no good reason.

I think OP meant to use a DAW

I've been playing piano/keyboards for 35 years. I definitely don't play at a "professional" level, but I gig locally, and can play pretty well by ear, and in an ensemble. I'm not an amazing player, but I have enough experience to know something about what you're talking about.

What you're asking about is impossible. Not just difficult. You might be able to learn something about moving your fingers independently with rhythm on a computer keyboard. But at about the time you get to one week of experience, you'll probably be doing at least as much harm as good in terms of learning to play piano music on a computer keyboard. It is too different.

Partial list of problems:

  Size of keys
  Position of keys
  Number of keys
  Travel distance of keys
  Velocity sensitivity of keys
  Sufficiently low latency of audio output (can be solved with pro audio hardware)

To give one quick example of a deal-breaker, on a piano, you can comfortably, and in a neutral hand position, put your thumb and four fingers on 5 consecutive white keys. The layout of a computer keyboard doesn't allow for this at all.

If you don't want to get a controller then I'd recommend fooling around with a sequencer instead.

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