Keyboard
64 articles tagged "Keyboard"
Lament Bass
Dec 2024This chord progression is so useful, it basically has a name.
Speaker Burn-In: getting it wrong
May 2024Speakers are kind of like a pair of new shoes.
Caterpillar
Apr 2024Yesterday, in Keyboard Skills Elective, we did this.
Microphone Pad Nuance
Nov 2023This switch right here is something a lot of seasoned engineers understand instinctively, but don’t really articulate.
Mic Suspension for Upright Bass
Aug 2023Recording every instrument comes with its own set of challenges, but this one, it can be a real beast.
Midi hack
Oct 2022(beep) - What’s happening here might not be exactly what you think.
Just Get The Take
Oct 2022There are vocalists out there that will never ever give you a good performance in headphones, but even seasoned vocalists sometimes have a hard time matching the vibe and the performance of a relaxed studio environment with the monitors on.
As: Stevie Wonder
Aug 2025Tuesday’s Music Theory Gym and its Stevie Wonder adds where we find a convergence of ascending and descending movement.
Stereo Width: fields and flashlights
Aug 2025Sometimes stereo is like an added byproduct of what you get when you use multiple microphones.
Monsters: acoustic standing waves
Jul 2025They say monsters aren’t real, but I’m not so sure.
Perfection
Jul 2025This is a story about perfection.
Rootless Shell: simplest complicated chord progression
Mar 2025This might be the easiest complicated chord progression you’ll ever learn.
Patches Aren't Presets
Jun 2024I don’t give a rat’s ass if you use presets or not.
Color Tones
May 2024The color tones in a chord tend to be the ones that create a little friction.
Barker Bark
Mar 2024How many notes do you hear?
Beats
Jan 2024Believe it or not, I’m not trying to impress you with my pitch.
How Many Musical Keys Are There
Sep 2023How many musical keys are there?
neapolitan sixth
Aug 2023The Neapolitan 6th, it’s the first inversion of a b2 chord and it usually resolves to the 5 and then back to the 1, generally minor.
What's a chorDLE!
Jun 2023What’s a chordal? It’s a little game and you can play it with yourself. But every week we put them in our story to help you practice music theory. It’s…
Tape and Proximity
Apr 2023As a sound source gets closer to any directional microphone, it doesn’t just get louder.
hook chorus
Nov 2022Do you think there’s a difference between a hook and a chorus?
Don't Make This Cable Mistake
Oct 2022This cable goes one way.
piano vs guitar tuning inharmonicity
Oct 2022So why can’t you use a guitar tuner on a piano?
harmony and sampling
Oct 2022I would argue that sampling has changed our modern conception of harmony and here’s why.
Session Recall Hack
Oct 2022When you’re working in the box, you enjoy a luxury, which is that all of your plugins and settings snap to attention as soon as you open your session.
Clash Fix
Sep 2024Some people don’t like getting syrup on their bacon.
Major Minor Diminished
Jun 2024Major, minor, or diminished.
Descending Bassline
Mar 2023Let’s take a look at this descending chromatic line and ask ourselves what it has to do with the key of C.
Mission: Musician Basics
Mar 2023The goal of the upcoming musician basics elective is to get you to recognize that you can stack a bunch of notes together and create a chord.
simplifying augmented chords
Oct 2022Let me simplify chords for you a little bit by telling you that on the piano there are only four augmented chords.
Piano Tuning Basics
Oct 2022Today I’m gonna tune this monster.
Having a Key Center
Nov 2025Having a key center means holding a note in your mind even once you stop playing it.
Two Similar Chord Progressions
Oct 2025A descending baseline over a minor chord appears in thousands of songs. But that little wrinkle at the end means you can't use a single scale.
Bread and Butter: 6/3 Church Chord
Oct 2025Another useful chord progression to put under your fingers — a common keyboard trope built on the 6/3 church resolution.
Keyboard MVP
Jun 2025The most valuable piano voicing you can learn — a 6/4 inversion straight out of Miles Davis that exerts maximum force for minimum energy.
Getting Started
May 2025We see both experienced and beginner producers at Bee Kitchen.
Reach: Keyboard Extremities
Mar 2025Thoughts on playing wide intervals on piano, plus a couple exercises from physical therapy for extending your reach.
Voice leading game inversions
Jun 2024Getting comfortable with keyboard chords means getting comfortable with inversions.
Keyboard Skills Elective
Jun 2024This is the simplest of riffs, but if you put it under your fingers on a little teeny tiny keyboard, it will be more useful than you can possibly imagine.
Workhorse: suspended chord shape
May 2024You’ll get unexpected mileage out of this suspended chord shape.
Keboard Skills: thirds and sixths
Mar 2024This may sound boring, but this sounds a lot more exciting.
The trouble with earbuds
Feb 2024Before you mix in earbuds, I want you to try this.
Multiband Compressor: Why?
Jan 2023The practical application of a multiband compressor comes into focus when you consider not just how it differs from a regular compressor, but how it differs from a traditional equalizer.
The Claw
Jan 2023If you’re unfamiliar with the keyboard, this is about to be the best and the worst lesson you’ll ever get.
naming chords a three step series
Nov 2022If you’re starting to make your own music, there will come a time when you find yourself scratching your head looking at a bunch of notes and asking what chord is this?
Amen: Perfect vs. plagal
Sep 2022No matter what your beliefs, the way the universe sometimes lines up is so mind-bogglingly inspiring.
Why Your Ears Are Lying To You
Sep 2022You know that frequency response chart that came with your nice set of speakers?
Real Piano: Sampled Piano
Aug 2022Real piano. Sample piano. Oh boy. Gone are the days when piano in a can sounded like this. There are lots of great options these days and if you’re expecting…
Chord Identification: Introduction
Jul 2022If you’re starting to make your own music, there will come a time when you find yourself scratching your head looking at a bunch of notes and asking what chord is this?
I Discovered a New Chord
Dec 2022I’ve discovered a new chord!
Keygar: cables and Archemedes
Jul 2025It was the great Greek physicist Archimedes who said, "Give me a lever long enough and I’ll break your keytar." In my experience, a cable like this is pretty much guaranteed to break a jack like that, which is why in the time of the pyramids, they invented cables like this.
Isn't She Lovely
Nov 2024This morning in the region we looked at Stevie Wonder "Isn’t She Lovely?" There’s a lot this song can teach us, but we have time to talk about the first four chords.
Parallel Processing: have your cake and eat it too
Oct 2024Can you have your cake and eat it too?
The Most Important Lecture
Sep 2024The topics in this 10-minute video include the harmonic series and the physical nature of sound.
Key Tracking
Aug 2024With or without an audio degree, you wouldn’t be the first musician to come to me, never having been told what key tracking is and what it’s for.
Home Run! 2-5-1 edition
Jun 2024What’s a 2-5-1 progression got to do with baseball?
MTG: rock with you suspensions
Mar 2024Michael Jackson’s Rock with You.
Hoodie Camera Hack
Sep 2023After attempting loads of mouthcam videos, it was suggested to me that Jacob Collier is shooting keyboard videos wearing a hoodie turned around with the camera in the hood.
Cents vs Hertz: Understanding Pitch Measurement
Sep 2023The relationship between cents and hertz — how to convert between them and why pitch works logarithmically.
Accidentals: sharps and flats
Jun 2023Learn the difference between sharps and flats in music theory. Understand how accidentals work, key signatures, and why A# and Bb are functionally different in musical context.
Logic Pro X: Power User Settings
Jun 2023Transform Logic Pro X from beginner to power user: comprehensive guide to advanced settings, custom templates, workflow optimization, and professional interface customization.
tuna kick
Jan 2023If you’ve been scrolling around here long enough, you’ve certainly found somebody telling you that you’re supposed to tune your kick to the key of your song.
Landmark: diminished melody
Oct 2022Beat Kitchen landmarks are something reserved for things that you go back to over and over again.
Your First Studio Upgrade
Aug 2025What’s your first upgrade or purchase once you’ve set up the bare bones minimum for your studio?