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Keyboard Choices
Keyboards for Worship
Keyboard instruments have been an integral part of worship services for more than a millennium. But there's never been a better time than the present in terms of the range of available keyboard styles and sounds. Whether you need a simple portable instrument to carry to outreach services or you're replacing a pipe organ, you'll find an array of keyboards with prices to fit any budget.
Choose Your Sounds
| Modern digital keyboards often contain hundreds of realistic sounds. |
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The first step to selecting a keyboard instrument is to identify the types of sounds you need for your worship services. If your needs are simple, a digital piano (with a dozen or so additional sounds built in) might be sufficient. If your worship music encompasses a wide range of styles and instruments, you should look at synth workstations and arranger keyboards, which usually include hundreds of different sounds. Or, if your primary need is organ sounds, you should begin by looking at these.
Remember that these categories overlap to a great degree: you'll find realistic organ tones in workstations, electric piano sounds in organs, and so on. Just make sure the instrument you select covers the sounds that are important to you.
Keyboard Action and Feel
Keyboards come in a number of sizes with various numbers of keys. It's common to find keyboards with 88, 76, 61, 49, 36, and even 25 keys. You will also hear the words "hammer action," "semi-weighted," and "synth action" in regard to keys. A lifelong piano player will prefer a weighted hammer action that replicates the feel of a real piano keyboard. Conversely, a veteran organist will most likely be attracted to an action that resembles organ keys.
Sequencing Capabilities
If your keyboard player is called upon to provide an entire ensemble's worth of sounds, a workstation or arranger keyboard can be a life-saver. With these you can record MIDI sequences using the preset sounds and combination programs, drum loops, high-quality samples from sample CD-ROMs, even voices or guitars as audio. If this excites you, but you're not interested in the steep learning curve of a computer system, then a workstation or arranger keyboard is a great choice.
Keyboard Choices
Organs
Whether you are looking for vintage gospel grit or the awesome power of a pipe organ, today's technologically advanced instruments will give you the organ sound you need. Many offer player-friendly features such as waterfall keys, customizable registrations, rotary speaker emulations, and more.
Stage Pianos
When it's just you and your music onstage, your piano sound can mean everything. If it's convincing and expressive, your message comes across. If not, nobody's happy - especially you! Modern digital pianos feature high-quality samples from the finest acoustic instruments. Stage piano keyboards offer amazingly realistic playing feel. Many also include a selection of other instrument sounds that can enhance your performance.
Keyboard Workstations/Arrangers
With a keyboard workstation, you get the best of all worlds: great sounds, MIDI and audio sequencing/recording, sound design and pro-quality effects. Whether you're live onstage or composing in the studio, these keyboards enhance your creativity and simplify your music production process. Arranger keyboards go one step further, offering auto-accompaniment modes that can be used to fill in all the backing instruments you need for an effective live performance.
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