PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Woodshedding - Learning to Play! Do I need to learn it in all 12 keys (on keyboards)?

Buttrey, like everyone has said it all depends on what you think is important, not what we think. However, I think you know the answer to your question already.

I'm a keyboard player and I use that term rather than pianist. I mostly play B3 organ but no longer on a real B3 of course, I use clones now and various synth keyboards. I also have a grand piano in my living room. I never learned to play everything in all 12 keys but that is certainly what most pros can do. It doesn't matter if they read music, were classically trained or not. The point is someway, somehow they can do it and that's why they are pro level players.

I'm not at that level but what I can do very well is read charts including jazz charts in any key. Note I said chart, not music. I can read but slowly, if someone hands me a piece of two handed piano music, I can't play it at all. But, if it has the chord names written above the staff like Gm7b5 I can fake it pretty good because I can sight read a melody line and incorporate that into how I voice the chords. But reading a chart is not soloing. Soloing in all 12 keys is difficult if you haven't practiced all the scales, modes and your favorite solo licks. You're mentioning jazz tunes so I assume you solo too.

If I need some help with a chart like your example of Fly Me in Db I can pull it up on my phone using IReal, transpose it and play it fine even if I can't transpose it in my head from G. When it comes to soloing I'll certainly admit some keys are better than others, I need more work on modes and scales too. It's a never ending quest but then it's not supposed to be, it's music. I never use the transpose button on my keyboards because I want to think and play in the correct key. You're not going to learn anything by doing that. Plus what do you do if you get a gig and the place has a real piano and you're expected to play it? That's happened to me several times too.

I joined a band some years ago that did some Stevie Ray Vaughan songs. He was well known for tuning his guitars to Eb and most of his biggest hits are either in Eb or Ab. Reese Wyans was his piano and organ player for years and is on all of his big albums. Reese said in an interview that he got called one day to come to a session with SRV and he finds out the current keyboard player simply failed to show up for the session. Want to get fired real quick? Miss a recording session. He gets handed the charts in Eb and Ab and he said he wasn't expecting that but it wasn't problem and he did say he had to concentrate a bit more than usual. When it came time for his solo's he nailed it first time. I don't know if he's classically trained or how he learned to do that but that's my point about being a pro. He showed up at a studio with no notice and absolutely killed it. No transpose button on an upright piano or a B3. Why did SRV do that? He said in an interview Eb just fit his voice better. My ears are not good enough to say musically it sounds better in Eb rather than E but we're talking about a human voice now. He said it's better for him and that's it. Reese showed up for a session, SRV is the boss and that's the end of it.

For me, doing a swing jazz solo in Eb is nothing like a hard hitting shuffle blues piano solo in Eb. I had to work on it and I never considered transposing my Hammond SK1. I've played rock and blues in E since the 60's and now I have to do it a step down? I could have easily taken it up and played the song in E at the push of a button but I just didn't want to. Time for something new, you know? Guitarists can talk about using capo's and that's great but we're not talking guitar we're talking piano.

So yes, I think you should expand your horizons not because you need it or anybody cares but you. It's because you're playing music and music is written in 12 keys for a reason.

Bob