Music Studio Ergonomics: Are You Sitting Comfortably? Good Keyboard Posture Explained

Let's face it, the majority of music producers need to be at least a little familiar with the piano keyboard. Even if you're not performing sonatas, the keys are the most common way to interact musically with computers and DAWs. In this short video from the course Keyboard Techniques 101: Keyboard Techniques for Producers, keyboard maestro Matt Vanacoro explains the importance of good posture when playing the keyboard. 

As producers and musicians we spend countless hours sitting at keyboards or mixing consoles and over time this can really put a strain on your body: back pain is no joke. Matt shows you the ideal way to sit at a piano to minimize the stress on your body, avoiding carpal tunnel syndrome and other dangers. He discusses the best height to be at relative to your instrument as well as what bad behaviours to avoid. Watch the rest of the videos in this instructive course to learn much more about keyboard playing techniques. 

Keyboard Techniques 101: Keyboard Techniques for Producers

There is no better way to improve your music productions than to develop basic keyboard skills. Of course you don’t need to be a virtuoso to produce music, but having some keyboard techniques and musicianship is very important. Even if you never played a keyboard before, or if you’re paranoid at the thought of learning chords and scales, have no fear. Matt Vanacoro is here to show you how easy it can be to learn to play the keys. No sight-reading necessary!

Matt starts by explaining the importance of having a comfortable keyboard setup and a good posture when playing. As he says, playing long hours with a bad posture is a recipe for disaster for your body! He then reveals, in very simple terms, the music theory concepts that every producer should know. You learn how to build and play major and minor scales, and you discover how to integrate those scary black notes (also called accidentals, or sharps and flats) in your playing. Next, Matt shows you how to build and play chords, and he explains the difference between major, minor, diminished and augmented chords. You learn to play with both hands, by playing chords and bass lines with your left hand. Matt also demystifies other important music theory concepts such as the circle of fifths, suspended chords, inversions, intervals, arpeggios and how to integrate all this in your playing... and in your music productions.

Learning basic keyboard techniques and music theory doesn’t have to be scary! Watch this course, and start to get more use of that keyboard in your studio. This course is perfect for electronic music producers... EDM, Hip Hop, Pop and more!