Piano playing variations inspired by some of the most iconic singer-songwriters of the past few decades.
For decades now, the piano has been a natural vehicle to help songwriters voice their craft. There’s just something about its expressive range that speaks on a fundamental level – it’s the perfect instrument to set a scene. In the right context, a lone piano piece can say a thousand words. Add your voice to it, and you can move mountains.
This collection of EZkeys MIDI picks up on a vast inspiration source of piano-based singer-songwriter material to give you a broad palette of cross-genre ideas to craft your own songs from. In essence, that’s what the singer-songwriter genre is all about – finding your own voice and carving out a niche that’s uniquely you. And even though you might not be a piano player, the tools in EZkeys will help you slice, dice, rearrange, tweak and ultimately make any necessary adjustments to ensure that the song you’re producing is yours alone and no one else’s.
This is the perfect collection for anyone looking to write fundamental, sophisticated and smart pop and rock songs that can stand the test of time. Start writing!
Great summer deals on Toontrack gear.
When and how did you discover your passion for music?
– Pretty early… Perhaps when I started to hammer the upright piano we had at home at the age five or six. That’s some kind of passion I guess! :). I think a turning point, passion-wise, was when I started playing different stuff than the classical piano that my mom wanted me to play. When I started playing in bands and such, 14-15 years old there about.
How come you ended up playing the keyboard?
– I had a piano at home, growing up. Mom taught me at first.
You have recorded several titles of MIDI for EZkeys by now. Explain a little about the process of recording one of these packs.
– I usually start by listening a lot to a playlist of songs. Get a feel of the genre. A vibe. Then usually a couple of ideas tend to emerge quite early. I switch a lot from the different songs/sessions I’m working on in the beginning. Like, if I’m recording a Stevie Wonder-kind-of-thing variation number 3, and suddenly feel like I have the Ray Charles take on this, I instantly open a new session and record the new idea. I find it easier and more fun to work this way – to never stop the creative process. To go with it. Instead of the well-I-really-should-be-doing-this-right-now-approach. And force it. There´s always time to edit/erase/change things up and record variations at a later stage. That’s a different kind of creation I think, like what to add, what to remove, more of this and that, or doing a very sparse take.
Name: Martin Hall
Location: Gothenburg
Martin has collaborated on several EZkeys MIDI packs over the years, spanning all kinds of styles. Below is a selection!
Here’s our very own Rikk Currence with three top reasons as to why your songs will thank you for using EZkeys and our collection of EZkeys MIDI.
A playlist of various videos showcasing how to work with EZkeys.
A playlist of various videos showcasing how to work with EZkeys.
This video series demonstrates the workflow of writing music with EZkeys. Learn how to add a piano to match your guitar track, how to find new song parts how to work with several instances of EZkeys.
A working installation of an EZkeys sound library.
