importance of a midi keyboard?

[Facade]

i've seen alot of talk about midi keyboards and stuff and im wondering whats the importance of them what do they help with etc etc
also there needs to be a hardware help section :p

[Interrobang Pie]

I imagine they won't be of any help if you don't play piano.

[Facade]

I imagine they won't be of any help if you don't play piano.

true that XD

[bartekko]

they help if you make your melodies live (improvise) or want to play your music live

[Dr_Dissonance]

I don't use a MIDI keyboard at all...
I like to think I'm doing fine!

[Whitetail]

I only have limited skill on piano, so I don't use my midi keyboard for recording at all
BUT I do find it to be quite useful when I'm building synth sounds because I can easily preview it while I'm fiddling with it without having to have any lines written for it yet.

[Versilaryan]

What Hooves said. It also really helps to hear the chords you're writing before you actually write them. I think its really helpful to have one, a really cheap one if you don't play piano, just for that.

[Facade]

well i can use my keyboard as a keyboard(piano keys) so i guess im all right ^.^

[Makkon]

I use my keyboard for EVERYTHING. But like it's been mentioned, it won't do you a whole lot of good if you don't play piano.
If you do play piano, get one with weighted keys. If you really want a nice one, look for a full 88key weighted keyboard with pitchwheel and modwheel. Any keyboard with those features will have everything else that you need. But expect to pay a lot.

[natsukashi]

well i can use my keyboard as a keyboard(piano keys) so i guess im all right ^.^

Yup, but you're limited to one octave at a time and I don't think you can play sharp or flats either. (Maybe that's up to the DAW)
Create some music before you decide if you need a keyboard, if it's superfluous then every buck spent is a buck wasted.
Though personally I would recommend learning to play the piano to a basic level, I find it easier to come up with stuff when I'm mashing some ivory, and it trains your pitch as well. :3

[Facade]

well i can use my keyboard as a keyboard(piano keys) so i guess im all right ^.^

Yup, but you're limited to one octave at a time and I don't think you can play sharp or flats either. (Maybe that's up to the DAW)
Create some music before you decide if you need a keyboard, if it's superfluous then every buck spent is a buck wasted.
Though personally I would recommend learning to play the piano to a basic level, I find it easier to come up with stuff when I'm mashing some ivory, and it trains your pitch as well. :3

weird i have 2 octaves and sharps and flats but im not a very good piano player so i don't think i'd be able to benefit from a midi keyboard

[natsukashi]

Oh but skill is mastered, you may not be a good piano player right now, but simply practice and you'll see that you can reach a basic level quite fast. And learning to play stuff you already is satisfying, and it also helps your understanding of how music is built. It may be hard if you don't have a keyboard och a piano at home or one that you can borrow from a friend though. But I shouldn't be too pushy about getting you to play the piano. :3

Oh, I guess it's dependent on DAW then. I only have one octave and no semitones!

[bartekko]

Oh, I guess it's dependent on DAW then. I only have one octave and no semitones!

weirds, I thought ableton had semitones, or are you not using ableton?

[d.notive]

I'm almost lost without a keyboard.

I also consider weighted keys, and mod/pitch controllers luxuries (go figure). The former is purely for tactile response, and the latter are parameters that can be adjusted more precisely in a piano roll if necessary.

... I'd be curious to know what DAW you're using that only lets you use one octave? I had assumed all of them supported MIDI in one form or another, which means you should have several octaves (something like C0 to C8).

[natsukashi]

Oh, I guess it's dependent on DAW then. I only have one octave and no semitones!

weirds, I thought ableton had semitones, or are you not using ableton?

Yeah, I do. But maybe I just can't find them. I can only get sound from ASDFGHJK. :o

[Icky]

I dont have any piano skills, yet I use my midi keyboard all the time just to test the sounds I'm constantly tweaking.

[bartekko]

words

the qwertyuiop's are for the black keys, but only some of them

also, zxcv are for velocity/octave change