African American gospel music was traditionally a capella, or sung without instruments. The first instruments added were for rhythm, such as tambourines and drums. When keyboards were added, they supported the rhythm and voices. When creating soulful music, keep in mind that rhythm is important. Play your music as if people were moving to it, not simply listening to it. The keyboards used in the gospel and soul tradition are piano, pipe organ and electric keyboard. If you are making digital music, you can easily use software to recreate the sounds of these instruments.
The basic chords to start with are, in progression, C, F and G. That progression is at the core of traditional gospel, jazz and soul music. Complicating the basic progression makes your soulful style. Adding 7ths and 9ths to the chord progression is the first step in making the chord progression more complicated. Adding an unexpected chord between the chords of the traditional progression will draw your listener in to your sound by providing the expected with the unexpected. Once you have the first layer of the unexpected, try adding extended chords like 9ths and 11ths.
How you play a chord will add to your soulful keyboard playing as much as which chords you choose. A chord is a series of notes. You can play the notes together or in a progression, one after the other, know as arpeggios. On the keyboard, you can play the whole chord on your bass keys, or with your left hand. You play the notes of the chord in progression or in harmony with your right hand. Soul style began in gospel with musicians backing up singers and preachers, sometimes quietly, sometimes passionately. When attempting a soul style on keyboard, keep up this tradition.
On MySpace, you are not only connecting to listeners but to other musicians as well. Musicians get a following based on common likes. Let your favorites influence you. Listeners and other musicians who are into the same sound will connect to what you post on your MySpace page. For instance, if you like the slow groove of R&B ballads, check out the chords from the sheet music to understand how the sound is being created. If you like listening to more complicated jazz based soul, learn those chord progressions before composing your own music.