String sounds on a MIDI keyboard can include violin, viola, harp, upright bass and cello. You can change the sounds of these stringed instruments by making the notes sound brighter, produce overtones and reverberations, or you can alter the tempo and change the apparent acoustics to mimic an orchestral hall or a small music chamber. You can also record any instrument individually to produce a mellow-sounding solo laid over a multi-instrument string background. The ability to change string sound is key to playing different styles of music.
MIDI keyboard piano sounds can include concert grand, wide grand piano, mellow piano, bright piano, honky-tonk, electric, glass electric, harpsichord and clavichord. You can also experiment with a variety of organ and accordion sounds. MIDI keyboard equalizers allow you to change the sound of your chosen keyboard instrument by altering pitch brightness, bass or treble note emphasis, loudness and note mellowness. Equalizers can also give your chosen keyboard instrument a jazz, dance, rock or classical sound.
Guitar playing requires a different type of finger agility from the type used for playing piano, and if you find it difficult to play guitar, this is where your keyboard skills can help you. You can play different guitar sounds and styles without finger callouses or strained tendons. MIDI keyboards can have many different guitar sounds including nylon string, steel string, 12 string, jazz, clean, electric and guitar feedback. Use the rock equalizer to enhance an electric guitar riff. Use a jazz equalizer to play up the jazz guitar solo you want to record.
Drum set sounds and pre-set rhythms on your MIDI keyboard can help you to add rhythm loops to your musical compositions. Drum set sounds can include marching band, rock, jazz, timpani or hand drums. Rhythm pre-sets can be used either with the drum set sound alone or with other MIDI keyboard musical instruments to create latin, jazz, funk, pop, rock, heavy metal, soul, blues, disco, techno, hip hop, trip hop, ska, swing, big band and polka and waltz rhythms. (Ref 1) Some MIDI keyboard equalizers can even make the drums sound like they are being played with sticks, brushes, mallets or hands.