Holy Cow!! I have been waiting for this type of content forever! This is really valuable and a great gift to the Linnstrument community, and music community at large. Being able to observe a professional musician’s approach to our beloved Linnstrument is vital. Even this first episode had great value to me. Thank you very much. Instant subscribe!
same here, Fontaine you are my favorite Liinstrument player, its amazingly how when closing eyes you sound like a jazz piano. I badly want to learn from you although I opted for the augmented fourth running.
I'd watch 12 hours straight of you just jamming and talking about linnstrument and finger drumming lessons on the car dashboard. Every little moment is a new gem of a chord voicing or new way to play this thing. It's really cool that there's complete freedom in a new instrument without any prejudices built in but it's very nice to be able to actually gleen pro level expressive gestures from this thing after so long of fiddling around in the dark with it. Great job! I literally NEED more.
Thanks so much for the beautiful comment Gold! Episode 2 is going up tonight or tomorrow morning! I hope there are some useful things for you in that one too! 😊
Yes this is what I was waiting for.. Really appreciate it.. Earger to know chord positions and how to play chord melody combination like Piano with both hands... And I too have the habit of finger drumming on the steering wheel.. LOL...
now im really sold on that thing. i saw a plenty of impressing musicians using the Linnthing and i suspected the ingeunity of the concept but you made it very understandable. and in a very sympathic way :) thank you for your work!
Mind blowing! Exactly the type of video I needed to better understand the capabilities of the Linnstrument. From "complexity", it actually took me to a "simpler" methodology, to improvise music. Thank you!
Absolulely fantastic! Dude, you are my hero. I come from a multi-intstrumental background -- my first instrument was piano, but I played fretless upright bass for many years, as well as guitar. I just ordered my Linnstrument, and I've been searching for something to help me ramp up. THIS IS IT! I am super stoked for the rest of the video series, and the next phase of my musical life with the Linnstrument.
Thanks for taking the initiative and publishing this series. I'm new to a Linnstrument 128. So I'm looking forward to learning from yours and Steven's "methods".
Totally underrated. more than 6000 views and only 386 likes.... Im new to make music and have ordered my LinnStrument yesterday. Working in Bitwig and I think this is a good combo. Thanks for this video from Cologne, Germany.
Oh damn bro! Just watching this video and as a musician mainly focused on rhythm and percussion with also added guitar background this feels like such a natural choice of MIDI controller :o Just can't believe I was unaware of this thing existing... Also, the moment you moved into your car I knew exactly what was coming - same thing here... I used to work as a driver professionally for a while and that's where I would practice my rudiments etc :D Hahahaha... loving the video man and I'm very likely going to get a LinnStrument for myself. Really appreciate your vid
Thanks for the great comment! 😊 With your background it really does sound like the LinnStrument is perfect for you! I’m sure you will love it! And maybe one day we can convince Roger to create an MPE capable steering wheel too! 😂
Awesome tutorial Fontaine! I also drum on my steering wheel 😂 the linnstrument is an amazing instrument, I finally got one 😅 I look forward to seeing more from you in the future 👍
Great video, looking forward to the next one. And that part about drumming to your turn signal cracked me up, as a long-time "kitchen sink drummer" I can totally relate!
Thanks Fontaine - really appreciate you taking the time to record this set of videos. As a new Linnstrumentalist, it's hard to know exactly where to start. I'm coming from a guitar/bass/Stick background, but there's so much more to Linnstrument...
Thank you David! Well, if you are coming from guitar/bass/Stick, you already have a lot to build on! The Linn seems to be a great choice for a player with your experience. But yes, it can be tricky to know the most effective way to apply what you already know. I hope I can shed some light on that!
Thanks so much for posting this. I am a new linnstrumentalist and coming from a keyboard background, it is taking some getting used to. I love the expressiveness it allows and look forward to watching more of your videos so that someday, playing it will become second nature for me. FYI, I also finger drum on the steering wheel of my car & often at the dinner table which drives everyone around me nuts 😂
Thanks jazcan! I wish you a fruitful journey with the Linn…it really is a special instrument. As you’ve probably already noticed, your keyboard background and fingerdrumming skills will come in very handy! 😉
There are instrumentalists, some quite good, and there are musicians. An instrumentalist can play their instrument and as I said, some quite well. But a musician can pick up any instrument and play a tune on it within a matter of minutes. Not as a maestro right off the bat, tho some are quicker than others, but they will be able to play it right away and of course they will just get better with time. You my friend, are a musician. Your approach for this instrument is spot on, but as you said, it's new so there will be many approaches. But for those that speak the language of music, your approach works quite well. I see it's been out for a while but I just discovered this thing. There will be one in my studio in a matter of days! Your "lesson" was very helpful. I play both keys and fretted instruments (or whatever) and I think the fretted approach might work best for me to begin with, but I can see where the keyboard approach could be useful in certain instances. Something tells me that way of looking at it will jell into how to approach this instrument for what it is instead of what it might emulate. Thank you for this. Now for episode 2 lol! New sub here. By the way, I once played Mary had a little lamb on a whistling tea pot by moving it closer or further away from the heat source. My wife at the time just shook her head and smiled. Music is everywhere if you know what to listen for.
Thank you Bird for such a great comment…it resonates deeply with me on so many levels! Yes, I view the LinnStrument as a „musicians instrument“. An instrument for those who speak or want to learn the language of music. A lot of emphasis is put in its amazing ability to emulate nearly any known instrument, but in the long run what will set apart from others is how each individual musician uses his or her experience from other instruments to develop a unique “gesture language”. I find the Linn is particularly efficient at getting out of the way and letting the musician get on with the task of making music. I’m certain that you will really enjoy what it has to offer. Congratulations and welcome to the world of the LinnStrument!
This is fantastic, Fontaine, thank you! Just found your channel/video over on the Roger Linn Design forum. Waiting for my Linnstrument to arrive here hopefully in the next few days so this video is going to come in really handy!
Thank you for so expertly summarizing the similarities and differences of piano/guitar compared to the linny. To have this all laid out and spoken really opened my mind. Coming from guitar, I instinctually avoided stacking horizontal notes. I'm now starting to re-think how I play the equivalent of sweep picking on the linny and finding more natural fingerings for arpegiation. Looking forward to more content 👍🎹🎼
Thanks for doing this!As a newbie and realizing the possibilities of this great instrument, it has kind of paralyzed me a little bit and I keep thinking of the term that you used---"approach".To me, that hit the nail on the head(mine)and cleared it.I am sure that I and many will gain from the sharing of your approach.
Thanks BC…so glad to hear that! Enjoy the journey of discovery that this instrument offers. The cool thing is that the Linn is so new and there are only a few thousand of us who actually own one…each of us is in some way a pioneer. We already see a multitude of approaches and we are just getting started! Do check out Stephen Barnard‘s videos as well. He is really focusing on new players and keeping the pace nice and relaxed to help reduce some of that paralysis. 😊
To me thinking of diatonic modes as three notes per row/string makes everything super simple, because the shapes are easy to visualize geometrically and it loops on itself neatly. Credit to "Guitar Modes Unified" by Rudi Seitz.
Thanks for your comment! Well, I approach sheet music and lead sheets like I would with any of the instruments that I play. I think the isomorphic nature of the Linn actually makes it easier to read music…but you mileage may vary. It certainly makes it easier to transpose charts…far easier than on a keyboard for example. I’m not sure if that answers your question but in dealing with the western music system, we are dealing with only twelve notes. You learn where those notes are on your instrument and then you translate those notes from a sheet to your instrument…should that somehow be different on the Linstrument? 🤔
@@FontaineBurnett Thanks for your quick response. I agree with your statement. as for me, when i sight read music for the guitar, or extremely slowly on the piano, there is varying tactile feedback from the keys, fretboard, proprioceptive feedback from my arm and hand/finger position, the string feel and texture, fret spacing at times etc. As for the Linnstrument, aside from their position on the board, it appears all the triggers are the same. as i watch you, it appears so natural. any other insights you can add?
Ahh! Now I understand! Yes, it does present a challenge when reading simply because the „landscape“ of the Linn doesn’t offer any particularly unique signposts for navigating. Well, there are the little nipples on the surface where the „c“‘s should be. But I have my lights in a different position so they don’t offer me much help. I look at reading on the Linn more like sight singing as a singer. That means making an association based on interval relationships between the notes and not the actual notes per se. I will be doing a video about this too…it will be the fourth video in the series.
@@FontaineBurnett good evening! I tuned one of my guitars in 4ths and experimenting on how i can visualize myself with the Linnstrument. Guitar on my lap, using my Left thumb to play the Root/Bass and other fingers 3rds and 7ths... little tricky for me with Dom and Dim chords using that approach. Major and Minor 7ths feels easy. Also trying to unlearn years of visualizing the fretboard's traditional tuning. thanks
I really like that clav approach at the end. I've only ever finger drummed on pad controllers before so that speaks to me a bit more. I don't use Linnstrument but a Push 64 pad controller with the same 4ths layout. I feel like it should be played mostly with thumb, index finger and middle finger, with both hands, as the pads are larger than the Linnstrument. Is anyone approaching it this way? Any tips to share for playing scales like this? Also, great collection of pad controllers there!!
Hi Loomit! Well there is certainly nothing wrong with playing scales with just thumb, index and middle fingers. But you’ll might notice that you can gain a lot more speed and dexterity by adding your ring finger to the game. Have you checked out my „eight-fingered hand video“? There I explain it a little better. I often play on my Akai Force which has even larger pads than the Push and I think using (at least) four fingers per hand helps tame the larger distances much better. But your mileage may vary! 😊
@@FontaineBurnett Thanks for taking the time to reply. I watched your eight-fingered hand video just after leaving my comment. That makes a lot of sense, where the left hand does the foundations, and the right fills with "inner voicings/melodics". The layout makes it more comfortable to play inversions with the left hand as opposed to a basic triad. And I see the ring finger coming in use there too. It makes me think playing with an alternating thumb finger technique, a bit like heel tip on conga, might yield something interesting. Would love to see an Akai Force performance if ever you get the time. Thanks for making the videos! They're really helpful.
Hey, great video for a start but a question for you. Love using the Push 2 as an instrument, notice you also have one. Already a guitar player so gotten very used to playing in chromatic mode because of the 4ths layout on the Push. Very interested in the Linnstrument but the price point is a slight turnoff, is there a massive difference to playing it vs playing the Push in chromatic mode?
Hi Shane! Thanks for the kind words! I don’t own a Push, although I have used them many times. What you are seeing in the video is an Akai Force. There are certainly some big differences between the Linn and the “Push” type controllers like the Force and the Launchpad. The primary one being the Linn’s MPE capabilities. None of the other controllers have that. Polyend’s Medusa does MPE but it is not strictly a controller. If you are not interested in MPE then you’d be paying for functionality that is not going to be of use to you. Another difference is the feel of the pads. For fingerdrumming I’d give the Push controllers the win…you simply have more real estate for playing. I do like the feel of the Push when playing pianistic type stuff as well but then the pads are a little on the wide side. Depends on what your preferences are. One last thing is the number of pads. The smallest Linn gives you twice as many pads, which doesn’t translate to twice the range of course but it does give you a lot more horizontal freedom when voicing chords. You don’t have have your hands stacked above each other quite as much. I found that to be a big advantage for my playing style. All that being said, each controller has it’s pros and cons…I suppose that’s why I’ve made the investment to have more than one. 😉
@@FontaineBurnett Ah great response thanks so much, yeah was aware of the MPE already, the slide especially intrigued me as it's not something you can do with the Push. Hmm, by the sounds of it though for the price I might be just better off sticking with just the Push for now. Was thinking of getting a midi to breath controller for that extra level of expression so I'd reckon that will provide a much better feeling for strings/woodwind instruments and free up the hands to focus on playing at a fraction of the cost. The extra amount of pads though is sooo tempting.
A midi breath controller isn’t a bad idea either. My personal solution was to get an Akai EWI USB. That of course meant learning woodwind fingerings…I guess I’m a bit of a masochist! 😂
@@FontaineBurnett Ha had went down that route too but wasn't worth learning how to play a woodwind instrument. Instead I've been using the Jam Origins Midi Guitar software, it's incredible how it converts guitar audio to polyphonic midi in real time. Add in the midi breath controller and it's ridiculously expressive. Without having to learn a new instrument!
Most of the time I’m using either Ravenscroft 275 on the iPad or Pianoteq on the Mac for my piano sounds. When I play the LinnStrument in a live setting (which is very often) I have been using my Akai Force and iPad as sound sources. 😊
@@FontaineBurnett You're welcome. I recently got one. I learned guitar righty but I am a lefty. Since this is like starting from scratch I am still deciding my approach. There's a good chord shape reference in the Deluge manual, better than what Linn offers on his site. They both share the same layout. Thanks for your effort, I will check out your method.
Thanks. Ill be following along. I started playing it in a left handed mirrored setup (upside down with the lowest note in the upper right corner and the highest note in left bottom corner)..... Just felt more familiar at the time. And now im to far in to revert back.... Hope this wont become a problem later on. But i guess its fine. Will only need to translate some techniques in my head. Thanks again for this initiative.
Thanks Martijn! It still should be useful for you…at least at a conceptional level. But I’m curious to know how you came to choose that version of the layout…Did you play any other instrument before the Linn?
@@FontaineBurnett Hi Fontaine, Played keys before but was not very proficient and more into modular/synths stuff. So learning the muscle memory for the Linnstrument was totally new. I cant even remember the exact reasoning at the time but i think i was exploring finger settings for the major an minor scales and figured is easier to flip the board and roll my finger up and down the triads.
Ok…I see. Well, it might be worth the effort to switch over to the standard layout. It will be a pain in butt for a few weeks/months but could prove to be beneficial further down the road. Especially if you want to follow along with my or Steve’s videos. On the other hand, if you are the kind of person who digs the extra challenge, go for it! 😊
@@FontaineBurnett I think ill stick to my stuborn approach. Partly because i still think this layout is more finger friendly. But mostly because the muscle memory is allready quite imprinted and im having to much fun with it.
okay, fontaine... you have successfully birthed in me a real fire for the linnstrument. I have a very practical question for you, sir: (I see you use both the 128 & the 200.) can you elaborate a bit on your thoughts on the two of them...? (you know... kind of a compare & contrast type of thing.) I see you seem to switch between them a bit. is it because the 128 fits I'm the screen better at times? (prolly not, as you likely wouldn't own it just for that.)
Hey Fall! Glad to hear of your awakened interest in the Linn! 😊 Well, there are no technical differences between the two. I originally had purchased the 128 simply because it was a bit less expensive and I wasn‘t sure how I would actually get along with it. I always had it in the back of my mind that the larger 200 would give me more flexibility for two-handed playing, so when the opportunity came up to get one used, I jumped on it. Nowadays, after having spent a couple of years developing my style of playing, I really don‘t see a major benefit for choosing the 200 over the 128. I am glad (and fortunate) to have both and usually it comes down to a question of portability. If I‘m playing a gig where the Linn is my main instrument, then I‘ll probably bring the 200. If the size of my setup has to be restricted due to space constraints or weight issues, then I‘ll bring the 128.
@@FontaineBurnett thanks so much, fontaine, for your prompt & thoughtful response. so, given that a used 128 is at least $400 less than a used 200, you feel like... sure, there's a notable difference, but it's kinda negligible?
@@FontaineBurnett copy that. thanks kindly for your responsiveness & insights. I just checked out an in-depth performance-oriented demo that roger linn did a few years ago, & he was using the 128 for that, so... yeah!!
Oh yes! Most certainly! I also have an Akai Force (which I love by the way) as well as a launchpad pro and a medusa. You don’t have as much horizontal space to work with, which means you have to move a bit more in the vertical axis. For fingerdrumming stuff I actually prefer the Force because of the width of the pads and its responsiveness to percussive playing. Stay tuned for the next video….I’ll be showing some things that will translate quite well to the 64 pad controllers. 😊
@@FontaineBurnett Thank you so much! This is very helpful. I'm a high school band dropout that's found joy learning how to play keys throughout the pandemic. I'm trying to decide what my first "nice" instrument should be. When I play the 64 pads all the theory I've been learning on the keys makes so much more sense. The Linnstrument, Force and a few traditional poly synths are on my list. Thanks again, I just subscribed. I'm looking forward to this series!
I don’t find the velocity tracking to be imprecise…but your mileage may vary. I sometimes use other controllers for percussion simply because of the feel and spacing but not because I find the velocity sensing on the Linn to be insufficient. But once again, your experience might be different from mine. 😉
Fontaine, this is particularly amazing. Thanks for the wonderful performances and the sonorous narrative. I love seeing all those iPads. Been doing iOS for 4 years has changed everything for me..600+ Tracks and 50 albums using a dp and an iPad Pro. Are you working mostly with iPads? Don’t see a desktop.
Hi Michael! Thanks for the kind words! I‘ve been a proponent for music making on the iPad since day one…I‘m so glad to see that in the last few years it has become such a loved creative platform. It is far from perfect, but very powerful and has a whole set of interesting creative challenges to deal with. That being said, in the last couple of years, I‘ve put together a studio based around a three part sytem: iPad, a Macbook, and an Akai Force. I tend to get bored with just one workflow so this setup allows me to shake things up a bit whenever I feel the need. All the devices also integrate very well together…the collective power is pretty amazing. And as you’ve noticed, I have fallen in love with grid instruments. The two things that have impacted my musical life the most in the last ten years have been the iPad and the grid…no doubt. BTW, I‘ve been following your iPad journey on the Audiobus Forum for a while now. I always look forward to hearing your great playing and prodigious output! 😊
Thank you a lot for your effort! I think that this is an extremely important event for the Linnstrument players community indeed! I have been waiting for a looong time for tutorials/methods to appear, but so far seems that only Jeff Moen had published his method online. There are quite a lot of videos with sound design/drone focus or about connecting the Linnstrument to fancy hardware, but so few videos where Linnstrumentalists actually share their melodic/chord playing techniques and improvisational approaches. Expecting yours and Stephen Barnard’s tutorials to be a treasure trove for my development as a player. I think it would benefit you both if you cross-link each other right in your videos’ descriptions. Maybe I’ve missed it in your video, but what kind of “wind instrument DNA” would you attribute to the LS? Do you mean the continuous control over note dynamics as a wind instrument thing? Also, what about _chromatic_ percussion DNA?;) Do you use rolls in your melodic playing and do you play virtual marimba/xylophone/pan drums using the LS?
Hi Alex! Thank you so much for the encouraging words! Yes, I also feel the need to showcase the Linnstrument‘s capabilities as a bona fide instrument and not strictly as a controller/studio tool. I hope this little series will achieve that. I don’t however view this as a „method”…just me sharing my approach. Some inspiration maybe. About the wind instrument DNA…yes, exactly! The continuous control. I have decided that I will probably do a fourth video in the series dedicated to that as well. Chromatic percussion DNA is definitely there…in part two I’ll try and give some examples of how one might deal with rolls and repeated notes. I’m a huge fan of chromatic percussion and have spent time with both vibes and marimba as well as gamelan and baliphone.
@@FontaineBurnett “I don’t however view this as a „method”…just me sharing my approach” - sure, got that! I personally would be mostly interested in the fingering, voicing techniques, how you distribute the workload between the two hands, as this seems to have to be re-invented for LS from the ground up. Anybody can take a basic guitar/bass/piano method to learn the basics of rhythm and harmony and some improvisation, but how the pros working for several years specifically with LS approach the fingerboard and musical expression in general is super interesting. For some reason whenever a video of great playing appears on TH-cam the first questions in the comments are about “what setup?/what sounds?/what VST?” - hey, that’s the simplest part out there, and the _least_ important one (well, IMHO). As if getting that magical VST would help one become a better player)) “in part two I’ll try and give some examples of how one might deal with rolls and repeated notes” - definitely looking forward to this as well! I was somewhat introduced to this “chromatic percussion viewpoint” on the LS after watching Josh Madoff’s “Complete Guide to Practicing ContinuuMini" video on TH-cam (alas, that was meant to be part 1 of some sort of series of Josh’s but did not go beyond that first video). Essentially I think some or all of Josh’s advices can be adapted to a single row of the Linnstrument.
Thanks Miles! Do you mean for the intro sequence? I was using Pianoteq for the Rhodes sound, The Logic Sampler for bass, Native Instruments Battery for drums and SWAM Trumpet for the....um…trumpet! 😉
Well, I don’t have a lot of experience with the push since I’m not an Ableton user. I have tried out a friend’s push 3 and I liked it but I still prefer the feel of the Linn’s surface. I think they are two different devices with different use cases. If I were an Ableton user though. I would give the new push some serious thought.
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Holy Cow!! I have been waiting for this type of content forever! This is really valuable and a great gift to the Linnstrument community, and music community at large. Being able to observe a professional musician’s approach to our beloved Linnstrument is vital. Even this first episode had great value to me. Thank you very much. Instant subscribe!
same here, Fontaine you are my favorite Liinstrument player, its amazingly how when closing eyes you sound like a jazz piano. I badly want to learn from you although I opted for the augmented fourth running.
I'd watch 12 hours straight of you just jamming and talking about linnstrument and finger drumming lessons on the car dashboard. Every little moment is a new gem of a chord voicing or new way to play this thing. It's really cool that there's complete freedom in a new instrument without any prejudices built in but it's very nice to be able to actually gleen pro level expressive gestures from this thing after so long of fiddling around in the dark with it. Great job! I literally NEED more.
Thanks so much for the beautiful comment Gold! Episode 2 is going up tonight or tomorrow morning! I hope there are some useful things for you in that one too! 😊
Thank you for sharing your insights. Because of the Linnstrument I have decided to become a musician and I am soaking all of this up.
Thanks Ross…I’m glad that you could get something from it! I think the Linn is a wonderful instrument to start your musical journey!
Yes this is what I was waiting for.. Really appreciate it.. Earger to know chord positions and how to play chord melody combination like Piano with both hands... And I too have the habit of finger drumming on the steering wheel.. LOL...
Thanks Sujoy! Steering wheel drummers unite! 😊 The next video will start to get into more of the chord melody things…so stay tuned!
Thank you for your insightful perspective and eloquence. I'm glad I found your channel. 128 Newbie
Thank you Kingtet! Enjoy the adventure with your new LinnStrument! 😊
now im really sold on that thing. i saw a plenty of impressing musicians using the Linnthing and i suspected the ingeunity of the concept but you made it very understandable. and in a very sympathic way :) thank you for your work!
Yes im pumped
Really impressive!
Mind blowing! Exactly the type of video I needed to better understand the capabilities of the Linnstrument. From "complexity", it actually took me to a "simpler" methodology, to improvise music. Thank you!
That’s awesome Luis! Glad to hear that you found something useful in the video! 😊
Absolulely fantastic! Dude, you are my hero. I come from a multi-intstrumental background -- my first instrument was piano, but I played fretless upright bass for many years, as well as guitar. I just ordered my Linnstrument, and I've been searching for something to help me ramp up. THIS IS IT! I am super stoked for the rest of the video series, and the next phase of my musical life with the Linnstrument.
Awesome Harry! You are going to love it! 💛
Thanks for taking the initiative and publishing this series. I'm new to a Linnstrument 128. So I'm looking forward to learning from yours and Steven's "methods".
Thanks so much Richard! Enjoy your journey with the Linn!
This will be essential viewing for so many new Linnstrument owners in the future. Thanks!
I am super excited about the upcoming episodes.
Thanks so much for the vote of confidence Karl! 😉
Well done, sir - this is helpful to Linnstrumentalists of all levels IMO.
Thank you Harrison! 🙏🏽
Thank you very much Fontaine for taking time to create this and share it with Linnstrument users. Looking forward to the rest of the episodes!
My pleasure Arpad! Thanks for taking the time to watch…hope there was something useful for you!
Amazing tutorial. Very clear.
Totally underrated. more than 6000 views and only 386 likes.... Im new to make music and have ordered my LinnStrument yesterday. Working in Bitwig and I think this is a good combo. Thanks for this video from Cologne, Germany.
Oh damn bro! Just watching this video and as a musician mainly focused on rhythm and percussion with also added guitar background this feels like such a natural choice of MIDI controller :o Just can't believe I was unaware of this thing existing... Also, the moment you moved into your car I knew exactly what was coming - same thing here... I used to work as a driver professionally for a while and that's where I would practice my rudiments etc :D Hahahaha... loving the video man and I'm very likely going to get a LinnStrument for myself.
Really appreciate your vid
Thanks for the great comment! 😊 With your background it really does sound like the LinnStrument is perfect for you! I’m sure you will love it! And maybe one day we can convince Roger to create an MPE capable steering wheel too! 😂
You're a great teacher! You have the right demeanor that makes your content easy to understand, educational and fun! Subbed with thanks!
Thank you Tommy! 🙏🏽 Much appreciated!
Awesome tutorial Fontaine! I also drum on my steering wheel 😂 the linnstrument is an amazing instrument, I finally got one 😅 I look forward to seeing more from you in the future 👍
Good ideas, nicely presented. Looking forward to seeing where you go with them.
Thanks for the feedback Werzel!
Great video, looking forward to the next one. And that part about drumming to your turn signal cracked me up, as a long-time "kitchen sink drummer" I can totally relate!
Thanks George! I’m glad to know I’m not the only one with CFD (compulsive fingerdrumming disorder) 😂
Thanks Fontaine - really appreciate you taking the time to record this set of videos. As a new Linnstrumentalist, it's hard to know exactly where to start. I'm coming from a guitar/bass/Stick background, but there's so much more to Linnstrument...
Thank you David! Well, if you are coming from guitar/bass/Stick, you already have a lot to build on! The Linn seems to be a great choice for a player with your experience. But yes, it can be tricky to know the most effective way to apply what you already know. I hope I can shed some light on that!
Thanks for making this :) I need more inspiration to use my Linnstrument more!
More inspiration coming soon! 😉
Thanks so much for posting this. I am a new linnstrumentalist and coming from a keyboard background, it is taking some getting used to. I love the expressiveness it allows and look forward to watching more of your videos so that someday, playing it will become second nature for me. FYI, I also finger drum on the steering wheel of my car & often at the dinner table which drives everyone around me nuts 😂
Thanks jazcan! I wish you a fruitful journey with the Linn…it really is a special instrument. As you’ve probably already noticed, your keyboard background and fingerdrumming skills will come in very handy! 😉
@@FontaineBurnett It’s a bit of a learning curve for me but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it 😊
thank you for making this video!
There are instrumentalists, some quite good, and there are musicians. An instrumentalist can play their instrument and as I said, some quite well. But a musician can pick up any instrument and play a tune on it within a matter of minutes. Not as a maestro right off the bat, tho some are quicker than others, but they will be able to play it right away and of course they will just get better with time. You my friend, are a musician. Your approach for this instrument is spot on, but as you said, it's new so there will be many approaches. But for those that speak the language of music, your approach works quite well. I see it's been out for a while but I just discovered this thing. There will be one in my studio in a matter of days! Your "lesson" was very helpful. I play both keys and fretted instruments (or whatever) and I think the fretted approach might work best for me to begin with, but I can see where the keyboard approach could be useful in certain instances. Something tells me that way of looking at it will jell into how to approach this instrument for what it is instead of what it might emulate. Thank you for this. Now for episode 2 lol! New sub here. By the way, I once played Mary had a little lamb on a whistling tea pot by moving it closer or further away from the heat source. My wife at the time just shook her head and smiled. Music is everywhere if you know what to listen for.
Thank you Bird for such a great comment…it resonates deeply with me on so many levels! Yes, I view the LinnStrument as a „musicians instrument“. An instrument for those who speak or want to learn the language of music. A lot of emphasis is put in its amazing ability to emulate nearly any known instrument, but in the long run what will set apart from others is how each individual musician uses his or her experience from other instruments to develop a unique “gesture language”. I find the Linn is particularly efficient at getting out of the way and letting the musician get on with the task of making music. I’m certain that you will really enjoy what it has to offer. Congratulations and welcome to the world of the LinnStrument!
And yes….music is everywhere just waiting to be pulled out of the air! Or teapot! 😂
Excellent sounds and arrangement, beautiful tracks
Just your comments about practicing scales vertically and horizontally is huge to me.
This is fantastic, Fontaine, thank you! Just found your channel/video over on the Roger Linn Design forum. Waiting for my Linnstrument to arrive here hopefully in the next few days so this video is going to come in really handy!
Welcome to the Linnstrument family! I think you’re going to love it here! 😉
wow what a lovely tune
Thank you for so expertly summarizing the similarities and differences of piano/guitar compared to the linny. To have this all laid out and spoken really opened my mind. Coming from guitar, I instinctually avoided stacking horizontal notes. I'm now starting to re-think how I play the equivalent of sweep picking on the linny and finding more natural fingerings for arpegiation. Looking forward to more content 👍🎹🎼
That’s great Zach! Thanks! I think the next video will also have some interesting things for you. 😊
Thanks for doing this!As a newbie and realizing the possibilities of this great instrument, it has kind of paralyzed me a little bit and I keep thinking of the term that you used---"approach".To me, that hit the nail on the head(mine)and cleared it.I am sure that I and many will gain from the sharing of your approach.
Thanks BC…so glad to hear that! Enjoy the journey of discovery that this instrument offers. The cool thing is that the Linn is so new and there are only a few thousand of us who actually own one…each of us is in some way a pioneer. We already see a multitude of approaches and we are just getting started! Do check out Stephen Barnard‘s videos as well. He is really focusing on new players and keeping the pace nice and relaxed to help reduce some of that paralysis. 😊
To me thinking of diatonic modes as three notes per row/string makes everything super simple, because the shapes are easy to visualize geometrically and it loops on itself neatly. Credit to "Guitar Modes Unified" by Rudi Seitz.
Excellent review on your thoughts and approach to the instrument.
However, whats your approach with Sheet music and lead sheets?
thanks....
Thanks for your comment! Well, I approach sheet music and lead sheets like I would with any of the instruments that I play. I think the isomorphic nature of the Linn actually makes it easier to read music…but you mileage may vary. It certainly makes it easier to transpose charts…far easier than on a keyboard for example. I’m not sure if that answers your question but in dealing with the western music system, we are dealing with only twelve notes. You learn where those notes are on your instrument and then you translate those notes from a sheet to your instrument…should that somehow be different on the Linstrument? 🤔
@@FontaineBurnett Thanks for your quick response.
I agree with your statement.
as for me, when i sight read music for the guitar, or extremely slowly on the piano, there is varying tactile feedback from the keys, fretboard, proprioceptive feedback from my arm and hand/finger position, the string feel and texture, fret spacing at times etc. As for the Linnstrument, aside from their position on the board, it appears all the triggers are the same. as i watch you, it appears so natural. any other insights you can add?
Ahh! Now I understand! Yes, it does present a challenge when reading simply because the „landscape“ of the Linn doesn’t offer any particularly unique signposts for navigating. Well, there are the little nipples on the surface where the „c“‘s should be. But I have my lights in a different position so they don’t offer me much help.
I look at reading on the Linn more like sight singing as a singer. That means making an association based on interval relationships between the notes and not the actual notes per se. I will be doing a video about this too…it will be the fourth video in the series.
@@FontaineBurnett good evening!
I tuned one of my guitars in 4ths and experimenting on how i can visualize myself with the Linnstrument. Guitar on my lap, using my Left thumb to play the Root/Bass and other fingers 3rds and 7ths... little tricky for me with Dom and Dim chords using that approach.
Major and Minor 7ths feels easy.
Also trying to unlearn years of visualizing the fretboard's traditional tuning.
thanks
I really like that clav approach at the end. I've only ever finger drummed on pad controllers before so that speaks to me a bit more. I don't use Linnstrument but a Push 64 pad controller with the same 4ths layout. I feel like it should be played mostly with thumb, index finger and middle finger, with both hands, as the pads are larger than the Linnstrument. Is anyone approaching it this way? Any tips to share for playing scales like this?
Also, great collection of pad controllers there!!
Hi Loomit! Well there is certainly nothing wrong with playing scales with just thumb, index and middle fingers. But you’ll might notice that you can gain a lot more speed and dexterity by adding your ring finger to the game. Have you checked out my „eight-fingered hand video“? There I explain it a little better. I often play on my Akai Force which has even larger pads than the Push and I think using (at least) four fingers per hand helps tame the larger distances much better. But your mileage may vary! 😊
@@FontaineBurnett Thanks for taking the time to reply. I watched your eight-fingered hand video just after leaving my comment. That makes a lot of sense, where the left hand does the foundations, and the right fills with "inner voicings/melodics". The layout makes it more comfortable to play inversions with the left hand as opposed to a basic triad. And I see the ring finger coming in use there too. It makes me think playing with an alternating thumb finger technique, a bit like heel tip on conga, might yield something interesting.
Would love to see an Akai Force performance if ever you get the time.
Thanks for making the videos! They're really helpful.
I’ll be putting up the loooooong overdue third part to this series soon. It has some interesting tips concerning the thumbs…I think you’ll dig it!
Hey, great video for a start but a question for you. Love using the Push 2 as an instrument, notice you also have one. Already a guitar player so gotten very used to playing in chromatic mode because of the 4ths layout on the Push. Very interested in the Linnstrument but the price point is a slight turnoff, is there a massive difference to playing it vs playing the Push in chromatic mode?
Hi Shane! Thanks for the kind words! I don’t own a Push, although I have used them many times. What you are seeing in the video is an Akai Force. There are certainly some big differences between the Linn and the “Push” type controllers like the Force and the Launchpad. The primary one being the Linn’s MPE capabilities. None of the other controllers have that. Polyend’s Medusa does MPE but it is not strictly a controller. If you are not interested in MPE then you’d be paying for functionality that is not going to be of use to you. Another difference is the feel of the pads. For fingerdrumming I’d give the Push controllers the win…you simply have more real estate for playing. I do like the feel of the Push when playing pianistic type stuff as well but then the pads are a little on the wide side. Depends on what your preferences are. One last thing is the number of pads. The smallest Linn gives you twice as many pads, which doesn’t translate to twice the range of course but it does give you a lot more horizontal freedom when voicing chords. You don’t have have your hands stacked above each other quite as much. I found that to be a big advantage for my playing style. All that being said, each controller has it’s pros and cons…I suppose that’s why I’ve made the investment to have more than one. 😉
@@FontaineBurnett Ah great response thanks so much, yeah was aware of the MPE already, the slide especially intrigued me as it's not something you can do with the Push. Hmm, by the sounds of it though for the price I might be just better off sticking with just the Push for now. Was thinking of getting a midi to breath controller for that extra level of expression so I'd reckon that will provide a much better feeling for strings/woodwind instruments and free up the hands to focus on playing at a fraction of the cost. The extra amount of pads though is sooo tempting.
A midi breath controller isn’t a bad idea either. My personal solution was to get an Akai EWI USB. That of course meant learning woodwind fingerings…I guess I’m a bit of a masochist! 😂
@@FontaineBurnett Ha had went down that route too but wasn't worth learning how to play a woodwind instrument. Instead I've been using the Jam Origins Midi Guitar software, it's incredible how it converts guitar audio to polyphonic midi in real time. Add in the midi breath controller and it's ridiculously expressive. Without having to learn a new instrument!
Check out this amazing dude.
th-cam.com/video/QqTvvT1tuwE/w-d-xo.html
What sound library are you using? Do you play Linnstrument live?
Most of the time I’m using either Ravenscroft 275 on the iPad or Pianoteq on the Mac for my piano sounds. When I play the LinnStrument in a live setting (which is very often) I have been using my Akai Force and iPad as sound sources. 😊
What are you using for your VSTs? Particularly that wurlitzer/rhodes sound?
I was using Pianoteq for the Rhodes and Clavinet sounds, Logic‘s Sampler for the bass, Native Instruments Battery for drums and SWAM Trumpet.
@@FontaineBurnett Thanks! Appreciate the vid and reply :)
Nice cover of Giant Steps.
Thanks Guy! 😊
@@FontaineBurnett You're welcome. I recently got one. I learned guitar righty but I am a lefty. Since this is like starting from scratch I am still deciding my approach. There's a good chord shape reference in the Deluge manual, better than what Linn offers on his site. They both share the same layout. Thanks for your effort, I will check out your method.
Thanks. Ill be following along. I started playing it in a left handed mirrored setup (upside down with the lowest note in the upper right corner and the highest note in left bottom corner)..... Just felt more familiar at the time. And now im to far in to revert back.... Hope this wont become a problem later on. But i guess its fine. Will only need to translate some techniques in my head. Thanks again for this initiative.
Thanks Martijn! It still should be useful for you…at least at a conceptional level. But I’m curious to know how you came to choose that version of the layout…Did you play any other instrument before the Linn?
@@FontaineBurnett Hi Fontaine, Played keys before but was not very proficient and more into modular/synths stuff. So learning the muscle memory for the Linnstrument was totally new. I cant even remember the exact reasoning at the time but i think i was exploring finger settings for the major an minor scales and figured is easier to flip the board and roll my finger up and down the triads.
Ok…I see. Well, it might be worth the effort to switch over to the standard layout. It will be a pain in butt for a few weeks/months but could prove to be beneficial further down the road. Especially if you want to follow along with my or Steve’s videos. On the other hand, if you are the kind of person who digs the extra challenge, go for it! 😊
@@FontaineBurnett I think ill stick to my stuborn approach. Partly because i still think this layout is more finger friendly. But mostly because the muscle memory is allready quite imprinted and im having to much fun with it.
okay, fontaine... you have successfully birthed in me a real fire for the linnstrument. I have a very practical question for you, sir: (I see you use both the 128 & the 200.) can you elaborate a bit on your thoughts on the two of them...? (you know... kind of a compare & contrast type of thing.) I see you seem to switch between them a bit. is it because the 128 fits I'm the screen better at times? (prolly not, as you likely wouldn't own it just for that.)
Hey Fall! Glad to hear of your awakened interest in the Linn! 😊 Well, there are no technical differences between the two. I originally had purchased the 128 simply because it was a bit less expensive and I wasn‘t sure how I would actually get along with it. I always had it in the back of my mind that the larger 200 would give me more flexibility for two-handed playing, so when the opportunity came up to get one used, I jumped on it. Nowadays, after having spent a couple of years developing my style of playing, I really don‘t see a major benefit for choosing the 200 over the 128. I am glad (and fortunate) to have both and usually it comes down to a question of portability. If I‘m playing a gig where the Linn is my main instrument, then I‘ll probably bring the 200. If the size of my setup has to be restricted due to space constraints or weight issues, then I‘ll bring the 128.
@@FontaineBurnett thanks so much, fontaine, for your prompt & thoughtful response.
so, given that a used 128 is at least $400 less than a used 200, you feel like... sure, there's a notable difference, but it's kinda negligible?
Yes…at least for me.
@@FontaineBurnett copy that. thanks kindly for your responsiveness & insights.
I just checked out an in-depth performance-oriented demo that roger linn did a few years ago, & he was using the 128 for that, so... yeah!!
Can some of these techniques be used on the Akai Force or Launchpad which only have a third of the pads?
Oh yes! Most certainly! I also have an Akai Force (which I love by the way) as well as a launchpad pro and a medusa. You don’t have as much horizontal space to work with, which means you have to move a bit more in the vertical axis. For fingerdrumming stuff I actually prefer the Force because of the width of the pads and its responsiveness to percussive playing. Stay tuned for the next video….I’ll be showing some things that will translate quite well to the 64 pad controllers. 😊
@@FontaineBurnett Thank you so much! This is very helpful. I'm a high school band dropout that's found joy learning how to play keys throughout the pandemic. I'm trying to decide what my first "nice" instrument should be. When I play the 64 pads all the theory I've been learning on the keys makes so much more sense. The Linnstrument, Force and a few traditional poly synths are on my list. Thanks again, I just subscribed. I'm looking forward to this series!
Isn’t Linnstrument basically the instrument least suitable for percussive sound since its velocity tracking is imprecise?
I don’t find the velocity tracking to be imprecise…but your mileage may vary. I sometimes use other controllers for percussion simply because of the feel and spacing but not because I find the velocity sensing on the Linn to be insufficient. But once again, your experience might be different from mine. 😉
Fontaine, this is particularly amazing. Thanks for the wonderful performances and the sonorous narrative. I love seeing all those iPads. Been doing iOS for 4 years has changed everything for me..600+ Tracks and 50 albums using a dp and an iPad Pro.
Are you working mostly with iPads? Don’t see a desktop.
Hi Michael! Thanks for the kind words! I‘ve been a proponent for music making on the iPad since day one…I‘m so glad to see that in the last few years it has become such a loved creative platform. It is far from perfect, but very powerful and has a whole set of interesting creative challenges to deal with. That being said, in the last couple of years, I‘ve put together a studio based around a three part sytem: iPad, a Macbook, and an Akai Force. I tend to get bored with just one workflow so this setup allows me to shake things up a bit whenever I feel the need. All the devices also integrate very well together…the collective power is pretty amazing. And as you’ve noticed, I have fallen in love with grid instruments. The two things that have impacted my musical life the most in the last ten years have been the iPad and the grid…no doubt. BTW, I‘ve been following your iPad journey on the Audiobus Forum for a while now. I always look forward to hearing your great playing and prodigious output! 😊
Thank you a lot for your effort! I think that this is an extremely important event for the Linnstrument players community indeed! I have been waiting for a looong time for tutorials/methods to appear, but so far seems that only Jeff Moen had published his method online. There are quite a lot of videos with sound design/drone focus or about connecting the Linnstrument to fancy hardware, but so few videos where Linnstrumentalists actually share their melodic/chord playing techniques and improvisational approaches. Expecting yours and Stephen Barnard’s tutorials to be a treasure trove for my development as a player. I think it would benefit you both if you cross-link each other right in your videos’ descriptions. Maybe I’ve missed it in your video, but what kind of “wind instrument DNA” would you attribute to the LS? Do you mean the continuous control over note dynamics as a wind instrument thing? Also, what about _chromatic_ percussion DNA?;) Do you use rolls in your melodic playing and do you play virtual marimba/xylophone/pan drums using the LS?
Hi Alex! Thank you so much for the encouraging words! Yes, I also feel the need to showcase the Linnstrument‘s capabilities as a bona fide instrument and not strictly as a controller/studio tool. I hope this little series will achieve that. I don’t however view this as a „method”…just me sharing my approach. Some inspiration maybe. About the wind instrument DNA…yes, exactly! The continuous control. I have decided that I will probably do a fourth video in the series dedicated to that as well. Chromatic percussion DNA is definitely there…in part two I’ll try and give some examples of how one might deal with rolls and repeated notes. I’m a huge fan of chromatic percussion and have spent time with both vibes and marimba as well as gamelan and baliphone.
@@FontaineBurnett
“I don’t however view this as a „method”…just me sharing my approach” - sure, got that! I personally would be mostly interested in the fingering, voicing techniques, how you distribute the workload between the two hands, as this seems to have to be re-invented for LS from the ground up. Anybody can take a basic guitar/bass/piano method to learn the basics of rhythm and harmony and some improvisation, but how the pros working for several years specifically with LS approach the fingerboard and musical expression in general is super interesting. For some reason whenever a video of great playing appears on TH-cam the first questions in the comments are about “what setup?/what sounds?/what VST?” - hey, that’s the simplest part out there, and the _least_ important one (well, IMHO). As if getting that magical VST would help one become a better player))
“in part two I’ll try and give some examples of how one might deal with rolls and repeated notes” - definitely looking forward to this as well! I was somewhat introduced to this “chromatic percussion viewpoint” on the LS after watching Josh Madoff’s “Complete Guide to Practicing ContinuuMini" video on TH-cam (alas, that was meant to be part 1 of some sort of series of Josh’s but did not go beyond that first video). Essentially I think some or all of Josh’s advices can be adapted to a single row of the Linnstrument.
Thank you ! :-)
My pleasure! 😊
🔥
Thank you !
Prego Nicolo! 😊
So excited for this! Perfect timing for me, just got my 128. Quick question: what were the instruments you were using?
Thanks Miles! Do you mean for the intro sequence? I was using Pianoteq for the Rhodes sound, The Logic Sampler for bass, Native Instruments Battery for drums and SWAM Trumpet for the....um…trumpet! 😉
U like this better than the push?
Well, I don’t have a lot of experience with the push since I’m not an Ableton user. I have tried out a friend’s push 3 and I liked it but I still prefer the feel of the Linn’s surface. I think they are two different devices with different use cases. If I were an Ableton user though. I would give the new push some serious thought.
yoooo