If you bought Logic Studio and forgot to budget money for a MIDI keyboard things are going to suck until you save up for a decent MIDI controller. In the meantime, you can still make beats and do some light MIDI programming in Logic using something called the Caps Keyboard. It is very easy to use. While it is not the best option for playing in a piano part, you can get synth parts, bass lines, and drum parts recorded without to much fuss. If you use a laptop it’s also worth learning about the Caps Keyboard for when you are on the road traveling, or struck with inspiration someplace that you didn’t think to bring a MIDI keyboard with you.
You can find the caps keyboard in two ways.
the easiest way to find the Caps Lock MIDI keyboard is by pressing the Caps Lock key on your keyboard. That simple.
Keep in mind that turning on the Caps Lock keyboard will disable most of the normal key commands.
It is also important to remember that the Caps Keyboard is not velocity sensitive meaning, you can hit the qwerty keyboard soft or hard and it won’t make a difference. If you don’t want to ruin your qwerty keyboard go easy. You can also edit the velocity later once the part has been recorded.
You can use the number keys 1-0 to change the octave of the Caps Lock MIDI Keyboard.
You can use the bottom row of keys z-. to set the velocity (how hard each note is played.)
Did you blow the budget on Logic Studio?
You’ll also need a MIDI keyboard.
There are lots of options for MIDI keyboards from about $100 up. With MIDI keyboards you get what you pay for though. Usually, the cheaper MIDI keyboards feel awful when you play them and limit you to someplace between one and two octaves. The cheapest option for a full set of 88 keys would be the M-Audio Keystation 88es. While it doesn’t feel as good on the fingers as some of the higher-end keyboards it’s a good bang for the buck solution. It is also a really good option if you are rough on your gear. Since I am not a drummer and I hate things like the MPC, I usually play my drum parts on the keyboard. This usually leads to killing keys on the keyboard. I have two very expensive keyboards in storage at this point because I have destroyed the action on the keys. The M-Audio Keystation 88es is great because it’s only $200 bucks and If I break it, well it will suck but not as much as breaking something like a Korg Triton that is $2000.
From the $200 price point and up there are many options ranging from dedicated MIDI controllers to full-blown workstations. On the high end, any workstation from the big three, Yamaha, Korg, or Roland is great. Synths like the Korg Triton, Roland Phantom, and Yamaha Motif are the cornerstone of many platinum hits. If you don’t need all the bells and whistles of a full-blown workstation I the M-Audio Keystation 88 is good for the money and has tons of other knobs and sliders you can assign to your plugins within logic.
Still not sure? Leave a comment below and I’ll try to help.