The course
Cinematic Piano Course
A beautiful piano sound is just the beginning. Learn to write, arrange and finish emotional piano music for trailers, adverts and television.
View the course →The King's Upright
A free upright piano from Dan Keen (Pianobook), played in Decent Sampler.
The King's Upright is a soft upright piano shared on Pianobook by Dan Keen. It was close-miked with a stereo pair of AKG C214s, and has two dynamic layers and three round robins, plus release and pedal noises. The tone is gentle but still cuts through a mix, and it is strongest in the upper mid-range. That makes it a good fit for lyrical melodies in quiet drama, documentary or trailer cues. A pad layer can be blended in with the mod wheel to act like an endless sustain. The catch: two dynamic layers limit how far it can go from soft to loud, and you need a free Pianobook account to download it.
Worth knowing: You need a free Pianobook account to download it. The Kontakt version may not run in the free Kontakt Player, so use the Decent Sampler version.
Get The King's Upright from Dan Keen (Pianobook) →Sources for this summary
More free upright pianos
- Writing for trailers, adverts and TV
- Arpeggio patterns that make plain chords cinematic
- Making MIDI piano sound played
- Light orchestration with strings
- A quick mix and master for each track