Launchkey mini MK3, let's make a song

►► Learn all the basics of Finger Drumming for FREE on → questforgroove...
Today, Novation launched the new version of their Launchkey mini keyboard. The Launchkey mini mk3 (or mkiii if you will). They sent me one in advance if I promised to make a song with it, so I did!
Drum layout:
Tom1 | Tom2
Crash | Splash
Open HH | Open HH
Ride | Ride
Hihat | Hihat
Snare | Snare
Sidestick | Sidestick
Kick | Kick
For my (free) finger drumming courses:
questforgroove...
More about the launchkey mini mk3:
novationmusic....

[@TheQuestforGroove]

►► Learn all the basics of Finger Drumming for FREE on → questforgroove.com

[@huntrrams]

I feel like this should be an additional track for Animal Crossing when you’re just hanging out on someone’s island. Love this so much!

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Haha yeah it has those vibes a bit. Nintendo, you know where yo find me!

[@C2daF]

Made late on this but I couldn’t agree more. That last jam out section and it totally had Nintendo vibes! 👏🏽

[@madsad9862]

amazing how simple some people can make this look, that is some groovy tunes my man

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thanks! Yeah itll take several years of practice to be able to do this fast. But that said, the isle I get the faster the years go by so if you manage to just play a little every day, you'll all of a sudden be a pro :-)

[@_herb]

so great to hear this product being used to demo a genre other than EDM or trap, i love the sound of your musical style!

[@sanmarinojr]

Exactly!

[@ZeraKonno]

This is the reason I’m buying this little piece of work! Sure I had a few hip hop ideas but now after watching this I actually can make the jazzy/groovy music I loved making during high school!

[@kotuhhayes4651]

This is by far the best demo vid I’ve seen. Good stuff man!!!

[@denizcelebicom]

Thank you for being so honest. Appreciate it a lot ! Greetings from Germany

[@Awertnex]

Omg, yeeeesss, this is exactly what i want to hear, and i never expected to hear such a thing, i love this

[@gamingwithjeeves4804]

Wow! This is impressive! Also looking at the other comments and your reply’s makes you the first KZbinr I’ve seen that actually speaks to their audience in a genuine way! You have my subscription!

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Hey thanks! If you ever have questions about finger drumming and groove, know that you can also ask on the messageboards on my website. I'm also trying to answer every question there and hopefully grow a little community over time. Have a great end of 2021! questforgroove.discourse.group

[@gamingwithjeeves4804]

@@TheQuestforGroove Thanks from one 'Music Maker' to another! And have a great new year!

[@AlejandroCaicedoPUJ]

I'm actually starting on your finger drumming courses with this controller, I use it as a standard 4x4 layout but split in half, so when it's flipped like you used it on the video its a pretty similar experience just one hand in the top 4x2 and the other one in the bottom

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Oh hey... that's actually a clever idea! Thanks for the tip, I'll pin this comment so everyone can read it.

[@Kaenishk]

Can you shed a little more light in pad and key quality of the mk3? Like the velocity sensitivity and ease, feel and all that?

[@AlejandroCaicedoPUJ]

Well man it's really my first midi controller but I can just say good things about it and I have really no complaint about it, but I have not much to compare it

[@Kaenishk]

@@AlejandroCaicedoPUJ How do the keys feel?

[@Kaenishk]

@@AlejandroCaicedoPUJ Like quality wise, how does the keyboard feel? And specifically the keys?

[@free2muse]

Turning the keyboard a different way to play a groove. Brilliant. Wouldn't have ever thought of that. The little ditty made me laugh, in a good way. Love the transition to Dm in the bridge.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

thanks man! One of the nice things about this youtube channel for me is that it gives me a 'purpose' for quickly making short pieces of music with a deadline. It's a nice little creativity pusher / perfectionism crusher :-)

[@free2muse]

@@TheQuestforGroove I love that description. "creativity pusher/perfectionism crusher." Yeah it's a perfect platform for that. Your vids definitely inspire me both for finger drumming as well as to think outside of the box on how to achieve musical ideas with various gear. I'm enjoying what you've put out already and looking forward to future vids.

[@joshnova9163]

So great to see instruction that is enthusiastic and articulate

[@sebastianmse]

😲 I always wanted to play that groove! thanks for the "hidden" tip!!!!

[@hafidiamine]

as a guitar player myself, I relate heaavily to that trick of yours! instant sub !

[@TheQuestforGroove]

hahaha, sneaky guitar players :-)

[@LEMON-fc7dn]

Thanks man. I just got mine today. It’s my birthday. It was a present. I just started producing music and this be my first midi.

[@ChaixLatte]

This video absolutely sold me on this midi controller! It reminds me a lot of one of my favorite bands and I’m so excited to start using this

[@zoned7609]

i was NOT expecting that funk. great!

[@jonljacobi]

Bought one. The pads are pretty amazing for $110. My only complaints so far are that I have to quit Live to load a new map because the Components editor and Live can't seem to share the connection. This may be a setting. Also, the record button will only invoke Session clip record, not arrangement record. Edit: It's not a setting, the USB seems incapable of multiple instances. Windows 10. Haven't tried it on a Mac yet. Still love it.

[@Balthazar2242]

Could you do Shift-Record and have it do arrangement record? Just an idea. 🤔

[@AlejandroCaicedoPUJ]

Shift record moves the cursor to the side

[@SM4616]

I do love the (for me) new setting in this vid. Nice character wall instead of the white door and wallpaper what I saw in the first three vids as a new subscriber

[@TheQuestforGroove]

I moved to a new place, so I have this awesome brick wall now. Very happy with that. Oh and a new camera with a better lens and nicer colors. That also matters a lot :-)

[@Artmen56]

Great Thing, super Melody and Drums

[@itsfrogdad3401]

Man I'm so glad you admitted to doing that trick on keys I thought I was the only one and felt awful about it 😂

[@TheQuestforGroove]

haha, trust me the most awful tricks are used by professionals all day. It wasn't until I actually spent some time in pro recording studios when I realised everybody's winging it :-) So don't feel guilty and just focus on making sure something cool comes out of the speakers, no matter what tricks you have to use!

[@TheJoyofFingerDrumming]

That was great! I loved the way that lovely piano sound and the bass blended with the Porcaro shuffle. Very groovy!

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thanks! I really like these challenges, trying to use "new" gear and new software instruments I dont know. It feels more like a game, which makes me create a song faster and just put it out there. You seem to have found a similar thing with your channel. Just challenge yourself and share. A great way to grow!

[@TheJoyofFingerDrumming]

@@TheQuestforGroove Yes man, I love challenges, too, they are great for growing skills and creativity, like you said. Funny trivia: last night I was recording video for my next challenge and didn't finish it, but then saw you uploaded a video and watched it. Guess what? The Porcaro shuffle was one of the grooves in my next challenge LOL what were the odds. By the way, you play it really nicely with your technique. Nice chatting with you as always.

[@Kaenishk]

@@TheJoyofFingerDrumming Hey people, I need a little help here. Just saw you guys talking a bunch of technical things here, thought you might be the right ones to ask. I have a bunch of doubts. Firstly, I think that the Launchkey mk2 had problems with Logic and i'm going to be using this with Logic if I buy it. Will it have complete functionality and seamless integration as novation says it has "scripts" for logic? And if not, should i be going for the Minilab mk2 or the Akai mpk mini mk2? I'm really confused, I need great pads and good keys, I heard the ones on the akai mpk mini break really easily. I'll go for the Novation launchkey mini mk3 if it works well with logic, else should i be going for the arturia mini lab mk2?

[@TheJoyofFingerDrumming]

@@Kaenishk Unfortunately I don't own any of the controllers you mention, maybe Rob knows anything about them.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

I also cannot speak from experience. I gave away my launchkey mini to a patron and I also do not use logic. It seems to.me that the device should work if novation claims it does. It's not much more than a midi controller so how hard can it be :-). But yeah... not sure! Sometimes asking on reddit will help as well. Theres probably a reddit novation threat with lots of launchkey users!

[@nickmoore9653]

damn u actually made a banger song. i was vibing

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thank you! That means a lot.

[@DarlaBaltazar]

lol first off u cute and secondly I am just soooo happy I found this video. I really wanna get this controller but not because I’m a beatmaker really, but this demo you made is a little bit closer to the kind of music I’m inclined to make (a sort of fusion between pop but also just heavily influenced by jazz) so thanks for showing me this possibility! Stay awesome!

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Hey Darlene, First of all, a long time ago I got into music initially to try and impress girls :-) Even though my motivations have evolved into more noble and artistic ones, I must say that the fact that this channel has been attracting a 99,9% male audience over the past year, bummed me out a little bit haha. So thanks for that remark, made my day! My 15 year old me would high five me right now (well done bro) :-) with that said, I'm also very pleased to read that the content on this channel is in line with your musical plans and I want to welcome you aboard and let you know that theres a lot more over on questforgroove.com in case you're interested in courses and stuff. Cheers!

[@Chaman2892]

What a beautiful tune man! Congrats! I'm waiting for my Launchkey to arrive. This is the first song I'm gonna play on that thing! ✌🏻

[@TheDuckdodgers24]

That was a nice happy song I'm not a keyboard guy nor do I play any instruments...I'm a choir guy... But I have a feeling I can work out something fun by trial and error. Thank you for the insperation ☺️

[@crabbydad8931]

finger drum groove - immediate subscribed! ; )

[@TracyFleeb111]

such a great song!

[@rickylanding8379]

I know im insanely late but that was fuckin amazing. Man ive played with allot of these toys with fruity loops n have the hardest time composing a beat. It blows my mind how you just do it.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thanks man. It takes some years of consistent practice but it's worth the effort!

[@alexanderhdmi7704]

Final product is SO CATCHY.

[@_-Marcel-_]

Really enjoyed your explenations and the whole song. Real groovy little song! :) Thank you!

[@freke80]

Great song, loved the sounds 👍

[@HarveySeasalt]

this is great man!

[@RobBastien]

Shit!!! Your Rosanna shuffle was amazing.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thanks! I worked hard on that one (not when recording the video but a year prior to that :-)

[@gfm1496]

Hey, let’s give credit where it’s due - Bernard Purdie!

[@skibaa1]

As always, very inspiring, thank you!

[@whaleheadcoda]

That was amazing. Looking forward to working with this midi controller!

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thanks! Feel free to share when you made some music with it.

[@CoryShoemaker]

Beautiful man

[@MindRefreshments]

Just too good

[@DJCaspermusic_official]

thanks for this amazing video , love from India

[@JustinBrownGuitar]

brilliant review, i think this is exactly what I am looking for !

[@stormhuyghe5696]

Bro that song is so good!!!!

[@DavidSmith-ne1zp]

Very happy I’ve discovered your channel! Subscribed with a smile.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thank you! Welcome aboard!

[@DjMihaiMusicProducer]

Excellent work it bro!

[@VenLouie]

sorry this is off topic and may come off as rude but i certainly mean no spite, but its amazing how you look both young and old at the same time

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Haha, you're not the first person who says that actually... I'm a weird hybrid :-)

[@mikamusic5679]

your fingerdrumming skills are sick O.O

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thanks! I teach my method on questforgroove.com with all the beginner stuff for free in case you're interested!

[@duru1062]

youre a really good songwriter!! keep it up!!!

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thank you so much!!

[@zackattack80]

Fruity loops got me crazy with how resource hungry it is.

[@inandaroundofficial]

'love the groove! excellent!

[@theincredibleillmo9385]

Always a super quality on your videos, thanks for all the effort.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thanks man, I really like thos new camera I got. Nice talking shot :-) lots more to come!

[@robinlewisart_1997]

So nice ❤️

[@JESchomb]

Bro, I think I was just your 10 thousandth sub. Dope video, I just bought this midi controller and hopefully I'll be able to get started on learning some more about finger drumming through your videos in a few days. Thanks for this vid!

[@JESchomb]

Would be sick to see another video from you using this!

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Hey! Welcome aboard and I indeed believe you are my 10.000th subscriber! Wow! That's a nice Christmas present actually :-) I will make more song making videos for sure, but I gave this device away actually, so my guess is it will be with other (new) gear.

[@naashimdovi2272]

You sound simple and professional

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thanks! I try and keep the videos as short as possible and cut out the unnecessary stuff. :-)

[@jasonraplangrynjah]

The drums sounds like Toto's Rosanna🥁 Great video. 😊

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Haha yes that's exactly it! Jeff Porcaro is the name of the drummer. Great guy.

[@jasonraplangrynjah]

@@TheQuestforGroove fav groove drummer for me too...🥁😁 cheers bro

[@ZonaGreenTea]

wait. Toto made other songs other than Africa?

[@TheReptileRevolution]

Great song. I don‘t know why but i had Mannfred Mann in my mind, when I heard it.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thanks!! I wo ui ldnt be surprised if that's something I heard once and now it comes out :-)

[@kazamiyuuji9315]

incredible job!

[@coolomya2253]

I love it

[@clandestinesyndicate3463]

That was great man. Thanks for the video

[@jabberwock099]

What a groove, absolutely love the track. Is it possible for you make a detailed beginner tutorial on the Launchkey? That would be amazing.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Hey my expertise is actually just finger drumming. I'm not the best person to make a tutorial on the launchkey specifically. I do have many courses on questforgroove.com about training your hands to play great rhythms on the pads so if you're ever interested in that I got you covered!

[@julienperez17]

Sad it's already sold out, I hope its will be available soon ! Great video !

[@TheQuestforGroove]

It will be for sure!

[@AlejandroCaicedoPUJ]

It is now

[@supremelc3667]

You’re like Bo Beats... with talent!

[@TheQuestforGroove]

I recently had a fun conversation with Bo beats on twitter, where we made a plan to upload a video to eachothers channels and see if anybody would notice since we're lookalikes with more or less the same accent :-)

[@ganantharaja]

Sounds great Brother👍

[@Yo-nq9ul]

Tbh you set this video up like a boss🔥 im subbing for sure💯

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Awesome! Welcome aboard!!

[@DiscoveryWonders]

your trick is a GREAT advice :)

[@ethancheng1595]

the chord change is a BRILLIANT cheat omg this is a game changer.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Hahaha, welcome to the world of midi cheat piano!

[@willschmahl1240]

That was cool. I gotta get one of those !!!

[@jsarnowski]

Amazing video! :) Thank you!

[@hyggebrothers1236]

you should finish this track! its awesome

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thanks! In the future I'll try and finish every song I make.

[@TravelinChina]

What software do you use to record?

[@TheQuestforGroove]

I use Cubase and sometimes Reaper. Reaper is good value for money but not super easy to learn.

[@erickbarsa5433]

Awesome! Love it!

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thank you!!

[@theunreal_TOEBEANS]

Sorry Super! My school just bought one of these for my class so I'm trying to see people using it before it's delivered.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Awesome, hope the kids (I associate class with kids but it might be adults) will have lots of fun making music!

[@spaceorbison]

nice dude

[@luminotan]

Awesome!

[@ayay8060]

Dope 👊🔥!!!

[@lowrezmobius]

Great stuff! :)

[@lucaberits3189]

thats a purdy good shuffle for a geetarist

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Hahaha

[@samprock]

ah! you can extend only 25 keys to pads. That's great realization and spot on advice to ones of us who only now chords! Beautiful uplifting song :) if i get the thing it will be The Quest for Groove credit, Novation!

[@TheQuestforGroove]

The only thing I did not like about the pad notes was that they were set up a bit weird. I was hoping left to right but they do 4 semitones left to right, then the row above 4 semitones and then the next cluster of 4×2 repeats that setup. So around the middle it gets confusing.

[@samprock]

@@TheQuestforGroove That's good to know, thanks! but do the allow to reassgn to a different layout? i am missing on MiniLab those neat transport buttons. The way i work around is to assign transport and undo action to pads (so get very comfy environment when use difectly on iPad with Korg Gadget for ex). Would love to use MK3 with Arturia AnalogLab on mac/pc (is it possible, meaning assign push-know action to something to select patches)? But still most use for it would mobile. In particular I don;t see free button to assign Undo action to. Can for example Arp be reassigned or can i use pads for note and have 1 or two pads assigned to what i want (without Shift)?

[@TheQuestforGroove]

@@samprock I actually got the device without the latest version of the firmware. What I know is that it's made for ableton and in ableton you can usually drag samples into a drum rack and therefore assign any sound to any pad. These types of things are always a little tricky because manufacturers will always tell you what their product can do and never in any way say what it cannot do. I always end up bij buying some device thinking it's perfect and then it isn't because it lacks some stupid simple functionality :-) I could not find the exact functionality you were looking for but that might be because I dont have ableton and in ableton you can reassign everything. I do think that the technical support of novation will know though. If you live in eu or us and there are some good return policies in place, you can also just take the leap, get the thing, and then return if it disappoints. That's usually my strategy.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

@@samprock I actually got the device without the latest version of the firmware. What I know is that it's made for ableton and in ableton you can usually drag samples into a drum rack and therefore assign any sound to any pad. These types of things are always a little tricky because manufacturers will always tell you what their product can do and never in any way say what it cannot do. I always end up bij buying some device thinking it's perfect and then it isn't because it lacks some stupid simple functionality :-) I could not find the exact functionality you were looking for but that might be because I dont have ableton and in ableton you can reassign everything. I do think that the technical support of novation will know though. If you live in eu or us and there are some good return policies in place, you can also just take the leap, get the thing, and then return if it disappoints. That's usually my strategy.

[@samprock]

@@TheQuestforGroove I would not change Ableton drums kits to match controller and especially mobile apps that can't do that, if any controller is not like everywhere :) I feel you vary much with trying/returning to lend to something that matches your personality. It is fun to some point, we all love that, but indeed too many underdesigned or strangely lacking of obvious devices do not work to many. And truth many musicians, focusing on music aspect and not able to return on time, so we all have plenty toys turning dust collectors on shelves :) I just returned Akai Force, well $1.5K is too much for a toy, and you would think for that money you get ultimate?!?! Not even close. Besides bugs and undelivered promises only later you understand deeper issues and the design shortcomings. So on this nice thing, which is also smaller, it would be great to have Atrturia MiniLab customization. But devil in details, only when you start using/digging you find more fun and frustrations 4 sure :) Thanks Rob for bringing some light to the thing and overall inspiration, fun and passion share!

[@luchaocpkws8949]

GRACIAS ⚔️🖤🔥

[@chinthakasadaruwan]

thank you soo much

[@prathamnaik9769]

Best video

[@cedjazz]

Small correction here; that shuffle belongs to Bernard Purdie. 😊 Otherwise, great demo.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Bernard, the legend! I brushed by him by accident.

[@mihkeljurima1007]

Dude you need to do NIN - Only finger drumming tutorial! Thats such a cool disco style riff and it has those little cool fills there too and a hi hat open close dynamic thing.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Ok I'll write it down!

[@mihkeljurima1007]

@@TheQuestforGroove Hey thanks!

[@ivana.4226]

sooooo epiccccc.

[@jonljacobi]

There is a driver, it just wasn't readily apparent. Works fine now.

[@Lalairu]

Awesome :D

[@JutassicPark]

bro, the music is nice! damn

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thank you so much! I'm planning on doing more videos like this one in the future. It was a lot of fun to make.

[@JutassicPark]

@@TheQuestforGroove im personally using ableton for everything. And midi integration for me is so important, so i can make music without touching the computer. Im still looking for good midi debate about it. Though ableton push is the best for me now

[@JerryOhh]

can be used or usable in MAME emulator because the game from Konami (Keyboard Mania)

[@err0r_1o13]

you should post this on apple music of a longer length on youtube

[@jordanwilson2166]

This was a banggggerrrrr

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thanks Jordan!

[@jordanwilson2166]

@@TheQuestforGroove 🙏🏽

[@shitmandood]

That's a great technique with bass/chords & for the mini it's in a good place to make that easy to do. I have the Novation Impulse, but the pads are on the right, so to do the same thing, I'd have to turn the Impulse 90 degrees perhaps...? Nah!!! I need to get a smaller Midi controller like the Launchkey.

[@Top2Tobi]

dude i love you song its so sweet!!!!

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thank you!!

[@florencerobinson200]

Looking into buying for my son he's 11 but techy what else will I need to go with it to set him up pleasen

[@onimekyo7633]

Hey, You are able to make a pretty nice rhythm section by yourself, considering you're a guitarist

[@rutgertje22]

You're awesome dude.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Haha, right back at ya rutgertje!

[@JeffCfreeradiorevolution]

Nice work! Subbed!

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thanks! I will do my best to make this the best sub you ever subbed!

[@hendrasantoso4374]

Amazing work... Hope that mk3 officially available in indonesia soon

[@TheQuestforGroove]

I hope so too! If they released the mk2 there the mk3 will come as well!

[@brendanhoffmann8402]

I've been using it in logic. I've been wanting to get one for a while. I recently bought Logic Pro and am really getting into it. This is going to take me a while! I have no experience with midi controllers!

[@gabrieluc25]

I have the 61 keys version, but I still can't make the additional software (addictive keys) work with my windows laptop. Seems like only MacBook users get to enjoy it. Great video, loved to see how much you can accomplish with this device.

[@TheQuestforGroove]

That's odd, I made everything you see and hear in this video on a windows laptop. The problem with windows ofcourse is that there are many different configurations and sometimes you'll end up with compatibility issues. The software does work on windows though.

[@benirodriguez9516]

As a guitar player myself, I laughed my ass off when you told your trick to play some "more advanced" playing with the same trick I use!... triggering the keys in the groove I want and then move those midi bars in the piano roll to fit the right key on it. ;) btw, I just discovered your channel and subscribed! You're a great finger-drummer! I'm signing for your free course! :). AND... if you read these, I'm considering the machine mikro mk3, the bigger MK3 (vs Studio?, Jam?), or the Novation Launchpad X, or... any other recommendations? (I have a Novation Impulse 61 keyboard with 8 pads... and not a fan of them at all... is this what I will be getting.. or are they really as subpar as I expect?)

[@TheQuestforGroove]

Thanks man! I think you're choosing between te best 3 devices. The big maschine mk3 has some very good, very sensitive pads, the mikro comes very close in terms of sensitivity of the pads and is way cheaper so therefore a very good buy as well and the new launchpad x has very good pads as well. They might be as good as the big maschine mk3 because they did not let me down even once while playing them. They alwasy trigger and trigger correctly. I might need to play some more before I'll know for sure though. The thing with 64 pads is that a lot of people dont need them. If you want to do some nice drumming I still recommend 4x4 because you have nice oversight and you can focus on what matters, namely "rhtythm and groove". If you think youll make good use of 64 pads, for other reasons than just drumming I recommend you getting the launchpad X. If not, I recommend buying the big mk3 if you have enough money and if you want to be a little budget friendly but still want to get something very playable, get the mikro.

[@CoverDrumer129]

good stuff!

[@branislavnikolic5780]

Bravo bro!