Identify this music keyboard

January 5, 2005 7:53 AM

What is this music keyboard? [warning: flash w/ sound, resizes browser window] The keys on it look like those on an accordion. The site's in Japanese, so I can't get anything out of it. [music theory inside]

Part two of the question: I assume that this keyboard is "Chromatic." Back when I was a tot and took piano lessons, I remember the chromatic scale, which was all the white keys and black keys. That's the extent of my knowledge. Can anyone elucidate how the keys are laid out on this ChromaTone keyboard, either by musical intuition or knowledge of Japanese? Would it be like this? How does this help in the playing of music? Music theory quickly goes over my head, so be nice.

posted by zsazsa to technology (6 comments total)

They claim it's based on something called the Janko System and is more logical and easier to learn.
posted by planetkyoto at 8:11 AM on January 5, 2005

Also known as Wholetone keyboard. I know nothing about it myself, the flash pages just go over all the features such as it's different "voices" and "styles" as well as modulation, portment, pitch bending, mixer, etc.
posted by planetkyoto at 8:19 AM on January 5, 2005

An electronic accordian perhaps?

sorry :(.
posted by basicchannel at 8:56 AM on January 5, 2005

This is similar (as you point out in the "this?" link, above) to a very popular alternate keyboard style of accordion, called the "Chromatic Accordion". The keys are laid out in a regular pattern (unlike the standard piano keyboard, which is irregular and forces the player to learn many different positions for the same chord in different keys). The regular pattern allows the player to easily play in any key, using the same finger patterns.

In Russia, this kind of layout on an accordion is called a "Bayan". The piano keyboard types are just called "Accordions".

Other than that, it looks like a basic learning keyboard. Meh.
posted by Aquaman at 10:20 AM on January 5, 2005

Doesn't this make playing in major scales easier, at the expense of making everything else considerably more awkward? Bleh. Though if it's more versatile than that, it could be quite nifty.
posted by squidlarkin at 12:51 PM on January 5, 2005

But doesn't the standard piano key make playing in Cmajor easier, at the expense of everything else? I guess there are always tradeoffs. With this keyboard, the fact that your fingering stays the same in different keys seems pretty cool.
posted by zsazsa at 3:42 PM on January 5, 2005