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A simple combination that makes the world's smallest, lightest, full-function synthesizer. (Caveat: I could be wrong, but I doubt it ;) )

Axis-49 and Netbook

It is running a pre-compiled executable Max/MSP program I wrote and freely available here. The program takes the notes from the Axis, optionally remaps them, and sends them to the standard microsoft instrument bank (or loaded VSI instrument). It's not fancy, but the latency seems to be very low. The netbook is not fancy, but surely can run any music software (especally instrument packs) I care to use as my skill develop.

For ease of carrying the two, I "Velcro-ed" them

Axis-49 on Netbook with speaker

Note that the Axis completely covers up the nextbook and the two are easily linked together with a short USB cable.

Operationally it's pretty simple, I tweaked the netbook's power-saving settings to not automatically go to sleep, to not hibernate when the lid is closed, to run in low power mode, and put a short-cut to the AXiS-49 playing program in the start-up folder.

Carrying the whole shebang

To start, either pull the two apart or just put the Axis-and-netbook down still attached together, with the Axis key-side down, the netbook is then facing up. I flip open the netbook, turn it on, close the lid, and flip the assembly over, putting the netbook top-down and the Axis keys-up.
45 seconds later I check the keyboard plays, plug in headphones or a portable speaker, and I am good to go. (The netbook's speakers are horrible, but I don't care). The netbook does not seem to be unduly drained by the Axis, and the setup us good for 2.3-3 hours.

How does it sound? There's two levels to that question.
Functionally, with just the Windows default instruments (piano-like sounds) not hot, but OK for playing for practice. I have the Garritan sound packs, but I'm not wild about them - they sound great, but the Garritin Studio VSI software that they need to run I can't automatically load at startup, and it introduces a fair bit of latency. Garritin now has moved to the Native Instruments Kobe sound support (VSI) environment, and I (and those who follow my path) don't have the time to get it to work with Max/MSP. Please advise, gentle reader, if you know of a better sound pack. The sound in headphones is excellent. 

Playing-wise. my fingers are starting to get the idea. my ability level is still .5 (on s scale of 1-10), and will be for the balance of the summer, but I no longer have fears that I won't make it. 

I showed a jazz piano teacher my instrument today very successfully (he agreed to teach me!), but that is surely the subject of a new article ...

Ever wonder about how music works? How harmonics interact with the ear and brain to produce harmony? Ever longed to learn an expressive instrument quickly?

This site, with the help of a growing community, is a cool place for information about music, especially how to learn it, make it, and how the thing actually works, all in a more-or-less scientific (yet whimsical) way.

A homemade jammer

Current focus: making a faster, innovative music keyboard called a jammer, similar to a Thummer. In a nutshell, we are combining current music theory, modern knowledge and simple ergonomics to produce "piano 2.0"; an improved musical keyboard.    

I've built two jammers and have found they have very significant advantages over the traditional design and few disadvantages. They are faster to learn, very significantly faster and easier to play and more expressive. They are also easier to play by ear, in other words, to jam, hence the name.

In practical terms, it takes 10 years to become skilled enough to be passable pianist. With the jammer design, the same level should be reachable in 3 yrs. It's not a free lunch, but it is less expensive, yet more filling.

The meshing of the keyboard layout with music theory, kinesiology and human perception is a great leap forward: it's fun to have an instrument where the melody and the chords intertwine, where it's easy to add chords to a melody and the music makes sense.

It takes a community to raise a child, so please join in; post your ideas and comments. This is your opportunity to make a difference, to get in at the start of something very cool, and have fun doing it. If you see anything where you think "that wasn't too clear" or "I wish I could see a demo of what he's talking about" there's your chance. :

Axis-49

We applaud the arrival of the $500 AXiS-49 keyboard from C-Thru   It is an affordable, second generation version of the Axis-64 keyboard ($1800 or so).

The AXiS-49 keyboard makes a better jammer-type keyboard than the experimental jammers I made, which had to be about 1/3 wider than optimum, with stiff keys. This is is detailed in The C-Thru AXiS could start the ball rolling.

For further information

What we (or a least I) are looking for: The "ideal" jammer.

How the AXiS-49 should be the key ingredient in this proposed instrument: Rabbit-Catching

Things needed to support this new-fangled instrument; what are all the things needed to support it, as the guitar is supported: making wabbit stew.

Backing up the above is posts describing how the AXiS keyboards key-layout work, and my first attempt at developing a theory of how to play an AXiS.

Interesting posts

1. Why the Jammer's key layout is better

The Short and Simple explanation

A longer explanation for those who like detail & theory,
    Part one: It's easier to learn
    Part Two: It's easier to play

2. What we are aiming for:  The "ideal" jammer.

   Here is what was developed experimentally: the first prototype jammer
   and  - here's how I built it

Then a second generation version was created as described below. This is the unit I use to learn how to finger and play.

The surprising contribution of volume (forthcoming)
We all think pitch reigns in music, but volume is the real behind-the-scenes ruler.

In music, everything, but everything is relative (forthcoming)
A "G" is the dominant of "C", but what is C the dominant of?

Building jammers
Without an electronics degree and not as hard as one would think
A wearable jammer
The first attempt - it worked, but had issues. Included is how to make it.

Making a kit for a DIY General-purpose keyboard
The project is stalled in the partially successful stage

Future Improvements:
1. a better keyshape?

2,  Other improvements I'd like to see
  - Key spacing, shaping and other tweaks.

Design notes about Jammers

Making a virtue out of necessity

Having fun with design to create a very powerful instrument                  

Colouring the keys

An idea that paid off very well 

Learning to play a Jammer
Learning is simpler and faster if the instrument helps the learner, instead of confusing.
Fingering the jammer
How to get started

Advice from those who have gone before
Thummer (tm) users offer tips

Key shifting is simple
Really, really simple on a jammer

Reading a musical score and playing it on the jammer
The musical score makes sense at last

Playing by ear
Finally we have an instrument that it's feasible for a novice to play by ear.

Playing Chords
Chords on the jammer – simple diagrams
- the root / key center     - building the triads          - building the major 6ths and 7ths
- building the minor 7ths  - building the jazz chords - building other fun chords 

Humor
Music for Nerds
Music and musicians explained simply, as befits the subject and this writer

Related sites

Working from a keyboard to music:                

http://www.aqwertian.com

Try out the jammer/Thummer keyboard on your own PC              

http://www.thummer.com/ThumBoard/thumboard.html

CopyLeft (c)  2008, 2009 Ken Rushton
  Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
  or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover
  Texts.  A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

With my Axis-49 I need to:

• Translate (remap) an Axis-49 note “harmonic axis” value to a “folded-scale” (Wicki-Hayden) layout
• See what is coming in from the Axis
  
• Know how hard I had hit the key
• Double-check the note value – e.g. did I really hit a G#?

-

Axis-49 note remapper

Max/MSP: a cute little graphical development system

Signals travel along the little wires (black lines)  connecting boxes. The boxes do things to the signals, the top is input, the bottom output.

Here’s the flow sequence:

Notein a

Gets the next midi note coming in, splits it into to 3 outputs:

• the midi note value (an integer) e.g 61 = middle C, this is what we need to translate
  
• the midi note velocity (also an integer, 0 = off, 1-127 = ppp to fff)
• the midi channel number

You can double-click on the notein box to pop up list of the midi input devices and select one.

The signals then travel along the connections (wires) to be translated. The note velocity and the channel number go straight to the noteout box unchanged. The note pitch goes to the coll object to be translated.

coll  axis49-wick

In this case the coll (collection) defined in table Axis49-wick.txt serves as a look-up table, the table is a series of paired numbers, with the input value matched to the left of the pair, the output value is the right pair value.  Thus, with pair 84, 78; an input value of 84 (musically a C-5 gets mapped to a 78 (an F# ),

This table is easily edited in MS Notepad. When Max/MSP starts up, it will read this table. If like it, the Status box will show “coll; finished, 70 lines”. If not, it will show an error message.

Input “number box”

Display (shows “C-2” ) – shows the key hit by you in terms of what the Axis-49 sent out, as a note.

Subtraction

After I wrote the table, I wanted to shift the notes down an octave,  so I added a little box that takes a number in the top, minuses it (see the little “-“ (minus) sign?) by 12 and puts it out the bottom

The 12 subtracted from the note value lowers it by an octave (12 semitones), I display the value in the little number box, but also pass it on two ways, one way goes to stripnote which strips out the note-off values – other wise the velocity would be zero when the note is lifted-  and I pass the note on to the big yellow note display boxes.

The switch box

In the center is a little switch box, which allows me to turn on or off the translation

• click the mouse on it and the little switch changes to take direct input from “notein a”.
• Click on it again to switch it back to reading the translated values from the "coll" box.

The little “value box”

This shows the midi note value as a number, not a note, for debugging. Shows (0)

stripnote

Stripnote strips out the note-off values, so they persist on the display after the finger lets up.

2 big yellow “value boxes”

I made these big displays (shows “C-2” and 0) to show the last note had hit.

noteout a

Read the 3 midi input values:  outputs:

• the midi note value (an integer)
• the midi note velocity
• the midi channel number

You can double click on the notein box to pop up list of the midi input devices and select one. 

That’s all it does – pretty simple, once you understand it.

I have many things that would be very cool to do to elaborate on this basic template:

• a note display and translate note-combinations into chords.
  This would really help when demonstrating the thing to people.
  
  
• Take a midi input file and show which keys to play on the Axis, and/or also show a music score. with
  
  
• Create some musically simplified special notes that would train the novice musician’s ear much faster than normal.  The normal piano sound is hugely complex – learning from it is like trying to first learn to drive on a 7-axle tanker-truck.  

Is anyone game to have some "fun"?
I know what needs to be done, but don't have time to do it.

Ken

------------------------------

Axis49-wick.txt contains

84, 78;    80, 73;  77, 80;    73, 75;  70, 82;   66, 77;   63, 84;   59, 79;

56, 86;   52, 81;   49, 88;   45, 83;  42, 90;   38, 85;   83, 66;   79, 61;

76, 68;   72, 63;   69, 70;   65, 65;  62, 72;   58, 67;   55, 74;   51, 69;

48, 76;   44, 71;   41, 78;   37, 73;  82, 54;   78, 49;  75, 56;    71, 51;

68, 58;   64, 53;   61, 60;   57, 55;  54, 62;   50, 57;   47, 64;   43, 59;

40, 66;   36, 61;   81, 42;   77, 37;  74, 44;   70, 39;   67, 46;   63, 41;

60, 48;   56, 43;   53, 50;   49, 45;  46, 52;   42, 47;   39, 54;   35, 49;

80, 30;   76, 25;   73, 32;   69, 27;  66, 34;

Kens Axis

The Axis-49 has been in my clutches for about 6 weeks now.
My progress (nothing to show that you wouldn't laugh at) appears slow, but is in line with my expectations. Progress in learning music always seems glacial, because we compare ourselves to virtuosos.

Aside: virtuosos, by the way, have recently been found to be "nothing more" than people that may have a mild aptitude for music, and then spend 10,000 hours practicing with clear intent to improve, see Genius: The Modern View

10 years of careful, diligent work, that all

, and the book on the left.

Personally, I feel that anyone who has spent that much of one's precious life on a study had better be good at it.  ;)

However, considering that I have a brand new instrument, being played in a configuration that few people have tried before, and I'm inventing the fingering as I go along, perhaps I should amend the previous statement: I am making decent, but not great progress.

My deadline: the clock has started ticking.

In summer of 2010, I'll be going to the Naramata Music Camp, a congregration of music afficatos from all over western Canada that gather to learn challenging songs, drink wine from the abundant surrounding wineries, gab, and drink more wine. These are people to whom Music is a Way Of Life; at least one of whom can play the Moonlight Sonata with his nose in front of 200 people to riotous applause (you had to be there).-

Original jammer prototype

I foolishly demoed my first prototype jammer to this gang. Since they are musicians, mostly keyboardists, the general (polite) reaction was "interesting theory; show me the music'.

Now, if I show up without "the music", I will feel the distain (real or imagined) of my peers, or far worse: pity.  Hence I'd better start learning. Fast.

First, I've improved a tentative key fingering theory. Supplemental to this, I've developed a few exercises that help learn where the keys are and teach my not-very-talented fingers how and where to go. For all of these, the important factor seems to be to keep the pace steady and the key loudness steady, with a light, even touch, centering on the dimple in the key.

It works best, I think,  to have a home row and a home column one brings one's fingers back to.
I also try not to look at the keys, doing all my fingering by touch and by ear.

Major scale
Going over the major scale is not just a useful finger practice, It's essential, I find, to do this at least once at the beginning of each new piece of music. I recommend one look at the key signature, establish where one's fingers go, then play the scale carefully and evenly to set in the fingers, the ear and the mind the notes that are going to be played. This makes a heck of a difference.
 
Minor Scale - have not really tried this much - thus far it seems best to pretend that one is playing a major scale, but starting on the relative minor note.

Three-note exercises.
CDE (in succession), then DEF, EFG, FGA, GAB, ABC, BCD, CDE, then do it in reverse.

Simple Interval progressions
C+E (at same time), then D+F, E+G, F+A, G+B, A+C, B+D, C+E, then do it in reverse. This one is great for learning when the interval jumps from a major third to a minor third.

Every-interval practice
CC (C, then C), CD (C, then D), CE, CF, CG, CA, CB, CC'(Octave), CD' etc.  - this teaches how to play the intervals.

Arpeggios over a progression of more complex exotic chords
These are fun! Some fingerings are mildly tricky, but compared to a piano - bliss!

The Bottom line: a very cool keyboard layout.
It is, thus far, everything I had hoped to have: 

• a keyboard where the fingers can sit on the same notes of the scale all the time
• one does not have to look at the keys
• interesting properties are are emerging

It has been 2 or so weeks since I got my Axis, and I've been moderately busy with it.

• Setting up my 3 computers (desktop, laptop, and work computer) to work with the Axis.
• Writing a tiny Max/MSP program to remap the midi notes from Axis to folded-scale (my name for Wicki-Hayden).
  I've now made it into an executable program, so I just have to click on it to run it, I also don't always use Garratin Personal Orchestra for practice, the built-in sounds of Windows are good enough. the program also shows the name of the note hit and the velocity (if you want a copy I'll make it available).

• Trying to make practicing something done every day. A key part of this is making it as available as possible; having an accessible keyboard that makes sounds instantly really helps, as I have to slot practice in between other stuff.

I like the AXiS-49.
I give it top marks because while I have quibbles about the keys, it is the best isomorphic (translation: easy to learn & very fast to play) keyboard in the world. I've taken it as my instrument to master. 

It is light, portable and should meet my needs as the keyboard to master instead of a piano. As this is a considerable, multi-year commitment, I’ve given it a fairly close examination. Crucially, the velocity sensitivity seems quite adequate to simulate a good piano’s sound. .

Axis-49's output revealed

The key travel distance is sharply less that that of a piano, about that of a PC’s keyboard, and the keys “click” when pressed. They also “thunk” when they hit bottom. This is not an issue when playing loudly, but is noticeable on soft passages. I expect much of this is due to my mal-adroitness, although another mm of travel distance might have been nice. In any case, this can probably be fixed with a light felt bed and/or light wire spring under the keys … and I know where to get them.

My experience is on a homebuilt hexagonal-array keyboard with much greater spacing and a heavy 65-gram touch. The key spacing feels at first very close, but is exactly that of a PC keyboard. At first this is disconcerting, and I expect it will be to anyone with experience on a piano keyboard, perhaps not so much for those with a midi keyboard, which generally have lighter touch. On the other hand, we all are experts on PC keyboards, so the fingers should quickly adapt.
 
If you are used to a stiff piano keyboard, I warn you, be prepared for a surprise. The sharply reduced key travel and much lighter touch will come as a shock – both are nearly 1/2 to 1/3 lighter; it was easy to "peg the scale" and hit the top velocity of 127; not so easy to consistently hit 55.  It will take several months for me to get used to lightening up.
 
I quite like the bevelling on the keys - it allows key-to-key hops: nice glissandos, trills even! A whole new way of playing is possible here.

The little carrying case box it comes in is a pleasant surprise. It will come in handy. I think that I will cover mine with “Mac-Tac” (a kind of self-stick plastic wallpaper sold on hardware stores) to re-enforce it and water-proof it.
To test the crucial velocity sensitivity, which came out so unevenly in my hands, I called upon my resident professional pianist (my wife), she had no problem keeping the key velocity (loudness) even, and playing softly, so the problem, methinks, lies in my gnarled mitts.
 
On the other hand, she just could not figure out the harmonic axis layout. She has played the piano since the age of five, so the piano layout is wired down tight within her soul. She can play any song in any key (her favourite key is C-sharp!). So there is little hope of convincing her of its advantages. I, on the other hand, could at least easily play the chromatic and major scales on the Axis in any key.

Here’s a tip based on several years experience: you’ll never convince a keyboard player with 5 or more years of experience that this is a great keyboard. You usually will have great difficulty even explaining how it works. Piano teachers will universally say (if you press them for an honest opinion) “it makes it too easy” and "all the same", which is perhaps the greatest praise of all.
 
Ken

PS. On the other hand, I once showed my prototype to a gentleman who played horn in a band, and had had three years of piano. He instantly could play the thing and would have purchased it on the spot. Go figure.

The Axis keyboards from C-Thru music are potentially the most keyboard innovative instrument to come out in several centuries (8 to be exact), for reasons discussed elsewhere on this site. No one else has the magical combination of velocity-sensitive, 2-dimensional array, ergonomic, isomorphic and inexpensive keys this thing has.

My gang of DIY music keeners (a.k.a. totally nuts music nerds) really wanted to see the inside of the new Axis-49. I volunteered to be the fall-guy.  So here is what I found.

1. Cute Feet.

AXiS-49-bottom

The bottom of the unit has rubber feet that can be put in several places,
to stick out to a different degree and thus change the unit's tilt. This is a simple, robust way to adjust tilt that I wish PC keyboards had, as the hinge system many of them use is prone to collapse.

2. Clean PCB design.

AXiS-49-bottom-PCB

3. 2 Chips to run it all.

AXiS-49-chips

The whole thing is driven with only 2 chips, the USB interface is a PIC18LF2450-I/SO, and the dsp chip  is a dsPIC33FJ128 GP310-I/PT, a nice 16-bit, 40-MPS Microchip chip. Both chips are quality chips, and relatively expensive, I believe.

The buttons (technically membrane switches) are like the Yamaha DSP that I took apart a year or two ago. But these oft-maligned switches are much better, with real disks of graphite, and gold, not copper contacts. The thick membrane is probably high-quality silicone, which does not degrade with time. The throw is a decent 1 mm. not the .05 as in the Yamaha toy. I'm impressed. These should last many years and should always be accurate.

5. Possible Key customization.

Finally, here are the key-posts. I do not recommend that you pull them off - you may not get them fully back on the fastener, and may hurt the switch underneath. Instead disassemble the unit to get at the keys. 

Note that you should take great care in taking the top of the PCB. Turn the unit on edge, with the USB jack port on the bottom edge. Take your time.

Put the unit back together the same way, and ensure the membranes go all back exactly into place.

It should be possible to put in a light spring, felt washer or some such to quiet the keys, too.   

6. A modest Mod.

AXiS-49-recolored

I re-arranged and partly recolored one bank of keys for playing in Wicki (folded major scale) mode. C in Green, E is dark blue.

In summary, this is technically a very well built instrument.

Update - The AXiS-49 music controller is in my hands and works! Let the evaluation begin!

Axis49_01

Alas, I have missed the chance to evaluate last week, when I had time off. Now I'm cramming the review in between rehearsals, now I get to look at it and not play. 

I

From dreary slogging to ...
I once heard heard Dan Bricklin speak about one of the first demos he gave of his newly packaged VisiCalc. A businessman was there, a very well-dressed senior accountant or high-level financial advisor. After Dan gave his talk, the gentleman had a cheque ready, and the cost of the Apple computer and Dan's software was obviously not an issue. What impressed Dan, however, was that as the cheque was handed over, the man's hand shook.

Dan talked to him and discovered the man was just beside himself hoping, praying that his new spreadsheet - that Dan really saw as just a nifty new programming language and tool - would transform his job from dreary daily slogging into an satisfying adventure. And damn, the gentleman was right! For a number-cruncher, spreadsheets are like breathing;  wonderful when you consider the alternative.

Similarly, I believe there is an most excellent chance that a similar transformation is possible here. I have strong reasons to expect that the hexagonal-layout, velocity sensitive music keyboard is as great an improvement over the traditional keyboard as the first harpsichord was over the harp, a thousand years ago.

Let me know what you want evaluated.

Ken Rushton, Email:  MusicScienceGuy (at) shaw.ca

Years ago, Dr. Issac Asimov was such a wonderful writer that he could explain anything so that it made perfect sense. Slide-rules, cholesterol, neutrinos, all were gist for his typewriter. In one memorable essay, "Music to my ears" he explained the design of the major scale so well that I still remember the principles 40 years after reading it. This posting is dedicated to the good doctor.

The foundation of western music, the soul of a new instrument -

The Tonic and friends

Now in music, everything, but everything is relative: one just picks a spot, makes it the center and makes everything dance around it. A string can also vibrate half as fast as the tonic, at half the pitch. Relative to a "half-tonic" string the tonic is the upper-tonic, but since we're working relative to the tonic note, lets call it the Lower tonic.
 -

MajScale Dominant

You and your fellow artisans continue the pattern. -

MajScale Relative Tonics

Filling in the dominant of the lower-Tonic (3/4 of the Tonic), and the sub-dominant of the upper-Tonic (4/3 of the Tonic). This makes for a nice little instrument, with no real dissonances and plenty of strings to pluck, mute or leave open. These three notes are still the foundation notes used by bass players everywhere.
The gap between the sub dominant and dominant notes all have a natural spacing that seems about right, so call it a Wholetone.

Over time your instruments painstakingly improve. With these improved instruments, the notes last longer, are cleaner, purer and the strings hum together like they are alive, showing ever more subtle nuances and shading. With improved sound other special notes become clear.

In particular, halfway between the tonic and the Dominant is a spot just 5/4 higher than the tonic that sounds special. Since it is about midway between the tonic and the dominant, you call it the Mediant. -

MajScale mediant

Is there a Sub-Mediant? Of course(!), at the 4/5 point below the Tonic, perhaps a bit harder to discern.

So if you fill in the mediant for the root, dominant and subdominant you get a pretty nice set of notes, all clearly, closely related to the central tonic. Even the dullest audience member can hear it.

However, there a big gap between the tonic and the mediant. Fortunately there's another note you can add to fill it; the dominant of the dominant, this gives you a note between the tonic and the mediant, just above the tonic, the super-tonic. This gives you 3 sets of 3-note chords with a tonic-mediant-dominant structure, such a cool-sounding and useful chord that you call it the major chord. -

MajScale and more mediants

There are also three chords with a sub-mediant in them. These later chords have a different sound than the major chords, their sub-mediant note is buried under the Dominant and pushing a bit close to the Tonic, so sounds tight or restricted, so you naturally call them the Minor chords.
 
There's just one more note to name, the note just under the Tonic. Somehow, despite being created by playing only progressive sequences of notes it somehow has an implied dissonance against the tonic and the listener's ear knows it, even when the tonic is not playing. But this creates a cool musical tension that can make the music interesting. It creates notes that want to be "led back" to the tonic, creating a resolution. So call it the Leading Tone.-

MajScale Completing the Major Scale

 I      Tonic               Unity

 II     Super-Tonic      Second

III     Mediant            Third

IV     Sub-Dominant  Fourth

 V     Dominant         Fifth

VI     Sub-Mediant     Sixth

VII    Leading Tone    Seventh

VIII   (upper-)Tonic     Octave

With one or two exceptions, no new notes are named, all new notes are named relative to these named notes.

 -

Converting a harp into a keyboard

The instrument for those who can't play the harp

Ways to make sounds

What sound production software goes well with it?

• e.g. Garratin Personal Orchestra 
• What computers go well with it? 
• Is there an inexpensive notebook or netbook that does the trick?
• What amps go well?

Jammer support

• books
• manuals
• Teachers
• fingerings and techniques for playing
  

Training and lessons

Hardware needed.

• Jammer accessories
• pad,
• controls
• footpedals
• jobsticks 
  

Software needed

What else works well with the unit.