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Hi loyal readers. You sure are a varied lot.  See: my site monitor  .

While work goes forth on the Generalized Keyboard conversion kit, I'm refining the design of the jammer.
I had to take it apart to analyse the keys and to show to plastic makers. Now I'm improving it as I put it back together.

The main change is invisible: I've tuning the keys to the same, much lighter weight, so that I have more hope of learning to play it well. when first constructed I was happy to have a working instrument with all keys that worked and had pianoforte. Now, as I learn the details of construction and the mechanics of playing, I'm getting more fussy. When I measured the pressures required, I found they were way out of spec. The good part is that, now that I've found this out, others are saved the work.

But enough of technicalities. On to the important things: gadgetry.
Can you guess what I'm going to do with these items?

WhatIsIt

Ken.

Update: Here's what it looks like after the 1st assembly, but before refinement and styling.

JamStik 1st assemly

Ok, if at first you don't succeed, try again. 
If you still haven't succeeded, try changing the goal.

I've established that the low price for just setting up to make M-Audio generic keyboard conversion kits via injection molding is in the $6-7K region*. Thereafter, I can make them for $50 each.
This is a bit much for me, given that' I'd have to sell a lot of kits to break even and that sounds like serious work ... but not entirely out of the question. Let's put this idea on the shelf for a while.

*For those newly coming to my blog, these keys will allow one to convert an M-Audio semi-weighted keyboard to a simpler-to learn and play jammer (Wicki-Hayden), Thummer, Janko, C-Thru Axis-64 design, also know as an Isomorphic keyboard or 6-by-6 keyboard. 

There are better possible alternatives. The one I'm most excited by is that of breaking the key into smaller shapes that I can make locally. For example, if you look at the key here:

Prototype jammer/Janko key

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 becoming 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. 

Jammer & components

Initial focus: making a faster music keyboard
See Kit for a DIY General-purpose keyboard

Building an innovative keyboard called a jammer, similar to

a Thummer.  Think of it as a "piano 2.0", built using simple principles.   

In a nutshell, all we did was use current music theory and simple ergonomics. 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 likely to be the greatest leap forward: its 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.

     However, 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.

Interesting posts

The jammer explained (forthcoming)
A summary of its pros and cons, where you might best benefit, and a comparison of alternatives

Why the Jammer is laid out they way it is:

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

What we want to develop
a portable, flexible design example - here's how I built it

The surprising contribution of volume (forthcoming)
Pitch seems to reign, but volume actually rules.

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

Playing Chords

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, above I describe how to make it.

- a demo is forthcoming

Making a kit for a DIY General-purpose keyboard
The project is now underway.
Note that it can also be a Janko or a C-Thru Axis design too

Future Improvements:
1. a better keyshape?

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

Design notes

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

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 

Possible shortcuts to faster learning

                http://musicscienceguy.vox.com/library/post/shortcuts-to-faster-learning.html

Humor
Fortunately rare, and not well done
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

Copyright (c)  2008 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".

The quote for the revised pattern, the one that was supposed to be a whole lot cheaper, came in at $5,700 to make a mold and $.40 a pair to make the keys.

While the hunt for better quotes continues, it's time to see if another way to make the keys is possible.

Candidates are:
1) Print out a few master keys and from them make self-vulcanizing rubber molds, and cast by hand.
This is time and labour-intensive, but perhaps can be streamlined.

2) laser-cut the sides of the keys, and separately cut the connecting parts, so that they can be glued together by hand. This may be the best compromise.

Ken.

Hello those who are following my attempts to make alternative, improved (that is Janko and jammer keyboard conversion) keys.
On Friday, I met with the local engineer for Hong-Kong Moulding, a firm that sells plastic parts in Vancouver via intermediaries in Hong-Kong and manufactures in said parts in Shi Jie Dongguang Guangdong.
Interesting experience, as I had to work, carefully, through an interpreter. Since this is a fair amount of money, and a mistake can mean that I'm eating "Kraft dinner" (an inexpensive Canadian macaroni and powdered cheese dish) for a while.
The bottom line is that by removing the "hook" on the key (the thing that juts down, hooking over a bumper on the base) and making it a glue on part, costs will come down 45% or so.

So I'm getting there, the cost has gone from ridiculous ($6,500 startup +  2.50/2 keys, limit of 2000 keys) to exorbitant ($6,400 + .40/2 keys, many, many keys possible) to just barely possible $under (?) $4,000 + $0.30/2 keys.

The next step? Stay tuned.

Ken.

I bought a Keyrig 49 ($100), the lowest end of the M-Audio controllers. The thought was this would be a good entry-point, and that 2 keyboards together would make an awesome 96-key jammer. Also M-Audio's boss had told me we could get a good deal on "reconditioned" 49-key units.

Alas, it was meant not to be. The keys on the keyrig are cheap plastic things, very much unlike the keys on the 88es. Apparently, the key word to look for is "semi-weighted" keys. They do have 49-key units with weighted keys, but they come with unneeded bells and whistles.

Ken.

In my quest to make it easy to own a better music keyboard than standard, things are looking up.

Here's a quote from Hong Kong Mould Manufacturing for the same product.

Basic cost to create the "mould" (English spelling" and set it up: 6,400 (for a steel, not aluminum mold)

Thereafter, each key pair costs $0.44, declining to $0.40, but there is no ceiling of a 2,000 pieces, I can create 20,000 or more. 10,000 key-pairs would cost 4,160, for pickup in Richmond BC.

Why is this better? Because at  under $20 for a set of 88 keys, there's a chance that I could actually recoup my investment.  A long chance, (I'd have to sell them for more than $20, sorry!), but a chance, none the less.

Secondly, this is with the ideal keys, which were designed to be created in pairs to reduce the ProtoMold cost. 
By simplifying the keys, I can reduce the mold creation cost.

Ken.

I once saw a $50 million (current prices) fur coat at the 1964 Worlds Fair in New York. it was being used as a rather dramatic painter's drip cloth, the point being that Du Pont's new paints were formulated to be drip-less, unlike older paints.
The $50 mil price tag was, of course, a bit of a gimmick. While that first one (a very nice coat by the way; it looked like finest mink) cost a bundle to make, the real value of the coat was in the learning how to make the coat, not in actual value of the first one.

The brand new keys - side view

6 comments

Then comes the big decision point

• what size order can I afford
• what size market is there?

Hi, good people reading this blog.

How would I best collect info on who is willing to get what keyboard?

• Set up a voting system?
• Setup a modest refundable deposit ($10) system in Pay-Pal?

Suggestions welcome. This is important, as If there is a decent market, I can have keys and kits out within a month!
If not, I have to go cheap and slow on production.

Prototype jammer/Janko key

BTW, I don't intend to make a business of this, I just wanted to break the horrible "jammers/thummers/Jankos are unavailable because there is no market, there is no market because they are unavailable" Catch-22 problem.

Ken.