A standard piano keyboard juxtaposed with a 'balanced' keyboard

[Bob Walance]

I enjoy music and have acquired a certain level of relative pitch. That is, I attempt to be able to identify musical intervals and chords such that I can play along with the music that I'm listening to.

The guitar is a good instrument for me because of its simple layout . However, piano has always been difficult because of its 'key-of-Cmajor' layout. Wind instruments are right out!

The major scale in music is a big deal because, for a simple song, the notes contained in that song will be the seven notes of that major scale.

In terms of half-step changes in music, the major scale is this:
o221222
where 'o' is the starting note or tonic of the major scale and the numbers that follow indicate the number of half-step changes upward from the previous note in the scale.

On a standard piano keyboard, in terms of white and black keys, the major scale for the twelve different keys can be written as this:
WWWWWWW (the key of 'C' major)
BBWBBBW (C#/Db)
WWBWWWB (etc...)
BWWBBWW
WBBWWBB
WWWBWWW
BBBWBBW
WWWWWWB
BBWBBWW
WWBWWBB
BWWBWWW
WBBWBBB

There is a group in Switzerland called Dodeka that has come up with one solution that addresses this issue of complex scale patterns on a standard piano keyboard - their "Isomorphic" keyboard. I would love to try one but they're not available now.

Here's a picture of one of the Dodeka designs. All of the keys are the same except for color. The ease of recognizing and playing a major scale in any key is pretty trivial on this type of keyboard.

However, since the Isomorphic keyboard from Dodeka is not obtainable right now, I sought to find another solution. This, so far - to me - is a very acceptable compromise, and it's relatively easy and inexpensive to obtain and try.

This other approach is what has been called a 'balanced' or '6-6' keyboard. The design was first documented in the 1800s, but its advantages were not universally adopted.

Here's what I started with for my 'balanced' keyboard. This was all under $200 (minus the iPad):
- Alesis V49 midi controller (this is a current product as of April 2020).
- Apple iPad
- Apple camera adapter (or similar) - this allows the iPad to act as a USB host
- Sampletank app for IOS - this is the midi host and sound module
- screwdriver (phillips and a small slotted)
- needle-nose pliers

The idea is to remove all of the keys and rearrange them in a BWBWBWBWBW... pattern. For mine, I chose the note 'A' to be a white key.

There are only two shapes to be learned in order to play all twelve major scales on a 'balanced' keyboard:
WWWBBBB
BBBWWWW

Having one of these keyboards has truly changed me. I can sit down now and play much more freely and musically. I don't have to spend so much time and brainpower identifying physical note position vs interval or chord type.

Here are some pictures of the 'balanced' keyboard. They should be enough to allow an interested tinkerer to create one. If it is desired to fill up the whole keyboard then you'll have to buy two in order to get more black keys.

An unmodified Alesis V49

After opening the keyboard, the springs at the top of each key need to be lifted out using the needle-nose pliers.

To remove the keys, the small slotted screwdriver head should be inserted in the small rectangular hole (below the spring). There is a latch that needs to be released. Ya just got to look at it to see how to release them. It's no big dial if the clips break because the spring still will hold the key in properly.

.
.
Here's the completed 'balanced' keyboard.

 

[Klystron]

The guitar is a good instrument for me because of its simple layout .

A guitar can be tuned to play various chords with the frets open, not unlike the drone strings of a sitar, with melodies picked out from within the special tuning. A slide bar and capo also customize the guitar sound.

I was amazed when I saw Jimi Hendricks live and up close at Monterrey Jazz Festival. Not only did he play his guitars upside down with the bass strings at the bottom, he tuned the strings to different sequences depending on the song.

 

[BillTre]

Another thing about guitars and similar string instruments is that bar chords can be moved up and down the neck to get to any other (similar as in major or minor, chord) as can single note fingering patterns.

Bar chords can be difficult to play physically, but my approach is somewhat athletic, in that practices are for building up strength and endurance to achieve the desired goals.

 

[atyy]

Wow!

But it's difficult to pick put an octave, I think?

It's probably a matter of what one is used to. Many pianists are made to learn scales in every key in the standard keyboard. So even for "difficult keys" like G-flat major, they become easy after a while. In fact, I've heard it said that Schubert's G-flat impromptu is easier as written than when transposed into G major.

 

[BWV]

Also most classical music pieces wind up using all the notes of the chromatic scale no matter what key they are in, don't see how you can play any standard repertoire on this keyboard

 

[Bob Walance]

Also most classical music pieces wind up using all the notes of the chromatic scale no matter what key they are in, don't see how you can play any standard repertoire on this keyboard

A three-year-old child with no prior experience could easily play multi-octave chromatic scales on a 'balanced' keyboard. You would have to be a bit older to play "standard repertoire" on it. :-)

 

[Bob Walance]

Wow!
But it's difficult to pick put an octave, I think?

Even with no key markings the octave is fairly easy for me because it's a certain distance (as on a traditional piano).

The interval that really sold me on this balanced keyboard was the six half-step or flat fifth or augmented fourth or tritone interval (any others names that I missed?). On a standard piano it's tough for me to find even though I can hear it. F to B is easy on a piano but other places on the keybed are difficult for me. On this balanced keyboard, finding the other note in a six half-step change is trivial. I am really enjoying this design.

 

[NTL2009]

The idea is to remove all of the keys and rearrange them in a BWBWBWBWBW... pattern. For mine, I chose the note 'A' to be a white key.

There are only two shapes to be learned in order to play all twelve major scales on a 'balanced' keyboard:
WWWBBBB
BBBWWWW
...

Here are some pictures of the 'balanced' keyboard. They should be enough to allow an interested tinkerer to create one. If it is desired to fill up the whole keyboard then you'll have to buy two in order to get more black keys.
...
Here's the completed 'balanced' keyboard.
View attachment 260976

Very interesting, and very clever of you to produce an implementation of this. When I was a kid, we visited a family that had a piano with 4 rows of keys, I'm sure I could find it on the web with some searching, but it somehow allowed you to change keys just by changing starting position, and I think the pattern was the same for any scale. Similar concept, but the 4 rows were probably required due to mechanical restraints.

Also most classical music pieces wind up using all the notes of the chromatic scale no matter what key they are in, don't see how you can play any standard repertoire on this keyboard

But each key is a half-step to it's neighbor, there would be no limit to playing fully chromatically, unless I'm missing something. The pattern OP showed was just an example for playing the major scale. A Minor scale would be (in W=Whole, h=half steps), from root, next step up is:

RWhWWWhW (ending an octave above root).

Or in music notation (as I got myself confused doing this!),
use lower case for flat, and then  starting on a
White key (White/Black)
(I'll try code tags, I don't see a mono-font option to keep aligned):

RWhWWWhW (ending an octave above root).
CDeFGAbC
WWBBBBWW.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

As a high standard amateur pianist I find it hard to imagine a more practical layout than the standard keyboard for playing the usual repertoire. The pattern helps one keep track of position by touch. If the top parts of the keys were any narrower, it would be difficult to play, but if the lower parts were any wider it would be difficult to play large chords (I can play 10ths but have to spread larger chords). My digital piano has the capability to transpose, but I don't use it because I'd have to transpose the expected sound in my head as well; normally I read music to a set of sounding notes in my head (transposing if necessary for transposing instrument parts), and my fingers then know how to produce those pitches, which is admittedly not the standard approach.

(When I was young, I learned many instruments including the Bb clarinet, but one day there was a problem with the Bb section of the school instrument and I had to try to play the A clarinet, which I found incredibly difficult, because I had been reading the part, transposing the expected sound one tone down and using the fingering which produced that pitch, so playing the A clarinet required a different transposition for the sound but then also a transposition of the fingering!)

 

[Bob Walance]

As a high standard amateur pianist I find it hard to imagine a more practical layout than the standard keyboard for playing the usual repertoire. The pattern helps one keep track of position by touch. If the top parts of the keys were any narrower, it would be difficult to play, but if the lower parts were any wider it would be difficult to play large chords (I can play 10ths but have to spread larger chords). My digital piano has the capability to transpose, but I don't use it because I'd have to transpose the expected sound in my head as well; normally I read music to a set of sounding notes in my head (transposing if necessary for transposing instrument parts), and my fingers then know how to produce those pitches, which is admittedly not the standard approach.

[snip]

Not resorting to using the transpose function on your piano is commendable. A "sight-reader" would have a tough time if not transposing & writing it down.

I do believe that if someone were to start out on a 'balanced' or similar keyboard layout (and also a revised notation system), they would be relieved from having to learn some unnecessary stuff.

Having played with these balanced layouts for about a month now, I will never go back to learning on a standard keyboard layout. For my approach to music, it simply takes too much effort to play.

I'm working on an app that will show a standard and balanced keyboard in action - with the same music playing on both. I'm hoping that it will demonstrate the relative simplicity of balanced when playing scales, arpeggios and chords in different keys.

 

[hmmm27]

Not resorting to using the transpose function on your piano is commendable. A "sight-reader" would have a tough time if not transposing & writing it down.

I've been a musician, on and off, for over half a century : I can't recall any occasion where I've had to sight-read, and transpose, and remain note-by-note faithful to the score, all at the same time, on either piano or organ. Two out of three, sure.

If you really want to find out what that keyboard schema does for playing, I'd suggest Bach inventions : shouldn't take too long to figure it out.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I've been a musician, on and off, for over half a century : I can't recall any occasion where I've had to sight-read, and transpose, and remain note-by-note faithful to the score, all at the same time, on either piano or organ.

Jazz legend Miles Davis briefly studied at Julliard under Bill Vacchiano. The story goes that one day Bill asked Miles, "You have a piece in A written for Trumpet in D. The conductor wants it in G, and your trumpet is in B-flat. Where does that put your horn?"

Miles' reply: "Right back in its damn case."

 

[Bob Walance]

I've spent the last week writing some tricky software that will demonstrate a 'balanced' keyboard in action. Software is something that a hardware engineer should never attempt. My head aches.

While 'balanced' keyboards are probably not for existing players, I would definitely recommend building and trying one for someone new that wants to learn, understand and play music in an easier and more natural way. See the related post I did if you'd like to build one. On a 'balanced' keyboard, there are two different shapes for all twelve major scales. To play an ascending seven-note major scale in any key:

* Play three notes of the same type then play four of the other type. After watching this video a few times now, it's getting easier for me to recognize the wide wavy patterns of 3white-4black-3white-4black (or opposite) in those long descending scales. And - no, this is not me playing.

Edit 8-19-2022:
Here's a better version of the demo video that starts off showing the relative simplicity in playing scales on the balanced keyboard. It ends with Chopin's Minute Waltz.
It looks like it is necessary to click the 'Pop-out' button in the upper right of the screen in order for the video to play.



Bob