

AXiS MIDI controller - a different way to play music - dgree
http://www.c-thru-music.com/cgi/?page=summary

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noonespecial
A truly fascinating device. When I first heard about it (as a standalone
instrument) I assumed it was simply "dvorak" for piano: With practice it might
give you a nominal advantage.

A bit later, I actually saw and played one in a music store. It had never
occurred to me before that the piano was, in effect, one dimensional. It was
forced to be so by the row of strings behind it. A two dimensional keyboard is
a revolution and a half! Relating notes to each other by 2d positioning
_really_ starts to mess with your mind.

The first question I had was "how do I move the notes around on the keys?" as
thousands of fascinating pattern possibilities sprang to mind. (Janko-like
perhaps?) Sadly, on the standalone demo unit that was there, this was not
possible. (The "Harmonic Table" layout they have on it is very cool though)
With a midi controller version and some clever programming, I'll bet its easy.
$500 is a lot for a mere midi controller but its tempting.

I'm half the way to inspired to get a box of buttons and an arduino from
sparkfun and see what I can come up with on my own.

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noonespecial
Another fascinating alternative keyed instrument along the same lines:

<http://www.h-pi.com/TPX28intro.html>

And for a little old-school perspective:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janko_keyboard>

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dgree
Posting this because I got one and proceeded to spent the next 16 hours
playing it with only one break in the middle for food. It is fun because it is
easy to learn. Out of the box you can do things that require years of
technique on piano.

