written by: EdisonRex
An interesting study might be how keyboard players, string players, and people who have never played an instrument at all before, end up approaching the Alpha's layouts. I already find that I use a different technique for Split 1 than I am doing for any of the other splits, mainly because the left hand has different roles in a world of splits. I am having to teach my left hand a whole new muscle memory, where my right hand is adapting faster to tasks. Odd that, because my left hand is well independent of my right hand on a piano or computer keyboard. ---- I think that with the help of some stuff I found on wiki.eigenzone.org, I've gotten over the basic hump and now understand the underlying mechanisms and can actually navigate....I have to say that if the GUI environment had let me do this stuff when I was in the store, I would have written a check on the spot.
Now that I can get at my own Audio Units, change scales/modes, and turn off the drummer (thanks, 0beron), I can move forward much more rapidly with my original goals.
Is there a quick way to invert the keyboard (vertically) so that so that keys in a row are higher as you go to the right rather than the left? I realize that this is the opposite of stringed instruments but since one can play the Eigenharp with both hands, I find it bizarre to be playing lower notes with my right hand rather than my left hand (unless I cross my hands over, which seems way too awkard)
If I understand your question correctly, I think you want to change the course offset to a negative value. (I'm inferring that, by 'row' you mean course)
Have a look here: http://www.eigenlabs.com/wiki/Course/
You can type this into commander or you can play it on the alpha or you can make a script. I'd probably type it in to commander for testing and then make a script. You should probably read all the subtopics here: http://www.eigenlabs.com/wiki/Belcanto/
I don't think this would be a useful setup for me but I'll be interested in how you find it. I've gone a few directions that were dead-ends but they always teach me something.
m
PS: you might also want to read this: http://www.eigenlabs.com/wiki/Keygroups/
Yes, already found the Keygroups --- indeed that was a big part of how I got over the hump.
I know what you mean by "course offset" but I'd love to try and have a more "musical" conversation. Basically, I want to play treble with my right hand, and bass with my left hand, which is closer aligned to how one would play the piano.
The eigenharp columns ("strings") are, out of the box, configured like a violin, with lower string on the right. But if you're playing a violin where you're fingering with your left hand, your left hand is underneath and twisted around so you're really playing the other way. Of course, if one positions it like a steel guitar, then you can certainly have bass on your left hand...but I'm still using the 'cello position....I haven't quite figured out the "right" way yet.....
Wait - I don't understand. When i play the alpha, my left arm is always behind the instrument and my right arm always in front. Left hand plays up near the breath pipe, right hand down near the percussion keys. This means the left hand is much like a guitar, cello or violin, but is the reverse of piano. The right hand is the same way round as a piano, but with several rows of keys available. Are you referring to the left hand being flipped round, or to the fact that sometimes moving up the keys with the right hand gets you a lower note of you also change to another column? Do you want to reverse the order of the strings, or do you want to reverse the order of notes on a string so that they run from bottom to top? Do you want to flip both hands or just the left?
I think the original question was how to reverse the courses. The broader question is how best to set up and then actually play the instrument.
I was demo-ing the Alpha for a couple of people including Hugh Orr who made an interesting comment. He predicted that in due course several virtuoso performers would emerge and that they would likely be unable to play each other's instrument.
So 'best' setup is likely quite personal. I also think that many players will have several approaches. It was interesting to realize that setups are both a collection of instruments and settings *and* a configuration for playing.
I mostly play in the manner 0beron describes. Often with multiple keygroups using some for keyswitching articulations for the same instrument, for scale switching, and or a different instrument. It does not bother me that the courses all go the same 'direction'. Indeed, I think it would be confusing to have the keygroups for the left hand be reversed from the keygroups for the right hand. It might, however, be interesting to try that.
m
There is no question that a "best practices" is needed but of course there isn't enough experience to guide this yet. I've been wondering whether to commit to chromatic scales and guitar string intervals, partly because I have a reasonable amount of guitar knowledge that might be helpful (at least for my left hand)
On the other hand, I was also experimenting with uillean pipes sounds (using Kontakt 4) and of course it was much easier to play that with constrained scales. So there's a short term vs long term factor at work here too.
An interesting study might be how keyboard players, string players, and people who have never played an instrument at all before, end up approaching the Alpha's layouts. I already find that I use a different technique for Split 1 than I am doing for any of the other splits, mainly because the left hand has different roles in a world of splits. I am having to teach my left hand a whole new muscle memory, where my right hand is adapting faster to tasks. Odd that, because my left hand is well independent of my right hand on a piano or computer keyboard.
I've tried using one of the splits to have the left hand working a lower octave from the right hand on the piano in sampler 1. That seems to work for me, where, say a left hand 5th is simply laying a finger over two keys, and you can use other fingers to move 5ths. Needs practice, but seems to work effectively.
I think there should be something like a Hanon for Eigenharp, to develop muscle memory. Especially the left hand. But then I'm a keyboard player, not a guitar player.
Interesting discussion.
-Paul
Please log in to join the discussions
UK
