LAYOUT: Isomorphic Keyboard on the iPad

Question

Hi All.

 

So, the iPad has recently rekindled my thing for music, and I’m back to learning to play the songs I love.

 

I’m not good at playing the keyboard, and I searched hard for a good on-screen keyboard to use (I travel a lot and really want to play off of the iPad, not an external keyboard). After lots of experimenting, I finally found that an isomorphic keyboard was just what I was looking for. An isomorphic layout is one in which harmonic relationships between notes, such as scales, chords, and intervals, have the same shape regardless of the key in which the note, scale, or chord is played.

 

There are only a very few specialized iOS apps that implement isomorphic keyboards, Musix Pro being the most feature-packed one. However, I really wanted to design my own, with some additional functions and also with a traditional keyboard on top. MD proved to be great for that.

 

This layout is a wonderful one, in that chords are very easy to play. There is some repetition of the notes in different positions on the screen, making it easy to find an efficient way to play different sequences of notes and chords. It's kind of packed, but it manages to fit 4 full octaves. Sometimes I use it on an iPad Mini but that's not really a good fit; to be practical this requires a normal-sized iPad. I use it to control other iPad music apps - I really like using it with NeoSoul Keys, Korg Gadget, Jordantron, and M3000 Mellotron, but it should work with any app that supports midi. Not all apps respond to the mod wheel, panic, and sustain controls.

 

The heart of the layout is the 14x9 squares with notes. The top of the layout has some additional functions that are useful to me - a mod wheel, a sustain button, a “midi panic” button (all sounds off), and a traditional mini-keyboard that, when played, highlights the corresponding note(s) on the isomorphic layout.

 

If you’re curious, give it a try and let me know how to improve this layout!

 

- AndyX

 

http://mididesigner.com/qa/?qa=blob&qa_blobid=5878320972917463031

 

 

 

EDIT: I've added a second post to give some additional clues on how to use this - please see my other post below.

 

EDIT 2: Remember to go to the Settings app on the iPad, and then select General and make sure Multitasking Gestures is off. Otherwise, when using four or more simultaneous touches on the screen, iOS will understand that as a multitasking gesture.

 

 

 

Comments

Looking great! Many people choose hexagonal keys. Why did you go with square keys?

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Good question! Hex keyboards are popular as well. I did try them out at first, but found the patterns more confusing for quickly finding a specific note combination, especially when playing with both hands. If you look at the pattern from the square layout above, you'll see that notes repeat on the same line. You can very easily play notes and chords in different octaves with both hands.

Square grids have a good pedigree as well. If you search the Lemur templates, many of the harmonic keyboards are square. And of course there is Ableton Push.

To be honest, I found the square layout more intuitive and far easier to use! Does that make me a square person?

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Square is the new hex, apparently! Congrats on this layout. If you ever get a chance to show it off (in video, perhaps) we'd love to have it. In any case, though, thanks for your awesome share...

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Andyx, I think this is awesome, but I have no clue how to use it apart from the keyboard at the top. It saves me time to make my own keyboard. Thanks for the share.

Now, if you could shed some light on how to use the squares that would be cool. I mean, I am not a music expert. I can make chords and stuff, but why do more buttons light up when you press it. I hope you can do a small tutorial on video.

Once again, thanks for sharing.

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Hey ezb, thanks for using the layout, and thanks for the questions and feedback!!! I tried to edit my original post to explain the layout a little better, but it looks like I've exceeded some limit. I will post the additions below!

Answer 1

This is a complement to my original post (couldn't fit everything in the allowed number of characters):

 

RELATIONSHIPS AND COLOR SCHEME

 

. On the isomorphic square grid, all C notes are lightly highlighted. This is just to provide some visual reference as to where each key and octave is. White keys are white and black keys are black, but this means nothing on an isomorphic keyboard - again, this is just to provide visual references, so you can find your way quickly when performing on the isomorphic grid.

 

. The mini-keyboard on top will activate the corresponding note(s) on the isomorphic grid when any key or set of keys are pressed. This is a nice touch in order to provide reference to those of us used to a traditional keyboard. Play any note or chord on the mini-keyboard while watching the corresponding keys light up on the grid.

 

The screenshot below illustrates playing a C-Major chord on the mini-keyboard, and the corresponding chord lights up on the iso grid:

 

 

 

Above you can see that the same chord is highlighted in three different places on the iso grid. Almost always, you will find that there are alternative positions on the grid where you can play a given melody or chord. Just pick one that suits your playing style the best! Of course, you can also play directly on the iso grid, avoiding the mini-keyboard completely. When playing directly on the iso grid, whenever one note is pressed, all squares containing that same note will light up. This is both a visual reference, and a quick way for making it easy to find an efficient way to play different sequences of notes and chords.

 

 

THE POWER OF ISOMORPHISM

 

So far, so good, but you could be wondering why the hell go through the process of learning how to play on the iso grid, instead of using an on-screen traditional keyboard. Well, now that you learned above how to play a C-Major chord on the iso grid, congratulations - you can play ANY and ALL major chords using exactly the same relative square positions, and therefore exactly the same finger position! This is true for all the different chords, intervals and scales - once you've learned one, you've learned them all. The screenshot below illustrates one of the "difficult" chords, the A-flat major. On the traditional keyboard, this is not so easy to play, especially on the iPad; the finger positioning is different from the C-Major. On the iso grid, the chord is easy and simple to play; the finger positioning, spacing and format are exactly the same as for the C-Major.

 

 

 

So you see that the iso grid has some advantages over the traditional keyboard:

. Chords and intervals are always played using exactly the same finger position, regardless of the key;

. The finger position on the iso grid often is a lot easier to perform on the iPad, compared to a traditional keyboard;

. Often, there are alternative positions on the grid for playing a given chord or melody, which helps in finding a way to perform with speed and precision.

 

 

Hope this helps - have fun!

 

Comments

Thank you very much for the explanation.Now it makes more sense to me. It's definitely usable for me. Thanks a lot for sharing.

Answer 2

This is a complement to my original post (couldn't fit everything in the allowed number of characters):

 

RELATIONSHIPS AND COLOR SCHEME

 

. On the isomorphic square grid, all C notes are lightly highlighted. This is just to provide some visual reference as to where each key and octave is. White keys are white and black keys are black, but this means nothing on an isomorphic keyboard - again, this is just to provide visual references, so you can find your way quickly when performing on the isomorphic grid.

 

. The mini-keyboard on top will activate the corresponding note(s) on the isomorphic grid when any key or set of keys are pressed. This is a nice touch in order to provide reference to those of us used to a traditional keyboard. Play any note or chord on the mini-keyboard while watching the corresponding keys light up on the grid.

 

The screenshot below illustrates playing a C-Major chord on the mini-keyboard, and the corresponding chord lights up on the iso grid:

 

 

 

Above you can see that the same chord is highlighted in three different places on the iso grid. Almost always, you will find that there are alternative positions on the grid where you can play a given melody or chord. Just pick one that suits your playing style the best! Of course, you can also play directly on the iso grid, avoiding the mini-keyboard completely. When playing directly on the iso grid, whenever one note is pressed, all squares containing that same note will light up. This is both a visual reference, and a quick way for making it easy to find an efficient way to play different sequences of notes and chords.

 

 

THE POWER OF ISOMORPHISM

 

So far, so good, but you could be wondering why the hell go through the process of learning how to play on the iso grid, instead of using an on-screen traditional keyboard. Well, now that you learned above how to play a C-Major chord on the iso grid, congratulations - you can play ANY and ALL major chords using exactly the same relative square positions, and therefore exactly the same finger position! This is true for all the different chords, intervals and scales - once you've learned one, you've learned them all. The screenshot below illustrates one of the "difficult" chords, the A-flat major. On the traditional keyboard, this is not so easy to play, especially on the iPad; the finger positioning is different from the C-Major. On the iso grid, the chord is easy and simple to play; the finger positioning, spacing and format are exactly the same as for the C-Major.

 

 

 

So you see that the iso grid has some advantages over the traditional keyboard:

. Chords and intervals are always played using exactly the same finger position, regardless of the key;

. The finger position on the iso grid often is a lot easier to perform on the iPad, compared to a traditional keyboard;

. Often, there are alternative positions on the grid for playing a given chord or melody, which helps in finding a way to perform with speed and precision.

 

 

Hope this helps - have fun!