Be sure to post bug reports and forum posts over there, but we’re curious to know how it works here, as well. (Now, Linux, Bome?)

I know what you’re thinking. Plenty of music applications already have QWERTY input so you can play soft synths with your computer keyboard. Ableton Live does it by default; Logic and GarageBand have the Caps Lock keyboard. Why would you want a dedicated utility?

I thought the same until I saw Tanager AudioWorks’ Mac and Windows utility “Chirp” on Gearwire. The difference here is features, covering the full range of possible MIDI messages:

• Drum triggers as well as note triggers (each on different channels)
• 18-21 pitches (plus the whole 127-note range using octave controls)
• Send custom MIDI data from triggers (note on/off, program change, controller values, SysEx, GM drum mapping)
• Control velocity with a graphical slide or use top-row number keys
• Send custom control changes from your mouse
• Pitch bend, mod wheel
• Use spacebar for sustain
• An on-screen keyboard for feedback (not an issue in Apple’s software, but you do lack on-screen keyboards in other programs)

Now, you do get some of these features in other tools, but definitely not all of them. You basically get the full range of possible MIDI messages. That means this is useful for, as I see it, two basic applications — but they’re killer apps:

1. Playing parts and programming synths in tight spaces (planes, trains, and automobiles)

2. Adding more custom control for live performance in tools like Ableton Live, Reaktor, etc.

#2 has some competition, like Bome MIDI Translator Pro, which can handle keystrokes. But because Chirp is set up like a MIDI keyboard, synth programming addicts may not be able to escape #1.

And this is the perfect time to mention something largely unrelated that excites me: Virgin America has added power ports at every seat. That’s every seat, not random seats here and there, and real power sockets, not some weird airplane-style socket. I’m flying to San Francisco next weekend, and I expect to get some serious music time in. It’s fun making music where the air is rarified. Thanks to Virgin America for providing promotional money for this p— doh! Did it again. Okay, well, here’s hoping other airlines follow suit.

Chirp Product Page

US$39.95 for Mac and Windows

And yeah, I may have to give this a go on that cross-continental flight. Sleeping on the red eye is for suckers. That’s music programming time.

A home-made synthesizer based off of an old function generator and a standard qwerty board. Three wave types–sin, square, sawtooth–and HI+LO outputs. It connects to the keyboard with a stereo 1/4″ cable (TRS) so new controllers can be made.

QWERTY Keyboard analog synth [Matrixsynth]

Funny: after all these years of talking about how great dedicated music controllers are as a way of getting away from your standard computer input, people just keep finding ways of reusing that input. Previous examples:

QWERTY Keyboard Instrument: Samchillian Tip Tip Tip Cheeepeeeee

Custom USB Keyboard for Controlling Ableton Live

Pimp my Ableton Controller: Custom Keyboards, Custom Paint Jobs

… and, for your feet:

Get loopy with the DIY $10 Ableton Footcontroller (no soldering required)

I just finished reworking an old USB QWERTY keyboard to serve as a custom keyboard for controlling Ableton Live, and thought you might like a look. The whole thing is well-documented with photos and comments at my Flickr site:

flickr set: Custom keyboard for Ableton Live

The basic idea: instead of buying an expensive controller to expand my tactile control of Ableton Live (or building something custom with MIDI controllers), I decided to use an old USB QWERTY keyboard and custom-paint it to enhance its use as a live performance device.

The big idea behind the keyboard is that the humble QWERTY keyboard offers a ton of control possibilities, thanks to the flexible keymapping capabilities of Ableton Live. I’ve been using the built-in keyboard on my Powerbook for a while now to trigger clips in performance, but it’s tough for a couple reasons. First, it looks like you’re writing e-mail during a show, and that’s kinda boring. Second, all the keys look the same (minus the markings, of course) – there’s not much that lets you navigate easily in low-light conditions and in the heat of the moment on stage.

You can see a full write-up here:

custom USB QWERTY keyboard for Ableton Live [Ableton forum]

Great work, Bill! There are some particularly handy tips in the forum post about painting plastic — good stuff to know. Bill promises next-up he’ll have a custom-painted 16-fader MIDI controller.

I think we’re going to need a regular Pimp my Studio. I want some undercarriage light effects on my Roland SH-201.

First up, the Thumtronics Jammer, which has made a couple of appearances on Music thing. Most recently, Futuremusic reports the Jammer has now shown itself in public in Perth, Australia. The current prototype has buttons on top and joysticks for expression, though it looks like someone liberated the two joysticks a bit from a Sony PS2 Dual Shock controller. And all of this is supposed to “revolutionize music education” by making theory easier to understand on the isometric button layout. $1.5 million has been spent on its development (meaning those probably aren’t PS2 joysticks after all); a shipping product could appear in fall 2006 after “another infusion of investment capital.”

If you want to be the one to help infuse this project with cash, in fact, a recorded voice-over on the Thummer site suggests you buy shares. You can’t buy the product, but you can invest in the company. I think I’ll pass on this one, personally.

In other alternative keyboard news, and to me far more interesting, we have Eitan Shafer’s new musical instrument design, via Music thing (which has some additional commentary). Eitan didn’t have $1.5 million — he just had a design school assignment to complete. The results look a bit like a futuristic exercise gadget, and there are overtones of the “music theory for dummies” approach of the Thummer: an LED shows you what scale you’re playing. But the design is unusually finished looking, especially for this kind of project, and has one very cool feature: tilting it gives you control over pitch and effects. Oddly enough, the inspiration for all of this was the New York-based Samchillian, a circuit-bent QWERTY keyboard controller. It’s proof that the blog-connected Web we all live in can help spread new ideas.

I’m still working on the phrase “a musical instrument based on relativity.” I think an instrument truly inspired by special relativity would be fascinating: the faster you played, the shorter the keyboard would get, and it would seem to your band mates like you were playing at a different tempo, relative to their speed. Um . . . wait . . . actually, I think I’ve already experienced that.

The more you see new instrument ideas, the more you appreciate the simplicity and elegance of the piano keyboard, and other traditional instrument designs. But that’s a good thing — and that’s part of why experiments are valuable. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go practice . . . because my keyboard controllers are unlikely to become isometric any time soon.

Pioneer, known for their DJ software (and their superb video scratching hardware, the DXJ-X1 as covered here previously) have opted to release a software-only solution. But unless I’m missing something, the new DJS software has little going for it other than the Pioneer name. All the basics are here: MP3 support with built-in ripping, auto mixing, on-screen waveform cueing, cue points and looping, fader start features, and so on. Other than that, though, looks fairly bare-bones, and Pioneer is entering an already-overcrowded market here. This might appeal to Pioneer fans, except — don’t you guys own hardware?

Further commentary and 51 comments (and counting) from the turntablist haven, Skratchworx

So if I’m so bored by this and it’s two weeks old anyway, why am I bringing it to your attention? Because you get to enjoy . . . (drum roll) . . .

Pioneer’s Groundbreaking Explanation of the QWERTY Keyboard!

“The DJ can assign basic functions to a particular key on the PC keyboard. By doing this for frequently used functions, the DJ can establish his or her own playing style – on a keyboard.”

Other software developers, you’re on notice. Pioneer has discovered that by assigning functions to QWERTY keys you can . . . press . . . QWERTY keys and . . . do stuff. If you want to look cool: get a nice big shoulder strap for a Bluetooth wireless QWERTY and play it Keytar style. (Sadly, this works better for QWERTY-mapped synth lines, not DJing. It also helps if you wear a Devo hat.)

Samchillian,
the oddly-named, circuit-bended (and spray painted) ergonomic QWERTY
keyboard that New Yorker Leon Gruenbaum invented is more than a wierd
name: it could be a chance for keyboardists to finally cure themselves
of guitar envy, AND look nerdy while doing it! Since QWERTY keys are
mapped to pitch change, not specific pitches (stay with me, here),
simple key patterns can generate wild, screaming solos. One key press
can equal 'one pitch higher' in a scale. Suddenly a scale is just a
repetition of two keys. Scale too boring? Create a microtonal flurry of
notes that sounds like Hendrix and Cecil Taylor had a love child.

Samchillians may be hard to pick up, though the creator says he hopes
others will start playing the instrument. Never fear: there's a free standalone PC version, plus a non-working Mac version (woo-hoo!). Don't miss the video demo.

Carpal tunnel never sounded so good. (Seriously, the only disadvantage
of this thing is that, as the creator warns, the repetitive key
sequences could cause injury! Thanks to musicthing for picking this up! Since I'm in NYC, so maybe I can go snag the creator!