Multi-Row Keyboard Layout for Diminished Chord Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional musical instrument keyboard layouts make it difficult for musicians to easily access and play harmonies that utilize three diminished chords, requiring extensive study and practice.
Innovation Solution
A musical instrument layout featuring two or more classes of pitches, where one class is a diminished chord extended over an arbitrary number of octaves, and another class is another chord interlaced with the diminished chord, allowing for easy access to these harmonies through actuator arrangements in parallel rows or on a touch-sensitive display with real-time control options.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional piano keyboard layout is used, then access to diatonic harmonies is facilitated, but access to diminished chord harmonies becomes difficult requiring extensive study
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard is segmented into multiple rows, with each row dedicated to a specific diminished chord (C diminished, E diminished, Gb diminished). This segmentation allows musicians to access each diminished chord by simply pressing keys within a single row, eliminating the need to search across scattered keys and significantly reducing the cognitive load and study time required to access these harmonies.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from the traditional linear single-row keyboard layout to a multi-dimensional arrangement with multiple rows. Each row represents a complete diminished chord across the octave, organizing pitches in a two-dimensional grid structure. This dimensional change makes the internal structure of diminished chords visually and physically apparent, allowing musicians to access them intuitively without extensive study.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional piano keyboard layout is used, then all 12 pitches can be played, but the layout complexity increases for accessing specific harmonies
Solution Approach 1:
The keyboard is divided into multiple specialized rows, each dedicated to a specific diminished chord. This segmentation allows the keyboard to maintain simplicity within each row while providing comprehensive access to multiple chord types across the instrument, reducing the complexity of accessing specific harmonies while preserving overall versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
Each row in the multi-row keyboard is designed to be universally applicable across the entire octave range, with each row containing all seven pitches of a complete diminished chord repeated across multiple octaves. This universal design allows musicians to access any diminished chord harmony at any pitch level by simply moving to the appropriate row, maintaining versatility while simplifying the access mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A musical instrument with two or more classes of pitches where at least one class is a diminished chord extended over an arbitrary number of octaves, and another class is another chord extended over the same span of octaves. The pitches of the second class of pitches are interlaced with the pitches of the diminished chord of the first class of pitches. Additional classes are chords similarly interlaced with other classes, with one class of any interlaced pair of classes being a diminished chord.