Looking for Mr. Yasser

Monz, Andrew H., Mr. Starret etc. --

Guys, have any of you manufactured -- or are aware of -- a 19-tone MIDI
keyboard? I've seen the many Bosanquet-style generalized keyboards
offered, and potentially wonderful as they are for exploring the
microtonal universe, they're unnecessary overkill for my own musical
purposes.

From a practical standpoint, I require no more than 17-19 pitches for
any given composition, and my music draws heavily on traditional Western
classical style; so I'm looking for a pitch-assignable MIDI keyboard
that has the standard 7-white/5-black layout, but with split accidentals
(subsemitones) and an accidental each between E - F and B - C. I'd
consider other 19-tone arrangements, but prefer the subsemitones -- an
unfortunate by-product of being stodgy and unimaginative.

I've searched the Internet for such a device but obviously without
results. Any help out there?

Best,

jls

One can have a Bosanquet with this few of notes. Two 19 tone clavichords have been made. They are fun to play.
But one can change the reeds of a reed organ and with another keyboard you can make your own arrangements of white and black notes.
The octaves become large then. If you split keys though it remains to be seen just how playable they are. At that point if they are just, make a smaller black and white keyboard.

J.Smith wrote:
>
>
> Monz, Andrew H., Mr. Starret etc. --
>
> Guys, have any of you manufactured -- or are aware of -- a 19-tone MIDI
> keyboard? I've seen the many Bosanquet-style generalized keyboards
> offered, and potentially wonderful as they are for exploring the
> microtonal universe, they're unnecessary overkill for my own musical
> purposes.
>
> >From a practical standpoint, I require no more than 17-19 pitches for
> any given composition, and my music draws heavily on traditional Western
> classical style; so I'm looking for a pitch-assignable MIDI keyboard
> that has the standard 7-white/5-black layout, but with split accidentals
> (subsemitones) and an accidental each between E - F and B - C. I'd
> consider other 19-tone arrangements, but prefer the subsemitones -- an
> unfortunate by-product of being stodgy and unimaginative.
>
> I've searched the Internet for such a device but obviously without
> results. Any help out there?
>
> Best,
>
> jls
>
> -- Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island <http://anaphoria.com/index.html>
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU <http://www.kxlu.com/main/index.asp> 88.9 FM Wed 8-9 pm Los Angeles

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "J.Smith" <jsmith9624@...>
wrote:
>
>
> Monz, Andrew H., Mr. Starret etc. --
>
> Guys, have any of you manufactured -- or are aware of -- a
> 19-tone MIDI keyboard? I've seen the many Bosanquet-style
> generalized keyboards offered, and potentially wonderful as
> they are for exploring the microtonal universe, they're
> unnecessary overkill for my own musical purposes.
>
> From a practical standpoint, I require no more than 17-19
> pitches for any given composition, and my music draws
> heavily on traditional Western classical style; so I'm
> looking for a pitch-assignable MIDI keyboard that has the
> standard 7-white/5-black layout, but with split accidentals
> (subsemitones) and an accidental each between E - F and B -
> C. I'd consider other 19-tone arrangements, but prefer the
> subsemitones -- an unfortunate by-product of being stodgy
> and unimaginative.
>
> I've searched the Internet for such a device but obviously
> without results. Any help out there?
>

A crude way that you might be able to get closer, if there's
not much underneath the keys maybe you could use buttons like
Moore, with clearance holes in the keys and the bottom for
rods with a guide rail close to the top and attached with
flexible pads to the keys of a second keyboard underneath, or
use upright piano stickers and wippens like it looks like Barth
did. You'd just need to keep the top and bottom keyboards aligned
somehow.

Clark

Why not use two MIDI keyboards? You won't have to fiddle with the MIDI
note numbers, which pretty much assume octaves of 12. One would supply
the basic 12 notes and the other would supply the additional notes. The
two added accidentals between white notes on the main keyboard can be
assigned to whatever notes are most comfortable to reach on the second
keyboard, and can even be doubled. The problem would be getting the
keyboards close enough together to reach both with either hand. I hope
that is feasible. Good luck.

Howard Cornell

-----Original Message-----
From: MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of threesixesinarow
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 8:43 AM
To: MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [MMM] Re: Looking for Mr. Yasser

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "J.Smith" <jsmith9624@...>
wrote:
>
>
> Monz, Andrew H., Mr. Starret etc. --
>
> Guys, have any of you manufactured -- or are aware of -- a 19-tone
> MIDI keyboard? I've seen the many Bosanquet-style generalized
> keyboards offered, and potentially wonderful as they are for exploring

> the microtonal universe, they're unnecessary overkill for my own
> musical purposes.
>
> From a practical standpoint, I require no more than 17-19 pitches for
> any given composition, and my music draws heavily on traditional
> Western classical style; so I'm looking for a pitch-assignable MIDI
> keyboard that has the standard 7-white/5-black layout, but with split
> accidentals
> (subsemitones) and an accidental each between E - F and B - C. I'd
> consider other 19-tone arrangements, but prefer the subsemitones -- an

> unfortunate by-product of being stodgy and unimaginative.
>
> I've searched the Internet for such a device but obviously without
> results. Any help out there?
>

A crude way that you might be able to get closer, if there's not much
underneath the keys maybe you could use buttons like Moore, with
clearance holes in the keys and the bottom for rods with a guide rail
close to the top and attached with flexible pads to the keys of a second
keyboard underneath, or use upright piano stickers and wippens like it
looks like Barth did. You'd just need to keep the top and bottom
keyboards aligned somehow.

Clark

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