microtuned harpsichord music

If anyone on the list is interested in writing for microtuned
(say, 16x12tet) solo harpsichord, I'm interested in playing
it. You can access the recordings I've released so far through
http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~bf250/harpsichord.html
I'm currently working on the Tregian collection of 1608-19 in
1/4-comma meantone.

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Actually re a generalized MIDI keyboard:
Would it really be so difficult to get a suitable number of
standard MIDI keyboards and mechanically mount them close above
each other (like an organ but a lot closer), then set each to
it's own channel for input to a computer that does the real
work?
My keyboard is barely 2" thick, it would be easy to trim the naturals
to 1/2" longer than the sharps without damaging anything, and
even my cheap version of Cubase (Compact) will handle multiple
keyboards - any Creative soundcard sold today will handle the
microtuned sound acceptably direct from Cubase without any
extra programming.
Or, have I misunderstood what is being asked for?

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On Mon, 11 Nov 1996, John Sankey wrote:
> Would it really be so difficult to get a suitable number of
> standard MIDI keyboards and mechanically mount them close above
> each other (like an organ but a lot closer), then set each to
> it's own channel for input to a computer that does the real
> work?
[snip]
> Or, have I misunderstood what is being asked for?

Well, the thing about the generalized keyboard as Wendy and I envision
it 8-)> is that every single key (excepting octave equivalents) is set
at a slightly different height. An invariant pitch relationship
between notes maps to an invariant spatial relationship between keys.
Thus, you have whole-tone scales sloping gently up and to the right,
and so on. I don't see how to do that by stacking standard keyboards.

--pH (manynote@library.wustl.edu or http://library.wustl.edu/~manynote)
O
/\ "Well, so far, every time I break he runs out.
-\-\-- o But he's gotta slip up sometime . . . "

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> Would it really be so difficult to get a suitable number of
> standard MIDI keyboards and mechanically mount them close above
> each other (like an organ but a lot closer), then set each to
> it's own channel for input to a computer that does the real
> work?

I've pondered that in a slightly different light. I suppose to some degree
that depends on what you mean by "keyboard". Are you refering to the raw,
internal keyboard mechanism (like those by FATAR or whoever) minus the internal
electronics and then building a custom electronic and case setup around both?
Or by "keyboard" do you mean a complete, off-the-shelf keyboard product, like
for example a couple of DX-7s (or whatever) stacked close atop one another?

If you mean the latter, then I see two problems to deal with:
1. The top keyboard will still be quite a bit above the bottom one, to the
point where it's not terribly practical to finger both at the same time.
To a fair degree this applies to the individual mechanisms as well in a
custom case. The internal mechanisms aren't a whole lot narrower than
finished products.
2. The top keyboard obscures the control buttons of the lower keyboard.


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