Seaboard keyboard, bending notes

[Megan]

Seaboard keyboard:

UK firm develops new sound system.

What do the professional pianists think?


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21699459



London tech start-up Roli are showing off a new musical invention at the South By Southwest conference in Austin, Texas on Friday.

"The Seaboard" has the shape of a familiar keyboard, but the keys are made from a flexible, soft material. The instrument represents a musical revolution, according to its designers, some of whom are accomplished pianists themselves..

It is part of a growing trend for "haptic" solutions, touch-based technology that allows for intuitive, fine control, as opposed to blunt instruments like the mouse, or joystick.

Rory Cellan-Jones went along to the company's east London premises to try out the technology, with the company's founder, Roland Lamb.

[Peter]

Not much new here really! Take a look at this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oCGNwDokT0

[Megan]

Not much new here really! Take a look at this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oCGNwDokT0

Thanks for that Peter,
I never realized that vibrato can be produced on the Clavichord, it is a lovely sound.
Was vibrato used in the baroque/classical period on Clavichord?

[Peter]

Thanks for that Peter,
I never realized that vibrato can be produced on the Clavichord, it is a lovely sound.
Was vibrato used in the baroque/classical period on Clavichord?

Indeed and it is a difficult instrument to play which is another factor in its demise. The bebung effect was known to Beethoven and he attempted to suggest it on the piano in two sonatas - D Major Op.28 1st movt and in the Recitativo passage of Op.110.

So new technology indeed!

[Chris]

This isn't even a new feature for electronic keyboards. Many keyboards have an "aftertouch" like this that can be programmed, and it can be sent as MIDI data. I can easily accomplish this same thing on my Minimoog Voyager. Now what he says about each note being able to be shaped separately (a "polyphonic aftertouch") is more rare, but it has still been done before. The incredible Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer (released in 1976) could do this, and there are a couple today that do it. But most don't for the simple fact that most keyboardists don't really care about it that much.

That said, they are obviously accomplishing this in some different way, and have produced some interesting new technology that allows for some nice tactile feedback. I don't think this will be anything new to the music world, but the technology could potentially be very useful elsewhere, as they talk about in the video. This keyboard seems more like a test platform for the technology that an actual end in itself.