Chromatone demo (Super Mario bros.)

This is my Chromatone keyboard-- I discovered it while I was studying abroad in Japan, and I liked the concept so much that I bought one. The basic idea is that the notes are a spaced equally, like a guitar fretboard, so that you can transpose to any key with the same fingering. It's actually lot less complicated than it looks, and I think it makes more sense than the traditional layout.

The original keyboard was designed by a man named Paul von Janko in the late 19th century. For more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janko_keyboard

If there's interest, I'll post more videos once I get better at playing it. Also if anyone knows how to raise the volume of this movie without having it clip, please tell me.

By popular demand, sheet music: http://www.stanford.edu/~weih/youtube/

Category:

Music

Tags:

• japanese
• chromatone
• chromatic
• revolutionary
• wholetone
• keyboard
• layout
• super
• mario

[AndyAlm]

Is this set up like a chromatic button accordion?

[yayitswei]

yeah, sort of!

[gadzooks63]

4 k are you kidding? i could trip down to rio. b for that and back/

[yayitswei]

I bought mine for 1k. I thought it was on the expensive side but I was willing to pay extra for the novelty.

[fwankproductions]

totally awesome! I love it.

[yayitswei]

Thanks! I've gotten a little better at playing this thing and I'll post another video as soon as I get around to recording it.

[vaxt]

Actually, for anyone that hasn't played Piano before, this keyboard setup is probably far more intuitive.

A key directly left or right differs in tone by one whole-tone, a key up-right, up-left, down-left or down-right differs in tone by a semitone and a key directly above or below any key is the same key -- unison.

As a result, chord shapes and scales are symmetric (every major/minor etc has the same pattern).

[crazy2345]

wad kinda freakaziod keyboard is dat!?!?!?!?!

awesome man!

[emekajji]

impressive! :)

[osuushiza8]

Those keys REALLY make my skin crawl! >__> I have an odd things for if I see connected hexagons that form bee-hive/honeycomb looking things, I get really weirded out! xP

Even stranger, one of my sisters couldn't even eat for 30 mins. after seeing this! :P

However, the thought process of how this was invented is really neat- I'd just rather see it in squares! q:

[babiibling]

:O OMYGAWSH THATS SOOO COOOL ^_^

[seva108]

I like 1:39 to 1:45 . Really illustrated the same spacing in the run the whole way down. I boner love this thing. I NEEDS ONE NOW !!!

[dadubbel]

why does this thing cost like 1800 $?

the material looks like a plastic keyboard.

that way the chromatone will never establish itsellf.

cant somebody make a cheap version for the price range from100 $- 600 $ or something like this. just for learning. i would love to have a cheap usb version for midi programms. how are people supposed to get into this instrument?

[videjonoe]

To raise the volume you can try a compressor (most video-editing have one as a sound effect). You'll loose some of the dynamics, but it's better than clipping I think.

[djsuperstar717]

Those are a lot of keys,

How could you tell which button is which key?

[stephanosanio]

Nice solo haha. jazz supermario!