microtonal keyboards?

[chopincat]

Does anyone have any experience using a Tonal Plexus or some other kind of microtonal keyboard? I am fascinated by microtonal music and would love to try it out on a keyboard, but I'm wondering if it's worth the investment, especially because from what I've heard the timbre is kind of ugly.

[chopincat]

I guess no one has... just out of curiosity, does anyone else on this forum even know what a microtonal keyboard/microtonal music is? 

[Bob]

Of course we know.  Just nothing new.

There's a post or two about a tunable keyboard here.  Live tunable.
Fluid piano... That's it.

Tonal Plexus?  No, haven't heard of it.

I'm not thinking of any microtonal composition that really stands out.  It seems more like a niche area.  Oi... The Tonal Plexus isn't going to make it.  It's too square/sustained for sound....  Looks like Legos, not good or bad for that, just different.  Microtonal music doesn't quite seem to have a great pleasing sound to me.  I have wondered what things would sound like if they added microtonal notes to the upper part of chords.

Interesting, but it doesn't look very practical to play. 

It would also be interesting to hear a performance on a keyboard where the pitch is controlled by a computer that knows what key the piece is in.  Performer performs, computer adjusts all the notes so everything is perfectly in tune.  That sounds interesting.

The Tonal Plexus looks good for music theory.  If all possibilities (without sliding) are there... And those are perfectly in tune...     Could be useful for ear training too.

I want something more than a drone with microtonal melodies over the top of that too.

[Bob]

Here's the Tonal Plexus site.
https://www.h-pi.com/TPX28buy.html

MIDI controller?  I'd hate to have an instrument tied to a computer actually. 

Looks like another niche instrument.  We'll see if it sticks around. 


This Seaboard keyboard looks a bit interesting...

Used by Hans Zimmer?

[Bob]

The cheap way for microtonal stuff I've thought of is to take two keyboards or two tuners and bump one up or down 50 cents.  Instant microtonal, intune sounds.

[chopincat]

Thanks for the idea! That does sound like the most affordable option. I was considering the tonal plexus because that seemed like the most affordable of actual microtonal keyboards.

As for interesting microtonal music...

Done on a tonal plexus.

This is microtonal guitar, which is probably a much more practical instrument for microtonal music anyway. Unfortunately I don't know anything about refretting guitars.

[j_menz]

This is microtonal guitar, which is probably a much more practical instrument for microtonal music anyway. Unfortunately I don't know anything about refretting guitars.

Surely a violin or cello (etc) would be even better suited.

[chopincat]

Agreed. But I don't know how to play either. (I do play guitar if that wasn't clear).

[Bob]

That's why I think use two pianos and tweak one.  No new performance technique to learn, pitches 'in tune' for what they were set at.

I suppose you could record something with MIDI and tweak notes too if you wanted to experiment with something.

[larrys]

You could always get really good with a theremin!