Foot-Chording Chords |
April 7th, 2022 |
jammer, music, tech |
Am (vi) G (V) C (I) F (IV)
In showing this to Ruthie, however, we realized that more options are possible if you use multiple simultaneous pedals. I am unreasonably excited to be "chording" to play chords.
Rough demo, since I only just figured this out:
If you use all the combinations this gives you eleven more options, but for now I've just added two: the left pair and the right pair. In major I've set these as ii and iii, so C Major is:
Am (vi) G (V) Dm (ii) Em (iii) C (I) F (IV)
Here are the three other modes I currently have configured, with C as an example key:
Minor:
G (V) Cm (i) F (IV) E (III) A (VI) Bb (VII)
Alternate minor:
Bb (VII) F (IV) Ab (VI) G (V) C (i) E (III)
Mixolydian:
Bb (VII) G (V) Ab (VI) E (III) C (I) F (IV)
In each of these, I'm using the two "chorded" options to bring in extra options I would use occasionally.
At some point I may use some of the other combinations, probably starting with the two toes and the two heels, but for now this is confusing enough. I will probably also change around what the pedals do, since I feel like I don't have a great system right now: it works, but there isn't that much logic to it so it's hard to remember and extend.
my brain would break. great job!
On the road to pipe organ!
Jan-Willem I think there's a potential for a much better interface than a pipe organ here. Pipe organ pedals are not velocity sensitive, and you need a different pattern for whatever key you're playing in. There are also far more pedals, which makes it much less portable and much more expensive.
Definitely not very portable! I suspect mechanical-action aficionados would beg to differ on the sensitivity, but broadly I think you're correct.
Jan-Willem organs in general are not velocity sensitive: they are on/off. You can choose whether air flows through the pipe, but not how much.
This is why some have swell boxes.
The Rose