Having second thoughts about symmetrical piano

[Chris Link]

So I just ordered a behringer umx610 from eBay with the intention to modify it with a 6-6 layout. I'm would also order this kit that is designed for the umx610 and provides the necessary extra keys. http://www.ebay.com/itm/262513426612

This to me seems to me the cheapest way to give this concept a try. However, I just ordered the keyboard and haven't yet ordered the kit but I'm already having second thoughts. Like orientation is going to be really hard on this thing. Also, I imagine it will be too confusing to go back to playing a standard piano keyboard afterwards. Since I'm not totally unskilled on the piano should I just continue on and forgo this new design completely? I don't want to end up wasting my money and be stuck with something no one will buy. Most people when presented with the idea tell me to just keep learning the piano and deal with everything taking longer.

I guess I in the end I'm wondering what are the downfalls of this 6-6 design and ultimately how helpful it will really be to an intermediate player?

[dominique.waller]

Hi Chris,
I got me a Behringer too, and have ordered a set of keys on eBay, but
haven't received it, apparently because there was some trouble with the Post
Office here.
Concerning the rest of your message, I think the most important point is
not the instrument, whether uniform (isomorphic) or not, but one’s age. How
old are you? People trained on the piano from a very early age can pass to
the Janko keyboard very quickly (watch Salami playing the Lippens keyboard
on YouTube after only an hour) and presumably, go backwards whenever they
want.
People having learned an instrument in their youth but having left it in
the meantime for decades can come back to it thirty years later and even
make new progress, because they reactivate old habits and feelings in their
brain. I’ve seen this. The problem is with people trying to learn an
instrument after say 25 and even much later with no previous background at
all. Piano teachers say you can learn at any age, because they have an
interest in saying this. There are exceptions of course, but generally,
learning an instrument late in life is difficult, and getting more difficult
with decades. So my position is that the later you start, the more you may
benefit from choosing an isomorphic instrument, but even in this case, you
can’t expect fast progress without previous training. Hope this may help
you.
For more information on the symmetrical keyboard, see my website
http://www.le-nouveau-clavier.fr
Dominique

-----Message d'origine-----
From: Chris Link
Sent: Friday, August 26, 2016 6:20 PM
To: diykeyboard
Subject: [diykeyboard] Having second thoughts about symmetrical piano

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[Paul]

On 08/26/2016 12:20 PM, Chris Link wrote:

> So I just ordered a behringer umx610 from eBay with the intention to modify it with a 6-6 layout. I'm would also order this kit that is designed for the umx610 and provides the necessary extra keys. http://www.ebay.com/itm/262513426612

Whoa! I hadn't seen this option, and it's quite affordable. Has anyone
tried it and can report on their experience with it?

> This to me seems to me the cheapest way to give this concept a try. However, I just ordered the keyboard and haven't yet ordered the kit but I'm already having second thoughts. Like orientation is going to be really hard on this thing.

Yeah, you would need some way of marking the keys to help with this,
stickers or something. It would be cool if there was an option that
kept the black and white coloring of the traditional system for
orientation. Although, there are various ideas about how to best color
the keys for symmetrical/isomorphic keyboards...

> Also, I imagine it will be too confusing to go back to playing a standard piano keyboard afterwards.

Not sure about this. I bet it would be easier than you might think.
Probably easier than say a guitarist learning to play mandolin (where
the strings are tuned to different intervals apart).

> Since I'm not totally unskilled on the piano should I just continue on and forgo this new design completely? I don't want to end up wasting my money and be stuck with something no one will buy. Most people when presented with the idea tell me to just keep learning the piano and deal with everything taking longer.

I'd say it depends on what your goals are. I bet you could sell it if
you changed your mind. There's some demand for these things (out on the
internet) and not much supply, at least not in this price range.

> I guess I in the end I'm wondering what are the downfalls of this 6-6 design and ultimately how helpful it will really be to an intermediate player?

I'm not aware of many downfalls of the design itself. There's the
thumb-tuck thing (which is why Janko keyboards have more rows) but you
have that on the traditional keyboard too, just to a lesser extent.

If playing by ear and/or improvising are things you're interested in,
the 6-6 layout would really help for that.

-Paul