I’d like to experiment using a midi pad controller as I can’t really play keyboard very well (but I have been playing guitar since I was young). Hence, I can find chords quickly in a visual ‘fourths’ layout.
I have an arturia key step, and I love the functionality. It would be great to get a midi pad controller that has an arp and a sequencer, but also has the visuals in fourths (and even other settings).
I know the Roger Linn-strument can do this, but I don’t want to spend nearly that much! What are the budget and mid-range options that can do this please?
I can’t see whether the launchpad range can do this - but they look tempting in terms of layout.
Though I don’t own a launchpad, I have looked into this and found that even the little launchpad Mini does this (but it must be the Mk3, not the older ones).
From the manual
Custom Modes
User Mode, Drum Mode and Keys Mode are all Custom Modes that provide a
deeply customisable 8x8 grid.
Custom Modes can be created & edited using Novation Components – our online
hub for all Novation products. You may also back up any Custom Modes you create
here. We have several Custom Mode templates for you to download and explore on
Components.
To access Components, visit https://components.novationmusic.com/ using a
WebMIDI enabled browser (we recommend Google Chrome or Opera).
Alternatively, download the standalone version of Components from your Account
page on the Novation site.
I’m very satisfied with my joué, cover all my needs as MPE/pad/mini keyboard//isomorphic controler : https://jouemusic.com/pages/joue-option-pro
The “guitar” pad does surprisingly well the job.
Of course there are more guitar-like options, but nothing like what I would consider ‘budget’ maybe mid-range. You might have to go second hand for some of these (there’s an older, smaller jamstik not made any more). And of course anything that doesn’t have actual strings (e.g. artiphon or joue) is going to be guitar-like in layout only, not in technique. And anything that does have strings will quite often have latency problems to some degree.
cheers everyone! Custom layouts on launchpad is awesome!
I wonder if you can stagger the layout like a guitar - because when you tune to fourths it is not symmetrical - but I’ll have a look. I’ll probably go launchpad mini if so
On the Hydrasynth Desktop, you can put the Pads in Fretboard mode.
• Fretboard arranges the pads in vertical stacks of musical 4ths, like the first 3 strings of a guitar or bass guitar. For example, pads 1, 9, and 17 play the notes C, F, and Bb, respectively; pads 2, 10, and 18 play the notes C#, F#, and B; and so on. it’s possible for a vertical stack to contain augmented 4ths or other intervals when a non-chro- matic Voice Scale is selected, due to the lack of certain notes in the selected scale. Note: Fretboard is the only mode in which grey pads indicate notes that are outside the selected scale.
I used the Launchpad Pro for exactly that purpose. It does everything you’re asking for and it’s fairly affordable.
I’m curious though… how have you approached learning the keyboard so far? I ask because I had the same experience approaching synths/keys from a guitarist background. I found the keyboard alien and counter-intuitive compared to guitar and subsequently pursued pad controllers with various mappings for years, only to be repeatedly frustrated by their limitations (not the least of which was an inability to develop functional muscle memory with pads.)
I finally circled back to keys, committed to practicing chords and scales intensely for a month, and honestly wish I had just stuck with keys from the start. Pad controllers were more immediately accessible than keys, but they honestly really held me back from developing an ability to play and improvise. Specifically, the scale-fingering method described in this video, plus practicing major and minor 7th chords around the circle of fifths, completely opened up a doorway into understanding/playing keys for me:
(Also, sorry if this response feels unwarranted or condescending, I just really wish I could go back in time and avoid spending two years trying to make pad controllers work for me.)
@olives not at all condescending. In fact, I think you may just have saved me some time. I believe we come from the same kind of thinking. The more I have looked into playing keys, the more intrigued I get. But I have been put off by the time I needed to put into the learning process, vs the payoffs I can from instant ‘guitar layout’ gratification.
Surprised no one has mentioned it yet but the Ableton Push does this. The first version of the Push doesn’t have the fancy screen but still works great and can be found pretty cheaply.
The OP doesn’t mention Ableton, so maybe that’s why. I also think the LaunchPad Pro 3 has nicer, more responsive pads, and the whole package is smaller.
I’m interested in this. Is the fingering method shown a ‘standard’ one, or just one of many ? (He identifies it as ‘most efficient’). The idea of a method like this appeals, but the particular method chosen seems odd (to my pattern-oriented brain).
@bibenu I’m still a beginner, so I don’t actually know. I just happened to stumble upon this method by a chance encounter with the instructor and it clicked with my brain for whatever reason. There is a very logical pattern to it, though, which makes it easy to remember and follow.
That exercise + playing 7th chords around the circle + practicing inversions of major and minor triads was super helpful for me starting out. I’d say whatever method you choose—as long as you stick with it long enough—will probably help you more than avoiding keys altogether through some other workaround. And if learning alone from videos or books doesn’t work for you, for the price of one pad controller you could afford multiple in-person lessons with any piano teacher and potentially get yourself closer to playing/composing faster than any pad controller would do for you (depending on what your goals are.)
