Play great sounding melodies and chords on a synthesizer without lots of piano lessons by sticking with notes that sound good together! Modes, such as Major/Ionian, Minor/Aeolian, Dorian, and Mixolydian, to name a few, are sets of relative note intervals designed for this purpose, and now you can build your own keyboard that will play within whichever key and mode you choose -- you can't hit a wrong note!
Your modal keyboard sends notes over USB MIDI to any software synthesizer, or hardware synth with USB MIDI Host capabilities. Pick your key and mode on startup and then start your jam!
For more on modes, check out this video and take a look at this page.
PCB
You can order these using the Gerber files found later in the guide from a board house such as JLCPCB, or by visiting this OSH Park link. You only need one PCB per keyboard, but most board houses make them in multiples of three or five for a minimum order.
The keyboard uses 21 keyswitches and keycaps.
M2.5 x 16mm screws x4
Get at a hardware store or from McMaster-Carr here.
Page last edited March 08, 2024
Text editor powered by tinymce.
