Keys: Musical Keyboard with Gesture Controls, Modularity, and LEDs

Interesting product with an amazing low price point. Being small and inexpensive, I am interesting in seeing how this can moving into educational settings. I loved the part of the video show a toddler learning to play. I will be interested in what the response from musicians will be to using this for performance and as a midi input device for working with audio software.

If you are looking for a traditional keyboard check out the McCarthy Illuminating Piano.

http://mccarthypiano.com/hardware.aspx

Keys has very close to full ratio keys to a standard piano. If you take it and put it up against a normal piano you'll see the keys span about the same length as two octaves, maybe by a difference of 2-3 mm.

This was a very critical aspect of the design and actually led to the implementation of the proximity sensors. We had to remove all controls to get this size but still be about the width of a 13" laptop - and the need for certain controls like octave transposition was the impetus for looking into other control methodologies like proximity based gestures.

The proximity sensor seems very similar to the Roland "D-Beam" infrared light sensor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-Beam, which is itself a bit of a gimmick. The design itself seems inspired by the KMI QuNexus http://www.keithmcmillen.com/products/qunexus/ .

Ideally the dream keyboard would have BOTH.

For playing piano, and other player-volume controlled instruments, you want velocity sensitivity.

For organ, or maybe early electric "pianos" you don't...you want an expression/volume pedal. This is one reason a virtuoso organ player can do things a piano player couldn't - they can use all kinds of "wrong" reachs and finger movements that enable them to play things that they couldn't otherwise.

Love the creativity. I have observed though that "musical" people can play anything, and non-musical people cannot. It has always been a curious thing which I first noticed in music classes at USC.