DIY Midi Janko Accordion

[Pipemajor]

Thx Dingo40 for your appreciation. You listen to other whistlers on Youtube and compare their Ave Maria to mine. That's what emotional creativity in whistling is all about. It's about incorporating the soul into the melody, which is the hallmark of any musician. Late Klaus Wunderlich for instance, was not only an admirable organist , but an even greater musician.

But did he play a zebra keyboard ?

 

[Pipemajor]

you really should consider climbing to the TOP of the mountain,
and looking out over creation
before espousing such notions
which suggest your perspective is currently
severely limited to looking out a basement window

was Martin Luther truly aiming "to perpetuate this zebra madness for their selfish benefit"

and does your interesting little Janko keyboard also fit right in
with regions of the Earth which do not follow or recognize
the 12 note Western Scale ? shall we also switch to the DVORAK keyboard
and shed our reliance on all that is familiar and comfortable ?

i am delighted at your enthusiasm, and your success on the workbench,
but really there is no need to scorch the earth of every other method
of making Music

Very well put Ventura.?
I was waiting for someone we respect to reply to this nonsense. We really are a most patient bunch.
Can I also point out that no zebras were harmed during the making of these accordions.
Tigers, well that's a different matter

 

[jjj333]

Very well put Ventura.?
I was waiting for someone we respect to reply to this nonsense. We really are a most patient bunch.
Can I also point out that no zebras were harmed during the making of these accordions.
Tigers, well that's a different matter

I would love to know the (hidden?) advantages of the zebra Kbd over the Janko Kbd. - Viewing at it from a 10km airplane window ...apart from the obvious advantages, such as that the zebra Kbd has been promoted as the world standard for musical keyboards and thus, perpetuated by music teachers, I can't see it's having advantages over the Janko Kbd. You seem to be the experts on this so, please tell me the secret what the true advantages of the zebra piano Kbd are, because it's still not too late for me to dismantle my Janko Kbd and return to the advantages of my Tyros zebra Kbd.

 

[Ventura]

but i am only delighted that you and others have found advantages
by learning and using your Janko keyboards

i am also delighted that i enjoy advantages on my keyboards

i am also delighted (and mystified) by those playing
on Button keyboards with the right hand !

i am also delighted to play a Theremin which makes
my brain think outside the traditional pitch arrangements
i grew up with

please bear in mind, some of us have never ever had any
problem switching Keys, as the limitation to doing that
is not actually a physical one, though perhaps your
key alignment makes it easier for some musicians,
my lack of a Janko is not a disadvantage for ME at all

enjoy !

 

[Tom]

I applaud your ingenuity and passion.

As has been said, the advantage of the zebra is its familiarity to the piano keyboard. Other configurations, including Janko and chromatic button have the advantage of easier transposition and perhaps comfort and speed. But really, who cares? What we care about is music, musicality, soul, which have nothing to do with keyboard type. There are tarantellas with 7 notes played on a 14 button organetto I'd rather listen to than a mediocre bumblebee flight at 5000 mph on a scandalli super six seven.

 

[Corinto]

1. Jankò layout is a good system, easier to learn because all fingerings stay the same. All my accordions are Jankò layout, but I'm not sure I want my grandkids to learn this system. And my piano is zebra.

2. Also, we can't expect everyone to agree, because all systems have a learning curve and once you've mastered the basics of one system it may not be very interesting to start another learning curve.

3. The 5 row chromatic button accordion also has a unique fingering system that allows one to play all keys with the same fingerings, and this system is better known to accordionist, and a 3 row Jankò isn't better or worse than a 5 row chromatic button accordion.

4. Remember the videotape format war? SONY BETAMAX and PHILIPS 2000 were definitely better systems than VHS from JVC, no discussion about that. But the standard became VHS, so what's better good for? There are far too many other elements to be taken into account.

5. There are other examples about systems and their advantages all over world history. And more than 1.000 notation systems for music, but once you've learned one, why to learn another one, even if it looks or works (maybe) better or is (maybe) easier.

 

[Corinto]

I applaud your ingenuity and passion.
There are tarantellas with 7 notes played on a 14 button organetto I'd rather listen to than a bad bumblebee flight at 5000 mph on a scandalli super six seven.

 

[jjj333]

but i am only delighted that you and others have found advantages
by learning and using your Janko keyboards

i am also delighted that i enjoy advantages on my keyboards

i am also delighted (and mystified) by those playing
on Button keyboards with the right hand !

i am also delighted to play a Theremin which makes
my brain think outside the traditional pitch arrangements
i grew up with

please bear in mind, some of us have never ever had any
problem switching Keys, as the limitation to doing that
is not actually a physical one, though perhaps your
key alignment makes it easier for some musicians,
my lack of a Janko is not a disadvantage for ME at all

enjoy !

Thanks for the kind words. - Yes, I thought you might mention this sort of fact and more, but the point here is that for a beginner (like me) the easiest to learn Kbd is the Janko layout; unless of course the zebra Kbd is far more advantageous. This is what you seem to know better than me, but I still can't see it... at least not from what you so far mentioned.

 

[Dingo40]

To each his own!??

 

[jjj333]

Yes right, "To each his own!" Amen!
At least I fulfilled my lifetime ambition to create a musical instrument and notation, which is (for me at least) the easiest to learn and to play! I only published my project in the hope I can help someone, who (like me) prefers to enjoy the known advantages of the Janko Kbd layout. I'm also aware of the (in my view invalid) reasons why the Janko Kbd layout has been rejected by musicians. - So, "let it be"... seems here to be the fitting song, for life is full of controversies. So, maybe I'm better off keeping my Janko study progress a secret as not to upset zebra players?

 

[Ventura]

ahh !

i have thought of a true advantage (currently only)

i can go anywhere in the world, and borrow a Piano Accordion
from a friend and play it

which is handy as sometimes it is difficult to travel with a big accordion

and

if i play it well, i will probably get my Supper for free

 

[dunlustin]

I had no urge to contribute until:
' maybe I'm better off keeping my Janko study progress a secret'
What a shame!
You asked a question, found an answer and satisfied your curiosity.
That is a win.
You have learnt new skills, applied them and done something musical few others have done.
This subject has had the odd whiff of condescension bordering on unpleasantness. Do not be put off.
Definition of national accordion bullying:
Being forced to disguise your button accordion as a PA before you can earn a living.
PS: Have you heard of the Wiki/Haydn duet concertina - another way to make a kbd more regular.

 

[jjj333]

ahh !

i have thought of a true advantage (currently only)

i can go anywhere in the world, and borrow a Piano Accordion
from a friend and play it

which is handy as sometimes it is difficult to travel with a big accordion

and

if i play it well, i will probably get my Supper for free

Yes, I know the Wiki/Haydn layout, but I still believe the Janko layout is easier to relearn for people (like me) who already got somewhat practice in playing the zebra layout. -The CBA layout is even greater, yet both, the Wiki/Haydn & CBA would require total relearning from 0. For that, I would need expert advice, which had to be worthwhile the relearning effort.
In regard to the zebra layout, I'm well aware of its advantages, because the zebra Kbd has been (falsely) promoted as the best Kbd layout for such a long time. - Yet, I rate myself a beginner and thus I'm rather interested in the technical advantages of both, the zebra and Janko Kbd. and that's where so far the Janko has won in my view. - So, I'm still trying to find out if I missed something before I invest efforts in the Janko practice.

 

[jjj333]

Klavarskribo offers a freeware program that transcribes Midifiles into WYSIWYG Klavarskribo notation, which could be adapted to Janko Kbd.
The attachment shows some more details:

 

[BGriffer]

These Janko accordions must cost a fortune, because there are only very few available etc.,

The price for a new Weltmeister Logicordeon was 1000 Euros when those were still available about five years ago. A very decent price for a German made quality instrument (as Weltmeisters used to be great value for the money in general prior to their insolvency).

Speaking of the 6+6 wholetone layout which I suggest should be called the Caramuel layout unless we're specifically talking about the variant Paul von Jankó invented with the use of repetitive rows (which to a large extent solves the ergonomical problems that come with the two row 6+6 layout, but brings new mechanical construction problems), it has its pros and cons as many things in this world. After converting a reed organ keyboard into 6+6 and spending a couple of years with that system, I began to appreciate the traditional keyboard more than I used to. It is by no means inferior except as a tool for ad hoc transposition, and there's a lot of exaggeration when it comes to promoting the wholetone 6+6 layouts with regards to saving time. I doubt that the 6+6 keyboard makes anyone a better performer or even a better musician in less time or even at all. The traditional keyboard is clear and easy to grasp in comparison to most other instruments. But unless I were mainly a pianist I would not recommend having the piano keyboard for the accordion, because being able to only use one hand on it is rather restrictive and ineffective. Also, spontaneously changing the key of a (usually not too complex) song in order to adjust it to one's voice can come in very handy. This can be done with the usual diminished cba layouts, though. These fit the accordion ergonomically very well and allow for an even bigger range than the wholetone layouts.

 

[Corinto]

The price for a new Weltmeister Logicordeon was 1000 Euros when those were still available about five years ago. A very decent price for a German made quality instrument (as Weltmeisters used to be great value for the money in general prior to their insolvency).

Weltmeister still do have a few of these LOGICORDEONs available, still around 1.000 euros or a little less. Only white ones.

 

[Alan Sharkis]

Wiuld Hall-effect detectors lik those used in standard midi retrofit for accordion have made your project any easier?

Just wondering ...

 

[Corinto]

Liberty Bellows did have a Jankò accordion for sale a few months ago:

Red Velvet Capriole Janko Chromatic Button Accordion MM 52 100 $599​

youtube link here =

 

[jjj333]

Now that I daily practice my new JANKO keyboard, I would like to know more about how our brain maps the new layout? (Caution: My brain served me already 79 years!) I already practice my JANKO for about 2 months and notice making progress and try to repeatedly play the same 6 songs by ear. My Tyros3 offers me sufficient rhythmic alternatives.
I try not to remember the fingerings and just allow my right hand to freely search for the notes because I want that in this way my hand & brain to gradually map the JANKO layout. I guess I'll have to do that until my fingers succeed in this way to easily find the notes I'm after.
I just wonder if that's the right and fastest way of progressing? That's something I'm not sure about, but to me, it makes sense what I'm doing.
Chances are you earned more experience on how our brain processes these kinds of challenges and would be grateful to learn from you.

 

[JerryPH]

Well, as someone that is working out the "mappings" to MIII free bass on the left hand, I am finding that the best way is SLOW and EASY with hundreds of repetitions of the basics, just straight scales, chords and triads. I am finding that once the basic notes are there, drilling in hand and finger positions is helped by starting very slow using a metronome and increasing the beat 2-3 BPS faster until you hit your speed limits and back down again. Start slow, single finger and really concentrate on note and finger position. The big thing if you are not following structured instructions is that it is easy to choose a bad fingering. The concept is MINIMAL movement of the hand/fingers to hit the next logical note.

The big thing is to not "zone out" and stay very focused on what you are doing... it's very easy to go off on some little mental trip especially if you are a little tired... which brings me to point #2... don't bother practicing if you are tired. Two X 15 minute sessions is better than one 30 min session if it is more focused. Play early mornings, or anytime after taking a short walk.

Here is a big one... NO distractions. Turn the phone ringer off, no TV no radio, no cell phone, no computer (except maybe an online metronome like this one: > https://www.metronomeonline.com/).

It is very easy to get discouraged, so understanding that things won't come anywhere near as fast as if you were 12 again should be expected. Baby steps and consistent practice is the winning recipe.