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Hello everyone,

the most important Pico related todo for me is to find ways how to extend the playing range without having to make too many sacrifices.
What are your approaches to this?

I'll collect some ideas here, perhaps some of them could be useful (at least in the future when we have more possiblilites).
If you find a way to realize some of them with todays tools (e.g. Belcanto) then please tell me, that would be greatly appreciated!

Things I don't want to sacrifice:
* chromatic playing
* at least duophonic lines should be possible, higher polyphony is preferred

1) Keyboard Layout "Ascending 1" + Octave Key Transposition "Minor 6th"
This is the only variant where I know that it is already possible, I am currently using this setup. It simulates a high number of courses where you can only see two adjacent ones at a time. With the octave up and octave down buttons you move your "courses window" one course up or down, so you can reach higher/lower notes while still having access to the keys of the higher/lower of the previously available courses.
pros:
* can already be realized with the current software version
* all Pico features are still available
cons:
* one hand has to reach down to the octave up/down keys for transposing with the little finger
* the maximal interval between two notes that can be played at the same time is a minor sixth (worst case) up to a minor 12th (best case)

2) the same as approach 1 but the 17th and 18th key is used as octave up/down key
Presumably that could already be implemented with indepth knowledge of Belcanto just by rewiring and already existing agents, as this is already possible for Tau and Alpha, isn't it?
Additionally it would be nice if one could instantly jump to certain "courses windows", so one doesn't have to scroll up or down through many positions:
* Pressing both keys resets the windows to it's initial position 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | [5 | 6] | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
* pressing both keys and bending them down (Key yaw): two courses below initial position 1 | 2 | [3 | 4] | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
* pressing both keys and bending them up (Key yaw): two courses above initial position 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | [7 | 8] | 9 | 10
* pressing both keys and bending them away from each other (Key yaw): four courses above initial position 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | [9 | 10]
* pressing both keys and bending them towards each other (Key yaw): four courses below initial position [1 | 2] | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
(having to press two buttons in parallel is safer than hitting just one, so accidental transpositions are less likely)
pros:
These two buttons are easier to reach than the separate transpose buttons so the little finger from the hand that has to control them does not have to stretch out so far.
cons:
The two buttons are not available anymore for other tasks

3) use key yaw for transposition
instead if using the transpose keys all keys on the keyboard can move the courses window by bending up/down on the yaw axis
The 17th and 18th key could still be used for direct jumps as described in 2
pros:
* the separate transpose keys do not have to be reached with one hand: more comfortable and faster
cons:
* yaw is not available anymore for other tasks

4) change tuning of adjacent course with yaw
if bending a key up/down (yaw) the other course (that is not containing this key) is tuned one minor 6th above/below the one where the yaw-bend occured. The 17th and 18th keys work like described in 2: They transpose both courses and alow to jump instantly to desired positions.
pros:
* other than approach 3 bending up/down a key on a course has not an instant effect on the current course, so the bend does not have to occur with the last note but can e.g. be done on one that is nonetheless hold a little bit longer. (In idea 3 one would have to immediately change courses after yaw bending if one wants to stay on a course with the old tuning)
* a course does not just change it's tuning "under your fingers" which could be more intuitive
* it is possible to play the note one minor sixth above/below while still holding down the one last played on the other course. This is not possible with approach 3 because this note is on the already pressed down key which would have to be released first.
cons:
* the "window on a set of courses" picture does not work anymore as one course may be tuned above or below the other one. This may be less intuitive.
* yaw is not available aymore for other tasks

5) automatic tuning according to key positions
The tuning works automatically here depending on two rules:
If the last pressed key on one course is below or on the same hight than the first pressed key on the other course then the other course is tuned one minor sixth above the first course.
If the last pressed key on one course is above the first pressed key on the other course then the other course is tuned one minor sixth below the first course.
The 17th and 18th key work as described in approach 2.
pros:
* in many cases one can "naturally" play even fast runs over an arbitrary number of octaves, neither yaw nor a tuning key have to be triggered which could lead to recognizable slowdowns in fast runs
* yaw is free for other tasks again
cons:
* the maximal interval that can be played between two notes is a minor 6th, so if bigger intervals are required then the arrangement has to be changed, "in between" notes have to be introduced. (If the volume is controlled with the breath pipe then one could press down those in between keys silently though)
* polyphonic play is only easily possible on one course as reaching to the other one would automatically retune it - and forseeing the results in polyphonic play can be unintuitive and undesired.

6) make the 17th and 18th keys modifiers that define the absolute tuning of both strings
press neither the 17th nor the 18th key: default tuning 1 | 2 | 3 | [4 | 5] | 6 | 7 | 8
press 17th key: one minor sixth below default tuning 1 | 2 | [3 | 4] | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
yaw up 17th key: two minor sixths below default tuning 1 | [2 | 3] | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
yaw down 17th key: three minor sixths below default tuning [1 | 2] | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
press 18th key: one minor sixth above default tuning 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | [5 | 6] | 7 | 8
yaw up 18th key: two minor sixths above default tuning 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | [6 | 7] | 8
yaw down 18th key: three minor sixths above default tuning 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | [7 | 8]
pros:
* quite intuitive
* big jumps over several octaves possible quite quickly
cons:
* one hand is bound to the tuning keys, polyphonic play and fast jumps are severely limited
* uncomfortable having to hold one key position for a long time

7) duophonic mode
yaw-bending up/down a key transposes the course that contains that key up/down by a minor 6th. The 17th and 18th key work similar like in approach 2.
pros:
* allows to play two voices that can have an arbitrary distance
cons:
* chords within one voice are limited because they have to be played on just one course
* yaw can not be assigned to other tasks

8) tuning control with the breath pipe
Blow to tune one minor 6th up/suck to tune one minor 6h down. The 17th and 18th keys work like in approach 2.
pros:
* yaw is available for other tasks
cons:
* blocks the breath pipe

Are more than approach number 1 already possible just with some clever Belcanto commands? Otherwise I'm looking forward to the new possiblilities of the upcoming workbench and the possiblility to build own agents.
Presumably several approaches available would be best, so you can choose depending on the piece (perhaps mode 6 is the least important one imo as it enchains one hand what seems to be the biggest sacrifice to me).

Other ideas how to play within a wider range are most welcome (perhaps something that is even already possible?)

Greetings,
NothanUmber