written by: Info@sublimebuild.com
Thanks TheTechnobear. I will sign up with Google Plus group. But i feel a bit guilty as i dont have an eigenharp yet. :(Hi I a beginner musician and would like to buy a used eigenharp alpha. my wife just auditioned for X factor Australia. i was thinking a piano would be too difficult. And i would like to be part of our families musical journey. the best layout is the isomorphic 4x3. that way the fingering positions are the same for each chord. please email me if you would like to sell my email is info@sublimebuild.com
Sorry, I don't have one to sell, as I have only just got mine... and what an incredible instrument it is!
There are not many around, but they do get advertised here every now and then.
Im sure you have done your research, but just a couple of thoughts occurred to me from your post...
(I apologise if you've already considered them etc, but just in case...)
id be a bit concerned about the phrase: "i was thinking a piano would be too difficult".
I think its reasonable to say perhaps the initial learning curve may be a bit easier (not much though) - as initially you don't have to learn scales, but to get the most out of the eigenharp it takes as much practice as learning any instrument.
Also do you have experience in music software/midi etc, if not , then bare in mind this has a learning curve too, but for me is also a very enjoyable part of the journey.
Don't get me wrong... I don't want to put you off... it is a fantastic instrument and the potential is enormous, but its good to be realistic about the effort required to learn (as with any instrument)
Also, you may want to consider a Tau - new will be cheaper than a used Alpha, has a few less keys, but this really is unlikely to be a limitation. occasionally used ones come up on here.
If you have any questions, post here or over at google + eigenharp group
https://plus.google.com/communities/113007469663952313892
we try to have a weekly hangout, which is open to anyone, so if you have questions this is a good place to ask and meet owners of all types of eigenharps.
good luck with your search
Hi TheTechnobear, thanks for your reply. I am waiting on a Alpha first and will get a Tau if i cant find an Alpha. There is an excellent comparison of eigenharp layout comparison at http://fstrixner.de/files/EigenD/Eigenharp_Layouts_Comparison.pdf . It seems to me that some of the trouble with people taking up the eigenharp is that is hard to learn. With the 'Chromatic Horizontal 3xn layout' which is the third one on page 1. there is only one fingering position for each chord. Eg C major fingering position is the same as G Major and D# Major. So i need to only learn one. Where with a Piano I would have to learn 12 for the chromatic scale.
I was originally looking at an AXIS 49 or AXIS 64 keyboard which have isomorphic (fancy name for same fingering) and have hexagonal keys. The standard layout is the harmonic table.
To become a good player the easiest way is for the brain to understand the notes is to make it the simplest with the least steps.
There is a hilarious but very informative youtube video on isomorphic keyboards check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O64JK33TVGs
Yeah we've been having further discussions about this in g+
https://plus.google.com/110586757591577940744/posts/KteiRZKLGaD
(There are a few other relevant posts too)
There are some good entries about advantages/disadvantages.
I've also written a program which allows experimentation of layouts, and also
an eigenD agent which uses the LEDs to highlight scales which has helped me a lot in using these different layouts.
No layout is perfect, as there are compromises, in particular range vs alternative fingerings.
What's hard to appreciate without trying, is how the keys fall under your hand as the distance between keys is quite small
I'm settled on a variation on horz 4n and I do like it alot.
But everyone is different and most are very happy with the standard layout !
Thanks TheTechnobear. I will sign up with Google Plus group. But i feel a bit guilty as i dont have an eigenharp yet. :(
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