You select a chord, activate chord memory and then you can play the chord with 1 finger. You just have to play the base note and the keyboard adds the other notes.
Now 1 chord is pretty limited so here is my proposal: Multi Chord Memory
A few keys of the keyboard can be assigned to select a chord, switch the function on/off alltogether and to activate options.
I would suggest the first keys on the right side of the keyboard to be used to select the chord and mode of operation.
If you play these you won`t hear any sound unless you switch the function off.
The selected chord can then be played with 1 finger on the remaining keys of the keyboard.
Having more than 1 button for switching you can quickly choose between chords: Multi Chord Memory.
Any key pressed on the rest of the keyboard would result in the chord played with the lowest key you hear being the key you currently got your finger on.
Chords could be pre-selected from a menu and by "recording" any chord the user plays when the function is set to record.
That way you can create a set of chord types you want to use and assign them to particular keys within the defined range dedicated to switch between chords.
It`s obvious to provide a databank with all sorts of chords to choose from.
It should be possible to use this in 2 modes:
1.
Temporary (Hold):
Chord Memory is activated aslong the player is holding one of the buttons assigned to activate a specific chord.
If you let go of the key, then chord memory is switched off and you can play melodies or play chord the traditional way.
2.
Permanent (On/Off):
Chord Memory is activated once you press the button and will stay active until you press the button again.
The distinction can be made by checking (via software) how long the button is pressed:
To permanently switch On/Off the player should quickly press and release the button.
That may take well less than 1 second.
If the player instead presses and holds the button (for longer than 1.0 seconds or so) then it`s clear that he or she wants to use the Hold-mode.
In that case Chord Memory is deactivated as soon as the player releases the button.
Should support any number of keys >1 for intervals (just 2 notes) and chords with many notes.
Guitar-like strumming option (with alternating "stroke-direction").
The proposed strumming option provokes another related function:
Assigning SEQUENCES to keys that can be played live (including realtime-quantize and "play-on-1-of-next-beat") and recorded to build an arrangement that can be refined later on.
Maybe this extra option is obsolete with the capabilities that Ableton Live already has. I don`t know for sure because I am not a Live-user, yet.
The sequence-option is not the main thing for me but an obvious spinoff.
The main idea of Multi-Chord-Memory as described above would be a killer-feature for me.
Additional detail:
In the chord-list it should be possible to quickly hear an example of each chord before selecting them.
It would also be helpfull to have mood-tags assigned, jazzy or sad for example.
Chord Memory demonstrated on a Korg keyboard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqyf02Gl6XA
1 chord is just too limited.
Here is a video-demo that shows something in Logic.
THIS IS NOT CHORD MEMORY but a kind of chord trigger. It is not chord memory because the base keys are all pre-defined. It`s all fixed. Pretty useless. Only usefull for a bad keyboarder who wants to fool the audience
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1ZomBBAQAw
The chord progression is cool though and it would be great to be able to switch and play these and additional chords live when composing.