Learning the Janko keyboard layout

[jjj333]

Hi to you wonderful keyboard artists!

I'm trying to rewire my brain by playing the Janko keyboard by ear. Would you have some good advice on how to best go about it?
- So far, I just blindly guide my right hand to find the tunes I desire to find and I seem to get very slowly better at it. Maybe that's the only way to do it? I already gained some dexterity practice on a piano accordion. The Janko keyboard layout is pretty close to the traditional zebra piano keyboard, yet requires relearning.
There are no Janko keyboard tutors of any kind available, but since you great keyboard players earned your skills, you might be able to advise me on how to get on with it, for at age 79 I'm somewhat in a hurry.
Maybe I'm on the right track, by just keep on struggling to find the notes for every melody ...until my brain finally got remapped or is there an easier or more targeted way to Rome? As you see, my setup consists of a DIY Janko Kbd, 120 button DIY MIDI accordion accompaniment, and Tyros 3 Kbd.

 

[delaware dave]

Got me dude, never even heard of it before and obviously not being missed in my little world.

 

[happyrat1]

There are a couple of threads on the forums regarding the Janko keyboard for accordion players.

He might want to look those up and contact the authors by private msg.

Gary

 

[b3maniac]

jjj333, some of us who are regulars here are also members at Keyboard Corner, as are you. I think you are the
only person I have have seen posting on alternate keyboard formats in online forums. Don't get frustrated if you don't get
much response here. Good luck. Don aka B3maniac

 

[jjj333]

Yes, you are right... dear b3maniac.
Most of the threads I found in this forum ...are my own. - So I have to ask myself for advice on that. All I actually wanted only to know are some practical guidelines, which help me to progress because I'm a bit worried that my practice might be incorrect; prolong progress.
On the other hand, I like to think that just keep playing the Kbd in any way will eventually remap my brain to the Janko layout.
Partly I noticed this is already happening. It's just a slow process and maybe my old brain is to blame.
At least I have got another ancestral musical gift to fall back if everything fails; that of whistling to good music, such as:

https://app.box.com/s/mn2n4arwbxl348av012xwdvi8vr7iivy

 

[root]

Dear jjj333,

the Jankó keyboard layout is awesome! Thank you for the inspiring build instructions in the other threads! What pedals are you using? Maybe others can add to my post, but I've seen praise of the following resources:

• The following advice:

it is worthwhile to start practising scales, chord shapes and arpeggios right from the start.
Take finding ergonomical fingerings as a principle, and if you study a piece, notate the fingering and stick to it. Don't fall into the trap of using only adjacent rows because that's easier to orientate; use three or four rows when that's more ergonomical.

• Omar Soriano's videos: https://groups.google.com/g/janko-chromatone/c/OjZWb4MRupw
  Here's his channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/outstretchedarm/videos
  
  
• The files posted on Facebook by Paul Vandervoort: https://www.facebook.com/groups/janko.piano/permalink/2291481617777533/?comment_id=2295382534054108
  (scroll down)
  
  Alternative links:
  
  https://daskin.com/janko%200%20-%20Hansmann%20School%20Textbook.pdf
  https://daskin.com/Janko%201%20-%20Keeler%20Book.PDF
  https://daskin.com/janko%202%20-%20Hansmann%20-%20Intro%20to%20Janko.pdf
  https://daskin.com/janko%204%20-%20more%20Hansmann.pdf
  https://daskin.com/janko%205%20-%20still%20more%20Hansmann.pdf
  https://daskin.com/Musical_Courier_Janko_Articles.pdf
  https://daskin.com/Musical%20Courier%20Page_5_Clearer.pdf
  
  Here's the original in German with better image quality than the English translation above: https://vlp.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/library/data/lit38215?
  (click "download" on the left and select all pages and high resolution)

It also seems worthwhile to mimic the hand posture of this player:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFZIEwmN1bF3q0sKDc6bZhg/videos

He has videos with instruments that have three different sizes of keys, and in all cases his hand posture looks very ergonomic, rounded, and relaxed.
I guess that rows and fingerings should be chosen such that the hands stay relaxed.
For keyboards in general I heard the advice to immediately stop playing when the hands become tense, relax them, and then continue.

Cheers!

 

[jjj333]

Thank you dear 'root' for so much good advice and Info. For the last 5 weeks, I trained my right (Janko-) hand every day for about an hour and I feel that I'm progressing. - I just allow my fingers blindly to search for the wanted notes. - In the beginning, this process was quite slow, but since I already gained some practice on the zebra piano keyboard layout, it offered me a reasonable start.
After about 3 weeks of practice, I'm amazed at how fast my fingers now already find almost all the notes of any melody. However, this process is still too slow. So, now it seems merely a matter of gradually accelerating this search-execute process via much more practice.
For now, I postpone the scales & arpeggio practice for later, because now, I'm more interested in the improvement of playing the Janko keyboard by ear.
The uniform Janko scale changes and the Tyros accompaniment help me to overcome practice boredom (...albeit occasionally I found myself fully asleep, would you believe (!!) - There's something that makes me feel that the Janko layout is logically correct because although my fingers wildly cross it raws in the search for the right notes, they somehow seem to find their way. That all shows that I'm on the right path. So, I just continue my struggle with the new elements...

 

[jjj333]

I suppose as with all keyboard layout relearning, one has to practice and play them until the notes are found naturally and effortlessly. It only a waste of time to go into too much theory. In time to come my brain and fingers are forced to remap and get used to applying the Janko layout. I guess this is the advice we should offer keen newcomers to the Janko layout.

 

[jjj333]

I practice my Janko Kbd. layout only about an hour daily by ear and noticed that it's pointless to carefully plan the fingering for a melody.
There's only one way of truly progressing and that is just to keep repeating the melody in its context for as long it takes until the fingering finds its way naturally. I know It can become boring, but if that's the way brain remapping works... so be it.
I would of course greatly appreciate it if someone of you seasoned Kbd. players could confirm that I'm on the right/wrong track.

 

[b3maniac]

jjj333, I have played several different reed instruments, 6 string guitar, bass guitar, and various keyboards during the past 50 years. All of these instruments had different triggering techniques but share the same tuning system and scales. Instrument technique varied and those skills specific to the instrument did require finger and body reflex specific to that particular instrument. I can truly say that when it come to instruments and tunings outside of the mainstream, I have no basis to judge if you are on/off the right track. Best,

 

[jjj333]

Well, the way I observe myself... I seem to get every day just a little better at searching and finding the right note. Many years ago, I sent the great keyboard master "Herr Klaus Wunderlich" two audio cassettes of his music with my whistling, begging him to evaluate my newly discovered talent of whistling to music and the good man went into great details... that I possess great technique, most importantly good hearing, and musical feel. He went even as far as to write: "As you know, I'm a bit musical too.. and very proud to be your idol."
- So, relearning the JANKO good hearing certainly helps to correct all my missteps.
As with all musical instrument learning, there's no shortcut to success! I should be grateful to good JANKO, the inventor of this Kbd. layout, for he considerably reduced the learning of unnecessary scale & chord practice. So, the rest is just hard work (like an acrobat!) to struggle through all twists and turns of countless melodies... until finally, the JANKO layout remaps my brain.
I already notice that I make far fewer mistakes than a week ago and that should serve me as a kind of confirmation that I'm on the right track. I focus on just playing any melody, which comes to mind, and with that, I gradually gain expertise.

 

[jjj333]

Every evening at 7:30 I practice my new JANKO Kbd. for 90 minutes and albeit its progress seems slow, I clearly feel gradually developing a feel where to locate the notes on that JANKO Kbd. - The fact that with the JANKO Kbd. I'm able to play any scale right off, without having to learn 22 more grossly irregular scale patterns, which greatly simplifies the learning process. It also makes it more enjoyable, because my Tyros offers me countless interesting accompanying rhythm styles.
To accelerate the development of my JANKO note location mapping I choose faster rhythms, because it forces my hands to search & locate the desired notes more often and faster. My aim is to train my 80 y.o. brain to direct my hands like it is now able to direct my melodic whistling;, such as in this my whistling recording: https://app.box.com/s/l8dbqvd5xf0mv9r8r2nr722t0lodhn17

 

[jjj333]

For hobby musicians who have gained some practice on the traditional zebra piano Kbd, the Janko Kbd is even easier to learn than a button accordion layout. The main advantage of the Janko layout is that hobby musicians don't have to practice irregular scales and chords. For professional musicians, any type Kbd layout is OK because they apply it daily, whereas hobby musicians play the KBD only occasionally.
Thus, only with the grossly irregular zebra Kbd you need to regularly practice 22 more scales!!
Personally, I like the Janko Kbd because it was always my ambition to create the easiest to learn and play musical instrument. Modern technology can help us achieve it. I even thought up a simple WYSIWYG Janko notation idea that can convert the freeware Klavarskribo MIDI software to Janko notation. Yet, it would require a dedicated program.

 

[jjj333]

I totally agree with musicians who disregard the Janko Kbd layout because it took them 10+ years to master the irregular zebra Kbd desterity. I also understand that piano teachers dislike it because to them it means many years less income. Yet the Janko Kbd has many proven technical advantages over the zebra Kbd, that they unsuccessfully dispute...
Result: In this way, the teaching of zebra Kbd, with it's irregular scales and chords, will be perpetuated, and the good old Janko Kbd will remain the only truly progressive Kbd of all times!
Technically, it is possible to build a high-quality, full-sized portable Janko piano Kbd and even adapt traditional notation to WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) Janko notation. I call that progress!

 

[jjj333]

Janko piano keyboard layout vs. Zebra piano keyboard layout:

People, having inherited musical affinition, are compelled to musical creativity; I'm unfortunately (or luckily?) one of them. Years ago, I learned to play the piano accordion by ear. I soon came to realize that it was easier to play its left-hand bass button accompaniment in all keys, but not so in its melody side. I hated the narrow black keys and so limited my melody playing to the scales of C-maj and A-min. In those years, I bought audio cassettes of great accordionists & organists and tried to learn from them by slowing down the speed of the cassette player in order to follow their virtuoso dexterity.
After eight years of keyboard practice, I found myself playing lots of great tunes, but only in C-mayor or A-minor. Thus, learning to play on all other scales would mean having to learn and keep practicing the accordion 22 times all over again and play on scales with mostly the narrow black keys! ( I should have learnt the button accordion.) Soon I discovered that the Janko Kbd layout has none of that nonsense, for it allows me to play the same melody in all other scales without hours of practicing to overcome "boring irregularities.".
In a zebra piano forum, "accomplished zebra piano players" tried to convince me that the zebra is the only real piano layout and the Janko layout neither was nor ever will be successful...
So, I was left to investigate the truth on my own and discovered that the grossly irregular zebra piano Kbd layout and the traditional music notation have been (and still are) fostered, perpetuated, and defended by professional musicians, partly for they invested decades of hard work in developing their dexterity on this irregular Kbd layout, partly to discourage hobby musicians and partly to bolster the pockets of music teachers. That's all there's to it!
When we sing or whistle, we are unaware of scales, whereas playing the zebra piano keyboard layout, the scale signature is very important and requires practice on the irregular zebra piano Kbd. As a hobby musician, it has always been my challenge to create the easiest to learn and play musical instrument... and the latest advances in technology allowed me to get my act together:
My setup, which consists of a Janko Kbd layout, a Yamaha Tyros3, a MIDI accordion accompaniment (with Yamaha Styles support), and my Janko notation, truly allows me to forget all about the existence of irregular scales & chords. There exists no faster, easier, or better way to play and enjoy any great Kbd instrument than that!
My latest ambition is to add that accordion bellow shake and volume control via breath controller that instills presents and soul into any melody!

 

[jjj333]

We musicians have good hearing. May I ask you for your opinion on whether you agree that my whistling improves Elvis’s music: https://app.box.com/s/9dlq22z8gcs8s7pbklw7h5lt4xttpe0x
My big problem:
Almost by mistake, I bought that BBC2 and had no idea how problematic its install is. Maybe it’s my age (82) but I really don’t know how to map its CC to make it work with my Tyros 3. I bought that MIDI USB host from Kenton. Midi gets through, and I can see the data LED from the BBC2 responding, but it still doesn’t control the expression because it requires to map the CC on the Tyros3, I was told. Would have an idea how that has to be done?
I also have the Yamaha MIDI foot controller MFC10 connected to the Tyros. Maybe there it can be done?
Thank you in advance for your help. Johannes Drinda from Townsville/ North of Australia

PS: I'm "Made in Ge" Germ, but I live since 1971 in Australia… that’s why Eng is now easier for me…

 

[happyrat1]

Thanks for replying off topic to a three year old thread with what is essentially a basic MIDI code mapping problem.

Look at the MIDI specs for your arranger and look up the MIDI specs for the Janko and see what numbers do what in the standard MIDI bibliography and just match the codes in your settings using whatever tools the factory gave you.

Basically this stuff is buried away in the back of your manual and your keyboard's menus that you were always afraid to play with.

Back up your keys before you start poking around just in case.

 

[jjj333]

Thank you happyrat for the reply... I guess I have to pay "for the help of an internet technician" to give me the step-by-step instructions on how to do it with my MFC10 to my Tyros3. - I could even pay you for that.

 

[happyrat1]

Since you've owned the arranger at least 3 years now, I'd say you're well past the hand holding stage by now.

This stuff is in the 10,000 page manuals Korgs usually ship with probably, as a separate MIDI spec addendum.

It's really just finding a specific address in the janko settings and korg settings and making sure they all match up to the proper MIDI CC codes.

Google "Standard MIDI Codes PDF" and you can download a cheat sheet anywhere to get the standard codes.

Just assign the right code to the right address and bob's yer uncle.

 

[jjj333]

I have done far more complicated things, yet for some stupid reasons I have no experience in MIDI mapping. Maybe I have to start playing around with that Yamaha MFC 10 to get the MIDI CC messages CC1, CC2, CC12 and CC13 to the Tyros3 mapped.

https://asia-latinamerica-mea.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/5/317935/MFC10E.pdf

https://de.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/7/313567/tyros3_en_om_c0.pdf