colorizing a keyboard

This is a two-step process:  1) get a keyboard,   2) colorize it.

(this supplements my main pages about Improvising Music)

Step 1) get a keyboard:

How?  Maybe you already have one, or can borrow one.  If not, MANY brands & models are available for a reasonable price on Amazon ($50-$220 or less or more) and elsewhere.    { iou – During late September I'll do more research – by reading reviews, comparing features, asking in forums,... – and will describe what I find. }

a necessary feature:  you'll need transposing if the KB will be colorized – as I highly recommend – so it can be used mainly for C Major and (less often) A Minor, because transposing lets you play in these two keys, and hear in all keys.   It's best to have a transposing range of ±12 (up 12 or down 12) but ±6 is adequate.   {a table for transposing-into-keys}   /   The related feature of fine tuning is useful in some situations, if you're playing in a group and the other instruments are in-tune with each other but are not tuned to the standard A=440.

common features:  power thru batteries plus AC/DC adapter;   a variety of pleasantly interesting high-quality voices (piano, brass, woodwinds, strings,...);   built-in songs (with melody-harmony-rhythm) to play along with,* although this isn't the focus of using colorizing to promote improvising;   MIDI output.      { * a few KB's, like Yamaha PSS-E373, also have built-in Chord Progressions for playing along;  but this isn't necessary because you can get a wide variety of backing tracks on youtube. }

a semi-common feature:  left-and-right splitting, for two-person playing (one on left side, other on right side) with different tones, e.g. saxophone on left, flute on right. {or one person can alternate two “voices” during a song, e.g. with call-and-response or in other ways}   This is convenient for playing duets if an individual has only one keyboard, or if an institution (for young or old) has a limited number of keyboards, or wants to buy fewer.    { Scientists have found that playing duets provides special benefits – social, behavioral, neurological – although duets also could be played in a keyboard lab with one keyboard per player;  this lets each student usually play solo (non-duet) because this offers many advantages for learning.  Or an institution can buy a larger number of keyboards that cannot be split but are cheaper, and if each player has a separate keyboard they still can play duets;  or two people can play on the left & right sides of a non-split keyboard, with the same tone. }

unusual features:  These include...  a pitch-bend wheel, and [to be continued]

There is a wide variety of keyboards, made by many companies.  The end of this page has tables that compare the features of some keyboards made by a few companies, by Yamaha, Casio, Alesis, and Rockjam.

Step 2) colorize the keyboard:

How?  Just get colored labels and put them on the keys.  Simple.  But although this can be stated simply, the process becomes complicated when you begin making choices by evaluating options for materials, positions, shapes, sizes, and colors.  Before we look at these choices,...

Here is a quick-and-easy solution:  If you have electrical tape with any three colors — they can be red-blue-green, or you can design your own color scheme by using the colors you have — cut them into appropriate sizes/shapes and put them on the keys.  After you have the tape, the colorizing will be quick and easy.  If you don't already have three colors, you can buy electrical tape in a multi-color package for less than $10.  Here are some I've found:  for a small keyboard with mini-size keys, 1/2" tape from Lowes or Home Home or Amazon.  But you probably have a keyboard with full-size keys, so you can use larger 3/4" tape from Walmart or Amazon with this option (that I like due to its color contrast)* or others.    [[ iou – Soon, in late-September, I'll test the links, and will re-check the products, re: colors (but unfortunately in Amazon the colors often are misleading, and colors with good blue-vs-green contrast in photos doesn't have good contrast in-person when the tape arrives;  and I'll check duct tape, which has a wider variety of colors (good) but (bad) also leaves a sticky glue-residue;  it can be removed but this requires time. ]]    * With most of these tapes there isn't much contrast between the blue and green;  both colors are dark, so while playing it's more difficult to quickly-correctly distinguish between the blue and green.  Two solutions are to use this option from Amazon (with better blue-green contrast) or put a white dot inside either the blue or green labels, as in this photo.   /   easy de-colorizing by removing the tape:  It's easy to colorize with tape, and also to de-colorize.  This is a psychological benefit with less reason for "buyer's remorse" (that you have colorized) because tapes are easy to remove – and leave no sticky glue-residue – if you decide you don't want colorizing, or if you want to colorize in a different way, or just re-do it the same way but better.  By contrast, using paper labels (another option for materials) is not easily reversible because these labels are difficult to remove, and leave a tough-to-clean residue of adhesive, although you can effectively do...

de-colorizing (of paper labels) by using olive oil:  When paper labels are removed, some paper sometimes remains, and some residue-of-glue always remains.  By experimenting, I've discovered that most glue-removing attempts (using water, vinegar, ammonia, soap,...) fail, but olive oil succeeds;  it's an effective solvent for glue from colored paper-labels I've removed (of several brands) and also from duct tape and other messy adhesives.  So far, I've tried only the "extra virgin" olive oil that I eat for health reasons but other kinds of vegetable oil (although olive oil is actually a fruit oil) might also work.   /   The process has three stages, using heat, oil, and water.   First use heat — from a hair dryer (on setting for low heat, so you don't damage the keyboard) — to warm a few labels;  beginning with one corner, quickly-but-carefully peel each label off while it still is warm;  then repeat the heating-and-peeling for a few more labels, until most paper and most glue (but not all) is gone.   Second, use olive oil;  moisten a small piece of paper towel (or toilet paper, or cloth) with a little olive oil, and rub each key to remove all of the remaining glue;  then use a dry paper towel to remove most of the olive oil;  you can check the glue-removal by vision (viewing across the keys, do they look clean) and by touch (running a finger across each key, does it feel smooth).   Third, use water;  to remove all of the oil, moisten a small piece of paper towel with water, and rub each key to remove the oil, repeating (using many small pieces of paper towel) as necessary;  remove the water with a dry paper towel, plus evaporation;  to be sure all olive oil is gone, test the keys with vision-and-touch.   /   This process requires time, because it has three stages, each with several steps.  But it works well, it removes everything (paper, glue, oil) to produce keys that are clean.  And the main clean-up chemical (olive oil) is not toxic;  in fact it's healthy, has many nutritional benefits.

paper labels – use a “visual cues” system:

I'll describe this practical system for paper labels, although it also works for electrical tape.

A main goal is consistent symmetry (with balance), especially when using semi-permanent paper labels.  Achieving this is much easier when there are clear “visual cues” regarding the vertical placement of each label, so all labels (within each row of a “Low high high” pattern) are at the same height.  Here is a system that I've found to be useful for achieving symmetry, for colorizing with lower Circles (in Stage 1) and upper Bars (in Stages 2a & 2b):

Stage 1:  For the notes of major chords, use lower Circles.  Begin with labels closest to “the dividing line” between white notes & black notes, with the “high” row that has the 3-notes and 5-notes of chords.  It's easier to label all notes correctly if you first do all G's, then all A's, and B's, C's, D's, E's.  Try to place each circle at the same height – so its top is at the dividing line between white & black – and so it's sideways-centered on its key.   /   Then do the “Low row” of 1-notes:  do all C's and all G's, trying to get a consistent “separation” between circles in the high-row and low-row;  usually I try to get a separation of zero, so the two circles are touching but not overlapping. {but you may want to intentionally overlap them – as in this photo – for a different style;  and for me a tiny unintentional overlap is acceptable}   But only one sequence is really important;  you should do the Low-G's before Low-F's, so you can use “sideways visual cues” for the F's, because (unlike the other 6 high-Low combos) for F there are no high-row circles to give you visual cues for the vertical placement of the Low-F's.  I'm right-handed and use my right hand for placing most labels, but for each F you may find it easier to use your left hand so it's easier to see both F and G, with better side-by-side visual cues that help you compare the heights of F-versus-G so you can place F at the same height as G.  /   a summary: 

Stage 2b:  For the notes of minor chords, use upper Bars.  Again, begin with labels closest to “the dividing line” between white notes & black notes, but now this is the “Low row” that has the 1-notes of chords.  Notice the similar logic (begin with labels closest to the dividing line) but different conclusion (to “first do 1-notes” instead of “first do 3-notes and 5-notes”).  To improve the visual cues while I'm improvising, I like to have some separation between Circles and Bars;  therefore instead of using "the [white-black] dividing line" to vertically position the Lower Bars, as a visual cue I use “the bending point” where a black key's flat surface changes to a steep downward slope.  You can arrange the lighting so this point is clearly visible, making it easier to get a consistent vertical position for all A's and all D's;  then do all E's, using side-by-side cues with D & E (as with F & G in Stage 1);  and when placing an E, using your right hand makes it easier to see both D and E.   For sideways positioning, notice that the “white part” of a key is narrower on some keys than on others.   An additional factor – that isn't possible with circles – is getting each rectangular bar “vertical” instead of “tilted”.   /   In the “high row,” first vertically position all A's (a little above each A)* and E's (above the E's).  But you'll have only side-by-side visual cues to guide your vertical positioning of the other bars, for all B's and all C's, then for all F's and (with cues on left & right) all G's.    {* Vertically, I prefer "a separation of zero" for circles, but "a little" separation for bars.  This is partly just personal taste.  But geometry also is involved, because when two circles touch there is a perception of "separation" (with some "white space") between them;  by contrast, when two bars touch they form one long rectangle, and – even though it's split in the middle by the two colors – there is less "visual separation between notes" that is helpful when you're searching for a certain note-color (red or blue or green) while playing. }

Compared with circles, I find it more difficult to colorize with bars, because for me...   • It's intuitively easier to use "the dividing line" (for vertically positioning circles) than to use "the bending point" (for bars), although with practice both become easier.   • For bars, more notes require side-by-side estimations that are more difficult.   • For various reasons, it's a little more difficult to do the sideways placements for bars.   • And an extra requirement for bars (that isn't an issue for circles) is getting "verticality" that is visually acceptable.   [[ iou – Tomorrow, February 17, I'll continue working on this paragraph by describing the cognitive difficulty of knowing which bar-colors go on which notes, because I have a much better cognitive-and-functional knowledge of C Major, compared with A Minor.  Therefore it's easy for me to quickly colorize circles (for C Major), and despite going more slowly with bars (for A Minor) I make more mistakes – so I have to remove the label and do it again – because my cognitive knowledge of C Major is so much better.  Another reason is that for bars I've begun doing an extra step – Stage 2a – so the width of customized bars will be more consistently 3/8".  But the circles are always exactly the same width (roughly 3/4") without customizing circles with a Stage 1a.

Stage 2a:  [[ maybe this will require a video, because there are a lot of steps that are fairly easy to understand when described with words-and-visuals, but are difficult to describe with just words -- first mark a sheet of bars with "a line down the middle of the sheet", and then cutting a little to each side of the bar

[[ iou – I'll continue writing this section tonight, February 15. ]]   [[ and in another iou, eventually I'll make photos of the colorized keys at each stage of the process, to supplement my word-descriptions. ]]

Below are some choices you'll make when trying to design a system that allows easy-intuitive-instant recognition of the colors, and also (a lower priority) looks good.  You have options for...

• materials:  You have two main options, with each having pros & cons.  Colorizing with plastic electrical tape is quick and easy.  But you have a wider choice of shapes with adhesive stick-on paper labels;  you can buy pre-cut rectangles or pre-cut circles that (by cutting) you can convert into partial circles.   /   perfectionism:  It's easier to get consistent shapes with paper labels, if you want your keyboard to have a “tidy look” with consistency and symmetry.  Looking tidy is much more difficult (and less likely) with plastic tape, but this can make it easier for you psychologically – especially if you tend to aim for perfection – because this isn't practical for tape, so you're less likely to aim for it;  by contrast, consistent symmetry is more-possible when using paper, so you may spend more time striving for perfection.

positions:  This diagram shows one reason (in addition to limited vertical space) for wanting to move both sets of rows upward – as on the right side – because it's better if your fingers (that aren't transparent) don't hinder your clear viewing of the colors, so you will have quick-and-intuitive recognizing of the red notes and blue notes and green notes.  Of course, when you move the two LOWER ROWS (used to play C Major) upward, you also must move the two UPPER ROWS (used to play A Minor) upward.  Therefore you'll be colorizing two parts of keys, the "HIGH PART" (above the lowest part of the black keys, shown by a dotted line) and the "Hi Area in LOW PART" that is below this imaginary dotted line.

The diagrams in my two web-pages (one for Education plus The Big Page) have 4 Rows of colors — 2 Lower Rows (for C Major), 2 Higher Rows (for A Minor) — as on the left side above.  This works well for learning music theory, but not for playing music, due to fingers blocking the colors.

• shapes:  Originally I used round labels for colorizing my keyboards, and this works well.  But so can other shapes, like partial-circles (with orientatations that form a "teardrop" or "hourglass") and rectangles.  You can see these four shapes in page-end photographs.   /   pros and cons:  Due to the narrow sideways-spacing in the HIGH PART of keys, rectangles seem to work best for the two Upper Rows (used to play A Minor) because they can be larger than circles;  and it's easy to cut rectangles when using electrical tape.  { But if you can get (or make) a special “large-circle puncher” for tape, you can use circles or (with additional cutting) partial circles.  I use a common "small-circle puncher" to make the white dots that identify the home-notes of C for C Major, and A for A Minor. }   /   But for other purposes, based on my own experience (and asking others) I've found that — to get easy-intuitive-instant color recognitions while playing — circles (or partial circles) are better than rectangular bars.  Why?  Because usually there is less “visual separation by white space” for rectangles, although you can make a larger "empty white row" between the two rows of colored rectangles, or make “diamonds” with a 90° rotation of squares.  But I don't yet have enough experience to be confident about ”circles better than bars.”   { Or you could rotate them 90° to form diamonds;  this increases the width, so you'll need to adjust by (for example) using electrical tape that's 1/2" instead of 3/4". }   /   a summary:  There are other pros & cons for each shape, and for other possible shapes.

• sizes:  For producing strong visual cues, bigger is better.  But keys have limited size in both dimensions, so there are choices for...

• horizontal sizes:  Most keyboards have full-size keys about .9" wide for the LOW PART of each key, so .75" labels work well for all shapes (circles, partial circles, rectangles);  and it's easy to purchase 3/4" paper labels or plastic tape.  But mini-keys (as on my Yamaha PSS-F30) are slightly less than .75" wide, so 3/4" labels are a little too wide, and it's easiest to use 1/2", although you could try to adjust 3/4".   /   For the HIGH PART, the smallest difference is about 15/32" (less than 16/32 = 1/2) so 1/2" labels don't work well.  Instead you can use 1/4" circles or 3/8" circles, or cut 3/4" circles in half (facing-left, or facing-right as in this photo), or cut rectangles to fit.

• vertical sizes:  In addition to "view-blocking by fingers" the small vertical size is another reason to move the two Upper Rows (used for A Minor) upward into the "HIGH PARTS" of keys, so the two Lower Rows (used for C Major) can be moved upward into the "Hi Area in LOW PARTS" of keys.  Unless you do this, vertical space in the LOW PART is very limited because you'll need 5 rows of colors:  2 Lower Rows (for C Major) and 2 Higher Rows (for A Minor), plus a White Row to separate them visually.

colors:  Instead of the red-blue-green that I'm using in my web-pages and on my keyboards, you can invent your own combination of colors.   /   For red-blue-green, with almost all labels it's easy to distinguish red-vs-blue and red-vs-green.  { although for people with some forms of color blindness, red-vs-green becomes more difficult, so a different color-combo might work better. }    But for blue-vs-green, often there is less contrast.  With most electrical tape (and some paper labels) the difference between blue and green isn't enough to allow the instant recognitions that colorizing should provide.  I think contrast is best when colors are red and bright green — e.g. it's day-glo (fluorescent, luminous, neon) or is just brighter than a typical medium-dark green — and blue (or teal) that is medium-dark to dark.  And I think some of these combinations look better than others, when considering aesthetics-for-viewing (in addition to functionality-for-playing), but of course this is a matter of personal taste.

also:  A “keyboard page” has practical information about...  using the most-useful buttons on complex Yamaha keyboards, including their "split keyboard" (so two people can play side-by-side in a duet) and their internal recordings of chord progressions that you can “play along with” — although you can find plenty of external recordings to “play along with” — and more.

The rest of this page (except for photos at its end) is summarized in the main page:  "I want to get an electronic keyboard (how?)* with three features that would be musically valuable due to the benefits of my system for red-blue-green colorizing of chord-notes and the pleasant harmony produced by mathematically-logical just tuning and the creative artistry facilitated by musically-logical transposing" with main-page links ( 1 - 2 - 3 ) for "more" about the features described below, for lighting & tunings & transposings.

* How to get this kind of keyboard?  If musicians want one (or more) of these features, three possibilities are to...  1a) find a keyboard that now has the feature, or   1b) motivate a company to design it into a keyboard, or   2) find a “do it yourself” way by using MIDI & software.

Below you'll find descriptions – quoted from the main page, but with extras – for three musically-valuable features, for a keyboard that...

A) shows chord-notes with lights:

To make a lighted keyboard more musically useful, makers (or DIYers) could design an additional mode – beyond those now offered – so it “lights up all chord notes” (across the whole keyboard) for each chord being played – e.g. when playing in the key of C, for the main major chords (C,F,G - I,IV,V) or a minor chord (Dm,Em,Am - ii,iii,vi).  The resulting benefits would be similar to my red-blue-green colorizing, but in many ways high-tech lighting would be better;  and in a few ways low-tech colorizing is better.    { Many companies make a “lighted keyboard” but afaik the lights are used in other ways – mainly to show the notes of songs – although my Yamaha EZ-300 sometimes shows lights for a few chord notes but not all chord-notes.  This is a wasted opportunity to show chord-notes so players can improvise harmonious melodies, similar to the musical benefits of a colorized keyboard. }

updates:  November 3, I discovered the technologically advanced Lumi, with sophisticated RGB lighting.  Later I found PopuPiano that is similar but with some differences.  I began writing about these here, but it's too long, with many details – and there will be more after I begin discussing this in forums – so I've made another page to discuss details and possibilities.

B) offers two tunings, Equal-Tempered and Just-Intonation:

An electronic keyboard should offer two options for tuning, letting a user choose between Equal-Tempered Tuning (this is useful in a wide variety of situations, so it's typically the only option when playing an electronic keyboard) and Just-Intonation Tuning (with musical benefits in a few situations, especially when playing in a single key – like C Major (or A Minor) with a colorized keyboard – either solo or with other instruments that can play just tuning.*  The important benefit of Just Intonation is being able to hear harmonies that are more harmonious instead of the “compromise harmonies” of Equal Temperament, with overtone-interactions between notes that are designed to be intentionally out-of-tune.   And here are some extras:

* Some instruments that can play with just tuning are trombone, strings (violin,...), steel guitar, and voice. (plus other electronic keyboards?)   Also, expert players can skillfully adjust the pitches of their instrument (saxophone, trumpet, guitar, or other) for musical purposes that include a more-just tuning or for special effects like the note-bending in many guitar solos, plus a famous clarinet glissando and artistic “long sliding” by Urbie Green, and in other ways.

[ iou – Later, but not soon (maybe November 2024), I'll describe one problem of Just Tuning — the unharmonious ii-chord, e.g. D Minor in the key of C Major — and possible solutions. ]

C) offers two ways to transpose – numerically and logically:

An electronic keyboard should offer two options for transposing, with quick-to-use buttons that let you numerically change the key by going up-or-down 1 semitone with each button-push (it's the standard way, is usually the only way) and also (as an option that should be provided) logically change the key by going up 5 semitones (from C to F) to “add a flat” with a “Flat” button,  or go up 7 semitones (from C to G) to “add a sharp” with a “Sharp” button.   { options: buttons also could make notes go down 7 semitones to “add a flat”, or go down 5 semitones to “add a sharp” }    This extra option for transposing (with musically-logical changes) would be musically useful in many situations, as when...

• you are quickly shifting to a related key, like changing from C to F, or from C to G.  Each of these key changes can be made in two ways, by moving to higher pitches – e.g. when pressing "C" before-the-change it's a lower pitch than when you press [iou – to be continued, maybe in late September.]   /   But for some kinds of commonly used key change — e.g. moving “musically upward” from C to C# or to D, then after awhile moving up to D, with two separate changes;  or going directly from C to D in one change — it's much easier to use the typical “+1” button once or twice.

• you are “finding the key” when you don't know it and are playing by ear, using a practical key-finding strategy.  How?  If you're “playing in C” {for example} and you notice that you must play B-flat (instead of B) and play E-flat (instead of E) you know that you should “add two flats” by quickly pressing the “Flat” button twice, so you're moving from C (with no flats) to F (with 1 flat), and then from F to B-flat (with 2 flats).  Or if you must use F-sharp (instead of F) and also C-sharp and G-sharp, you “add 3 sharps” by pushing “Sharp” 3 times, changing the key from C to G, then G to D, then D to A (with 3 sharps).  Or consider this situation, where the extra option (with a logical change-of-key) is especially valuable;  imagine that you first recognize that you need F# and C# so you press “Sharp” twice, but then you find that you still must use F# — when “playing in C” while now “hearing in D” due to the “Sharp, Sharp” transposing — so you think “oops, I need one more sharp” and you push “Sharp” one more time;  this is easy.  But it's more difficult with only a numerically-changing button;  for the two changes (from 0 sharps to 2 sharps, then to 3 sharps) you first must press the “+” button twice, moving you from C to D so the screen reads “+2”;  later for the second change, you must know that you'll go from D (2 sharps) to A (3 sharps) so you press “+” 7 more times, until the screen reads “+9”;  this overall process is much more complex, is less intuitive, less quick.

 [ iou – soon, maybe in late July, I'll write an introduction-explanation for these tables: ]

iou – I haven't even begun to "comment on" this table.

  Here is a comparison of some features for some keyboards:

Some comments:

These keyboards all have 61 keys.  Each maker has other models with different number of keys, and different features.

costs:  Casio 300 (seems to always be $180);  Yamaha 273/373 (sometimes price is reduced, by a lot);  RockJam (occasionally less, but rarely);  often available locally (e.g. Music Arts, Guitar Center) and online (Amazon, Sweetwater, or on maker's website).

Amazon, Guitar Center, Sweetwater, -----, local (e.g. Music Arts)

Below are paragraphs that originally were in the main page.

• with buttons that let you numerically change the key by going 1 semitone up or down (it's the standard way, is usually the only way) and also (as an option that should be provided) logically change the key by going up 5 semitones (from C to F) to “add a flat” with a “Flat” button,  or go up 7 semitones (from C to G) to “add a sharp” with a “Sharp” button.    { options:  of course, buttons also could make notes go down 7 semitones to “add a flat”, and go down 5 semitones to “add a sharp” }    This extra option for transposing (with musically-logical changes) would be useful in some situations, as when you're quickly shifting to a closely-related key, like from C to F, or from C to G;  or when you're “playing by ear” and you know the song isn't in the key of C (but you don't know what the key is) and you want to “play in C” but “hear in the other key” by transposing, so you use a practical key-finding strategy.

[[ iou – Soon (maybe late-October) there will be photographs;  these already exist, but they aren't yet posted here. ]]