ION has come up with a novel take on getting creative with your PC – a MIDI keyboard that plugs in to your laptop or desktop computer. The 25-key piano keyboard allows you to learn the basics of chords and harmonics and to record and play back the resulting cacophony so you can improve your playing over time.
The ION USB Discover MIDI Keyboard works with both Windows PCs and Mac computers and requires no driver installation. Dedicated buttons to the left of the piano keys allow the user to alter the pitch and the amount of sustain as well as changing up or down an octave. ION says the keys themselves are ‘velocity-sensitive, by which we assume they mean a short key-press might produce a minim rather than a quaver.
The £39 ION USB Discover MIDI Keyboard comes with two programs to help non-players learn the basics of piano: Acoustica Pianissimo and DAccord Keyboard Method Lite. It’s available from Firebox.
See also: Korg Kaossilator
See also: Audio editing and creation software
See also: How to make music on your PC
Comments
Johnito said: Also works fine with linux by the way
Charlton Rodda said: Velocity-sensitive means the faster you press down the key the louder the note like on a piano Also a shorter key press will result in a shorter note whereas a minim is 4 times as long as a quaverMight I suggest a Google search when you are unsure of the meaning of terms Googling velocity-sensitive would tell you what it means In this way you avoid misleading readers