Are there any keyboards where each key has touch sensitivity allowing for microtones and pitch bend with the fingers on individual keys? I think that would be a pretty cool instrument, but I only found pianos where the velocity was affected so not sure if it exists.
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1Theoretically, yes. It won't be a piano, it will be a hardware synth. It needs polyphonic aftertouch & a way to map that to pitch. Not impossible but idk any examples.– TetsujinCommented Apr 13, 2022 at 6:12
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1The Continuum Fingerboard is probably the best example.– TomCommented Apr 13, 2022 at 6:36
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@Tetsujin does that mean that I would need some VST which maps polyphonic aftertouch to pitch for playback if I record the midi?– EmilCommented Apr 13, 2022 at 6:51
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It doesn't matter where you map it. I used to use the input transform in Cubase & an iPhone running MidiOSC to map some really complex inputs to play instruments such as violin or sax, 'live' into the DAW. Volume for these doesn't want to be just velocity, you need aftertouch &/or mod to help that. Things such as 'breathiness', over-blow or valve slap need to be 'playable' too. Vibrato needs speed as well as amount, etc, etc. You also need to sometimes be able to underblow, so you can lift to pitch, which you can't really do just with pitch-bend. the list goes on ;)– TetsujinCommented Apr 13, 2022 at 7:05
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1@Tetsujin A book, a book! Haha– TomCommented Apr 13, 2022 at 9:44
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4 Answers
You may want to have look at the Seaboard Rise 2. Each key is sensitive to pressure, to up/down-movements and to left-right-movements. I never touched one, but according the manufacturer the left-right-movement gives you the pitch bend you want.
Although the question probably has electronic instruments in mind, it doesn't specify it, so: there is an acoustic keyboard that can do pitch-bend: the clavichord. Its key is simply a long lever; press down on the key, the other end rises and contacts the string; it has no escape mechanism, so keeping the key depressed keeps it in contact, and you can do a little "vibrato" to push the string. I don't know that it would be a good idea to bend very far, like a whole step, lest you put the string out of tune, but you can definitely "wobble" the pitch a bit.
answered Apr 13, 2022 at 12:39
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There's also the clavinet, a sort of electric clavichord, which took the spotlight in Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." As far as I know this can't do the same trick, since the tangent that strikes the string has an "anvil" limiting its movement. There is a sort of whammy bar that it can be fitted with, though. Commented Apr 13, 2022 at 12:41
Look to instruments compatible with MPE and you should find a list of instruments with this capability.
The ondes Martenot has this feature.
The keys move laterally to provide a pitch vibrato; see around 9:00 in the above-linked video for a demonstration. (Cynthia Millar, the player, starts a description of the instrument around 2:25 of the video.)
The ondes Martenot was invented in the late 1920s and was used by several early 20th-century classical composers, most notably Olivier Messaien. More recently, Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead has used it on several albums as well.
