by Frequently Asked Questions |
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS For more information, see also Claviset System and a brief description of music terminology. Q: What is the Claviset? A: Claviset is a new musical instrument based on seven-note musical scales. It spawns a whole new music and product category uniquely designed to bring musical instruments into every home. Q: What is Claviset music? A: Claviset music is tablature for the Claviset. The notes in the printed music physically correspond to the keys on the Claviset which are used to play them. After a short learning period, people can literally pick up a piece of music that they have never seen before, and play it. Q: What is the Claviset System? A: The Claviset System is the combination of Claviset and Claviset Music. Together, they allow you to pick up music and begin playing immediately. Q: Where can I get more information about how the Claviset System works? A: Right here: Claviset System. Q: I don't know anything about music. Can I do this? A: Anyone can. Take the Claviset Test and prove it to yourself. You can get the idea of the Claviset System and read a brief description of music terminology. Don't be overwhelmed by terminology. Music is supposed to be fun, and you've found what we feel is the best way to get it! Q: How long does it take to learn to play the Claviset? A: Someone completely unfamiliar with music will demonstrate to themselves that they are able to read and play their favorite music in less than fifteen minutes. The more you play, the better you get. Try it risk-free! What have you got to lose? Q: How is the Claviset different from existing keyboards and pianos? A: Virtually all modern music is comprised of seven- note scales. The Claviset comprises seven notes per octave using a repeating pattern of 4 white and 3 black keys. Existing keyboards have 12 notes per octave. Claviset music comprises 4 white spaces and 3 thick black lines, just like the Claviset physical keyboard. The music is actually tablature that correlates one for one physically to the keyboard. Reading the "music" is natural and intuitive. Physically, there is only one pattern the player must learn. Traditional music does not correlate intuitively to the instrument so they take much more time and effort to learn. Q: With only seven notes per octave, how does the Claviset handle sharps and flats? A: The Claviset has only one scale pattern, and it uses neither sharps nor flats. In music there are 5,544 possible seven note combinations. While many of these seven note scales are rarely used, all of them are instantly available on the Claviset keyboard at the touch of a foot switch. Scale changes are used to gain access to sharps and flats as needed, making them transparent to the player. Of course the writers/translators of the music need to know to correctly create Claviset music, but that's not your problem! There is a musician's guide that gives all the details. Q: You don’t have to learn scales?! A: Correct. With Claviset, you don’t learn scales unless you want to; you select them. All possible 5,544 possible seven note scales are stored inside and a microprocessor selects the right one for you when you press the foot switch. Q: How do you know which of the scales to play and when? A: All scales are numbered. The appropriate scale is indicated by numbers appearing on Claviset sheet music. Before starting the song, you can quickly enter the appropriate scales to be activated in the proper order. Claviset music shows all scales needed at the beginning of every song. Claviset beginners music includes a "how to" lesson, so everything you need is right there. When it’s time for the next scale, you simply press the foot pedal. The microprocessor does the academic part. You do the fun part. For example, C major is C 1. C harmonic minor is C 64. If you don't know what those scales are, you never need to find out unless of course you want to know the details. Q: How does Claviset music differ from normal sheet music? A: Claviset sheet music is actually tablature, and is much simpler because it refers to only the seven notes of the scale rather than the 12 semitones. The Claviset tablature correlates to the physical keyboard. Notes on the thick black lines are black keys. Notes on white spaces are white keys. Q: What about chords? A: All chords are made from the notes of a scale, so one simple pattern accesses most chords. Even complex chords with more than four notes are simple. Q: Is the Claviset restricted to playing simple music? A: No way!. All the notes, scales and chords used by virtuoso musicians are available. The Claviset has special features for advanced musicians which makes it easy to improvise. Professional musicians say they are musically inspired by the built-in scales. Yet it is simple for the beginner. Q: Is the Claviset MIDI compatible? A: Yes. The Claviset features all 128 General MIDI instrument sounds, a percussion mode with eight different drum kits, record modes, auto accompaniment modes, seven full octaves, built-in stereo sound system and a MIDI interface through which the Claviset can trigger a wide variety of external tone generators and synthesizers and receive MIDI input. MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. Q: Are there additional technical features I should know about? A: Check out Claviset features. We feel this is the best value for the dollar on the market!! Q: What about availability of music? A: Many songs have been transcribed to Claviset Tablature to date in the categories of Classic Rock, Country, Pop Hits, Gospel, Children’s, Classical, Traditional Favorites, and Christmas. Many more will be available on an on-going basis including music for beginner, intermediate, and advanced. See Claviset Music. Q: I hear that the Claviset is ideal for improvising and guitar accompaniment. Is this true? A: Yes. The Claviset is great for improvising, live gigging and musical doodling because you can't hit a note outside of the scale. Guitarists and other musicians who don’t play the keyboard intuitively understand the Claviset and find it tremendously valuable for recording chord changes and developing accompaniment. Professional musicians have commented on how the Claviset scales inspire creativity and that they are able to discover and dabble with scales they haven’t thought of before. Q: Are there any Claviset advantages for the professional musician? A: Yes. The small reach required to span a whole octave is small. The professional can play a much richer sound with a wider note range on each hand. The 5,544 scales provide musical inspiration. Chances are, we have scales you haven't even thought of! Playing improv, you can't hit a note outside of the scale, so you sound great all the time. Non-keyboardists can get easy access to the full power of MIDI and its peripherals to add depth to their musical recordings and performances, and you already intuitively know how to play. You just need a demo to discover this. Q: Who’s most likely to enjoy the Claviset? A: Everybody wins! Anyone can play the Claviset, but it’s especially attractive to people who always wanted to play a musical instrument but didn’t have the time or motivation to learn. Q: Is there a target market for the Claviset? A: Claviset has no specific target market. Initially, we thought the most obvious customers would be Baby Boomers with too little time but who wish they had previously learned to play an instrument. Everyone we have encountered has found something in the Claviset just for them. There is no age limitation! Q: What’s the rationale behind the Claviset’s development? A: In a recent survey, 95% of Americans say they’d like to play music yet very few do. We are giving the people what they want: the pleasure of music without the pain of extensive study and practice. What better way for dealers to increase sales than to add a new instrument category that will tap into this huge market potential? Claviset provides an instrument category that can compete with other forms of recreation by making music accessible to millions of people who otherwise would never become customers. See Why people want to play music. Q: What Claviset models do you have? A: The first Claviset is mid-entry keyboard called the Claviset Prime. We chose this feature set to be attractive to the broadest possible market while remaining reasonably low priced. Future models are expected to include a very low cost Children’s Claviset, professional Claviset Music Workstation and Claviset Digital Piano, not necessarily in that order. Q: How big is Claviset’s market? A: The sky is the limit. It includes everyone who’s ever wanted to play a musical instrument but who did not feel they had the time to learn. It includes amateur musicians who want the advantages of this innovative product. It includes music professionals who see the benefits of augmenting their musical repertoire with this new electronic musical instruments. It includes children - they naturally want to play music but have so many competing recreational interests - the low learning time gives them immediate positive feedback and pleasure. No-one is left out. Q: How much does the Claviset Prime cost? A: See Claviset for information. Q: Where can I buy Claviset? A: Right here on this web site. Q: What is the warranty? A: Claviset warranty is 1 year for parts and labor against manufacturer's defects. Physical damage and mistreatment is not covered. Q: How large is it? A: Claviset measures approximately 38.5" x 13.5" x 4" and weighs approximately 20 pounds. Q: Does Claviset come with everything I need? A: Claviset Prime comes with 120V AC adapter, scale change foot pedal, sheet music stand and instruction manual. Claviset music is sold separately. You may want to purchase a sturdy stand to make playing most comfortable. Standard headphones can be purchased for private listening. Q: Does Claviset require any assembly? A: Almost none. The sheet music stand has protective rubber caps for shipping. The caps must be removed before the metal frame can slip into the provided holes on the Claviset Prime. The plastic sheet holder clips onto the metal frame. Other than that, just plug in the adapter and scale change pedal, and play. Q: Is Claviset portable, and can it run off batteries? A: Yes. Claviset Prime can be operated from 8 C-cell batteries. For best performance, we recommend using the included AC adapter. Q: Can I play with headphones? A: Yes. Claviset Prime uses a standard 1/4" headphone jack, which also doubles as an auxiliary output for connection to a large amplifier or your home stereo system auxiliary input. |