One of Chord Board’s key innovations is that it uses technology to turn playing an instrument upside down. The biggest challenge for anyone learning a new instrument is figuring out where to put their fingers to play notes and chords. For instance, to play chords and notes, they have to move their fingers to fixed positions all over the fretboard on a guitar, or keyboard on a piano. Chord Board turns this paradigm upside down by using technology to move the chords and notes under the musician’s fingers.
Another key innovation is using technology to turn the sequencer upside down. In a traditional sequencer, chords and notes are programmed into sequencer steps. The musician has to remember what they put into each step when they press the pad or as the lights blink on by during playback. Chord Board turns this paradigm upside down by hiding the sequencer behind a series of O-Chords. Each O-Chord is designated by a chord root note within the selected key. The O-Chords laid out, become the sequencer when played back with the transport.
A third key innovation is the patented companion Hand Board. The Hand Board allows the musician to play individual notes, optionally enhanced by arpeggiation, synchronized to the currently playing Chord Board chord. The Hand Board is laid out like a hand, only with seven fingers instead of five. The Hand Board turns the paradigm upside down by mapping the Pentatonic scale to the musician’s hand’s five fingers. The remaining two notes in the scale map to an extra pinky and an extra thumb.
The Hand Board then tracks the currently playing Chord Board chord and maps the index finger to the chord’s root note, the middle finger to the chord’s third and the ring finger to the chord’s fifth. In this fashion, the musician will merely have to press their first three fingers on the Hand Board’s first three fingers to always be playing the root-third-fifth of the chord. When the Chord Board chord changes, the technology remaps the notes played by the Hand Board’s fingers, and without having to move up and down a fretboard or piano roll, and without having to move at all, the musician is now playing the new chord’s root-third-fifth. There is no way to make soloing over chords any easier.
What’s more, the fingers of the Hand Board are split into five segments. Each segment represents an octave. So, with a slight bend or stretch of the finger, the musician has access to a full five octaves of every note, and without having to memorize and practice moving up and down a fret board or piano roll for octave switches.
There are many more innovations and conveniences offered by Chord Board and its companion Hand Board, that are too numerous to list here. For a full list of features, click here:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/g955hnk85eidl8hkn5gv5/2024-06-06-Chord-Board-App-Features.pdf?rlkey=fgic819ycph20mxirpo4tmw05&dl=0
