The actual arrangement of the keys can have a significant impact on how difficult it is to learn to play a keyboard instrument, and what musical styles are possible even for those skilled at the instrument. The focus of this project is currently on keyboards with a single pitch axis, but information regarding other button layouts is welcome as well. The two most important 1D (aka button row) key layouts are the Traditional 5-7 layout and the Janko 6-6 Layout.
The Traditional 5-7 layout
This is the key layout that currently dominates western music. Your acoustic piano almost certainly has this layout. The standard music staff has this layout. The names by which you refer to notes even have this layout. A C major scale can be played on all white keys.
Janko 6-6 Layout
The Janko layout is similar to the traditional layout, but with a few of the keys shifted over to eliminate the gaps and regularize the intervals. Keys increase linearly by half-steps as on a traditional piano. Multiple touch-points are provided on each key. The touch-points overlap adjacent keys horizontally and alternate rows vertically.
This layout confers the following advantages:
* Transposition can be performed simply by starting on a different key, reducing the number of scales, etc. to be learned by a factor of 12 over the 5-7 layout.
* For the same key width, the octave span is slightly smaller, making large intervals easier to play.
* All chords can be slid up or down by half step intervals, up until the front-most touch point is reached.
other-key-layouts
Other keyboard layouts can be attached in a form of keyboard stickers.
