A Tale of Two Stands

Well, I changed stands for my Eigenharp after seeing the one Tenebrous is using.

Here they are side by side.

The one on the right is the one made by K&M that Eigenlabs provides as an option. It is very sturdy and, as a result, quite heavy. The upper support is large and has a flat surface that is as wide as the back of the instrument (a good thing). However, if it is at the wrong angle, it is possible to have the metal touch the instrument.

The one on the left is by Hercules and it is much lighter (and less robust), the upper support is more rounded (but completely covered in padding).


For me, the deciding factors were that the hercules stand folds up *much* smaller, it (optionally) comes with a carrying bag, and it fits into smaller spaces because the legs are lower when unfolded. 


Buying advice: If you want the best stand for a fixed location, the K&M stand is probably the stand for you. For going out to gigs, or in small spaces, the Hercules stand is great.


Oh, BTW, here is Tene's which is entirely black. And, wait a minute, what it that round thing you also need?...

Alpha Chromatic

Here is the Split 1 from the factory Alpha setup set to a C chromatic keyboard.

Notes that are the same colour are in the same octave (and many are duplicated / unison notes). It is worth noting that unison notes can be pitched and yawed separately for some interesting effects. The white spaces are the sharps or flats.

The good news is that you have all the accidentals. The bad news is that you have a less range than with non-chromatic scales and different patterns for chords.

If you find this might be useful, click on the image for a full sized one which you can save and print for your own use.

Only the playable keys are shown (ie: the two bottom rows are missing). and, oops, I see that I did not fill in the bottom row. So that is left to the reader as an exercise. (I had a math professor who once said that meant the author could not do it. In this case the author is too Lazy)

Alpha CMaj Keyboard

This is the arrangement of notes on an Eigenharp Alpha split 1 set to a CMaj scale. Notes that are coloured the same are in the same octave (so, for example, all the light blue Cs are the same note). 

Of course, If you want to transpose your playing in a (major) key, you can simply change the root note and use all the same fingering.

The triangles on the left correspond to the divots in at the rear of the alpha and can be used as aids in locating your fingers.

For playing, I tend to start with the 1st purple C in the center course as 'middle' C. as that gives a lot of 'space' on both sides.

A quick look shows that all sorts of interesting chords are easy to make.

Introductory Post

Like many people, I was quite taken by the early videos of the eigenharps. There was a post on a mailing list for wind players that first sent me looking.

At that time they did not ship to Canada so I kept pestering them and eventually it was possible to order a pico.

The pico is a great starting point if anyone is interested. It is relatively inexpensive and yet has almost all the same software capabilities (it lacks an arrange function to this point).

It is quite small but in many ways this is its big advantage. Compared to a WX5/7 it actually has more keyboard and support for scales extends this further.

Anyway, I was sold and moved up to the alpha shown above.