social/reddit

This is set in chromatic mode, with C as the root note, and rows tuned in 4ths — for the most part —

The extra trick is that I wanted the layout to mimic the guitar (tuned in 4ths, but with a major 3rd gap between a certain row). So I went in and decompiled the python MIDI remote scripts, changed some code, and now the result is that the middle 6 “rows” are tuned essentially like a guitar! Since I know guitar well, I basically get to cheat a bit.

The odd drawback is that my code change is a hack, and there are three pads in the upper left that don’t light up ever, but it’s a small price to pay for the tuning that I wanted.

As far as jazz characteristics, I’m not sure what to tell you. Jazz, like any musical genre, is just a language and culture. To play jazz, you transcribe and learn existing jazz. The same way you’d learn french or spanish. You learn the chord progressions, and you learn the phrases, then you’re playing jazz. It doesn’t matter what instrument you’re playing on — guitar, piano, Push — it’s about learning the phrases.. just like blues is learning blues phrases, or bluegrass is learning bluegrass phrases, metal is learning metal phrases, etc…

Maybe an important thing to note is that if you’re really trying to play jazz, then sticking to a single key and scale is definitely not going to work. You’re going to need all 12 notes, all the time. Chromaticism is everywhere in jazz, as is modulation, and playing chords that don’t fit in a single scale. I don’t know a single jazz song where all of the notes fit in a single scale. Jazz is about following chord tones, about following harmony with melody, not playing in scales.

Here I’m not thinking about any particular characteristics of jazz, this is a transcription of a Django Reinhardt song, essentially note-for-note. I’m just playing the notes he played.

Sorry, I’m not sure if that helps. If you have more questions you can definitely ask, but jazz is just jazz. It is intimidating, regardless of the instrument you use, but all you can do is just find some jazz you like, and jump in and start trying to learn it. I’ve only been playing jazz for 3-4 years, and only specifically gypsy jazz. It’s intimidating, but if you start simple, it might be easier than you think.