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Are there any keyboards where each key has touch sensitivity allowing for microtones and pitch bend with the fingers on individual keys? I think that would be a pretty cool instrument, but I only found pianos where the velocity was affected so not sure if it exists.

user1079505
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Emil
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    Theoretically, yes. It won't be a piano, it will be a hardware synth. It needs polyphonic aftertouch & a way to map that to pitch. Not impossible but idk any examples. – Tetsujin Apr 13 '22 at 06:12
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    The Continuum Fingerboard is probably the best example. – Tom Apr 13 '22 at 06:36
  • @Tetsujin does that mean that I would need some VST which maps polyphonic aftertouch to pitch for playback if I record the midi? – Emil Apr 13 '22 at 06:51
  • It doesn't matter where you map it. I used to use the input transform in Cubase & an iPhone running MidiOSC to map some really complex inputs to play instruments such as violin or sax, 'live' into the DAW. Volume for these doesn't want to be just velocity, you need aftertouch &/or mod to help that. Things such as 'breathiness', over-blow or valve slap need to be 'playable' too. Vibrato needs speed as well as amount, etc, etc. You also need to sometimes be able to underblow, so you can lift to pitch, which you can't really do just with pitch-bend. the list goes on ;) – Tetsujin Apr 13 '22 at 07:05
  • No pitch bend with with fingers on keys, but... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7ti6HUX5xQ – ojs Apr 13 '22 at 09:20
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    @Tetsujin A book, a book! Haha – Tom Apr 13 '22 at 09:44
  • @user1079505 now the accepted answer doesn't answer the question. I understand people want to keep questions open, but edits like this after answers are given are harmful and make answers themselves that were valid before invalid. It's why we should close question and confirm what the OP wants before answers that will be invalidated are given. Only one current answer mentions a technology. – Dom Apr 13 '22 at 16:08
  • @Dom I see. Reverted my edit. – user1079505 Apr 13 '22 at 17:03
  • I’m voting to close this question because, although not, IMO, a request for specific equipment, it is proving to be a "list question". – Aaron Apr 13 '22 at 18:34
  • Does the question disappear after it's closed (do I need to print screen the answers)? – Emil Apr 13 '22 at 19:04
  • No, closure just means it won't accept new answers (though obviously new comments!). By the way, I'm very conflicted myself over whether I should vote to reopen this question or let well enough alone. Should you be interested in the running of the site, I opened a question on the "Meta" side of the site earlier today to help sort through the decision. – Andy Bonner Apr 13 '22 at 19:46
  • Mechanical piano where you can adjust the pitch of each string while playing, called the "Fluid piano": https://music.stackexchange.com/a/107912/68507 Not by touch sensitivity, it's using levers to move a bridge which changes the length of the strings, but you can use it for pitch bend. I'm in favor of keeping the question open, it can be an interesting topic (broadly speaking, ways to expand the functionality of a keyboard interface). – j-g-faustus Apr 13 '22 at 20:04

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You may want to have look at the Seaboard Rise 2. Each key is sensitive to pressure, to up/down-movements and to left-right-movements. I never touched one, but according the manufacturer the left-right-movement gives you the pitch bend you want.

Peder
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Although the question probably has electronic instruments in mind, it doesn't specify it, so: there is an acoustic keyboard that can do pitch-bend: the clavichord. Its key is simply a long lever; press down on the key, the other end rises and contacts the string; it has no escape mechanism, so keeping the key depressed keeps it in contact, and you can do a little "vibrato" to push the string. I don't know that it would be a good idea to bend very far, like a whole step, lest you put the string out of tune, but you can definitely "wobble" the pitch a bit.

Andy Bonner
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  • There's also the clavinet, a sort of electric clavichord, which took the spotlight in Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." As far as I know this can't do the same trick, since the tangent that strikes the string has an "anvil" limiting its movement. There is a sort of whammy bar that it can be fitted with, though. – Andy Bonner Apr 13 '22 at 12:41
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Look to instruments compatible with MPE and you should find a list of instruments with this capability.

For example, the Osmose keyboard, or the Continnum

novaXire
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The ondes Martenot has this feature.

The keys move laterally to provide a pitch vibrato; see around 9:00 in the above-linked video for a demonstration. (Cynthia Millar, the player, starts a description of the instrument around 2:25 of the video.)

The ondes Martenot was invented in the late 1920s and was used by several early 20th-century classical composers, most notably Olivier Messaien. More recently, Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead has used it on several albums as well.

Brian THOMAS
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Michael Seifert
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