From Eigenzone
By default, when the Alpha is switched on and EigenD is loaded, it will be in split 1, (showing keygroup 1), with Sampler 1 loaded and ready to play. The scale is set to the C Major scale.
- Selecting other instruments is described in the keygroups page.
- Selecting other scales and setting the tonic note is described in the Scale/Tonic Controls page.
Major Scale Mode
With the scale set to major, and assuming the tonic note is left at the default of C, the playing keys on the Alpha are laid out as follows:
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This layout is designed so that the notes in the scale run sequentially down each column, but that the scales are repeated across the columns. This is so that several octaves of the scale can be played using the four fingers of one hand, moving across the columns every four notes. This avoids the need to move the playing hand further down the columns until necessary.
Intervals
The major scale layout misses out some degrees of the chromatic scale, so the interval between two keys a particular distance apart is not always the same. For example almost all pairs of keys on the same row but adjacent columns are a fifth apart, except for the pair of B and F. One interval that always remains the same is the octave, and due to the duplication of keys there are usually two options for nearby keys. The picture below shows how you can go down 3 rows, and across one column, or up one row and across two columns to reach a note one octave higher than the starting key.