Getting a Feel for the QChord
By Jackie McBride
(c) 2000-2007 by Jackie McBride; please see distribution
notice at end.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
TOUCH TOUR
Chord Mode
Section Controls
Chord Cartridge Controls
Jacks
PART II. TUTORIAL
Power-on Defaults
Chord Buttons
Rhythms
Tempo Controls
Preset Voices
Ez-Play
Strumplate Only
Volume Controls
Drums Only
Autochord Button
Silencing the Various Tracks
Adjusting the Volume of Individual Tracks
Manual Chord Button
Melody Buttons
Strumplate Sustain
Built-in Effects
Pitch Bend Wheel
Selecting the QChord's
100 Voices
Octave Shift
Transpose
Tuning Buttons
Midi
CONCLUSION
DISTRIBUTION NOTICE
APPENDIX A
Voices List
APPENDIX B
QChord's Ten Preset Voices
APPENDIX C QChord
Preset Rhythms
APPENDIX D QChord
Rhythm Cartridge Rhythms
APPENDIX E
Instructions for Rhythm & Song Cartridges
The QChord by Suzuki is a fun and amazing instrument.
However, because of its use of LED readouts, and buttons that do
not allow one to determine one's position, for selecting voices,
rhythms, etc., it can present some challenges to the severely visually
impaired user. These obstacles, however, can be overcome, and this
booklet is designed to help the visually impaired individual to
quickly learn his/her way around the QChord.
For your convenience, if you are reading this document
in Microsoft Word 97 or higher, the table of contents feature allows
you to click any page number to go directly to the desired place
in the document. Using a screen reader, perform the following steps.
- Press the "end" key to go to the end of the line.
- Route your mouse cursor to your PC cursor.
- Move your mouse cursor to the beginning of the
page number.
- Simulate a mouse click (with both Jaws and Window-Eyes,
this is the numpad slash key). Consult your documentation if you
are using a screen reader other than these.
In order to make sure everyone is looking at the instrument
from the same viewpoint, please place the QChord on your lap, with
the long part of the instrument pointing to your left. All of the
controls will first be identified, after which their functions will
be explained in more detail. Some of the buttons are arranged in
pairs. Their names will be followed by the words up / down to indicate
this. These buttons are always arranged vertically. The up button
will be away from you, and the down button will be toward you, as
you would expect. You will also notice that these buttons tend to
be elongated at one end. The up button in the pair is longer on
the lower left edge, while the down button is longer on the lower
right.
*Song cartridge holder-this is a rectangular opening
on the leftmost edge of the QChord. You will notice a flap that
opens into the QChord as you apply pressure in the direction of
the instrument. This holds the QChord's optional song and rhythm
cartridges.
*Chord buttons-these are 3 rows of 12 rubber football-shaped
buttons located along the long edge of the QChord. Some of them
have raised symbols on their tops, while others do not. I will discuss
the meaning of these symbols later.
*Master volume control-this is the only smooth, round
knob on the QChord. You will find it on the upper left part of the
instrument. It controls the instrument's volume. To increase the
volume, turn the knob clockwise. To decrease the volume, turn it
counterclockwise.
*On/off (power) button-this is just to the left of
the master volume control. When pressed down, the instrument is
on; when in the upward position, the QChord is off.
*Demo button-this is just below and slightly to the
right of the power button and below and slightly to the left of
the master volume control. When pressed, it plays the built-in demonstration
song, "Michelle."
*Rhythm volume up/down buttons-this is a pair of buttons
situated vertically just to the right of the demo button and below
and to the right of the master volume control. It is directly to
the left of the rhythm LED readout window, which feels like a diagonal
slot. Move your hand to the right to find this slot-like window.
If you slide your hand more to the right, you will find another
of these readout windows. It is offset slightly above the rhythm
readout window and is the strumplate readout window. Although you
probably won't be able to see the LED readouts, these slot-like
readout windows can serve as good orienting points.
*Intro begin/end-this button is just to the right
of the master volume control.
*Rhythm select up/down buttons-this is a pair of buttons
arranged vertically, immediately to the right of the intro button.
It is the second control to the right of the volume control. It
is situated just above the rhythm LED readout window, which feels
like a diagonal slot.
*Fill button-this is immediately to the right of the
rhythm select buttons.
*Tempo up/down buttons-this is a pair of vertically
arranged buttons just below and to the left of the fill button.
It is the first pair of buttons to the right of the rhythm led readout
window, which feels like a diagonal slot.
*Voice volume up/down buttons-this is a vertically
arranged pair of buttons just to the right of the tempo buttons
and just to the left of the strumplate readout window, which feels
like a diagonal slot.
*Voice select up/down buttons-this is a vertically
oriented pair of buttons that sits just above the strumplate voice
LED readout window. It is the second control to the left of the
strumplate. Notice that both the rhythm select up/down buttons and
voice select up/down buttons are situated just above these "slots".
This makes for easy reference.
*Start/stop-this button is immediately to the left
of the strumplate.
*Strumplate-this is a series of grooves and ridges
that travels diagonally almost the entire length of the instrument.
*Sustain up/down-this is a vertically arranged pair
of buttons just to the left of the strumplate and below and slightly
to the left of the start/stop button.
*Speaker grill-this is elevated, somewhat irregularly
triangular-shaped, and is located at the top edge of the instrument.
Chord
Mode Section Controls
This is a group of 7 controls on the lower part of
the QChord between the chord buttons and the strumplate. There is
a cluster of three buttons, with 1 on the bottom and 2 on the top.
Immediately to the right of these three buttons, there is a vertically
arranged pair of buttons, which is the chord volume control. Just
to the right of the chord volume control is a row of 3 horizontally
arranged buttons.
*Ez-play button-This is the bottom button in the cluster
of three mentioned above.
*Vibrato-this is above and slightly to the left of
the ez-play button. It is the leftmost in the cluster of three buttons.
*Reverb-this is immediately to the right of the vibrato
button. It is the rightmost button in the group of three.
*Chord volume up/down buttons-this is a vertically
arranged pair of buttons just to the right of the reverb button.
*Autochord button-this is just to the right of the
chord volume up/down buttons.
*Manual chord button-this is just to the right of
the autochord button.
*Melody button-this is the last button on the right.
These controls are on the part of the instrument closest
to you. They are located between the chord buttons and strumplate.
These buttons are shaped differently than the others on the QChord,
in that they are paired horizontally and feel somewhat rougher than
the other buttons. A rectangular elevated piece of plastic is just
above these buttons and represents another readout window. From
left to right, these buttons are stop, play/pause, search backward,
and search forward. These controls are used with the optional song
and rhythm cartridges.
The jacks are located on the upper edge of the QChord.
Find the right edge of the speaker grill & slide your hand up
and off the top of the instrument. There is a sunken part of the
instrument in which you will find 4 jacks. From left to right, these
jacks are headphone jack, midi out, midi in, and AC adapter.
*Pitch bend wheel-this is a wheel on the upper right
edge of the instrument. It has deep grooves and ridges that make
it easy to identify. If you turn it toward you and let go, it returns
to its original position. The same happens if you turn it away from
you. If you are having trouble locating the pitch bend wheel, find
the right edge of the speaker grill, put your index finger on it,
and spread your fingers apart.
Although it may at first seem boring, a little time
spent familiarizing yourself with the location of the QChord's controls
will make learning to play the instrument more enjoyable. Because
of the QChord's design, the visually impaired user will need a thorough
mastery of the instrument's controls in order to use it successfully.
Perhaps the best way to remember the location of the
QChord's controls is to separate them into groups. The master controls
are located on the extreme left and extreme right of the QChord.
They include the master volume control, power button, and demo button
on the left, and the start/stop button on the right.
The rhythm controls are clustered around the rhythm
readout window and include the intro begin/end button, fill button,
rhythm volume controls, rhythm select controls, and tempo controls.
The voice controls surround the strumplate readout window and consist
of the voice volume controls, voice select controls, and sustain
controls. The chord mode section is on the lower part of the QChord
at the level of the chord buttons and contains the ez-play button,
vibrato, reverb, chord volume, autochord, manual, and melody controls.
The Q card group is on the lowermost part of the instrument and
is comprised of the stop, play/pause, search backward, and search
forward buttons.
PART
II TUTORIAL
The following sections will explain the features of
the QChord and suggest some playing techniques. First, though, some
additional introductory material, as well as the names of the chord
buttons, rhythms, and preset voices will be covered. I will explain
the various features of the QChord, but you are urged to experiment
with them to see which combinations sound best with the songs you
play.
Whenever the QChord is turned on, it always goes back
to its original built-in settings. Therefore, if you get disoriented,
you can always turn the instrument off, wait a few seconds, and
turn it back on again in order to reorient yourself. These default
settings are as follows:
Voice-guitar
Rhythm-bossanova
Chord plus, autochord, and manual chord-on.
The voice volume, rhythm volume, and tempo are also
preset. Because the QChord relies so heavily on LED's, and because
the controls do not give any indication as to their positions, the
only way you can successfully navigate the QChord is to count the
times you pressed a button. It helps to be able to go back to known
settings, and this is why the power-on defaults are so important.
If you've ever seen or played a piano or organ, you
know that it has both white and black keys. The white keys are on
the bottom, and the black keys are on top. You probably know that
the white keys represent the notes c, d, e, f, g, a, and b. The
black keys are "sharp" notes, and are c-sharp, d-sharp, f-sharp,
g-sharp, and a-sharp. These twelve notes, c, c-sharp, d, d-sharp,
e, f, f-sharp, g, g-sharp, a, a-sharp, and b make up what is known
as the "chromatic" scale. These notes can be played singly, but
they can also be combined in various ways to form chords. There
are many different types of chords, but they are all distinct combinations
of these twelve notes. This explains why there are twelve chord
buttons per row on the QChord-each represents a chord based on one
of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale.
The three rows of buttons denote three chord types.
The buttons on the top row are "major" chords, those in the middle
are "minor" chords, and those on the bottom are "7th" chords.
Note that each row of chord buttons starts slightly
to the right of the row above it. I mentioned earlier that the buttons
were arranged in three rows of twelve buttons each. If you place
your finger on the leftmost buttons of the top, middle, and bottom
rows, you can also see that another way to view the button arrangement
is that of twelve groups of three diagonally oriented buttons, or
triplets. Each of the twelve triplets is made up of buttons occupying
the same positions in the top, middle, and bottom rows. For example,
the first triplet is made up of the first buttons in all three rows;
the second triplet consists of the second buttons in all three rows,
etc. An example may help to illustrate why understanding this arrangement
is important. The top left chord button is a d-flat major chord.
The first button in the middle row is a d-flat minor chord, and
the first button in the bottom row is a d-flat 7th chord. Therefore,
the first triplet corresponds to the base note d-flat, which is
also called c-sharp. You can therefore see that you only need memorize
the locations of twelve chords. From left to right, the chord buttons
are:
D-flat, a-flat, e-flat, b-flat, f, c, g, d, a, e,
b, and f-sharp.
To clarify any confusion that may arise, please note
that a-flat is the same as g-sharp, e-flat is the same as d-sharp,
d-flat is the same as c-sharp, and b-flat is identical to a-sharp.
Please consult a music theory text if you require further understanding
of this point. For purposes of this discussion, it is enough that
you understand that each chord is based on a note of the chromatic
scale. You should also memorize the order in which the buttons are
arranged, and you should grasp the concept of triplets. You also
need to know that major chords are on top, minor chords are in the
middle, and 7th chords are on the bottom.
Although the QChord has only 36 buttons, it is able
to play 84 different chord combinations. Obviously, to do this,
more than one button must be pressed. A major 7th chord is played
by pressing the major and 7th, or top and bottom chord buttons of
a triplet. Pressing the minor and 7th, or middle and bottom, chord
buttons in a triplet plays a minor 7th chord. To play a diminished
chord, press the major and minor, or top and middle, chord buttons
of a triplet. Press all three buttons of the triplet to play an
augmented chord.
The QChord's ten preset rhythms are as follows:
- bossanova
- Country
- Dance
- Jazz
- New age
- March
- Waltz
- Ballad
- Rock; and
- Blues shuffle.
When the QChord is first turned on, the rhythm is
bossanova (rhythm 1). Press the rhythm select down button. The selected
rhythm is now country (rhythm 2). Pressing the rhythm select down
button again will choose the dance rhythm (rhythm 3). If you have
selected blues shuffle and want to go back to bossanova, hold down
the rhythm select up button for a second or two, and you will be
back where you started. This is an excellent way to go back and
forth to either end of the spectrum, but is not great when you're
visually impaired and need to end up somewhere in the middle. The
only solution to this dilemma, unfortunately, is to count. Perhaps
the "rhythm select up" button is more correctly named rhythm select
previous, because it selects previous, or lower numbers. The "rhythm
select down" button, on the other hand, could be called the "rhythm
select next" button, as it chooses higher numbered rhythms.
The tempo up/down controls are just to the right of
the rhythm volume controls and are used to speed up or slow down
the rhythm and bass. According to Suzuki, there are 40 tempo settings.
It is probably best to start from the instrument's power-on defaults
and count how many times you pressed the tempo up or down button
when choosing the correct tempo for a particular song. You may well
need to keep a small notebook, which contains the settings you have
written down for each of the songs you regularly play or perform.
The QChord's ten preset voices are as follows.
- guitar
- piano
- Strings
- vibes
- organ
- voice
- flute
- harp
- synth
- sound effects
The voice select up/down buttons work in exactly the
same way as the rhythm select buttons. When you turn the instrument
on and press the voice select down button, you will select the piano
voice (voice 2). You can push the voice select up or down buttons
for a second or two to go to either end of the range.
The QChord actually has 100 voices, but selecting
the other 90 is not quite as easy as selecting the ten preset voices.
It's best to get a good understanding of how to select the preset
rhythms and voices first. Once you've done that, going on to the
more advanced features will be easier.
At this point, it would be very helpful for you to
follow along as the various features of the QChord are explained.
I will assume that the starting point is the power-on defaults,
so if you have been exploring the instrument, turn it off and back
on again to reach this starting place. Refer to the previous section
on the location of controls if necessary.
There will be times when you will not want all the
QChord's fancy rhythms and accompaniments. For example, when you're
just learning a song, the rhythm and accompaniment might be a distraction.
Or perhaps you simply don't want a rhythm in the song you're playing.
To accomplish this, press the ez-play button, and then press a chord.
If the bossanova rhythm is selected, you will hear the strings voice
as you press the chord. To change the voice you hear when you press
a chord, select a different rhythm style. If bossanova is selected
and you push the rhythm select down button, you will select the
country rhythm. Now press a chord. Notice that the voice changes
from strings to organ. Press a chord and strum the strumplate, and
you will hear the chord voice as well as the selected strumplate
voice. Cycle through each rhythm style to hear what chord voice
is associated with it. You'll note that some of the voices repeat
as you choose each of the rhythms in turn. The ez-play button is
rather like a light switch. The first time you press it, it's on.
Pushing it again turns it off.
If you only want to hear the strumplate, press the
autochord button twice while ez-play is active. Now push a chord
button and strum the strumplate. You will only hear the strumplate
voice. This is a good way to hear what the various voices sound
like.
There are four volume controls on the QChord:
- The master volume control, which controls all aspects
of the instrument's volume;
- The rhythm volume control, which determines how
loud the rhythm section plays;
- The strumplate volume control, which controls how
loud the strumplate plays; and
- The chord volume control, which governs the volume
of the chord accompaniments. This button actually does multiple
duty, as it can control loudness, not only for individual accompaniment
tracks, but also serves as a depth control for the vibrato and
reverb effects. These functions will be discussed later. Press
the chord volume up button for a second or two to reach maximum
chord accompaniment volume. Do the same for the chord volume down
button to turn the volume of the chord accompaniment down. It
will actually be so low you will no longer be able to hear it.
The strumplate and rhythm volume controls work in exactly the
same way. The strumplate, chord, and rhythm volume controls function
independently of each other, so it is possible to have a loud
rhythm and soft strumplate voice, or vice versa. Experiment with
the loudness of each component to determine the settings that
best fit the song you're playing. You might want to return the
instrument to its power on defaults and make note of how many
times you pressed each volume control so that you can duplicate
the setting again.
To hear only the drum pattern of the selected rhythm
style, do the following.
- If you have been exploring the instrument, turn
it off and then back on again, in order to return it to its power-on
defaults.
- Press the start/stop button. You should now hear
the drum pattern of the bossanova rhythm.
To hear the drum fill pattern of the selected rhythm
style, do the following.
- If you have been exploring the instrument, reset
it to its power-on defaults.
- Press the start/stop button, then hold down the
fill button. The drum fill pattern of the bossanova rhythm style
is now playing. Releasing the fill button will cause the fill
pattern to stop though the drum pattern will continue to play.
Autochord Button
The QChord's chord accompaniment actually consists
of several professionally produced tracks: the chord accompaniment
track, the chord plus track, and the bass track. The volumes of
these tracks can be adjusted individually, and each track can be
silenced as well.
There may be times, when playing a song, that you
will want to silence one or more of the chord accompaniment tracks.
The autochord button provides the method for doing this. I will
be using the march rhythm for this demonstration, because it has
very clearly distinguishable chord accompaniment tracks. To select
the march rhythm, turn the instrument off and back on again to return
it to its power-on defaults. Press the rhythm select down button
5 times. Press a chord. The march rhythm should now be playing.
This is the complete chord accompaniment. You will notice a flute
part, a bass part, drums, and what sounds like a brass section at
the end of each repetition of the accompaniment cycle. Now press
the autochord button once. Note that the flute part disappears.
Press the autochord button a second time. Observe that the flute
part has returned, but the brass section at the end is now gone.
Press the autochord button again. This time, you will hear only
bass and drums. If you are having trouble hearing the bass part,
use the rhythm volume control to turn the drums down. The bass part
sounds rather like a tuba. Pressing the autochord button again brings
back the complete chord accompaniment.
Although you will probably not be able to see the
LED's, understanding what they are doing each time the autochord
button is pressed will help you know which tracks are playing. When
the unit is first turned on, both the chord accompaniment and chord
plus LED's are lit. This is a complete chord accompaniment (position
1). When the autochord button is pressed once (position 2), the
chord accompaniment light turns off, while the chord plus LED remains
lit. When pressed again (position 3), the chord plus LED is off
and the chord accompaniment LED lights up. When pressed a third
time (position 4), both the chord accompaniment and the chord plus
LED's are off. In summary:
Position 1. Chord plus & chord accompaniment on;
Position 2. Chord plus on, chord accompaniment off;
Position 3. Chord plus off, chord accompaniment on;
and
Position 4. Chord plus and chord accompaniment off.
You use the chord volume control to adjust the volume
of an individual track. Once you select the track you wish to adjust
by means of the autochord button, immediately press the chord volume
control up or down button to increase or decrease the volume. You
have a window of two seconds, so it's best to keep your finger on
the chord volume up or down button in order to adjust it immediately
after you've selected the track.
An example will illustrate how this works. I will
again use the march rhythm for this illustration, so if it is not
already selected, reset the instrument to its power-on defaults
and press the rhythm select down button 5 times to engage it. The
objective is to decrease the volume of the flute, or chord plus,
track.
- Press a chord to hear what the march rhythm sounds
like.
- Place your finger on the chord volume down button
and press the autochord button twice. This selects the chord plus
track.
- Immediately press the chord volume down button
until the flute part is just barely audible.
- Now push the autochord button twice to return to
a complete accompaniment. You should observe that the flute part
is quite soft now compared to its original setting.
Increasing the volume of a track works in exactly
the same way, except, of course, that the chord volume up button
is pressed.
You will recall that the manual chord button is just
to the right of the autochord button. It works similarly to the
autochord button, in that it has four positions. Return the QChord
to its power-on defaults and press a chord. The full accompaniment
will play. Now let go of the button. Notice that the chord still
keeps playing, although you are not holding it down. In this default
position, the hold LED is lit. Now press the manual chord button
once and press a chord. Notice that the accompaniment stops, and,
if the bossanova rhythm is selected, a strings voice sounds. Both
the hold and manual LED's are now lit. Let go of the chord button.
You will note that the chord keeps playing. Now press the manual
chord button again and press a chord. The accompaniment is still
absent, and, if you let go, the chord stops playing. The manual
LED is now lit, while the hold LED is off. Press the manual chord
button again and press a chord. This time, the accompaniment returns,
but the chord stops playing if you stop pushing the chord button.
Both manual and hold LED's are off in this position. In summary:
- hold on
- manual and hold on
- Manual on, hold off; and
- Manual and hold off.
This control has 3 positions. When the QChord is first
turned on, the full accompaniment plays. When the melody button
is pressed once, the bass part plays, and when it is pressed twice,
the accompaniment turns off entirely, and the lower two rows of
buttons function like a keyboard. This second setting is also used
to select some advanced QChord functions.
To demonstrate this feature, reset the instrument
to its power-on defaults, and press the rhythm select down button
4 times to select the new age rhythm. Press a chord to see what
the accompaniment sounds like. You may need to listen for awhile
in order to observe that at the end of every other cycle, there
is a low, rapidly descending note. Now press the melody (bass) button
once and press a chord. Listen carefully. Notice that the rapidly
falling note mentioned above is no longer present.
Press the melody button again. This time, the chord
accompaniment stops playing. Now press the leftmost chord button
on the bottom row. Notice that only one note plays. You've just
pressed a c note on the melody keyboard. Push the second button
from the left in the middle row. This is a c-sharp. Pressing the
second button from the left in the bottom row plays a d. Pushing
the third button from the left in the middle row plays a d-sharp.
Depressing the third button from the left on the bottom sounds an
e. Now push the fourth button from the left in the middle row. No
sound plays. This is because there is no e-sharp in the chromatic
scale. When you play two consecutive notes on the bottom row, you
are progressing by steps. When you play a note on the bottom row
and then play its corresponding sharp note in the middle row, you
are moving by half steps. Thus, from c to c-sharp is a half step,
while from c to d is a whole step. The notes on the bottom row are
called "natural" notes, while those in the middle row are "sharp"
notes. An octave is eight notes on the bottom row. Therefore, from
c to c is one octave (c, d, e, f, g, a, b, c). You can play more
than one note. If you push the buttons corresponding to c, e, and
g, for example, you have just played a c-major chord. The notes
on the melody keyboard go from a c in one octave to a g in the next.
The notes on the bottom row are:
C, d, e, f, g, a, b, c, d, e, f, and g. The notes
in the middle row are sharp notes and are always above and to the
right of their corresponding natural notes. They are: c-sharp, d-sharp,
f-sharp, g-sharp, a-sharp, c-sharp, d-sharp, and f-sharp. Note that
e-sharp and b-sharp do not exist. Therefore, the first, fourth,
eighth, and eleventh buttons in the middle row do not play. Consult
a music theory text if you are interested in more details than I
have provided, or if you desire further help with these concepts.
While the melody keyboard is active, all of the buttons
on the bottom row play notes, whereas only some in the middle and
none on the top do so. You will also remember that I mentioned very
early that some of the buttons on the top row had raised symbols
on them. These buttons, with the melody keyboard active, control
advanced functions of the QChord. Some of these advanced functions
will be covered shortly in greater depth.
This controls how long the strumplate sounds when
you strum it. To demonstrate its effect, do the following.
- Press the ez-play button.
- Press the autochord button twice. This will enable
only the strumplate
- Hold down the sustain up control for a couple seconds.
This will give you maximum strumplate sustain. Now press a chord
and strum the strumplate.
- Next, press and hold the sustain down button for
a second or two. This will give you minimal strumplate sustain.
Again push a chord and strum the strumplate. The difference should
be dramatic. The amount of sustain can impact greatly on the sound
of the strumplate voice. Experiment on the effect of varying the
sustain levels of the different voices, as well as changing the
level from song to song. You may want a very high sustain level
with a slower song, while a minimal amount might be desirable
with a faster paced one.
The QChord has two built-in effects-vibrato and reverb.
The vibrato effect gives the QChord a wobbling or warbling sound,
while the reverb gives an echo effect. Once one of these effects
is turned on, you have two seconds to increase or decrease its depth
by using the chord volume controls. You will recall that the buttons
for these effects are in the chord mode section, and, along with
the ez-play button, make up a group of three buttons just to the
left of the chord volume controls. The leftmost button is the vibrato
button, while the right button is reverb. The reverb button is on
by default, and Suzuki recommends that you leave it on unless it
interferes with your playing style.
To demonstrate the vibrato effect, first return the
instrument to power-on defaults. Now, press the ez-play button and
then push the autochord button twice to enable only the strumplate.
Press a chord and strum the strumplate. Now press the vibrato button
to turn it on, press a chord, and strum the strumplate again. The
chord should have a slight shaky sound.
You adjust the depth of both the vibrato and reverb
effects by means of the chord volume controls. You only have two
seconds to do this once you activate one of the effects, so it's
probably not a bad idea to keep a finger poised on the chord volume
control in order to push it instantaneously once you've turned on
the desired effect.
The reverb effect is much subtler than the vibrato
effect. I will demonstrate it as follows.
- Return the QChord to its power-on defaults.
- Press the ez-play button, and then press autochord
twice to hear only the strumplate.
- Hold down the sustain down control for a second
or two to achieve minimal sustain.
- Press the reverb button. This turns reverb off.
- Now push a chord button and strum the strumplate.
- Next, press the reverb button to activate the effect.
- Press a chord and strum the strumplate. You should
hear an "echo" effect. This is a minute effect and may be difficult
for some to hear.
The pitch bend wheel raises or lowers the pitch when
the strumplate is strummed, making the QChord sound a bit like a
Hawaiian steel guitar. To demonstrate its effect, return the instrument
to its power-on defaults. Press the ez-play button, and then press
the autochord button twice to hear only the strumplate. Press a
chord, strum the strumplate, and turn the pitch bend wheel away
from you. The pitch rises. Press a chord, strum the strumplate,
and turn the pitch bend wheel toward you. The pitch lowers. Notice
that the pitch bend wheel always returns to its center position,
lowering or raising the pitch as it does so, depending on the direction
in which it had initially been turned. It probably sounds best with
a guitar voice, but play around with the various voices using the
pitch bend wheel, and see what you think.
This is probably the most fun part-selecting the QChord's
voices that are not preset, but it can also be really frustrating.
Follow these steps.
- Return the instrument to its power-on defaults;
- Press a chord;
- Press the melody button twice. Notice that the
chord accompaniment stops playing. You can always tell when you've
activated the melody keyboard by using this method. It really
isn't necessary to press a chord first, but it does help you to
know when you've activated the melody keyboard.
- Now that the melody keyboard is active, press the
rightmost chord button on the top row, the f-sharp major button.
Note that it has a raised printed letter V (mnemonic for voice)
on its top. For those who don't know, a printed letter V is pointed
at the bottom, with diagonal lines that go upward to both the
left and right.
- Next press the melody button again. You are now
at voice 00, the piano voice.
- Press the voice select up button to select higher
numbered voices. The voice select down button selects lower numbered
voices.
Observe that this is different from selecting the
preset voices and rhythms, where you press the voice and rhythm
select down buttons rather than the voice select up button.
The strumplate and melody keyboard can be raised or
lowered by one octave. One may find, for example, that the QChord's
guitar voice sounds more realistic when the strumplate is lowered
by an octave, while the flute voice may be improved by raising it.
To do this, follow these steps.
- From power on defaults, press the melody button
twice to activate the melody keyboard. Notice that the a-major
chord button is marked with a minus sign (horizontal line), while
the e-major button is marked with a + sign (cross). Therefore,
the e-major button raises the pitch by an octave, while the a-major
button lowers it by the same amount. The order of the buttons
also helps--the button to lower the instrument's pitch is to the
left of the one to raise it.
- Once you have pressed one of these buttons, press
the melody button to return to playing the strumplate, or play
the melody keyboard with your new setting. The instrument will
revert to its default settings once it is turned off.
This feature can be used to raise a chord as much
as 6 half steps, or lower it as much as 5. The chord buttons to
do this are located at the far left of the instrument in the top
row and are marked with a down arrow and an up arrow. The down arrow
button lowers the pitch, while the up arrow button raises it. To
demonstrate the effect, do the following.
- From power-on defaults, press the EZ play button.
- Strum a chord & remember what it sounded like.
- Engage the melody keyboard by pressing the melody
button twice.
- Press the down arrow button to lower the chord.
- Press the melody button again to return to the
strumplate, then press whatever chord you played the first time.
You should hear that it has lowered by a half step.
This feature is especially useful when, for example,
you want to play a song in the key of a, but don't wish to go to
the opposite end of the instrument to play the minor chords that
are associated with that particular key. Raising the g-major chord
by two half steps allows you to play in the key of a while keeping
the chords within easy reach. Again, the instrument returns to its
normal settings when power is turned off.
You should rarely need to use this feature as the
QChord is always in perfect tune, but may find a need to do so if
you are playing along with a tape recorder or record, for example,
where the pitch cannot be adjusted. The tuning buttons are marked
with upward and downward pointing triangles, & represent the
b-flat button which lowers the pitch and the f button which raises
it. The melody keyboard is first activated, then the desired button
is pressed until the pitch you want is reached. The pitch can be
raised by as much as 50 cents and lowered by as much as 40 cents.
Press both buttons simultaneously to return to perfect pitch. Once
you have turned the melody keyboard off and returned to the strumplate,
play a chord to hear the new pitch.
Midi is a highly complex subject and is beyond the
scope of this document. The tremendous variations in equipment and
setup make meaningful generalizations almost impossible. Two statements
that can, however, be made are
- the midi out connector of the midi cable must be
plugged into the midi in connector of your QChord, and vice versa;
and
- According to Suzuki, you should not have both midi
in and midi out cables plugged into the QChord at the same time.
Some midi cables have raised markings that allow a
blind user to tell which is in and which is out. In the absence
of these, sighted assistance will be required, and appropriate markings
should be made for future reference.
The QChord can be used to play midi data. To do this:
- Plug the midi in connector into the midi out jack
of your QChord.
- Activate the melody keyboard by pressing the melody
button twice, assuming the instrument is in its default settings.
- Press the g-major chord (you will note that it
is marked with an X, or two intersecting diagonal lines).
- Press the melody button again. You may now play
your midi data through the QChord.
Please note that all QChord functions are disabled
until either the instrument is turned off, or midi is disengaged
by again activating the melody keyboard and pressing the g-major
button.
For blind persons who are interested in midi and who
have a computer, there is an email list which specializes in this
particular area. The list is called midi-mag, and is sponsored by
the American Council of the Blind. To subscribe to this list, send
a message with the words
Subscribe firstname lastname
(where firstname and lastname are your first and last
name) to
listserv@maelstrom.stjohns.edu
The subject line is left blank. In my case, as an
example, the message would read
Subscribe midi-mag Jackie McBride
Conclusion
I have not tried to cover everything about the QChord,
only those things with which I felt visually impaired individuals
might require some extra assistance. Therefore, if anyone needs
additional assistance, I may be contacted by one of the following
methods.
1. If you belong to the QChord User Group at Yahoo
(or you join), via the QChord mailing list at:
QChord User Group
or
2. via private email at
jackie@qchord.net
This document may be distributed freely provided that
the following conditions are observed.
a) the copyright notice appears at the top of the
document; and
b) the document is unmodified, except to permit reformatting
in order to be more accessible to adaptive software such as Braille
displays, screen reading/magnifying software, Braille embossing,
and large print. Please contact me if you have need of a particular
format; I will do my utmost to oblige.
c) No fee shall be charged for this document except
for reasonable charges incurred for reproduction.
APPENDIX
A - Voices List
Following is the list of the QChord's 100 selectable voices.
Pianos
- Acoustic Grand Piano
- Bright Acoustic Piano
- Electric Grand Piano
- Honky-Tonk Piano
- Electric Piano 1
- Electric Piano 2
- Harpsichord
- Clav 1
Vibes
- Celesta
- Glockenspiel
- Music Box
- Vibraphone
- Marimba
- Xylophone
- Tubular Bells
- Dulcimer
Organ & Related Reed Instruments
- Drawbar Organ
- Percussive Organ
- Rock Organ
- Church Organ
- Reed Organ
- Accordion
- Harmonica
- Tango Accordion
Guitar & Related String Instruments
- Acoustic Guitar (Nylon)
- Acoustic Guitar (Steel)
- Electric Guitar (Jazz)
- Electric Guitar (Clean)
- Electric Guitar (Muted)
- Overdriven Guitar
- Distortion Guitar
- Banjo
Bass
- Acoustic Bass
- Electric Bass (finger)
- Electric Bass (pick)
- Fretless Bass
- Slap Bass 1
- Slap Bass 2
- Synth Bass 1
- Synth Bass 2
Violin & Related Instruments
- Violin
- Viola
- Cello
- Contra Bass
- Tremolo Strings
- Pizzicato Strings
- Orchestral Harp
- Timpani
Strings & Related Instruments
- String Ensemble 1
- String Ensemble 2
- Synth Strings 1
- Synth Strings 2
- Choir Aahs
- Voice Oohs
- Synth Voice
- Orchestra Hut
Trumpet & Related Instruments
- Trumpet
- Trombone
- Tuba
- Muted Trumpet
- French Horn
- Brass Section
- Synth Brass 1
- Synth Brass 2
Saxophone & Related Instruments
- Soprano Sax
- Alto Sax
- Tenor Sax
- Baritone Sax
- Oboe
- English Horn
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
Flute Type Instruments
- Piccolo
- Flute
- Recorder X
- Pan Flute
- Blown Bottle
- Shaku hachi
- Whistle
- Ocarina
Synth Lead Sounds
- Square (Lead 1)
- Sawtooth (Lead 2)
- Calliope (Lead 3)
- Chiff (Lead 4)
- Charang (Lead 5)
- Voice (Lead 6)
- Fifth (Lead 7)
- Bass+Lead (Lead 8)
Synth Pad Sounds
- New Age (Pad 1)
- Warm (Pad 2)
- Polysynth (Pad 3)
- Choir (Pad 4)
- Bowed (Pad 5)
- Metallic (Pad 6)
- Halo (Pad 7)
- Sweep (Pad 8)
Synthesizer Effects
- Rain (FX 1)
- Soundtrack (FX 2)
- Sound Effects
- Drum Kit
APPENDIX
B - QChord's Ten Preset Voices
- Guitar
- Piano
- Strings
- Vibes
- Organ
- Voice
- Flute
- Harp
- Synth
- Sound fx
APPENDIX
C - QChord Preset Rhythms
- Bossanova
- Country
- Dance
- Jazz
- New age
- March
- Waltz
- Ballad
- Rock
- Blues shuffle
APPENDIX
D - QChord Rhythm Cartridge Rhythms
- 16 Beat
- 8 Beat
- Blues
- Boogie
- Cha Cha
- DC Pop
- Disco
- Gospel
- Jazz 2
- Jazz Band
- Polka
- R&B
- Rap
- Reggae
- Rhumba
- Salsa
- Tango
- Samba
- Shuffle
- Slow Rock
- 50's Slow Rock
- Bluegrass
- Country Shuffle
- Country Waltz
- Dixie
- Folk
- Jazz Ballad
- Latin Ballad
- Motown
- R&B Shuffle
APPENDIX
E - Instructions for Rhythm & Song Cartridges
To put a rhythm or song cartridge
in the instrument, do the following:
- Locate the cartridge holder on the left edge
of the instrument. It is a rectangular shaped hole with a
door that pushes in.
- Turn the instrument off. This is very important
so as not to damage either the instrument or the cartridge.
- Examine the cartridge. When held in the correct
position to place it in the instrument, you will notice that
there is a ridge on the top side and two small holes in the
center of the card on the bottom.
- With the cartridge held so that the ridged
side is away from the instrument and the 2 holes point down,
gently position the card so that it is in alignment with the
edges of the holder and push toward the instrument. Do not
force anything. You should both feel and hear a click when
the card is properly positioned.
- Once the card is in place, turn your instrument
on.
- If you have put in the rhythm cartridge, press
the play/pause and stop buttons simultaneously.
- Now you may use the rhythm select up and down
buttons to select the desired rhythm. When you first insert
the cartridge, rhythm 1 is selected. Press the rhythm select
up button to select higher numbered rhythms, or press the
rhythm select down buttons to select lower numbered rhythms.
Alternatively, you may use the search backward/forward buttons
described in the section on QChord Cartridge Controls.
- You always use the search backward/forward
buttons to select songs from a song cartridge. Simply strum
along with these and sound like a pro! Pressing the search
forward button increases the number, while pressing the search
backward button does the opposite.
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