BoxKeys
Piano Accordion for the iPhone and iPod Touch by Michael Eskin
BoxKeys is an easy to play, authentic-sounding, 3-reed bank piano accordion. It has a fully chromatic two-octave range from C4 to B5.
Based on extremely high quality individual audio samples of each note of the three banks of a top quality Irish button accordion. Each note sample is 3.5 seconds long.
Touch the bank select buttons on the top of the screen to enable/disable or combine the individual reed banks. The volume of each reed bank may be set independently.
Optional volume tremolo effects may be added by sliding your finger up and down on the keys.
Touch the "i" icon to bring up the settings page. All settings saved when the app exits and restored next time it is run.
Multiple buttons may be pressed at the same time to play chords.
You may play along with the tunes on your iPhone or iPod Touch, just start the music before running BoxKeys. Using Apple's Settings app, you may configure your device to bring up the iPod music controls by double clicking the home button to change tracks within an album.
Tips and Techniques:
For some real fun, run the output of your iPhone or iPod Touch through an external amplifier or outboard effects. I use a Roland Cube-ST portable amp that has both reverb and chorus effects, the end result is quite amazing.
BoxKeys main screen, reed banks 1 and 2 enabled:
BoxKeys while playing, reed banks 2 and 3 enabled:
Settings page, with individual reed bank volume and tremolo enable:
Demonstration video:
Multitrack Demo with Uillitina + Englitina + BoxKeys + 4QuarterSet
FAQ:
Q: I'm not hearing any sounds on my iPhone! Help!
A: Make sure your ringer switch isn't in the "mute" position.
Q: How does the optional key volume tremolo work?
A: When enabled, each key is divided into two zones. The top half of the key (for the white keys, the top half of the area below the black keys) is the note at full volume. As the finger moves down from the middle of the key to the bottom, the volume is lowered by an proportional amount simulating typical tremolo. The key tremolo feature may be enabled/disabled on the settings page.
Future Plans:
I am very interested in any suggestions for features or improvements to the apps for future updates, please drop me an email anytime with your ideas!
Other Apps by Michael Eskin:
Concertina - Anglo Concertinas in C/G, Bb/F, A/E, and G/D.
Englitina - High Quality Treble/Baritone English Concertinas
JustDrones - Three Uilleann pipes drones in the keys of Bb, B, C, C#, D, E, F, G, and A, with additional interval drone.
3QuarterSet - Three Uilleann pipes drones and two regulators in the keys of D, C#, C, B, and Bb, designed for live play
4QuarterSet - Full set of three Uilleann pipes drones and three regulators in the keys of D, C#, C, and B
Uillitina - Uilleann Pipes as an English Concertina
PipeKeys - Uilleann pipes 3/4 sets in D, C, and B as a standard piano keyboard
ButtonBox - 3 Reed Bank Irish Button Accordion using English concertina fingerings
BoxKeys - 3 Reed Bank Irish Piano Accordion
Haydentina - Hayden-style Duet Concertina
Canntina - MacCann-style Duet Concertina
MIDIKeys - Wireless MIDI Keyboard Controller
MidiAnglo - Wireless Anglo Concertina MIDI Controller
Miditina - Wireless English Concertina MIDI Controller
3QSWiFi - Uilleann pipe drones + two regulators wireless MIDI Controller
4QSWiFi - Uilleann pipe drones + three regulators wireless MIDI Controller
Duettina - Two-sided Hayden-style Duet Concertina
Instrument used for the audio samples graciously provided by my friend John O'Hara.
Contact:
For more information, please contact Michael Eskin or visit the Tradlessons.com website:
