Kelstone, a new art Manual

Transcription

1 Kelstone, a new art Manual info@kelstone.be Page1

2 Introduction Do you remember the time when the wind-surfboard didn t exist? Remember the time the snowboard wasn t there yet? Well the time that the Kelstone wasn t there isn t any more. Like the snowboard and the wind surfboard, the Kelstone is a new tool for expressing yourself, musically however. In time the Kelstone will be the 3rd instrument on which you can easily compose, arrange, solo and accompany, a new art. This is the moment to step in, to become a pioneer!!! Presentation 1. The essence of the instrument is that the hand does not have to go around a neck to take a note or chord and stabilize the instrument like on most other stringed instruments but that it lies on top. On top the hand has a greater freedom of movement and expression. 2. Like the piano the Kelstone has the possibility of using both hands for different musical movements. One action, one finger generates one note and it has a large range (more than 5 octaves). 3. Like on most stringed instruments, the fingers are in direct contact with the strings, so very expressive. You can mute the strings dynamically at any time with the footpedal. The notes are organized so that one hand can overlap up to 4 octaves. 4. Let s have a look at the design: a. The Kelstone is right in front of you which gives you optimal visibility of the notes, the audience, the band and the microphone if you are a singer. And the audience can clearly see the fingers moving because of the inclination of the Kelstone. b. It is mounted on a stand so you can move, dance, get into the music and not have to stabilize the instrument with the left hand like on almost all other stringed instruments. c. You can play standing or sitting with your arms at a comfortable angle to the strings. At this angle, the area on your finger is quite large to hit the note properly. d. Why so many strings? Fewer strings mean that if you move up to a higher register, the area between the frets gets smaller, so it s harder to play there. Also your hands have to move out of your peripheral view. Our experience is that a string reacts best in the middle of the fretboard. e. The spacing between the strings is quite large. This is necessary to be able to keep your fingers down, letting the notes ring, while hitting another note (hammer one finger) between them. Otherwise you tend to play staccato all the time. f. Because the Kelstone lies horizontal in front of you and is fixed, the actions of your hands are in harmony with gravity. The energy you put in a string doesn t have to come out of your wrist. The right position and gravity can do the rest. It also permits you to relax your underarm for a short period of time. So it s quite easy to play eights. info@kelstone.be Page2

3 5. Is it hard to learn? No, absolutely not. a. One action generates one note, no synchronization needed between left and right hand, unless you strum. b. The strings go consecutively up in fourths. The consequence of this is that if you know for instance the the major chord fingering, you can play all the major chords, regardless the position by simpy moving that fingering along the fretboard, both laterally and transversaly. c. If you know one octave of a scale, you can use that figure anywhere on the arm (regardless the key) and always have that scale. 6. You can play single -Kelstone or double -Kelstone, which although physical the same instruments, demand another approach and technique. It s like two-hand-tapping or tapping with two hands. On the single Kelstone both hands play on the same strings, which allows you to switch easily between hammering and strumming. Both hands have no restricted area of notes; they both play high and low notes at the same time. On the double Kelstone, one hand handles one neck (one register) while the other hand plays on the other neck. 7. On the Kelstone you can hammer-on pull-off strum and tap slide and bend fingerpick and bottleneck slap and scratch play percussion info@kelstone.be Page3

4 Setting up the instrument and pedal: Attaching on the keyboard stand: Lay the Kelstone upside down on a straight, clean surface so that the strings won t get damaged. Unscrew the knurled knobs. Slide the fixator and the fixator-pins out of the instrument. info@kelstone.be Page4

5 The fixator-pins are angled with a long end and a short end. Screw the short end of the pins into the holes on the side of the instrument with the thinnest strings. Screw them in as far as they will go, then back the out until they are perpendicular, outward from the instrument. The hexagon nut at the short end of the pin has not really a function here. It does when you use the fixator as a stabilizer to put the Kelstone on your lap (see later). info@kelstone.be Page5

6 Slide the fixator (L-shaped bar, 50mmx40mm) onto the pins through the two holes and screw the knurled knobs onto the pins something like half an inch (12,5mm). Page6

7 You can easily transport the Kelstone now by the bar (fixator): Now it is time to mount the Kelstone on the keyboard-stand. Put the stand in front of you at the desired height. You can play sitting down or standing up. For the first setup, I would consider to adjust the stand a little above waist-high. The best height is that when you have a nice line from shoulder to fingertip. Place the base of the Kelstone on the horizontal bars of the keyboard-stand so that the fixator is under the horizontal bars of the stand: info@kelstone.be Page7

8 Raise the fixator against the horizontal bars of the stand and tighten the knurled knobs. Make sure that you tighten them hard enough so that the instrument does not come loose. When you pack, make sure that you put the fixator on the opposite side from the control-knobs (volume and tone) or it will not fit in the case. Slide the long ends of the angled pins through the fixator and then through the instrument body. Secure them with the knurled knobs. Page8

9 The Kelstone can be played now standing (live-playing, more expressive because one can dance and move) or sitting down (recording, practicing), using any kind of keyboard stand. You can also have a look at an old video where the setting-up is demonstrated (prices at the end of the video are no longer correct): info@kelstone.be Page9

10 Using the fixator to stabilize the Kelstone on your lap: You can also use the fixator to stabilize the Kelstone if you want to put it on your lap: Put the fixator-pins into the threaded holes on the side of the Kelstone, insert them with the long end of the pin: Page10

11 Slide the fixator on the pins (here the hexagon nuts stop the fixator from sliding too far over the pins): Screw the knurled knobs on the short end of the pins: The base of the Kelstone is now a lot wider and can be placed on a table, keyboardstand or on your lap without tilting: info@kelstone.be Page11

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14 Connecting the pedal: Put the pedal under the keyboard-stand. Do this carefully, watch your fingers! IMPORTANT REMARK!!! Do not hold the muting pedal close to the hinge, it tends to flip open and your finger might get stuck between the two plates. Make sure that you always keep enough distance between the hand and the hinge!!! Page14

15 Take the end of the cable and put the ball-end in the slot of the muter: Then you open the pedal a little bit so that you can put the cable-guide under the hole at the side of the bridge. info@kelstone.be Page15

16 Attention: Make sure that the cable- guide is well positioned in the cable-guide holder on the pedal. If this is not the case, the cable might come loose and get damaged. Page16

17 Strings, tuning and action: The Kelstone has 9 strings. Each string is tuned with the tuning key, which is located at the side of the Kelstone, attached by two strong magnets. Do not put this key anywhere else, you do not want to lose it! When you pack the Kelstone, it might be better to put the key in the hole under the tuner-block next to the small key for changing the strings. Tuning is easy: just fit the key in the tuning-screw. Turning the key clockwise, pitches your string higher. Turning it the other way will lower the pitch. info@kelstone.be Page17

18 Replacing strings: In the tuner-block are 9 holes with 9 tuning-pins. At one end of the tuning-pin is a threaded hole where the tuning-screw fits in. At the other end the tuning-pin has a flat surface with two threaded small holes. On this this flat surface fits a grip-plate. The strings go between this flat surface and the grip-plate and gets fixed with two small screws. Unscrew the tuning-screw until you see the second small screw on the flat surface of the tuning-pin. info@kelstone.be Page18

19 Unscrew the second small screw, high enough so that the tuner-pin cannot slide back into the tuner-block. Unscrew the first small screw and remove the old string from between the tuning-pin and the grip-plate. Install the new string through the bridge and make a mark at 990mm (39 inches), not including the ball-end. Put the string between the tuner-pin and the grip-plate, between the two small screws. Bend the string around the second small screw at the mark, 180 and tighten the two little screws. You might find it easier to bend the string at 5mm, 0.20 inches over the tuner-block. If you work like that, make sure that the string is nicely stretched from the bridge to the tuner. info@kelstone.be Page19

20 The thinnest string (0.009 inches) stretches a lot so you might want to make the mark at 985mm (38.77 inches) or right at the edge of the tuner-block. The nut of the Kelstone is adjustable in height. This is for three reasons. First of all it allows you to take away the muting material at the head of the Kelstone. Loosen the strings a bit, heighten the nut by turning the two knurled knobs and remove or replace the muting-strip. If you want to use the open strings (strumming, fingerpicking, open bass-notes) you want to remove the muting-strip. Bear in mind that on the Kelstone the nut is placed one position below the zero-fret! More about this later. The second reason for the adjustable nut is that it allows you to change the action of the strings (height above the frets) quite easily. If you hammer hard on the strings you want the strings a bit higher than when you have a soft touch. Contrary to other stringed instrument the Kelstone allows you to hammer really hard: it is fixed horizontally, the area on both the finger and the instrument to hit a note is optimal and you can see very well where and how you hit a string. If your hand comes down from 30 cm above the strings, you generate quite some energy on the string and you will need a higher action. If you turn the nut up to its highest position (after loosening the strings a bit) and tuning the strings again you can use the Kelstone as a huge slide guitar. info@kelstone.be Page20

21 Outputs, tone and volume: Page21

22 String gauges: Extra heavy scale outer diam. outer diam. total length excl. ballend Heavy scale outer diam. outer diam. total length excl. ballend build- number note material up (inch) (inch) (mm) (mm) 1 Bb pure nickel wound 34 0,140 3, Eb pure nickel wound 34 0,100 2, Ab pure nickel wound 34 0,080 2, Db pure nickel wound 34 0,065 1, Gb pure nickel wound 34 0,045 1, B pure nickel wound 34 0,031 0, E pure nickel plain 34 0,021 0, A pure nickel plain 34 0,013 0, D pure nickel plain 34 0,009 0, build- number note material up (inch) (inch) (mm) (mm) 1 Bb pure nickel wound 34 0,140 3, Eb pure nickel wound 34 0,090 2, Ab pure nickel wound 34 0,060 1, Db pure nickel wound 34 0,045 1, Gb pure nickel wound 34 0,035 0, B pure nickel plain 34 0,023 0, E pure nickel plain 34 0,016 0, A pure nickel plain 34 0,013 0, D pure nickel plain 34 0,009 0, Medium and light are made on demand, so the waiting time for these is at least 4 weeks and they are more expensive. Standard the Kelstone is shipped with the Extra Heavy set mounted because they are more stable and have a bigger sound. info@kelstone.be Page22

23 Medium scale outer diam. outer diam. total length excl. ballend Light scale outer diam. outer diam. total length excl. ballend build- number note material up (inch) (inch) (mm) (mm) 1 Bb pure nickel wound 34 0,130 3, Eb pure nickel wound 34 0,085 2, Ab pure nickel wound 34 0,057 1, Db pure nickel wound 34 0,043 1, Gb pure nickel wound 34 0,031 0, B pure nickel plain 34 0,021 0, E pure nickel plain 34 0,015 0, A pure nickel plain 34 0,011 0, D pure nickel plain 34 0,009 0, build- number note material up (inch) (inch) (mm) (mm) 1 Bb pure nickel wound 34 0,124 3, Eb pure nickel wound 34 0,080 2, Ab pure nickel wound 34 0,054 1, Db pure nickel wound 34 0,040 1, Gb pure nickel wound 34 0,028 0, B pure nickel plain 34 0,018 0, E pure nickel plain 34 0,014 0, A pure nickel plain 34 0,010 0, D pure nickel plain 34 0,009 0, info@kelstone.be Page23

24 Playing techniques: Hammer on: a basic and main Kelstone technique already used in guitar playing. The best sound is created by hammering your finger between two frets on the string. The string responds best to this technique in the middle, rather than in the high or low part of the register. Pulling off: this technique is applicable to notes and chords. After hammering on a string, one pulls the string in the area between the frets towards him/her and releases. Sliding: also applicable to chords and single notes. One glides on a string from one note to another, up or down. Bending: also applicable to single notes and chords. One pulls the string after hammering towards him to increase the pitch to the preferred note. Strumming: like the guitar you can strum chords easily with your right hand. Finger picking: it s easy to finger pick chords on a Kelstone, producing very clear and bright harmonies. Bottlenecking: use a sliding tool to create bottleneck style or portamento gliding sounds. The best way to start, is to play that first note and make sure you get a good, clean sound. All other notes that you play after that will be copies of this one. This note is explained in a Youtube video: Once you have done this, try the same with your other hand. Simple, right? Now try both hands together, but use only one finger of each. It might seem a little too simple to play just with two fingers, but playing one melodic movement like this is actually very innovative and will guide you to the real character of the Kelstone. Something else that is really interesting to do in the beginning is use only one finger and one string. Put a finger on a string (do not release it) and play something by just sliding and bending. It will show you what new expressions you can give to a string on the Kelstone. Some things are very important when you start on the Kelstone and you use the tapping technique: 1. If you play a scale (be it with one hand or divide the notes under two hands) it is very easy to link the note when you go up (do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si-do) because the note you want to hear is under the finger that acts. If you go down however (do-si-la-sol-fa-mi-re-do) and you want to link the notes you will have to use the pull-off technique! Otherwise you will just hammer on each note and play staccato. The hardest part is that to play a si (when you go down on a scale) it is the finger that is above the note do that has to act by pulling the string off. To play a la it is the finger of the si that acts. It will only take 10 minutes for your brain to understand and send the right signals to your fingers but please give him these 10 minutes or more if needed. Very important!!! 2. When you play a chord by tapping (be it with one hand or divide the notes under two hands) (for instance do-mi-sol-do-sol-mi), use the, what I call, OFDWT-technique. The Other-Fingers-Down-While-Tapping-technique means that you keep the fingers (that have already tapped a note) down on the string while you hammer on another note. In other words you keep the notes that you already have hammered ringing while you hammer a new one. info@kelstone.be Page24

25 Intuitively one releases all the fingers to hammer with one of the fingers. Very important!!! Just try this: put all your fingers in front of you on the table and just lift the ring-finger while keeping the others on the table. You can do it but it is not the thing you would if they ask you to lift the ringfinger. Why is this so important? To get a full sound. If you do not do this the chord will be broken (sometimes you want to play like that by choice). If you practice this in the beginning you will have that choice, otherwise you might play all your chords broken. 3. At the side of the nut, there is some muting material under the string (between the nut and the zerofret). This is to cancel the sound of the open strings after hitting and releasing them. You do not want to hear those open notes. After a while you will automatically use your left-hand to mute the unwanted sounds by placing it softly on the strings. 4. Harmonics when you hammer. This is explained in a Youtube video: Bassicaly it works like this: when you place your finger on a string on a certain fret, think of the vibrating part of that string as an open strings. The basic harmonic will be 12 frets higher. There are two ways to create harmonics: Your left-hand stay put on the note and with your right-hand you hit the string 12 frets higher. You hit it but do not press it down. Second way is to place a finger of your right-hand on the fretposition, 12 frets higher than the note you are going to play. You place your finger over the string at that position very lightly, without pressing it onto the fret. Then you hammer with your left-hand on the rootnote. Another important thing is to record the things you play intuïtively (most of the time this is something percussive) and then play on top of that. Unconsciously you will play complementary parts (longer notes, strumming, sliding, all kinds of things) and this way you will discover all the possibilities and techniques of the Kelstone automatically. It is my experience, as there are few role models yet, that when one plays alone one gets easily stuck in the things that work very well in the beginning. So as soon as you can, play Kelstone with any other kind of musician or band. You have more than 5 octaves so you can fill in any kind of part: bass, chords, solos, riffs, whatever you want. You can find some easy music to start with on our learning channel: Here we post almost every day a new riff. Start with the riff you like best. The tablature starts at riff nr 28. And always remember that in music there are two golden rules: Rule N 1: There are no rules! Rule N 2: Follow rule number 1! info@kelstone.be Page25

26 Music theory Let s start with the positions of the notes, once you have grasped this the rest becomes amazingly easy: You also can find this information in this Youtube video: These are the most important notes on the neck because in classical music-notation one needs to know where the C is and in guitar- and bassplaying, one wants to know where the E is, the lowest note normally. info@kelstone.be Page26

27 As you can see there is a zero fret and the nut is one position lower. If you are a guitar- or bass-player it is best to orientate on the second thickest string at the 1 position. This is an E, just like on the guitar and the bass. In fact this is the same note as the lowest note on an normal 4- string bass-guitar: If you count from there, you can see that you have the same notes as on a bass-guitar. You also have the same notes on the 1 dot (position 3: G, C, F, Bb, ), on the 2 dot (position 5: A, D, G, C, ), and so on. In other words it is like a bass-guitar that goes one fret and one string lower and that goes up in fourths. The lowest E of a normal guitar lies on string n 6, fretposition 2. From there on you have also the 4 same open notes as on a guitar and keeps going up in fourths: no third between string n 3 and n 2: E, A, D, G, F, C, F instead E, A, D, G, B, E. In the previous diagram, the octave (fretposition n 12) is 12 frets higher than the zero fret, not the nut! info@kelstone.be Page27

28 Because of the tuning in fourths, the position of the notes in relation to a root note is ALWAYS the same, regardless of note or position you start with. The fifth is always two frets up and one string down. The octave is always two frets up, two strings down. A major third is always one fret down, one string down, minor third is two frets down, one string down. info@kelstone.be Page28

29 Chords Chords are very easy. Because of the tuning in fourths, if you know for instance the fingering of a major chord, this form is the same regardless of the note or position from which you start! info@kelstone.be Page29

30 If you play in a pianistic way (left-hand bass-line, right-hand chords or melody) this is how it look on the neck in the key of C. info@kelstone.be Page30

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42 Open strings When you want to use the open strings, you can take the muting-strip at the nut away, after loosening the tension of the strings. Another and more simple way to use open chords is to put a capo on the 2 nd fretposition: info@kelstone.be Page42

43 Scales and modes The same rule here: the figure of a scale is independent of the position or note (key). info@kelstone.be Page43

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45 Advanced scales and modes: Page45

46 Of course you want to play more than one octave of a scale. These are diagrams how you can do that by sliding. There are other possibilities where you move faster to the next strings and do the sliding at a different note. The next pages might be useful: you can print them and write your own diagrams. Good luck and have fun. info@kelstone.be Page46

47 Sheet n 1 info@kelstone.be Page47

48 Sheet n 2 info@kelstone.be Page48

49 Sheet n 3 info@kelstone.be Page49

50 Sheet n 3 info@kelstone.be Page50

51 Sheet n 4 info@kelstone.be Page51

52 Sheet n 5 info@kelstone.be Page52

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