Gear/Site Review: Virtual Keyboard

Once in a while I came across a music app online that I think is worthwhile not as a tool, but as an amusement. The Virtual Keyboard is just such an application. The Virtual Keyboard is a web-based app that is (apparently) part of a teaching resource site for the Birmingham (UK) area. But this is the web, and if we can find it, we can play with it.

What Is It?
The Virtual Keyboard is exactly what it sounds like. Think of the cheap bargain bin synth at your local department store. Remove some of the features. That's the Virtual Keyboard. The keys are labeled with the note names, which really helps when it is used as a teaching tool.

What Is That Noise?
You get a whopping total of 9 dreadful (fun dreadful, not the bad kind) synth instruments. When you activate the keyboard (click on the screen), you can use your computer keyboard to play, or you can click on the keys with your mouse. Actually, the sounds aren't all bad. The double bass has a good low end, and shakes a few things on my desk when I hit a low D. It does require a brief delay to reload when you change instruments, so you won't be switching in mid-song with this.

Give Me A Beat
The Virtual Keyboard also contains 6 canned drum patterns selectable to accompany your master works. The drums are actually pretty good. Most are pretty synthy/dancy things, but there's a couple good psuedo-latin percussion patterns(Patterns 3 and 5), and a decent straight ahead rock beat that could actually be usable (Pattern 2). I'm not saying you'd want to sample it on your next track, but it's still pretty good for the context.

Chord Mode
There is a cool mode that you don't normally see in any synth. Chord mode allows you to build a chord one note at a time. You click on all the keys in the chord, then click "Play Chord" to hear what you just did, without the need for actually figuring out the fingering on your own. This is really useful(?), since the keyboard is technically polyphonic, but the notes don't always trigger at the same time. You'll get more rolling notes than chords if you try to play it properly.

You Get What You Pay For
There are, as you might guess, a few features that it lacks, since it was designed as a teaching tool. Volume is the big one. Most of the synths absolutely overpower the drum beats, at an almost laughable level. There is also no velocity sensitive mode, probably because your mouse and computer keyboard are on-off switches, so there's no way to specify the strength of the velocity. Also disappointing is the lack of a tempo control on the drum patterns. After these "lackings", there should be no surprise when I point out there is no record/playback mode, which I would think would be a great addition to this as a teaching tool. After all, hearing what you really played versus what you think you played is a major learning experience.

Final Thoughts
If you've got kids (or want to act like one), this is a great web app to goof around with, as long as your speaker volume is kept in check. The organ will likely drive you nuts, as will the saxophone, but the steel drum, double bass, and pan pipes are fun to groove with.

With zero learning curve, this is a nice teaching toy. The Virtual Keyboard is definitely worth a few minutes diversion before you get back to the world of your own music.