- “Can I use the Dodeka sheet music with my conventional piano keyboard?”
We got this question a lot so we thought it would be a good idea to write an article about it.
So let’s go straight to the point. To the question “Can you use Dodeka sheet music with conventional pianos?”, the answer is yes.
Actually not only can you use it with conventional pianos, but the Dodeka notation also works with every instrument. Yes, you’ve heard it right, every instrument. And this includes the guitar you received for your 10th birthday, the saxophone that has been hanging around for years in your closet, or the out-of-tune upright piano in your living room.
How come you might be wondering?
Let's talk frankly. The magic behind Dodeka is found in the visual cues it creates between the notes on the score and the keys on the keyboard. Basically, it is all about the synergic relationship between the notation and the keyboard design. Not sure what we are talking about? Here's a quick reminder.
So, if we want to make conventional pianos or any other instrument compatible with Dodeka alternative music notation, we have to create the same visual cues. In other words, like the Dodeka keyboard, we want to highlight the four lines of the Dodeka stave on the piano keyboard or the instrument we want to play on.
And how do we do that?
For piano keyboards, we have come up with one quick and easy solution, that is, DIY stickers for keys. As the name suggests, it a series of stickers that you stick on your keyboard, more precisely on the keys C, E, P and C. This way, you will create the same visual cues as the ones you find on Dodeka keyboards and get a conventional piano dodeka-ready. Quite ingenious, right? :-)