Chord recognition problem and product suggestion

First let me confess, I am a die-hard single finger chord player. To me, the ultimate instrument was the Hammond S6 chord organ, which for ease of use has not been equalled. I usually play "organ style" (chords in a left-hand voice, with the accompaniment stopped). I learned the Yamaha simplified chord scheme many years ago and don't want to change now. For those unfamiliar, it works like this: to play a major chord, you press only one key-- the root note. However to play a minor or seventh chord, you must press the root note and a nearby key to its left. Therein lies the problem.

For example, to play a D-minor chord, you must press the D and D-flat keys simultaneously. The problem occurs when the D-flat key registers first. The keyboard *immediately* plays a D-flat major chord before audibly re-pitching to the intended D-minor chord.

Now before you fault my playing skill, think about something... In the computer world, no two events occur *exactly* simultaneously. Even if you make a conscious effort to press both keys at the same time, one will register in the keyboard's electronic brain a few thousandths of a second before the other.

The super-fast processor in the PSR-3000 may be partly to blame. The single-finger chord recognition in my Korg Pa50 is very accurate and forgiving. But the Pa50 operates at a reasonable 384 clock ticks per beat, while the PSR-3000 is ripping along at 1920 clocks/beat. When I review recorded passages, the time frame for false chord recognition is almost always less than 55 ticks (around 2 ms). So it makes me wonder whether older, slower Yamahas share this problem.

What's worse, when inadvertent chord recognition does occur, the XF/XG portamento control causes a squeaky pitch glide that spoils the performance. It also shows up as unwanted extra notes in the bass clef. If you are recording at a fast tempo (180 bpm or more), sometimes whole chords are falsely imparted to the score.

So I am requesting an OS upgrade or bug fix, which establishes a positive "window" or time envelope for chord recognition. The duration of the window could be a performance parameter that is user adjustable (within a range from say, 2 to 76 ms) to accommodate less-than-precise key presses. I am aware of the Technics problems from years ago and acknowledge that this could result in a slight "lag" before the chord is resolved and sounded. But within limits this lag would be preferable to prematurely sounding (and scoring) the wrong chord. Somehow the Korg Pa50 manages to do it reliably. And pro players fear not, this window would only apply to single finger mode.

Better still, I would like to see Yamaha offer a midi "Chord Controller", consisting of eight rows of twelve chord buttons, each row arranged "accordion style" in a Circle of Fifths. This would duplicate the simple and effective control interface of Hammond's S6, and permit eight varieties of TRULY single finger chords. To complete the virtual S6 experience, a pair of pedals could be offered to sound the bass root and fifth.

Sorry for the long rant. I look forward to hearing other single-finger chord players' experiences and suggestions on this issue.

Respectfully,
Ted Sowirka
Fort Worth, TX

Note: This has also been posted to psrtutorial.com for the widest possible response. -Ted

[This message has been edited by TedS (edited 06-21-2006).]