Artiphon

Great explanation! Thanks!

The harmonizaiton of the major scale is major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, diminished. So, for the key of C it's:

C D E F G A B C -> C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim, C

For G it's:

G A B C D E F# G - > G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, F#dim, G

For F it's:

F G A Bb C D E F -> F, Gm, Am, Bb, C, Dm, Edim, F

And so on. This DOES correspond to the Nashville numbering system. The traditional chord numbering system uses roman numerals to indicate the root of the chord and upper/lower case to indicate major vs. minor like this: I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii. The Nashville numbering system uses Arabic numbers and ASSUMES that you know that the 1, 4, and 5 chords are major and that the 2,,3, and 6 chords are minor.

The numbers on the Orba also correspond to the Nashville numbering system. If you're in C Major chord mode, the 1 pad will always play a C major. The 2 pad will play a D minor, and so on. In Major mode there is only one "tricky" thing. Normally the vii (7) chord is diminished, but the diminished chord much less useful than the others. It's basically V7 (5-7th) chord with the root missing. So, for example in the key of C, the vii (7) chord is a Bdim. Bdim is the same as a G7 without the G. A much more useful chord that almost always works when you're trying to use the vii (7) chord is the V7 or maybe even better the V with it's 3rd on the bass. That's why the 7 pad on the Orba doesn't play a diminished chord. Instead it plays the V with the 3rd on the bass. In the key of C, this is a G/B (G with a B on the bass). For technical reasons this isn't exactly true. The lowest note is a G, not a B, but the B is the one that's doubled up. To summarize, the primary difference between the Orba pad numbers and traditional numbering systems is that they replace the 7dim with the 5 chord with it's 3rd on the bass. I the key of C, the 7 pad plays a G/B instead of a Bdim. In the key of G, the 7 pad plays a D/F# instead of an F#dim. In the key of F, the 7 pad plays a C/E instead of an Edim, and so on.

Harmonizing the natural minor scale is similar. For C natural minor, the chords are Cm, Ddim, Eb, Fm, Gm, Ab, Bb. Those chords can be a bit awkward to use, especially the Ddim. Once again the folks at Artiphon made a good musical choice for the chords, and once again I think they do something different with the Ddim - maybe Bb/D? I haven't had time to analyze the the major chords yet. Artiphon publishes the notes for the major chords, but not the minor chords. In theory, they should be the same, just shifted over.

"What are the chords in the major and minor scales? Do the major scale chords correspond tothe Nashville numbering system: 10-G, 2-Am, 3Bm, 4-C, 5-D, 6-Em, 7-F#m, 8-G (in the scaleof G major), for example?

Hi there, 

Just received my Orba and its great. 

Are there plans to provide Bluetooth support for the Windows app?

Windows 10 supports MIDI-LE via the MIDIberry app https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/midiberry/9n39720h2m05?activetab=pivot:overviewtab

Best regards,

Peter

Zack: "My only bigger issue is that the A button doesn't seem to hit well, hopefully improvable with software."

@Zach: Yes, the A button does seem a bit dicey at first. I've figured out that it's not really activated by a "tap." Rather, it's activated by a short "press." This is better because it allow you to "glide" over it without activating it so that you can do very quick "trills" between notes that are across from each other not just right next to each other.

Robert Walker: "Hi all Just ordered My Orba. i am looking forward to playing it. got a question are there hang or tongue drum sounds for the Orba already?"

@Robert Walker - The Orba uses synthesis rather than sampling to make its sounds. There are four places that you can put new sounds which Artiphon refer to as "presets" - DRUM, BASS, CHORD, and LEAD. The place where you would most likely put a hang or tongue drum sound would be in the LEAD. None of the current official lead presets sound much like a hang or steel tongue drum. The closest might be the Ambient lead preset, but that's more bell-like than tank-like. Some people in the community are working on Orba preset editors and easier ways to add presets to the app, but we're all really hoping for better support for third-party presets or user preset editing from Artiphon.

The real trick with hang (tank, hand pan, steel tongue drum) sounds on the Orba will be support for non-standard scales. Currently you can select from 12 major scales and 12 natural minor keys for all presets and songs. Then, only one lead preset, Orba Diatonic, gives you a diatonic scale for playing lead. All of the others give you pentatonic scales - either major or minor depending on your key selection. Lots of steel tongue drums play a major or minor pentatonic scale, but most of the more advanced ones play more unique meditative scales like "Integrated", "Mystic", "Akibono", etc. A steel tongue drum lead preset should give you the ability to play these scales that are popular on those instruments.

For now, we're all in wait mode.

met wanneer kunnen weer geluiden opslaan in de orba zelf zoals mij beloofd is alweer enige maanden geleden lk moet helaas zeggen dat ik ook de Orba geen geweldig muziekinstrument vind. als je kan investeren in de dure software zal het waarschijnlijk interessanter zijn maar de soms wat standaard "Chinees" geluidjes gaan snel vervelen. Een correcte uitleg van Orba met Win10 kan samenwerken is er niet. Als ik een Mac had zou alles waarschijnlijk zijn maar nu is het een warboel om verder te komen. Het blijft wat pingelen op de Orba. En als je toevallig een leuk loopje kan ik het nergens opslaan. Ik hoop op een wereld van dus al met al vind ik het apparaat toevoegen aan mijn persoonlijke ervaring.

Hi their, I'm a totally blind user who uses VoiceOver, and I've tested the Orba app for both iOS and MacOS. sadly, the app is not accessible with VoiceOver. when will the app be fully accessible with VoiceOver? I would love to have an accessible way to update the firmware of the Orba, as well as customize settings, if possible.

 Hi all Just ordered My Orba. i am looking forward to playing it. got a question are there hang or tongue drum sounds for the Orba already?

Hi all, 

I am new to the forum and also new to any musical instruments, having read via the forum and found some guys are able to make presets themselves by the editor program. I would like to make preset with sound like basic wooden guitar chord, can anyone throw some light to me?  Sorry if the question is too dumb.

Hi there! I just got my Orba a couple days ago and I'm really wowed by it; you guys packed a lot of stuff into this tiny little half-grapefruit. It's really impressive that a full-on (but simple) synth engine, speaker, 5-hour battery and looper are packed into such a small footprint.

The synth engine is surprisingly robust. It can make some pretty groovy sounds and the gesture based system is so fun. I got this thing specifically to use for "gameified" inspiration, and secondarily as a MIDI controller for Studio One. I'm a beginner to music production (I make ambient-kinda stuff, which the Orba really excels at) and having something I can pick up and have a full 10-20 second loop with about 2-3 minutes of work really helps when I'm stuck or lacking inspiration. 

I want to emphasize how versatile it is, too. I mentioned above that I prefer to make ambient beats, and while there are a couple tiny things missing (time signature being one I can think of off the top of my head) you can make a wide variety of music depending on how good/fast you are at pad drumming. I recently got a good pad controller for my PC too, and I haven't glommed onto it like I have the Orba; having something that's improving my tapping speed and accuracy, and is *fun*, is really helping.

Whoo! I think I've gone on quite long enough. Thanks to Artiphon for making such an amazing little piece of kit. I can't wait to see how it evolves over time. I'm glad I got in on the ground floor with the Orba!

Hello world!

Tim_Sally

( The blind traveler/musician ) United States of America

Together Forever in Christ Jesus!

Joined together in marriage! By faith alone.

God only made one of you! 

https://youtu.be/xADkgG8U1sQ

 I was so excited with the purchase of my Orba, also ordered the ORBA protective sleeve, and carry case. But I don’t use the case very often. I’m so addicted to my  ORBA, that I take it to bed with me. I also went ahead and purchased the instrument 1, instrument 1 case and instrument 1 carry strap.

I can’t wait to learn all the features and experiment with all the instruments available. Anticipating the next firmware update.

BUG REPORT!
I do you have a very important comment, when I set the instrument one in guitar mode. The D major chord is out of tune. I HOPE they’ll improve this with a firmware update!

PS. I am the proud owner of the Orbe and the instrument 1

SALLY

Hi. I am the new owner of Orba, I discovered the tool only recently, I am captivated by the concept, everything still works ...