Tools

KEYS

A click-only one-octave piano keyboard. Touch a key, get V/Oct and a gate.

What is a KEYS?

KEYS is a one-octave clickable piano keyboard for teaching pitch CV. Thirteen oversized keys span C4 to C5 inclusive; click any key to send its V/Oct value out the V/OCT jack and a 10 V hold-gate out the GATE jack. The note name and frequency of the most recently played key are displayed at the top of the panel so the relationship between "this key" and "this voltage" is visible. KEYS is the click-only counterpart to MIDI In (which needs a hardware keyboard) and Mini In (which captures the computer keyboard); reach for KEYS in the first V/Oct lesson, in screencasts, on touchscreens, and any time a learner should be able to play with no setup. When students outgrow it, MIDI In adds velocity, aftertouch, mod wheel and pitch bend; SEQ4 adds sequencing.

In a patch

The first patch is V/OCT into a VCO V/Oct and GATE into an envelope: KEYS V/OCT -> Basic SINE V/Oct, KEYS GATE -> Basic AD GATE, AD ENV -> VCA CV, VCO SIN -> VCA, VCA -> Output. Click a key, hear a pluck. Click each key in turn and watch the note display change while the pitch ascends in semitones. The V/OCT output holds at the last note when you release, so the VCO continues to sound at that pitch through the envelope release - exactly like a real mono-synth. To teach "+1 V = +1 octave", twist the VCO TUNE knob by +/-12 semitones with the same key held, and verify the output pitch jumps by an octave. Patch GATE alone (without an envelope) into a VCA CV input to teach "gate = sound on while held". Two pointers (touchscreen) holding two keys play the higher of the two - mono-synth top-note priority.

Outputs

V/OCT (cv) — Pitch CV output, 1 V/octave. 0 V = C4 (~261.63 Hz), 1 V = C5 (~523.25 Hz), each semitone = 1/12 V (~0.0833 V). The output equals (active key index) / 12 while a key is held; on release it HOLDS the last value (mono-synth behavior) so the downstream VCO keeps that pitch through the envelope release. Cold start = 0 V. Patch into a VCO V/Oct input - try Basic SINE first for a clean pitch reference, then a Basic SAW or SQR to hear the same notes with harmonics.
GATE (gate) — 10 V hold-gate. Goes to 10 V the moment any key is pressed, drops to 0 V when the last held key releases. Patch into Basic AD's GATE for percussive plucks (release the key and AD decays naturally), into ADSR's GATE for sustained notes, or directly into a VCA CV for raw "gate-only" amplitude. Has the standard ~3-5 ms press/release latency from the engine's 30 Hz parameter smoothing - inaudible musically.

Controls

Key — Internal index (0..12) of the most recently played key. Set automatically by the panel; you cannot CV-control it (KEYS is a click-only manual input source). Snapped to the nearest integer inside the DSP, so the V/OCT output always lands exactly on a semitone even when the param is mid-smoothing.
Pressed — Internal gate flag (0 or 1) that the panel toggles based on pointer state. While > 0.5, V/OCT tracks the active key and GATE holds 10 V. While <= 0.5, V/OCT holds its last value and GATE = 0.

Inspired by

A bold, oversized clickable octave for absolute beginners. Drops the keyboard shortcut + MIDI plumbing of Mini In and MIDI In so a learner can see "click here, hear that pitch" with zero peripheral setup. Sized large (26 HP) on purpose so screencasts and tutorials can show every key clearly.

Doepfer A-185-2 (manual gate row)
Bastl 1983 (mini click-keyboard)

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