MY NEED FOR THE QB
The human race has been endowed with the whole aural spectrum of acoustic musical instruments. These instruments have been evolving along with our brains for eons. The piano, as part of the harp family, is only 500 years old and has a mechanically evolved keyboard that is capable of performing anything musically understandable. So why the QB? Simply, it has another gear. It hasn’t caught up with computer enhancement, but it’s well ahead of the the piano’s capability, especially as a music learning tool. This is because it has a 2-D keyboard, which allows music to be graphed on an x/y matrix. The horizontal rows are aligned in half-steps—the smallest interval in modern music theory, and the vertical rows are stacked in perfect fourths– the strongest step in modern music theory. At the very least the QB provides an alternative to the piano keyboard; at best, it strongly challenges the piano keyboard’s technical capability. There is a need for the QB, especially with the piano challenged, of which I am one.
THE QB& ME
The human brain never stops learning or creating. The main focus is on survival followed (not in order) by amusement, emotion, social order . . . , our five senses always providing feedback. We will always need something that is higher, faster, bigger and better. Most of this innovation is driven by our need for survival, which offshoots in all directions and fields of endeavor.
Low and behold, with the need of survival at bay, art, music, literature and everything else blossoms and provides civilization with a reason for survival. If it makes you happy invent something, maybe your bright idea will rub off on mankind. By evolving into a need, an innovation becomes a success; otherwise it becomes an idea that didn’t quite work out.
My life has been dedicated to the QB. That is, it seems like everything I’ve ever done or accomplished has lead to the QB. I was fifty-seven years old when I spent four years at UCSD earning a Ph.D.. My field of study was Music and my domain the trombone. My reward was finding out that the QB was totally unique. I was and still am the only QB player-playing the only QB in the world. And I’ve learned since that I’m the only guitar player in the world who has permanently tuned his guitar to all fourths. To this point I have proven there is no need for either. The QQ website is designed to detail the advantages both instruments, and somehow prove the need. In the meantime I am happy, busy and fulfilled.
For over 50 years, the QB concept has been mine alone. I have not had the luxury of a partner or team. I still don’t think I have the full grasp of the QB concept, so I’ve come to the realization that God is responsible. Over these past years the QB has been overwhelming and has spent, years at a time, in the closet. Family, trombone and Quartal Tuned Guitar (QG) fully occupied my time. The QB would sneak into the rare spaces of thought and then blowup back into the mainstream for another go-round.
I have always been a Christian. As our family moved around the Seattle area, I was baptized five times in five different denominations. I’ll take some credit for the work I’ve put in, but I strongly believe GOD is responsible for the Quartal Concept as well as this long period of proof. AT 80, I have finally become a practicing Christian, and I realize the QB is my covenant with GOD. Like Noah, I’ll continue until HE says stop.