Lefty Keyboard is a MIDI device designed to challenge and inspire musicians by mirroring your keyboard performance around the note D. This inversion creates a playful dilemma: familiar patterns now feel new, encouraging you to rethink and re-learn your instrument.
The device was inspired by the author’s trip to Siena Jazz and the encounter with Francesca Naebow, whose innovative approach to music sparked the idea for this mirror-based keyboard exploration.
Lefty Keyboard should be placed on a MIDI track before an instrument or drum device.
- Keyboard mirroring around the note D
- Encourages creative re-learning of your instrument
- Compatible with any MIDI instrument
- Works seamlessly on MIDI tracks in Ableton Live
- Download this repository.
- Place the device in your Ableton Live User Library.
- Restart Ableton Live if required.
- Create a MIDI track.
- Insert Lefty Keyboard.
- Place an instrument or drum device after it.
- Play your keyboard as usual — the device will mirror your input around D.
Tip: The mirrored mapping may feel counterintuitive at first. Embrace the challenge — it’s designed to spark new musical ideas and improvisational approaches.
- Ableton Live
- MIDI track with an instrument or drum device
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
Under the following terms:
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License text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/