Suzuki Qchord Quick Start Guide
Section 1 - EZ Play Button
An ideal way to
set up the Q Chord is to concentrate first on the Chord and
Strumplate voices (because when you turn the Q Chord on, all
sections will activate automatically).
a) Press the
‘Power on’ button
b) Press the ‘EZ
Play’ button once
(You will notice
that there the Autochord, Chord Hold and Manual Chord buttons are
now lit.)
c) Press any
chord button and you will also be able to play the Strumplate voices
and the chord selected will hold.
To play the chord
buttons normally (ie without the chord holding) press the button
between Autochord and Chord Plus once (after steps a and b). You can
now play the chord buttons normally, together with the Strumplate.
Playing the Strumplate unaccompanied
In order to play
the Strumplate voices in isolation, press the EZ button once and the
button between Autochord and Chord Plus twice (which will deactivate
the LEDs next to the same buttons). Press any chord button first and
then the Strumplate, to activate the Strumplate sounds.
You can
effectively use the Strumplate and chord buttons together in any of
the above options.
Start/stop
Use the ‘start
stop’ button to instantly stop the particular piece you are playing,
without interfering with your settings, or any adjustments made on
Sustain, reverb and
vibrato etc. When using the power on/off button, this will set
everything back to the original settings.
Section 2 –Strumplate
Use the ‘Select’
buttons under the Strumplate voices section to determine which sound
to use from the Strumplate. There is an indicator light to show
which side of the selected sounds you are currently using.
Section 3 –additional Strumplate
sounds
To access the
total 99 sounds for the Strumplate, please do the following:
a)
Press the Power button on.
b)
Press the button between
Melody Keyboard and Bass control twice (which will make the Melody
control LED up as opposed to the Bass control).
c) Press the F#
button once
d) Press the
button between Melody Keyboard and Bass control again (once this
time). The Bass control LED will now be lit again.
e) Press the
‘Select’ button in the upwards direction, until track/voice no. 6 is
showing in the Q-Card control display.
f) Press any
chord button and then you can access the Strumplate sound. In this
instance, it will be no 6, which is easily recognisable as the
Harpsichord voice.
Scroll up and
down the total 99 sounds, using the select buttons.
Remember, you can
de-select the rhythm section by following the points in section 1.
Sustain
Use the sustain
button for the Strumplate sounds. By pressing and holding the
sustain button, a bar will automatically come up until you stop
pressing (showing the length of sustain you can set). When you
switch the Q Chord off, the ‘sustain’ will automatically revert back
to its original factory setting.
Section 4- Chord Buttons.
To access the
Chord button sounds only, repeat the original basic steps:
a) Press the
‘Power on’ button
b) Press the ‘EZ
Play’ button once
(You will notice
that there the Autochord, Chord Hold and Manual Chord buttons are
now lit.)
c) Press any
chord button and the chord selected will hold.
Alternative sounds from the Chord
buttons:
Now press the
‘select’ buttons under the Rhythm section to achieve alternative
sounds from the chord buttons.
Further additional sounds from the
Chord buttons:
As in section 1,
set the chord buttons to play normally (ie without the chord
holding) by pressing the button between the ‘Autochord’ and ‘Chord
Plus’ once (after steps a and b).
Now you can
achieve a further set of different sounds, just by using the
‘select’ buttons under the Rhythm section.
Section 5 – Rhythm controls
There are 10
easily accessible rhythms. These can be selected by using the
‘select’ buttons on the rhythm section.
Tempo
Use the tempo
button to increase or decrease the tempo accordingly.
Section 6 – Addition Rhythms
Apart from the 10
Rhythms already contained in the Q Chord, there are 30 additional
Rhythms available on a rhythm cartridge.
To access these
rhythms, please note the following:
a)
With the Q Chord switched off, plug in the cartridge in the
concealed slot at the end, near the chord buttons. This should be
with the label in the uppermost position. Please note that the
cartridge should have a tight fit, so make sure it is fully engaged.
b)
Turn the Q Chord on.
c)
Under the Q Chord control section of the Q Chord, press down
the ‘Stop’ and ‘Play/pause’ buttons simultaneously.
d)
Press any chord button to activate the rhythms.
e)
Use the ‘search’ buttons to go through the various rhythm
styles, which will be displayed through the ‘track/voice’ window.
A list of the 30 rhythms are available <here>
Please note that
if you activate the ‘EZ button’ it will automatically revert back to
the 10 built in rhythms.
Section 7 – How to make a keyboard.
a) Lay the
template supplied with your Q Chord over the chord buttons.
b) Press the
Melody keyboard button twice (the LED will light up).
You now have a
basic keyboard with black and white keys!
c) Change the
sounds of the piano keys by using the select button under the
Strumplate voices section. You can also access the 99 voices to the
keyboard as mentioned in section 3.
Try a simple tune!
For the absolute
beginners, try a well know tune like ‘Row, Row your boat’. The keys
are marked clearly on the melody keyboard overlay.
(Start with the C
to the far left of the keyboard)
C - C -
C - D -
E -
E - D -
E - F -
G
CCC (use the
higher C) GGG, EEE, CCC (lower C again)
G - F - E - D - C
Section 8 – Song Cartridges
As well as the
rhythm cartridge, there is a number of song cartridges available
that slot in to the concealed entrance located at the end of the Q
Chord.
a)
With the Q Chord switched off, plug in the song cartridge in
the concealed slot at the end, near the chord buttons. This should
be with the label in the uppermost position. Please note that the
cartridge should have a tight fit, so make sure it is fully engaged.
b)
Activate the songs by pressing the ‘play/pause’ button.
c)
Use the search buttons to scroll through the list of songs.
Strum along!
Use the strum
plate voices over the top of the song cartridge songs to enhance the
particular song you are enjoying!
Play along!
Please note –
when a song cartridge is inserted, the chord button section is
automatically altered to a keyboard layout, so –with the keyboard
overlay provided- you can play along to the song being played!
As with the
rhythm section, you can change the tempo of any of the songs. This
can be helpful when learning to play along to your favourite tunes!
Song cartridges
Details of the
various songs contained on each song cartridges can be found on our
web site
www.suzukimusic.co.uk and the words to the various tracks are
included with the song cartridges themselves.
Have fun!
The Q Chord is a
unique instrument that can inspire you to create wonderful sounds.
It is also a
great learning tool and above all…. lot’s of fun!