Janko keyboard
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The Janko keyboard is a musical keyboard layout for a piano designed by Paul von Janko in 1882.
Based on the premise that the hand can barely stretch more than a 9th on the piano, and that all scales are fingered differently, Janko's new keyboard had two interlocking 'manuals' with three touch-points for each key lever. Instead of the traditional row of white and black keys, the keyboard has an array of keys.
C# D# F G A B C# D# F G A B C D E F# G# A# C D E F# G# A# C# D# F G A B C# D# F G A B C D E F# G# A# C D E F# G# A# C# D# F G A B C# D# F G A B C D E F# G# A# C D E F# G# A#
Each row of keys is a half step away from its neighboring rows, and on each row of keys the interval from one note to the next is a whole step. This key layout results in all chords and scales having the same "shape" on the keyboard with the same fingerings regardless of key, unlike a traditional keyboard.
The Janko keyboard never caught on, because few were prepared to relearn their repertory on a strange keyboard with totally new fingering. It was a far more radical change for the pianist than, for example, for the clarinetist to change to the Boehm system.
