The Hotz MIDI Controllers including the Hotz Box, were designed to be the fastest, most expressive MIDI controllers in exsistence. They enhance the capibilities of the Hotz Translator - revolutionary software that transforms any type of controller into a Powerful Musical Instrument, which anyone can play. With the Hotz Technology even professional musicians can easily perform musical feats that are very difficult and in some cases impossible, with traditional instruments.
Unique Hotz Controllers are available on a custom order basis, if you are interested please contact wm@jimmyhotz.com.
The Hotz Translator software below may be used with any MIDi Controller to transform it into a Super Instrument.
Hotz Translator for Windows
Note: Also works on Mac OS X with Crossover
and Linux with Crossover
Only $199 !
Unleash the Future! Transform your PC into a new kind of musical instrument for the Digital Age that is indescribably powerful and fun to play! Jimmy Hotz pioneered Interactive Music Technology and he continues at the forefront, with technology that is still years ahead of the field.
"There is no question that this is the greatest musical instrument since the invention of the piano." Jon Anderson - lead singer of music group "YES"
"I have seen three things in my life that I instantly knew would have a profound effect on the future; the personal computer, the mouse and the Hotz Translator." Steve Wozniak - co-founder of Apple Computers
Electronics, synthesizers, computers and digital recording have all made an enormous impact on music composition, performance and recording. Despite these advances, the process of becoming an accomplished musician - especially one trained in the theory and complex language of music - has remained essentially the same for centuries. This consists of many years of constant practice of physical patterns in conjunction with the study of diverse approaches to music theory. Most people with the innate potential to express themselves musically are prevented from doing so when faced with such a difficult path. Hotz technology addresses this problem in an elegant and empowering way that enables anyone, regardless of musical experience, to play music on a level that is fundamentally impossible without Hotz Translator technology.
"For songwriters, the Hotz Translator is a dream come true." Craig Anderton - founding editor of Electronic Musician Magazine
"This is the future of music." Herman Rarebell - The Scorpions
"Hotz technology is a giant step forward in the marriage of music and technology, allowing musicians access to an encyclopedic wealth of musical knowledge which they can immediately and musically apply." Doane Perry - Jethro Tull
"At last a dream come true. The Instrument of Instruments."
Mick Fleetwood - Fleetwood Mac
To our knowledge the Hotz Translator contains the most complete database of musical structures available anywhere in a single reference. The accumulated expert knowledge base of musical structures from around the world, developed over thousands of years, is embodied in the Translator engines’ database. It contains many unique structures that have not been previously classified and many of the new and unique structures playable on a Hotz Translator instrument are physically impossible for one person to play on conventional instruments. We humbly observe that it is probably not possible for a human without computer assistance to memorize or mentally access a musical database even remotely this advanced, let alone have the training and dexterity to flawlessly perform all of these structures in real-time. The Translator database provides every possible voicing of thousands of culturally cross-referenced structures, available in any key, with any altered root notes and in any mode. [As a point of reference around 50 different chord and scale structures can be used to play the majority of music produced in Western culture.] This means that on as little as fifteen pads or input keys literally billions of voicing possibilities are available. The incredible power of having all conceivable voicings of a chord available simultaneously is extremely satisfying. A novice can access and perform with a vocabulary of musical structures that is very advanced the first time they play the Translator.
"I have seen the instrument of the future, and it is definitely the Hotz Translator."
Nikki Sixx - Motley Crue
"The most impressive interactive technology I've seen yet."
Bret Leonard - Film Director (Lawnmower Man, Virtuosity)
Additional Information on the Hotz Translator Software
By integrating a unique software MIDI processing environment, and a vast database of chord/scale structures, the Hotz Translator provides a profound and effective computer-assisted musical instrument. The Translator makes it possible to play instantly any desired musical structure (chord or scale), in any key/octave, and any desired voicing with precision, speed, and creative intention. All without retuning or using complex and ever-changing fingerings, and without having to avoid the “out of tune” notes that are not part of the structure! In a Hotz system, the demanding tasks of musical structure memorization and physical pattern layout are handled by the computer. This leaves the user free to concentrate on the most creative and satisfying aspects of the musical experience, playing and improvising music.
What makes the Hotz Translator unique and a truly musical instrument is the way in which it solves the problem of changes from one structure to another while the player is performing. This crucial process makes it possible to change a table while still sounding notes the player is sustaining from the previous table. The result is indistinguishable from what a musician does when changing from one chord or scale to another by changing fingering patterns. The instrument is dynamically translated to follow chord and scale changes throughout your performance, so you always have the musically correct notes laid out before you.
The Hotz coding process sequences the structure/table changes without requiring the player to do anything but concentrate on playing music. Thus the player can focus completely on which notes of a particular chord or scale should be played and for how long, which is the very essence of music. Changes of structures can be under pre-encoded software control, or made in real-time by the player as part of playing musical passages (the Conductor feature adds this extremely powerful dimension to all skill levels of users). The result is realistic improvisational control impossible without decades of study and practice.
The change to a different structure/table is as flawless and transparent as if you physically had moved to a new fingering pattern, yet you can play the same notes on your keyboard and translation results in the new pattern being played. This means that a novice musician can, for example, play only the white notes of a translated MIDI keyboard, yet sound musically correct while playing any desired musical structure in any key! The structure/table control changes can be simply coded into a MIDI sequence so that the user can play along with any piece of music (MIDI files or CD tracks), no matter how complex, without sounding out of key. The player still makes the creative choices that define rhythm, voicings, and dynamics! By not having to worry about “wrong notes,” a player is freed to feel the music and explore in ways that would be impossible using traditional instruments and techniques.
Some of the benefits of working with Hotz technology.
· Real-Time Super-Human Music Performance. Greatly enhanced functionality of traditional MIDI controllers and/or computer keyboards.
· Perform complex music much sooner than is typically possible and perform passages that are otherwise physically impossible..
· Immediate and practical real-time access to an immense vocabulary of chord/scale structures. Includes the most advanced musical structure knowledge base available, this empowers and inspires players to explore.
· User-expandable knowledge base, important for development, research, education, etc.
· Accelerated understanding of connections between structures, styles of music, cultures...
· Assists original and authentic expression in every conceivable style and mood of music. Simplifies the exploration and understanding of masterful compositions.
· Upward path: There is no dead end street! Hotz technology can take you as far as you wish to go as a musician. The Hotz Translator was designed from the ground-up to let the worlds most serious professional musicians explore new musical realms and perform musical feats in real-time that were simply not possible without Hotz technology.
Hotz Translator for Windows
Note: Also works on Mac OS X with Crossover
and Linux with Crossover
Only $199 !
OVERVIEW
Electronics, synthesizers, computers and digital recording have all made an enormous impact on music composition, performance and recording. Despite these advances, the process of becoming an accomplished musician - especially one trained in the theory and complex language of music - has remained essentially the same for centuries. This consists of many years of constant practice of physical patterns in conjunction with the study of diverse approaches to music theory. Most people with the innate potential to express themselves musically are prevented from doing so when faced with such a difficult path. Hotz technology addresses this problem in an elegant and empowering way that enables anyone, regardless of musical experience, to play music on a level that is fundamentally not possible without Translator technology.
TRANSLATOR-BASED PRODUCTS ENABLE ANYBODY TO PLAY MUSIC
Translator-based products enable everyone, including musically untrained people, to creatively play along with music on virtually any medium -- audio CDs, MIDI music files, video, DVD and TV broadcasts. To enable the experience, a Hotz -file, which is a MIDI*-compatible data file encoded with Hotz-code, is created for a song. This file can be a completely self contained musical piece, as in a MIDI file; used with music on media entirely separate from the file, such as a standard off-the-shelf audio CD; or broadcast along with a TV signal.
Created with the Hotz Translator for Windows, a Hotz-file contains information that translates all of the correct notes of the current chord and scale (musical "structure") for the musical piece being played into rows on the playing surface. The "instrument" can be the computer's keyboard and mouse, or an electronic keyboard or other type of MIDI instrument connected to the computer through its MIDI port (the joystick port on the sound card). In real time, as the musical key, scales and chords change so does the translation of the playing surface. The end result is that players have all the creative choices they would have with a conventional musical instrument they practiced for years, but without fear of choosing a "wrong," or out-of-key note. By this simple and elegant process, Hotz Translator technology reduces years of practice and study needed to experience creative music improvisation and performance. Moreover, it allows musicians who have played all their lives to perform music at a level that is impossible on a conventional instrument.
CONTAINS THE LARGEST DATABASE OF MUSICAL STRUCTURES
The Hotz Translator contains the largest database of musical structures (chords and scales) available anywhere in a single reference, with all structures playable using the simplest of finger and hand gestures. The accumulated expert knowledge base of musical structures from around the world, developed over thousands of years, is embodied in the application. Moreover, it contains many unique structures that have not been previously classified. It is inconceivable that a human without computer assistance could memorize or mentally access a musical database even remotely this advanced, let alone have the training and dexterity to flawlessly perform all of these structures. The Translator's open and extensible database of more than one trillion chord/scale voicings includes culturally cross-referenced arrangements from around the world. Many of the new and unique structures playable on a Hotz Translator instrument are physically impossible to play on conventional instruments.
Songs of any style and ethnic origin can have Hotz-files created to translate the playing surface to the chord/scale structures as the song plays. Through a computer sound card, the sound produced can be that of virtually any instrument in the world. It is important to note that the cost of creating Hotz-coded files for music-CDs is quite low. The level of development effort is typically less than one person-day per music track for a trained music technician, depending on the length and musical complexity.
Expansion of notes for an F suspended 4th chord on a standard 6-octave keyboard.
Example - Hotz Translator Software invented by Jimmy Hotz
For example, the upper part of this illustration shows the expansion of notes for an F suspended 4th chord on a standard 6-octave keyboard. The lower part shows the full expansion of notes for the same 6 octaves of the same chord on a Hotz translated Instrument. On both instruments, all possible voicings of the chord are available.
SOLVES CHANGES FROM ONE MUSICAL STRUCTURE TO ANOTHER
A critical element of Translator technology is the way in which it solves the problem of changes from one structure to another while the keyboard is played. This crucial process makes it possible to change a table while still sounding notes that the player is sustaining from the previous table. The result is indistinguishable from what a musician does when changing from one chord or scale to another by changing fingering patterns on a conventional musical instrument, such as a guitar or piano.
Prior attempts to change note mapping tables in real-time sound choppy and toy-like because all notes from the previous table have to be turned off when the change takes place. The Hotz Corporation's broad patent protection includes the fundamental Translation process, which separates Translator-based products from toy-like musical devices. Any musical instrument that aims to provide users with similar music performance features would have to incorporate this core technology to deliver realistic improvisational control.
The Hotz coding process automates the structure/table changes without requiring the user to do anything but concentrate on playing music. Thus the user can focus completely on which notes of a particular chord or scale should be played and for how long, which is the very essence of music performance. Structure changes can be under pre-encoded software control, or made by the player as a real-time composer. For those who have never played, the result is real improvisational ability impossible without decades of study and practice. And for those who have played for years, the result is the ability to perform at levels that are simply not possible using conventional instruments.
