Seaboard RISE

Five Dimensions of Touch

Lesson Plans

Version 1.1

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 1

Seaboard RISE & The Five
Dimensions of Touch

In partnership with Central Bucks West High School, ROLI

have created five lesson plans focused on the playing
techniques of the Seaboard RISE.

By following these lesson plans and exercises, students

will master The Five Dimensions of Touch that enable
multi-dimensional expression on the Seaboard RISE. For
more advanced students, ROLI has commissioned a set of
Etudes, that focus on refining further Seaboard RISE
playing techniques.

Introduction: 5D Touch
Unlike traditional keyboards and controllers, the
multidimensional Seaboard RISE lets you control sound
through Five Dimensions of Touch (5D touch). It moves far
beyond the expressive limitations of a standard keyboard,
opening up new ways to make and shape music through
intuitive gestures. The icons below depict the Five
Dimensions of Touch on the Seaboard RISE and its
accompanying software.

1: Strike

Strike is the initial force with which your finger makes

contact with the keywave. Anyone who has played a
traditional keyboard or any drum is familiar with Strike. For
those familiar with the concept, Strike corresponds to
Velocity (1-127).

2: Press

Press refers to the pressure applied to a keywave after the

initial Strike. Think of pressure like the bow of a violin—the
harder you press, the more “effect” you get (volume,
modulation, etc.). For those familiar with the concept,
Press corresponds to (Poly) Aftertouch.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 2

3: Glide

Glide refers to the effect of the horizontal movement of

your finger(s) on a keywave or the ribbons. Moving left
and right on a single key achieves vibrato, as it would on
a violin. Moving across the ribbons achieves a glissando,
as it would on a trombone. Glide generally affects Pitch
Bend, but it can be combined with other effects as well.

4: Slide

Slide refers to the effect of the vertical movement of your

finger(s) on a keywave. Slide typically is used to
modulate (change) the sound in some way, such as
opening a filter or changing the speed of an oscillator.
You can begin the Slide at any point on the Y axis of a
keywave. Slide is unique to the Seaboard RISE
instrument.

5. Lift

Lift is the speed with which you lift your finger from a
keywave. A rapid lift can create a lingering resonance or a
hard pluck, whereas a slow lift may allow the sound to
decay naturally. For those familiar with the concept, Lift
corresponds to release velocity.

We will now explore each of the Five Dimensions with

lessons in basic technique, exploration activities, and
musical examples.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 3

Lesson 1: Strike
Objectives

- Student will be able to understand and explain the

concept of Strike.
- Student will understand the impact that finger height
and initial force will have on the sound produced.
- Student will explore various sounds within the Equator
synth in order to better understand the effect of Strike
on the sound of each patch.
- Student will perform basic preparatory exercises
featuring the Strike dimension.
- Student will perform Etudes featuring Strike in a musical
setting.

Essential Question: What is Strike?

Strike refers to the initial force with which your finger(s)
make contact with the instrument. The more gentle the
initial touch, the softer the sound will be, just like a
traditional keyboard. Anyone who has played a traditional
keyboard or any drum is familiar with Strike. For those
with MIDI or controller experience, Strike corresponds to
Velocity (1-127).

Technique: How to Strike

Place your hand above the Seaboard and bring your index
finger down to contact the surface of any keywave.
Notice the sound. Try again with a harder initial Strike—
what do you hear now? Switch to a different sound and
see how it responds to various levels of Strike.

When we Strike the Seaboard, we intend to draw the

sound out of the instrument without sustaining the pitch.
Leaving your finger on the keywave will trigger the Press
dimensions (which we will cover in the next lesson). In
this way, the Seaboard is approached almost like a
percussion instrument, in which we think of the sound
“blooming” out from the instrument as we lift our finger.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 4

Strike Level
While it is not always ideal to talk in absolutes when
discussing music, we can think about the level of Strike
on a scale from 1 to 6. For those familiar with the musical
concept of dynamics, you will recognize the symbols on
the bottom.

1 2 3 4 5 6

Strike Level Lightest Light strike Medium Light Medium Heavy Heavy Very Heavy

Finger Height Very low Low Med low Med high High Very high

Dynamic pp p mp mf f ff

This may be an oversimplification, but it will at least give

you a good idea of how to perform various “levels” of
Strike and the impact those techniques have on the
subsequent performance.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 5

Exploration Activity- Strike

1. Load up the Double Bass and Bow preset in Equator

2. Use various levels of Strike to experience the impact

on the sound.

3. Respond briefly to the following questions:

a. How did different levels of Strike impact the
sound produced?
b. Most patches “modulate” volume based on
Strike level (velocity). Was there any other
effect created as you performed with a more
forceful Strike?

4. Repeat the same for the following presets;

a. Acoustic Piano.
b. Steel String Guitar.

Question to ponder: For almost

every sound within Equator,
Strike has the greatest impact
on the modulation of sound of
any of the 5 Dimensions of
Touch. Why do you think this is
the case? How does this
translate to a more traditional
keyboard?

Important vocabulary
Crescendo, Decrescendo,
Dynamics, Velocity, Modulation.
Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 6
Practical Exercises

1. Preparatory Exercise: Strike

• Practise the preparatory exercise for Strike,

following the fingerings given.
• Watch video of preparatory exercise.

2. Etude 1: Strike

• Perform the “intro” portion of the exercise (Letter

A), following the dynamics/finger height carefully.
• Perform left hand melody, 1-2 bars at a time at c.
QN = 68, being sure to follow all fingerings and
dynamics.
• Perform entire piece, left hand only, following all
fingerings and dynamics.
• Perform right hand ostinato only.
Tip: Use left hand to steady pulse to ensure that the “ta” of beat one
(the “e” or whatever we want to call it) falls exactly on the right part of
the beat. TAP ta de ta TAP ta de ta, etc.

• Perform entire etude, both hands together.

3. Advanced Etudes: Strike

• Out of time, repeat each right hand phrase as many

times as necessary until it is performed fluently.
• With a metronome, play each chord change out of
rhythm, but with the metronome, one beat per
chord, followed by rests so that you become
comfortable moving from chord to chord.
• Add the rhythm to the right hand, first without
accents, then with.
• Follow steps 1-3 for left hand as well.
• Perform entire study with both hands.

You can watch a full performance of this Etude here.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 7

Lesson 2: Press

Objectives

- Student will be able to understand and explain the

concept of Press.
- Student will understand the impact that pressure will
have on the sound produced.
- Student will explore various sounds within Equator in
order to better understand the effect of Press on the
sound of each patch.
- Student will perform basic preparatory exercises
featuring the Press dimension.
- Student will perform Etudes featuring Press in a
musical setting.

Essential Question: What is Press?

Press refers to the continuous pressure applied to the
keywave after the initial strike. While the sound is
sustained, applying more pressure will typically impact
the sound in some way. The most common effect is on
the volume of the sound (more pressure = louder), but
other effects such as the modulation of a filter (cutoff,
resonance, etc.) are also very effective.

Technique: How to Press

Launch Equator and navigate to 064 Sine Solo Lead.
Strike any keywave on the instrument, but instead of
having your finger rebound, allow it to remain in contact
with the keywave. As the sound sustains, slowly apply
more pressure on the surface of the keywave. Notice the
impact on the sound. Now gradually release the
pressure. What happens now? Navigate to 055 Attack
Unison Synth and repeat the same exercise. Did Press
trigger something different than before? Can you
describe it?

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 8

Exploration Activity- Press

1) Choose three different “patches” sounds from

Equator;
• Sound 1 _____________________
• Sound 2 _____________________
• Sound 3 _____________________

2) Using various levels of pressure, note the effect for

various sounds within the Synth.

3) Respond briefly to the following questions?

a. How did different levels of Press impact the

sound produced for each patch?

b. Some patches “modulate” volume based on

Pressure level (Aftertouch), but for certain sounds,
Press has a different effect on other characteristics
of sound. Even if you do not know the proper
terminology yet, try to explain what happens to the
sound for each of the patches you chose.

Question to ponder: Press is a

technique unique to the
Seaboard instrument, allowing
for a completely natural
approach to expressive playing.
If you were to compose a piece
utilizing the Press dimension,
what type of piece might it be?
What are some musical concepts
you could include within the
piece to take full advantage of
this very important attribute of
the Seaboard?

Important Vocabulary
Crescendo, Decrescendo,
Dynamics, Poly Aftertouch,
Modulation.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 9

Practical Exercises

1. Preparatory Exercise: Press

• Practise the preparatory exercise for Press,

following the fingerings given.
• Watch a video of preparatory exercise.

2. Etude 2: Press

• Perform the “intro” portion of the exercise (Letter

A), following the dynamics/pressure amount
carefully.
• Perform the first chord, using pressure to achieve a
crescendo to the note change on beat 3.

Tip: Listen to the video performance carefully and try to mimic the
articulation of the performer’s 5th finger as it changes to the higher
note.

• Perform the second portion of the etude, utilizing

the “pump” technique to achieve quick dynamic
swells.
Tip: Perform this portion one hand at a time until it is easy to play, then
combine.

• Perform entire etude, both hands together.

3. Advanced Etudes: Press

• Slowly and without Press, perform each hand

individually. Take your time moving from chord to
chord, following the fingerings carefully.

• Once comfortable, add press to each hand

individually

• Perform both hands together, complete with Press.

You can watch a full performance of this Etude here.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 10

Lesson 3: Glide
Objectives

- Student will be able to understand and explain the

concept of Glide.
- Student will understand the impact of Glide on the
pitch.
- Students will utilize Glide to perform both Vibrato,
both types of Glissando, and Seamless Half Steps.
- Students will perform basic preparatory exercises
featuring the Glide dimension.
- Students will perform Etudes featuring Glide in a
musical setting.

Essential Question: What is Glide?

Glide refers to alteration of pitch with a horizontal motion
applied to a keywave or one of the two ribbons. Typically
this motion across the X axis will bend the pitch up or
down. A “wiggling” motion upon a single keywave will
achieve an effect very similar to vibrato on a traditional
string instrument. Moving up or down the ribbons will
achieve a glissando, moving up or down as much as two
octaves from the original pitch. Using the Touch fader on
the RISE enables you to set the level of sensitivity of the
Seaboard to the Glide dimension.

Technique: How to Glide

Launch Equator and navigate to 064 Sine Solo Lead. We
will practice 4 separate techniques that utilize the Glide
dimension.

1. Vibrato: Strike any keywave and sustain the pitch by

using Press. Wiggle your finger back and forth to
bend the pitch rapidly up and then down, imitating a
natural vibrato.

2. Glissando (ribbon): Strike the Seaboard anywhere on

the ribbon and, while pressing, draw your finger left
and right to achieve the Glissando technique. Try this
on both ribbons.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 11

 If you are having trouble maintaining the Glissando
throughout the entire range, use slightly more
pressure.

3. Seamless Half Steps: Strike any keywave and, while

simultaneously lifting your first finger, move to a note
a half step (one semitone) up or down. The pitch
should bend seamlessly between the two notes.

4. Glissando (keywave): This technique works most

musically with patches set to the Mono Legato setting.
These patches, like many traditional leads, can only
play one pitch at a time. This affords us the added
technique of using Glissando on the keywaves
themselves without having to move to the ribbon.
Navigate to 115 Triangle Mono Lead and Strike any
keywave. Perform the same Glissando technique you
did for a ribbon Glissando, but this time, perform
directly on the keywaves.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 12

Exploration Activity - Glide
1. Choose three different sounds within Equator,
make sure one falls under the Mono Legato
category (they will have “mono” in the title)
• Sound 1 _____________________
• Sound 2 _____________________
• Sound 3 _____________________

2. Technique practice;
• Because there are so many different
techniques associated with Glide, it is
important to spend time getting
comfortable with all of them before
moving to the musical exercises.

• Spend time with various patches, trying

each of the 4 techniques listed above.
Although it won’t be quite as smooth, you
can certainly use the keywave glissando
on polyphonic patches.

3. Respond briefly to the following questions:

• Several musical terms associated with the

Glide dimension are introduced above.
Can you come up with several traditional
instruments other than the ones
mentioned above that you may be able to
emulate using the Glide?

Question to ponder: In just

• Do you find it more musically satisfying to about every patch in Equator,
use more “traditional” sounds to emulate Glide modulates the pitch, like
these traditional instruments, or do you an extremely intuitive pitch
wheel. When we Glide to the
prefer to use the more electronic patches right, the pitch goes up. When
within Equator? Can you explain why you we Glide to the left, it goes
down. There are other aspects
feel this way?
of the sound, however, that are
often modified subtly when you
Glide. Can you tell what they
are? Do you think it would it be
beneficial to add a more
obvious modulation via Glide?

Important Vocabulary
Vibrato, Glissando, Half Steps,
Pitch Bend, Semitones, Pitch
Bend Range.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 13

Practical Exercises

1. Preparatory Exercise: Glide

• Practise the preparatory exercise for Glide, following

the fingerings given
• Watch a video of preparatory exercise

2. Etude 3: Glide

1. Perform the “intro” portion of the exercise (Letter A),

taking time to make sure the octaves are in tune with
each other. Glissando slowly and evenly to achieve
desired musical effect.
2. Perform the left hand part only, perfecting one bar at a
time before moving to the next. As before, take time
to ensure the Glissando is even
3. Play two measure chunks of the right hand melody
starting at B. The melody is rhythmically repetitive and
B and C are almost identical. Learn these bars
thoroughly to make the rest of the etude easier. Leave
out the Glide at first if need be, then add it back when
you are more confident with the notes and rhythms.
4. Perform with both hands simultaneously.
5. The tempo and date chart is no longer provided for
you, but you are encouraged to keep track of your
progress on your own. This habit will streamline your
practice sessions and improve productivity by
ensuring that you learn your materials and technique
thoughtfully.

3. Advanced Etudes: Glide

1. Practice this study one hand at a time at first, then

both simultaneously
2. Work on the left hand rhythmic ostinato in measures
1-4

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 14

3. Slowly work through the vibrato section in the right
hand in measures 1-4, being careful to include
dynamics once the technique is comfortable
4. Continue for the remainder of the study this way, bit
by bit, until comfortable

You can watch a full performance of this Etude here.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 15

Lesson 4: Slide
Objectives
- Student will be able to understand and explain the
concept of Slide
- Student will understand the impact of Slide on the
sound of various patches within Equator
- Student will perform basic preparatory exercise
featuring the Slide dimension
- Student will perform Etudes featuring Slide in a musical
setting

Essential Question: What is Slide?

While the Glide dimension dealt with horizontal
movement across the X axis of the Seaboard, Slide is
triggered by moving vertically on the Y axis. The unique
texture of the RISE keywaves allow the performer to “feel”
the track on which to Slide more easily. Slide initiates the
movement that vertical movement is detected, regardless
of how high or low on the keywave it begins. Slide can
be assigned to numerous parameters within Equator
(Filter, LFO rate, Envelopes, etc.). Slide sends as MIDI CC
74, so for those more adept with software synths other
than Equator, you can assign CC 74 to various parameters.

Technique: How to Slide

Launch Equator and navigate to 002 Smokey Rhodes.
Slide is triggered via vertical movement on a keywave, so
strike any key, sustain by lightly pressing, then slowly
draw you finger upward, along the Y axis, keeping your
finger flat and straight. Notice the change in the sound.
Now draw your finger back to its original location, again
keeping your finger flat and straight.

What do you hear? Within this particular patch, Slide

triggers a high pitched, glassy timbre, reminiscent of the
sound you might produce by drawing a violin bow along
the bar of a vibraphone. In this case, Slide is triggering
the sound of the oscillator with that particular timbre or
sound quality.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 16

Exploration Activity- Slide
Choose a few different patches and repeat the same
process. What do you hear? If you aren’t fluent with
“synth” vocabulary like Filter, Noise, Oscillators, etc. just
describe what you hear in your own words, like we did
above.

Patch ____________________

Slide effect _____________________________

Patch ____________________

Slide effect _____________________________

Patch ____________________

Slide effect _____________________________

• Respond briefly to the following questions: (number

format as before)
• In your exploration, did you find any
patches that did not respond to Slide?
Why do you think these sounds would be
programmed to omit this dimension?
• Compared to the other dimensions we
have explored, do you find the impact of
Slide on the original sound to be more
dramatic or less dramatic? Why did you
come to this conclusion? Do you feel this Question to ponder: We have
experienced several different
makes the most musical sense and why? modulation parameters
triggered via Slide. None of
these, however, have been Pitch
Bend, which has generally been
assigned only to the Glide
dimension. Would it make
sense to assign Pitch Bend to
Slide? If so, in what situation?
How does this impact the
Seaboard’s “natural” approach
to modulation?

Important Vocabulary
Filter, Oscillator, Reverb, X and Y
Axis

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 17

Practical Exercises

1. Preparatory Exercise: Slide

• Practise the preparatory exercise for Slide, following

the fingerings given
• Watch video of preparatory exercise

2. Etude 4: Slide

1. Perform the right hand portion in the first two

measures, taking your time to hear the change in
sound. Try to “draw” it out of the instrument as though
you are drawing a bow across a cello.
2. Perform the left hand part at Letter B. This hand only
performs one note at a time, so be picky about taking
all of the beats to complete the Slide motion.
3. Perform with both hands simultaneously, focusing on
making the Slide even in both hands. You do not want
to Slide too quickly in one hand or the other, or the
effect will sound like an echo instead of triggering
simultaneously in both hands.
4. Once comfortable with the Slide dimension in context,
add the dynamics (crescendos) where notated.

3. Advanced Etudes: Slide

1. Familiarize yourself with the melody by performing the

right hand only, without Slide.
2. Once comfortable, add the Slide dimension to the
right hand only.
3. Work on the left hand alone. As you do so, “hear” the
right hand and how it fits rhythmically with the left. It
is very important that, while the hands are separate,
the listener hears eighth and sixteenth notes in
succession.
4. Perform with both hands together, adding dynamics
and proper phrasing when ready.

You can watch a full performance of this Etude here.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 18

Lesson 5: Lift

Objectives
- Student will be able to understand and explain the
concept of Lift.
- Student will understand the impact of Lift on the sound
of various patches within Equator.
- Student will understand the relationship between
release velocity (Lift) and velocity (Strike).
- Student will perform basic preparatory exercise
featuring the Lift dimension.
- Student will perform Etudes featuring Lift in a musical
setting.

Essential Question: What is Lift?

Lift is the speed with which the fingers are released from
a keywave. Typically, the faster the Lift, the more
pronounced the effect. Since Lift applies to the end of a
note, it typically triggers effects like resonance, reverb, an
articulate pluck, or something similar.

Technique: How to Lift

Launch Equator and navigate to 042 Ocean Horizon Pad.
In order to perform Lift, it is necessary to press in and
then “pull” your finger away from the keywaves at various
speeds. The faster you pull away (think pulling your
finger off a hot stove), the greater your Lift will be. Strike
any keywave, Press to sustain, then Lift several times. Use
different speeds each time you release the note. Since
Lift can be subtle, you may wish to look at the Lift Panel
within Equator to get a visual representation of how much
Lift you are actually achieving.
What do you hear? Within this particular patch, Lift is
modulating the frequency of LFO 1. You should be able
to hear the speed (the wah-wah-wah) of the filter going
faster or slower, depending on your level of Lift.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 19

Lift and Press, a symbiotic relationship
As you work with the Lift dimension, you may notice that
the modulation is far more pronounced when the Press
dimension is used at a greater value. As we learned
before, additional Press often increases volume, intensity,
filters, or other very obvious targets. The effect of a high
release velocity on a sound that is already very
pronounced is going to be far more obvious than one that
is subtle.
Pay attention to this as you experiment with this
dimension. It is a way to make it a little less subtle, often
with great results.

Introduction to Modulation
The modulation on various parameters via Lift is often
subtle. In order to better experience the effect of Lift, we
are going to make an alteration to our modulation list. This
is just one way to add a modulation source and target.

1. Select 007 Worlds Apart Pluck.

2. Experiment with the Lift dimension. By default, this
patch does have a subtle modulation via Lift, but we
are going to make it more obvious.

3. Click on the Modulation List tab on the lower half of

the screen

4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Select

New Source.

5. Choose Lift as your source and Sampler Filter Cutoff 1

as your target. The modulation amount will default to
100. Leave it there.
6. Choose Lift as your source and draw a modulation of
35% on the FM Depth A dial and FM Depth B dial.
Assign modulation to the level dial of Envelope 3. You
can then experiment and adjust as you play.
7. Now experience with different levels of release.
What do you hear?
8. You may wish to “Save as” (name your patch whatever
you’d like) for future use. Be sure to use “Save as” so
you don’t overwrite the original patch!
Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 20
Exploration Activity - Lift
Not every patch within Equator modulates via Lift. Browse
through the synth and find several that do, then describe
what you hear when you release at various velocities.
Take note of how subtle (or not) the modulation is on
each patch you select.

Patch ____________________

Lift effect _____________________________

Patch ____________________

Lift effect _____________________________

Patch ____________________

Lift effect _____________________________

• Respond briefly to the following questions:

• Are there any patches that did not
modulate via Lift that you thought should
do so? Name that patch here. Even if you
are not yet comfortable with the process
for doing so, what effect might you like to
achieve with Lift in that particular patch?
• As you will see in the following exercises,
there the speed of Lift (release velocity) is Question to ponder: Lift is
labeled with one of two articulations. One arguably the most subtle of the
dimensions we have seen thus
is a slow Lift, the other fast. There are far. Is this a good thing? In
some instances in which a traditional what scenarios might you want
dynamic marking (piano, mezzo forte, to create your own modulations
in which Lift has a more
fortissimo, etc.) is used under the Lift pronounced impact on the
symbol. Why would this be necessary? Do sound?
you feel this is the best way to represent
more subtle levels of Lift? Important Vocabulary
Modulation Panel, Modulation
Source, Modulation Target,
Release Velocity, LFO, Filter

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 21

Practical Exercises

1. Preparatory Exercise: Lift

• Practise the preparatory exercise for Lift, following

the fingerings given
• Watch video of preparatory exercise

2. Etude 4: Lift

1. Familiarize yourself with the syncopated rhythm. Tap

your foot and try clapping to ensure the second note
in the rhythm falls in between beats 1 and 2.
2. Perform the right hand only, at first focusing only on
the fingers and rhythm. Once comfortable,
incorporate various levels of Lift into the performance.
3. Repeat step 2 for the left hand, then perform with both
hands simultaneously.
4. The performer on the video takes many liberties with
the pulse of this etude. This is a musical technique
called rubato. Follow the push and pull of the tempo
from the video or create your own musical
performance including rubato.

3. Advanced Etudes: Lift

1. While notation only appears in bass clef in this etude,

those using the written notation should be aware that
this study must be played with two hands, both
reading the bass clef part. Notes with stems facing up
should be played with the right hand and those with
stems facing down should be played with the left.
2. There are several time signature changes in this study,
but the quarter note pulse never changes. If you are
confused, just read the piece as though it is written
without a time signature and use your ear to guide
your phrasing.
3. As before, perfect each hand one at a time before
performing with both hands simultaneously. Follow
the markings for Lift carefully once comfortable with
both hands.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 22

4. G.P. is an abbreviation for Grand Pause. The piece
should stop for a moment and let the music rest, out
of time, returning to measure 15 when the performer
is musically ready to move on.

You can watch a full performance of this Etude here.

Five Dimensions of Touch: Lesson Plans 23