Setting up | Other practical functions
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FR-7b/FR-5b V-Accordion
Other practical functions
Let us now have a look at the first “purely electronic” functions of your FR-7b/FR-5b.
Your FR-7b/FR-5b is what we call a “virtual instrument”.
Though its physical appearance is similar to that of its
acoustic ancestor, it is based on an altogether different
concept (technology) – and it can do a lot more. In this
section, we will look at functions that may be new to
you but may come in handy once you know what they
do and how they work.

General remark

The functions discussed here can be selected via the
front panel, because we figured that you might need
them more often than the other parameters.
The changes you make here are not saved automati-
cally. That’s because these shortcuts are mainly
intended for temporary adjustments. If you want to
keep them forever (or until you change them again),
you must save them (see p. 95).
The functions discussed here can also be set using the
FR-7b/FR-5b’s MENU.

Pitch-related functions

■Transpose
The FR-7b/FR-5b contains a Transpose function that
allows you to change the key of the music you are
playing. The advantage of this system is that you can
play a song in E major (for example), while using the
fingering of the C major scale (for example). This may
come in handy when you are used to playing a given
song in one key and suddenly need to play it in a dif-
ferent key.
Let’s look at an example:
(1) While the Main page is displayed, press the [UP]
button once.
(2) Use the [DATA÷ENTER] knob to select the key your
music should sound in.
The note indication (“C#” in the example above)
always refers to the C key, which may make it diffi-
cult for you to transpose to F# (for example) while
playing in Bb. We therefore recommend you use the
value as your main guide, because it represents the
interval. This can be calculated as follows:
• In what key do you want to play? (This is your “0”
value.)
Example→ C major
• What key does the song use?
Example→ E major
• How many semitones do you need to “shift” the
notes?
Example→ [C#, D, Eb, E]= 4 up, so “4”.
(3) Press [EXIT÷JUMP] to return to the Main page.
■Musette Detune
This parameter already hints at the power of the
FR-7b/FR-5b’s virtual technology… You probably
know that an accordion’s 8’ Treble register may con-
sist of 2 or even 3 reeds that are usually tuned apart
to provide a richer sound (accordionists call it the
“musette effect”). One reed is tuned slightly above,
the other slightly below the correct pitch, and the
third (if available) is tuned “properly”.
Tuning reeds is a specialist job and usually not per-
formed by accordion players themselves.
On the FR-7b/FR-5b, however, “tuning” the “reeds”
(that do not really exist) is a matter of turning the
[DATA÷ENTER] knob.
Transpose
This is what you play…
…and this is how it sounds.