To any muso who's ever wrestled with the unholy mysteries of Augmented Fifths or Diminished Sevenths in their quest to improve as a player — or, for that matter, to beginners still sussing out the basics — the Speedyplain Preludes could well look like the answer to a maiden's prayer. (Some maiden! — Ed.) The British-made Preludes — there are two models, one for keyboard and one for guitar — are chord-finder computers which enable the player to call up at a touch the correct fingering for just about any chord or scale you care to name. We borrowed a pair of these intriguing-looking devices from distributor Keith Hand to put them through their paces.

The Prelude, at first glance, looks like a calculator; it's a little smaller than a paperback book with a touch-sensitive control panel topped by an LCD display strip. The design both looks and feels good; no rough edges on the plastic casing and, thankfully, no trace of the 'sturdy-but-stolid' quality which, sadly, can tend to dog some British products when compared with their Far Eastern counterparts. The units look to be well made and well designed cosmetically, which has to be a happy combination.

"IT PROVIDES A SMOOTH PASSAGE THROUGH THE HARD GRIND OF LEARNING HOW TO PLAY CHORDS"

As I'm the first to admit that as a keyboard player I'd make a great rat-catcher (and, like many, harbouring secret fantasies about out-arpeggiating Jon Lord in my spare time), I tackled the keyboard version of the Prelude first. Press the 'On' pad and the LCD display lights up with a perfect miniature replica of a full-blown keyboard, black notes and white notes clearly marked. Next choose the chord you want to display — say, G major (here speaks the beginner, I hear you mutter!), and small dots appear on the display to show you which notes you should play to form that particular chord — white dots on black notes, and vice versa. In basic operation, the Prelude is as simple as that — but that's only the beginning. G major not complicated enough for you? In addition to the fundamental chords from A-G the control panel offers the options of minors, sharps, flats, 7ths and 9ths, or any combination of those that is physically possible, plus scales. You can go on pressing, selecting one or more options on the basic chord, and the LCDs will display the right fingering accordingly until, when you punch in something that's completely ludicrous, the dots simply blank out and the display reverts to an empty keyboard.

To a non-keyboard player like me the Prelude was a revelation, opening up previously uncharted avenues. For anyone trying to teach themself to play a particular instrument, or indeed anyone whose technical knowledge of music is limited, a chord computer like this can provide a smooth and easy passage through that first and most agonising stage of all, the hard grind of simply learning how to play chords. Encouraged, I set out to see what else the Prelude could do.

In addition to its chording capabilities, the Prelude will also display scales in any key you choose. Press the required key indicator (followed by the minor option if you like) and then the 'Scale' pad, and the correct scale pattern shows up on the display.

Lastly, there's INV — or 'Inversion'. Punch in the chord or scale you want, look at the resulting display, then press INV and the display changes to show an alternative fingering for the same chord/scale. Press INV again and you get a third alternative, and so on until you run out of possible options, when the display returns to show the original fingering again.

For the absent-minded among us (or anyone who has a habit of getting sudden and compulsive cravings to drop everything and run slavering to the nearest takeaway for a Milwaukee Fried Wombat), the Prelude will switch itself off after a couple of minutes of non-attention, thus saving the two AA (or HP11) batteries from going flat before their appointed time. A small point perhaps, but it shows that Speedyplain are thinking.

"AN ABSOLUTE GODSEND FOR BEGINNERS AND A FANTASTIC SHORT-CUT THROUGH THE PAINFUL FIRST STAGES"

The guitar version of the Prelude is so similar to its keyboard brother that there's little more to say about it. The only two real differences that I could find were that the LCD display (which shows, as you might have guessed, a guitar fretboard) remains visible even when the unit is switched off — switching on brings in six small crosses over the nut, to designate open strings — and the fact that the guitar version is a little slower to respond to the controls than the keyboard model. Keith Hand tells me that this is due to the greater complexity of the guitar version, which is fair enough, and certainly the response isn't so slow that it's irritating. Otherwise, the same rules and principles apply; call up a chord, and black dots appear over the 'strings' to show you how it should be fingered. Scales, variations, inversions, all can be displayed in the same way.

Overall, I simply can't fault either of these two devices. For beginners they're an absolute godsend and a fantastic short-cut through the painful first stages. For the more experienced player the variations and inversions in particular can really help to widen your scope — guitar is an instrument I do play, and the Prelude has already come into its own, especially when learning or experimenting with new material. The units sit neatly on one knee (or are small enough to perch on one side of the keyboard without getting in the way) and the LCD readouts are designed to make perfect logical sense from those positions. Left-handed guitarists, though, will have to resign themselves to a bit of mental arithmetic, but who knows? Maybe Speedyplain will come to the rescue and bring out a version for Southpaws some time in the future? Whatever the case, at an almost crazily low RRP of £20.00 each these units are unbelievable value for money. I reckon the Speedyplains are a must for keyboard or guitar players — and they're British too... ah, now that's what I call a bargain!

SPEEDYPLAIN 'Prelude' Chord Computers
KEYBOARD VERSION (RRP £20.00 inc VAT)
GUITAR VERSION (RRP £20.00 inc VAT)

Further details from Keith Hand Musical Supplies, (Contact Details).

Manufactured by Speedyplain Ltd, (Contact Details).