DoDeRe-Bú
Welcome. This is the page of the dodecaphenic xylophone DoDeRe-Bú and of the PC application that goes with it, DoDeReBu_App.
For any question or suggestion, write to doderebu@dodecaphenia.org.
The xylophone manual, with all the explanations, is available as a PDF at juegaconmigo.net.
This page follows the xylophone manual chapter by chapter. In each section you will find the video that shows you how to play, and, where there are any, the matching songs: the midi file, the dodecagram as a PDF, and the song's own video.
There are three things you can do with a midi file: play it back with any audio player, to hear how the song sounds before you play it yourself; open it with DoDeReBu_App and play it back visually; or open it with a standard midi editor (such as MuseScore) and read the score in traditional notation. The PDF is the song's dodecagram, that is, its score in dodecaphenic notation.
You can buy the xylophone online from jugarijugar.com. Recommended for children, but also for young people, adults and older people who want to play a little and learn musical structures.
How to read a dodecagram
Watch the video Shows the rows, the columns and the cells of a dodecagram.
The DoDeReBu_App application for Windows
The application plays back and edits simple midi files in dodecaphenic format. It bundles its own Java: nothing else needs to be installed.
Watch the video Shows how to install the application from the zip, choose the language and play the first song.
Part I. Let's Play
Mary Had a Little Lamb
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Mary Had a Little Lamb (in Do)
Midi file
Dodecagram (PDF)
Watch the video Shows how to select the notes do, re and mi with template 1A, and plays Mary on the xylophone.
A Few Songs with Only 5 Notes
Watch the video Shows how the notes are laid out in Do, plays them, and names them.
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El Gegant del Pi (in Do)
Midi file
Dodecagram (PDF)
Watch the video Plays El Gegant del Pi on the xylophone.
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Jingle Bells (in Do)
Midi file
Dodecagram (PDF)
Watch the video Plays Jingle Bells on the xylophone.
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Ode to Joy (in Do)
Midi file
Dodecagram (PDF)
Watch the video Plays Ode to Joy on the xylophone.
Key and Transposition
Watch the video Shows template 5A transposed to Mi.
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El Gegant del Pi (in Mi)
Midi file
Dodecagram (PDF)
Watch the video Plays El Gegant del Pi in Mi.
Play Songs by Ear
Watch the video Shows how to work out a song by ear, select its keys, write them down on the dodecagram and create the matching score in the application.
Part II. Musical Structures
The Major Scale
Watch the video Shows template 2 selected in Do, and plays it.
- Major Scale (in Do) Midi file Dodecagram (PDF)
-
Frère Jacques (in Do)
Midi file
Dodecagram (PDF)
Watch the video Plays Frère Jacques in Do.
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Frère Jacques (in So)
Midi file
Dodecagram (PDF)
Watch the video Shows the transposition to So and plays Frère Jacques in So.
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Les Oques Van Descalces (in Re)
Midi file
Dodecagram (PDF)
Watch the video Shows template 2 transposed to Re, the selection of the notes used, and plays Les Oques Van Descalces in Re.
The Minor Scale
Watch the video Shows how template 3A is laid out, and plays it.
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Summertime (in ri)
Midi file
Dodecagram (PDF)
Watch the video Plays Summertime in ri on the xylophone.
The Harmonic Minor Scale
Watch the video Plays the harmonic minor scale in do.
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La Tarara (in fa)
Midi file
Dodecagram (PDF)
Watch the video Lays out template 3B in fa and plays La Tarara on the xylophone.
The Major Pentatonic Scale
Watch the video Shows the keys laid out, and plays them on the xylophone.
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Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen (in Fo)
Midi file
Dodecagram (PDF)
Watch the video Lays out template 4A in Fo and plays Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen in Fo.
The Minor Pentatonic Scale and the Blue Note
Watch the video Shows the keys laid out, and plays them on the xylophone.
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Smoke on the Water (in de)
Midi file
Dodecagram (PDF)
Watch the video Shows template 4B laid out in de and plays Smoke on the Water on the xylophone.
The Chromatic Scale
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L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera) (in re)
Midi file
Dodecagram (PDF)
Watch the video Shows how the chromatic scale is laid out, with no template, and plays L'amour est un oiseau rebelle (Habanera) on the xylophone in re.
Part III. Musical Notation
The Dodecagram
Watch the video Shows how template 1A is laid out.
Correspondence with Traditional Notation
Watch the video Shows how to draw a traditional score on the staff from a dodecagram.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
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Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (in Do)
Midi file
Dodecagram (PDF)
Watch the video Selects the keys of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star in Do on template 1A, and plays it on the xylophone.
Appendices
A Blank Dodecagram
Empty dodecagrams to print and write on by hand, one for each meter. They carry neither tempo nor key: they work for any song.
Other Songs Bú
Songs that are not in the manual. They come with the midi file and the dodecagram, with no video.
⬇ Download them all (midi and dodecagrams) (274 KB)
- Allà dalt a l'Esquirol (in De) Midi file Dodecagram (PDF)
- Au clair de la lune (in So) Midi file Dodecagram (PDF)
- Go Down Moses (in de) Midi file Dodecagram (PDF)
- O Tannenbaum (in Fo) Midi file Dodecagram (PDF)
- Oh, Susanna (in Ti) Midi file Dodecagram (PDF)
- Over the Rainbow (in Do) Midi file Dodecagram (PDF)
- Stenka Razin (in La) Midi file Dodecagram (PDF)
- Ten Green Bottles (in Mi) Midi file Dodecagram (PDF)
- Vem kan segla förutan vind (in mi) Midi file Dodecagram (PDF)
- When the Saints (in Re) Midi file Dodecagram (PDF)