The Yamaha Harmony Director (HD-300) is a great tool for developing tone quality and better intonation in your band. This page collects a number of resources that offer ideas on using the HD-300 (especially for younger bands) as well as potential alternatives that offer similar results.
Introduction to the Harmony Director
Follow-up after a year with the HD
Alternatives to the Harmony Director
For playing drones, you can use apps like Tunable and Tonal Energy. I also like this YouTube playlist of Cello Drones.
For playing parts along with your band, you don’t need a Harmony Director. You can use any sort of keyboard. You may have to experiment with your keyboard’s settings for how to set the transpose quickly.
While I love the HD’s functionality, nothing improves my band and makes my job easier like my warmup system. As a band director, it’s the #1 thing I wouldn’t want to be without. To find out how the Amplified Warmups system can work in your band room, click here.
Apple Mainstage as an HD substitute
If you have a Mac computer (sorry, PC and mobile users), a MIDI controller, and $30, you can set up a very functional substitute for the HD using Apple’s Mainstage software.
Recommended MIDI controllers
There are a wide range of devices that can supply the functionality for this setup. You can choose one that covers all the bases – keys, drum pads, and knobs – or you can plug in multiple devices to cover everything. Two things to note: 1) I have a lot of good experiences with AKAI products, so that’s why you see their products well-represented on the list below. Other brands may have products that fit your needs better. And 2) a disclosure: the links below are affiliate links. I may make a commission when readers purchase items through these links.
In addition to 25 mini keys for playing chords and notes, the MPK Mini has 8 drum pads for selecting sounds, hold, and transpose, as well as knobs for controlling tone volume, metronome volume, and tempo. It’s small, which is both a plus and minus, but it offers a lot of functionality. You’ll need to get comfortable using the octave shift buttons for different playing ranges.
The Mini Plus adds another octave of keys, which should eliminate the need for much octave shifting. The keys are still small, but I think if I were buying a controller specifically to use as a band tuning keyboard with Mainstage, I would likely go with this model.
If you already have a MIDI keyboard and just need some drum pads and knobs, this is an effective and affordable unit. I wish it had a few more drum pads, but I’ve used multiple LPD8’s, and they function really well.
If you have a separate MIDI keyboard and really want some extra drum pads for controlling metronome functions or adding some additional sound options, this gives you what you need.
If you want four octaves and larger keys and don’t mind plugging in two devices, you could pair this keyboard with the LPD8 above.