Cadenza (n.): a brilliant, technically demanding solo passage — calling for precision timing and controlled technique.

Cadenza is a 36-key split keyboard layout for the Corne Choc, built on Colemak-DH and configured in Vial. Every key stays within reach of the home position — no wrist movement, no arm travel.

Inspired by Miryoku, but redesigned from the ground up with per-finger tipping terms, frequency-ranked symbol placement, bilateral layer access from either hand, a dedicated Code & CLI layer, a complete International layer for German, and two Tiling Window Manager layers for i3/Sway.

36 keys. A tap dance for the typing elite.

v1.0.0 is the stability declaration — all planned core layers are complete and verified. It is a breaking release from v0.8.x: existing .vil files are not compatible.

Key changes from v0.8.1:

• Firmware — custom Vial-QMK build required: TAP_DANCE_ENTRIES 48 (up from 32). 43/48 TD slots used. All 16 macro slots used.
• L0 Base — Bsp/Ent reassigned correctly (Bsp→Symbols, Ent→Numbers). Esc restored to plain key. New top-row layer access: W/Y→L1, F/U→L11, L→L12.
• L1 RGB & Media — full redesign. Access via Hold W / Hold Y so all thumb keys remain free on the layer.
• L4 Symbols — Miryoku numpad grid replaced with Frequency+Strength layout. = (most used) on T (strongest finger).
• L9 Code & CLI — operator TDs corrected, new macros M10–M15 (&&, ||, !=, ==, =>, ->).
• L10 International — full bilateral redesign. Access promoted to D/H (index fingers). Left side added: ß, €, −, " dead key. No macros needed for ß/€ — direct RALT keycodes.
• L11 Tiling WM — Quick (new) — WS 1–4 via F/U. Focus switching and window movement on right hand. Kill/Float/Fullscreen on all thumbs, both sides.
• L12 Tiling WM — Full Map (new) — WS 1–10 via L. Numpad muscle memory from L5. Tap = go · Hold = move window.

Full changelog: VERSIONING.md

Cadenza is free and open source — designed, tested, and maintained in spare time on a 36-key keyboard.

If it saved your wrists, spared your carpal tunnel surgeon a visit, or simply made typing feel less like a crime against ergonomics — a coffee would make the author very happy. It won't fund a yacht, but it will absolutely fund the next tap dance slot.

☕ Buy the author a coffee on Ko-fi

36 keys. Zero revenue. Infinite tap dances.

• Home Row Mods via Tap Dance — per-key tipping terms (250 ms ring/pinky · 200 ms index/middle)
• 13 layers — alpha, RGB/media, navigation, mouse, symbols, numbers, F-keys, clipboard, brackets, code/CLI, international, tiling WM quick, tiling WM full
• Frequency + Strength symbols — most-used symbol on strongest finger, documented ranking
• No inner column — G/M never used for layer content; only vertical finger movement for layer access
• Bilateral layer access — L7/L8/L9/L10/L11 reachable from either hand independently
• Code & CLI layer (L9) — || · 2>&1 · && · | · / / ~/ / ../ · $() / ${} · != / == · => / ->
• International layer (L10) — ä/ö/ü via " dead key, ß, €, `, |, \, ' — bilateral access, no macros for ß/€
• Tiling WM integration (L11 + L12) — WS 1–10, focus switching, window movement, Kill/Float/Fullscreen

Full interactive reference: docs/cadenza-viewer-v1.0.0.html Full design documentation: docs/index.html

Access keys are assigned by usage frequency × ergonomic quality. The right thumb middle (Bsp) earns L4 Symbols because it requires no lateral movement. D/H (strongest index pair) earns L10 International because German umlauts appear in every sentence. G and M are never used for layer access — the lateral stretch destabilises hand position.

Frequency + Strength (L4 Symbols): Symbols are ranked by daily usage frequency in German IT writing, then assigned to fingers in strength order. = (rank 1) sits on T (strongest left index). & (rank 8) sits on O (weakest right pinky). No arbitrary numpad-position inheritance.

W/Y for RGB & Media (L1): Hold Esc was the previous access key — but holding Esc blocked the entire left thumb cluster, which is needed for Mode/Toggle/RGB on that layer. W and Y (ring fingers, top row) leave all six thumb keys free.

D/H promoted for International (L10): Previously X/. (ring fingers). The index fingers are stronger and the bilateral access pattern " dead key on both T (left) and N (right) means umlaut input works regardless of which hand holds the layer.

Two WM layers instead of one: L11 gives reflex-speed access to WS 1–4 (the four workspaces most people use daily). L12 gives the full WS 1–10 map using the numpad positions from L5 — no new muscle memory required, just a different layer key.

No inner column for layer content: G and M require a lateral inward index stretch — the same problem Colemak-DH solved by moving B and H. Cadenza extends this principle: G/M carry only their letters and App/Menu, never layer content.

• Corne Choc (crkbd) with RP2040 MCU
• Custom Vial-QMK firmware with TAP_DANCE_ENTRIES 48 (see below)
• OS keyboard layout set to US International (required for dead keys and RALT combinations)

The default Vial firmware only supports 32 Tap Dance slots. Cadenza v1.0.0 requires 48.

# Clone Vial-QMK
git clone https://github.com/vial-kb/vial-qmk.git
cd vial-qmk
make git-submodule

# Edit keyboards/crkbd/keymaps/vial/config.h
# Change: #define TAP_DANCE_ENTRIES 32
# To:     #define TAP_DANCE_ENTRIES 48

# Build
qmk compile -kb crkbd/rev1 -km vial

Flash via RP2040 drag-and-drop:

1. Double-tap the reset button → RPI-RP2 drive appears
2. Copy the generated .uf2 file to the drive
3. Repeat for the other half

1. Open Vial desktop app, connect keyboard via USB
2. File → Load saved layout → select configuration/Cadenza-Corne-Pro_v1_0_0.vil
3. Confirm all layers loaded correctly

Set your OS keyboard layout to US International. This is required for:

• RALT+S → ß
• RALT+5 → €
• Dead key " (Shift+Quote) → ä, ö, ü when followed by a vowel

Cadenza follows Semantic Versioning — vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH.

Full versioning policy and change log: VERSIONING.md

See CONTRIBUTING.md. Ports, language variants, and usage reports are especially welcome. Open a Discussion tagged roadmap to suggest future features.

Designed by one7two99 · MIT · 2026

Based on Colemak-DH by stevep99 · Inspired by Miryoku