Tap sequencing
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:41 pm
Disclaimer: If someone has already posted a similar or even identical concept (which is not unlikely considering the staggering amount of posts in this forum) feel free to get rid of this one. Note I'm rather new to Live and not completely familiar with the present features in all their entirety, so I might have missed things that are already there. I examined the manual quite thoroughly though.
Not so much a request than a highly playful idea that came to me rather randomly. I don't know whether Live is the suitable platform for such an implementation and if the community would appreciate it.
Tap sequencing, a mixture between step sequencing and real-time sequencing, achieved in two steps.
How does it work?
1. The user plays the notes of the melody (or chord progression, drum sequence, etc.) in an arbitrary fashion to get a rough tone representation of his or her idea (Chords would have to be played coherently in order to be recognized as such). Simultaneously, the notes are recorded in a list without note-on/off, pitch bend, modulation or any other information, just the tones themselves and the order they have been recorded in.
2. The user arms a track and by doing so, switches the controller into tap mode. As soon as recording has started, the notes contained in the previously recorded sequence can be "played" by tapping a single key or multiple keys in succession anywhere on the keyboard in a completely arbitrary fashion. Note On plays the current entry of the list, Note Off moves the list marker to the next entry. If a clip has multiple voices, the user can either tap them all simultaneously (e.g. chord progressions) or possibly select a particular voice (this would require some sort of simple automatic voice recognition/separation).
Aftertouch and/or multiple simultaneous key pressings could be utilized somewhat akin to multi-touch functionality found in modern touch screen devices/track pads, allowing the user to trigger input manipulation such as note delay/retrigger, simple plugin control changes and effects linked to the instrument. Also, the pitch wheel could momentarily set glide/tone portamento velocity in order to create a "post" pitch bend between two originally separate notes.
While this technique leads to rather instant results, one might rightly argue that during tapping, the impossibility of real-time note input for variations of the intial melody would be a severe obstacle for the user, especially with volatile, spontaneous ideas arising. A solution for this would be the use of a Momentary Overdub button (or possibly pedal), which, while toggled or held down (depending on preference), would switch the keyboard back to note entry and allow the user to record notes on the fly, much as the already present overdub function does.
(It might seem somewhat of an imposition to expect the user to switch between rythmic tapping/input manipulation and conventional note recording in an instant, however, tapping within the vicinity of the first note intended to be played during the momentary overdub segment might alleviate this issue.)
To carry the thought a bit further: Two inverse functionalities for conventionally recorded clips:
Note Overdub: Overwrites only the note values of an existing clip. Can be used both in step time and real time. When using in real time, the user can decide if Note Off moves the edit focus to the next note (as in step-time) or if only the note currently "touched" by the playback cursor can be edited (and in turn any number of times).
Tap Overdub: Overwrites only the note lengths/locations of an existing clip. Can only be used in real time. Note On prepones/postpones the original Note On of the upcoming/currently playing note, Note Off cuts the currently playing/previously playing note short/prolongs it. As with note overdub, Live can either move edit focus onto the next note at note off or limit editing to the playback cursor, allowing the user to slice up/"perforate" a note by multiple taps during its playback.
Some advantages (my subjective view):
People, who...
... are "all thumbs"
... want to record melodies beyond their motorical capabilities, without having to lower tempo or resort to tedious step sequencing.
... want to create variation batches in a jiffy
... like to experiment with unconventional sequencing/editing techniques
*inserts two cents*
Not so much a request than a highly playful idea that came to me rather randomly. I don't know whether Live is the suitable platform for such an implementation and if the community would appreciate it.
Tap sequencing, a mixture between step sequencing and real-time sequencing, achieved in two steps.
How does it work?
1. The user plays the notes of the melody (or chord progression, drum sequence, etc.) in an arbitrary fashion to get a rough tone representation of his or her idea (Chords would have to be played coherently in order to be recognized as such). Simultaneously, the notes are recorded in a list without note-on/off, pitch bend, modulation or any other information, just the tones themselves and the order they have been recorded in.
2. The user arms a track and by doing so, switches the controller into tap mode. As soon as recording has started, the notes contained in the previously recorded sequence can be "played" by tapping a single key or multiple keys in succession anywhere on the keyboard in a completely arbitrary fashion. Note On plays the current entry of the list, Note Off moves the list marker to the next entry. If a clip has multiple voices, the user can either tap them all simultaneously (e.g. chord progressions) or possibly select a particular voice (this would require some sort of simple automatic voice recognition/separation).
Aftertouch and/or multiple simultaneous key pressings could be utilized somewhat akin to multi-touch functionality found in modern touch screen devices/track pads, allowing the user to trigger input manipulation such as note delay/retrigger, simple plugin control changes and effects linked to the instrument. Also, the pitch wheel could momentarily set glide/tone portamento velocity in order to create a "post" pitch bend between two originally separate notes.
While this technique leads to rather instant results, one might rightly argue that during tapping, the impossibility of real-time note input for variations of the intial melody would be a severe obstacle for the user, especially with volatile, spontaneous ideas arising. A solution for this would be the use of a Momentary Overdub button (or possibly pedal), which, while toggled or held down (depending on preference), would switch the keyboard back to note entry and allow the user to record notes on the fly, much as the already present overdub function does.
(It might seem somewhat of an imposition to expect the user to switch between rythmic tapping/input manipulation and conventional note recording in an instant, however, tapping within the vicinity of the first note intended to be played during the momentary overdub segment might alleviate this issue.)
To carry the thought a bit further: Two inverse functionalities for conventionally recorded clips:
Note Overdub: Overwrites only the note values of an existing clip. Can be used both in step time and real time. When using in real time, the user can decide if Note Off moves the edit focus to the next note (as in step-time) or if only the note currently "touched" by the playback cursor can be edited (and in turn any number of times).
Tap Overdub: Overwrites only the note lengths/locations of an existing clip. Can only be used in real time. Note On prepones/postpones the original Note On of the upcoming/currently playing note, Note Off cuts the currently playing/previously playing note short/prolongs it. As with note overdub, Live can either move edit focus onto the next note at note off or limit editing to the playback cursor, allowing the user to slice up/"perforate" a note by multiple taps during its playback.
Some advantages (my subjective view):
- More intuitive and enjoyable than conventional step sequencing
- Less demanding than real-time sequencing as melody tones and melody rythms are recorded separately
- Very quick and easy; note "list" is mostly usable for the final rendition of the recording (sloppy real-time recordings are rather quickly beyond quantization "repair")
- Tapping and Momentary Overdub allow the user to immediatly record a large selection of (truly variable) variations directly or partially based on the original "note list".
- Instead of trying to get things right before actual recording, already the very first improvisation, however sloppy and/or off tempo it may be, can be "tapped up" to a decent clip (wrong notes aside).
People, who...
... are "all thumbs"
... want to record melodies beyond their motorical capabilities, without having to lower tempo or resort to tedious step sequencing.
... want to create variation batches in a jiffy
... like to experiment with unconventional sequencing/editing techniques
*inserts two cents*