less-concepts
@vicimity and i have agreed to merge our collective norns work on less concepts 3 and the original less concepts into a single main repository. i also wanted to add a few new bits to correct decisions i made in 2019 that he kindly did not disturb – so, very close to the 3 year anniversary of this script, i’m stoked to have another iteration of less concepts out in the wild!
less concepts is rooted in the idea that complexity is just a shit-ton of simplicity, chained together. at its core, less concepts holds 65,536 possible combinations of notes which can be gated, offset, and manipulated to create minimal sequences for improvisation. small changes to a single parameter can bring sweeping or subtle changes.
seek. think. discover.
support + thanks
this thread is the focal point for all norns less concepts support moving forward. the original two threads will be kept visible for historical context.
i cannot thank @vicimity enough for his generosity, care, and brilliant work on less concepts 3 – he has such a beautiful imagination, well-balanced with a practicality that roots all of his ideas into concrete action. his curiosity, both as an artist + developer, was such a pleasure and inspiration to watch unfold over his three months of constant development + the many months of support and iteration that followed.
i’m so grateful that his work is how i personally frame this script – linus is why i started playing with it again
Requirements
norns 2.7.1 220321
Passersby
engine installed (restart/reset after initial installation to activate engine)
grid (varibright 128 or 64, or midigrid), optional
crow, optional
just friends, optional
mannequins w/2 synth, optional
changelog
- 220406: v.3.1.1 - PSET fix
- 220403: v3.1 - olafur, ~ r e f r a i n, 64 grid, midigrid and (attempted) PSET updates
Documentation
from linus’s Less Concepts 3 thread:
at first you are met by a constructive concept built from the seed 36 and rule 30. root note is C and the scale is major. the sequence is fed through the built in sound engine “passersby” and midi device 1 / channel 1.
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the combination of seeds and rules feed the sequencer with 8-bit numbers. this number is visualized by the eight squares top left on the screen / grid (in the screenshot above 11001111 = 207), a new number is seeded with every beat of the selected time signature. the two voices are individually triggered when they cross paths with the true value 1. the current 8-bit number (11001111 = 207) translates into a note by passing it through the limits for high / low and then transposed within the selected scale.
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navigate the main performance screen by scrolling with E1, changing values with E2 and E3. adding snapshots with K2 and randomizing selected values with K3.
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K3 takes on a different role when snapshots are selected (bottom left) or cycling sequencer direction / duration (bottom right). while snapshots are selected K3 will randomize all values (except time and duration). while direction / duration is selected K3 activates a ´destructive´mode, indicated by ‘*’. all changes to snapshots will be saved while in destructive mode. if you wish to delete a snapshot hold K2 and press K3, this results in the snapshot still playing but no snapshot is selected. you scroll through and select the snapshots with E2.
NEWS
- time: change time signature for the sequencer. 1/8 - 1/32 (more options available in params).
- a cycling sequencer that steps through saved snapshots and move when the indicated duration has passed. the cycling sequencer can move up ‘>’, down ‘<’ or random ‘~’.
- midi notes can trigger snapshots. select “midi → snapshot root” and play away!
/ / / / / / / /
~ r e f r a i n
hold K1 to find the built in pitch, delay, micro looper.
NEWS
- buffers are now visible (top right)
- input mix (engine and adc) is editable on screen (prev. in params / adc is new)
- K2 toggles state for both buffers ‘rec | play’
/ / / / / / / /
params → edit
‘historical load’
- as of Apr 3 2022, presets are fully compatible with the norns PSET menu
- you can still load historical saves, using this parameter – be sure to save a PSET after loading to migrate to the new save/load system
‘time, midi & outputs’
- select time range(‘legacy 1/8 - 1/32’, ‘slow 1/1 - 1/16’ and ‘full 2/1 - 1/32’ (locked with snapshots)
- default length (cycle) 1x - 32x (cycle duration for new snapshots)
- olafur mode (overwrite loaded scale with realtime MIDI input)
- midi (choose midi device and channels) turn midi/link transport on / off
- midi → snapshots root (play your snapshots with a midi keyboard)
- outputs, choose outputs for voice 1 & 2.
‘scaling & randomization’
- choose scale and global transpose
- set transpose randomization
- clamp the values for randomization with ‘randomization limits’
+ params for ~refrain, passersby and w/syn
Grid operation
128:
64:
the script now detects whether a connected monome grid has 8 or 16+ columns and will auto-resize the interface to match! has most of the 128 functionality packed into a tighter space.
rows 1 + 2: cols 1-8 selects bit per voice
rows 3 + 4: random generators
- 3.1 + 3.2: seed + rule
- 3.4 + 3.5: bit v1 + v2
- 3.7 + 3.8: low + high
- 4.1 + 4.2: octave v1 + v2
- 4.4 + 4.5: time + (time + ALL parameters)
- 4.8 + 3.8: ALL parameters
row 5: blank
row 6: snapshot management (presented in reverse for easier conceptual on-boarding)
- 6.8: press to create a snapshot
- 6.7: hold to delete the selected snapshot
- 6.6: hold to delete all snapshots
- 6.1 - 6.3: sequencer step directions – down, random, up
- long press for destructive mode
rows 7 + 8: snapshots – recall a stored snapshot by selecting it from the bank of snapshots
Download
the combined + updated script is housed under less-concepts
(instead of the older less_concepts
and linus’s less_concepts_3
). you can add it to your norns by:
- searching for and installing
less-concepts
in maiden’s project manager - by executing
;install https://github.com/vicimity-dndrks/less_concepts
in maiden’s repl