#21

A complement to the sequencing things other than v/oct idea is to send gates and even triggers to cv inputs. It is a good way to get harder abrupt changes into patches. I find it can give more modern “digital” type sounds from a traditional analog set of modules.

#22

I’ve been trying to get into more traditional songwriting techniques using the modular. First I write a chord progression and record it into Ableton. The chords will be played by either a kontakt piano instrument or my Prophet Rev 2. Then I duplicate that MIDI track and turn the chords into arpeggios. From there I either send that directly out of my Mutant Brain module to one or multiple modules or I send it into Marbles with the external processing turned on. Now I have melodies that follow the chords. I think I need to fine tune this technique but haven’t come up with any specific tricks yet.

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#23

Extrapolate the chord progressions into well voice-led melodies rather than to arpeggios.

251 triad example:

D F A
G B D
C E G

becomes:

F A D
G B D
G C E

(To minimize the distance a voice travels so it reads as melodic rather than stochastic)

Now derive the sequence by reading vertically rather than horizontally:

Seq 1: F G G
Seq 2: A B C
Seq 3: D D E

(for contrast, I understood that your post, given the 2-5-1 in C Major input, would yield the sequences:

D F A
G B D
C E G)

I’m anxious about 1: relaying something that was mind-blowing to me but may be obvious to you and 2: relaying the information in a way that does not emphasize the important parts of the approach (chords are stacks of melodies; melodies are not simply vehicles for chords AND use simple sequences; they’re more primed for live modulation).

I’m also sure you can see that, if you’re building your chords in more elaborate ways // with this application as an end goal, there’s a lot of freedom // it’s a lot easier to change the sequences to taste without destroying the whole piece (whereas changing arps can be tricky since they’re so… Crystalline).

I thought arps were the way to approach chords in modular, too, but then when I started thinking of it as an ensemble rather than a glitter box, it made more sense to tackle melody directly (even though it was scary at first).

[also this was a quick and simple example with no extensions I could do quickly – I don’t mean to suggest that I’ve found a great way to voice lead this particular progression]

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