Yggdrasil is a norns cyberdeck tracker â an instrument designed to be performed with a keyboard only. âSlotsâ are the nucleic acids of Yggdrasil, while âcommandsâ and âinteractionsâ are the twin helixes of the human-machine interface. Toggling Y Mode remaps the alpha-numerics, unlocking expressive performance gestures. Capital letters are not used and modifier keys only sparingly. Where other languages use may use commas or parenthesis, Yggdrasil favors the ; character for its position under the little finger: economic, ergonomic, exegesis.
Neurotically focused on their endless descent, slots are stacked into tracks of different heights, like so many stalactites reaching into the terminal darkness below. Slots can contain up to one each of: note, sample, macro, velocity, and phenomenon. Phenomena allow for exotic events such as randomizers, âgotoâ events, and directional toggles.
Commands are built from the letters, numbers, and symbols that appear in the terminal as you type. Typically, commands will do things like change notes, control playback, or adjust tempo. Yet other commands will let you copy entire tracks, route notes to different MIDI channels, or even create musical patterns.
