3. Rhythm and sequencers
Goal: make the patch play itself. Drums, a bassline and a melody, each from a different kind of sequencer, all on the transport's clock.
You leave with: a bar of music that runs when you press play.
The sequencers
| Organism | What it is | Feeds |
|---|---|---|
| Sequence | eight-row, sixteen-step drum grid, one MIDI outlet per row | drums |
| Steps | one row of sixteen triggers with swing, gate and velocity | anything that needs a pulse |
| Riff | sixteen-step acid bassline with accent and slide per step | Acid |
| DNA | a generative sequencer that plays a sixteen-base genome | melodies that evolve |
| PianoRoll | a looping note source with clips, patched like any other | anything |
| Microdot | a rolling offbeat bass synth with its own trigger grid | itself |
Every one of them sends MIDI down dotted cords and follows the transport. None of them is a track; they are organisms on the canvas, which is why one Riff can feed three instruments at once.
Steps
- Drums. Sequence into Kick on row one, Cicada on row two. Draw a four-on-the-floor and an offbeat hat. Press play.
- Bass. Riff into Acid, the preset from lesson 2. Set two accents and one slide. Hear what accent does to the filter.
- Melody. DNA into Grit. Let it run, then mutate it and hear the line change without losing the key.
- Swing. The groove control on the transport shifts every sequencer at once. Then turn Follow off on one of them and it stays straight.
- Roll a pattern. Riff's rows and Sequence's grids take Random from their right-click menu: a new line, the same settings.
- PianoRoll. Add one, draw four bars, and cord it into Rhizome. The audition keyboard at the bottom plays only what the roll feeds.
- Save as
course-03.
Shot list
- Sequence's grid, cells lit as they are drawn, the kick and hat entering.
- Riff's row, accent and slide toggled, Acid's filter jumping on the accent.
- DNA's genome, mutate pressed, the melody drifting.
- The groove control moved, everything swinging, one Follow switched off.
- Right-click Random on a grid, three rolls.
- PianoRoll drawn, its audition keyboard played, Rhizome answering.
- Play from start, the whole bar, a straight cut to the next lesson.
Go deeper
- Notes on the timeline: the PianoRoll and the timeline's note editor obey the same rules.
- Swing and groove: the Help page of any sequencer describes its Follow switch.