EMUSIC-L Digest Volume 67, Issue 03 This issue's topics: Arpeggiators for Fun and Profit Arpeggiator Composing Paradigm (4 messages) Your EMUSIC-L Digest moderator is Joe McMahon . You may subscribe to EMUSIC-L by sending mail to listserv@american.edu with the line "SUB EMUSIC-L your name" as the text. The EMUSIC-L archive is a service of SunSite (sunsite.unc.edu) at the University of North Carolina. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 13:35:03 EDT From: "william.b.fox" Subject: Arpeggiator Composing Paradigm Over on Analogue Heaven, there has been some discussion about arpeggiators. Dr. Mike, I've been meaning to ask you about your composing paradigm vis a vis arpeggiators. How different is it compared to, for example, the write the notes on paper and then play it method? Bill Fox wbf@aloft.att.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 14 Aug 1994 11:44:56 -0700 From: atomic city Subject: Re: Arpeggiator Composing Paradigm william.b.fox jotteth.... > >Over on Analogue Heaven, there has been some discussion about >arpeggiators. Dr. Mike, I've been meaning to ask you about your >composing paradigm vis a vis arpeggiators. How different is it compared >to, for example, the write the notes on paper and then play it method? Hmmm. That's a very good question, Billy. I'd better put on my patented Stupomitron Helmet! Prepare to activate--! *FZZZAP* Sorry, couldn't resist. :) Anyway.... The thing about arpeggiators is that they disassemble chordal structures and spread them out over time in an orderly manner; this method of deconstructing harmony and turning it into rhythm is very appealing to me; it 'pushes my buttons'. The process of composing for arpeggiators is (for me at least) a very loose-limbed sort of work; unlike setting up melodies and voiceleading, which is best done on paper, arpeggiation is done rather like a jazz chart. The chordal structure of the piece is laid out in block form, with (in my youth, when I remembered how to do such things) the usual fake-book notations for inversions, added 7ths or 9ths, &c., and then actually played, with the parameters of the arpeggiator itself figured into the structure. (This comes from my background as a bassist, I think.) Consider: depending upon the number and order of notes played and the looping structure of the arpeggiator hardware, the chordal structure may or may not neatly fit into the time band alloted for it on the paper. For example, let's say you're doing a piece in 4/4 time, and holding a triad being arpeggiated in up-and-down mode; on a Roland synth, this will be 13531353..., a nice four note pattern that fits right in and makes you sound like Alan Parsons or Soft Cell, with the loop locked to the beat. But suppose you're playing a KORG synth? Then your triad is 1355311355311355311..., a SIX note loop that turns the beat around every couple of bars, lending a completely different feel to the song. Add a note, like a seventh, and your neat four-note loop becomes 135753135753 on the Roland synth, or 1357753113577531 on the Korg synth...and now the rhythmic aspects are REVERSED, being six against eight (2x4) now. Adding random or order- played scans, rests and syncopations (possible on more advanced arps) makes the process even more complex; the notes constantly shift in relation to one another and breathe dynamically in response to live playing and hardware settings. (And this is for only ONE arpeggiator; having two or more adds greatly to your power. At one time some six years ago, my studio had no less than five arpeggiators, each with its own way of working.) At this stage, having gotten a reasonable idea for the rules, I stop "composing" and just PLAY with the sound, letting it go where it will and tweaking it to taste. I often add echoes in sync with the clock rate, to create harmonic interplay between notes that sound now and the ghosts of notes that sounded a moment ago. Choosing out-of sync delays can create polyrhythms... and at that stage, you have a blend of melody, harmony and rhythm, all in one. Add a nicely evolving timbre, perhaps a percussive line or chord pad (or even just a pedal tone) to provide a reference, and you're on your way. This sort of structure, combined with looping drums that are processed in similar fashion and short note-loops that remain fixed courtesy of simple hardware sequencers such as those on the Prophet T8, SixTrak, or JX3P, forms the basis for much of my work. It has very little to do with traditional keyboard technique, but that's not my forte anyway. Any other questions, while I have the Stupomitron Helmet charged up? -- mike metlay * atomic city * box 81175 pgh pa 15217-0675 * atomic@netcom.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (from fEEd's commentary on pros and cons of the Yamaha CS-15 analog synth:) "Good: filter rez does not scream. Bad: filter rez does not scream." ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 21 Aug 1994 15:12:10 +0100 From: Nick Rothwell Subject: Re: Arpeggiator Composing Paradigm >Any other questions, while I have the Stupomitron Helmet charged up? Yes, Doctor. Actually, I think my approach with an arpeggiator would ideally be to use it for generating stuff quickly, and then *listening closely* to several takes and identifying the intervals and suspensions which work, and hard-wiring them. I've heard many, many arpeggio-based pieces where the individual notes were "right" harmonically, too right to be an accident. A recent example: Rachel's Song from Blade Runner. Nick Rothwell CASSIEL Contemporary Music/Dance nick@cassiel.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 23 Aug 1994 13:07:53 -0700 From: atomic city Subject: Re: Arpeggiator Composing Paradigm Nick Rothwell jotteth.... > >>Any other questions, while I have the Stupomitron Helmet charged up? > >Yes, Doctor. Actually, I think my approach with an arpeggiator would >ideally be to use it for generating stuff quickly, and then *listening >closely* to several takes and identifying the intervals and suspensions >which work, and hard-wiring them. I've heard many, many arpeggio-based >pieces where the individual notes were "right" harmonically, too right to >be an accident. A recent example: Rachel's Song from Blade Runner. Nick, I can't imagine you ever leaving anything up to chance; it's not how you work. :) I've discovered that allowing the arpeggiator to pick what notes go where can produce very nice results, particularly over long periods AND when mixed with more deterministic loops of small numbers of notes. My mix of loops and arps produces a mixture of random and dterministic melody that works well for me. -- mike metlay | atomic city | p.o. box 81175 | "There seems to be a certain quality of the human pittsburgh pa 15217-0675 | mind that requires the owner to get silly from atomic@netcom.com | time to time." (j. randi) ------------------------------ End of the EMUSIC-L Digest ******************************