ValliSoftware Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 This is how I experiment with finding chords for a melody that I created. A melody can also be a bass line as well. Keyword here is Chord Formulas but not just for Major/Minor scales but for any scale/key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRobinson Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 Very interesting. One thing that I always do when "noodling out a melody" is play to the Metronome. I think that it makes a difference when improvising to try to align your musical ideas to some kind of "beat," because this affords rhythmic possibilities as well as melodic ones. Another thing that I routinely do is to edit my "original noodling" track – which is then forever muted – in an attempt to arrange the "noodles" into some kind of sensible progression. (I might do this several times, taking care to preserve each and every one of these "experimental" tracks. I never worry about running out of disk space anymore, and every one of these "attempts" might be "just what the doctor ordered" someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted August 19, 2019 Author Share Posted August 19, 2019 Very interesting. One thing that I always do when "noodling out a melody" is play to the Metronome. I think that it makes a difference when improvising to try to align your musical ideas to some kind of "beat," because this affords rhythmic possibilities as well as melodic ones. In the Apple Loops library, I use 70s Ballad Drums 01 as my metronome. It's got a nice slow beat but not overwhelming. Very interesting.Another thing that I routinely do is to edit my "original noodling" track – which is then forever muted – in an attempt to arrange the "noodles" into some kind of sensible progression. (I might do this several times, taking care to preserve each and every one of these "experimental" tracks. I never worry about running out of disk space anymore, and every one of these "attempts" might be "just what the doctor ordered" someday. +1 Hate when you do something and then forgot how you did it. That's why I use Capture Recording now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted August 20, 2019 Author Share Posted August 20, 2019 Layering chord progressions with different scale/keys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted August 23, 2019 Author Share Posted August 23, 2019 In this link, I did an Audio-To-MIDI to get the melody from the vocal, then I created the chord progression. viewtopic.php?f=14&t=143807 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted September 22, 2019 Author Share Posted September 22, 2019 What I like about scripter is you can do a proof of concept to see if doing a Objective-C program would be feasible. So here's a scripter I'm testing on that harmonizes a melody on the fly to a chord progression key/scale that I chose in the scripter but only after determining all the available key/scales the melody is in then choosing which key/scale to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted September 23, 2019 Author Share Posted September 23, 2019 This melody is in C Lydian b3, so the chords I play drive a preset of The Orchestra Complete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted September 23, 2019 Author Share Posted September 23, 2019 Now while the original melody is being harmonized, the original melody isn't playing because I applied an Omnisphere ARP to the preset that the original melody is playing thru. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted September 24, 2019 Author Share Posted September 24, 2019 I show here how to setup Logic Pro X as a Modular Synthesizer viewtopic.php?f=45&t=141456 Now with this script I'm working on, I can apply chords at chord positions to the play along with the single notes being generated by the Logic Pro X Modulator MIDI-FX plug-in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted September 24, 2019 Author Share Posted September 24, 2019 Wow, even an ambient generator/player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted October 2, 2019 Author Share Posted October 2, 2019 This shows previewing on different scales and as many keys as the melody is in that particular scale. So now I can choose chords from different key/scales, same concept as model interchange. Working on this script to include chord formulas other than the 1-3-5 chord formula. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted October 3, 2019 Author Share Posted October 3, 2019 Using my existing Modular Synth scripts I wrote, I applied my PlayNextChord script. What I actually show is the steps in which we as musicians improvise in playing music. As a side note, this is a form of Generative Music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted October 8, 2019 Author Share Posted October 8, 2019 Since the code is derived from other scripts, I'm rewriting the script. So now I updated to allow selecting from a few more scales. In fact I'll probably revisit my scales scripts to make it one script to select the same scale list from this script. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted October 8, 2019 Author Share Posted October 8, 2019 Testing out my updated script. In this instance, I MIDI recorded the harmonize chords and then played a piano part based on the MIDI recorded chord progression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted October 9, 2019 Author Share Posted October 9, 2019 Harmonize a melody but now I can choose between different chord formulas. Since I did this video, I'm updating the script to allow up to 5 different chord formulas, but the drop down list will contain 166 different chord formulas that I found on the internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 Now I've updated my script to select up to 5 chord formulas to get randomly picked when a chord position has been reached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted October 10, 2019 Author Share Posted October 10, 2019 Another demo of harmonizing a melody using random chord formulas based on the first note at a chord position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted October 26, 2019 Author Share Posted October 26, 2019 One thing that I'll point out as well. Like a Chinese boat, junk in, junk out. The melody should have a musical flow to it, otherwise adding chords won't help, it'll just sound bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRobinson Posted November 6, 2019 Share Posted November 6, 2019 Damn ... [Mis-ter Ro-bot-o ....] "too much ... tech-nol-o-gy ..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted November 6, 2019 Author Share Posted November 6, 2019 Damn ... [Mis-ter Ro-bot-o ....] "too much ... tech-nol-o-gy ..." I'm currently developing an Objective-C version of this script. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 This is an Audio-To-MIDI of a Duduk solo I found on the internet. I forgot to bookmark where I got it. But this video shows me just using this Logic Pro X script to harmonize a melody using chord formulas from D Spanish Phrygian II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted November 17, 2019 Author Share Posted November 17, 2019 This is me just playing an improv and later I found out that I played in two different keys, after I decided to stick with the Ionian scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRobinson Posted November 19, 2019 Share Posted November 19, 2019 While I sincerely appreciate the potential value of tools like these, "for a composer in a hurry," I frankly would caution you to avoid too much reliance on them ... if you're trying to use them to "guide you through unknown waters for which you do not have a chart." Computers can be terrific time-savers when they "do the routine math for you," but they cannot hear, and they [still ...] cannot think. Remember that. If you don't yet understand the underlying theory, please take the time to learn. Only then will you be able to leverage computerized tools in the way that their designers intended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted November 20, 2019 Author Share Posted November 20, 2019 While I sincerely appreciate the potential value of tools like these, "for a composer in a hurry," I frankly would caution you to avoid too much reliance on them ... if you're trying to use them to "guide you through unknown waters for which you do not have a chart." Computers can be terrific time-savers when they "do the routine math for you," but they cannot hear, and they [still ...] cannot think. Remember that. If you don't yet understand the underlying theory, please take the time to learn. Only then will you be able to leverage computerized tools in the way that their designers intended. You're more than welcome to post your music on this thread and explain "music theory" on how you see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted April 6, 2020 Author Share Posted April 6, 2020 Harmonize a melody and having some fun with Synthesizer V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... MikeRobinson Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 Well, maybe it's about four months too late to reference Jimmy Webb's iconic book, Tunesmith, but in the theory-laden "middle eight" of that tome he does indeed discuss the many ways in which a melody can be "harmonized" ... and why. Very interesting reading from the scholar(!) who introduced us all to the lineman from the county ... I finally got both of my copies signed – my hardback library copy and my now-well-thumbed softcover reading copy. When he signed that one, he commented, "this is a well-used book!" To which I promptly replied, "yes sir, that it is!" He is such a gentleman ... "Three chords and the Truth." Yes, that's always acceptable, but in the same way that vanilla ice cream is always acceptable if you've never tasted Ben & Jerry's.® But this would never have led you to harmonize Stairway to Heaven in a way so distinctive that it led to a lawsuit ... over what turned out to be a University lesson. Two of the core concepts in Professor Webb's could-be college textbook are "the principle of substitution" and the importance of "chord inversions." Any chord can be substituted for any other as long as it shares at least one note with the original. (Second- and third-generation "derivative substitutions" can be made as well, growing increasingly more exotic.) A simple triad of course has three notes, but sus2, sus4, +6, +7, +9 and so-on add more possibilities. A chord can also be inverted – any chord has one fewer inversion than it has notes – by moving the bottom note to the top. This "opens up" the chord: a minor-third, when inverted, always becomes a major-sixth. A "suspension" that resolved down now resolves up, and vice-versa. Chord progressions can both accompany a melody, and contain a possible melody. He systematically shows how to explore the possibilities, and just how many possibilities there are to explore. As you can readily guess, I recommend this book to everyone. The "middle eight" is very intense, difficult reading – and worth it. Have a keyboard nearby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... MikeRobinson Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 Ping. Above post updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... ValliSoftware Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 I took a traditional Japanese MIDI file and filtered it using the "In Japan" scale in the Key of C, then I harmoized it using random chord formulas that I selected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... MikeRobinson Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 Two useful things you can do and they're right there on your keyboard: (1) Play "all white notes" but start on a note other than "C" and emphasize that note as being your selected tonic. Presto, you are now playing in "modes." (Start on "A" for example and you get "minor.") This is what "modes" actually are: a rotation of the sequence of intervals which "all white keys" makes extremely obvious: a "whole step" where there's a black key in the way, a "half step" where there isn't. (Starting with "C": W-W-H-W-W-W-H. There are seven rotations of that sequence. Each one has a pig-Latin name that you had to memorize in school, but "#1" through "#7" works just as well.) (2) Play only the black keys and you have a pentatonic scale. It sounds "oriental." There are many such scales. Music Theory teachers are a demonstration that you can make any very-simple concept very-difficult if you work at it hard enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... ValliSoftware Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 Wow, I have a lot of 3rd party instruments/effects and so many presets within those instruments/effects too. Plus with the scripts that I have, I create some pretty cool MIDI songs. The Kinetic Metal demo is me just playing out something cool, then I use the scripts to find chords and generate music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Prev 1 2 Next Page 1 of 2 Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. Restore formatting Only 75 emoji are allowed. × Your link has been automatically embedded. Display as a link instead × Your previous content has been restored. Clear editor × You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL. Insert image from URL × Desktop Tablet Phone Submit Reply Share More sharing options... Followers 0 Go to topic listing
MikeRobinson Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 Well, maybe it's about four months too late to reference Jimmy Webb's iconic book, Tunesmith, but in the theory-laden "middle eight" of that tome he does indeed discuss the many ways in which a melody can be "harmonized" ... and why. Very interesting reading from the scholar(!) who introduced us all to the lineman from the county ... I finally got both of my copies signed – my hardback library copy and my now-well-thumbed softcover reading copy. When he signed that one, he commented, "this is a well-used book!" To which I promptly replied, "yes sir, that it is!" He is such a gentleman ... "Three chords and the Truth." Yes, that's always acceptable, but in the same way that vanilla ice cream is always acceptable if you've never tasted Ben & Jerry's.® But this would never have led you to harmonize Stairway to Heaven in a way so distinctive that it led to a lawsuit ... over what turned out to be a University lesson. Two of the core concepts in Professor Webb's could-be college textbook are "the principle of substitution" and the importance of "chord inversions." Any chord can be substituted for any other as long as it shares at least one note with the original. (Second- and third-generation "derivative substitutions" can be made as well, growing increasingly more exotic.) A simple triad of course has three notes, but sus2, sus4, +6, +7, +9 and so-on add more possibilities. A chord can also be inverted – any chord has one fewer inversion than it has notes – by moving the bottom note to the top. This "opens up" the chord: a minor-third, when inverted, always becomes a major-sixth. A "suspension" that resolved down now resolves up, and vice-versa. Chord progressions can both accompany a melody, and contain a possible melody. He systematically shows how to explore the possibilities, and just how many possibilities there are to explore. As you can readily guess, I recommend this book to everyone. The "middle eight" is very intense, difficult reading – and worth it. Have a keyboard nearby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRobinson Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 Ping. Above post updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 I took a traditional Japanese MIDI file and filtered it using the "In Japan" scale in the Key of C, then I harmoized it using random chord formulas that I selected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRobinson Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 Two useful things you can do and they're right there on your keyboard: (1) Play "all white notes" but start on a note other than "C" and emphasize that note as being your selected tonic. Presto, you are now playing in "modes." (Start on "A" for example and you get "minor.") This is what "modes" actually are: a rotation of the sequence of intervals which "all white keys" makes extremely obvious: a "whole step" where there's a black key in the way, a "half step" where there isn't. (Starting with "C": W-W-H-W-W-W-H. There are seven rotations of that sequence. Each one has a pig-Latin name that you had to memorize in school, but "#1" through "#7" works just as well.) (2) Play only the black keys and you have a pentatonic scale. It sounds "oriental." There are many such scales. Music Theory teachers are a demonstration that you can make any very-simple concept very-difficult if you work at it hard enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValliSoftware Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 Wow, I have a lot of 3rd party instruments/effects and so many presets within those instruments/effects too. Plus with the scripts that I have, I create some pretty cool MIDI songs. The Kinetic Metal demo is me just playing out something cool, then I use the scripts to find chords and generate music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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