Chord apps

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It seems a bit like a glorified version of the old Microsoft Songsmith program, at first look :) and I think many here will remember how tragic that program was :D

I can get lyrics and melodies but I sometimes get stuck on new and interesting chord progressions to go with them, so this app may hold some answers...I was really looking for something to help me generate chord progressions away from the standard jazz/R=B/Pop/Rock ones..I know my way around the "circle" but sometimes one just gets stuck...and sees repeating themes in the progressions used over varying songs..

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This one is also interesting: http://mugglinworks.com/ChordMapMidi/Home.html I have used their 'Generic Chord Map' for songwriting for at least 7 years; incredibly useful to find 'consonant' chord changes and so forth.

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Cheers

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ChordMapMidi looks pretty interesting, but how well does it work on an iPad?
Incomplete list of my gear: 1/8" audio input jack.

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I only use ChordMapMidi on my iPad - it's not the most attractive 1/2 rez product out there, but it's far more accessible - the chord variations and velocity are much easier to replicate on a larger square (much like an XY Pad) - my fingers and styli were just too "fat" on the smaller form factor for anything meaningful. It has 3 midi channels, but as it's really a controller, it depends on what it's being sent to - used with ThumbJam, you can get some nice 2 instrument pieces recorded directly.

I've been hoping for some kind of update for the past 2 years, but it's pretty fully functioning for a "live performance" or "noodling" interface. (I'd love to be able to save progressions, or output midi data directly, but there are work arounds for everything)

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bftucker wrote:Interesting...Discchord just published the "Genius Songwriter"'s Demo & Tutorial

http://discchord.com/blog/2014/1/14/gen ... orial.html
This is essentially another version of http://www.zilibowitzproductions.com/To ... lcome.html

which is actually more useful... I thought Genius Songwriter might provide some variation of the concept - it's NOT a horrible piece of software, but it's rudimentary at best - and the midi output is virtually unusable. A four note "melody" outputs a 20 measure piece (apparently @60bpm) with 1 beat of chord, 3 beats of rests for each note. It's actually quicker to write the midi code by hand than to edit the Genius Songwriter's output. I was disappointed.

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bftucker wrote:Interesting...Discchord just published the "Genius Songwriter"'s Demo & Tutorial

http://discchord.com/blog/2014/1/14/gen ... orial.html

Are you looking for something like this?
I bought this yesterday. Its a bit basic at the moment but it does what it says in the video. It appears as though its a pretty recent release and as such a lot of the editing features that you might expect are not there yet. The dev seems open to feedback so I'm going to send him some feedback because an app like this is exactly what I was looking for (if he can get a few these things done)

My major to do list:
1. Only allows for (what appears to be) whole note entries at the moment. Not a show stopper since you can tap out a cadence onscreen to keep your train of thought but it would be helpful if it had an option to change the note duration. Even if it was global. When the midi file is opened in your daw the chords will have a note duration of two bars, followed by two empty bars. Unless this is what you needed plan on doing a lot of editing at this point.

2. Dragging chords to a new position would be very useful. However there isn't any time signatures indicated at this point so even if it allowed for repositioning chords they would still end up as whole notes.

3. No core midi as of yet. I don't mind emailing the chords at this early stage but I'm hoping for a change in the future.

4. If no core midi then maybe different instruments to choose from.

5. It does not store anything at the moment. So you are only working on one piece at a time with no recall later on if you change directions. So send your stuff via email often if you like what you hear.


The stuff that is nice list:
1. It's not buggy. No crashes for me.

2. The chord suggestion system is implemented well.

3. The chord suggestions are really varied and useful. Triads to extended 11ths and 13ths and everything in-between.

4. Changing the key won't reset the whole sequence if you don't ask it to. So its possible to have several key changes as you go along. When you change key it affects the chord you are on and any other chords you add or adjust until the key is changed again. (However, there isn't any visual feed back that the progression is in another key outside of the difference in chords.)

5. I don't have notation software so its nice having the staff to look at for a change. Also, for me anyways, it is easier to follow the harmony on a staff versus a piano roll.

In a way it seems purposed to be a quick scratch pad to noodle with ideas. It doesn't appear to have the intention of driving/co-operating another piece of software. So to that end it does feel nice not have any real feeling of bloat. It's quick and not laggy at all.

At $4.99 I was expecting a bit more of a polished app. However, if the dev keeps upgrading it I will feel I got my money's worth.

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Couple of questions...

With polychord, does any one know if the "chord circles" can play chords in scales besides major and minor?

With chordpolypad, can you load chords from multiple scales onto the pads?

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Don't know about polychord

On ChordPolyPad you can set each pad to play either chords from its library
Or you can build your own chords to taste by pressing keys on the piano keyboard.
(It will even tell you what they are if it recognises them ;) )
Instant human just add coffee

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ecamburn wrote:Couple of questions...

With polychord, does any one know if the "chord circles" can play chords in scales besides major and minor?
Unfortunately, with PolyChord, the choices are MAJOR or MINOR - It seemed like it had a lot of potential originally, my favourite part of the interface is the little "news" button that currently states "Stay tuned for lots of great updates in 2013!" - of course, it's the same message that's been there for the 16 months I've owned it...

It's been pretty much relegated to the "toy" category for me - but at least it's still on my iPad - I counted nearly 40 (musical production) purchases I've deleted for lack of room since this thread started...

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Hey peeps!

I'm the developer of Genius Songwriter.. Really nice to get some feedback on the app..


Quite a few people have been getting in touch, asking why it only has whole notes.. It was a decision I made at the very outset - the app isn't supposed to be a clone of Sibelius - after all, an iphone interface would get far too crowded if I tried to squeeze in a note-length keypad and all this stuff..

The purpose of the app, as UncleAge identified, is that it's a good way to get a palette of chords up on the screen - leaving the user the freedom to tap away at them in any order, and with any rhythm he/she chooses.. I think it's much more fun that way.. Otherwise, you'd go 'compose for me', tap a button, the app would create a sequence with rhythm, you'd press play - and that'd be the end of it.. Surely it's more rewarding to explore the relationships between the chords by tapping them however they like..

The app's main strength is that it's an easy and intuitive way to harmonise a melody, using proper 'expensive' chords (as my old jazz teacher at university used to call them :-) ) - I'd go through all the sales spiel here but the best way is to check out the stuff on my website - www.carlhudson.co.uk and see for yourself..

As for the suggestions about coreMidi - i'll look into that.. And saving and loading - you betchya! That's coming in the next update..

Best wishes,

Carl

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Carl thanks for chiming in - is it possible to actually shorten the length of the sound then? maybe use a guitar sound or similar, rather than what seems like a sine wave type sound?

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Yep I'll do that! Or at the very least, stop the previous chord playing when you tap another one..
C

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That would be cool - I have not bought it yet, but I think I will now :)
Cheers

Dennis

PS: Having the CoreMidi would be a HUGE plus imo

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So in response to the feedback from all you lovely people here, I've done some tweaks and uploaded them to the iTunes store - so you'll all be able to get your app updated as soon as Apple give it the green light in a couple of days..

I fixed the note playback, so that the previous chord stops playing and overlapping when you tap another one.. Making it more intuitive to tap the chords in different rhythms and combinations, as I demonstrate in this little video -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdqFQVxtwAA

And I've also tweaked the MIDI output so that there's a chord change every bar (the chords are half a bar long, making it easy to drag-select them in Logic) - and the long 2-bar gap between each chord is gone thankfully!

Best wishes,

Carl

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