FR - Midi Chord Stamps / Piano Roll Chord Stamps (Similar to Waveform / Fl Studio)

[rickpress]

Hi,

Maybe this isn't the best place to ask for features, but, you have done amazingly well in adding so much stuff to Mulab recently. I wanted to ask, have you ever considered adding a relatively simple but would be really appreciated feature for beat makers and edm people (chord stamps) similar to Fl Studio's (stamp function) or Tracktion Waveforms (Chord Insert)? For users working with the mouse and keyboard rather than say a midi keyboard or launchpad it would be really nice to have.

Keep up the great work on Mulab.

[Scrubbing Monkeys]

Hi,

Maybe this isn't the best place to ask for features, but, you have done amazingly well in adding so much stuff to Mulab recently. I wanted to ask, have you ever considered adding a relatively simple but would be really appreciated feature for beat makers and edm people (chord stamps) similar to Fl Studio's (stamp function) or Tracktion Waveforms (Chord Insert)? For users working with the mouse and keyboard rather than say a midi keyboard or launchpad it would be really nice to have.

Keep up the great work on Mulab.

I assume you are not speaking of the chord track in Waveform. Which is really usefu also.

You could create your own version of chord insert by creating MuClips of chords you like to use. Store them in a folder hyarchy. When you drag them in it will ask if you want to use the MuClip instrument. Click no and it only brings the midi.
A bit of setup work but once done its always there.
It may be possible someone has already done this and uploaded to MuLib.

[jmp909_]

I think mostly this refers to picking a chord and drawing it in with the cursor placing the base note, and the rest of the chord being inserted above it automatically

chord-insert.jpg

Handy workflow helper but really you'd probably want some key shortcuts (like numpad 0-9 etc) to quickly switch between a few different chord types

[rickpress]

No not the chord track but the chord stamp tool that fl studio has waveform has one too you just highlight a note and click insert chord and it does the same as the stamp tool in fl studio. It's helpful for people who use a mouse and keyboard rather than a midi keyboard or launchpad. Midi strum would also be a nice thing to have as well.

If you go into waveform and look in settings you can see the chords tab in there you can add custom chords to it. Yes I guess I could create my own chords as you suggested.

[Scrubbing Monkeys]

Ahhh yeah.....the MuClips would be used in the composer. A bit cumbersome. You want it inside the piano roll where it really should be.

[Michael L]

If you want to drag & drop chords in a key, here is an open-source (MIT) project by Ludovic Drolez with several thousand 4-bar .mid chords and progressions:

INFO: https://github.com/ldrolez/free-midi-chords
DOWNLOAD: https://github.com/ldrolez/free-midi-chords/releases

They are organised in a hierarchy by :

1. Key Major / minor (12) and within each key:
2. Triad, M (7) and m (7)
3. 7th + 9th, M (14) and m (14)
4. All chords (137)
5. Progressions (46 each for Major/minor/Modal in 4 styles)

There is a separate 'progression' download with ~600 each of Major/minor/Modal progressions, alphabetic by key.

The MuLab browser lets you store and audition those .mid files stored anywhere on your system. You can audition your own progressions by clicking on sequences of chords in the MuLab browser. Drop the chord over the root note, select and drag to the proper length, and at the end use the Delete Double Notes shortcut. This is a convenient midi file workflow, considering the number of possible choices!

It's also useful as a form of ear training, cuz you certainly can't go through all those chords every time.

However, a 'MIDIMux' to organise and systematically play with the vast combinations of melodies and chords could be an M10 FR, so I posted related thoughts in the MuLab 10 thread:
viewtopic.php?p=8892795#p8892795

[jmp909_]

@Michael L, what about a scriptable context-specific right click menu?

Let’s say for the pencil tool in the midi editor (or any other tool) you can add one or more
Context scripts

On right click this would then bring up a menu with a submenu for each script, in this case “Chords” and then a choice of chords you can select from etc.

The contents of the menu then become whatever people can script with a basic API. Or the menu selection brings up a new module UI / window etc which performs context specific operations via a script also

Well just an idea anyway!

[Michael L]

Well just an idea anyway!

Yes, that's our role: to preset use cases!

I imagine it could be similar to the Logical Event Selector window, or the Event Graph Editor, or the Event List Editor, or the Functions context menu, or the Shortcut keys, or even a Sub-Track
If Jo decides to do something like this, he will fit it smoothly into the workflow. Not easy.

To be more fully searchable in the MuLab Browser, all 96 Major and minor folders in Ludovic Drolez' basic chords download need renaming to include their key, with the All Chords and Progressions separately. Then you can create 24 'key' presets/buttons and quickly navigate to your root note in a triad, 7th or 9th.

If you just want to use the All Chords folder, the M and m chords are paired, so each set still need batch renaming to their own scale degrees, and then perhaps put into separate folders.

BTW, the same basic chord is often named more fully in the All Chords folder than the other three (!) so best to not mix them up.

personally, I think piano roll notation lends itself to listening for intervals which creates one simple 'language' for exploring different harmonies within different scales. Thus, in a midi scripter you can specify any scale and chords simply by the intervals between notes

[Scrubbing Monkeys]

@ Micheal L
I like the interval approach. Just likw with guitar once you have the chord shape there is no need to see it at every position.

[Michael L]

I like the interval approach. Just likw with guitar once you have the chord shape there is no need to see it at every position.

Yes, by focusing on intervals it is easier to see that "music" is a set of constraints on random sounds.

"Composing" is a stepwise process of ordering those constraints, e.g. choose a tonal centre, a melody of small steps, a limited number of different notes during each time period, a consistent structure for chords, notes in a chord that sound pleasant together, etc.

We can follow those steps by using software modules or our own embodied memory -- whichever helps us better listen to the intervals between notes.

Thinking out loud-- is it 'better' to enter three notes at 0-4-7 intervals and train your ear, than select/drag/drop a major triad midi file or write a script that adds two notes at 4-7 intervals and plays the chord?

A program called Inspiration, developed by musicalentropy for KVR DC2012, is just a set of notecards with invented constraints. http://musicalentropy.github.io/downloads/

[TorresBob88]

I want a button.

Serato Studio has a button, it just says "Chord".
But it sounds amazing, its magical.

Theia/Hyperion doesn't have a button,
but it has a drop down menu with Major Triad, Minor 6th,
it has 24 diferente chords to please you.
I didn't know that there was so many chords.
Its almost too many, but I love them all.

MPC DAW keeps the chords in a menu with the Arps. I think its a midi file.
MPC DAW is kind of clunky though, its not the correct way to implement it.
It was too much trouble to use it, so I never did.

You see chord buttons on Kontakt expansions pretty often,
those are the best ones.

The point being, that it can be done.

[Michael L]

It has already been done.
It's the 'Note Key Mapper' module.
It has a dropdown menu with chords to choose from.
You can choose the type of chord for each note, and make custom presets.
You can also drop a Drolez chord file on each input note to map it to that chord, then press the down arrow to map the next, while naming the keys. MuLab is more DIY than other DAW.

However, a button is just another 'black box'
A simple popup diagram like the Circle of Thirds can show you all the triad/7th notes in a particular key.
I think there is a point when learning a new skill is better than learning a new program cuz you stay focused on your musical idea. Mulab is good in that way.

https://muted.io/circle-of-thirds/
.

Circle of Thirds.png

[rickpress]

The Midi Chord Mapper is useful, and yes it allows you to play and perform chords but the midi data for that will always come out as just a midi hit of one note on the piano roll. Having a chord stamp feature would be useful for people who wish to do chord strums via the mouse in the piano roll (think FL Studio strumizer or Studio One / Waveform / Reaper midi chord strum by just selecting a chord and then dragging to create the strum effect.

Actually Midi strum would be another useful feature for the piano roll.

[Michael L]

The Midi Chord Mapper is useful, and yes it allows you to play and perform chords but the midi data for that will always come out as just a midi hit of one note on the piano roll.

No, if you want to input single midi notes on one track, and output midi chords on another track, add an event recorder after the note key mapper.
I use strum features in guitar instruments, but you can nudge notes with the grid to create strums or broken chords.
IMO, if a DAW has too many features and buttons you focus on the software