phrase generator's phrases one octave higher than the imported midi melody

[babymumu]

Hi, I am new to Rapidcomposer and music creation. I imported a midi as the melody, then harmonized it. I filled the track with phrases from generic phrase generator. It is nice that the phrases will follow the suggested melody chords on the master track. However, it seems most phrases from different generators are one octave higher than the melody. I am aware that I can transpose it, but is it possible for the phrases to automatically be in the octave of the master track melody?
Also, while creating some chords accompaniment, is it good to put the chords in the same octave with melody?
Appreciate your help in advance! Already learned a ton from many posts of you guys.

[babymumu]

Guess it is a newbie dumb question. No one seems to be interested in replying Yup, new to music theory and RC. Want to learn something though.

[BluGenes]

Hi, I am new to Rapidcomposer and music creation. I imported a midi as the melody, then harmonized it. I filled the track with phrases from generic phrase generator. It is nice that the phrases will follow the suggested melody chords on the master track. However, it seems most phrases from different generators are one octave higher than the melody. I am aware that I can transpose it, but is it possible for the phrases to automatically be in the octave of the master track melody?
Also, while creating some chords accompaniment, is it good to put the chords in the same octave with melody?
Appreciate your help in advance! Already learned a ton from many posts of you guys.

Hi and welcome!

There are a number of ways to control how the phrase are voiced in your composition. One way to keep them in a certain range would be to use magnets and the phrase envelope. Another way would be to use a note range variation either on the track or on the phrase.. The easiest would be the phrase envelope, though.

Whether you want the phrase to be in same octave, that's totally up to you. Just experiment..

[babymumu]

Hi BluGenes!
Thank you so much! Following your advice, I did get a better idea of magnets. However, I am still confused about phrase envelope. What is it? What's its function? I can see that in my composition, it is a grey line at the height of C5 on all tracks. It's something about the range of the phrases? Also, after I turned on Magnet, there are 5 options. Are they only used to keep phrases in range? After a bit experiment, it seems "Highest note Follows envelope" options works best for me in terms of keeping the chord accompaniment in the same octave as the melody track. I failed to find any resources to learn about it. If time allows, would you please elaborate on it a bit more? Or suggest any tutorials? Thanks man!!

[babymumu]

Hi BluGenes,
I found your tutorials on Youtube, and really enjoyed them. Great videos! After watching the one on Phrase envelope, I seem to get a better idea of it. But I still don't know what envelope exactly refers to. Also, it works on phrases on the same track. What I am trying to figure out is how I can make chord phrases automatically fall in the same octave as the melody. They are on two separate tracks. Guess just use transpose or range limit as you suggested. Again, thanks for your help!

[BluGenes]

Hey, no problem..

RC can do a lot, but, you will have to just experiment. Remember that RC is a starting point when creating music. You will have to edit stuff to make the composition work the way you want it to. You should always finish your work in a DAW.

An envelope is just a visual range that phrase will follow. It keeps the notes near the path of that line, depending how you set the settings for the magnets. One use that I use it for is BASS lines. The instruments range is always low on the midi keyboard, so, I can keep them in correct range.

As you can see, RC has LOT of functionality. You will get the most from the videos if you watch them in order. You would need to understand one area of the software before learning another area. Sometimes sections of the software depends on that knowledge, e.g., the idea tool..

[babymumu]

Thank you BluGenes! Will definitely watch more of your videos. Might ask your expertise again soon, I guess since RC is a pretty deep software. There is a learning curve, but so far enjoyed all the possibilities it provides. Appreciate your advice!

[musicdevelopments]

but is it possible for the phrases to automatically be in the octave of the master track melody?
Also, while creating some chords accompaniment, is it good to put the chords in the same octave with melody?
Appreciate your help in advance! Already learned a ton from many posts of you guys.

Hi babymumu,

while it is possible to set a specific octave for the master track chords, it is not recommended, because each track may have its own interpretation of the chords (e.g. a guitar track would convert the chords to acoustic guitar chords). Voice leading should be done in the tracks, by transposing phrases (manually or with the 'magnet'). If you have phrases one octave higher, you can select all of them, and reset the transposition.

The phrase envelope is rarely used, as far as I know. It is useful for transposing the phrases based on an envelope that you draw. Either the highest note, or the average note height is fitted to the envelope. You'll find more information in this tutorial: http://www.musicdevelopments.com/phrasemagnetst.html

There are other tutorials on http://www.musicdevelopments.com/tutorials.html that you may find useful.

Thanks,
Attila

[babymumu]

Thanks Attila！

[babymumu]

but is it possible for the phrases to automatically be in the octave of the master track melody?
Also, while creating some chords accompaniment, is it good to put the chords in the same octave with melody?
Appreciate your help in advance! Already learned a ton from many posts of you guys.

Hi babymumu,

while it is possible to set a specific octave for the master track chords, it is not recommended, because each track may have its own interpretation of the chords (e.g. a guitar track would convert the chords to acoustic guitar chords). Voice leading should be done in the tracks, by transposing phrases (manually or with the 'magnet'). If you have phrases one octave higher, you can select all of them, and reset the transposition.

The phrase envelope is rarely used, as far as I know. It is useful for transposing the phrases based on an envelope that you draw. Either the highest note, or the average note height is fitted to the envelope. You'll find more information in this tutorial: http://www.musicdevelopments.com/phrasemagnetst.html

There are other tutorials on http://www.musicdevelopments.com/tutorials.html that you may find useful.

Thanks,
Attila

Thanks for your help! I learned a lot these several days. Really love RC! I don't know much about music theory, so I'd like to consult you and other users a bit. I imported a midi melody of C Major I created in another notation software into the master track, then harmonize it to get the chords. I then created another track to be filled with phrases from a generator. The phrases will fall into the same octave as the melody track. However, when I imported a midi melody of Bb (B flat) Major and did the same thing, the phrase track which I use as the chords accompaniment will be about one octave higher in pitch. The melody of Bb major is lower than that of C major, but why the phrases will turn out much higher in pitch? Initially, I assumed phrases filled in a new track will automatically follow both the chords and octave pitch of master track. At least so far, it works for C major, but not for Bb major. Hope it all makes sense. Thanks for your time!

[lovemusic15]

Hi Attila,
just sent you an inbox message.