RapidComposer v5 beta feedback and discussion

[BluGenes]

Ok, maybe I am not understanding the problem. This video shows how I understand it.. let me know if this is what you guys are talking about with the issues you are having..

[lovemusic15]

Nice video but the problem is the syncopation in a lot of modern music isn't as simple as the syncopation you have in your video, if you look at my previous video where I'm using pilot melody you'll realize that syncopation can work in all different formats, the problem with Rhythm lab at the moment it's a lot of trial and error to get the desired result, where other similar softwares give the option to decide how many rests you want and the size of the rests. There needs to be options to be able to have gaps at the beginning before the first note in the middle and the end etc, I can always send you midi files and see if you can recreate them in the rhythm lab which might make it easier to understand the limitations you have with syncopation with RC

[BluGenes]

Can you tell me the difference then from "modern music" and what I show? All syncopation means to me is playing notes on an off beat. That is how it defined in music, just search the term.. Maybe we are thinking of two different terms?

In the rhythm processing area, there are rests and you determine lengths, etc., too.

I'd like to see an example in RC. Post an image using the manual rhythm editor of what the rhythm looks like that you want to create.. It will be a great reference for me..

Maybe also, not use rhythm lab and do it another way. Anyways, thanks for the input, everyone.

[lovemusic15]

Can you tell me the difference then from "modern music" and what I show? All syncopation means to me is playing notes on an off beat. That is how it defined in music, just search the term.. Maybe we are thinking of two different terms?

In the rhythm processing area, there are rests and you determine lengths, etc., too.

I'd like to see an example in RC. Post an image using the manual rhythm editor of what the rhythm looks like that you want to create.. It will be a great reference for me..

Maybe also, not use rhythm lab and do it another way. Anyways, thanks for the input, everyone.

Here you go BluGenes Hope this helps

[thebutler]

Can you tell me the difference then from "modern music" and what I show? All syncopation means to me is playing notes on an off beat. That is how it defined in music, just search the term.. Maybe we are thinking of two different terms?

In the rhythm processing area, there are rests and you determine lengths, etc., too.

I'd like to see an example in RC. Post an image using the manual rhythm editor of what the rhythm looks like that you want to create.. It will be a great reference for me..

Maybe also, not use rhythm lab and do it another way. Anyways, thanks for the input, everyone.

Here you go BluGenes Hope this helps

That's a great video lovemusic15 - thank you for posting.

I guess my slight 'mystery' with the Captain Melody tool (in comparison to RC), is where it got its source notes (structure, actual melody, initial placement). Did you drop a phrase into it to 'start things off' as it were..? Or does it populate itself according to some rules (like RC).?

Of course it then applies its 'randomness' button on those notes according to its algorithms - which does look much more fun than RC right now. Having direct control over (number of) gaps and lengths etc, does make it seem a breeze to get quick and pleasing results.

RC is still missing that ease of manipulating rests/gaps. In RC its seems over fussy, providing the user with many levels of control... The 'weights' per note position, the use of the 'expectedness' (probability) slider, setting the number of notes, etc, etc... Yes, all very flexible - but tiring.!

In the meantime, I will look into the Captain tool myself.

[BluGenes]

Nicely done video..

I watched it, and now I see what you are looking for.

Actually interesting which made a light bulb go off here.. lol.. Atilla will cringe, but, this is what I propose.

Watching the video and all, it becomes clear to me that it isn't the Rhythm Lab, but, a change is needed to the Phrase Editor.

What the Phrase Editor is missing is interaction with a generator. In the video, you are "sequencing" in a loop, which you can actually do right now in the Phrase Editor. Just click loop and hit play and you can move notes around while it plays.

So, a generator could be used with a regen button in the editor. Couple that with the ability to move notes in real time would really nice.

Again, though, there is a scheduled timeline with development, so, at best, this idea could added on the to do list..

Speaking of timelines.. The next update for RC should be late December, or around that time.

[lovemusic15]

[/quote]
That's a great video lovemusic15 - thank you for posting.

I guess my slight 'mystery' with the Captain Melody tool (in comparison to RC), is where it got its source notes (structure, actual melody, initial placement). Did you drop a phrase into it to 'start things off' as it were..? Or does it populate itself according to some rules (like RC).?



In the meantime, I will look into the Captain tool myself.
[/quote]

First of all, thank you very much for your feedback.

I must start off straight away by saying my intention wasn't to promote any other software in this forum, but I have several times before said to Attila that it's important to keep an eye out on the competition when it comes to similar software. I have often made requests for updates that I can tell people are looking for in software just from reading comments on other software. But understandably, I'm not the only person requesting for features, so I understand that Attila can only do so much. That's why I have found myself in a similar situation to you now, where I contemplated buying other software when I saw how easy and simple you can get results. And as they say, you can never have too many tools when it comes to being creative.

The only problem with Captain Chords is that you continuously have to use the internet, and if you haven't got a strong connection, you can find that it doesn't work for some time. Hence why I've always been keen to have RC be able to do everything that other software can do, as it doesn't need an internet connection, which I have always said is one of the biggest selling points.

To answer your first question, I didn't import a MIDI pattern. This is all generated from Captain plugins, and this is one of the reasons why I feel if we had these features in RC, it would open up so many doors in regards to creativity and getting more people invested in RC. I know one of the biggest issues for a lot of people I speak to is the learning curve. If it wasn't for people like Blue Guru, it would be very time-consuming to learn some of the stuff. In this day and age, YouTube is the first place people go when it comes to learning things, as it's a lot easier to see things visually than reading a manual. So, it would be great if there were more people using the software and making more videos, as I'm sure it would make everyone's life a lot easier.

RC has so much going for it. There are so many features in here that you could use to create great results. But there is a lot of experimenting you have to do. I can only speak for myself, but I just like to be able to have an idea, press a couple of buttons, and get what I want.

For the most part, when I use variations, I can kind of get the results that I like, but this rhythm and rest situation really needs to be updated.

[lovemusic15]

Nicely done video..

I watched it, and now I see what you are looking for.

Actually interesting which made a light bulb go off here.. lol.. Atilla will cringe, but, this is what I propose.

Watching the video and all, it becomes clear to me that it isn't the Rhythm Lab, but, a change is needed to the Phrase Editor.

What the Phrase Editor is missing is interaction with a generator. In the video, you are "sequencing" in a loop, which you can actually do right now in the Phrase Editor. Just click loop and hit play and you can move notes around while it plays.

So, a generator could be used with a regen button in the editor. Couple that with the ability to move notes in real time would really nice.

Again, though, there is a scheduled timeline with development, so, at best, this idea could added on the to do list..

Speaking of timelines.. The next update for RC should be late December, or around that time.

Thank you for your feedback on the video. Regarding your idea for the phrase editor, I want to emphasize that I use RC and other software precisely because I want them to inspire me with ideas. Personally, I'm not one for putting something on a loop and manually tweaking it. While that method works well for those full of ideas, I enjoy the element of happy accidents and being inspired by what software can spontaneously generate. Just like with A.I you provide a prompt to the AI software to create a video, film, or music. You set the initial directions or parameters, and then you eagerly await what it creates. For me, this aspect of music is the most thrilling: when the software provides a starting point.

This isn't to say that your idea wouldn't work. I believe having the best of both worlds could be advantageous. However, I strongly feel it should be integrated into the Rhythm Lab because, while it has excellent features currently, synchronization isn't one of them. Therefore, adding the capability to determine the number and size of rests within each generation would be a significant game-changer.

Based on what I can tell, implementing this feature shouldn't be a substantial task. You can already specify note lengths within each generation, so it appears feasible to reverse that algorithm and allow users to determine the spacing between notes as well. I see this as a matter of an update. Once again, I'm not a program developer, so I could be mistaken, but from my perspective, considering what RC is capable of and how other software achieves this, it doesn't seem like a massive undertaking for someone with Atilla's skill set to create.

Once more, I appreciate your feedback.

[lovemusic15]

Can you tell me the difference then from "modern music" and what I show? All syncopation means to me is playing notes on an off beat. That is how it defined in music, just search the term.. Maybe we are thinking of two different terms?



RC is still missing that ease of manipulating rests/gaps. In RC its seems over fussy, providing the user with many levels of control... The 'weights' per note position, the use of the 'expectedness' (probability) slider, setting the number of notes, etc, etc... Yes, all very flexible - but tiring.!

In the meantime, I will look into the Captain tool myself.

if there's any other tasks you're trying to work with in RC feel free to let me know as I might have some work around in the meantime while waiting for this to be updated

[sj1]

I would love to hear a bit about what's being contemplated (or implemented!) for the next round of features.

[musicdevelopments]

Hi lovemusic15,

Thanks for the video! I have carefully read this thread and saved the video.
I'll do my best to implement rests in the next 1-2 weeks. At the moment I am implementing AI features, of which I can upload a beta version in about a week or so.

Thanks!
Attila

[musicdevelopments]

I would love to hear a bit about what's being contemplated (or implemented!) for the next round of features.

Hi Steve,

A few things have been implemented for the AI assistant. I am excited because I think it is very cool to have an assistant that knows everything about music composition, and with the recent drastic price drop for the OpenAI API, it won't be a big expense for users, for 2-3 dollars you'll be able to send hundreds of requests. Of course AI will never replace your creativity and inspiration.

What works already: it suggests composition layout, tracks, chord progressions, chord replacement with explanation for the given genre/mood/harmonic complexity settings. What I do is creating special prompts and RapidComposer parses the reply and directly inserts chords/progressions/phrases from the replies. During beta testing you can use my API key which I share with beta testers.
I do hope to have a beta version by the end of the week. I am sure I'll receive lots of suggestions for what else could be added, I can easily add any new ideas, because the main part (communicating with the OpenAI server, parsing the reply, etc) is already done and works well.

Thanks,
Attila

[sj1]

Fascinating.

So, you have discovered the specific ways to format queries to OpenAI that will result in consistently formed, accurate, musically useful replies?

Is that now "secret sauce" for RC, or are those techniques basically publicly available somewhere?

After eventual release, will it then be up to the user to establish and fund their own OpenAI account in order to use those capabilities?

This is definitely exciting cutting-edge stuff!

[Musical Gym]

I would love to hear a bit about what's being contemplated (or implemented!) for the next round of features.

Hi Steve,

A few things have been implemented for the AI assistant. I am excited because I think it is very cool to have an assistant that knows everything about music composition, and with the recent drastic price drop for the OpenAI API, it won't be a big expense for users, for 2-3 dollars you'll be able to send hundreds of requests. Of course AI will never replace your creativity and inspiration.

What works already: it suggests composition layout, tracks, chord progressions, chord replacement with explanation for the given genre/mood/harmonic complexity settings. What I do is creating special prompts and RapidComposer parses the reply and directly inserts chords/progressions/phrases from the replies. During beta testing you can use my API key which I share with beta testers.
I do hope to have a beta version by the end of the week. I am sure I'll receive lots of suggestions for what else could be added, I can easily add any new ideas, because the main part (communicating with the OpenAI server, parsing the reply, etc) is already done and works well.

Thanks,
Attila

How does one become a beta tester?

[musicdevelopments]

So, you have discovered the specific ways to format queries to OpenAI that will result in consistently formed, accurate, musically useful replies?

Right, it is tricky, but possible to ask for replies following a specific format that can be easily parsed.

After eventual release, will it then be up to the user to establish and fund their own OpenAI account in order to use those capabilities?

Yes, exactly. Although the costs are small for a single user, I can't afford to pay the API usage for all users. I wish I could.

Thanks,
Attila