project name: | dreamsequence |
project url: | https://github.com/dstroud/dreamsequence |
author: | modularbeat |
description: | chord-based sequencer, arpeggiator, and harmonizer for norns + grid |
discussion url: | http://llllllll.co/t/62607 |
documentation url: | https://github.com/dstroud/dreamsequence/blob/main/README.md |
tags: | sequencer grid crow midi nb |
Chord-based sequencer, arpeggiator, and harmonizer for Monome Norns+Grid
Required: Monome Norns (240221 or later) and Grid (16x8 or 16x16)
Optional: Supports MIDI and Crow by default. Installation of additional NB voices is highly recommended!
Dreamsequence demo and basics on YouTube
Dreamsequence is a chord-based sequencer, arpeggiator, harmonizer, and arranger for Monome Norns+Grid. It employs bit of music theory magic to quickly create harmonious compositions from simple inputs like Grid patterns, MIDI, and CV.
I hope you have as much fun using Dreamsequence as I have had creating it, and I’d love to hear about how you’re using it at l.llllllll.co/dreamsequence
Cheers, Dan
This Overview will explain how the components that make up Dreamsequence operate. It’s a bit dry and technical, so if you are more of the skim-the-manual type, feel free to install some NB voices then skip ahead to the Grid interface guide. You’ll likely want to keep the Norns interface guide handy for reference.
NOTE: Dreamsequence supports saving/loading of your song through the system PARAMETERS»PSET menu but you should expect these saves to break when doing updates. I’ll do my best to notify of breaking changes in patch notes, but things will be missed and I recommend you wrap up any work before updating.
Grid-based chord pattern sequencer.
Grid-based monophonic pattern sequencer (formerly ARP)
Note reprocessor for chords, sequences, arpeggios, whatever
Magical sample and hold + quantizer + chord/mode remapping (requires Crow)
Like a DAW but [worse/better]
Sequences playback of chord patterns (A, B, C, D) and is the entry point to the Event Editor.
Events set, increment, randomize, or incite parameters to “wander” throughout your arrangement, with clamping or wrapping value ranges and probability control. Events can be used like rudimentary DAWesque automation lanes or they can be used more sparingly to reconfigure your patch at certain key points in your arrangement.
The Chord view is used to program chord patterns A-D. Since the Seq and harmonizers can create notes based on the active chord, this is typically where you’ll begin composing.
Sequence plays from top to bottom and sequence length is set using column 15. On 16x8 Grids, E1 can be used to scroll up and down the full 16 pattern steps.
Chords are selected using columns 1-14 which represent chord degrees I-VII across two octaves. Pressing and holding a key will display the corresponding chord on the Norns screen Pattern Dashboard (upper right). A setting is available via K1»PARAMETERS»EDIT»PREFERENCES to change that readout to show chord names or Roman numeral chord degrees.
The Seq view is used to program the notes in the monophonic sequence/arpeggio/strum pattern.
Seq plays from top to bottom and sequence length is set using column 15. On 16x8 Grids, E1 can be used to scroll up and down the full 16 pattern steps. After completing the sequence, the playhead will reset to the beginning and wait to start playback again based on the Seq “Start on” setting.
The Arranger view is used to sequence chord patterns and enter the Events view.
Rows 1-4 correspond to chord patterns A-D and columns 1-16 represent “segments” of the Arranger sequence. The Arranger length automatically resizes to the rightmost set pattern and any gaps in the sequence are filled in lighter colors to indicate that the previous chord pattern will be sustained. If the first segment isn’t filled it will default to pattern A or it will grab the last populated pattern (since the Arranger loops).
Grid keys on the bottom left enable or disable the Arranger and Arranger Loop mode, respectively.
Page keys 1-4 extend the arranger beyond 16 steps. Note that the arranger view does not currently follow the playhead off-screen so it’s up to you to chase it down.
The Events view is used to manage the scheduling of parameter changes and functions at certain points in the Arrangement.
Events view is entered by holding down a segment on the Arranger Timeline (row 5) then pressing K3. Think of it as zooming in on that segment- and thus the chord pattern (A-D).
Grid displays a view of events in the Arranger segment, where events fire left-to-right then top-to-bottom (like reading in English).
TIP: To make it easier to keep track of your events, consider dedicating one lane/column to a certain type of event, such as having chord velocity changes in lane 1, pattern manipulations in lane 2, etc.. or just embrace chaos.
Tapping on an unpopulated/dim event position will open the event settings and display “(New)” in the header. Settings will default to the last touched event so you can just tap a key, change a value, save, and repeat x times to build a sequence of related events.
Tapping on a populated/bright event will open the event settings for that event and display “(Saved)” in the header. Making any changes to the settings will display “(Edited)” in the header.
While viewing an event’s settings, use E2 and E3 to select menus and make changes. K3 saves and closes the event settings screen, and K2 deletes the event. If you don’t want to delete or save changes to an event just tap the illuminated event slot on Grid and it will revert to the saved state so you can exit with K3.
Holding one event and tapping on one or more slots will copy and paste the settings from the held event- this can also be used to paste an empty event over a populated one, effectively deleting it.
If no event is selected immediately after launching the Events view or after deleting/saving an event, K3 will take you back to the Arranger and holding K2 until the countdown completes will delete all events in the segment.
Key 1 (K1): System menus
Most of your work on Norns will be done through 5 main menus that look like the example above. Scrolling to the top menu (SONG in the example above) with E2 will allow you to browse using E3. Before taking a closer look at the contents of these menus, let’s take a look at the mini dashboards on the right side of the screen.
TIP: Active chord reflects the CHORD»“Chord type” menu option (Triad or 7th) but each sequencer/harmonizer can override this with the similar “Notes” menu.
The left portion of the Norns screen displays one of the following “pages” and associated menu items:
To navigate between pages, use E2 to scroll to the top of the list of menu items until the page name is highlighted, then use E3 to change the page. To change a menu item, simply scroll down the list using E2 and change its value using E3. < and > symbols will appear when you are at the end of the range of possible values. Descriptions of each page and menu options follow.
Mode: 9 modes: Major, Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor, Melodic Minor, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Locrian.
Key: Song transposition of +/- 12 semitones.
Tempo: sets Norns system clock tempo in BPM.
Beats per bar: Time signature numerator. Used when syncing MIDI devices using “pattern” mode (K3»PARAMETERS»EDIT»PREFERENCES MIDI CLOCK OUT).
Beats length: Time signature denominator. Used when syncing MIDI devices using “pattern” mode (K3»PARAMETERS»EDIT»PREFERENCES MIDI CLOCK OUT).
System clock source; MIDI clock out ports must be set via K1»PARAMETERS»CLOCK
Internal clock source allows pause/continue with “song” or “pattern” modes available to sync MIDI devices. Other clock sources will stop/start but not continue.
Crow outs: Outs 1-3 have options for “Off”, “CV”, “Env”, and “Events”. Out 4 also includes Dreamsequence’s custom clock out option. Unlike the system Crow clock, this clock only runs when transport is playing, and has an option for swing. For best results, make sure the system Crow clock is disabled in PARAMETERS»CLOCK.
Crow clk: Frequency of the pulses from Crow out port 4. Frequency is conveyed as fractions of a measure, with Pulses Per Quarter Note (PPQN) in parenthesis.
Crow swing: Amount of swing applied to the outgoing Crow clock. 50% is 0 swing and 99% is the maximum swing.
Dedupe <: This enables and sets the threshold for detecting and de-duplicating repeat notes at each output. This can be particularly helpful when merging sequences from different sources (say combining harmonizer with chords). Rather than trying to send the same note twice (potentially resulting in truncated notes or phase cancellation issues), this will let the initial note pass and filter out the second note if it arrives within the specified period of time.
C-gen: Which algorithm is used for generating Chord patterns. The default value picks an algorithm randomly.
Voice: Where the output of the chord sequence is sent for playback. Default options include Crow and MIDI ports, but additional synths and devices are supported by installing NB voice mods.
Chord type: Selects between triads and 7th chords and displays the chord readout as such. Note that each sequence source can set this independently so it’s possible for the Chord sequencer to output triads while the other sources output 7ths (and vice versa).
Octave: Shifts output from -4 to +4 octaves.
Range: Expands or shrinks the chord’s pitch range, measured in note intervals. An asterisk (*) will appear if this value is less than the “Max notes” parameter, indicating that the value shown here is limiting the number of notes played. Note that a Range of 3 will effectively play 7th chords as triads.
Max notes: Applied after Range has been set, this parameter limits the number of notes in the chord using a note thinning algorithm. The algorithm prioritizes the first and last notes in the chord, after which the intermediate notes are thinned out and evenly distributed. The resulting chord voicing depends on Range, Max notes, and Inversion. It’s possible to end up with some false “chords” like the same note repeated across multiple octaves.
Inversion: Incrementally shifts the lowest note up an octave so that 1 = first inversion, 2 = second inversion, etc… Multiples of 3 (for triads) or 4 (for 7ths) will effectively transpose the sequence up an octave which might be desired when incrementing this parameter with an event automation.
Strum: Determines if the chord’s notes will play all at once (Off), or strum notes in one of two directions (Low-high or High-low).
Strum length: Length of the strum as a fraction of the chord Step length. The timing of the individual notes is adaptive, depending on the number of notes being strummed.
Strum curve: Bipolar control (-100% to +100%) over note timing where negative values will cause note timing to slow down over time and positive values will cause note timing to speed up over time. A value of 0% will result in linear timing.
Step length: The length of each step/row in the chord pattern, relative to 1 measure. Values ending in T are tuplets.
Duration: Chord note duration relative to 1 measure. Values ending in T are tuplets. The first option, “Step” will always adjust note length to match step length.
Swing: Amount of swing applied. 50% is 0 swing and 99% is the maximum swing.
Dynamics: Volume or amplitude of voice.
Ramp: Bipolar control (-100% to +100%) of the Velocity/Amp values for each note. When Strum is off, this will change the dynamic balance of low and high pitched notes in the chord. When strumming, negative values will lower dynamics over time and positive values will raise dynamics over time.
Voice: Where the output of the Seq is sent for playback. Default options include Crow and MIDI ports, but additional synths and devices are supported by installing NB voice mods.
NOTE: “Start” events/PMAP triggers (K1»PARAMETERS»EDIT»SEQ»Start) can be combined with any of the above configurations for additional control.
NOTE: “Stop” events/PMAP triggers (K1»PARAMETERS»EDIT»SEQ»Stop) can be combined with any of the above configurations for additional control.
The following examples show how the same 6-note sequence can be reinterpreted by changing “Start on” and “Reset on” settings (chords shown below sequence).
For the sake of simplicity, these examples have one chord repeated 3 times. In practice, chord changes will also be influencing the sequence notes, which can produce mesmerizing results. Also, remember that it’s possible to use events to switch between the above settings and/or directly trigger starts and resets, allowing for significantly more complex sequences than are shown here.
Octave: Shifts output from -4 to +4 octaves.
Step length: The length of each step/row in the Seq pattern, relative to 1 measure. Values ending in T are tuplets.
Duration: Note duration relative to 1 measure. Values ending in T are tuplets. The first option, “Step” will always adjust note length to match step length.
Swing: Amount of swing applied. 50% is 0 swing and 99% is the maximum swing.
Accent: Bipolar modulation of note dynamics on upbeats.
Voice: Where the output of the harmonizer is sent for playback. Default options include Crow and MIDI ports, but additional synths and devices are supported by installing NB voice mods.
Octave: Shifts output from -4 to +4 octaves.
Duration: Note duration relative to 1 measure. Values ending in T are tuplets.
Voice: Where the output of the harmonizer is sent for playback. Default options include Crow and MIDI ports, but additional synths and devices are supported by installing NB voice mods.
Auto-rest: When true, this option will suppress the same note when it is repeated consecutively within one chord step, resulting in a rest. This can be a useful way of adding rest functionality into analog sequencers that don’t support such a feature.
Octave: shifts output from -4 to +4 octaves.
Duration: Note duration relative to 1 measure. Values ending in T are tuplets. The first option, “Step” will always adjust note length to match step length.
Swing: Amount of swing applied. 50% is 0 swing and 99% is the maximum swing.
Dreamsequence supports using Crow to send and receive CV and triggers. Outputs are configurable via Song» Crow out x, defaulting to the following:
v1.3</summary>
Nota Bene (NB) voice support. MIDI and Crow are supported by default and additional voices can be installed via the following Maiden commands. See the NB topic on Lines for details.
Soft synths:
;install https://github.com/sixolet/doubledecker
2-layer synth a la CS-80
;install https://github.com/sixolet/emplaitress
Polyphonic MI Plaits
`;install https://github.com/dstroud/nb_polyperc` Norns PolyPerc
;install https://github.com/entzmingerc/nb_rudiments
Rudiments percussion
`;install https://github.com/sixolet/nb_wsyn` Whimsical Raps W/synth
`;install https://github.com/sixolet/nb_jf` Whimsical Raps Just Friends
`;install https://github.com/sixolet/nb_ex` Expert Sleepers Disting EX
`;install https://github.com/sixolet/nb_ansible` Monome Ansible - Swing settings for Chord, Seq, CV harmonizer, and Crow clock out. - Seq ‘Accent’ param applies a positive or negative dynamics offset to swing steps. - "Step" duration setting adjusts note duration to always match the step length (Chord and Seq) or Trigger division (CV harmonizer). - Pressing a Grid pattern key when transport is stopped will play that chord or note. - Chromatic mapping option added to `Notes` parameter. - The SONG menu now has settings for configuring Crow's outputs which will result in various CV or CV/Env pair options appearing in Voice parameters. All outs can send CV, Env, and Events while out 4 can also send a Clock pulse when transport is running. - `Crow events` event category has been created with subcategories for outputs 1-4. There's also a new event "5v 8-steps" event for driving a sequential switch (i.e. Vice Virga) that maybe works with similar devices (0.31v, 0.94v, 1.56v, 2.19v, 2.81v, 3.44v, 4.06v, 4.69v).
port.instance
where port is the assigned MIDI port in system>>devices
and instance is the number of instances of the NB voice (default 1).Important transport changes (depending on clock source):
MIDI CLOCK OUT
settings are available for each MIDI clock port via K3>>PARAMETERS>>EDIT>>PREFERENCES
and determine behavior when continuing after pausing.
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v1.2</summary>
Output: Crow is now enabled as an output destination for Chords. For best results, enable a Strum direction or set “Max notes” to 1.
Range: Expands or shrinks the chord’s pitch range, measured in note intervals. An asterisk (*) will appear if this value is less than the “Max notes” parameter, indicating that the value shown here is limiting the number of notes played. Note that a Range of 3 will effectively play 7th chords as triads.
Max notes: Applied after Range has been set, this parameter limits the number of notes in the chord using a note thinning algorithm. The algorithm prioritizes the first and last notes in the chord, after which the intermediate notes are thinned out and evenly distributed. The resulting chord voicing depends on Range, Max notes, and Inversion. It’s possible to end up with some false “chords” like the same note repeated across multiple octaves.
Strum: Determines if the chord’s notes will play all at once (Off), or strum notes in one of two directions (Low-high or High-low).
Strum length: Length of the strum as a fraction of the chord Step length. The timing of the individual notes is adaptive, depending on the number of notes being strummed.
Strum curve: Bipolar control (-100% to +100%) over note timing where negative values will cause note timing to slow down over time and positive values will cause note timing to speed up over time. A value of 0% will result in linear timing.
Ramp: Bipolar control (-100% to +100%) of the Velocity/Amp values for each note. When Strum is off, this will change the dynamic balance of low and high pitched notes in the chord. When strumming, negative values will lower dynamics over time and positive values will raise dynamics over time.
Chord Spread has been removed. Similar functionality is available using the Range parameter (although higher values are required to achieve the same result). Saved songs with Chord Spread events will probably break on load. Let me know if this is a problem and I’ll work out a patch to address this.
By default, chords will now play 4 notes rather than Triads playing 3 notes and 7ths playing 4 notes. Triads will simply repeat the root note one octave up. This change was made for the benefit of consistent strum patterns regardless of chord type.
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v1.1</summary>
K3 plays, K2 pauses on a single tap and stops on a double tap.
Saving/ loading via system PARAMETERS»PSET menu works but saves will break when I do updates.
A few persistent settings now live in K1»PARAMETERS»PREFERENCES.
“Arp” is now “Seq” and has 3 new options that enable it to operate independently from the chord sequencer in terms of pitch and start/reset synchronization. It can also be controlled via Events and param triggers. It’s going to blow your freaking mind, maybe.
Arranger Events have new settings like probability, range limits, and two new operations that can randomize values or cause them to increment up or down based on a coin-toss.
Arranger extended from 16 to 64 segments.
Crow v4.0.4 support
Save/load of parameters, patterns, arrangement, and events can be performed through the system PARAMETERS»PSET menu. Data is stored in /home/we/dust/data/dreamsequence/pset no.
UH OH: SAVES ARE 1000% GOING TO BREAK WHEN FUTURE UPDATES COME OUT. Wrap up your work before updating, folks!
Version checks at system load for Norns and Crow. Crow v4 is cleared for flight and Dreamsequence will reconfigure itself depending on which version is installed.
“Arp” has emerged from its chrysalis as “Seq” and is much more flexible (both as a step sequencer and as an arpeggiator).
“Pattern shift” and “Pattern rotate” parameters allow the Seq pattern to be shifted using a menu option (and LFO mod for those so inclined). These also have corresponding events that replace the previous “transpose” event type. Once advantage of these new events is that they have more operation types available to them and can be reset back to their default position whereas the old transposition was not very smart and could only increment by a set amount. The old transpose functionality still remains (holding down the chord or arp grid key and turning E3) if you’re just looking for a way to adjust your patterns in a set-and-forget manner. Not yet available for chord patterns.
Arranger length is extended from 16 segments to 64 segments and can be navigated using the four pagination keys at the bottom of the Grid view.
Event probability setting in event editor determines how likely it is for the event to fire.
Event editor menus are now broken down into Category and Subcategory.
Event editor displays the state of the selected event in the header: New, Edited, or Saved.
Transport state indicator displays a flashing play symbol when waiting to sync with an Ableton Link clock, and a flashing pause symbol when waiting to pause until the end of the current chord. Accidental pause can be canceled if you press play before the end of the chord step.
MIDI: transport controls now work when syncing to MIDI clock. Pause can be performed from Dreamsequence and will be quantized with the chord step length (sending out a MIDI stop as well, depending on clock config).
TIP: It’s possible to finagle a sort of count-in by sending an external start, stopping on Dreamsequence (K2 2x), then scheduling a clean punch-in on the next beat using K3. This avoids the age-old issue of timing being a little off on the first beat when MIDI devices sync.
Transport controls have changed. K2 pauses playback on a single press and stops on a second press (stopping resets the active chord pattern and will reset the Arranger if playback is enabled). K3 now starts playback (except when syncing to Link clock— see ISSUES section) and can also cancel a pending pause if you catch it in time. I know many (most?) scripts put play on K2 so if you are having trouble with this config after spending some time with it, let me know. I’m open to providing a setting to swap K2 and K3 for transport controls. But a hybrid pause/stop button makes a lot more sense than a separate reset button that is like the LAUNCH-NUKES button during live performance
While transport is playing, it is no longer possible to force the active chord pattern to change by double-tapping a chord pattern key (or tapping the active pattern again). You must stop playback first. It was just an accident waiting to happen.
Deleting all events now requires holding K2 down until the onscreen countdown completes.
Current chord pattern position readout (top right on screen) now displays pattern, current step, and pattern length. Example: “B.2/8” means pattern B, step 2 of 8 total. ‘RST’ appears when pattern has been reset.
Half-diminished 7th chords will show a blank rectangle pending the addition of a new ø glyph.
Sending a ludicrous amount of triggers to Crow input 2 for a sustained amount of time can cause Crow to throw nonsensical errors in Maiden and bog down Norns to the point of unresponsiveness until CV cables are unplugged. I haven’t really found this to be an issue in normal usage with either Crow v3.0.1 or v4.0.4, but YMMV.
Starting Link from K3 is not yet supported due to an issue with Norns clock.link.start() function clobbering running clocks. If anyone smart wants to poke around the C clock code, please reach out so I can explain the issue!
Latency offset is not yet supported. I’ve worked out a nifty solution for this but it requires changes to Dreamsequence’s clocking architecture and is not a high priority while the Link clock issue exists.
Quantized stop may tick over into the first beat of the next measure on synced devices. This can be addressed with MIDI clock offset in DAWs but a solution for Link requires further research.
Loading PSETs while transport is active and synced to MIDI or Link can result in chord and arp getting out of sync. Stopping transport or resetting after load will resolve this. If you want to demo PSETs from the system menu, switch to internal clock for now.
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