MIDI Melody and Harmony

Question 1

What does CC stand for (MIDI)?

Answer 1

Continuous Controller

Question 2

Which record mode could you use to record complex chords one note at a time ?

Answer 2

Overdub

Question 3

Which feature of MIDI editor could you use to input chords played on a MIDI keyboard one chord at a time without recording live ? Describe the process…

Answer 3

MIDI Step Recording - With the MIDI Monitor button engaged, find a chord you want to input with your MIDI keyboard, then click in the clip (Detail view) where you want the chord and press and hold the notes of the chord with one hand and with the other hand press the right cursor arrow on your computer keyboard to input the notes into the clip (press right as needed to create the desired length)

Question 4

Which feature in Clip view can be used to give a visual guide to the notes in each key and how do you use it (Ableton 11)?

Answer 4

Scale Mode - Click ‘Scale’ in clip view (bottom left) and then select the root note and scale type ad the notes that are contained within that scale will be displayed horizontally in the Piano Roll in Blue - you can also press the Scale button located directly above the piano roll to fold to just the scale notes

Question 5

How can you create a MIDI drumbeat without sequencing it (using a microphone…)?

Answer 5

Beatbox a beat using a microphone, recording it to an audio track. Then right-click and select Convert Drums to MIDI

Question 6

What is the quickest way to extract the MIDI notes from an audio’s chords or melody, what is the downside of this method?

Answer 6

You can convert any audio into MIDI by dragging the audio file clip into a MIDI channel and selecting ‘Drums’, ‘Harmony’ or ‘ Melody’ to select the most appropriate algorythm. The downside is it isn’t always able to accurately process the audio into MIDI.

Question 7

Which feature of MIDI editor can be used to create new variations and ideas from existing MIDI? What are its six main controls/functions ?

Answer 7

The MIDI Transform Tools section to the left of the Piano Roll in clip view; it’s six main controls/functions are: Halve, Double, Reverse, Invert, Legato and Duplicate Region

Question 8

How can you edit the MIDI in multiple clips simultaneously?

Answer 8

By selecting a clip and then SHIFT and clicking another Ableton will enter Multi-Clip editing mode.

Question 9

In multi-clip mode how many MIDI clips can be edited simultaneously ?

Answer 9

Up to eight

Question 10

Whats a quick 3 step process to write the chords, bass and drums in session view using MIDI editor?

Answer 10

First write the chords (e.g. four bars worth) in a MIDI clip; next duplicate the MIDI clip into the bass track, lower the octave and use Multi-clip editing to write a bassline using the chord tones whilst visually referencing the chords on the chord track’s MIDI clip; finally create a new MIDI clip on the drum track and SHIFT+click the bass’ MIDI clip to simultaneously view the bass and drum MIDI clips, and program a beat that fits with the bass part.

Question 11

What is the function of the Focus button in clip editor (Live 11)

Answer 11

Clicking Focus means only the current focused clip can be edited, and allows you to apply clip-specific MIDI transform tools

Question 12

Which MIDI Effect can be used to audition and experiment with different scales for a given part?

Answer 12

The Scale MIDI Effect

Question 13

Which two MIDI Effects could be used simultaneously to create an arpeggio from a single MIDI note?

Answer 13

Firstly the Chord MIDI Effect to generate a chord from a single note, then following that in the chain with the Arpeggiator MIDI Effect to generate an arpeggio pattern from that chord

Question 14

Which MIDI Effect could be used to lock arpeggio patterns into a particular key?

Answer 14

The Scale MIDI Effect

Question 15

Describe the 5 basic settings on the Arpeggiator MIDI Effect:
Style, Rate, Gate, Steps and Repeats

Answer 15

Style - sets the way that the notes are arpeggiated (see the image below).
Rate - adjusts the speed of the arpeggio. This can be in Sync Mode where the rate follows the tempo of your set, or in Free Mode where the rate is set in a certain number of milliseconds.
Gate - adjust how long the notes that the arpeggiator generates are.
Steps - adjusts how many additional octaves of notes the arpeggiator steps through (or other interval determined by the Step value) .
Repeats - the number of time the arpeggio will run it’s full course; according to the MIDI clip, Style and number of Steps

Question 16

Describe the 7 more advanced settings on Arpeggiator MIDI Effect:
Re-Trigger, Offset, Distance, Velocity, Target, Decay, Velocity Re-Trigger

Answer 16

Re-Trigger (Bottom Left):
Determines when/how often the arpeggio restarts it’s pattern from the beginning (won’t exceed the number of Repeats set)
Velocity :
Enables Velocity Mode
Target and Decay:
Moves the velocity of the notes towards the Target value (starting at the velocity value already in the MIDI clip), and completes this in the Decay time stated.
Velocity Re-Trigger:
in Velocity mode the Decay time begins from the start of any new chord, but with Re-Trigger enabled (below Velocity) it will ALSO re-start the Decay time in-sync with the Re-Trigger value assigned to the arp pattern at the bottom left.
Offset:
Begins the Arpeggio from a place within the pattern other than the first note
Distance:
Gives the interval between the start of the arpeggio an each subsequent Step (here meaning the ‘Step’ value that begins the whole pattern on a new starting note)