Pedal activated harmony?

[johntarr]

Hello out there!

I’m wondering if there’s some kind of app or software that allows one to play a sustained chord and then switch it with a foot switch.

My ideal would be to have something like iReal book and be able to jump to the next chord or measure with a pedal. The reason I think this could be useful is for practicing changes out of time.

Any ideas are appreciated, thanks in advance,

John

[quiethorn]

Probably not exactly what you're looking for, but I did this once in a very overly-complicated way with VCV Rack and a wireless Arduino controller.


You could probably rig something up using Ableton Live. You'd just put each sustained chord in a separate clip and launch them in succession. Ableton has a "Follow Action" for each clip that you could set to "Next", but I don't know if you can trigger that with a press from a MIDI pedal.

VCV Rack could definitely do it though, or so could Bespoke Synth. For either of them, you'd just load up samples of the pads you want, put an envelope and ADSR on each of them, and trigger each one in succession with a sequential switch.

[johntarr]

Thanks for the video, which I will watch later this week. What does “envelope” and “ADSR” mean? Sorry for asking but I’m not at all knowledgeable of electronics.

[johntarr]

Probably not exactly what you're looking for, but I did this once in a very overly-complicated way with VCV Rack and a wireless Arduino controller.


You could probably rig something up using Ableton Live. You'd just put each sustained chord in a separate clip and launch them in succession. Ableton has a "Follow Action" for each clip that you could set to "Next", but I don't know if you can trigger that with a press from a MIDI pedal.

VCV Rack could definitely do it though, or so could Bespoke Synth. For either of them, you'd just load up samples of the pads you want, put an envelope and ADSR on each of them, and trigger each one in succession with a sequential switch.

Thanks again for posting that video, very creative. If I understand correctly, you programmed the software to cycle through the four harmonies with each click of the controller? That set up does indeed seem complicated, at least to me. I’ll look into VCV Rack but I’m thinking those kinds of things are way beyond my computer abilities.

[quiethorn]

Probably not exactly what you're looking for, but I did this once in a very overly-complicated way with VCV Rack and a wireless Arduino controller.


You could probably rig something up using Ableton Live. You'd just put each sustained chord in a separate clip and launch them in succession. Ableton has a "Follow Action" for each clip that you could set to "Next", but I don't know if you can trigger that with a press from a MIDI pedal.

VCV Rack could definitely do it though, or so could Bespoke Synth. For either of them, you'd just load up samples of the pads you want, put an envelope and ADSR on each of them, and trigger each one in succession with a sequential switch.

Thanks again for posting that video, very creative. If I understand correctly, you programmed the software to cycle through the four harmonies with each click of the controller? That set up does indeed seem complicated, at least to me. I’ll look into VCV Rack but I’m thinking those kinds of things are way beyond my computer abilities.

Yeah, VCV Rack has a really steep learning curve and might be overkill.

This would take away the part about switching chords with a foot switch, but an electric piano with a string pad and a sustain pedal would work. You play the chord, sustain it, play over it, then play the next chord and sustain it, etc.

[johntarr]

This would take away the part about switching chords with a foot switch, but an electric piano with a string pad and a sustain pedal would work. You play the chord, sustain it, play over it, then play the next chord and sustain it, etc.

This is what I’m doing now, but I was thinking that piano players have the means to switch chords at their will. One could go between ii to V7, for example, and back while exploring different possibilities. I have to stop playing, play the chord and lift my horn again. If I could design my own device, it would be like the long tones on iReal but one could go from one chord to the next and back without having to stop playing.

[Pre59]

If I could design my own device, it would be like the long tones on iReal but one could go from one chord to the next and back without having to stop playing.

Contact iReal directly and put your idea to them? Via their support, or forums or to the parent company here,

https://www.massimobiolcati.com/contact

[Enelson]

I’m afraid that I can’t answer your question directly, but I do solve the issue of isolating chords and practicing very specific parts of a chord sequence by using the loop and tempo functions in iReal Pro and Amazing Slow Downer.

The loop function in IReal Pro requires a minimum of 2 measures, so if the chord you want to hear is less than that, you either slow it down and work on 2 measure sequence or copy the tune and edit it for practice purposes. You can even create a practice tune with the chords you need to work on.

Amazing Slow Downer is cool because you can save the looped passages for quick access. ASD works great with streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify.

[Enelson]

I should add that I use both apps on my phone, and find it relatively easy to operate the phone with one hand while it sits on a music stand or lies on a desk next to me.

[timothy42b]

There is something called a Conductor Program, that takes a midi file and steps through it on command.
You do it by pressing a key on a keyboard, either musical or computer, but I wonder if a bluetooth page turner could do the same.

See here:
http://www.musanim.com/Tapper/

[walldaja]

You may want to try something like a bass guitar effects looper. A Zoom B1 Four is around $100. Once you lay the foundation (30 second limit) and record it you can start looping it and playing something else along side it. Plus you can use it to provide one of the 68 rhythm patterns it has. Fairly cheap to play with but you will need a mic and an inexpensive mixer to get your sound into the looper and then a bass speaker to hear it (or just use headphones). If you have a friend who plays guitar or bass and is into effects they may give you some pointers.