Using Chord Maps in Scaler (keyboard and piano players please look away now)

[AndyB01]

For the rest of the one (or possibly two) fingered brigade - with limited keyboard chops (self included) - you might find this homespun technique of mine useful.

In order to build up song chord tracks, I find building up chord patterns in Scaler a useful way to do it - either select from the pre-set patterns or come up with your own. You have seven patterns to work with in a grid and eight chords per pattern. As soon as you start using multiple patterns, Scaler will assign a key switch (starting at C1) to toggle between them - so you can end up with seven patterns switchable using keys C1 and B1. Make sure you only select and bind Pattern 1 in order to generate the key switches. The chords you assign on the grid are triggered by binding the grid to the keyboard and I have mine set to trigger each chord in sequence from notes C2 to C3.

With a bit of planning, you can easily fit in all the chords you need to complete a song, but remembering which key switch and which trigger to press when, in which order and for how long can get a bit tricky. What I do - based on my song structure - is to write a chord map in Excel to help me play the chord track and record it into Cakewalk in real time - here's an extract of one of mine:

So on the above extract, Pattern 1 C1 or Pattern 2 D1 etc denotes the key switch, the colour-coded Bar Count represents the duration of chord (i.e. do you hold it for one, beat, two beats or four) and the Trigger Note (C2, D2, E2 etc) denotes the key you press on the keyboard to trigger the chord and the chord being played is written underneath for reference only.

Top tip - hold the key down for the full duration of the chord - don't use the sustain pedal or the results can go haywire (especially if you quantize the recorded track).

Now I'm not trying to re-invent musical notation here (although my sight reading is terrible), but I find the above kind of works for me. Using the map above, I can play the trigger notes and key switches to generate and record a chord track in real time against - for example - a piano VST (provided you have set up the routing correctly in Cakewalk) without having to worry about multiple takes and getting all the finger positions right and hitting smooth transitions etc.

I am aware that I can set the timings in Scaler and select specific patterns to be played back by Scaler and capture the resultant midi, however this sounds very robotic to me, the velocity is a flat line and and even after 'humanising', it doesn't really ever sound right to me (that might just be my poor execution and lack of Scaler chops though).

Of course, I could just put the hours in to become a better keyboard player and actually learn how to play my own stuff - but where's the fun in that? ? 

Once the chord track is generated I can then use it with a virtual session pianist like EzKeys to create piano accompaniments in any style I choose, based on simple arpeggios or even the various midi packs (depending which ones you own) to create backing piano tracks I could only ever dream of being able to play.

Anyway I thought I would share this workflow in case it's of help or interest to anyone else - the Excel file (other spreadsheets are available) is pretty simple to set up as you can see and I just set it out to follow the entire song structure.

Hope it's useful

Andy

Edited January 23, 2023 by AndyB01
Couple of minor updates

[reginaldStjohn]

Thank for sharing. 

[abacab]

I once heard an orchestral composer describe his response when asked a common question of whether he could play every instrument in the orchestra. He responded yes he could, but poorly.

Knowing how to write for an instrument is quite a different thing than knowing how to master the playing of it.

Of course the composer added that to compose  one needs to understand a bit about each instrument's performance characteristics and articulations, and it's role in the overall arrangement of the orchestra.

I suppose any trick in the book is fair game if it helps you write music!

 

[Jesse Screed]

17 hours ago, AndyB01 said:

Anyway I thought I would share this workflow in case it's of help or interest to anyone else

Andy, I think you should attach a sound file so people can hear the finished product.  I have heard what you do using this method and it sounds very good to my untrained ears.  Providing an an example might spur others to dig a little deeper.  I know some bakers who measure all the ingredients, and others who just use the right amount without measuring.   The cakes by either are tasty.

In the near future, all mainstream popular music will be created by AI.   You can find instrumental music streams of all genres now on platforms that are generated by the machine.  Maybe not germane to the post, but in a way it is.

[AndyB01]

Thanks @Jesse Screed - I will absolutely do that as soon as I have finished the one I am working on. ?

[AndyB01]

Bumping this old thread to reply to the comment by @Jesse Screed above

So I am re-working an old song of mine that I posted on here a couple of years back - as I think it can be improved - and I have used it to demo the technique described above. First off, here is a base chord track of the song - hand coded entirely in Scaler 2 and played from the grid using one-finger chords and key switches - recorded to an aux midi track in CbB in real time:

 

Pretty dull and uninteresting I am sure you would agree (I hope you didn't listen all the way through)

And this is the same track, routed through a bus, with three additional piano tracks. These have all been built by importing the base chord tracks into EzKeys and editing them in each case using different MIDI packs and the 'use browser midi' function to replace the basic track:

Now, I have deliberately gone over the top for effect here by adding three tracks and you could argue less is more in this game - but it all depends on the effect you're after. Note this is still pretty raw with no mixing or FX, save for some panning left and right to add some width.

Obviously you have to browse and audition a few EzKeys MIDI packs to find a few candidate matches, before deciding which to choose and how long that takes depends how many MIDI packs you own (if you own as many as @Bapu it might take a lifetime). Then you just do any PRV corrections you feel necessary (there are invariably a few bum notes) and then blend them into a bus and - hey presto - your very own virtual session pianist.

Hope this illustrates the workflow a little.

Andy

[Jesse Screed]

4 hours ago, AndyB01 said:

Bumping this old thread to reply to the comment by @Jesse Screed above

So I am re-working an old song of mine that I posted on here a couple of years back - as I think it can be improved - and I have used it to demo the technique described above. First off, here is a base chord track of the song - hand coded entirely in Scaler 2 and played from the grid using one-finger chords and key switches - recorded to an aux midi track in CbB in real time:

 

Pretty dull and uninteresting I am sure you would agree (I hope you didn't listen all the way through)

And this is the same track, routed through a bus, with three additional piano tracks. These have all been built by importing the base chord tracks into EzKeys and editing them in each case using different MIDI packs and the 'use browser midi' function to replace the basic track:

Now, I have deliberately gone over the top for effect here by adding three tracks and you could argue less is more in this game - but it all depends on the effect you're after. Note this is still pretty raw with no mixing or FX, save for some panning left and right to add some width.

Obviously you have to browse and audition a few EzKeys MIDI packs to find a few candidate matches, before deciding which to choose and how long that takes depends how many MIDI packs you own (if you own as many as @Bapu it might take a lifetime). Then you just do any PRV corrections you feel necessary (there are invariably a few bum notes) and then blend them into a bus and - hey presto - your very own virtual session pianist.

Hope this illustrates the workflow a little.

Andy

Excellent, I can't listen to it right now, but I will tomorrow.  I am excited to learn more and use whatever I can in relation to my abilities.

[AndyB01]

I should have added, in EzKeys, make sure you use the split tool to break the song down into its constituent parts such as intro, verse, chorus, bridge etc, so you can apply different variations from midi packs to each.

Don't be afraid to experiment either, for example sometimes using a bridge or pre-chorus variation on a second or third verse can add some an extra dimension you might have otherwise missed.

Andy

[Jesse Screed]

6 hours ago, AndyB01 said:

Don't be afraid to experiment

This is great.  I can't wait to try this out.  I still will need to execute the steps, and that might take me a while to actually do because I don't use EZ keys or Scaler much.  Thanks for shining the light.