Since I spend most of my time working with Scaler’s Performance modes, I am always impressed with how well Scaler manages changing performance settings in real time with out missing a beat.
With that as a backdrop, has the team ever considered giving us a Mirror Notes function? Considering Scaler is all about helping find and create interesting music, it seems a natural fit
I use this in Studio One all the time when I’m looking for interesting combinations and being able to turn it on and off while exploring or playing like I do all the other Sclaler performance settings, would effectively double the number of potential performance modes with a relatively minor investment in dev resources.
Like as in mirror the degrees within scale so E,D,C in a major scale becomes E,F,G? I like the idea of reverse pitch which is what I think you are suggesting.
I read this and recalled a video made by Jacob Collier which sort of linked the concepts of “mirror notes”, “negative harmony” and “neo-Riemannian” approaches to tonal theory.
Way above my theory pay grade, but my cautious question here is if, and if relevant, how, are mirror notes note ideas related to the existing Scaler N-R features ?
Not sure of the specific terminology so as @jamieh always reminds me, here is what it looks like in Studio One. (Original, Mirror on Middle, Mirror on 1st note) The Vertical flip (not shown) is also interesting but seems to result in fewer happy accidents.
To be clear, this function will not always result in something interesting and certainly sometimes things that don’t sound “complete”. However, not unlike the quantize feature which can be used to tame things in interesting ways, you will find cool stuff in unexpected places. I do all the time. Considering Scaler writes performance data directly to the chord. it would seem to give us a large pallet of new performance sequences for a reasonable dev investment.
Sure, you could do this in your DAW, but that misses a key point of Scaler…to find and create interesting musical textures quickly.
Yes this is a reverse pitch function which can either be quantised to scale or reversed to exact position. We are currently thinking of ways to implement this as part of a larger thought process which includes negative harmony, pattern repeat and other modes of melodic writing. Stay tuned!
