MIDI recording for custom patterns and phrases

Scaler 2 Feature Requests
1

It would be very useful being able to record our own custom MIDI content inside Scaler to be used instead of the built in patterns and phrases.

4 Likes
2

You can cant you if you reroute it in Ableton to a new midi track ?

1 Like
3

If Iā€™m not mistaken, the OP is asking to record and edit user patterns into Scaler and use them like the built in Expressions. At this time there is no way to do that. It has been discussed with the Devs and they are looking into it. Perhaps in the future.

2 Likes
4

Yeah, I mean record the MIDI inside Scaler, not in the DAW, obviously. I just edited the original post.

5

Sounds like what youā€™re looking for is a ā€œdigital audio workstationā€. Yes, you can use the internal sounds if you like, by using multiple instances. Scaler 2 is not built to record your noodling but 3rd party midi apps inside DAWs are. If I can do it on iPad you can do it on desktop! Welcome to the future

6

The more I think about this my thoughts are crystallising. For me it would be ā€œvery niceā€ to be able to modify the existing phrases and patterns and store the modifications in a way that is accessible to Scaler so that I can use them in future compositions.

This would enable me to create my own groups of related patterns similar to the collections of melody patterns that are included within Scaler.

I know I can drag the midi from Scaler into my DAW, then modify it and then save it as a midi file; but I feel this is a slightly clunky workflow should I want to reuse the modified performance pattern, possibly in a different key.

The inbuilt performance patterns do not have a key stored with the pattern (unlike a midi file which is a set of notes) and it would be helpful to utilise this feature for performances that I create myself.

This could be construed as laziness (I can be lazy) and although Scaler is a great tool assisting composers it may not be the direction in which the team wants to go. If so, then so be it. After all Scaler is predominantly about harmonic patterns and chords, not melodies.

Hope these ramblings make sense.

1 Like
7

I agree @ed66 , but quite a bunch of users, including myself, would like a bit more assistance with melodies. More freedom to change or adapt them. But i leave the decision to developers as they were always able to find the solution to many requests.

8

No, I already have a DAW. What I want is to use my own rhythmic patterns inside of Scaler, as opposed to just the ones that come built in, but it seems that my point went way over your head.

9

If that were the case, the plugin wouldnā€™t come with a built in library of melodic phrases. Harmony and chords can be and often are a foundation for melodies, so your statement is rather limiting and wrong. Besides, Iā€™m not even talking exclusively about melodies, Iā€™m simply asking for the option to introduce my own MIDI into the plugin so that I can go beyond the built in patterns, and that goes way beyond melodies.

1 Like
11

Great suggestion. I was thinking something very similar today .

1 Like
12

I understand what you wish to do, and for many folk this would enhance the capabilities of Scaler. Itā€™s something that I wold fine useful, because of my slightly quirky approach to the way I work.

I would question how this might be implemented. I suspect (but have no idea) that Scalerā€™s data is organised in terms of intervals in the modes of some scale structure. This presumably then allows it to construct the MIDI for any given root. [My reason for assuming the above is from looking how the UIDā€™s in an XML ā€˜state fileā€™ are organised]

A MIDI file is (trivialising it here) a series of note numbers from which a a scale/mode and possibly a a chord can (might?) be inferred, Scaler only gives a suggested root / mode when importing MIDI, and the extent to which it can do that will depend on the scope of the data it has. Take some melodic fragment being received from a Mixolydian flat 6 modeā€¦ itā€™s very ambiguous. At a very basic level unless you can identify / assign a third you donā€™t know whether itā€™s major or minor.

The issue I have in thinking about this is how some fragment of notes gets transposed on playback - it seems some information is missing, though I might be being dumb here (and probably am)

So I think there would have to be a mechanism for this information to be provided as part of the import process, rather than simply using a system like the current one; i.e. something that allow it to unambiguously map the data into scale, mode and intervals to allow transformation into another root and scale/modeā€¦

Iā€™m sure it can be done, but I suspect itā€™s a bit more than sucking in some MIDI and storing it.

Anyway, good idea. However, there is also the key issue for the Scaler business owners about the positioning and direction of the product, and it is this factor which normally drives what enhancements are made to a product. Thatā€™s outside my pay scale, as they say.

1 Like
13

I didnā€™t say that Scaler is only about harmonic patterns only that IMHO it is predominantly aimed at harmonies. I like the melodic phrases that are included with Scaler but IMHO there are limitations to these, not least of which is the inability to modify them.

I have in the past also requested the functionality of importing midi, however I recognnise that as @panda says

but