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Dancing Notes?        How's That Possible?


We're all familiar with notes that remain stationary.  However with NoteWeaver, playing inherently produces one or more dancing streams of relative musical intervals that ongoingly move musical focal points, called References.  

Each new note plays relative to its corresponding Reference and updates the Reference to the new pitch.

Suppose you're using a keyboard and an interval note that's set to +4 is played over and over again.  This generates an ascending run of Major 3rds.  That's because there are 4 semitones in a Major 3rd interval. 

The sequence +4   -3   +4   -3  first jumps up a Major 3rd, then down a minor 3rd, then up a Major 3rd, then down a minor 3rd.    A minor 3rd interval is 3 half steps.

Each note is still chosen and played like before, however now the notes jump, weaving intricate musical tapestries that can powerfully add to, and improve, any previous style of playing.

Original human emotional feel, timing, and note dynamics are fully maintained.

  

Here's a Symmetric Interval Layout Example
(one of almost endless possibilities)

Intervals Keyboard picture

These Jump Down                  Repeat                         These Jump Up

The above keyboard figure shows one simple example of how Functions and their Offset values can be applied to a keyboard.

I  =  Intervals                  LI  =  Repeat Last Interval

Notice the numbers associated with the interval notes count up and down, centered about a D on the keyboard.  This is because the D is a symmetric, mirror-image keyboard location.       (Note:  G# is also a useful mirror-image location.)

The middle D note labeled "LI ?" repeats the Last Interval, whatever it was.  The ? mark simply means that the interval jump value the note triggers changes.  For example: pressing  -2   LI   +5   LI   first shifts down by a whole note, then shifts down by another whole note, then shifts up by a Perfect 4th, then shifts up by another Perfect 4th.  (because a Perfect 4th contains 5 half steps)

 

Base 12 Chromatic Numbering

So NoteWeaver numbering displays cleanly and works intuitively the numbers count chromatically using a Base 12 numbering system.  Base 12 numbering works cleanly for music because there are 12 chromatic notes in an octave. Base 12 numbering uses 12 digits in each place with an "a" and "b" inserted after the 9:     8   9   a   b   10   11    etc.  where 10 is an octave and 20 is 2 octaves and so on.  Same with negative values.


12 is a great number because it's divisible by such a wide variety of smaller numbers. 

One great thing to understand and appreciate are the multitude of interval combinations of notes that can repeat each octave while being played. It's a matter of understanding simple addition, along with notes in various scales or chords and how they may, or may not harmonize and/or work together.  

Repeating sequences that add up to 12 often end up sounding really good since they remain in the same Key for each octave and produce the same notes, over and over again. 


Here are some chromatic combinations that add up to 12:   

                          3  4  5      3  4  5      3  4  5         See Note

  5  7      5  7      5  7

  4  8      4  8      4  8

  3  3  3  3      3  3  3  3      3  3  3  3  

  4  4  4      4  4  4      4  4  4

  9  3      9  3      9  3      9  3

2  4  6      2  4  6      2  4  6

  6   6       6   6       6   6       6   6

2   2   2   2   2   2       2   2   2   2   2   2       2   2   2   2   2   2

2   2   2   6       2   2   2   6        2   2   2   6

and many more possibilities...

Of course these need to be ultimately balanced with negative jumping intervals.  


It often sounds good to hold the sustain pedal
down to produce a more full musically rich sound.



Note:       Combinations like [ 3  4  5 ] can be played in any of 6
              different orders creating unique musical effects:

3   4   5        3   5   4  

4   3   5        4   5   3  

5   3   4        5   4   3  
 
 


          Musical Intervals

  The following table lists some base 12 semitone
counts along with their associated musical intervals:

Chromatic Base 12             
Semitone Step Qty.                       Musical Interval 

     0     none,                                 Perfect Unison

  -1     or      1                       m2      minor 2nd, or a semitone
  -2     or      2                       M2      Major 2nd, or a whole step
  -3     or      3                       m3      minor 3rd
  -4     or      4                       M3      Major 3rd
  -5     or      5                       P4      Perfect 4th, or just 4th
  -6     or      6                       A4      Augmented 4th, or tri tone
  -7     or      7                       P5      Perfect 5th, or just 5th
  -8     or      8                      m6       minor 6th
  -9     or      9                      M6       Major 6th
  -a     or      a                      m7       minor 7th
  -b     or      b                      M7       Major 7th
-10     or    10                      P8       Perfect octave
-11     or    11                      m9      minor 9th
-12     or    12                      M9      Major 9th
-13     or    13                    m10      minor 10th
-14     or    14                    M10      Major 10th

-20     or    20                    P16      Perfect 2 octaves


      Musical Interval Dual-Names

Also, depending upon the musical context, the exact same intervals
can have two different names and can change on the fly during a
performance:


Chromatic Base 12             
Semitone Step Qty                        Musical Interval 

           0                                        Perfect Unison   dim 2             

  -1     or      1                                  m2      Aug Unison
  -2     or      2                                  M2             d3
  -3     or      3                                  m3             A2
  -4     or      4                                  M3             d4
  -5     or      5                                  P4             A3
  -6     or      6                                  A4             d5       ( Tritone )
  -7     or      7                                  P5             d6
  -8     or      8                                 m6             A5
  -9     or      9                                 M6             d7
  -a     or      a                                 m7             A6
  -b     or      b                                 M7       dim Octave
-10     or    10                                 P8             A7
-11     or    11                                 m9      Aug Octave
-12     or    12                                 M9            d10
-13     or    13                               m10            A9
-14     or    14                               M10            d11

-20     or    20                               P16            A17   

  
 



Why Not Just Use Standard Interval Names?

Because of the above potentially much more confusing dual-name, ever changing musical context of the intervals, NoteWeaver simply displays intervals and musical pitches as quantities of semitones.  Traditional interval names were experimented with and produced confusing results that filled the table cells in awkward, more visually noisy ways.  Using chromatic interval names alleviates the necessity of having to on-the-fly predict musical interval names, which is often impossible in the first place, since they can easilly change on a continuous basis. Also, chromatically, interval addition and subtraction is more practical and octaves work intuitively and line up cleanly. 

  


Parallel and Contrary Motion Layout Example



     Parallel Notes Track Intervals               Contrary Notes Crisscross Intervals

This keyboard figure demonstrates two more types of functions:  

Red   P = Parallel Motion Notes               Blue  C = Contrary Motion Notes

The P notes play in parallel with the above figure I, Interval producing notes.  That is, after an above Interval note jumps to a new value, subsequent  P notes play in parallel.   They play relative to the last Interval note and remain stationary. When a new Interval note comes along, then new P notes play relative to the new Interval note, etc.  

Said another way, the upper Interval keyboard section ongoingly shifts the musical Key, or transposes, subsequent P notes as an integral part of the playing process. 

Note: The interval producing and parallel/contrary keyboard sections would normally be layed out on a single keyboard during actual play, but are separate because they didn't fit on the web page together.

 

The C notes do just the opposite.  As Interval notes ascend, C notes descend, and visa-versa.

When played through various harmonic scales this can create some great sounding interweaving harmonies where all the notes always fit together beautifully.

 

The above two figures represent but one basic layout for these various functions that could be applied to MIDI instruments.  It became very apparent that there are a wide range of possibilities for these placements that people would want to experiment with.  So large, open ended, quick and easy to edit tables was an essential solution.


Below you'll find a link to the NoteWeaver User's Manual.  If you really want to get into the nitty-gritty, or if you have specific questions you can research the manual. 


Click here to view the NoteWeaver User's Manual

 

Abbreviated Function List

Various note Functions have been developed to support this interval producing process, along
with other functions that select other program features during a performance, or during song playback.

There are also 3 sets of I - Iz functions because one
can play 3 independent moving interval streams at once. 

S, Still (notes or chords)

This is the traditional type function of keys on a keyboard or notes on a guitar. Still notes effectively stand still when played.

I, Interval (notes or chords)

NoteWeaver incorporates a new system where played notes produce jumps, or musical intervals relative to the last note that got played. By using this technique notes and chords can be played in a different way than the traditional manner. Playing a note (or hence chord) repeatedly creates steps or jumps up or down from the last note location. These steps, or musical intervals, represent quantities of semitones and are determined by the settings of the Offset tables.

P, Parallel (motion, notes or chords)

The Parallel function plays notes or chords relative to the current Reference. If the Parallel function is selected for a note and it's offset is set to 5, then every time this note is played a pitch 5 semitones higher than the current Reference produced by the previous Interval function will sound.

C, Contrary (motion, notes or chords)

The Contrary function also plays notes or chords relative to the current Reference. However they work the opposite of the Parallel functions. As the Reference moves up these notes move down.

LI, Repeat Last Interval (notes or chords)

This repeats the last Interval played, whatever it was.

QI, Quiet Interval

QI increments or decrements (if the Offset is negative) the current Reference, and doesn't play any notes.

R, Reference (notes or chords)

R sets the Reference to it's corresponding Offset location and also produces a note or chord
using the new location.

QR, Quiet Reference

QR operates exactly the same as above, and does not sound a note or chord.

Iz, Interval Zone

Interval zones provide a unique pattern generation capability that can produce some great sounds with a minimum of work. With just 2 fingers one can cycle through some awesome note sequences without having to keep balancing the positive and negative intervals. Choosing widths like 11, for instance produce rich effects since they cycle through many various musical Key flavors.

Tz, Toggle Zone

Toggle zones are groups of notes that can be toggled on and off. For instance suppose you have a drum machine that repeats a drum pattern when a note is on, then these notes can toggle on and off these patterns. Or suppose you want a section of strings to turn on and off, slowly.

M, KG Map

M instantly switches to a new KG map depending upon the base 10 Offset number used. During real time playing or sequencer playback if this is selected the entire mapping of K1, K2, and G Functions, Offsets, Output Type, Chord Notes, and Chord Synths instantly switches to a new group (KG Map).

+M, Increment KG Map

+M is the same as M except that instead of instantly switching you into a new KG map, it increments or decrements (if the Offset is negative) the current KG Map by the Offset amount.

Sy, Synths Map

Sy is used to switch into a new Synths mapping. When this occurs all the new data used in the Synths screen is switched to a new value. Only the Patch, Volume, and Pan values that are different from the settings of the last Synths map are sent to the appropriate synths.

+Sy, Increment Synths Map

+Sy is the same as Sy except that instead of instantly switching you into a new Synths map, it increments or decrements (if the Offset is negative) the current Synths Map by the Offset amount.

|<<, stp, pla, rec Rewind, Stop, Play, and Record

These all control the sequencer the same as pressing the sequencer control buttons inside the Piano Roll or Tracks screens.

mid, More MIDI

Three types of additional midi commands can be created from scratch inside the Names screen in the More MIDI column to the far right. Using the mid command you can trigger one line (of 200) of these midi commands. They consist of System Exclusive, More Controller routing, and Custom MIDI commands.

 

 

Nutshell Overview of NoteWeaver

o 8 MIDI input channels:

           K1 = Keyboard 1 

          K2 = Keyboard 2

          G = Guitar     midi input channels 11 - 16

Any MIDI instruments, like drum pads, can be directed into any of the input channel locations.

o   64 MIDI output channels that can feed up to 64 independent synths

o   200 sets, called "KG Maps," of K1, K2, and G data.

You weave in and out of these KG Maps as you play by selecting new maps, on the fly. This way you can entirely alter how your playing is interpreted and translated.

o   40 different functions

These are assignable to each keyboard or guitar input note event. A note event is a MIDI input    note that triggers a Function. An event may play a note, or trigger a host of other functions. They may generate intervals, trigger elaborate chords, switch various maps, and many other things.

o Individual offsets applied to each function.

These offsets are usually in number base 12 since there are 12 semitones per octave:

                                 . . . -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 a b 10 11 12 13 . . .

This also helps you vertically line up digits during editing. For example, a note of 46 will be 2 octaves below a note of 66. An offset of -30 will produce a -3 octave offset as an interval offset choice.

Numbers are sometimes in base 10, depending upon the corresponding function, as is the case with Chord and Chord Synths selections. The numbering ranges from 0 - 199 decimal.

o   200 programmable chords:

Chords can contain up to 32 individual notes and are edited using a quick, intuitive editing grid. The Chord Notes environment lets you choose the note output sequence. The chord note order is the same as they are entered on the grid. The Chord Notes environment lets you place notes on the grid in any musical Key you're comfortable with, and NoteWeaver makes the relative translation.

o   200 programmable chord synth assignments:

Using the Chord Synths screen, each chord can be sent to 16 synths, selectable from the group of 64. You custom prioritize each note by synth to speed up chord output.

By playing 1 note, you can produce up to 512 total notes sent to 16 synths. This event that creates 512 notes is recorded in a song file as only 6 bytes. However, the final industry standard MIDI compatible file that is generated contains all 512 notes of information. The reason for the difference in size is that the internal song feeds the KG and chord tables to produce the final output.

o   200 sets of 64 channels of output synth configuration.

The top grid contains settings sent to your  synths containing:

     Patch = The sound the synth makes
     Hi Bank = High bank of patches, if your synth supports them -- see your synth manuals
     Lo Bank = Low bank of patches, if your synth supports them
     Hi Note = To filter out undesirable high MIDI notes sent to synths
     Lo Note = To filter out undesirable low MIDI notes sent to synths
     Volume = Standard MIDI volume
     Pan = The relative stereo output volume of your synth outputs

The bottom grid contains Keyboard 1, Keyboard 2, and Guitar controller routing. It provides settings that filter controller inputs coming from your input sources, or recorded song. They are used to filter out these controller events since moving MIDI controllers produces so much MIDI data. If you're moving the Pitch Bend control, you probably want it to only effect 1 or just a few output synths, not all 64 at a time. This would completely clog the MIDI output stream.

The following controllers are filtered:

     Sustain
     Pitch Bend
     Modulation
     Channel After Touch
     Volume

     ...and 3 other selectable controllers: X, Y, and Z.

You set the three X, Y, and Z controllers in the Setup screen and then can select <cont xyz # # # messages from within the Names screen to change XYZ controllers on the fly during a performance or song. You trigger these by using sys (System Exclusive) Functions in the KG tables.

o   200 programmable scales that map all 128 MIDI final output notes ranging from 0 - 127 into 128 selectable notes.

o   Sequencer made up of the Piano Roll and Tracks screens. The sequencer helps you record and edit multiple tracks of NoteWeaver events. The events take up little data since during playback they feed back through the arrays of NoteWeaver tables.

o   Score screen that displays music notation for 20 groups of 6 synths, each of final output.