Generative MIDI Effects Chains, inspired by Ólafur Arnalds (tutorial and chain ideas)

[@sichtbeton]

In my musical journey I often run into questions and then I find that loopop did a video about it. Years ago. Then I thank him and bow my head.

[@jaysilence3314]

Yes, more generative music videos please! Really inspiring!

[@gigo20]

These re fantastic. Please do make more. They're a gold mine for any musician and/or sound designer out there. And the one sitting right here.

[@AM-ui9mc]

This segment of videos is just so cool and useful . This is right on the cusp of the musical paradigm today

[@bahutu802]

Wow, Midihub is a dream come true! The Polyend Tracker drew me into generative music making, now this one blows my mind even more, since it supports live performance. Absolutely awesome to have a wholesome jam. Don't know whether it might also be able to do rhythmic stuff in a customizable way. Let's say I connect it to a groovebox and it generates custom and/or random beat patterns on the fly. Or I feed it a rhythmic pattern (via programming or live) and it doesn't create a regular straight arpeggio from that, but quantizes notes to the rhythmic pattern.

[@johncaccioppo1142]

I just got my Midihub in the mail yesterday and I had no idea you had done a review on it, I can only begin to express how relieved I am to find this video!

[@cfidev]

lol pop, your one of my new favorite channels, your insight is really unprecedented, well curated, and just downright exciting. So happy I found you brother

[@aptudo]

Thanks for this one; I’m inspired! I can’t wait to try this on my Pyramid. Yes, please never stop adding to this generative music series. I already consider it a “signature” loopop series - it sets you apart!

[@MatheusLeston]

This is right up my alley. I'm all about generative sequences and that sort of thing. Mostly I do is with Max, and nowadays I've been studying techniques with Machine Learning (for pitch detection, melody creation and things like that). But I also do a lot of stuff in Ableton as well. One of my favorite things is to use several LFO devices (there is one included in the M4L package) with different timings to control different parameters of the chain. One of my preferred mappings it to use an Arpeggiator and modulate its rate, add a random velocity and also modulate the range. Done, great melodies.

[@TheSynthZone]

If you can find a program called "M" you can use it for more than just sequencing, it is similar to max cycling but has old school-80s style algorithmic composition with some very cool tricks for you to us!

[@HikerSophie]

@@TheSynthZone You mean this? cycling74.com/products/m

[@agencies5061]

Genius of a box, funny and how timely, just today I had a long discussion with a friend that was dissing MIDI and dismissing it as ancient, obtuse and severely limited... Thank you for this review.

[@Crobisaur]

spent the past few weeks looking for a midi interface that just works in windows and linux and I find myself coming back to the midihub time & again as a viable choice. Can't wait to give this thing a try soon!

[@kosmikmusa]

I think this is the best thing happened midi for a long time. I ordered one. Can´t wait 2020. Thanks for sharing this video.

[@CaidicusProductions]

Well I'll be, if this video isn't right up my alley. Great presentation Loopop, such a pleasant and relaxing break from a crazy day.

[@brosandimusic]

The Particle Engine in Native Instrument's Noire piano is really phenomenal for this. You can control the decay rate and the type of notes youd like to generate. And its always a different note when you press a key. Haha i asked olafur on twitter if its possible that he'll ever release the Stratus piano as a kontakt instrument, he said maybe 😅 I love this video man! Youve opened a lot of doors for me here. Thank you!

[@closeyoureyesmusic]

it's gonna be released in a few days on Spitfire Audio, pre-order is already available

[@ciavattas]

Aaaand just when I was searching the web for some kind of clever way to integrate my NDLR with my next purchase, namely the Squarp Pyramid, I stumbled across this 2 years old video... And guess what, I'm heading straight to the blokas shop page to order one. And that's a sort of deja vu, because it's like a pattern by now: watching a Ziv video and impulse buy the thing. Guess how the said NDLR, Pyramid and some other gear ended up on my desk! I don't know whether to thank you or put some spam filter on your content! 😁 Jokes aside, love your stuff Ziv, that's by far the most informative and fun to watch musical gear channel on the web, hands down. You'd deserve to be paid from all the manufacturers of this lovely toys we all love

[@jensthuland964]

This video made me support you on Patreon. Thanks alot; the way you educate and inspire us is second to absolutely no other youtuber out there 😀

[@loopop]

Thanks so much Jens, I really appreciate the comment and support!

[@isolamusic6205]

Loopop, thanks for this inspiration! Do you know how cool you are! I enjoy every video I watch from you and it makes me a better musician. Thanks a lot for this and I bow my head and lift my hat!!

[@uhoh007]

My MidiHub just showed up, and I'm glad to find this wonderful video, thank you!

[@2.7petabytes]

I love what you do! Midi mapping and daws have always made my head hurt! Thanks for the demo

[@kunst22gmail]

I would love to see more videos in the Generative Series. I am blown away by the MIDI-Hub and consider ordering one; it is not that expensive anyway. Great work - Keep it up 😎 +++++fK

[@ShaighJosephson]

This is where I'm at... Have a Montage...and thinking out a setup with Midihub, NDLR, and Deluge... Thanks for all the info... :)

[@bentropy]

this is a fun series. hope there will be more when you have a chance. I really like the emphasis on creativity and processes that can be unique (or at least unusual), rather than accumulating gear.

[@N-trepid1]

What incredible creative possibilities! I'm so glad you took the time to demonstrate/explore this approach. As always, your presentation of generative MIDI effects chains is so intuitive. Thanks :)

[@doublebyte01]

I was having trouble understanding MidiHub your video was brilliant - now I get it! Thank you!

[@FelipeTellez]

I love where you are taking these generative ideas. Though I'm not too excited about the external midi hub, it got me thinking of potentially nice generative setups....how about: 1. Use Midi Instrument controller (piano let's say) to play/noodle/compose 2. Have the Midi output of that go into ES-8 and out into Modular Land 3. Have the Midi (now CV) trigger a source of uncertainty style module (wogglebug?)....scale cv and process to taste 4. Trigger modular in generative fashion with your hooked up instrument and bring back CV into DAW for more processing to taste 5. Optional.....Have your instrument trigger the source of uncertainty TO PROCESS QUADRAPHONIC PANNING!?! boom, Generative quadraphonic sparkles I would LOVE to see your take on something like this. (hope I'm not talking out of my ass!) Love your stuff, keep the ideas coming please!!! =)

[@BruceHickeyisWindspace]

I'm really enjoying the videos in this generative series. Right up my alley also. This one has inspired me the most so far. Please keep them coming!

[@johannesbackx274]

Thank you, really cool, please more on this subject,

[@jonmackenzie]

Ah! My favourite synth nerd made a video inspired by my favourite composer and I just found out about it now! There was maybe a day or so between when I first found out about Ólafur Arnalds and his Stratus software and when I tried to implement it myself in MainStage with MIDI plugins, such an inspiring idea. For anyone looking for ideas, here's what I tried with somewhat satisfactory-ish results: One main piano track and two hard-panned piano tracks with identical midi effect chain (Logic/MainStage, could probably do similar in Live, definitely with the Midihub and a bit of setup): 1. Arpeggiator, just set to 16ths in random order , with a bit of velocity randomization. 2. Velocity processor, compressing the velocity range by about 1.5 and bringing all velocities down about 30 3. Scripter (yeah, JavaScript, sorry. I don't like it either.) Filters out everything but note on/off and all notes below a threshold velocity (might also want to allow sustain pedal down and block sustain pedal up unless you can otherwise keep it held down for the aux pianos, not a problem for real physical player pianos) 4. Note repeater, 8th notes with a fairly aggressive velocity taper. Putting it after the scripter allows soft trailing notes that would've otherwise been filtered out The nice thing about having that velocity-based filtering is that your playing dynamics influence the added notes; emphasize a note by playing it hard and you'll get that note echoed quite a bit, whereas softer notes just kinda pass by without much chance of being echoed. The velocity randomization in the arpeggiator takes care of "randomly" dropping notes by making them too soft to pass the filter, playing harder increases the chance that your notes will make it to the delay stage and ultimately be heard. I think the software Ólafur uses is actually more rhythm-based, where it has a rhythm it loosely conforms to (determined via tweakable parameters, I think he has an accompanying iPad app) and takes suggestions on what notes to put into each slot from his playing. That sort of approach would certainly be better for consistency, and he does use it live and the live performances tend to be pretty consistent with each other and the album in terms of rhythm and general note choice. There's an interview video where he plays a C and it comes back with an Eb (I think those are the notes, point is they're different) so it's not purely based on exactly what notes are being played, probably picking from a key. Here's hoping Ólafur and his developer friend who built it open source it some day, everyone needs pianos that go bleep bloop!

[@loopop]

Thanks for taking the time to write this comment!

[@closeyoureyesmusic]

Thanks for sharing your experience, very appreciated!

[@hiqwertyhi]

@@closeyoureyesmusic spitfire audio actually just announced they're releasing stratus as an instrument. not sure of the details, but they collaborated with olafur on it so it may be worth looking into

[@closeyoureyesmusic]

@@hiqwertyhi yep I've already watched the teaser today, it may be interesting. But I personally don't really feel comfortable with such in-a-box solutions. But who knows, anyway looking forward for more info and demos of this thing

[@Gallanitte]

This is really interesting. I would Loooove to see a video of that! 😉

[@upsidedawn_]

Best YT channel ever Loopop, huge respect. btw midihub seems amazing as a creative and very simple tool for learning, please keep on producing videos with it ;)

[@loopop]

Thanks! Indeed I can see Midihub as recurring in my creative process for sure...

[@JohnPaulsonJohnisaStegosaurus]

just ordered one because i needed to upgrade my MIDI setup. this is going to be much more than just an upgrade though. really amazing possibilities my head is spinning and i'm gonna turn blue if this thing doesn't show up on my doorstep quick enough.

[@jackjackdaw5065]

Reason users can check out Delta midi computer Rack extension. You can roll your own midi fx like the midi box in the vid.

[@markjeffery3237]

A massively powerful tool at an attractive (ie silly cheap) price point. The only fly in the ointment is no manual, so it can be a bit of a scramble to find the solution you need when learning the ropes. The limitless LFO stacking make this a serious challenge to the Low Frequency Expander too. Excellent vid as always 👍🏻

[@unslept_em]

ah these are some really cool patching ideas! it's really hard to find people talking about midi note fx despite their versatility. bitwig studio can do most of this pretty easily so I might not need midihub but I really hope it takes off, I'd love to see more midi fx patches like this, and just more creativity in the patching community in general

[@Daniel-D-Teach]

I love every video you put up, and this generative series is my favorite.. would love to see more of these- You're a fantastic content creator!

[@todbot]

Yes more generative MIDI please. My first MIDI sequencer was Dr. T's KCS on the Atari ST and I've yet to find a sequencer with the generative capabilities it had.

[@everymandan4176]

Pledged before watching this. TY for the recommendation.

[@therealpepeu]

Just saw this video and instantly bought it. I’m sort of making an Olafur Arnalds Stratus thingy myself, but I want this to play around with and get inspiration from while doing it. Cheers!

[@williamsterben]

I've got three Oberheim MIDI effect boxes, Strummer, Drummer and Cyclone. Must dig them out, you have reminded me, thanks!

[@th1953]

the karma engine in various korg products is the apotheosis of this concept I think. very cool very powerful. cool video.

[@meldianen]

Another great video and an very instersting topic indeed! I definitely will have a look to this Midihub device, it sounds very promissing and powerful. Thanks a lot!

[@apcut]

The midi box looks amazing, thanks for the video

[@Matkins85]

Thanks for introducing me to midi-hub. Absolutely game changer!

[@tenthconcept]

You guys have done excellent work on every part of this project.

[@garaughty]

This was a perfect balance of very cool and extremely clever concepts... thx much Loopop !

[@cellardoreproductions]

Thank you for this, and thank you for not putting your face with a shocked expression in your thumbnails : )

[@24nikita]

More Generative MIDI Effects Chains please.

[@Alejandro-tn6mt]

Great patches, im just got mine and i have learn a lot with this tutorial, make more please!

[@TheMechanork]

Creative & intuitive tool. I will check it deeply. Thanks for so clear and relaxing video

[@R3V1ZION]

13:36 sounded realllll nice

[@benhammersley1153]

Yes please, more videos in this series. Thanks for your work. :)

[@loopop]

Thanks! Working on it ;)

[@benhammersley1153]

@@loopop Excellent, I am looking forward to it. I am working on a portfolio project for uni using Ableton, M4L and NI software to create a Live set template that incorporates generative techniques that allow the user to interact with the generated sounds. It will either be a Live Set Template for scribing ideas or a Live set to be used for performance interacting in realtime. If you know any projects or tutorials I might find inspiration to bring this to life let me know. Thanks again for all the great work.

[@loopop]

@@benhammersley1153 nothing comes to mind sorry but it sounds like fun and it would be great if you can share it when you're done!

[@benhammersley1153]

@@loopop Certainly will, happy days.

[@g-htr]

Pre-ordered a midihub after watching this! Great video

[@silentkayak]

Thank you for your videos. You always give me great, new ideas to try in my music.

[@AcoustiMan818]

Really interesting stuff👍Midihub looks like a very versatile product with almost endless possibilities.

[@bungeechord1]

Can 't wait to use it!

[@marcogerminimusic6264]

the inverted notes reminds me the inverted keyboard Zawinl used on his 2600, cool

[@Dilworthy]

I love all this clever generative stuff, very useful ideas for me as I'm a guitarist playing synth, I have all the theory and rythme but haven't the time to fully learn a new instrument from scratch (enough to be any good in a live setting). I've been doing this kind of thing for a while but you take it to another level and now I'm super inspired!!! Thanks!!! Although these vids are costing me as I keep homing in on new toys I'd like to buy ;)

[@buildingblocks8287]

as always. top info. top knowledge. top presenter. infotainment at its best! thanx

[@snoopyoverthehills]

wow, midihub seems like a very powerful tool! i definitely have to dig more into hermod. i mostly just use the arp and scale fx. there is so much more in there! thanks again for a very inspiring and informative video. and please continue this series about generative music

[@lee_at_sea]

The merging of those chains doesn't ref-count note on/off .. a problem with all merge processes I've ever come across. You can clearly see the issue at 8:08 where the arpeggieos from the second parallel stream of MIDI causes the notes in the chord from the first stream to stop when a shared note gets a note off from stream 2, but should stay held from stream 1 (and is not .. it'd have to count .. increment, decrement .. and not issue the note off until it reaches 0 .. it doesn't) .. you can see it not exhibiting this behavior at 8:55 once it's on two channels I was wondering if Midihub would have the usual problem here. It does. Wonderful device .. but *no one* deals with merging on/off via refcount to keep the longest-held note. I need to make something that does, use things like this in 2 channels .. and merge with my own device.

[@dotted9689]

my hub arrived yesterday :) thx for the tip

[@madmac66]

This has been a great series

[@simonyes2107]

Great vid 😎. Would love to see some Ableton specific videos similar to this. Anyone know how to do something similar to the ‘distribute’, in the raindrops section, in Live?

[@skroll71]

This is so awesome and inspiring!!! Thank you!

[@wimwijn1]

great video again, love the generative series, the vcv patch is dope

[@benhipkiss2010]

Wow loopop, just wow!

[@jhdk356]

I've wanted to do something like this for so long 😀 Great video 👍

[@zadude009]

Great video - I love the details have followed the whole series. Thank you! Does anyone know the small modular/eurorack synth he is using? I wonder how much it would cost for everything - maybe it is a kit.

[@transatmusic]

Great video. How does the Midihub compare to a BomeBox or the Retrokits stuff? I’m specifically looking for something that can translate midi pitch bends into notes. I think the BomeBox can handle variables and maths but less sure about Midihub and the RKs.

[@EricMorello]

I've been meaning to try something like this (also inspired by seeing Ólafur in concert)! An oldie (but goodie) software that would probably be good for this is Plogue's Bidule, with its patchbay system and many MIDI modules.

[@JC-bf9zm]

This was an ace video; thanks, for sharing this approach and turning me on to Midihub! On a slightly unrelated note, if you were to suggest just two (or three) modular effect units for a small modular rig what would they be?

[@loopop]

Thanks! In general I wouldn't suggest any effects in modular - I'd go with an external guitar pedal or multieffect, unless you wanted to modulate an effect's parameters, orthere were effects like Mimeophon that you really coun't get anywhere else (to my knowledge...)

[@MrPisster]

Looking forward to when this becomes actually available.

[@9VDC]

mine is on it's way...

[@absurdistcat]

That is awesome. Fantastic overview.

[@JEPeters00]

Great video, as always! Curious, do you or anyone else know of software similar to that MidiHub software you use in this video? I absolutely love the idea of that software, but I really don't need the hardware unit for midi routing, etc. Or can you use just the software as a standalone VST?

[@loopop]

Thanks! Check out Bome's MIDI translator Pro, or just Ableton MIDI effects

[@christdolphin69]

i'm sure you can do something similar with vcv rack

[@Esaelectronics]

this video was really useful to me thanks can't thank you enough

thanks a lot, very inspiring as usual, and great to discover artists like Olafur. I would love to see how to perform this kind of tricks with stuff that already exist, like Pyramid or ABleton, for example

[@loopop]

Thanks! The same principles apply, most of what I showed should work directly.

@@loopop thanks for the quick answer, yes I just need to spend some time on it. can you perform midi effects live on pyramid or do you need to build a sequence first ?

[@TheParanoidAndroid79]

Those soft pianos sound great. What software are you using?

[@BenA718]

Brilliant video! I would love to see you take on early John Adams' style compositions with a generative approach.

[@loopop]

Thanks! Any particular works of his?

[@BenA718]

@@loopop I would start by looking at China Gates, Phrygian Gates, Shaker Loops I-III, and Common Tones In Simple Time. Inspiring stuff!! (PS, I finally got round to supporting your Patreon; keep up the great work!}

[@loopop]

Ben Asaro I will check out and thanks very much for joining!

[@Mr_Tim]

Love it Ziv! Thanks for sharing

[@kabood777]

man, this is great, thank you so much for sharing this!

[@gavinpeters9531]

Oh me oh my... this is bonkers!!!

[@mikaellindbladehnborg5012]

You’re brilliant, thank you for keeping up the good work!!

[@brthrm1511]

I would LOVE to see this hub applied to an hardware modular synth complete patch, using the MIDI hub an additional module interacting with either a Vst or another piece of hardware, if that's possible of course

[@loopop]

That might indeed happen

[@paulbergel9191]

What a fun box! Thanks so much for the excellent video (as always)! What’s the befaco midi->cv module?

[@paulbergel9191]

Ahh found it! It’s actually a cv->midi module called the VCMC!

[@loopop]

@@paulbergel9191 yes - that's it! I'm told it will be out soon...

[@schtickkicker]

There are a few videos out there documenting the VCMC at superbooth 19... It looks suuuper cool. A huge step up from the doepfer a-192-2, for example.

[@paulbergel9191]

schtickkicker any clue if the jacks at the top can do midi->cv? Or is the module strictly cv->midi?

[@schtickkicker]

@@paulbergel9191 pretty sure it's one way only. I think it makes sense to put all focus into cv>midi though, considering how many options there already are for midi>cv.

[@m.g.kroger]

Another useful and pleasant video to enjoy. Thank you!

[@pablospace]

Impresing as allways.

[@lucagunther5405]

Really great video. Some of the musical results remind me of the Bloom app for iOS by Brian Eno and Peter Chilvers. I guess that’s the point, right?

[@PeterJnicol]

This is the new Krell. By that, I mean that this vid will be as influential (at least) as Todd's original vid. This is genius.

[@couchcamperTM]

that midihub is a nice piece of gear, with the editor software it's just brillant. canceled Kenton order :-D

[@KoltronZer0]

so cool man, thanks for sharing this info it is mind expanding

[@mirkocaserta]

What's the keyboard visualization tool you're using? Thank you very much :)

[@loopop]

It's mac software called MIDITrail

[@paueraka5097]

Uaoooo super cool man!!! like all your videos!! Thanks

[@valdiskrebs566]

Wow! What a fun tool to experiment with... and a nice UI. Can you use both a Keystep seq/arp and one from Midihub simultaneously???

[@loopop]

Yes you can

[@jonathanharvey2156]

REALLY want a longer version of 8:50

[@CB-td4fz]

Brilliant video - what is the Befaco eurorack device in the Pod? Can't seem to find it.... Unreleased?

[@geecen]

CB it’s a befaco midi module vcmc - not sure it’s putt yet, but they did some videos on it in recent synth shows. It looks awesome

[@nickilling]

You have great taste

[@aken2348]

Man this is awesome

[@stevemillington3849]

Question @Loopop (love your channel and you’re responsible for me spending so much money :) lol) 🙋🏻‍♂️ years on from this video I’m looking for something like this that can quantise (timing) midi in real-time so you can play anything and it always be on the grid. The pyramid appears to be discontinued and I haven’t yet delved into modular so I’m not sure if this ^^^ can do this kind of timing quantise real-time? I found this video after I was so surprised to learn there isn’t really any live midi effects units out there and this concept is brilliant. Not sure why people often seem to overlook midi fx. I guess my question is… has there been anything like this since that can do this real-time timing thing I mention? I’ve been making a lot of music with iOS apps and some of them have pads that quantise real-time meaning it’s basically impossible to hit a bum note and I’m kind of use to how it lets things be more instantaneous. I’m just keen on replicating this with my hardware setup if at all possible, any ideas?🤞🏻

[@loopop]

did you try to look at squarp's other products? Hermod+, Hapax (I didn't try that particular effect)

[@stevemillington3849]

@@loopop hey :) well I have considered starting a little modular rig and getting just the hermod+ but yeah if this Blockas Midihub had an update to include an instant timing correction (delay note to beat / real-time quantize) feature then I would buy it immediately. Still might get it though :) I already have a largish hardware set up and I’m merging multiple midi sources and then going thru with the Kenton 25 to everything. My idea was ideally to just have a little box in-between the merge and the thru that could do the time correction and other effects (routing perhaps) to the whole rig. This morning I think I may have found an option though, need to test. I’m thinking of running my iPad Pro via interface in-between the merge and the thru, then with AUM I found the app Mozaic and there are several real-time timing user scripts that seem to work. As long as there are no latency issues then this might mean I could run all midi through iPad and everything will always be on the beat. I know it might seem lazy but I’ve been making music with app Endlesss for ages and you just can’t have a note wrong. If I’m recording a multitrack session at least I know then that there will probably be less editing and I have the option of playing as good as a robot could lol. Otherwise, maybe I go modular with the Hermod+ but I honestly don’t need any more hardware sequencers 🤷🏻‍♂️ I already use three and I’d only use it for the quantize effect.

[@NedBouhalassaVideos]

Great ideas, very musical - thanks! Now to see about doing this in Logic...

[@SaifSameer]

This is one neat creative tool for sure. The took the concept to whole elevated level. Wondering if it can do chord detection, by that I mean once the input midi notes come in, it can (assume) which chord to form, and better yet if it can allow arranging the root, 2nd & 3 notes. Something like BlueArp.

[@loopop]

I don't think it can currently, but they've been very open to adding features so you can suggest that on their forum

[@SaifSameer]

@@loopop thank you, I'd love to buy one :)

[@Digithalis]

Very cool project, there are so much ideas that you can do with midi :-)