How to make Generative music on the Roland MC-101

Thanks everyone for checking out another MC-101 video!
I go through some neat (I think) tricks to get nice randomization and variation in your MC-101 music. I think this has potential uses in all sorts of genres, not just ambient, but that’s what I’m focused on here.
If you like the ideas here make sure you check out ‪@teabreakbeats‬ video on MC-101 generative music too! • Roland MC-101 : Genera... and subscribe to him if you haven’t already for all sorts of technical MC-101 tutorials!
Do check out Rory Hinkel, I can’t express enough how much the master helped my music, and how good it felt to hear my song professionally mastered!
RoryHinkel.com
Presave link for the new remix! share.amuse.io/track/madhappy...
My other MC-101 videos: • MC-101 Tutorials
0:00 Intro Jam
1:10 Intro talking
5:00 Track Overview
9:00 Random Melody
13:30 Random Chords
16:00 Random Samples
22:45 Math
27:30 Outro

[@NeoLudditevisons]

Yeeerrrrssss!! The teacher is back 😎 love it Ben ive been watching generative mc101 vids for the last while. Thank goodness youre here for a deep dive

[@krazywabbit]

1. If you are having fun, mission accomplished. 2. Funny how the universe works. I have the MC-101 and have been watching your tutorials and learned a lot. I also have seen the Elektron and Polyend train hype. They do sound amazing. I am also getting tired of my MPC Live and Maschine. They are frustrating experiences and thinking about selling. I was close to the checkout counter with Elektron and Polyend and I backed off the ledge. I have an app in my iPad (Groovebox) that can do some similar things. Then someone this morning talked about their frustrations with the Elektron. It reminded me that no gear is perfect and work with what you have. Then this video. As if the universe was saying, play more with the MC-101 and rest your wallet. 3. It’s good to see you again.

[@BenCoeMusic]

1. Agreed, I’m having a blast! 2. Definitely nothings perfect, I like the challenge of making what I’ve got do what I want (for better or worse lol) glad you’re getting back to exploring the 101 3. Thank you! It’s good to be trying to make videos again, and it’s really nice to hear people get something good out of them.

[@FA-Q]

Glad you're back with more 101 content . I never gave this box a chance until I watched a few of your videos now I use it more than my MPC live. I actually run my MTC live audio through the USB on the mc101 and the scatter effects are awesome with the MPC drum beats. Don't stop making content bro

[@BenCoeMusic]

Awesome, glad to have helped! Thanks for the support, trying to get back into making videos!

[@siloburton]

Not finished watching this yet but even a couple of minutes in I can see that this is great great work.

[@BenCoeMusic]

Thank you! I hope the rest lived up to your expectations!

[@siloburton]

@@BenCoeMusic it did indeed many thanks.

[@mattholland0202]

Love this Ben! I've just been starting to listen to generative music recently and watch videos about it, to learn I can do it on the box I have is great! Thanks so much for the video. You might have staved off my desire for a Eurorack system for a while at least!!

[@BenCoeMusic]

Thank you! Every time I think about diving into eurorack I set up the “modest” system I think I would want, minimize cost everywhere, then look at the final price and go figure out how to do it on the MC-101 haha

[@mattholland0202]

@@BenCoeMusic Exactly the same here! I'm just playing around trying this now and had a question if you don't mind please. When sequencing the melody, you're playing in the notes from your Launchpad straight into the steps. I have a Launchkey Mini MKIII, and this doesn't seem to work. It can play the MC101 "live", but it won't record into the sequencer. I have to do that using the MC101 pads, swapping back and forth between SEQ and NTOE modes. Do you know if there's any setting that needs to be enabled to allow this please?

[@BenCoeMusic]

@@mattholland0202 Hmm that’s odd I think. I just messed around a bit and I don’t think there’s a setting that changes it. If the 101 is receiving the notes to play live it should be able to receive notes for the sequencer. When I’m in SEQ mode, I just press the step I want to sequence in and then press the note(s) on the midi controller, is that what you’re doing?

[@jeditasticlymungus]

Ben from the slight future's hairstyle changed a bit 🤣 Great video I love the generative ambient sound on the 101

[@BenCoeMusic]

Haha Ben from the future had about a half hour of frustratedly running his hands through his hair because his iPad kept deleting screen recordings 😂 and thanks!!

[@bunnyyyyyy398]

This is amazing. I’m wondering if you went about exploring the MC-101 preset sounds in a methodical way or just gradually discovered the sounds?

[@chuckvicious]

Woe just wow! Mind blown!! Great log-rhythm! I'll share with you, here, a preview of another hack that I was thinking about making a video of... The basic idea is plugging a single midi cable in to the back of the midi in and out (connecting the two ports on the back) then you set the midi channel on track one to 2 and turn midi out, on. Then track 2-4 you also set to channel 2 but have the midi out,off. Now you can play 4 differnt synths at one time from track 1! ( make sure auto channel is off) However, if you were to chain the midi outs and channels and add randomization you could make a somewhat generative looper. Say track one is midi channel 5, then outputs to channel 2; track two is chan 2 outputs to 3 , track 3 is chann 3 outputs to 4, track 4 is chan 4 outputs to 5. Then you could set note frequency or even use you're mute group trick and get weirdness down the chain of loop back.

[@NapalmJustice]

log-rhythm is an incredible pun.

[@BenCoeMusic]

That sounds like a fantastic idea! Can’t wait to see how it comes out, thanks for the support!

[@NeoLudditevisons]

MC101 is so amazing and deep, screw elektron stuff. That maths stuff blew my mind tho haha! Keep rocking the roland vids.

[@BenCoeMusic]

Thanks man! I love learning about new gear but really I feel like at least for my use nothing really compares to the Zen-core stuff. There’s just so much packed in here!

[@GeorgeL909]

glad I'm not the only one revisiting this machine after all the expensive new grooveboxes got announced. Thanks for this, gotta fight that GAS somehow.

[@BenCoeMusic]

Always more to explore in the 101! That’s kept my gas down for two years now!

[@teabreakbeats]

Mate - I was just about to upload my video on generative patterns as well! Although mine is no where as in depth as yours - EDIT, I've just gone back to add a shoutout to your video before uploading!

[@NeoLudditevisons]

Ohhhhh look forward to this! Great minds an all that haha

[@BenCoeMusic]

Lol thanks I can’t wait to see yours! Great minds, glad to see you’re back making 101 videos too!

[@gavinpeters9531]

This is great. I was doing similar stuff a year or 2 ago, but stopped as I went on a keyboard/theory tangent. Really reignited my interest. I'm jealous of the dual lpx's, I got one and think it's an awesome controller. Haven't used it with 101 yet, but plan to. can the 101 respond to poly pressure? Guessing not. Also not a stab at you but slight quirk for me.. I never like people using "generative" to define random/probabilistic stuff. Technically it is a "generative" function.. but when I mean *intentional* rules/algorithms and people go "oh yeh probability is cool" it frustrates me lol.

[@EmilioNorrmann]

the volume is extremely low :(

[@BenCoeMusic]

Thanks for the feedback I really haven’t figured out the level it’s supposed to be for youtube, I’ll make it louder next time.

[@ghanezu]

Neext generative music on mv1👍

[@BenCoeMusic]

I appreciate you sticking around for the 101 content lol I really promise I’ll do my best to get to MV-1 videos.

[@skibaa1]

I like you music very much. Can you explain how do you connect LaunchPads to MC101? I have a LaunchPad Pro and would like to use it as a keyboard for MC101. I tried to use the cable that comes with MC101, to connect USB-B to mc101, and to use Apple convertor to connect USB-A to LaunchPad's USB-C. I used batteries to power MC101 and hoped it will give the power to LaunchPad, but it did not even power up, not even talking about MIDI connection which I hoped would happen. Do you use LaunchPad's MIDI outputs to send notes to MC101?

[@BenCoeMusic]

Thank you! Here I have the Launchpads connected to the MC101 through a raspberry pi configured as a usb host. Unfortunately USB requires one device to be a host and neither the Launchpad nor the mc101 can function that way, which is why it didn’t work for you. Since you said you had a Launchpad pro, it has the midi outs, so if you use the dongle that (I think) comes with the Launchpad pro then just a regular midi cable to go from the midi out of the Launchpad to the midi in of the 101, that should work fine. You’ll just need to power both of them separately.

[@skibaa1]

@@BenCoeMusic Thank you for the detailed explanation!

[@circkus]

I'm looking forward to streaming your stuff. Any key words to find your project?

[@BenCoeMusic]

Thank you! Right now I don’t have anything in my own name lol and I’ll find and add the link I mentioned but if you look up madhappy music on whatever streaming service they’re releasing my remix on the 27th.

[@aliasghar907]

how is the MC connected? directly or through computer?

[@BenCoeMusic]

Through a raspberry pi configured as a headless usb midi host. Both launchpads and the 101 plug into it and it provides power and moves midi back and forth.

[@aliasghar907]

@@BenCoeMusic so not something for laymans i guess..

[@JeanDearCanada]

one cat is worth like three volcas, lol.