Harminic Generator V1.0

8/3/2019 Harminic Generator V1.0

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EWILogic.com Harmonic Xpander V1.0

Logic XpandedHARMONIC XPANDER

V1.0


2/15

Logic XpandedHARMONIC XPANDER V1.0

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A Little Background! 2Getting Started! 4Understanding MIDI Routing:! 6Using the Xpander:! 6About The Widgets! 8Anatomy of an Xpander! 9Wrap Up! 15

A Little Background

first became interested in random harmonic generation when I heard some early computer music whilcollege. I found it interesting and unique in that while it was unpredictable, when the programming whandled in the correct way, the resulting music - if randomly generated sound can be called that - had

potential to be mesmerizing. In 1987 Michael Brecker released his album Michael Breckerand one ofhallmark sounds on that disc was his use of the EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument) and synthesis to crean amazing palette of sounds. One of the most interesting things he did was to use a feature of Oberheim Xpander module to randomly rotate through a series of harmonies. It works something like thi

The Xpander had a setting called Rotate Mode with 6 voice polyphony. Michael was able to turn that an amazing harmonic tool by creating two zones on the synth, one with two static voices set to re-trigand one with four rotating voices in rotate mode.

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Oberheim Xpander Rotate Mode:

1 2 3 4 5 6

+0 +7 -10 -7 -8 -2

STATIC ROTATING

Voice 1 & 2 are static intervals set in semitones above or below the input note. Assuming a C3 is playhe static output would be C3 and G3 (seven semitones above C3 or +7). Every time C3 is pressed,

static voices will sound the parallel 5th C & G.

The rotating voices are set (relative to C3) to -10 (D2), -7 (F2), -8 (E2) and -2 (Bb2). Every time C3 is press

he static 5th plays as well as one of the rotating voices in sequence. So:

Play middle C (C3) four times:

Voices 1 and 2 always play a parallel 5th C & G

Voices 3, 4, 5, and 6 play in rotation D, F, E, Bb

Output would be [DCG], [FCG], [ECG], [BbCG]

The Harmonic Xpander functions in exactly the same way, but since it has been designed in Logenvironment, it can be much more flexible and adaptable, and can be utilized in many different ways.

have created three example files that utilize the Xpanders in different ways. For a quick overview of Xpander modules and to play with them right away, open one of these example files and dive right in. Eexample file is described later in this manual.

The example files are:

Xpander Example 1.logic



and are contained in the same folder as the Xpander project file.

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An open dialog will pop up, navigate to the HARMONIC XPANDER V1.0 project and select it, click open:

Select the Xpander layer you wish to import, and click Import:

This will import the Xpander layer into whatever project happens to be open at the time, into a nenvironment layer named for the Xpander layer you are importing.

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Understanding MIDI Routing:

To use the Xpander to its fullest potential, it is important that the flow of MIDI through the Logic environmes understood. In its most basic form, MIDI comes into Logic through the PHYSICAL INPUT object and issent to the SEQUENCER INPUT object. In the picture below, the PHYSICAL INPUT (1) is cabled to aKEYBOARD (2) and MONITOR (2) objects which are cabled to the SEQUENCER INPUT (3). MIDI passehrough the KEYBOARD and MONITOR objects on its way to the SEQUENCER INPUT. The beauty of Lo

s the ability to put stuff in the way of that signal flow, and bend MIDI to our will. The Xpander widgets doust that.

Using the Xpander:

Navigate to an Xpander layer and select one of the Xpander widgets.

Copy it (EDIT>Copy or COMMAND>C).

1

2

3

Move to the CLICKS AND PORTS layer. In the Clicks & Ports layer (default template pictured here), KEYBOARD and MONITOR objects that are inserted between the PHYSICAL INPUT and the SEQUENCNPUT can be deleted.

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Paste the Xpander object into the layer (EDIT>Paste or COMMAND>V). Cable the widget (2) into the sigpath between the PHYSICAL INPUT (1) object and the SEQUENCER INPUT (3) object. That way, whates active in the ARRANGE window will receive its input from the Xpander.

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2

3

Play a few notes on your keyboard or other MIDI instrument. You should hear the Xpander workCongratulations!

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About The Widgets

Channel Strip:

MPORTANT NOTE: Any object that can be activated or deactivated by an on/off switch will generally hts controlling switch immediately to its LEFT. In the channel strip the exceptions to this rule are KILL VVOL=MOD and KILL PB, which have their on/off switches above them.

The channel strip gives many useful controls for MIDI filtering and remapping in a handy macro packagwas originally designed for the EWI but can be useful in many other situations as well. The various switcand filters are described below:

. Kill Vol: Filters incoming Volume CC#7. Enabled by activating the switch.

2. Vol=Mod: Remaps Volume CC#7 to Modulation CC#1. Enabled by activating the switch. Has no effethe Kill Vol switch is enabled.

3. Kill PB: Filters pitch bend. Enabled by activating the switch

4. PB -> CC#: Remaps pitchbend data to any continuous controller. The CC# is set in the box to the righthe enable button.

5. Porta -> CC#: Remaps portamento data to any continuous controller. The CC# is set in the box toright of the enable button.

6. CC# -> Remap: Maps any CC# to a different controller number. Original CC# is set with the left (greblack) number; the target CC# is set with the right (white/red) number. Very useful for remapping ECC#s to control different synth parameters without having to reprogram your patches to utilize the CCthe EWI transmits. There are four of these mappable transformers.

7. Range Limit: sets threshold for MIDI notes allowed to pass through to the output

8. XPose: Transposes incoming MIDI notes up or down in semitones, up to a range of two octaves (+/semitones)

9. Fix Vol: Fixes Volume CC#7 to a static value, can be enabled or disabled using the on/off switch. Haseffect if the Kill Vol switch is enabled.

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0.MIDI Channel: Allows the setting of the outgoing MIDI channel.

1.MONITOR: Gives a display of MIDI events passing through the channel strip

Clicking and dragging up & down on the #00 in the upper left corner scrolls through numbers from 00 to 1A convenient way to identify which patch change or channel number the particular channel strip is assigo. Double clicking on the ***NAME HERE*** box allows typing in a unique name for the channel s

setting. Yet another handy way to label and identify the channel strip.

Anatomy of an Xpander

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1

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. ON: Activates the voice

2. Fixed Voices: Each fixed voice can be turned on or off independently of other voices by clicking the

switch. When the switch is blue (and says on) the voice is active. Each voice is a fixed interval abor below the incoming MIDI note, defined in semitones over a range of +/- two octaves (24 semitone

3. Pitch Definition: Defines the interval above or below the incoming MIDI note that will be sounded given pitch slot. The setting is editable in semitones +/- up to two octaves (24 semitones). Here it is to 00 which would be unison.

4. Voice Range and Direction: The purple numbered boxes represent the rotating voice slots, from leright, numbered R1 to R4. As it is set here, the rotator will play through all four pitches in random ofrom 1 to 4. The direction selector is set to Random. Other choices include down, up and off.

5. Activity Light: These simulated LEDs will light up in blue when a given pitch slot is active, givinvisual reference to what pitch/interval is sounding with each incoming MIDI note. Very handy vis

reference for troubleshooting or tweaking intervals. NOTE: Depending on the amount of M information being processed, sometimes the activity lights wont register. It is a result of syspriorities, i.e., the indicator is just a visual reference and is not as important in processing terms asnote data. The indicator lights are the last object in the MIDI chain, so no data is being dropped if tdont fire. This will depend on the speed of your computer, amount of RAM, your MIDI interface

many other factors that dictate how quickly your system can process MIDI data.

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6. Channel Mapping: Each voices outgoing MIDI channel can be set independently of all others. shorthand label meanings are:

F1 On = Fixed voice 1 active F1CH = Fixed Voice 1 MIDI channel

F2 On = Fixed voice 2 active F2CH = Fixed Voice 2 MIDI channel

R On = Rotator on RCH = Rotator MIDI channel

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Usage Examples:

Example 1 (Xpander Example 1.logic project file)

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5

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n this example, the Xpander is hardwired directly into the MIDI pathway between the PHYSICAL INPUT ahe MIXER. The INPUT -> OUTPUT path is:

. PHYSICAL INPUT (1)

2. XPANDER (2)

3. CABLE SWITCHER (3)

4. CHANNEL STRIPS (4)

5. MIXER (5)

The output of the Xpander is sent to a CHANNEL SPLITTER so that each voice from the Xpander will besplit off based on its channel assignment. That way, each voice can be independently processed through CHANNEL STRIPS (4) and sent to individual channels in the MIXER (5). Using the MIDI channel map toohe Xpander allows the assignment of different voices to different output paths easily, without having toewire the environment every time a change is desired. This is prewired and ready to experiment with. All

hat is necessary is to load sounds into each of the six ES2 soft synths.

recommend loading several different sounds and playing with changing the MIDI output assignments onhe Xpander. Its possible to get many different timbres and colors from a single setup just by changing

which voice addresses which sound. The possibilities are virtually endless!

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n this example, I have created a very basic routing scheme. This scheme allows an Xpander to be presn the input path at all times, and can be turned on or off by using the switch (1) to select between di

hroughput to the SEQUENCER INPUT (off) or to route incoming MIDI through the XPANDER (on).

This way, whatever sound is active in the arrange window will either be played directly, or will be controby the Xpander. This can be useful to quickly throw a random sequence of harmonies into a project osee how a string or horn line would sound processed through the Xpander. ANother added benefit is ability to record the output of the Xpander to the active instrument track.

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n this example I have placed all four Xpander variations on the MIXER layer, and have cabled them to a

CHANNEL SPLITTER which is cabled to six individual CHANNEL STRIPS. The switch (1) can be used toswitch between the different Xpanders. It is labeled with the active Xpanders name. By clicking the switchhe active Xpander can be changed. This allows for experimentation with many different harmonic schem

or varying amounts of randomness. By setting up each Xpander with different harmonies and amounts ofotation, it is possible to have a virtually endless supply of new and fresh ideas to inspire creativity.

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Wrap Up

EWILogic Labs is an extension of EWILogic and EWILogic.com. EWILogic Labs promotes the exploratioLogic for use with the EWI, and for new and creative ways to expand the playability of the EWI. Mostly,ust about playing with these cool tools and having fun!

Check the EWILogic.com website for more tutorials on using Logic with the EWI. Register for, and join discussion at the EWILogic forum, where all things EWI and Logic are discussed and answers to manyour questions can be found. The forum contains an entire section dedicated to the Xpander packaTechnical support can be requested through the EWILogic.com website, or by email [email protected]

Some useful links:

EWILogic.com Websitehttp://www.ewilogic.com/

Players Corner Forum

http://ewilogic.com/smf/

Happy Harmonizing!

This software is made available from ewilogic.com. It may not be redistributed, resold, transferredmodified in any way without the authors consent.

Harmonic Xpander V1.02011 John Isley, EWILogic.com, IsleyMusic LLC. All Rights Reserved

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Harminic Generator V1.0