Dear Sir, I love you. The way you present your content, your ideas and thoughts is a pure source of joy. I started my modular journey very much inspired by your first Molten Modular videos, encouraged by your statement "I don´t know what I am doing, and finding out is a big part of the fun so let´s have fun". Thank you so much and never stop finding out stuff!
I often do live shows with my modular and rarely play two times the same. What has really freed my writing is to not think of a track in terms of bass + melody + chords etc. but rather to think of a full sound as something that spans the whole sound spectra. If it's just one voice so be it, if it's two or three fine as well. When you played your sequence and asked if that was enough, if it was me writing I would say to myself "that's not enough, If I want to repeat a so short sequence I'll highlight it with shifting effects, waveforms, varying dynamics" The hard truth is that the answer is "is that an interesting piece of music?" If you find it interesting yourself and think that it's complete, don't overthink what other people will think of it.
I’m just getting into modular and am asking myself this very question… in a world of “it can be anything you want it to be”… how do I move from cool sounds to something a bit more cohesive. This is the blessing and the curse of modular I think. Thanks for making me feel a little less alone the vastness of endless possibilities.
The whole beatstep problem you have is why I like DFAM’s sequencer. Because you still have control over it, but it’s basically always surprising. You just turn the knob and the pitch is gonna be generally like this and the volume is underneath it. The Mother’s sequencer is kinda like I have to already know what I’m gonna do.
I haven’t been doing Eurorack for very long, but the one thing I’ve learned is try to not overthink it and try not to have any pre-conceived expectations. You are playing the part of both soloist and conductor. Congratulations on being invited to do a track!
I haven’t yet done a track by conception but I want be able to make the „right „ special patching for a track resulting in a kind of limitation to sound developing and variations for it and then reherse on that like which knob turns seem suitable for a track developing with even little melody changes - well I don’t know if anybody understands what I m trying to say 🤔 but that’s what I think I can approach the challenge
I've always been a fan of various forms of electronic music, but am just now getting into creating various forms of electronic music. I'm having trouble finding comparisons / reviews on DAWS that work well with modular synths.
You’ve got this Robin!!! The way I make tracks on my modular rig is to come up with a bit/melody/part that has some emotional quality I like, something that sounds good that tugs on me, I take my time with this step. Then I add percussion elements to it and finally I figure out ways to vary the patterns over time. I find switches most valuable for this task. Take the main pitch and gate sequence and then simply create a variation in the gate pattern while leaving the pitch sequence and then switch between the gate patterns. It’s amazing how gate variations with the same pitch sequence create verse chorus type structure. I use the Doepfer sequential switch, the Doepfer voltage controlled switch and I just got the Switch 4 by Joranalogue which is awesome! I would say your Varigate 4 holds the key to these gate variations you are looking for. I also find a gate combiner module and a basic logic module to be extremely useful for making musical use of gate patterns while still retaining the exciting random qualities that eurorack has to offer. For instance if you take two different gate patterns out of your varigate 4 and feed them into a logic module it will generate multiple variations for you. If you alter the original gate pattern it changes the outputs in random and unpredictable ways, which is like taking intentional ideas and adding elements of randomization to it which is the key to exciting modular music. You can create more intentionality, or less, by automating that process with a sequential switch. This is where modular diverges from normal synthesis and truly becomes its own paradigm.
Given your very public "newb" journey, use your inexperience as your muse/edge. You HAVE TO sample "I'm don't know what I'm doing!" and run it through Clouds. Build around that! Man that would funny, entertaining, and take the edge off anything you might find lacking in the track!
Robin, you first need to determine what type of piece you'd like to put together. At risk of over-simplification, do you want it melodic, repetitive-sequenced, a droning underlay with gentle semi-melodic overtones, all of the above self-generating and changing in sequence? Get the "gist" of the song decided first and then decide which VCOs, utilities and sequencing will be needed to achieve that. Also, listening to a piece o music that you really like to get inspiration is a good exercise.
I have one bit of advice. While most of my ultimate composition work happens in Logic, I do spend time jamming with just my machines, syncing drum boxes with mini-sequencers and arpeggiators and all sorts of synths and electronic gadgets. When doing this it often seems fruitful to multi-track record what you’re doing, but make sure if you are multi-tracking to include the actual stereo (or mono) mix of your noodling. I find that 90% if the time, this mix that you heard while creating will be better than anything you can muster in post.
I've recently found your channel, and am enjoying hearing your views on Eurorack immensely. After nearly twenty years using vst simulated modular synthesizers I am making my first foray into true analog with a modest rack of my own. In considering your question, I have two responses. First, I’ve seen you experimenting with a number of very interesting pieces over the course of your program so it is clear that you can produce something someone would certainly wish to listen to. Secondly, even though I technically have no right to do so not having worked with true analog modular for very long, I would suggest as a thought experiment pulling all the connections and start again anywhere, maybe just a sound or a small sequence, and use that as the seed for a growing piece, making brief notes as to what you are doing. You might go down a path or two you don’t care for, but eventually you will have something pretty amazing. Then, when you sort of know how you want to evolve your piece, try it again as a complete, start-to-finish recording. Anyway, just a thought.
I've been making tracks with a simple eurorack system, monotribe and ms20 sequenced through an SQ1, so its essentially a modular set-up. I've found that as soon as you start enjoying an explorative jam/improvisation you have the foundations of a track. The next stage is to try to work out what it is about the jam you enjoy. The more simple you can explain what it is you like about it the better, because thats the idea that the track should be about. It's then about removing anything in the music that doesn't contribute to that simple idea. You can do this either by recording multiple takes until you get one thats strong enough, or during post production of a recording. I find it's useful to think about structure as the most logical or simple way of presenting your idea. That's what I've found. Hope it went well! Been getting a lot from your videos recently!
A nice patch is not automatically a nice musical piece. To organize the noises in a musical way is to me the most important part. Because that is the way how you express your personality, how you tell a story. I start with a improvisation, and shape the patch bit by bit, until the result coheres with my personal feelings. Than I try different possibilities and define kind of a beginning, a bridge and ending. There has to be some sort of development of the musical material, I think. I agree, fading is not enough. Sometimes it is great to start and end with fragments of a melody or of the core idea of the patch. Or you could slowly reveal layer by layer...
I'm always wondering how to make more organized sounds with my eurorack. A good clock source and a sequential switch (A-151), moved along every 4 bars or so, made all the difference in trying to emulate a "verse and chorus". You'll need multiple voices and the real struggle is trying to keep those multiple voices sounding good and in tune with each other. Good luck. Excited to see what you come up with.
I reckon the easiest approach would be mentally (or on paper) evaluate how YOU use each module and then consider how that compares/contrasts to other people's use of it. Then make a simple good sounding patch, focusing on rhythm and tonality. For a quick example, the Mother 32 and Basimilius can make a good lead & bass line respectively. Then using the switches on the alter (maybe to change it's timbre during a bridge) and forwarding the Mother 32 to another sequence you can do exactly what you were talking about and quickly switch from one part of the song to another. Good rule of thumb (pun intended), is to keep in mind that you've only got 2 hands to make these changes. And I think THAT is where the decision to modulate and automate parts of your song comes in. The whole thing that makes music exciting regardless of the instrument, genre or tempo is it's ability to change unpredictably while keeping it's overall structure and sound. With eurorack you can really emphasize the unpredictability, but keeping it structured and cohesive afterwards can sometimes be challenging.
Basically, in my mind, a “track” involves at least some level of “intention”, whether before, or during, the performance/recording. For me, a “patch” just sits there, perhaps doing something very interesting. It becomes a track or performance when you interact with it to become the conductor or musician (even if that’s just moving a few knobs). I’ve torn down many patches that never got recorded, but I tend to record (and put on YT) performances that I think work at least OK.
And now I’m to the point in your vid where you mention “intention”. Great minds think alike ;-). Sequential switches and summer/adders can help a lot with variations between and within sequences. Perhaps re-watch mylarmelodies’ generative and other composition tutorials?
The questions I always set out to answer when writing music is "What am I learning from this process", along with "Would I be happy if I bought this?". If I manage to learn to something while writing, its a somewhat successful track. Also, Eno's Oblique Strategies are a great help :)
The simplest way I've found so far when working purely in eurorack is to build the entire patch, maybe starting with a nice simple sequence, add to it until the patch is complete. Then think about how to break it down into its separate parts and mix/fade those parts back in during a performance/recording, remember what to tweak to add variation and keep things interesting. With the setup you have, perhaps start with a nice sequence on the Mother 32 until you have something that sounds great all by itself, that will give you a nice foundation to build on. Also, if you have time, check out some other RUclips modular musicians out there for inspiration, I've seen many with really small racks producing some beautiful tracks.
I approach writing with eurorack in a similar way than I approach normal writing - deciding what will be used for lead (melody), what (if) for chords, what for bass, what for percussion. Then you mix and match, and explore within those individual sections. This also allows you to move from a sequence to a sequence without leaving the bass, or percussion, or chords, by using a mixer, etc.
Dear Sir , i also love you , - many good ponderings , and this video actually put me in mood for making a brand new Track ! Happy New Year , Dear Robin. 👩🍳🥂
Hi, congrats on being invited to contribute a track. I suggest you do what you enjoy, switch on and fiddle around. However you record it all start to finish, Each session completely unpatch and start from empty, do this each time for a couple of weeks and then spend a week reviewing the pieces you have made and collage selected slices of them together. I think this way will be fun and keeps that improvisation you like. Have fun cheers Stuart.
Refreshing honesty and great to hear you articulate your thought process. Makes me want to ditch the sub37 and soft synths for.... modular. Could be an expensive leap. But fun.
Sorry for the comment spray, but keep in mind Clouds can be a pretty interesting “oscillator” if you capture a sample, focus on a piece of it, and loop it quickly. It has a v/oct input. Best of luck on your track!
Brian Horsfield Heheh, funny coincidence. Robin’s posts are often my Elliptical trainer workout entertainment. I have time then for the longer-form vids, which I enjoy.
If you're coming into Eurorack from a DAW, I would simply sample loops from the Eurorack and use them in a piece composed on the DAW. As your confidence, capabilities, and Eurorack system grows, you'll likely evolve to a point where you CAN write a full track on your Eurorack. But I think pushing yourself to do so too early takes the charm out of learning. I'm about 3 months into Eurorack. I'm not going to seriously consider writing anything with it for at least another 9 months. At this point I'm learning and trying to put in as much hands-on into patches, coming up with patching ideas, and experimenting. My personal feelings is that trying to write too early will get me stuck in bad, narrow habits. I'm concentrating on being able to patch faster and with more intuition of what the gross results of each individual connection will yield. I'm also trying to find my current limits and the system's current limits so I can decide how and when to expand. Your first round of purchases will probably be garbage as you "think" you know what you want but have no clue as to what you'll be able to produce. Again, nothing beats hands-on, about an hour a day, working a new patch you've perhaps thought since your last session. I feel like it's analogous to learning a new language. Sure after a couple months you might be able to have a basic conversation... but you're not at the level to give an entertaining dissertation for 4-5 minutes exclusively in that language. Keep practicing and learning.
Good thoughts - but i would also offer up the idea that you can write a killer punk tune with a weeks worth of guitar playing. I see it as an instrument through which I can express ideas. As i get better at that instrument certain aspects may "improve" but i am still just expressing myself, if you see what i mean :)
@@MoltenMusicTech Yes... but I think most people are going to be transitioning from a DAW environment rather than one of a punk guitarist. I think it would be easier to incorporate your Eurorack into your DAW workflow, then transition from DAW to writing more of a complete tune fully in Eurorack as your knowledge and workflow develop. I tried to plant myself on Eurorack island and ditch the DAW right away and it wasn't making sense to me... yet.
I understand what you're saying but for me that would require too much planning and intention. And the DAW and all the MIDI-CV business would get in the way. But each to their own - there's plenty of room for every approach :)
Some of the first songs I made on modular which I was happy with was to make a drone and a few other repeating noises or sequences which fit together well. I then turn everything down and then record a song by turning up the volume of each of the 4 sounds I made and then fade them all out at the end. Hope this helps.
just drone 1 note on 3 or 4 oscillators for 10 minutes and throw the batumi at it.... job done (self patch the batumi for extreme craziness) sine or triangle from one LFO into the FRQ of another (works extremely well in divide mode) regarding sequencers that you can change on the fly... HUGE thumbs up from me for the erica pico seq. it has a RND button ... basically it's like locking something on the turing machine instantly (but the pico seq randomizes within scales and octaves that you set). you can go forward. back ping pong random etc. every time you press RND it comes up with a new sequence (length chosen by you) 9 times out of 10 it comes up with a decent sounding melody. (especially if you restrict it to 3 or 4 octaves). (it also works really well as a random modulation source). send pitch CV into filter cutoff for example. for 130 quid it is an amazing little module. oh and it's only 3HP :O a quantizer pretty much goes hand in hand with the turing machine tbh I'm amazed you have a TM and no quantizer :)
Ah the many faces of the disting (im currently hovering over the add to cart on a mk4 right now :) I got the tiny little 2hp Tune as space was at a premium. no bells and whistles does what it says on the tin... 90 quid, you can change between 12 scales and change octaves and that's it.. once i get my bigger case I'll probably get a penrose quantizer from thonk or the addac intuative quantizer as the 2hp pots are a little small and fidly and like you i want something more hands on..... i have big hands :) also i forgot to mention that the SEQ can save 16 patterns that you can recall at the press of a button. its a great little "performance" module and perfect for making "songs" it's the main reason i mentioned it then i forgot to tell you about the feature :) its pretty much the perfect (little, cheap, features for days) sequencer for what you are looking to do (structured chorus verse type tunes) I'm actually planning on getting a 2nd as it's so damn useful. really enjoyed the livestream with Ben the other night your enthusiasm is addictive :) edit: heres something i did the other night... pico SEQ features heavily ... as does the basimilus iteritas alter and pico drums (sequenced by mutable grids) oh and of course the batumi. it's kinda musical and song like in structure. (all setup before hand then elements faded in/out and preset patterns recalled from SEQ. hit record and hope for the best :) soundcloud.com/alan-roberts-6/modular-jam-12-3
I think there isn't one specific thing to do, it's a lot of little things that help. Some modules have presets or a songmode, wich is obvisously helpful. Sending midi from your computer or any sequencer with some sort of songmode like a monomachine will get you different melodies or drum patterns while remaining the same basic sounds inside your modular. Some of these midi-interfaces will also allow you to send additional control voltage for modwheel or aftertouch or something, wich you can then use to alter the sound, like opening a filter during the chorus or for example. The Make Noise Pressure Points is also great for that matter, it gives you 4 "presets" with 3 fixed voltages each, wich you can set up to change mixer/effect/whatever settings for the different parts of the song. Another great trick is to use sequential switches and switched multiples, there is a video from mylarmelodies about that called "Melody Progression Tips...". Make shure to check that out. :)
Hey Robin, love your content! I come up with a finished product lately by learning a new function of a module - disting at the mo - that usually ends up as something sonically or rhythmically interesting. Think of that as your ’hook’. Set some drums or percussion under that and yer almost there. Hope this helps 🤙
I use a Malekko Sync to lock my sequencer module, a Stepper Acid to Ableton, and then route, arm and record an audio track into a clip. I break the clip apart into logical parts. Collect a bunch of tracks full of parts, then assign stuff to a control surface and perform the arrangement, then do all the production technical stuff, and then mix it down. Mac -> USB Cable -> Malekko Sync -> clock output to clock input of Stepper Acid, which drives the modular. I also have a Mutable Grids to trigger drum parts, so I can make beats and sounds that are locked to the clock and recordable as audio. Like that. :)
example, this was done 100% on my Eurorack modular which is only 6U of 84hp. I did like 4 passes, edited, arranged and mixed quite minimally. With modular when you like something, you need to record it right then, in order to capture it, since it might change 10 seconds from now. :) ruclips.net/video/_WKeIZX4_Qo/видео.html
Robin, congratulations! Two small bits of advice. First, consider whether the Mother32 might be more suitable than the Beat Step Pro for your second sequencer. Second, consider constraining the project to modules you have in the house only. Rack up everything that you can fit, but don't purchase any new hardware for the Modularism project. Best wishes-- and a new Patreon supporter.
It's like this whole eurorack fun thing has gotten real all of a sudden :) Whatever you decide to do, please call the track "Woosh Bang Doom Done". Looking forward to the next installment. I can't offer any advice but am sending waves of encouragement your way instead. The interview with DivKid was great and catching it unexpectedly as it was about to start finally pushed me into creating an account so I could join in the chat instead of just lurking.
Looking forward to hearing more on this topic, have been scratching my head for a while now and wondering can you actually write a track on modular? I recorded a a bunch of noodling in Ableton warped it and then started making 4bar and 8 bar samples out of it to put them together. That seems like a possible direction but got lost in a bunch of samples and kept going in the direction of DAW production. Write chords, write melody, write bassline, keep everything in key/scale! It's crazy!
Being intentional, at some point it is always intentional even if it is in selecting the ten minutes you choose to keep. But the great thing about modular is that it is easier to separate the experimenting from the intentionality.
Mr. Vincent, I know it's been a while since you've posted this, but you mentioned a few drum modules. If you're still looking for more drum modules, I would highly recommend the Pico Drums by Erica synths. You can get two independently-triggered sounds at the same time. Despite it's size it has a large library of sounds, and two of these modules can simulate an entire drum kit, if you have a module which can trigger all of them.
I often start with a concept, which can be anything from a patch, rhythm, melody, chord progression, texture to a structure in general. Finding the right concept is usually the hardest part for me, the rest is really just a matter of improvisation and sometimes giving it some time to flesh-out. A good reverb can be a huge inspiration, for me at least.
Sounds like a fun challenge. Maybe just use the modular - do what you’ve been doing messing about and seeing what happens. With regards to what you were saying about different expectations of what a song or track in electronic music should be, I’d suggest that in the world of modular synths there are no expectations or rules. Maybe just record 4 or 5 ‘messing abouts’ and then get busy with the edit button in Cubase. Either way, I hope you enjoy it!
Rhythm, texture, modulations, fx. - I feel texture is the most important factor, personally that is. ~ Personally I've always prefered the control of using an Akai MPC coupled with a Kenton pro2000ii converter and currently a Roland A-800pro, but that's just my autism looking for the path of least resistance, sacrilege i know, but 100x more fun.
Practical advice... You want a song. Songs have a beginning, a middle, and an ending. I believe your strength is ambient and atmospheric, based on what I have heard and liked. Start with that. Songs have forms like ABABA or ABA. This will go a long way in framing what you want. Pick your tools accordingly.
Oh, and a way how to transpose a sequence into a different key is to either use Exp FM input to shift the whole sequence, or use a module that allows transposing.
Yes, that makes sense although i'd never really thought about that. I wonder if you put the same voltage multed into several oscillators they would all change the same amount....
Currently I am thinking about the same question. I have written a chord progression which I have broken up into a riff structure which can be further broken up in parts for the modular. Hopefully it will fall into place due to the knowledge of what is good for to use for each part. But yeah it is a bit scary :)
I’ve found it useful to write a story. Just a shorty one - like “A young girl walks sadly down the dirt road. She kicks a rusty old can in frustration. A ragged genie appears and gives her the gift of beauty and joy. The girl skips happily off. “. Think of it as a short cartoon, drawn in lines, with no words. Your music is the emotion in the story, it is the soundtrack. Let the story make you think of 3 or 4 patches, get them all running at once, and rehearse backing up the story a couple of times. Record it all, because you know the first one will be best.
Late to this Video. I feel exactly like you when it comes to sequencing and "Track" writing. I'm still new to Eurorack and learning constantly. At first i wanted to buy the Beatstep Pro. But like you said in the Video, it would feel like writing a Normal Track like you would do with a Regular Synth. And in my opinion that's not why I got into Eurorack. I love the Flow of Eurorack. You start with something and you End up with in a completely new direction. You can have Hours of fun just by Strumming Rings with Marbles run it trough Magneto and Clouds and Modulate Clouds manually or with CV. Get yourself a Marbles for Controlled Randomness and and a Morphagene for Granular Fun together with Clouds. As a Sequencer my Stillson Hammer mk2 just arrived today :-) Hope the Stillson will suit my needs.
I'd suggest adding some randomic variations. A Noise feeding a S&H clocked by a square wave (LFO / Clock Diveder / Clock / ... whatever) for instance. And / or a Branches (which is something like a coin toss - and it's DUAL) can add randomness to changing the path of a CV. To "store" your patches, you can simply take photos. As they did with Polaroids in the 70s. Nowadays we have smartphones, so... On the other hand, a sequence (bass line), a rhythm (again, a sequencer) and a melody - maybe a sequencer and/or a MIDI to CV connected to a keyboard, even a small one (i.e.: 2 octaves) may be enough. The two things not being mutually exclusive, of course.
No... It doesn't have to be complicate at all - see this MINIMAL setup (the rhythmic section can be optionally added uses a multiple, a Branches and a 2HP Hats - totalling 10 HPs more than the "vanilla" version): ruclips.net/video/GhFrcLf9Lv0/видео.html I' not even using a VCO, but a self-oscillating VCF (just to save a couple of HPs - In real life I'm limited to 3*84HP, currently)
if you get yourself a Keystep, you can input 8 sequences and switch between them. And the good thing with it, is it waits until the current sequence is finished before starting the one you switch to.
So it seems to me you're asking all the right questions... But you have almost no time to answer them! So you'll have to pick answers that feel right to try for now, and are practical, and continue exploring to answer them when deadlines aren't looming. A couple of thoughts - firstly don't look for answers in gear; you're still learning what you've got, don't ask yourself to learn something else while trying to get music made. One possible way to turn a patch in to a track - find the "handles" - filter cut off, lfo speed, whatever makes interesting changes - observe how they change the feeling, and then practice changing them in a way that seems interesting over time. That way you're starting from what you know, and giving it shape. Lastly - when you were talking about whether a single voice is enough, I thought immediately of Caterina Barbieri. She makes many of her tracks with single voices, adding notes, and varying delay levels. Example below - I personally find her music massively compelling: ruclips.net/video/IZnOCCShLIA/видео.html Best of luck! I want to give you a hug then spend the evening figuring it all out with you, but I fear its not possible... Get working!
Thanks for the hug! Yeah, no time, no time. By learning stuff what I mean is that I need to tie a few things down so that I'm not guessing at it too much. Like for instance I now know how to save a pattern on the Varigate4+ and how to use repeats and how it's not as easy as i thought to choose notes. Caterina is good, but it's long - I can do long, i have no trouble filling time with interesting things. 4-6 minutes feels like something else, something song-like. I'll do a bit update on Sunday.
modular music is like painting , can't repeat it when you done , go with the flow , its more experimental than anything , forget regular music writing etc.
Thanks so much for posting this vid! I agree with you on just about everything (including the BSP and Clouds)! Did you hear DJ Silvio/EBCDIC's comment about having a theme for each piece, eg "prime numbers" ? I think it's important to force the eurorack into being a tool for you to create with, you decide what you want and it does it, not the other way round. I hope (one week on) there's another video here where you answer your question because I'm still stuck here with a ton of modules and nothing but several hours of wav files full of blips and farts.
I struggle answering the same question to me. I have no solution but 2 cents: 1. in the Daft Punk track "Giorgio by Moroder" Giorgio Moroder says something about "getting rid of preconceptions" of how music has to be, which told me "maybe I have to rethink how I think I have to make music", 2. there is a Brian Eno article "Composers as Gardeners" which kicked me even more in this direction: in principle I just "play" with my virtual modular (VCVRack - due to the lack of a real one) and record a very long session. Afterwards I just cut and post-process the recording in my DAW, but I think this is what you want to avoid - right? ;-)
My tips: go and listen to two of your favourite but contrasting pieces of music, get inspired and aim for something in between. Steal one element completely, mimic another very closely, then react to them.
I feel like the hardest part in modular is making a cohesive structure composition. Easily can be done in a DAW fromat, but with modular, you really just have to be mindful. There’s ways, but it needs to be thought out
Ooh my modular is just a mono synth that I use like any other synth really. I did a thing with it the other week though where I had one oscillator making a drone tone a bit like a bagpipe or hurdy gurdy does. This drone was on the 1st note of the key of the song and filled the music out a lot and wasn't at all restrictive in the end.
If it does not have to be 100% live recording, I would: #1 record different improv sessions on the modular with self-inflected thoroughly chosen limitations/similarities #2 listen/select the material #mix together in Daw
Check out some videos of Alessandro Cortini, he does some fantastic modular tracks, which I feel fit the criteria of "song" (though he tends to use Buchla modular systems, you can still pick up a lot with how he structures a modular track that you could do with a Eurorack). Nick Batt from Sonic State did an interesting interview with him some time ago on RUclips, which is worth checking out, as he discusses his setup, and process etc. He often plays keyboard live with CV Gate feeding into his patches, and tweaks them, and I think this is a big part in building up a "song". So maybe patching in CV Gate from a keyboard (Arturia KeyStep or something else supporting CV Gate) and playing along with some pre-sequenced modular craziness might work? I am sure you've probably thought about this, but anyway, what ever you go with, I am sure it will be great Robin! We have faith in you, and its certainly a great opportunity for you as an artist! :-)
You have a fair few sound sources? can you sequence half your oscillators etc while tweaking the other half, then switch to a sequence that's controlling the other sources in the rack? That could be a way to create a song of two parts.. I dunno no experience with this stuff myself! I mean, do you use a controller keyboard to play melodies at all, or is it strictly step sequencing + LFOs etc? I always assumed anyone using modular synths would use them as sound sources for recording/sampling then make a track from those pieces (that's how I use reaktor). Another angle is to record a track in a few passes - keeping each pass simple and focused, building a song that way... Or just record a few 2 or 3 hour sessions, and when one of them has enough about it edit it down to 5mins. Either way, just make a shed load of recordings with it so when the deadline comes around you've got a few good ones to choose from! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with
Yeah, my thinking is more along the lines of doing it as a live thing, rather than multiple passes with each pass doing something different - although that makes a lot of sense and how i would work with a DAW. For some reason it seems important to me to capture a performance and that means being able to control enough things on the fly with enough sounds doing enough things :)
The approach you talk about where you record a stream of consciousness and then chop it up is how Hawtin did plastikman stuff, and approach i too identify with
Kudos and thanks for your content I feel your pain on this, I don't want to distract from your task or offend by promoting another channel (I'm not affiliated in any way , was watching and thought of you) Monotrail, just stumbled across and have been blown away by the amount of musical intent the guy achieves out of a tiny system. Beatstep and some clever use of choice lfos and a quantiser (and clouds no less) Hope it helps
As far as Track Writing. Giorgio Moroder said "Once you free your Mind about a Concept of Harmony and Music being Correct, you can do whatever you want."
love the episode and shared it on my channel hope you do not mind. this is a worthwhile view, much to freeze upon and ponder, if it feels good it is good be well, CQ
I was thinking about sampling the patches and riffs that you make and sample permutations of the patch too. Then multi track the sampled segments/tonal elements, the beauty with sampling is that some patterns can be dramatically altered with pitch and filter adjustments and also ADSR too. Samplers compliment this stuff a lot. I know that it seems like cheating when if you were to believe that the whole track has to be made on 1 rack. Very silly notion. Go with sampling and layer up riffs and tracks and glue bits together. Practical stuff but I can't be doing with telling someone what style or what noises to use you got to use the force for that haha. Best of luck with the project though
I’m not wedded to the idea of doing the whole thing in one take. Although I really enjoy the machine as an instrument that I’m building on as I go. Not sure I have the skills or the patience for sampling really, but it’s definitely a common approach. We shall see.
I thought so but not even Wendy Carlos when making Clockwork Orange themes was able to record (his at the time) themes in one hit otherwise she would have needed another room full of racks. Have fun
You keep asking "What do you think..." and "What should I do..." so I feel compelled to answer here in the comments. Please do feel free to completely disregard any or all of it. If I were tasked to write a track for a compilation album on Eurorack, I think I would want to go a bit... mental with it. I'd try to patch together a bit of a melody, as simple or complex as I'm feeling on that day, and record it for a bit. And then take that melody and just use it to modulate something else entirely. Go a bit deeper with it, explore what makes modular so interesting, like you said.
Your views are completely welcome - it wasn't a rhetorical question, i'm not building it up in order to give the world the answers in another video - i am definitely interested in your ideas. And i like the sound of all of that - thanks!
hey! most of the time I plug out all the cables & start patching from scratch. There are no rules, where to begin - just intuiton and a little bit of experience with the own system. After hours of jamming there is often sound I want to record. First I mute some channels, trying to evolve the sound/rhytm/melody also over the volume to get some "Track-Structue". I record just Stereo-Sum from the mixer. Most of the time I don't do any changes in the DAW, post it on soundcloud or youtube after doing some visuals to the track... & most of the time unrecognized & underrated ;)
Don't over think things Molten, do a quick live set, chop it up in your DAW of choice, shorten the track to under 10 mins, sorted , now you can move on to your next project.
So funny that in your "Choosing your first eurorack modules video" you specifically call out theClouds module as not your jam, but I see that you succumbed!!
I did because it was going to be discontinued and I had to see what all the fuss was about. Honestly, i don't really like it, although i've warmed to it a bit more lately but it doesn't fill me with joy.
here's another approach used by cevin key (check out his work): get away from musical conventions and a top-down approach. Instead you'll work in round-trips. Jam with it. Lay down a beat (or bring a friend along) and experiment with creating beat-synced mod patterns it for hours. Don't over think it, just have fun. Record what you create with each device on a separate track. Then go back and review what you've recorded, think about how you can layers and arrange those patterns into a song. Create new rhythm (drum/bass) sequences to go along with them. Make sense?
Multi tracking into your DAW would probably work. Improvising every thing would be a Tarzan approach. Just too brave, and usually not practical for production level.
Here are some scientifically proven (I can claim whatever I want, it's the internet after all) ideas: 1. Less blah blah, more boom boom. 2. Don't overthink. 3. Start simple and build towards a climax. 4. Record the good stuff you discover (= document with clear pictures of all controls and wires, and glued in your lab note book with some descriptive text) so you can more or less reconstruct those later if needed/desired. 5. The abyss that is "blank pages suggesting infinite possibilities" tends to stare at artists. Best not to drown in its beautiful eyes and throw some sound at it. Also, if you think I know what I'm talking about you must be crazier than me.
Yes - the funny thing about this project is that i am completely happy working up a 15-20 minute piece of evolving and emerging music - most of my back catalogue is like that. What's more difficult is creating something that's more than layers in a 5 minute piece.
Select first the genre...ambient, trance and as you mention...an impression / experience / intention you desire to share with us... the mechanics can follow sir.
Well then mate...let Bana Haffar inspire...she too has moved from string instruments (bass) to Eurorack ruclips.net/video/bmR2N30FsZk/видео.html soundcloud.com/banahaffarmusic
Improvise...record....edit....improvise...record...edit etc. Even in the early days of Modular synthesis this is what happened. If you listen closely to early to mid period Tangerine Dream you can hear the edits in the mix.
Indeed, just recording what you're doing and then editing it to a track is essentially combination of random exploration and arrangement with intention. Could help big time to have 'Add marker' to some of available controllers (or just use touchscreen for that), I guess most useful would be to have pedal controller for that so you don't get distracted as much while activating it. Markers would be useful for later edits to find most interesting parts without listening to whole record. If possible to make different kinds of markers - even better.
Find something that moves you. ...a module, a melody, some combination of both -- that you perhaps stumble upon by doing what you do normally in your shed with your instrument. Take that and evolve it, maybe add bass and percussion -- or not. But it should move you and motivate you to create something that perhaps evolves a bit over time and _really_moves_you_. And make sure that you're recording everything just in case you create something phenomenal that you might not be able to get back to later, modular being what it is.
I just discovered and subscribed to your channel a few days ago at the beginning of my own modular synthesis journey, and you are creating awesome, useful, entertaining content. Thanks so much for doing what you do.
Dont START with the beatstep. Build your patch, make it as generative as you like. THEN pop in the beatstep for a bit of control? Or even just hammer the onboard keyboard on the Mother..
I have just discovered this morning that if i put an external sequence into the M-32 I can change key by using the keys on the M-32 - that's very interesting.
I don't use my modular standalone. I hook it up to my DAW and use a software/hardware hybrid. Depends on what end result you want I guess? I think there's enough long ambient modular tracks out there that progress through a series evolving modulations, but for me this is uninspiring and not ultimately what I'm looking to produce.
That's the thing, I can do the long stuff - give me 20 minutes and I can fill that time with evolving themes and soundscapes - but this is 4-6 minutes and so that feels like it needs to have the sense of being a song.
Molten Music Technology absolutely, and good luck, I'm sure it will be a great journey for us all to follow and think about a long the way. Thanks for sharing your process so honestly.
Keep this in mind when making your track, you are your worse critic. It will never be perfect to you. My opinion is you just build and tell a story on how you feel or a certain subject. It's hard bc you need to feed off of somthing. Maybe listen to some other tracks that you like and take bits of techniques from all the tracks you listen to for inspiration. Good luck, I know you can do this. Also don't go mental over this JUST DO IT. Your listener, Shawn
All I can say is that everytime I need motivation / inspiration I watch a short Todd Barton’s video showing the Macbeth Elements, specially the first part: “Transformations” is (or should be) the main issue in modularism. Wish you the best in your new quest Robin! This is the video ruclips.net/video/GuipcPXreNM/видео.html
"When I paint my object is to show what I have found and not what I am looking for" -Picasso
Dear Sir, I love you. The way you present your content, your ideas and thoughts is a pure source of joy. I started my modular journey very much inspired by your first Molten Modular videos, encouraged by your statement "I don´t know what I am doing, and finding out is a big part of the fun so let´s have fun". Thank you so much and never stop finding out stuff!
Just starting into my eurorack journey, and every time you say "I don't know" resonates with me. One of the reasons I love your videos.
I often do live shows with my modular and rarely play two times the same. What has really freed my writing is to not think of a track in terms of bass + melody + chords etc. but rather to think of a full sound as something that spans the whole sound spectra. If it's just one voice so be it, if it's two or three fine as well.
When you played your sequence and asked if that was enough, if it was me writing I would say to myself "that's not enough, If I want to repeat a so short sequence I'll highlight it with shifting effects, waveforms, varying dynamics"
The hard truth is that the answer is "is that an interesting piece of music?"
If you find it interesting yourself and think that it's complete, don't overthink what other people will think of it.
I’m just getting into modular and am asking myself this very question… in a world of “it can be anything you want it to be”… how do I move from cool sounds to something a bit more cohesive. This is the blessing and the curse of modular I think. Thanks for making me feel a little less alone the vastness of endless possibilities.
The whole beatstep problem you have is why I like DFAM’s sequencer. Because you still have control over it, but it’s basically always surprising. You just turn the knob and the pitch is gonna be generally like this and the volume is underneath it. The Mother’s sequencer is kinda like I have to already know what I’m gonna do.
Interesting, thanks
I haven’t been doing Eurorack for very long, but the one thing I’ve learned is try to not overthink it and try not to have any pre-conceived expectations. You are playing the part of both soloist and conductor. Congratulations on being invited to do a track!
Cool, yes
I haven’t yet done a track by conception but I want be able to make the „right „ special patching for a track resulting in a kind of limitation to sound developing and variations for it and then reherse on that like which knob turns seem suitable for a track developing with even little melody changes - well I don’t know if anybody understands what I m trying to say 🤔 but that’s what I think I can approach the challenge
I've always been a fan of various forms of electronic music, but am just now getting into creating various forms of electronic music. I'm having trouble finding comparisons / reviews on DAWS that work well with modular synths.
You’ve got this Robin!!! The way I make tracks on my modular rig is to come up with a bit/melody/part that has some emotional quality I like, something that sounds good that tugs on me, I take my time with this step. Then I add percussion elements to it and finally I figure out ways to vary the patterns over time. I find switches most valuable for this task. Take the main pitch and gate sequence and then simply create a variation in the gate pattern while leaving the pitch sequence and then switch between the gate patterns. It’s amazing how gate variations with the same pitch sequence create verse chorus type structure. I use the Doepfer sequential switch, the Doepfer voltage controlled switch and I just got the Switch 4 by Joranalogue which is awesome! I would say your Varigate 4 holds the key to these gate variations you are looking for. I also find a gate combiner module and a basic logic module to be extremely useful for making musical use of gate patterns while still retaining the exciting random qualities that eurorack has to offer. For instance if you take two different gate patterns out of your varigate 4 and feed them into a logic module it will generate multiple variations for you. If you alter the original gate pattern it changes the outputs in random and unpredictable ways, which is like taking intentional ideas and adding elements of randomization to it which is the key to exciting modular music. You can create more intentionality, or less, by automating that process with a sequential switch. This is where modular diverges from normal synthesis and truly becomes its own paradigm.
Ooo, lots to think about....
Given your very public "newb" journey, use your inexperience as your muse/edge. You HAVE TO sample "I'm don't know what I'm doing!" and run it through Clouds. Build around that! Man that would funny, entertaining, and take the edge off anything you might find lacking in the track!
That would be quite genius and the best excuse i've heard so far to get a Morphagene :)
@@MoltenMusicTech Just told you to the a Morphagene Seconds ago :-) hahaha
Robin, you first need to determine what type of piece you'd like to put together. At risk of over-simplification, do you want it melodic, repetitive-sequenced, a droning underlay with gentle semi-melodic overtones, all of the above self-generating and changing in sequence? Get the "gist" of the song decided first and then decide which VCOs, utilities and sequencing will be needed to achieve that. Also, listening to a piece o music that you really like to get inspiration is a good exercise.
I have one bit of advice. While most of my ultimate composition work happens in Logic, I do spend time jamming with just my machines, syncing drum boxes with mini-sequencers and arpeggiators and all sorts of synths and electronic gadgets. When doing this it often seems fruitful to multi-track record what you’re doing, but make sure if you are multi-tracking to include the actual stereo (or mono) mix of your noodling. I find that 90% if the time, this mix that you heard while creating will be better than anything you can muster in post.
I've recently found your channel, and am enjoying hearing your views on Eurorack immensely. After nearly twenty years using vst simulated modular synthesizers I am making my first foray into true analog with a modest rack of my own. In considering your question, I have two responses. First, I’ve seen you experimenting with a number of very interesting pieces over the course of your program so it is clear that you can produce something someone would certainly wish to listen to. Secondly, even though I technically have no right to do so not having worked with true analog modular for very long, I would suggest as a thought experiment pulling all the connections and start again anywhere, maybe just a sound or a small sequence, and use that as the seed for a growing piece, making brief notes as to what you are doing. You might go down a path or two you don’t care for, but eventually you will have something pretty amazing. Then, when you sort of know how you want to evolve your piece, try it again as a complete, start-to-finish recording. Anyway, just a thought.
Hey, thanks for the comments. And that is pretty much exactly what I do 😊
Sir I think you like the English language more than Eurorack.
I've been making tracks with a simple eurorack system, monotribe and ms20 sequenced through an SQ1, so its essentially a modular set-up. I've found that as soon as you start enjoying an explorative jam/improvisation you have the foundations of a track. The next stage is to try to work out what it is about the jam you enjoy. The more simple you can explain what it is you like about it the better, because thats the idea that the track should be about. It's then about removing anything in the music that doesn't contribute to that simple idea. You can do this either by recording multiple takes until you get one thats strong enough, or during post production of a recording. I find it's useful to think about structure as the most logical or simple way of presenting your idea. That's what I've found. Hope it went well! Been getting a lot from your videos recently!
Cool yeah, good comments. Are you the Miles from the Wonderstuff?
@@MoltenMusicTechI make music under the name of Miles Otto in Norwich :) I spoke to you briefly at the last electronic music open mic night at Gringos
@@mileshunt8743 Ah cool man, we should have had name tags :)
A nice patch is not automatically a nice musical piece.
To organize the noises in a musical way is to me the most important part. Because that is the way how you express your personality, how you tell a story.
I start with a improvisation, and shape the patch bit by bit, until the result coheres with my personal feelings. Than I try different possibilities and define kind of a beginning, a bridge and ending. There has to be some sort of development of the musical material, I think. I agree, fading is not enough. Sometimes it is great to start and end with fragments of a melody or of the core idea of the patch. Or you could slowly reveal layer by layer...
Totally agree with you!
your channel’s the best! Appreciate the honesty!
I'm always wondering how to make more organized sounds with my eurorack. A good clock source and a sequential switch (A-151), moved along every 4 bars or so, made all the difference in trying to emulate a "verse and chorus". You'll need multiple voices and the real struggle is trying to keep those multiple voices sounding good and in tune with each other. Good luck. Excited to see what you come up with.
I reckon the easiest approach would be mentally (or on paper) evaluate how YOU use each module and then consider how that compares/contrasts to other people's use of it. Then make a simple good sounding patch, focusing on rhythm and tonality.
For a quick example, the Mother 32 and Basimilius can make a good lead & bass line respectively. Then using the switches on the alter (maybe to change it's timbre during a bridge) and forwarding the Mother 32 to another sequence you can do exactly what you were talking about and quickly switch from one part of the song to another. Good rule of thumb (pun intended), is to keep in mind that you've only got 2 hands to make these changes. And I think THAT is where the decision to modulate and automate parts of your song comes in.
The whole thing that makes music exciting regardless of the instrument, genre or tempo is it's ability to change unpredictably while keeping it's overall structure and sound. With eurorack you can really emphasize the unpredictability, but keeping it structured and cohesive afterwards can sometimes be challenging.
Basically, in my mind, a “track” involves at least some level of “intention”, whether before, or during, the performance/recording. For me, a “patch” just sits there, perhaps doing something very interesting. It becomes a track or performance when you interact with it to become the conductor or musician (even if that’s just moving a few knobs). I’ve torn down many patches that never got recorded, but I tend to record (and put on YT) performances that I think work at least OK.
And now I’m to the point in your vid where you mention “intention”. Great minds think alike ;-).
Sequential switches and summer/adders can help a lot with variations between and within sequences.
Perhaps re-watch mylarmelodies’ generative and other composition tutorials?
The questions I always set out to answer when writing music is "What am I learning from this process", along with "Would I be happy if I bought this?". If I manage to learn to something while writing, its a somewhat successful track. Also, Eno's Oblique Strategies are a great help :)
Dude you're awesome! This is how I feel 100%. This is what makes modular so fun. It really get your mind going
The simplest way I've found so far when working purely in eurorack is to build the entire patch, maybe starting with a nice simple sequence, add to it until the patch is complete. Then think about how to break it down into its separate parts and mix/fade those parts back in during a performance/recording, remember what to tweak to add variation and keep things interesting. With the setup you have, perhaps start with a nice sequence on the Mother 32 until you have something that sounds great all by itself, that will give you a nice foundation to build on. Also, if you have time, check out some other RUclips modular musicians out there for inspiration, I've seen many with really small racks producing some beautiful tracks.
yeah, so have i.
I approach writing with eurorack in a similar way than I approach normal writing - deciding what will be used for lead (melody), what (if) for chords, what for bass, what for percussion. Then you mix and match, and explore within those individual sections. This also allows you to move from a sequence to a sequence without leaving the bass, or percussion, or chords, by using a mixer, etc.
Cool thanks
Thanks for asking the most important question.
Dear Sir , i also love you , - many good ponderings , and this video actually put me in mood for making a brand new Track ! Happy New Year , Dear Robin. 👩🍳🥂
Hi, congrats on being invited to contribute a track. I suggest you do what you enjoy, switch on and fiddle around. However you record it all start to finish, Each session completely unpatch and start from empty, do this each time for a couple of weeks and then spend a week reviewing the pieces you have made and collage selected slices of them together. I think this way will be fun and keeps that improvisation you like. Have fun cheers Stuart.
Thanks!
I also ordered the molten modular motion mtr yesterday. I'm really looking forward to it.
Oh, nice one, thanks :D
Refreshing honesty and great to hear you articulate your thought process. Makes me want to ditch the sub37 and soft synths for.... modular. Could be an expensive leap. But fun.
Sorry for the comment spray, but keep in mind Clouds can be a pretty interesting “oscillator” if you capture a sample, focus on a piece of it, and loop it quickly. It has a v/oct input.
Best of luck on your track!
Hah - we're watching the same stuff at the same time...
Brian Horsfield Heheh, funny coincidence. Robin’s posts are often my Elliptical trainer workout entertainment. I have time then for the longer-form vids, which I enjoy.
Thats what I use the microgranny for, its fun to sequence with the Korg SQ-1.
If you're coming into Eurorack from a DAW, I would simply sample loops from the Eurorack and use them in a piece composed on the DAW. As your confidence, capabilities, and Eurorack system grows, you'll likely evolve to a point where you CAN write a full track on your Eurorack. But I think pushing yourself to do so too early takes the charm out of learning. I'm about 3 months into Eurorack. I'm not going to seriously consider writing anything with it for at least another 9 months. At this point I'm learning and trying to put in as much hands-on into patches, coming up with patching ideas, and experimenting. My personal feelings is that trying to write too early will get me stuck in bad, narrow habits. I'm concentrating on being able to patch faster and with more intuition of what the gross results of each individual connection will yield. I'm also trying to find my current limits and the system's current limits so I can decide how and when to expand. Your first round of purchases will probably be garbage as you "think" you know what you want but have no clue as to what you'll be able to produce. Again, nothing beats hands-on, about an hour a day, working a new patch you've perhaps thought since your last session.
I feel like it's analogous to learning a new language. Sure after a couple months you might be able to have a basic conversation... but you're not at the level to give an entertaining dissertation for 4-5 minutes exclusively in that language. Keep practicing and learning.
Good thoughts - but i would also offer up the idea that you can write a killer punk tune with a weeks worth of guitar playing. I see it as an instrument through which I can express ideas. As i get better at that instrument certain aspects may "improve" but i am still just expressing myself, if you see what i mean :)
@@MoltenMusicTech Yes... but I think most people are going to be transitioning from a DAW environment rather than one of a punk guitarist. I think it would be easier to incorporate your Eurorack into your DAW workflow, then transition from DAW to writing more of a complete tune fully in Eurorack as your knowledge and workflow develop. I tried to plant myself on Eurorack island and ditch the DAW right away and it wasn't making sense to me... yet.
I understand what you're saying but for me that would require too much planning and intention. And the DAW and all the MIDI-CV business would get in the way. But each to their own - there's plenty of room for every approach :)
In eurorack usage, i feel it's about the journey, not just the goal. :-)
To tell a story with what you learned and discovered. ;-) And be unique.
Some of the first songs I made on modular which I was happy with was to make a drone and a few other repeating noises or sequences which fit together well. I then turn everything down and then record a song by turning up the volume of each of the 4 sounds I made and then fade them all out at the end. Hope this helps.
Everything helps mate :)
just drone 1 note on 3 or 4 oscillators for 10 minutes and throw the batumi at it.... job done
(self patch the batumi for extreme craziness) sine or triangle from one LFO into the FRQ of another (works extremely well in divide mode)
regarding sequencers that you can change on the fly... HUGE thumbs up from me for the erica pico seq. it has a RND button ... basically it's like locking something on the turing machine instantly (but the pico seq randomizes within scales and octaves that you set). you can go forward. back ping pong random etc. every time you press RND it comes up with a new sequence (length chosen by you)
9 times out of 10 it comes up with a decent sounding melody. (especially if you restrict it to 3 or 4 octaves).
(it also works really well as a random modulation source). send pitch CV into filter cutoff for example.
for 130 quid it is an amazing little module.
oh and it's only 3HP :O
a quantizer pretty much goes hand in hand with the turing machine tbh I'm amazed you have a TM and no quantizer :)
Good thoughts thanks! I use quantiser mode on the Disting, but I need something more hands-on.
Ah the many faces of the disting (im currently hovering over the add to cart on a mk4 right now :)
I got the tiny little 2hp Tune as space was at a premium.
no bells and whistles does what it says on the tin... 90 quid, you can change between 12 scales and change octaves and that's it..
once i get my bigger case I'll probably get a penrose quantizer from thonk or the addac intuative quantizer as the 2hp pots are a little small and fidly and like you i want something more hands on..... i have big hands :)
also i forgot to mention that the SEQ can save 16 patterns that you can recall at the press of a button.
its a great little "performance" module and perfect for making "songs" it's the main reason i mentioned it then i forgot to tell you about the feature :)
its pretty much the perfect (little, cheap, features for days) sequencer for what you are looking to do (structured chorus verse type tunes)
I'm actually planning on getting a 2nd as it's so damn useful.
really enjoyed the livestream with Ben the other night your enthusiasm is addictive :)
edit: heres something i did the other night... pico SEQ features heavily ... as does the basimilus iteritas alter and pico drums (sequenced by mutable grids) oh and of course the batumi.
it's kinda musical and song like in structure. (all setup before hand then elements faded in/out and preset patterns recalled from SEQ.
hit record and hope for the best :)
soundcloud.com/alan-roberts-6/modular-jam-12-3
I feel for you, do what you do and let it be. Good luck I'm sure it will be a valuable addition to the albm
thanks
I think there isn't one specific thing to do, it's a lot of little things that help. Some modules have presets or a songmode, wich is obvisously helpful. Sending midi from your computer or any sequencer with some sort of songmode like a monomachine will get you different melodies or drum patterns while remaining the same basic sounds inside your modular. Some of these midi-interfaces will also allow you to send additional control voltage for modwheel or aftertouch or something, wich you can then use to alter the sound, like opening a filter during the chorus or for example. The Make Noise Pressure Points is also great for that matter, it gives you 4 "presets" with 3 fixed voltages each, wich you can set up to change mixer/effect/whatever settings for the different parts of the song. Another great trick is to use sequential switches and switched multiples, there is a video from mylarmelodies about that called "Melody Progression Tips...". Make shure to check that out. :)
I am discovering that generating fixed CVs can be very helpful in this.
Great personality, really love your content and sense of humour
Hey Robin, love your content! I come up with a finished product lately by learning a new function of a module - disting at the mo - that usually ends up as something sonically or rhythmically interesting. Think of that as your ’hook’. Set some drums or percussion under that and yer almost there. Hope this helps 🤙
I use a Malekko Sync to lock my sequencer module, a Stepper Acid to Ableton, and then route, arm and record an audio track into a clip. I break the clip apart into logical parts. Collect a bunch of tracks full of parts, then assign stuff to a control surface and perform the arrangement, then do all the production technical stuff, and then mix it down. Mac -> USB Cable -> Malekko Sync -> clock output to clock input of Stepper Acid, which drives the modular. I also have a Mutable Grids to trigger drum parts, so I can make beats and sounds that are locked to the clock and recordable as audio. Like that. :)
Very interesting, thanks
example, this was done 100% on my Eurorack modular which is only 6U of 84hp. I did like 4 passes, edited, arranged and mixed quite minimally. With modular when you like something, you need to record it right then, in order to capture it, since it might change 10 seconds from now. :) ruclips.net/video/_WKeIZX4_Qo/видео.html
Robin, congratulations! Two small bits of advice. First, consider whether the Mother32 might be more suitable than the Beat Step Pro for your second sequencer. Second, consider constraining the project to modules you have in the house only. Rack up everything that you can fit, but don't purchase any new hardware for the Modularism project. Best wishes-- and a new Patreon supporter.
Yay! Good advice
It's like this whole eurorack fun thing has gotten real all of a sudden :)
Whatever you decide to do, please call the track "Woosh Bang Doom Done". Looking forward to the next installment.
I can't offer any advice but am sending waves of encouragement your way instead. The interview with DivKid was great and catching it unexpectedly as it was about to start finally pushed me into creating an account so I could join in the chat instead of just lurking.
Cheers!
Looking forward to hearing more on this topic, have been scratching my head for a while now and wondering can you actually write a track on modular? I recorded a a bunch of noodling in Ableton warped it and then started making 4bar and 8 bar samples out of it to put them together. That seems like a possible direction but got lost in a bunch of samples and kept going in the direction of DAW production. Write chords, write melody, write bassline, keep everything in key/scale! It's crazy!
Being intentional, at some point it is always intentional even if it is in selecting the ten minutes you choose to keep. But the great thing about modular is that it is easier to separate the experimenting from the intentionality.
Mr. Vincent, I know it's been a while since you've posted this, but you mentioned a few drum modules. If you're still looking for more drum modules, I would highly recommend the Pico Drums by Erica synths. You can get two independently-triggered sounds at the same time. Despite it's size it has a large library of sounds, and two of these modules can simulate an entire drum kit, if you have a module which can trigger all of them.
Ha, thanks - the Pico Drums was my first drum purchase i think :D
I often start with a concept, which can be anything from a patch, rhythm, melody, chord progression, texture to a structure in general.
Finding the right concept is usually the hardest part for me, the rest is really just a matter of improvisation and sometimes giving it some time to flesh-out.
A good reverb can be a huge inspiration, for me at least.
Sounds like a fun challenge. Maybe just use the modular - do what you’ve been doing messing about and seeing what happens. With regards to what you were saying about different expectations of what a song or track in electronic music should be, I’d suggest that in the world of modular synths there are no expectations or rules. Maybe just record 4 or 5 ‘messing abouts’ and then get busy with the edit button in Cubase. Either way, I hope you enjoy it!
Oh no, you asked the forbidden question! :-)
Rhythm, texture, modulations, fx. - I feel texture is the most important factor, personally that is.
~ Personally I've always prefered the control of using an Akai MPC coupled with a Kenton pro2000ii converter and currently a Roland A-800pro, but that's just my autism looking for the path of least resistance, sacrilege i know, but 100x more fun.
Practical advice... You want a song. Songs have a beginning, a middle, and an ending. I believe your strength is ambient and atmospheric, based on what I have heard and liked. Start with that. Songs have forms like ABABA or ABA. This will go a long way in framing what you want. Pick your tools accordingly.
Oh, and a way how to transpose a sequence into a different key is to either use Exp FM input to shift the whole sequence, or use a module that allows transposing.
Yes, that makes sense although i'd never really thought about that. I wonder if you put the same voltage multed into several oscillators they would all change the same amount....
Yes, if the Exp FM input attenuator on all OSC is set exactly the same :)
Currently I am thinking about the same question. I have written a chord progression which I have broken up into a riff structure which can be further broken up in parts for the modular. Hopefully it will fall into place due to the knowledge of what is good for to use for each part. But yeah it is a bit scary :)
I’ve found it useful to write a story. Just a shorty one - like “A young girl walks sadly down the dirt road. She kicks a rusty old can in frustration. A ragged genie appears and gives her the gift of beauty and joy. The girl skips happily off. “. Think of it as a short cartoon, drawn in lines, with no words. Your music is the emotion in the story, it is the soundtrack. Let the story make you think of 3 or 4 patches, get them all running at once, and rehearse backing up the story a couple of times. Record it all, because you know the first one will be best.
Nice idea, thanks
Late to this Video. I feel exactly like you when it comes to sequencing and "Track" writing. I'm still new to Eurorack and learning constantly. At first i wanted to buy the Beatstep Pro. But like you said in the Video, it would feel like writing a Normal Track like you would do with a Regular Synth. And in my opinion that's not why I got into Eurorack. I love the Flow of Eurorack. You start with something and you End up with in a completely new direction. You can have Hours of fun just by Strumming Rings with Marbles run it trough Magneto and Clouds and Modulate Clouds manually or with CV. Get yourself a Marbles for Controlled Randomness and and a Morphagene for Granular Fun together with Clouds. As a Sequencer my Stillson Hammer mk2 just arrived today :-) Hope the Stillson will suit my needs.
yes, good thoughts
I bought an Elektron Octatrack to sequence and sample from synths that can be used for tracks. It really helps!
I'd suggest adding some randomic variations. A Noise feeding a S&H clocked by a square wave (LFO / Clock Diveder / Clock / ... whatever) for instance. And / or a Branches (which is something like a coin toss - and it's DUAL) can add randomness to changing the path of a CV. To "store" your patches, you can simply take photos. As they did with Polaroids in the 70s. Nowadays we have smartphones, so...
On the other hand, a sequence (bass line), a rhythm (again, a sequencer) and a melody - maybe a sequencer and/or a MIDI to CV connected to a keyboard, even a small one (i.e.: 2 octaves) may be enough.
The two things not being mutually exclusive, of course.
So you're saying be more complex when aiming for simplicity? Check out my next video - it's all about chaos and complexity :)
No... It doesn't have to be complicate at all - see this MINIMAL setup (the rhythmic section can be optionally added uses a multiple, a Branches and a 2HP Hats - totalling 10 HPs more than the "vanilla" version): ruclips.net/video/GhFrcLf9Lv0/видео.html I' not even using a VCO, but a self-oscillating VCF (just to save a couple of HPs - In real life I'm limited to 3*84HP, currently)
if you get yourself a Keystep, you can input 8 sequences and switch between them. And the good thing with it, is it waits until the current sequence is finished before starting the one you switch to.
I think i can do something similar with the BSP - not sure if i want the sequencer external.... not sure
So it seems to me you're asking all the right questions... But you have almost no time to answer them! So you'll have to pick answers that feel right to try for now, and are practical, and continue exploring to answer them when deadlines aren't looming.
A couple of thoughts - firstly don't look for answers in gear; you're still learning what you've got, don't ask yourself to learn something else while trying to get music made.
One possible way to turn a patch in to a track - find the "handles" - filter cut off, lfo speed, whatever makes interesting changes - observe how they change the feeling, and then practice changing them in a way that seems interesting over time. That way you're starting from what you know, and giving it shape.
Lastly - when you were talking about whether a single voice is enough, I thought immediately of Caterina Barbieri. She makes many of her tracks with single voices, adding notes, and varying delay levels. Example below - I personally find her music massively compelling: ruclips.net/video/IZnOCCShLIA/видео.html
Best of luck! I want to give you a hug then spend the evening figuring it all out with you, but I fear its not possible... Get working!
Thanks for the hug! Yeah, no time, no time. By learning stuff what I mean is that I need to tie a few things down so that I'm not guessing at it too much. Like for instance I now know how to save a pattern on the Varigate4+ and how to use repeats and how it's not as easy as i thought to choose notes. Caterina is good, but it's long - I can do long, i have no trouble filling time with interesting things. 4-6 minutes feels like something else, something song-like. I'll do a bit update on Sunday.
modular music is like painting , can't repeat it when you done , go with the flow , its more experimental than anything , forget regular music writing etc.
Thanks so much for posting this vid! I agree with you on just about everything (including the BSP and Clouds)! Did you hear DJ Silvio/EBCDIC's comment about having a theme for each piece, eg "prime numbers" ? I think it's important to force the eurorack into being a tool for you to create with, you decide what you want and it does it, not the other way round. I hope (one week on) there's another video here where you answer your question because I'm still stuck here with a ton of modules and nothing but several hours of wav files full of blips and farts.
Another video coming tomorrow all being well - lots of thoughts and ideas but no answer yet 😊
I struggle answering the same question to me. I have no solution but 2 cents: 1. in the Daft Punk track "Giorgio by Moroder" Giorgio Moroder says something about "getting rid of preconceptions" of how music has to be, which told me "maybe I have to rethink how I think I have to make music", 2. there is a Brian Eno article "Composers as Gardeners" which kicked me even more in this direction: in principle I just "play" with my virtual modular (VCVRack - due to the lack of a real one) and record a very long session. Afterwards I just cut and post-process the recording in my DAW, but I think this is what you want to avoid - right? ;-)
If you want more of a single patch, Perhaps you should use a switch to change between two different melodies.
My tips: go and listen to two of your favourite but contrasting pieces of music, get inspired and aim for something in between. Steal one element completely, mimic another very closely, then react to them.
I feel like the hardest part in modular is making a cohesive structure composition. Easily can be done in a DAW fromat, but with modular, you really just have to be mindful. There’s ways, but it needs to be thought out
But also, sometimes, too much time spent thinking doesn't get you any closer either :D
Ooh my modular is just a mono synth that I use like any other synth really. I did a thing with it the other week though where I had one oscillator making a drone tone a bit like a bagpipe or hurdy gurdy does. This drone was on the 1st note of the key of the song and filled the music out a lot and wasn't at all restrictive in the end.
cool
If it does not have to be 100% live recording, I would:
#1 record different improv sessions on the modular with self-inflected thoroughly chosen limitations/similarities
#2 listen/select the material
#mix together in Daw
By the time you've figured it out, the rack has gone out of tune.
Check out some videos of Alessandro Cortini, he does some fantastic modular tracks, which I feel fit the criteria of "song" (though he tends to use Buchla modular systems, you can still pick up a lot with how he structures a modular track that you could do with a Eurorack). Nick Batt from Sonic State did an interesting interview with him some time ago on RUclips, which is worth checking out, as he discusses his setup, and process etc. He often plays keyboard live with CV Gate feeding into his patches, and tweaks them, and I think this is a big part in building up a "song". So maybe patching in CV Gate from a keyboard (Arturia KeyStep or something else supporting CV Gate) and playing along with some pre-sequenced modular craziness might work? I am sure you've probably thought about this, but anyway, what ever you go with, I am sure it will be great Robin! We have faith in you, and its certainly a great opportunity for you as an artist! :-)
capture the moment, then polish in the DAW
You have a fair few sound sources? can you sequence half your oscillators etc while tweaking the other half, then switch to a sequence that's controlling the other sources in the rack? That could be a way to create a song of two parts.. I dunno no experience with this stuff myself! I mean, do you use a controller keyboard to play melodies at all, or is it strictly step sequencing + LFOs etc? I always assumed anyone using modular synths would use them as sound sources for recording/sampling then make a track from those pieces (that's how I use reaktor). Another angle is to record a track in a few passes - keeping each pass simple and focused, building a song that way... Or just record a few 2 or 3 hour sessions, and when one of them has enough about it edit it down to 5mins. Either way, just make a shed load of recordings with it so when the deadline comes around you've got a few good ones to choose from! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with
Yeah, my thinking is more along the lines of doing it as a live thing, rather than multiple passes with each pass doing something different - although that makes a lot of sense and how i would work with a DAW. For some reason it seems important to me to capture a performance and that means being able to control enough things on the fly with enough sounds doing enough things :)
ambient.
psychodelic.
minimal structure.
minimal chaos.
five piece jigsaw where pieces *fit*
Sounds that *you* enjoy.
Phrygian mode?
Midi or pots?
The approach you talk about where you record a stream of consciousness and then chop it up is how Hawtin did plastikman stuff, and approach i too identify with
Kudos and thanks for your content I feel your pain on this, I don't want to distract from your task or offend by promoting another channel (I'm not affiliated in any way , was watching and thought of you) Monotrail, just stumbled across and have been blown away by the amount of musical intent the guy achieves out of a tiny system. Beatstep and some clever use of choice lfos and a quantiser (and clouds no less) Hope it helps
Good find - thanks!
Need more videos like this!
Part 2 coming on Sunday :)
As far as Track Writing. Giorgio Moroder said "Once you free your Mind about a Concept of Harmony and Music being Correct, you can do whatever you want."
Go Robin! Cheering you on!
love the episode and shared it on my channel hope you do not mind.
this is a worthwhile view, much to freeze upon and ponder, if it feels good it is good
be well,
CQ
Thanks, and yes you are welcome to do so.
I was thinking about sampling the patches and riffs that you make and sample permutations of the patch too.
Then multi track the sampled segments/tonal elements, the beauty with sampling is that some patterns can be dramatically altered with pitch and filter adjustments and also ADSR too. Samplers compliment this stuff a lot. I know that it seems like cheating when if you were to believe that the whole track has to be made on 1 rack. Very silly notion. Go with sampling and layer up riffs and tracks and glue bits together. Practical stuff but I can't be doing with telling someone what style or what noises to use you got to use the force for that haha. Best of luck with the project though
That is how it was done years ago... Multi tracking
I’m not wedded to the idea of doing the whole thing in one take. Although I really enjoy the machine as an instrument that I’m building on as I go. Not sure I have the skills or the patience for sampling really, but it’s definitely a common approach. We shall see.
I thought so but not even Wendy Carlos when making Clockwork Orange themes was able to record (his at the time) themes in one hit otherwise she would have needed another room full of racks. Have fun
What about audio repeaters? they in essence sample in realtime and then you can trigger loops live on the fly
You keep asking "What do you think..." and "What should I do..." so I feel compelled to answer here in the comments. Please do feel free to completely disregard any or all of it.
If I were tasked to write a track for a compilation album on Eurorack, I think I would want to go a bit... mental with it. I'd try to patch together a bit of a melody, as simple or complex as I'm feeling on that day, and record it for a bit. And then take that melody and just use it to modulate something else entirely. Go a bit deeper with it, explore what makes modular so interesting, like you said.
Your views are completely welcome - it wasn't a rhetorical question, i'm not building it up in order to give the world the answers in another video - i am definitely interested in your ideas. And i like the sound of all of that - thanks!
hey! most of the time I plug out all the cables & start patching from scratch. There are no rules, where to begin - just intuiton and a little bit of experience with the own system. After hours of jamming there is often sound I want to record. First I mute some channels, trying to evolve the sound/rhytm/melody also over the volume to get some "Track-Structue". I record just Stereo-Sum from the mixer. Most of the time I don't do any changes in the DAW, post it on soundcloud or youtube after doing some visuals to the track... & most of the time unrecognized & underrated ;)
Yeah, i always start from scratch, i love that process.
Don't over think things Molten,
do a quick live set, chop it up in your DAW of choice,
shorten the track to under 10 mins, sorted ,
now you can move on to your next project.
there's always another project :)
So funny that in your "Choosing your first eurorack modules video" you specifically call out theClouds module as not your jam, but I see that you succumbed!!
I did because it was going to be discontinued and I had to see what all the fuss was about. Honestly, i don't really like it, although i've warmed to it a bit more lately but it doesn't fill me with joy.
That is mostly why we invented our Audio Controlled Synths.
You can pick up a guitar AND control modular synths :) 1V at a time...
Ooo nicely placed plug for the Converter there - well played sir :)
Yes I would definitely like to have a go at one of those sometime.
Good art requires tension and resolution. Find a way to do that and you're golden!
I need a device that automatically pulls out all the patch cables after 10 minutes
Auto-Eject sockets maybe :)
"Pulling something out of the machine."
Let's make a joint track: "Pulling the ghost out of the machine"
here's another approach used by cevin key (check out his work): get away from musical conventions and a top-down approach. Instead you'll work in round-trips. Jam with it. Lay down a beat (or bring a friend along) and experiment with creating beat-synced mod patterns it for hours. Don't over think it, just have fun. Record what you create with each device on a separate track. Then go back and review what you've recorded, think about how you can layers and arrange those patterns into a song. Create new rhythm (drum/bass) sequences to go along with them. Make sense?
Great video, as usual :)
Multi tracking into your DAW would probably work. Improvising every thing would be a Tarzan approach. Just too brave, and usually not practical for production level.
Here are some scientifically proven (I can claim whatever I want, it's the internet after all) ideas: 1. Less blah blah, more boom boom. 2. Don't overthink. 3. Start simple and build towards a climax. 4. Record the good stuff you discover (= document with clear pictures of all controls and wires, and glued in your lab note book with some descriptive text) so you can more or less reconstruct those later if needed/desired. 5. The abyss that is "blank pages suggesting infinite possibilities" tends to stare at artists. Best not to drown in its beautiful eyes and throw some sound at it. Also, if you think I know what I'm talking about you must be crazier than me.
Have you listened to Caterina Barbieri? She does an amazing amount with a very sparse structure
Yes - the funny thing about this project is that i am completely happy working up a 15-20 minute piece of evolving and emerging music - most of my back catalogue is like that. What's more difficult is creating something that's more than layers in a 5 minute piece.
"those are the things I'm going to be looking into very very quickly 'cos I have no time".
Oh dear!
seat of my pants
I just record a lot of tracks and pick out the ones that stand out to me for my records. Hopefully this helps.
Select first the genre...ambient, trance and as you mention...an impression / experience / intention you desire to share with us... the mechanics can follow sir.
I've got no clue about genres mate, it's all just kind of musical stuff :)
Well then mate...let Bana Haffar inspire...she too has moved from string instruments (bass) to Eurorack ruclips.net/video/bmR2N30FsZk/видео.html soundcloud.com/banahaffarmusic
Improvise...record....edit....improvise...record...edit etc. Even in the early days of Modular synthesis this is what happened. If you listen closely to early to mid period Tangerine Dream you can hear the edits in the mix.
Indeed, just recording what you're doing and then editing it to a track is essentially combination of random exploration and arrangement with intention.
Could help big time to have 'Add marker' to some of available controllers (or just use touchscreen for that), I guess most useful would be to have pedal controller for that so you don't get distracted as much while activating it. Markers would be useful for later edits to find most interesting parts without listening to whole record. If possible to make different kinds of markers - even better.
Andrew Brooks Aqua by Edgar Frose 🙂👍🏻
Find something that moves you.
...a module, a melody, some combination of both -- that you perhaps stumble upon by doing what you do normally in your shed with your instrument. Take that and evolve it, maybe add bass and percussion -- or not. But it should move you and motivate you to create something that perhaps evolves a bit over time and _really_moves_you_.
And make sure that you're recording everything just in case you create something phenomenal that you might not be able to get back to later, modular being what it is.
Nice thoughts
I just discovered and subscribed to your channel a few days ago at the beginning of my own modular synthesis journey, and you are creating awesome, useful, entertaining content. Thanks so much for doing what you do.
Dont START with the beatstep. Build your patch, make it as generative as you like. THEN pop in the beatstep for a bit of control? Or even just hammer the onboard keyboard on the Mother..
I have just discovered this morning that if i put an external sequence into the M-32 I can change key by using the keys on the M-32 - that's very interesting.
I don't use my modular standalone. I hook it up to my DAW and use a software/hardware hybrid.
Depends on what end result you want I guess? I think there's enough long ambient modular tracks out there that progress through a series evolving modulations, but for me this is uninspiring and not ultimately what I'm looking to produce.
That's the thing, I can do the long stuff - give me 20 minutes and I can fill that time with evolving themes and soundscapes - but this is 4-6 minutes and so that feels like it needs to have the sense of being a song.
Molten Music Technology absolutely, and good luck, I'm sure it will be a great journey for us all to follow and think about a long the way. Thanks for sharing your process so honestly.
Live stream is a great idea!
Sold my BeatStep Pro for a lot of the reasons you are struggling with it.
The Alan Watts of Eurorack
Maybe I could come up with "Zen and the Art of Eurorack"
Keep this in mind when making your track, you are your worse critic. It will never be perfect to you. My opinion is you just build and tell a story on how you feel or a certain subject. It's hard bc you need to feed off of somthing. Maybe listen to some other tracks that you like and take bits of techniques from all the tracks you listen to for inspiration. Good luck, I know you can do this. Also don't go mental over this JUST DO IT.
Your listener,
Shawn
All I can say is that everytime I need motivation / inspiration I watch a short Todd Barton’s video showing the Macbeth Elements, specially the first part: “Transformations” is (or should be) the main issue in modularism. Wish you the best in your new quest Robin! This is the video ruclips.net/video/GuipcPXreNM/видео.html