Generative Ambient From Scratch on the Polyend Play
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2024
- The Polyend Play is a groovebox with 8 tracks of sample playback and 8 tracks of MIDI control.
Leaving aside the beautiful array of LED pads which adorn the front panel, its main distinguishing feature is its focus on generative, algorithmic and chance-based tools designed to help you quickly create and iterate on musical ideas.
Much has been said and demonstrated on the Play with regards to quickly creating often intricate beat-centric music - and rightly so, as that is an area where it excels, but many of the concepts and features on offer here apply equally well in the world of ambient music - so that’s what we’ll be doing today - making use of these features to put together a little generative ambient piece to chill out to. To demonstrate the workflow and sounds.
Transparency notice: Polyend kindly provided me the Play for free for the purposes of making this video. I haven't otherwise been paid by Polyend for making this content and Polyend have neither asked for nor been given any editorial oversight into this video's content.
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Words can't describe how helpful this was. Just sat down and followed along, creating my own version. It was a ton of fun. Thank you very much.
That's fantastic to hear! Really glad that you were able to follow along. There's a lot more you can squeeze out of this technique, like being more economical with the tracks, but the video was already an hour long so I'll leave you to explore for yourself!
Usually my wife hates the sound of videos about music gear that I watch, but she loved this. Thanks for it and for detailing so much about the Play. :)
Can you please just never stop doing these!!! This has made me want a Play more than any other video
You can buy mine lol It's great, but doesn't fit into my setup.
I've been watching videos on the Play for a few days now and had decided I was going to get one some time in the future. Then I found this video. I watched less than half of it before I had to pause it and place an order before coming back to watch the rest. I thank you sir, but my bank account would like a word. 😆
I must say yours are the best demos out of all the big hitters! Good work sir 👍
i haven't seen the variations be mentioned much in a lot of discussions i read - it's so good to have that as im entirely too used to this feature from a circuit tracks (where these are called patterns)
this is such a really cool beautifully made video with nice ambient music to have on in the background. I'm stoned and loving it. Very calming.
Great to witness the entire workflow here. Beautifully illustrates the generative power of this instrument! Thank you very much for taking your time!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
best play video. beautiful.
all of these machines need to be able to record their own output, like the octatrack. that would make them truly independent.
This video made me repeat it on my Play, thank you!
That's the best way to embed these ideas for sure!
Wow! I learned more in this one tutorial than all the other Polyend videos I’ve watched combined! Thank you.
Fantastic to hear! Glad to have helped!
This is a spectacularly useful video! Thank you so much!
This was very inspirational, thank you. I had not seen a Polyend Play demo so far that showed the power of mixing multiple, randomized track of varying lengths. This made my next play session a lot more interesting.
Thank you for watching and I hope you enjoy your next session!
Have you ever thought about repeasing a piano sample pack, those samples blowed my mind!
I’m not surprised Polyend sent you one, you know how to use it better than they do, well done 👏
I want to thank you for doing those videos, beyond the exploration part, you offer us some nice sounding chill youtube content, and if Polyend is not paying you, I hope someone else is, because otherwise you'd be working for a lot less than what your work actually worth. YT is a hard hustle heh.
Thank you and I hope life is treading you kindly.
Many thanks for helping understand variations at last. I always felt like I was missing something important but never knew how to get value from this feature. Suddenly a whole new improvisational world opens up. Watched lots of Play tutorials but this is the one where the penny dropped. Thanks so much!
That's great to hear! I think the variations feature is one of the most important features on the Play, but so under-appreciated. I'm surprised that more people haven't shouted about it more - I wish it existed on the Elektron boxes.
I use the Play all the time, and after watching this video, I feel like I've been using it wrong. Thanks for inspiring me to approach it differently.
You've been using it right, you've just got another right way to use it to try now.
@@OscillatorSink Fair point! It's such a fun box. Looking forward to experimenting this weekend.
Enchanting piece - just lovely. Just important though was seeing the process of evolving the piece. So good I ordered a Play Plus! Long video but all gold. Thank you.
Watched a lot of Play videos in the last month in the lead up to buying one, this is by far the best (Benn Jordan and Red Means Recording are close though). I've been really enjoying it so far as a more traditional groovebox, but this has just opened up a totally different world for me. Definitely subscribing.
Finally some tutorial and examples of how the Play can be used in methods that I would want to. You have my sub and thanks for this excellent video!
You also show me why Variations are a feature - when others explained it I didn't quite get them, but as you work with them, they are EXACTLY what I would use with the Play for creating tracks. My compositional style tends to shift voices independently of one another, so I can be much more freeform with variations over having to plan out entire blocks at once with patterns. Very helpful!
And I really enjoyed the track you ended up with. A beautiful piece of music, and very inspiring for me!
This video has given me so many cool new ideas with the Play. Bravo sir. This little magic box never stops surprising me.
Subscribed.
Another amazing video. I ordered a Play Plus today as this video sealed the deal for me. Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks so much.
Really Inspiring! Thank you for sharing this workflow! 😁👊
Cheers! Thanks for watching!
Thanks a lot for your very sympathetic and calm insights ❤
Think this is the video that's convinced me to buy it
Really lovely and calming. The whole process was calming. Thank you! I hadn’t considered the Polyend but it seems very adapt at this type of creating. And seems very intuitive. I appreciate your detail and pace. Cheers! Jan
Thank you, and cheers for watching!
I don’t own any gear except a MiniFreak. I’m between a Digitakt, Play or Tracker/Tracker Mini. Any thoughts? I have zero tracker experience. I enjoy sampling sounds. I know it’s a loaded question but an insight would be great. Thank you!
What sort of music are you mostly drawn towards making? Have you watched sine videos where folks build tracks using each of these? Do any of the workflows speak to you?
@@OscillatorSink I love generative ambiance. I want to use samples I have collected and combine them almost like a story. It’s a rough idea right now. Mostly I want to learn and understand these amazing instruments. Maybe the Play with a Tracker? I love the Plays interface from what I’ve watched. So much fun and intuitive. Your ambient piece was brilliant. That kind of music making I think I would enjoy very much. Thank you for taking time to reach out. I appreciate it! Enjoy the day!
Honestly, for what you're describing I think the Digitakt might be a better choice because it has a richer set of tools for manipulating samples and, critically - looping them. What you're describing sounds a bit like some of the pieces I put together at the start of the year: ruclips.net/video/gK5m19kYebA/видео.html
You are the reason I will buy this Polyend Play + next year, I guess. 😊 Thanks for this nice video.
Cheers! Thanks for watching!
I love the fact your videos are from zero to finished. Great to learn the whole instrument and not just some tricks on it like with many other short videos on RUclips 😊
Yeah, you need to make more Play ambient session videos like this. I just picked up the Play+ for exactly this and as a backing track maker for my guitar playing.
Beautiful ! 🙂 Merci ! I cannot wait to create ambient music on this device ! 🙂
This is Great! 😍
As always you are a star!!
Thanks so much!
I’m watching this from the perspective that I don’t need this but I always enjoy your videos. I have a Digitakt for this style of music so I should be fine however the 16 variations per track inside the same pattern is something that could push me to buying the Play. I still need to see more about how it handles samples, as the only thing that the Digitakt can’t do is handle huge samples, not stereo samples. Two things I’m fine to live without because it’s a terrific music machine in so many other ways. Still I’d love to have a machine that let me load up my ambient stems that I create on looper pedals and then build an arrangement around them. I almost got the Deluge for this reason but I am stil not convinced I’d get used to the screen. Great video my friend, thank you always for sharing your insights and discoveries!
This is so enjoyable and splendid. Bravo, what a great way to use this instrument too much often associated to squared boom boom _music._
Thank you, it's always fun to see how you can push an instrument to new places, I think one of the best ways you get to know it in depth.
Really great job 🔥🔥🔥🤘
Cheers!
No comments! Really!! Love watching your workflow. Not got/getting PolyEnd, but video is fantastic for ideas
Cheers! Thanks for watching!
Sorry all, thought the video has been up a year, not one hour 😊
With regards to reverse samples I just create them in my folders before importing them that way they can be utilised in the random features
What a lovely creation 🙏. The PP has a very nice UI, a sort of different expression of the Digitakt. mind you I think I would watch you compose and perform ambient on a bunch of elastic bands stretched over nails on a board if you did a video of it……always a pleasure 👏👏🎶
Thanks buddy! I actually find it quite different to the Digitakt and one of my early "mistakes" when trying to make this video (this was the second attempt), was that I was still trying to treat it as if it was the Digitakt. I might do a video comparing them at some point.
I was getting bored of the PLAY, but just stepping outside of the 'regular' track lengths [16, 32 etc] and let it get into the polyrhythmic zone and controlling the scale has opened it up again, i'm back on-board. phew - thanks
Happy to help!
Amazing, please more same Videos 😍
I would love for you to show us how we could utilise the performance mode on the play for more ambient stuff
The honest answer is that I haven't found a use for it that I can't do more effectively from the sequencer page - some of the repeats stuff might be fun, but it's a bit too sudden and prescriptive for me.
Watched the video till the end - really like it, love how you explain your thought process as well. It seems you also have the digitakt. Which one would you say is the more versatile, and with faster/more fun workflow of the 2? Thanks
The Digitakt is one of my favourite instruments of all time, so I am biased. The Play is quicker to get and iterate on sequences, there's definitely an advantage to seeing more of the state of the sequences at once. The digitakt is more versatile though, and has more fine control if you want to get deeper with the programming (which I do).
Loved this. Thank you! I sat down and followed along and really picked up some new ways of thinking about this device. Are your samples available anywhere, even for sale? I found some kalimbas but once you said the stock acoustic piano samples were too hard, I can’t unhear it 😂
The piano samples are re-samples of a felt piano, I didn't create them, so I can't share them directly - check out Lekko by Felt instruments, it also has some nice half speed notes recorded to tape. The kalimba was just me bashing away on my electric kalimba, but you'll find lots of free samples out there.
Love this. Any chance you have the felt piano samples in a pack for sale?
Thank you. No sorry, they're resampled and from another sample pack (a spitfire one I think?), and then processed to get a softer, more warbly character.
@@OscillatorSink np thanks for replying.
I really, really, REALLY........... didn't want to buy one on these.........godammitt!!! ......
If you pull the trigger I gotta say I've never looked back after getting the Play. It has successfully replaced 2 other pieces of gear I had, and the portability with a battery pack is wonderful on the road. It is quite a deep little box.
fortunately, all this can be assembled in the same way and quickly
for the Elektron model Sample, it is half the price and the sound will be space)))!
I'm considering a *simple hardware setup for live "Semi-Generative" "performance/improv".
This looks great for "Generative" and is as simple as a setup can be, but it seems to lack the "performance/improv" (chord/arp changes, tweaking FX knobs, etc).
I've also watched your videos for MidiHub and NDLR. Of those options, the NDLR seems to be my best option. Does anyone have suggestions for other options? Thanks :)
Just got a Play a week ago. So easy to use. So much is made about the folder structure, but that seems to be mainly for beat fill. Did you just put all of your samples in one folder for this? That would make sample pack creation a whole lot easier for this style, rather than the multiple named folders Polyend suggests.
Yes, the different sets of sounds (piano, single plucks, taps and knocks) were in separate named folders - it doesn't help with the beat fill here, but there are randomization features that stick to folders and it was useful for that (and just to keep things organized I guess!)
@@OscillatorSink Thanks for the clarification. Going to give that a try and follow along with your video.
Great video! Would you consider making the samples you used here available for purchase or download? Would love to follow along on my M8 tracker and get the hang of creating something similar
Thank you. Unfortunately I couldn't as some of them are derived from other paid sample packs so I couldn't distribute a sample pack based on those. But could probably make my slightly scrappy kalimba samples available, but honestly there are probably others out there for free or cheap that are lots better...
@@OscillatorSink totally makes sense, figured that may be the case. Either way, loved the video and feeling inspired! Gonna hop on my M8 now and try and get something similar going. Have a PE Play coming Thursday too and very excited to take it for a spin
Thank you for the inspiration to try this process inside my Digitakt, but I fell at the first hurdle… trying to sample a single piano note in my DAW, ready to use in the Digi… anyone got any basic tips please??
What have you tried so far, where are you getting stuck?
Like a tenori on
Anyone told you that you sound like a chilled version of Gordon Ramsay? 👍🏾
@@TayWoode they have now.
hello man i want do to this thing on a portable device what do you think`? which one should i go grooveboox ?? a small one with a song mode under 400 bucks, i love youre sound, maby as well for a drone sound =?