Set Mode and Tonic in Sequencer

Software Instruments Pigments
#1

I am starting to use the sequencer in pigments and I am confused about selecting modes. Here is what I want to do:

Set the mode of the sequencer to a fixed mode. e.g. F Dorian. In that mode, the mode/scale will set the available notes to F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D, E♭, F with a tonic of F.

I can set the mode to Dorian, but I cannot change the tonic. so I cannot set the mode to F Dorian.

What am I missing?

Michael

#2

Hi @mjl. Welcome to the community.

The Sequencer notes is relative to the input note. The base note is C.
So if you create your sequence in C with Dorian intervals and then play a F note, then the sequence play as F with Dorian intervals - F Dorian as you call it.
Your input note simply transpose the sequence.

Hope this helps.

2 Likes
#3

Hi LBH,

Thank you for your response, and I am sorry for taking so long to reply - I have had numerous other things in my life that have had to take on a higher priority of late.

Unfortunately, as sophisticated as the sequencer is, it seems that because the mode is related to each note played as opposed a selected foundational key, say E♭ Major and then the relative modes are available (C Aeolian/Minor or F Dorian, etc.), it is not useful to me. All I really want to do is select a key and have all of the notes that the sequencer plays, conform to the key. Ideally, if a mode were selected for that foundational key, the emphasis would be on the tonic of that mode. Even better, the sequencer would automatically deal with non-diatonic fifths, such as Dº in the above example. Sadly, that seems not to be possible.

I will need to either find another sequencer plugin that does this, or write my own sequencer VST.

Thank you for your assistance.

#4

Hi again @mjl,

The mode you talk about is for automatic note generation.
If you choose Dorian mode, then the generated notes in the Sequencer window will be from what is called a C-Dorian scale.
This notes is C-D-Eb-F-G-A-Bb. This notes will be used when you play a C note.

If you play a F note, then the notes will transposed to the notes in what is called a F-Dorian scale.
This notes will be the F-G-Ab-Bb-C-D-Eb notes you mentioned. You will not see the notes change in the sequencer window, as they will still show the C-Dorian notes, but you will hear the transposed notes - and thus hear a F-Dorian sequence.

I don’t understand why you mention a diminished chord. If the sequence you create use the notes in a diminished chord then it will play it.
But perhaps you actually want each note you play to play notes in different scales? And thus change the sequence as it was written/ change the melodic intervals in the sequence?

Or are you talking about a musical function functionality, so each note play different chords?

#5

Thanks LBH. With your explanations. I have now figured out what the sequencer does. It is, however, not what I am looking for. I don’t want each not played to generate notes conforming to the selected mode, but in a different key - the key of the note that I play. What I want is exactly the opposite. I want to select a key and a mode and then all of the notes generated to fit to both the mode and key selected. All notes that I play that are diatonic to the selected key and mode would then generated notes relative to the selected key and mode - not use the mode and change key based on the note that I play.

WRT to diminished, every major key, for example, has a diminished chord in it (the seventh chord), where there is no diatonic perfect fifth. Instead, a diminished fifth is the correct diatonic choice. What I was trying to say was that if a base key is selected, regardless of the tonic of the selected mode, there will always a diminished chord (seventh chord relative to the root of the corresponding tonic of the major mode) where I want the sequencer to make that substitution.

With this approach, when a key and mode are selected, any diatonic note that I play on the keyboard relative to the selected based key would respect the selected key and mode and all generated notes would conform to both.

Yes - sort of. But not an arpeggiator.

I understand now, what the sequencer in pigments does. I am not suggesting that it is wrong or not useful, as it is likely useful to other people But for what I want to do, it is not useful. As such I need to find another way to accomplish this.

Thanks again for your help.

MJL

#7

Just to round this up.

Lets say you create a sequence in C-Dorian using the notes C-Eb-G.
Then if you play an A note then you want the sequence to output the notes A-C-EB that is notes in the C-Dorian scale instead of the notes A-C-E that’s notes in the A-Dorian scale and thus change the intervals in the sequence from a minor chord to a diminished chord.
Is that correct understood?

In other words you wish to use notes only from a fixed Dorian scale and then have the sequence to automaticly adapt/ change to the note single note you play.
Is that correct?

As it is now you can always create a sequence using the notes A-C-Eb in a C-Dorian sequence. Then you just have to play a C note. So it’s not that you can’t have a diminished chord sequence now.

You just don’t have a musical function tool so you can do the above change in the sequence intervals based on the note you play, so the output notes always is notes from a fixed Dorian scale like from a C or F-Dorian scale.
To do this with Pigments you need to use multiple instances of Pigments so you for example create the diminished sequence in an instance by it self and use that when you need it. That might be tricky to do but possible.

EDIT:
BTW: Please have a look at this topic if you are interested :

EDIT END

#8

Hi LBH

Correct. I want to be locked into a single scale and mode and whatever not I play, as long as it is a diatonic note, to from that scale. So, if have selected D Dorian (C Major, which is also A Minor/Aeolian scale), then as long as I play the white keys on the keyboard, then the only notes generated by the sequencer will be in that scale and mode, in this case D Dorian, where the emphasis will be on the D note and the D Minor Chord (D, F, A). If I were to play a G on the keyboard, again, only the note of the C Major scale would be generated. If I were to play a B, then there is no perfect fifth in the for B in the C Major scale, so it would substitute the diminished fifth.

I understand what Pigments does, and I am not saying it is wrong. It is just not useful to me because I have only one progression available to me in any key that I select with the sequencer.

I may end up writing my own sequencer VST to accomplish what I want.

I have marked your most recent response as the solution because what you have provided is a good explanation of how the sequencer functions.

Thanks for your help.

Regards.
MJL