Jump to the Microsequences Tab and create a new sequence named "Pink
Noise". Change the period of the sequence to 12 and the Fractal type to
"Noise". The Fractal Parameters section will show the parameters for Noise.
Use the following parameters:
Save the sequence and create another one. This time we will use the "Morse-Thue" fractal type with the default periodicity and the following parameters (which are practically random):
Name this sequence anything you want and save it. This two sequences will give us more "raw" material for new blocks.
Click on the Block Tab and create a new block. Use the parameters shown below and hit the Save button:
Click the "Listen" button and you will hear a very simple note progression. Morse-Thue sequences are good for chord progressions but blocks are monophonic. However, we can simulate chords easily. First, click on the "Copy" option in the main menu. A dialog box will appear asking you for the source and destination blocks. You can choose to create a new block as destination or overwrite an existing block. This time we will create a new copy of our "Pad" block. Select the source and destination as follows:
A new block will be created with the exact same parameters as the source block, except for the MIDI channel, just in case you want to layer two different instruments or something similar. In this case we want to create chords so we will transpose the whole block two notes up in the scale. We do this by changing the Melody offset parameter:
This will give us a sequence of duophonic chords made of a root note and a third (or minor third, since all these chords will be in the scale of C Major). It is a good idea to use similar names for the chord blocks, for example "Pad 1", "Pad 2", etc. Let's make it a three-note chord progression by making another copy of the Pad block (save the changes to the current block first!). Don't forget to select a new block as destination. This time we want to add a fifth to every chord. An offset of 4 would do the trick, but an inversion of the chords will sound better so we will add the fifth on one lower octave. To do that we must use an offset of 4 - 7 = -3. That is because there are 7 notes in our scale. The new block (which should have index 3) looks like this:
Finally, let's add one more block. In the Blocks Tab click the New Block button and enter the following parameters:
Save the block as always. You should be able now to know a few things about this block, even before you play it:
Well, before we continue, I'd suggest you to save the file again.
In fact, it is a good idea to always save your work in a file before attempting
to play any block or song.
Jump to the Macrosequences Tab, set a song length of eight measures and hit the "Regenerate" button. You'll see how the track for the Bass block contains larger rectangles. That is because the Bass block is four measures long while the others are only two measures long. Click on the "Play" button to hear the results.
If one of the blocks sounds too loud, you can lower its volume. You can also change a block's panning and even mute it. But these features are non-realtime so they will take effect the next time you play the song.
There's other things you can do in the Macrosequences Tab. First, increase the song length to about 16 measures. Now lower the probability of the Piano block and you'll see some holes in the Piano track (hit the "Regenerate" button to redraw the tracks). Save the changes for the Piano block and then play with the Stretching probabilities of the pad blocks. Different Seed values will give you different sequences.
Now it's up to you to experiment and have some fun. And don't
forget you can always save your sequences as a MIDI file and use them in
your own projects.