Bitwig Needs No Arpeggiator
Summary
TLDRIn this episode of 'Tash Teaches,' Tash explores innovative ways to create rhythmic broken chord and arpeggio sequences using Bitwig Studio's unique MIDI features, without the need for an arpeggiator. Four distinct techniques are demonstrated, each yielding diverse sonic results, including utilizing the Note Repeats device in Euclidean mode, the Ricochet device for organic patterns, the piano roll's repeat rate for note separation, and the Recurrence operator for unpredictable arpeggios. Tash's tutorial is a treasure trove for producers seeking to expand their rhythmic and harmonic palette in music production.
Takeaways
- 🎵 Tash teaches how to create rhythmic broken chord sequences in Bitwig Studio without using an arpeggiator.
- 🔄 The first technique involves using the Note Repeats device in Euclidean mode to break up chords into rhythmic patterns.
- 🎶 Tash demonstrates creating a C sharp minor seven chord and using the Note Repeats to add rhythmic variation.
- 🔄 The Note Repeats can be grouped and converted to a Note FX Selector for distributing notes among different layers.
- 🎹 Adjusting velocity and accent on the Note Repeats devices can create a more dynamic and interesting sound.
- 🏓 The Ricochet device, introduced in Bitwig 4.1, is used to create repeatable patterns with a non-random, quantized approach.
- 🔄 By manipulating the speed, mass, and shape of the Ricochet device, one can create various rhythmic patterns.
- 🎹 The Piano Roll's Note Repeats operator allows for customizing the repeat rate of individual notes within a chord.
- 🔄 The Recurrence operator can be used to create arpeggiated patterns where notes play at different intervals, creating complex rhythms.
- 🎛 Bitwig's velocity and expression controls can be fine-tuned to adjust the sound's decay and dynamics.
- 🎼 Experimenting with different instruments and velocity settings can lead to unique and unexpected sonic results.
- 🔉 Adding effects like reverb and delay can enhance the vibe and texture of the broken chord sequences.
Q & A
What is the main focus of the 'Tash Teaches' video?
-The main focus of the video is to demonstrate how to utilize Bittwix Studio's unique MIDI features to create rhythmic broken chord arpeggio sequences without using an arpeggiator device.
What is the first technique Tash introduces in the video?
-The first technique Tash introduces is using the Note Repeats device in Euclidean mode to create rhythmic variations of a chord.
How does Tash suggest modifying the Note Repeats device to create a more interesting sound?
-Tash suggests grouping the Note Repeats and converting the note effects layer to a Note Notifx Selector, allowing for different layers to play different Euclidean rhythms, thus creating a more complex and interesting sound.
What does Tash mean by 'polymetric' in the context of the video?
-In the context of the video, 'polymetric' refers to the overlapping and interplay of different rhythmic patterns created by the Note Repeats device, resulting in a complex, layered sound.
How does Tash propose to adjust the velocity of the notes to affect the sound?
-Tash proposes to adjust the velocity control on the Note Repeats devices to create a dynamic range where some notes are harder and others are softer, adding depth and variation to the sound.
What is the purpose of using the Ricochet device as shown in the video?
-The Ricochet device is used to create repeatable, organic, and intuitive patterns that can be used to generate arpeggios with a unique, less random feel.
How does Tash utilize the Quantize device with the Ricochet device?
-Tash uses the Quantize device to ensure that the notes created by the Ricochet device are aligned to the grid, making the pattern more repeatable and predictable.
What is the significance of adjusting the speed, mass, and shape of the room in the Ricochet device?
-Adjusting these parameters affects the pattern and rhythm of the notes produced by the Ricochet device, allowing for a wide range of rhythmic variations.
How does Tash use the Piano Roll's Note Repeats operator to create arpeggios?
-Tash uses the Note Repeats operator in the Piano Roll to manually set the repeat rate for each note in a chord, creating a custom arpeggio pattern that can be quantized for a more structured sound.
What is the final technique Tash demonstrates in the video, and how does it work?
-The final technique Tash demonstrates is using the Recurrence operator to create arpeggios where each note in a chord plays at different intervals, resulting in a unique rhythmic pattern.
How does Tash suggest enhancing the sound created by the Recurrence technique?
-Tash suggests enhancing the sound by adjusting the recurrence settings for each note, changing the octave, and using different instruments in a selector to add variety and depth to the arpeggio.
Outlines
🎵 Exploring Bitwig Studio's MIDI Features for Broken Chord Sequences
In this segment, Tash introduces viewers to unique MIDI features in Bitwig Studio that enable the creation of rhythmic broken chord arpeggios without an arpeggiator. Tash demonstrates the first technique using the Note Repeats device, highlighting its Euclidean mode and showing how to layer different note effects for a polymetric, rhythmic sound. The focus is on creating interesting sonic results by manipulating note distribution, velocity, and accentuation to produce a more engaging and varied chord progression.
🔄 Using Ricochet Device for Repeatable Arpeggio Patterns
Tash presents the Ricochet device, introduced in Bitwig Studio 4.1, and explains how to use it to create repeatable arpeggio patterns. By fixing the ricochet's bouncing arrow to a single point and adjusting parameters such as room size, ball speed, and mass, Tash shows how to generate organic and intuitive rhythmic patterns. The segment also covers quantizing the ricochet output to the grid for more structured arpeggios and suggests experimenting with velocity to add expressiveness to the patterns.
🎹 Operator-based Note Repeats in Piano Roll for Chord Variations
This part of the tutorial delves into using the note repeat operator within the piano roll to create varied chord sequences. Tash illustrates how to set different repeat rates for each note in a chord, resulting in an unquantized, rhythmically rich sound. The use of a quantize device is then introduced to align the repeated notes with a 16th note grid, providing a more predictable yet still dynamic arpeggio effect. Adjustments to the repeat curve and velocity are also discussed to refine the sound further.
🔁 Recurrence Operator for Customizable Arpeggio Rhythms
Tash explores the Recurrence operator to create arpeggios where notes play at specific intervals rather than consecutively. By adjusting the recurrence settings for each note in a chord, a unique rhythmic pattern is formed, with some notes striking more frequently than others. The segment covers how to record the MIDI output and suggests experimenting with note lengths, velocities, and the use of different instruments to add depth and variety to the arpeggio.
🎛️ Final Techniques and Tips for Bitwig Studio Users
In the concluding part of the video, Tash wraps up by summarizing the techniques covered and encouraging viewers to explore further. Tips for adjusting the intensity of arpeggios, changing octaves for variation, and using velocity spread for dynamic range are highlighted. Tash also invites viewers to subscribe for more production insights and offers personal training for those interested in deepening their Bitwig Studio skills. The call to action includes checking out other videos for more Bitwig tips and tricks and engaging with the community for ongoing learning.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡MIDI
💡Arpeggiator
💡Note Repeats
💡Euclidean Rhythm
💡Polymetric
💡Ricochet
💡Velocity
💡Quantize
💡Piano Roll
💡Recurrence
💡Bitwig Studio
Highlights
Introduction to using Bittwix Studio's unique MIDI features to create rhythmic broken chord arpeggio sequences without an arpeggiator device.
Utilization of the Note Repeats device in Euclidean mode for rhythmic variations.
Creating a C#m7 chord with an open sound and breaking it up into a rhythmic pattern using Note Repeats.
Grouping Note Repeats and converting to a Note FX Selector for distributing notes among layers.
Adjusting the mode to 'round robin' or 'random' for an even note distribution among layers.
Adding layers with different note groupings like 9/16 to create more complex patterns.
Experimenting with accent and velocity control on the Note Repeats devices for dynamic sound variations.
Rotating the velocity accent to create different intervals of hard notes for a more interesting rhythm.
Using velocity expression control to adjust the sound's decay based on note length and velocity.
Introducing the Ricochet device for creating repeatable, non-random arpeggios.
Fixing the Ricochet's arrow to one place for pattern consistency and then quantizing the notes.
Adjusting room size, ball speed, and mass to alter the rhythmic pattern created by Ricochet.
Recording MIDI output from Bitwig to create monophonic playthroughs of chord harmonies.
Using the Piano Roll's Note Repeats operator to create custom arpeggios within the sequencer.
Quantizing the manually created arpeggios in the Piano Roll for a more structured sound.
Manipulating the repeat curve to influence the velocity and timing of notes in the arpeggios.
Using the Recurrence operator to create arpeggios with notes playing at different intervals.
Adjusting recurrence settings for each note to create complex and varied arpeggiated patterns.
Experimenting with different instruments and velocities to add character to the arpeggiated patterns.
Conclusion and invitation for further exploration of Bitwig's features and user suggestions for future content.
Transcripts
hello and welcome back to another
episode of tash teaches
i'm tash and in today's video we're
going to be looking at utilizing a few
of bittwix studio's rather unique midi
features to create rhythmic broken chord
arpeggio type sequences without ever
having to reach for the use of an
arpeggiator device
all four of these techniques yield some
pretty awesome and varying sonic results
so stick around to the end of this video
and you'll leave with some rather cool
new toys to play with so without further
ado let's jump right in and i'm going to
show you exactly what i'm talking about
the first technique i want to show you
today utilizes the note repeats device
now a lot of you who are familiar with
my channel may be aware how much i love
the euclidean mode of the note repeats
already but uh in all of the videos i've
made about this device i've never shown
this particular use
so what i'm going to do is actually
before i do that i'm going to load up
just a sine wave instrument so let's
make a quick chord
and i think i'm going to go for maybe a
c sharp minor seven with i really love
doing this lately which is just the
seven again on top
um so let's stretch that out let's have
a quick listen to what we've got
[Laughter]
so it's a lovely open sounding chord it
would be cool to be able to arpeggiate
this in a certain way and create a
slightly bit more of a rhythmic
variation to break up that chord so
let's turn on the note repeats and let's
listen to straight away what we get
now this is pretty cool i've talked
about this in previous videos that it's
a great way to take that chord and to
split it up into something a little more
rhythmic but where it starts to get
interesting is if we take this note
repeats and we group this and we're
going to convert that note effects layer
to a note notifx selector what that now
means is if we were to take another
layer of this and change this to be say
7 in 16 i'm also uh going to just name
this we'll do 5 this one is a seven if i
were to play this as is
we're not going to get anything
different however if i change the mode
here to round robin or anything up until
random other really we're going to be
then distributing these notes evenly
amongst the available uh
the available note effects
layers in this selector so some of the
notes are going to be playing a 5 and 16
euclidean rhythm whereas some are going
to be playing 7 over 16. so
automatically if we listen to this
it sounds a lot more interesting we
still don't necessarily have a great
sound yet but we're definitely getting
there because we're starting to take
some of those notes and play them in a
broken fashion
so we can add another layer and if on
this one we'll do say uh 9 and 16.
and while this does sound cool it's
still not that interesting and that's
because it's just a bit blah it's just a
bit sort of like uh
all over the place and what can be quite
fun is playing with the accent or the
velocity control here on these uh note
repeats devices so if we start to bring
this down
you'll see that we're going to be
getting some hard notes and all of the
rest are going to be slightly softer so
i'm going to bring this down on all of
these especially the ones which have
slightly more notes and you can see here
that some of these harder notes are all
happening on the same time so it'd be
cool to maybe rotate this so that we're
getting these uh hard notes happening at
uh slightly different intervals so i'm
gonna do one that happens on there let's
see what this sounds like so we've got a
good a good variety here let's listen
again
it's already sounding a lot more
interesting i might bring down some of
the hard notes on this five one as well
and of course this is polymetric because
uh
these patterns are going to be sort of
jumping around through each other and uh
because we've got five notes in the
chord but only three options here
they're going to be jumping around and
some of the notes are going to be
playing on one on one time and on the
other time they're going to be playing
on the other so if we start to use the
velocity expression control here to make
some small adjustments to the sound we
could say when these notes are longer
that they're going to be slightly longer
decay as well when these notes are
harder velocity they're going to be
slightly longer decay in both of these
envelopes let's see what that sounds
like
it could be quite cool as well to play
with this skew so i might take an
envelope here and i'm going to use this
envelope
to open this skew value i'm going to put
it all the way to the top and now i'm
going to bring this amount value back
down and we're going to use velocity to
control the amount of that envelope
we might as well add a delay just to get
a little bit a little bit of vibe going
on here
of course if we were to change this
chord uh we've got a c minor here let's
go for a major chord now
so major and then we'll do
[Music]
really nice and of course
any things that we do here that are
affecting those midi notes if we were to
take another empty midi channel here and
just record out the output of that
polymer instrument we can then get
let's start this at the beginning again
we can get the midi out of there
now if we're going to be splitting hairs
here an arpeggio is
sort of notes not played at the same
time and they're all broken so we're
going to be getting a slightly more of a
monophonic
play through of the harmony of a chord
so if we wanted to create at least in
the sound a slight bit more kind of
monophony there we could just bring the
voices down so let's let's compare the
difference of playing this because we
can see here that there are a number of
times when we've got three three notes
playing at once if we bring the actual
voices down of that synth we're not
going to be changing the output here if
we were to record it but we can change
at least the sound
can sound quite cool can also be quite
cool to do say just two voices
so this is just a really wonderful way
of breaking up those chords we could add
one more again let's do say 11 over 16
and we'll do
let's try this
anyways so that's the first way of
creating a sort of rhythmic arpeggiated
kind of sound the next technique i want
to show you utilizes the ricochet device
ricochet was added i think in the 4.1
beta and uh while visually it looked
very entertaining and quite novel i
didn't really find much use for it until
i started doing what i'm about to show
you by default when you load it up this
little arrow is just making itself dizzy
in this pentagram
there's this pentagon sorry and
what i want to do straight away is i
want to stop that from spinning and just
fix it to one particular place
now this is going to be very handy for
creating repeatable
patterns because when i was saying in
this video i wanted to show you how to
make some arpeggios really what i want
is something that's a little less random
per se and it's actually following some
sort of um some sort of pattern that is
repeatable so if i were to just play
this as is i've got a an a major seven
with the third on top
it's interesting you know by all means
we can use this to add things on top of
other stuff that unquantized nature of
it is great and even more unquantized we
have this wiggling around and changing
all the time
the first step that we need to take is
to get all of these notes being created
by the ricochet and we're going to want
to quantize them to the grid so all we
have to do is add the new quantized
device that by default will be set to
eighth notes but for this i want to put
it to 16th notes this is now going to
take those notes and it's going to delay
them until they are on the next grid so
without it and then with it let's play
it a b and you'll see that it instantly
makes this into something that is a bit
more repeatable
[Music]
and that's just fantastic and really
where the fun begins is that we don't
need to change anything else other than
the speed of the ball the mass of the
ball and the shape of the room so if i
were to start to increase the amount of
sides in the room we're not going to get
uh
we're not gonna get a change that we
could say oh well you know if we put it
to seven
seven sides in the room then we know
what it's gonna sound like it's really
very organic and intuitive here if i
start to increase the size of the room
[Music]
you can see that it just changes the
pattern completely
sometimes you'll find a really great
spot in there and obviously you can
rotate it you can also change where the
balls are firing to
and what's really fun is changing the
speed here
so
past a certain point it's just going to
be playing on every single 16th note but
if we increase this subtly we'll start
to get to a point where this second half
of the bar the balls aren't slowing down
as much
[Music]
and of course we can record out the midi
of this so let's take polymer
we'll record that out that's recording
the wrong one
there we go
and again like in the previous example
this isn't really an arpeggio so much of
more of a sort of rhythmic
thing that we can use but we can create
a little bit more of that arpeggiated
feeling by again reducing the voices so
let's bring this down to mono first
[Music]
changing the the mass of the ball
will also affect the the playing of it
if we bring this all the way down to
zero they're just gonna keep moving as
if gravity doesn't exist
let's bring up the voices let's maybe do
two or three
[Music]
really quite cool and of course we can
play with the the velocity here as well
because some of those harder ones are
going to be hitting uh they're going to
be hitting
with a higher velocity
[Music]
so we can increase the actual velocity
affecting the volume but we can also
increase the amount that it's affecting
things
[Music]
let's increase the voices again
i quite like it when you have the voices
all overlapping
[Music]
[Music]
let's change the speed down a bit
[Music]
this could sound quite cool with a bit
of reverb on it
[Music]
[Music]
if we increase the length of the clip
itself we're going to have a longer
pattern before it repeats but bear in
mind that if you make it a longer
pattern you're going to need to bring
the dampening down to make the balls
lighter and to make them move faster if
you want to keep the pattern going
because otherwise
[Music]
sounds really cool if you wanted to make
it so that the balls uh hitting softer
don't affect the velocity you could then
set a velocity curve here to have them
all at max if you'd like to become a bit
wig wizard then consider subscribing to
the channel for unique approaches to
production as well as nifty little
mindset hacks that will help get you out
of your own way i'm also a bitwig
certified trainer if any of you would
like to take one-to-one lessons with me
either in person if you're in los
angeles or via zoom if you're anywhere
else the link to my website is in the
description down below anyways back to
the video
the next technique i'd like to show you
utilizes another form of note repeats
but not the midi effect more the
operator that exists within the piano
roll
so let's just put in a quick chord here
i'm going to do some sort of d
d minor
9. let's just stretch that out and we
might as well do the seven for good
measure and i'll put the d and octave
down
so now we've got this uh deliciously fat
voiced chord
so what we're going to do is we're going
to look in here and we've got to make
sure that all of the notes are the
length of the actual clip and we're
going to go in and we're going to take
each of these notes and we're going to
we're going to basically
use this uh they call it repeat rate but
it's really just being able to ratchet
it so we're gonna ratchet in
say on this bottom one three so that's
going to separate this into
if we were to make these notes shorter
so that we can hear them
[Music]
we're going to do the next one at
four then we can do the next one at five
then we can do this one at
six and then we'll do this one at seven
so if we listen to this uh as is we're
going to get a similar result with the
ricochet where things aren't going to be
quantized and it's going to sound a
little bit
[Music]
now it could be useful for a certain
type of music but i i wouldn't
necessarily go with that as a as a sound
in my track but i do like
roughly what's going on there so quite
the same as with the ricochet all we
need to do is just take a quantize
device set that to 16th notes and we're
now going to be pushing all of these
notes to the nearest 16th note we're
going to end up with this
[Music]
and i think you'll agree that's a very
interesting result
if we were to decrease the length of
this and make it half as long we can
increase say this to to feel faster
[Music]
but we're still going to be getting that
situation where some of the notes are
going to be overlapping um what's
interesting here as well is depending on
how we play with the repeat curve we can
influence the sound there as well so
let's take this top note let's listen to
that in the context of it
[Music]
if i start to change the curve here
[Music]
i can make it so there's more notes at
the beginning than there so
let's look at this a note and we'll
shift that this way
and small variations here will influence
it
[Music]
and if we change this halfway through so
let's say that's uh
five
[Music]
i think you'll agree that's a pretty
interesting result
let's record the midi out and have a
look what we're getting here
[Music]
you'll see that the notes are pretty
long and that's because when you do it
with this note repeats they're going to
take the entire length of it what you
could do though is take
say a note length device and if we want
to make them all the same length and all
uber short i'm going to bring this down
really low and then let's record this
out and you'll see how small they are
let's see how vibey we can get taking a
macro to the max
[Music]
and of course the velocity in here is
also affectable so we could say ramp the
velocity upwards we can look there to
see that this one has now ramped the
velocity upwards maybe this one we can
ramp the velocity downwards
and then this one we can ramp the
velocity up a bit as well so if we make
things in here that affect that velocity
so let's make some of the velocities
control that knob we've just created
[Music]
[Music]
let's bring the velocities down on that
one
and you can see that the velocities are
then being reflected down here so it's a
great way of breaking up a chord and
creating some rather unusual repeatable
but unexpected results the final
technique i want to show you utilizes
something that i sort of demonstrated in
a previous video on some of the things
that i liked about bit wig 4.1
and it's utilizing another one of the
operators but this time it's going to be
the recurrence so let's make a quick
chord here let's go for an f-sharp major
7
and i'm going to
do this down an octave like that okay so
we've got our f sharp major seven here
and i'm gonna load up a quick electric
keys let's make sure these
velocities are nice and low
daddy likes his velocities low
okay very nice so we've got our
chord there but we're going to do
something rather uh rather unusual here
and we're going to shorten the length of
this
to be if we want a 16th note arpeggio
we're going to shorten it to a 16th note
so if we're to press play now
it already sounds quite cool actually i
don't know why that is but what we're
going to
sort of create here
is that
each of these notes is not necessarily
going to play on every single one of the
repeats so what i mean by that is let's
take this bottom one and let's say that
we only want that to happen every three
i'm going to drag up the recurrence here
so that you'll now see that this only
triggers every three loops
you can see it turning off in the space
in between so this seventh here why
don't we set that to be say happening
every seven
then we're going to select this uh third
in fact let's set that to be three we'll
set this to be five could be quite
interesting to have them play at their
respective values so this is a one so
i'm going to select that to happen every
four so let's see what now happens
seeing as all of these notes aren't
always going to be playing at the same
time
[Music]
i think you'll
agree that that's a pretty uh pretty
interesting arpeggio that we're getting
there let's record the midi out
[Music]
now if we wanted to increase the
intensity of this some of these that
we've set to be say seven i might do
that happening every two so we're gonna
we're still still got a seven bar
pattern or a seven repeat pattern but
we're increasing the amounts of those
seven notes in it so let's check that
out now
[Music]
what can be quite interesting with this
as well is to take the whole thing and
shift it up an octave so that you've got
other variations of it and then this one
i'm gonna say change to five
and then let's just make a few odd
little changes here and see what happens
if we do say this one happening every
eight now let's do this one happening
every six um
but with that so let's just check this
out
again like with the previous version all
of these notes are pretty long we can
make them shorter by actually shortening
the note
[Music]
that can sound really really cool
especially if we were to put a bit of
reverb on there
you can also put in a few that don't
always happen so this one could be just
a 50 or say 40 percent happening so this
one won't even be following a pattern
per se it would just be sort of doing
uh
the occasional uh cameo appearance
this can create some very interesting
patterns especially if we were to let's
say take
let's put this keys in a selector
and we'll do a different key instrument
as well so we'll do one that's a bit
more uh reed based
let's select this to round robin mode
probably do another one let's find like
a kind of wonky one let's go for an
experimental
[Laughter]
[Music]
[Laughter]
super cool and of course we can go in
here and we can use a bit of velocity
spread
to change the the chance that there will
be different velocities as well
why not add in sort of a synth voice as
well
[Music]
i mean that's just fantastic and of
course we've decided what chord it is so
because we have that fixed harmonic
sound but it's still arpeggiating
rhythmically we save a lot of space in
the mix to then fill with say bass or to
be able to put some other sounds
well folks that's sadly all we have time
for today but i do hope that this video
was useful if you'd like to keep
learning more about bit wig then why not
check out this video on my top 10
favorite tips and tricks for the new
version
i'm always open to suggestions on
directions for exploration so feel free
to comment down below what you'd like to
see more of in the future as always
happy monday and happy creating
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