Hi!
I m Dan from France, I have a Ketron SD1, and after long pleasure time playing with it, some no corrected bugs, limitations, and other things, make me finally the desire of programming a PC software to do what I need...
I know that this forum is the best arranger forum on internet, with a lot of live one man band players.
The project is to create a software very customable, with possibility for example to select the model of keyboard you want to emulate on the screen.
I see OMB and LiveStyler software, but since I m software engeener, i like to manage the things differently. More oriented for the Live, as I play often on parties...

So, if you want, we will create our software with all suggestions that are positives.

The first subject of this post is the first step of making an arranger: Algorithm to recognise the chords.
So the first function will convert midi notes from a MIDI input chanel to a Chord on the screen...
I know that there is some different advice on that question, (each company have its model) so let the discussion start
I am waiting your post! (or link)
please detail your prefered algorithm (if one key pressed, or 2 , or 3 , or 4, or more, and what the chord you want for all possibles combinations)

Dan this is a great idea.

Arranger software would be more interesting if it could host soundfonts and vst's. That way the arranger software is one complete package. Of course this would be further in the development. Personally, since I come from an organ background, I always use full fingered chords, but sustained chords on my Yammy are not recognized correctly if not in root postion. It would be great and flexible if chord recognition could be customizable by the user. The notes C,E,G,A could be an am7 (most likely), but could also be a C6.
Starkeeper

Hi Dan
just wondering what you were going to do as far as styles go. Each of the companies, Yamaha , Roland, Technics, Korg etc have their own style formats. An arranger isn't an arranger without styles.
Live Styler & OMB both load Yamaha format styles.
So just wondering what you had in mind.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DAN.2000:
[B]Hi!
I

I think that you should deal with chord recognition computer way: implement Roland and Yamaha and Korg and Ketron algorithm, then permit to musician select most appropriate to her.

Main difficulties with software arranger is variety of sounds and effects. This mean that impossible to create "factory presets" and this lead to situation similar that with G70 that is very good instrument exept buggy factory presets...

My wish list to software arranger -- style morphing, soloists/riffs(pads), style part variator (karma-like or continuator-like), possibility play native (not converted) styles from several vendors (Yamaha, Roland etc.). All other things we can get from synthesizers, not arrangers.

Hello Dan du France,
All current software arrangers lack a
capacity to play "acidized" wav files.
Now if you could incorporate the ability to
play this type of file with the same manipulation as the PSR style files, it would
be quite an impressive achievment.
For example, have each "SETUP" contain the
complete .sty file with all the .wav files saved with that setup. So if a style file
has 4 main patterns, 4 fills, 2 intros, 2 endings, it could also have up to 8 acidized
wav files. You would have a separate set
of buttons activating the wav files, and
have each wav programmable in that "setup"
to either play once and stop, or loop indefinately, or loop until a style section
is changed. These "acidized" wavs should,
of course, follow the curent MIDI tempo, and
should also be transposable in pitch whenever
the currently playing sty file is transposed.
This leads to one more programmable feature
of each wav, which is to either ignore transposing(such as for rhythm riffs) or to follow transposing.
Good luck.

asafar - thanks! Sure the oriental playing will be take in considerations!

Starkeeper - Exactely, the Soudfonts, Vsti, and Vst plugsin effects are in my needs for this arranger!
I finnally understand that it shold be a good idea to make the recognisation customable! I m imagining all combinations possibles for one chord... If someone car help me to enumerate them :
We must do a table with for example the C chords :
Cm : all the kinds : C Eb / C Eb G / Eb G C...
C :
C7 :
CM7
....

First, we need to define all kind of existing type of chord (m, M, 7th...)
and for each all the combination possibles

And after we will do it for all notes (just via transposition, I don't think it's interesting to get the reconngnisation different between notes! what do you think?)

And after we need to see if there is combination in double or triple between different notes, and each one will choose it's version of the thing !

rikkisbears- Of course styles are important ! Since Yamaha styles are in midifile format, and the format is very known, it will be the standard for the Software, but perhaps after, we will make compatible with other Styles format...
But it's a more difficult cause the compagnies never tell us the format specifications, and it need a hacking work to understand all... !But it will be good to have a soundfont package by style manufacturer, for example if you load a Ketron Pattern, it play it with sampled live drums of ketron...

ailev - Of course after the software is finished, it will be very good if we make a very good soundfont with sampled sounds, with sampled loops, not limited in size of memory (why not 1 Gb of samples played directly from hard drive) and very good styles with the ketron type live drums!
It sould be cool if all good members from us add their contributions to make a strong Factory Preset, I will take only the best things, and will compile them for us..
The other arpeggios things I will see them later.

The future is computers !

And Vquestor, Yes we need a track for cutted wav loops as ketron made, to be streachable in tempo. The new KETRON midjay start to do that.
Note for midjay users that the ketron software is here on the www.ketron.it for loops

For persons who play jazz and other types of music, rootless chord voicing would be a must in any type of set-up.
For example, F C E would be recognized as a D minor 9 instead of a F major 7. So you don’t have to play the root note of the chord (the D in the above example) the software would automatically recognize it as the rootless chord.

It will be interesting to create a "standard" percussion kit, I mean for the track number 11 on the sequencer. I think this doesn't exist on the GM norm.
Stam