Audiobus: Use your music apps together.
What is Audiobus? — Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
Download on the App StoreAudiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
Orchestra - Scene-based Metasequencer for MOZAIC
Orchestra is a scene-based “meta-sequencer”, designed to help users build song structure out of pattern-based sequencers.
It is on patchstorage here: https://patchstorage.com/orchestra/
At the start of each bar, Orchestra can send 1 single MIDI event per MIDI channel. This can be a program change message, a CC message, or a Note (held for 20ms).
Each scene holds up to 16 bars of information for each of the 16 MIDI channels. There are currently 8 scenes.
So, for example, in Scene 1, on MIDI channel 1 you could control a sequencer to play sequence 1 for 3 bars, sequence 2 for 1 bar, then restart. Meanwhile on MIDI channel 2 you could have a drum machine playing pattern 1, followed by pattern 2, then restarting.
USAGE:
There are three different views within Orchestra.
SCENES VIEW
This is the initial view when you start Orchestra. Tap a pad to load Scene 1-8. Hold SHIFT and tap a pad to begin editing a scene, this enters CHANNELS VIEW
CHANNELS VIEW
This lists all the channels for a loaded scene. Tap a pad to edit the pattern for that channel. Tap SHIFT to return to SCENES VIEW
EVENTS VIEW
You are now editing the event pattern for a specific MIDI channel and specific scene. Tap a pad to begin editing it. Use knob 1 to select the action (do nothing, program change, CC message, note message, or restart pattern). Depending on the action, knobs 2 and 3 have different meaning.
Press SHIFT to return to channels view.
This patch is still work in progress, some TODO:
– increase for 8 to 16 scenes
– per-channel time divider to allow for patterns longer than 16 bars
– MIDI input
Here's a short demo, using AUM MIDI control to schedule program changes on the Rozeta bassline (which controls the Spectrum instance) as well as scheduling program changes on the x0xb0x.
I think this type of scheduling is the future of MIDI modular sequencing, but there's some issues to iron out.. program change messages should probably be sent BEFORE the start of the bar to avoid a race condition.
Comments
Great stuff hope to see more videos on how to set it up.
Very nice idea and well structured code
i am currently scripting something similar. It started out as a companion to ToggleChannels but then during testing it opened up and addressed a wider scope. You're welcome to incorporate any of my ideas and solutions into your script.
Gadzooks, things are heating up quick!
Thank you! Until ToggleChannels came out I was planning on making this a native AUv3 (and still might), but your script made me think a Mozaic first version would be useful. Feel free (you and anyone else) to do the same, use these ideas and evolve them. Cheers!
Thanks! Yeah, I don't do good tutorials but maybe this one will need something more
Hi @burns_audio I’ve managed to get sound using it with notes not sure it’s meant to match host tempo as my sequence inside Mozaic is running slower ?
Showing PGM and CC setup and what is does in a video would be neat.
It should be running at one step per host bar. You don't program your musical patterns into Orchestra, you use Orchestra only for bar-by-bar automation (loading new patches into other synths or sequencers), automating volume or other transitional elements).
Basic setup instructions, in AUM, with Rozeta. I can add screenshots later.
Load a Rozeta bassline, set it up to sequence a synthesizer (I recommend Spectrum
)
Generate a bassline, save it as an AUM preset
Generate another bassline, save it as another AUM preset
Load Orchestra in another MIDI channel
Open AUM MIDI Control (the setup hamburger, then MIDI CTRL at the bottom)
Select the Orchestra Mozaic instance as your MIDI source (tap at the top of the AUM menu to choose)
Then down in the channels list, below select the MIDI channel that has the Rozeta instance.
Now you're going to add two automation actions, so that MIDI channel 1, program change 0 loads the first preset you saved, and MIDI channel 1, program change 1 loads the second preset you saved.
Select Preset Load
Add action
select your first preset. It's now added to the list but has no MIDI event assigned
tap on your first preset in the list
where it says OFF, tap > to assign a MIDI channel.
select the PC (program change) number for this preset.
Repeat with the same midi channel but a different PC number
Open Orchestra
Edit scene 1 (shift+tap scene 1 pad)
Edit channel 1 (tap channel 1 pad) - or edit whichever midi channel you chose when building the AUM automation for the presets!
now you see 16 pads, 1 for each bar in a 16 bar loop. Lets say we want a 4 bar loop where we go preset 1, preset 1, preset 1, preset 2. So tap pad 5, and turn knob 1 until it says "Restart". Now when Orchestra hits bar 5 it'll restart to bar 1. Then tap bar 1, turn knob 1 until it says "PGM", then turn knob 2 until it is the program change number you had assigned for preset 1. Then tap bar 4, turn knob 1 until it says "PGM", and turn knob 2 until it is the program change number you had assigned for preset 2.
This is a lot of work when you have to add the AUM automation for each preset. Some sequencers (like most hardware) natively respond to program change messages. Hopefully this catches on and the ios sequencers start supporting program change if they support multiple patterns
@burns_audio many thanks for that detailed explanation our give it a go later sounds complicated to the non initiated coder !
Insane stuff. You've been delivering Mozaic plugins that makes me go "Wut? Didn't understand" that when you understand you go "Genius!"
Thanks for this, mate!