To install Chordial MIDI, copy the file "Chordial MIDI.amxd" to wherever you like to keep your Max For Live midi effect devices.
That should be all there is to it, but if something doesn't seem to be working properly, you can try copying the JavaScript files "ChordialShapes.js" and "ChordialMIDI.js" to the install directory (or add them to your Max search path) and then reload the device.
To begin using Chordial MIDI, drop it onto a MIDI track in your Live set. You can either drop it to the left of an instrument device that's already on a MIDI track, or drop it onto a new MIDI track and then place a instrument device to the right of it.
Chordial MIDI is made up of four sections:
The Trigger Mode selector chooses between the following two modes of operation:
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Drone: Chordial will sustain the last received MIDI note until you switch back to Key mode. Any incoming MIDI notes while Drone mode is activated will cause all 4 chord voices to be retriggered relative to the incoming pitch value. Any parameter changes made while Drone mode is activated will only retrigger those notes that are affected by the parameter change.
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Key: Chordial tracks incoming MIDI notes as you'd expect. Any parameter changes made while a key is held down with Key mode activated will only retrigger those notes that are affected by the parameter change.
The Velocity Mode selector chooses between the following two modes of operation:
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Key: Chordial tracks incoming velocity as you'd expect. The velocity value received at input is passed along to all four chord voices.
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Slider: Chordial will ignore any incoming velocity values, and instead apply the value set by the velocity sliders to each chord voice. This allows you to set a different velocity value for each chord voice every time a new incoming note is detected.
The sliders below the Velocity Mode selector set the outgoing velocity value for each chord voice when in Slider mode.
The voice toggle buttons turn each of the chord voices on and off. If Drone mode is activated, toggling a voice from off to on will cause that note to be retriggered. Likewise, if Key mode is activated and a voice is toggled from off to on, that note will be retriggered.
The knob on the left changes between chord voicings. The knob in the middle changes the inversion of the chord. The knob on the right (plus the two drop-down menus) change the chord quality. Just play with these and see what they do!
Each of the outgoing chord voice MIDI notes can be delayed. This can be useful for creating strums or arpeggios. Click on the chord voice button at the left of this section (R, 3, 5, 7) to activate the delay for that voice. Each voice delay operates in one of the following two modes:
- ms: a chord voice can be delayed from 0 up to 1000 milliseconds.
- note: a chord voice can be delayed by a musical time interval, from a 64th note through to a full bar, synchronized to Live's transport. If note mode is activated, you'll only hear the delayed note if Live's transport is running!
When a voice delay is activated, any parameter changes that cause that voice to be retriggered will be subject to the voice delay amount. For example, if you set a delay of an 1/8th note to the Root voice and then change the Inversion amount, the Root voice will transpose on the next 1/8th note.