No Strings, No Brass, Just Two Arps

Hey friends,

In last week's Melodic Minute we talked about an "arp crescendo": a section in a performance where two arps grow in volume together until the whole harmonic progression sounds full. That idea stuck with me, so this week I sat down to actually play one.

Think of an orchestra moving slowly from piano to forte. Only instead of strings and brass, I'm using two synths.

Two arps, one set of chords

The first arp is my Moog Mother-32, sequenced by Sting 2. The second is "Arp - Beauty", a Drift-based preset from my Melodic Movement sound pack. Both of them listen to the chords I play on the Ableton Push 3.

The Mother-32 part works thanks to Sting 2's "Arp" algorithm, which I had totally overlooked before (shame on me). It generates melodies from the MIDI notes it receives. So instead of just letting Sting 2 run random patterns, you play it together with another instrument. And when you stop playing new notes, it simply stays on the last chord.

If you want to try it: set the monitor of your second arp track to "In", pick the Sting 2 track as its MIDI source and set "MIDI From" to "Pre FX". Otherwise the second arp gets Sting 2's generated melody instead of your chords. It's not quite the harmonization feature of the OXI One, but close enough.

The filter is your energy control

Most of the build-up comes from filters and envelopes. Closed low-pass filters and short attack and decay times keep everything small. Open the cutoff, lengthen attack and especially decay, and the arps start to sound rich and full.

To come back down, I use a snapshot on the Neuzeit Instruments Drop that pulls the filter and envelope of the Drift arp down gradually over time. That leaves my right hand free for the Mother-32 and my left hand on the Push. Sometimes it really feels like adding a third hand.

What comes next

After this episode I'm focusing again on my ambient techno setup from episode 17. That concept still excites me the most and I'm looking forward to seeing where it leads me.

If you want to support Melodic Minute and help keep the series going, you can find me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kvndra

Stay creative,
Milan (KVNDRA)