SchmickleWorks NoteTaker

NoteTaker is a VCV Rack 1.0 module to create sequences using traditional music notation.

NoteTaker is under active development; the file format, panel layout, and feature set may change.

NoteTaker is developed and tested on Windows 10 and occasionally on Mac.

Planned feature set:

• Sequences are loaded as MIDI formats one and zero, and saved as MIDI format zero.
• State is autosaved between sessions.
• Sequences use from one to four channels (eight with expansion)
• Editor supports copy and paste.
• Gate output can be customized to match desired envelope triggering.
• Pitch and tempo can be modified at runtime.
• Score may contain key signature, time signature, and tempo.
• Note pitch varies from MIDI note 0 to MIDI note 127, over ten octaves.
• Note duration varies from 128th notes to octuple whole note.
• Note duration may include triplets, ties, and slurs.
• CV input modifies pitch, tempo; triggers reset; advances song.
• CV output includes quarter note clock and end of song.

Editor Buttons

Enable "Parameter tooltips" in the View Menu for a reminder of the buttons' functions.

Note Select

Note Select has three states: edit, insert, and select. Pressing Note Select toggles the three states.

When the LED is off the wheels edit the current selection. The horizontal wheel changes the note duration; the vertical wheel changes the pitch.

When the LED is red the wheels move the insertion indicator. The horizontal wheel moves the insertion forwards and backwards in time. The vertical wheel inserts a duplicate note above or below the existing note.

When the LED is blue the wheels move the selection indicator. The horizontal wheel extends the selection before or after the insertion point. The vertical wheel selects a single note from a chord.

Add Note

Add Note adds one or more notes after the current selection. Move the insertion indicator to the left to add notes at the beginning of the score.

If the clipboard light is on Add Note duplicates the last selection. If the clipboard light if off Add Note duplicates the rightmost note in the selection. The clipboard light is on only when the Note Select light is red; when Note Select is set to insert.

After notes are added, Note Select light is off (edit) so that the Horizontal Wheel changes the duration of all added notes; the Vertical Wheel changes the pitch of all added notes.

Cut

Cut removes the current selection and copies the notes to the clipboard. If Note Select is red (insert), Cut removes the note to the left of the insertion point. If the Vertical Wheel added a note to a chord, or if it selected a note in a chord, Cut removes that note.

Cut immediately followed by Add Note undoes the Cut.

Add Rest

Add Rest adds a rest after the current selection. Move the insertion indicator to the left to add a rest at the beginning of the score.

After the rest is added, Note Select light is off (edit) so that the Horizontal Wheel changes the duration of the rest.

Part

Part chooses the musical part or parts to edit. Each part corresponds to one of the CV / GATE pairs on NoteTaker or an expansion. MIDI channels or tracks are mapped to parts.

The Horizontal Wheel selects each or all parts. A part may be locked to prevent future editing. The Vertical Wheel locks the selected part, or makes the selected part editable. The part notes become transparent when locked, and the part icon shows a lock in place of a circle.

When an existing MIDI file is imported, each track or channel with notes is remapped to parts in ascending order. (MIDI percussion channels 10 and 11 are currently not mapped to a part.) The original MIDI instrument name and GM instrument are shown with the part.

File

File loads and saves notes from one of 12 slots. The Horizontal Wheel selects the slot to load from or save to. The Vertical Wheel executes the load or save action.

The notes in all slots are autosaved by VCV Rack if enabled, and are loaded and saved with your patch. All 12 editor buttons are assigned one slot at run time, allowing the user to switch freely during a performance. The Playback button allows choosing the slot order triggered by the EOS input.

Sustain / Release

Sustain / Release maps the note duration to the GATE output. The Horizontal Wheel selects the duration of the Sustain or Release cycle. The Vertical Wheel selects whether to edit the maximum Sustain, minimum Sustain, minimum Release, or maximum Release.

Sustain is the duration of the GATE output held high proportional to the note duration. Minimum Sustain is the shortest time GATE output is held high. Maximum Sustain is the longest time GATE output is held high.

Release is the duration of the GATE output held low proportional to the note duration. Minimum Release is the shortest time GATE output is held low. Maximum Release is the longest time GATE output is held low.

If NoteTaker GATE output triggers an ADSR, the Minimum Release setting guarantees the duration of GATE output held low to make room for ADSR release phase. Similarly, the Minimum Sustain setting guarantees the duration of GATE output held high to make room for the attack/decay/sustain phases.

The sum of Minimum Sustain and Minimum Release dictate the shortest duration note that can be created, but does not affect the duration of existing notes.

Each part has its own Sustain / Release setting.

Add Time Signature

Add Time Signature adds a time signature after the current selection. A time signature counts the number of beats per measure, and the duration of the beat, for notes going forward.

Adding a time signature starts a new measure, even if the prior measure does not have enough notes to satisfy its time signature.

When Note Select is off (edit), the Horizontal Wheel changes the Time Signature value. The Vertical Wheel chooses the numerator or denominator.

The upper number may be set from one to 99 beats per measure. The lower number may be set to:

• One whole note equals one beat.
• One half note equals one beat.
• One quarter note equals one beat.
• One eighth note equals one beat.
• One sixteenth note equals one beat.
• One thirty-second note equals one beat.
• One sixty-fourth note equals one beat.

Adding a time signature is useful when it is desirable to move from one slot to the next exactly at the end of a measure, or at the end of a beat.

Add Key Signature

Add Key Signature adds a key signature after the current selection. A key signature indicates the number of sharps or flats preset for notes going forward.

Adding a key signature starts a new measure, even if the prior measure does not have enough notes to satisfy its time signature.

When Note Select is off (edit), the Vertical Wheel modifies the key by one sharp or one flat at a time.

Adding a key signature only affects the displayed notes; it has no impact on editing or playback. Changing key signature does not change the pitch of existing notes; the display adds accidentals as needed to keep playback the same.

Add Tempo

Add Tempo adds a tempo change after the current selection. A tempo change sets the number of beats per second for the notes going forward.

Adding a tempo change starts a new measure, even if the prior measure does not have enough notes to satisfy its time signature.

When Note Select is off (edit), the Horizontal Wheel modifies the number of beats per second. Tempo may be set from three beats / second, up to 5367 beats / second. (No reason for these limits; subject to change before NoteTaker release.)

Tempo may also be modified at run time, internally by moving the Horizontal Wheel, or externally by pulsing the Clock input. The resulting tempo multiplies the score tempo by the internal and external tempos.

Tie / Slur / Triplet

Tie / Slur / Triplet allows altering the selection to include ties, slurs, and triplets. Ties make two notes of the same pitch equivalent to one note with the sum of the notes' durations. Slurs prevent the GATE output from going high at the end of the first notes' durations. Triplets change the duration so that three notes fit into the duration of two notes.

Ties and slurs share the same notation; an arc connects a pair of notes. If the notes have the same pitch it is a tie; if notes have different pitches, it is a slur. Both ties and slurs suppress the second note's GATE output.

(Bug prevents creating this illustration.)

Triplets play three notes (or notes with a total duration divisible by three) in the space of two. A triplet formed by two notes, where one is twice the duration of the other, forms a rhythm commonly called swing.

The Horizontal Wheel selects whether the notes are augmented by ties, slurs, or triplets. (To do: allow selection to have ties and triplets.)

Slot Editor

Slot Editor allows organizing the 12 saved slots into a larger performance. Each slot contains a set of notes, a repeat count, and an ending condition. When the repeat count is exhausted or the ending condition is met, the run time moves to the next slot, or stops running if it is on the last slot.

In the illustration above, the performance plays Slot 1 once, Slot 2 twice, and Slot 1 again indefinitely. The quarter note is Slot 1 indicates that a trigger in EOS In will advance it to Slot 2 on a quarter note boundary. The lightning bolt in Slot 2 indicates that a trigger in EOS In will advance it to the third entry, which plays the notes in Slot 1 a second time. The measure end icon is the third slot indicates that a trigger in EOS will stop the performance at the end of the song.

The slots may be edited using the same interface as notes. Slots may be added, cut, and edited. One set of slots is autosaved, or saved in one patch. (More description to come.)

Run

Run begins playing notes at the current selection. The icons on the edit buttons change to number 1 through 12. Pressing the edit button instantly switches to the corresponding slot. The notes in each slot are repeated indefinitely.

While running, the Horizontal Wheel augments the tempo, speeding up or slowing down the performance. The Vertical Wheel augments the pitch, transposing the performance one half step at a time.

(More description to come.)

Wheels

The effect and range of each wheel varies depending of the setting of the Editor and Run buttons, but in general, the Horizontal Wheel changes the time and the Vertical Wheel changes the pitch.

Parameter tooltips (in the View menu) describe the wheels effect in the current context. (More description to come.)

Ports

CV 1, 2, 3, 4

Each CV port outputs -5V to ~5.6V, representing MIDI pitch values from 0 to 127. C4 (middle C) outputs 0V. CV ports continue to output the last voltage even after the note duration is over. CV ports are polyphonic, and output 1 to 16 voices.

GATE 1, 2, 3, 4

Each GATE port outputs 0V if held low or 10V is held high. GATE ports return to low when Run is off. Editing notes trigger CV and GATE outputs to provide feedback for the current edit.

V/Oct

V/Oct permits adding an offset to the CV port outputs. The V/Oct is not quantized.

Reset

Reset immediately moves the selection to the start. Playback continues to run.

Clock In

A pulse to clock advances the song by one beat. Fractional beat notes are interpolated to sound between clock pulses.

Clock Out

A pulse is generated as playback advances to the next beat.

EOS In

EOS In (End of Song, or End of Slot) advances to the next slot, if one is present in the Slot Editor.

EOS Out

A pulse is generated as playback reaches the end of a slot. The pulse is generated on every play through, independent of the Slot repeat count.

Expansion

The Super8 expansion adds CV ports 5 - 8, GATE ports 5 - 8, and VELOCITY ports 1 - 8. Super8 must be docked to the right side of NoteTaker. (More description to come.)

Import MIDI

Existing MIDI files may be imported for NoteTaker to display and play.

• Create a folder named SchmickleWorks in the Rack folder.
• Copy the MIDI file to import to SchmickleWorks.
• Right-click on NoteTaker.
• Select "Load MIDI".
• Select the MIDI file to load.

Insert Notes with a MIDI device

One part at a time may be entered with a MIDI-capable keyboard.

• Connect Fundamental MIDI-1 CV output to NoteTaker V/Oct input.
• Connect Fundamental MIDI-1 GATE output to NoteTaker Clock input.
• Press 'Select' (far left top row) until LED is red.
• Press a key on the MIDI device to add a quarter note.

The horizontal wheel may be used to change the note duration and the vertical wheel may be used to change the pitch after the note is entered.

Press middle C on the MIDI device before pressing 'RUN' to avoid adding an offset to the playback.

Press 'Part' (second from right top row) to select the channel to add notes.