Chance: Is every xth bar possible?

I am new to Pyramid, so there’s a good “chance” I simply don’t understand how the Chance effect works. The basic % chance I understand, also using velocity to get this number (an odd idea, but…). That’s straight-forward.

Is there not a way to have a note play every second bar? Every third bar? Etc.? I was sure this was implemented.

Does this have anything to do with “sync chance”? For the life of me I can’t understand (or hear) what that setting is doing.

Use Step Mode to Enable Chance, modify Chance %, etc as desired. (Hold [Step] and Rotate Main encoder to select Fx)

Sync Chance: i think the coarsest resolution on Sync Chance is 1/4 Note (but not near my Pyramid right now so YMMV).

If i understand Sync Chance properly, you can set a different Chance % for regular divisions of meter…like, set it to 100% for 1/4 notes, put the main Chance % at say 50%, and then every 1/4 Note will play, but non 1/4 Note divisions of the meter will play at 50% chance.

Lots of variations possible.

And again, you can sequence any changes to this in Step Mode easily. Or, if you want to control things from am external source, you can set any of those Chance Fx parameters to be modulated by a incoming MIDI CC from an alternate source or MIDI loopback

Oh, and sorry. I hyperfocused on “Chance” and i do a weird thing with that so i get excited.

You want a note to play every 2nd bar?
Make a Track 2 bars long and place the note on it…?
You can have multiple Pyramid Tracks going to the same destination channel & port if you have a 1 bar loop and then want something to occur on a broader cycle

Ah yes, of course a bar of any reasonable length could be constructed with a given note only occurring when it might. But this seems inelegant and not so easy to vary. If achieved with a chance function, the number could then simply be changed from 3 to 4 to 13. And even controlled from the Effects Stepmode. Whereas extending a bar length cannot be done on the fly in the same way. Nor could it easily be the destination of automation. (As far as I know.)

There is another alternative… that a track with only the extra note be used as needed. But can an entire track be turned on and off with probability? So that it only occurs every x times? I don’t see how.

The larger context here is that I wish to use the Pyramid as a generative sequencer. In other words, specify simple tracks that can be recombined with simple algorithms to get complex results. It seems a good tool for the job, but I am finding one or two limitations.

Yes and no.
I dont think it’s obvious, but you can achieve this in a variety of different methods, none of which are typical IMO.

I also think you can achieve some brilliant techniques to implement your ideas.

I had one system where i used an Event Processor that would swallow any Note Event where the Note=0 but use that event to trigger a calculation to determine if the output would become more or less complex or stay the same based on a series of 4-5 Pyramid Tracks presenting the same melodic motion but inceeasing levels of complexity/pulse. So, each buried Note 0 event was a sort of node.

Turning a Track on/off via probability is not a native Pyramid function, but you can achieve this via loopbacks or using an Event Processor.

Sorry but im not understanding your whole first paragraph, so apologies if I cant be any more help.

As for your second paragraph:

  • if you want a Track with a single Note Event to occur only x number of times, check out Trig Run Mode
  • if you want a Track with a single Note Event to occur regularly every x number of bars, thats just a loop of a Track of x bar length, no?
  • Also remember you can sequence MiDI FX within the same Track

I would suggest exploring the Pyramid a bit more to familiarize how the FX work. Im thinking you may need to create a loopback, where sequences can modify sequences via PyraMIDI or CC or MIDI FX by CC.

I dont know if you choose to incorporate an Event Processor, but that might make things quite a bit easier. One that can use variables and logic/conditionals would be my suggestion.

Off topic: arent there plenty of generative sequencers on the market? Which one are you attempting to emulate?

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Sounds like you are trying to do something like Elektron conditional trigs , so 1:3 , 2:4 type thing.

No, pyramid doesn’t have this.

for these repeating patterns with variations you could consider using polymeters perhaps, but this does require separate tracks.

Other than using midi processors you could create midi feedback loop, this would allow you to then use a midi lfo from the pyramid itself to modulate the chance %
( there is no internal modulation).

Though I think if your going the generative route using a midi processor ( either hardware or a computer running max/pd etc) is going to be useful.

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if you were to set up a Track with only one note in it and change the length of the Track as you described, then you could easily also set a Chance effect on that Track. the Track won’t be turned on and off, but the single note’s occurrence would be determined by it’s Chance percentage…which would achieve the same outcome. (assuming this Track has only that one note event on it!) …you could then easily set up a dozen Tracks all doing something like this, routed to the same synth.

I think considering generative sequencer usage, you might experiment using multiple Tracks like i’ve described above to control one external source…but even then, i imagine you’re really going to want some kind of feedback loop ultimately: the MIDI loopback trick with Pyramid is probably going to be your best bet (unless you bring in a separate MIDI sequencer).

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Ah crumbs, you are right. I am thinking of Elektron sequencing! For some reason I thought the Pyramid had this particular feature as well. But at least I know now why my brain was stuck on this.

Yes, cool. I will look into the loopback that several of you have suggested. I think the very idea you suggest with minimal tracks could work (in part) for what is in my head.

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Thanks for you extensive replies. I don’t have any definite sequencer I wish to emulate, but rather desire to make the most of the Pyramid in rather unconventinoal ways. In order to accomplish this, I might wish for it to have a superset of features from Elektron products. I suppose that I am spoiled by using Max and other programming tools to make exactly what I need.

I will expect to use an external MIDI processor at some point. For now, I have more to learn with the unit as it is.

FYI - i use the Pyramid in unconventional ways, just not for generative. :wink:

I have an extensive set of Bome Translators that determine Track status, in addition to using a homespun Track Run Mode hack i call “Freelatch” (triggers with a Seq of other Tracks so “1” is controlled, but the Track does not output Note Events - just like Free Run, except more appropriate if you like to change up meter and loop cycles within the same “song”), and meta controls that allow per track velocity scaling and other modulations based on user input (which can also be environmental sources like sensors in an installation). (4 realtime meta controls modulating Intensity, Complexity, Morph, and Crescendo)

Your query is exciting and i thought up a bunch of ways to approach it, but each option is dependent on what sort of algorithm youre approaching.

I hope to hear more about what youre doing. It sounds exciting!

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Ah yes, the Bome stuff. I am sure I’ll end up with one of those eventually! Good call.

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