Introduction

The PolyNote is a polyphonic MIDI sequencer with up to 128 steps. It is very similar to the MonoNote, but instead of a single row of sliders for pitch, it has a grid 128 notes high, and as wide as the sequencer's size.

The PolyNote is similarly easy to setup: Add one to a new stack, then add an Audio Unit Synthesizer, or set a MIDI Destination in the Stack Output module for an external sound source. There is no default pattern for the PolyNote, so you will need to create a simple one to hear anything. This can be done by simply clicking anywhere on the pitch grid. You can click and drag the mouse to 'paint' notes on the grid. To delete a note, click on its highlighted cell in the grid. If you click and hold the mouse on an 'activated' cell, you can then drag to erase more notes if you like. To turn notes on and off, or to adjust their length, use the Gate sliders in the middle. To adjust the velocity (or accent) of the notes, use the Velocity sliders at the bottom of the module.

Structural Overview

Like the MonoNote, the PolyNote is a vector sequencer. What this means is that for each sequence step, there are multiple values that are generated or used in some way. There are seventeen sequenced parameter types in the PolyNote, including those used to generate MIDI notes (the pitch grid, gate and velocity), values to control timing (step length, groove, step repeat and divide), timbral modification (three CC sequences and channel pressure), and some extras (skip steps, select steps, mutes & random jump). Each of these parameters are referred to as 'sequenced' parameters because they have a unique value for each step in the sequence. Pitch values are stored in four 32-bit integer parameters that are treated as 'bitmaps' -- each bit in the value stores the on/off state of one cell in a vertical column of the grid. Since the grid is 128 rows high, four 32-bit values are used.

The sequenced parameters in the PolyNote are arranged into seven rows of controls that dominate the front panel UI: The pitch grid in the middle, a row of labels above it, three rows of button, and two rows of sliders.

• step labels (with movable indicators for start step and end step)
• skip buttons
• pitch grid
• select buttons
• timing sliders (gate length, groove, step length, step repeat, gate divide)
• mute buttons
• timbre sliders (velocity, random jump, CV 1, CV 2, CV 3, Channel Pressure)

One the left side of the sequencer rows, there are controls grouped into three sections. From top to bottom, they are: transport controls, rate and direction controls, and pitch controls. To the right of the sequencer rows, there are four: randomize, pitch actions, gate actions, and velocity actions. There are also several important controls that reside in an advanced settings panel that can be opened up by clicking on the 'triangle' button in the lower-left corner of the front-panel.

The back-panel routing options available to the PolyNote are also extensive, including inputs for manual CV and MIDI triggers, auxiliary pitch and velocity inputs, outputs for several useful CV signals the PolyNote generates (Pitch Interval, Gate, Velocity, & CV 1-3) and the MIDI output, where all MIDI messages generated by the PolyNote are sent.

Sequenced Parameters

All of the sequenced parameters in the PolyNote are accessed via the pitch grid and rows of either sliders or buttons that live in the center-section of the front panel of the module.

The step labels are in a row along the top of the sequenced parameters section. They are not parameters in themselves, but two important non-sequenced parameters are embedded here: the start step (which has a green marker), and the end step (which has a red marker). Together, these two settings (drag them with the mouse to change them) set the range of steps that are 'active' in the sequence. For instance, the easiest way to set the length of the sequence to 8 steps is to drag the end step to step 8. These parameters are completely flexible: the start can come after the end step, or they can even be the same (for a one-step sequence).

This row of buttons allows you to remove a step completely from the sequence. This is a surprisingly useful feature for creating variations on a sequence -- particularly during a live performance. For instance, if you have a 4 step sequence: C, D, E, F, and you skip the 2nd step, you will then have a 3 step sequence: C, E, F.

To the left of the skip buttons is a small action menu with several items that operate on the skip steps. These are very handy for manipulating the state of the skip buttons.

• Skip One
• Skip a Few
• Skip Some
• Skip Most
• Skip All
• Unskip One
• Unskip a Few
• Unskip Some
• Unskip Most
• Unskip All

This is where you set the pitches in your sequence. The default height of the pitch grid on the module can be adjusted using the Grid Height parameter in the advanced settings panel, so you can see more rows of pitches at once. There is a small scroller on the right side of the grid that you can use to scroll up and down through the grid.

To program, or activate notes on the grid, just click on any grid cell. To activate a series of adjacent cell, click on an empty cell and drag the mouse. To deactivate a note, click on its highlighted cell. To erase a series of activated cells, click on one and drag the mouse.

Tip: You can have the PolyNote directly play the notes for a specific step by option-clicking on the pitch grid column for that step.

This row of buttons appears between the pitch row and the timing row. It allows you to select arbitrary sets of sequencer steps for further modification. In particular, anytime a slider for a selected step is moved in the timing, or timbre rows, all other selected steps will moved by the same relative amount.

As with the skip steps, there is an action menu to the left of the select row that has some handy operations you can perform on the select buttons:

• Select One
• Select a Few
• Select Some
• Select Most
• Select All
• Unselect One
• Unselect a Few
• Unselect Some
• Unselect Most
• Unselect All

The row of timing sliders can be switched between four sequenced parameters, using the multi-mode button to the left of the row. The parameters are: gate length, step length, step repeat and step divide. Gate length controls the length that a note is on during the step: Shorter values produce staccato notes, longer values produce more legato melodies. When the gate is at its minimum value, 0.0, which is displayed as "--", no note is generated. When it is at its longest value, 1.0, displayed as "Tie", the note generated for the step is tied into the next step, which is a way to produce notes that span multiple sequencer steps.

The Groove parameter allows you to adjust the timing of the step a bit forward or backward in time, up to 30% of the total step time.

The Step Length parameter allows you to modify the length of any sequencer step individually. It is calibrated into sixteen commonly used musical divisions, expressed in fractions of a step. The minimum value is 1/16th, which if the rate of your sequence is a quarter note, would make that step 1/64th of a beat. The maximum value is 4, which would make a step four beats long. If you need longer values, you can always tie two steps together.

The Repeat parameter allows you to have a step repeat multiple times. As with skip steps, this is a great way to modify a sequence while it is playing.

The Divide parameter is quite unusual. It both causes a step to repeat itself, and adjusts the length of each of those repeats to be shorter, so that the total length of all the 'sub' steps remains the same. In musical terms, it is like changing one quarter notes to a pair of eight notes (for a divide of 2), or changing one quarter note into 4 sixteenth notes (a divide of 4). Depending on the overall rate of the sequencer, divide values greater than 4 produce notes whose speed approaches the range of audio frequencies (around 30 cycles-per-second), which can create some interesting 'buzzing' effects.

The mute buttons mute note generation for a step, regardless of their settings for gate and velocity. Like the skip and select buttons, there is an action menu (to the left of the button row), for making broad changes to the state of the mute buttons:

• Mute One
• Mute a Few
• Mute Some
• Mute Most
• Mute All
• Unmute One
• Unmute a Few
• Unmute Some
• Unmute Most
• Unmute All

This row, like the timing row, is multi-mode: it can be switched to edit one of several parameters. In this case, the parameters are: velocity, a random jump feature, and the generation of MIDI messages (CC's and Channel Pressure) that can be used to alter the timbre of a synthesizer. After pitch interval and gate, velocity has the most direct effect on the sound of generated notes. Although each synthesizer varies in how it responds to velocity, most will respond to higher velocity values with louder notes, and to lower velocity values with quieter notes. If the velocity of a step is 0.0, then no note will be generated for that step.

The random jump parameter allows you to set a probability, for any step, that the next step chosen by the sequencer will be random selection, instead of what it would normally play. This is a great way to introduce some random variation in a sequence, without varying it too much from its original sound.

The PolyNote can generate up to three streams of MIDI CC (Control Change) messages, which are typically used to modify the timbral qualities of a synthesizer, such as the brightness of a sound (filter cutoff). There are three rows of sequenced parameters in the timbre section (CV 1, CV 2, CV 3) that allow you to program these values. To determine which CC messages are generated (the control number), you need to open up the advanced settings panel (click the 'triangle' button on the lower-left corner of the module body), and set values for the CC Num 1 - 3 parameters.

The PolyNote can also generate MIDI Channel Pressure messages, which is yet another way you can modify the timbre of a sound. Almost all MIDI Synthesizers respond to Channel Pressure messages, usually calling it "Aftertouch", and it is common for most of the patches on a MIDI Synthesizer to respond to such messages in an interesting way.

One the left side of the sequencer rows, there are several controls grouped into three sections. From top to bottom, they are the transport controls, rate and direction controls, and pitch controls.

Performs an immediate reset of the sequencer. Useful for generating out-of sync rhythmic effects.

This is a two-state button that allows you to start and stop the sequence. By default, this control is tied to the master transport. You can change this behavior by changing the Run Mode of the sequencer.

In Numerology 1.4, this parameter was called "Clock Division". It controls the default length of the sequencer's steps, and thus, how quickly it plays. By default, this control is calibrated in traditional rhythmic values, but the Rate Mode parameter allows you to change this.

This allows you to change how you specify the rate (or tempo) of the sequence. There are three modes:

• Normal : Use traditional rhythmic values where 1/4 (a quarter note) equals 1 beat
• Ratio : Use small-integer numeric ratios where 1/1 equals 1 beat
• Percent : Use a percentage value where 100 equals 1 beat, 25 equals 1/4 beat (a sixteenth note), etc.

Sets the direction of the sequence to forwards, backwards, a combination of the two, or random. The 'Alt1' setting causes the sequence to move alternately forwards and backwards without repeating the start and end steps. The 'Alt2' setting is similar, except that the start and end step are repeated.

If this parameter is set to anything other than 'None', it will force a sequencer reset at regular musical intervals calibrated in beats. This is a good way to force the sequence to a repeatable pattern regardless of its other settings. For instance, if the clock division is in 16th notes, you can set the hard sync to every 4 beats, then change start step, end step and skip step settings while still maintaining a pattern that repeats every 4 beats.

This will mute the generation of any MIDI messages from the module. It does not mute the generation of CV output values.

This parameter sets the key that the built-in scale quantizer will use to quantize notes.

This menu allows you to set a scale for quantizing pitches before they are used to generate MIDI note messages. The set of scales includes the 12 "church" modes common in western music. Setting the scale to "chromatic" deactivates any quantization.

This parameter can be used to shift the pitches of all the notes in the grid up or down in octave increments.

The Right Side

To the immediate right of each of the skip, select and mute button rows, there is a small button with an 'x' on it. These buttons will clear (deactivate) all of the step values for that parameter type.

This allows you to roughly control how many parameters are modified by the randomize operation.

This 'action' button triggers randomization of parameters based on the setting of the randomize menu.

This 'action' will shift all steps values in the sequence one step to the left or right (with rollover of the boundary values). This is a very useful way to vary a pattern: by shifting it relative to other patterns.

This will clear the pitch grid of any activated cells, thus erasing any existing note pattern.

This action button sets all gate values to 0.5.

This applies a smart-scaling algorithm to gate values after they are read from the sequence, but before they are used to calculate note lengths. When moved to less than 1/2 of the parameter's range, the gates are scaled from 100% to 0%. When moved to more than 1/2 of the range, the gate values are scaled from their current values, to a Tied value.

This action button sets all gate values to 0.0.

This action button sets all velocity values to 0.5.

This parameter scales all velocity values after they are read from the sequence, but before they are used to generate notes.

Advanced Parameters

This sets the overall length of the sequencer, which can be up to 128 steps long.

This sets the MIDI channel for all MIDI messages this module can generate (MIDI Notes, CC messages and ChannelPressure messages).

This parameter is very similar to hard sync, but instead of resetting the sequence after a set number of beats, this one resets it after a set number of steps.

This sets the number of rows in the pitch grid that are visible at any one time -- thus making the module itself taller.

These values set the MIDI CC controller number for CC messages to be generated from the three CV sequenced parameters. When their values are zero (the default), no MIDI CC messages are generated.

Module Run Mode Settings : Customized Playback & Recording

This is a series of settings that control module playback, CV & MIDI triggering, MIDI transpostion, and sequence recording. To view this dialog, click on the 'E' button just below the mini-transport for the module.

The five playback parameters (Play Mode, Beat Quantize, Loop, MIDI Transpose & Auto Reset) provide a wide range of possible options for triggering playback of the sequencer from an external CV source (such as another sequencer) or from MIDI.

The recording options (Rec Mode, Rec Velocity, Pitch Wheel Cursor and Mod Wheel Gate) allow you to setup and control sequencer recording (via MIDI) in both realtime and step record modes.

This controls how playback of the sequencer starts and stops. The normal mode is for the sequencer to be tied to the master transport of the project, starting and stopping automatically. But you can also set the sequencer to be fully independent, or remotely triggered via a CV or MIDI signal.

• Normal : The sequencer starts and stops with the master transport.
  
  
• Manual : The sequencer starts and stops when you use the play/stop buttons on the front panel of the module.
  
  
• CV Trig: Play : The sequencer will start playing when it receives a trigger on its "CV Trig" input. It will stop when the master transport stops.
  
  
• CV Trig: Gated : The sequencer will start playing when it receives a "gate on" value on its "CV Trig" input, and will continue until the gate value goes "off".
  
  
• CV Trig: Step : The sequencer will advance one step for each "gate on" value on its "CV Trig" input.
  
  
• CV Trig: Toggle : The sequencer will start playing when it receives a trigger on its "CV Trig" input, and will stop the next time it gets a trigger.
  
  
• MIDI Trig: Play : The sequencer will start playing when it detects a MIDI Note On message in its "MIDI In" input. It will stop when the master transport stops.
  
  
• MIDI Trig: Gated : The sequencer will start playing when it detects a MIDI Note On message in its "MIDI In" input. It will stop when it detects a MIDI Note Off Message in its "MIDI In" input.
  
  
• MIDI Trig: Toggle : The sequencer will start playing when it detects a MIDI Note On message in its "MIDI In" input, and will stop the next time it detects a Note On message

When this is on, which is the default, any playback triggers are quantized in time to the following beat. In general, this is the behavior you want for "live MIDI" triggers, as it makes it much easier to time the triggering of a sequence. For CV triggers coming from other modules within Numerology, you will probably want this turned off.

This determines whether the sequencer will keep playing when it gets to the last step of the sequence (by auto-resetting to the first step of the sequence). Then this is off, the sequence is considered to be a "One-Shot" : it plays once, and that's it.

When this is on, the base pitch for generated notes is determined from incoming MIDI notes rather than from the octave and key parameters. This function is often used in conjunction with one of the "MIDI Trig" run modes for simultaneously triggering and transposing a sequence from a keyboard.

This determines if a sequence resets (returns to its start step), when it is stopped. It is almost always on, but when turned off, can result in some interesting playback behavior.

There are two recording modes available: Step and Realtime. Both modes allow you to set sequencer values using a MIDI keyboard (or any other source of MIDI notes). In both cases, use the "rec" button on the sequencer's mini transport to turn recording on and off. When you enable recording, a small indicator below the rec button shows which mode you are in, "STEP" or "RT".

In step mode, each "chord" of MIDI notes that you play set the pitch values for the sequence, advancing a 'cursor' for each note you play. A chord is recognized when you play a set of notes, then release them all -- so you do not have to play all the notes at exactly the same time.

The cursor is used to indicate where the next setof pitches will be recorded. You can see the current location of the cursor by looking at the labels for the sequence: When step recording is active, the cursor's location is indicated by a small underline below the step label. In addition, the default settings allow you to use the pitch wheel of the keyboard to move the cursor forward or backward, and use the mod wheel to set the gate time for the recorded step.

In realtime mode, incoming notes are used to set the pitch values for the 'current' step. A bit of a timing adjustment is applied so that if you play a note immediately before a new step, the pitch is applied to that step instead of the current one. The cursor is not active during realtime recording.

In either step or realtime recording modes, if this param is active, then the velocity of the incoming note is used to set the velocity of the sequencer step.

In step recording mode, this option allows you to use the pitch wheel of a MIDI keyboard to move the cursor. Nudge the pitch wheel up, then release it to increment the cursor; nudge it down to decrement it.

In step recording mode, this option allows you to set the recorded gate time for a step with the value of the mod wheel.

Ports

This is where clock signals are input to the module. All sequencers must have a clock signal in order to run. By default, each sequencer's clock in port is connected to the "Clock" port on the Stack Input module, which in turn is connected to the master clock for the project.

This input is used in conjunction with one of the "CV Trig" Run Modes, and allows you to control playback of the sequence from any CV source, usually another sequencer. Be sure to review the Run Mode settings before using this port, or you will probably not get the results you are looking for!

This is an input where you can add auxiliary pitch offset values in the pitch grid.

This is an input where you can add auxiliary velocity values to the main velocity sequence. This is typically used so that several sequencers can share a single 'accent' sequencer.

MIDI Note messages routed to this port can serve one of two purposes, depending on the settings of the Run Mode and MIDI Transpose parameters. When used in conjunction with one of the "MIDI Trig" Run Modes, it allows you to control playback of the sequence from a source of MIDI notes, usually a keyboard. When the MIDI Transpose parameter is on, MIDI Note On messages routed to this port will transpose the sequence as it plays.

Sequenced gate values generated for internal use by the PolyNote are also available here, so you can use them to control other modules.

Sequenced velocity values generated for internal use by the PolyNote are also available here, so you can use them with other modules.

Values from the internal CV 1 sequence are also available here.

Values from the internal CV 2 sequence are also available here.

Values from the internal CV 3 sequence are also available here.

All MIDI messages generated by the module are outputted through this port.