How to step edit chord looper progressions

[voodoo]

Ho together,

I made some experiments and found two ways to easily step chord progressions for chord looper:

1. Use Multi Track Midi Recorder of Genos

Since .CLD files of chord looper are simply standard midi files containing Meta events for chord changes, we can easily create and edit chord sequences for chord looper using the built in midi editor of the Genos. Just follow the following steps:

* Enter Recording and Midi Multi Recording on Genos
* Enter Step Edit
* Switch Channel to ,,Chord"
* Press button ,,Step Rec"
* Enter and edit the whole chord progression here
* Press button ,,Step Rec" again to exit step edit
* Important: Press button ,,Expand" to generate the midi meta events on the Sy*** Channel
* Exit ,,Step Edit"
* Save Midi file to USB stick, for example with name ,,MySong"

* Now comes the magic step: rename midi file on USB Stick from ,,MySong.MID" to ,,MySong.CLD"
(For this step you have to remove USB stick from Genos and put it to PC or MAC or whatever)

* Now enter Chord Looper and use ,,Import" to load ,,MySong.CLD"  from USB Stick

That's it. A simple renaming makes standard midi files with chords accessible for chord looper.

The other way round does work with limitations. You can rename CLD files to MID and open them on Midi Multi Recording. But the chord progression is only visible as META events on the ,,Sy***" channel. It is not visible on the ,,Chord" channel for clear text editing.


2. Using Chord Tracker

If you don't want to rename files on PC, you can use the app Chord Tracker to step edit chord progressions.

* Open Chord Tracker on iOS or Android and open any of the Demo songs for chord analysis
* Select all chords and in the context menu tap ,,Delete". Now you have an empty canvas to paint your chords on.
* Enter and edit your chord progression here
* Then select a range of chords that you want to transfer to Genos. It can be as long as you want, there is no 4 bar limitation as stated before.
* In the context menu Tap ,,Send to Instrument"
* On Genos, enter Chord Tracker and save current chord loop to a memory slot of your chord looper bank
* Transfer several parts of your chord progression to Genos to complete the chord looper bank with up to 8 chord progressions for your whole song.

If you use the function ,,Send to Instrument" in the main menu of Chord Tracker without selecting a chord range, the whole song is send as a Midi File to the folder ,,ChordTracker" on the User drive of the Genos. This Midi file has the same format as the CLD files. So you could rename the generated midi file from ,,.-MID" to ,,.CLD" and Import this in chord tracker. However, then you have the complete song in one chord loop. So I would prefer to transfer only ranges of chords directly to Chord Looper as described above.

Uli

[willem7397]

Thanks a lot for these instructions. It will be usefull.

[EileenL]

If I had to go through all this trouble to play and record a song I like I would have given up long ago. I like to put my own stamp on a song I like.

[JohnS (Ugawoga)]

Hi Eileen
I do put my stamp on what i do, but i also like to get a pristine recording of what i have done.
A lot of players seem to have no feeling in their songs when i hear them , but also i recognize that people are learning all the time and that is the fun, not troubles.
I like to keep what brain i have active and take up the challenges.
Some songs are just a little tricky to do in the sequencer in one hit and you only have 8 slots for playing, as the rest is for the style.
Well , have set the registrations for Cat Stevens song Mathew & Son.
For the beginning i made two pads , one piano and one string quartet voice for the Intro and that is without no style active and then do each stage until the other  break.
Also i had to make a couple of syncro starts.
I can play really good now that they are done. To record it i need more than 8 tracks in sequencer.
I have worked it out now and that is to record the intro and endings separately and the main section in one go, put in Cubase and turn them to wave files and then put the song together.
Just done Going Loco In Acapulco and mixed it. I managed to get a one take out of that and rectified a few mistakes. Difficult song but not so many different instruments
I will do a few more and mix , then i can have a bash at mastering them.
For me  i want to record a quality song and keep them and not go back after that. Keep going forward.
I am still doing more on the Genos , but i want to get on with Vst later.
I have learnt a lot this year about EQ compression etc and effects.  Also learning Ozone 9 which is great to get around and it is enjoyable ,but sometime it can be frustrating.
Another thing i have learnt is that the Genos is in the ball park after recording -14 - 18 Lufs, so in Cubase no gainstaging is really needed.
I do find that some Genos sounds do need artifacts EQ'd out and masking to sort, so sounds  and their frequencies do not clash and are in their own space. Makes a lot of difference with clarity.
Still lots to learn Eileen and i will keep chugging along!!

All the Best
John



All the Best
John

[mikf]

...... you only have 8 slots for playing, as the rest is for the style.
John

John
I don't think that is quite correct. I do not have a Genos, but I thought that on most Yamaha arrangers you can combine midi tracks. So once you have recorded a few tracks, and happy with them, they can be combined on one track and free up several tracks.
I am with Eileen on one thing though, I will never understand why people put so much effort into small details of sound, or features, when they make so little difference. The fact is that most people here are not great players, they certainly are not great vocalists and in fact most times they dont record a vocal. So it can never be anything close to the original recording anyway, and with all that missing, why are they so obsessed with getting the exact sound of a hi-hat in the background. 
Mike

[Toril S]

So many ways to have fun with these keyboards! 😀😀

[JohnS (Ugawoga)]

John
I don't think that is quite correct. I do not have a Genos, but I thought that on most Yamaha arrangers you can combine midi tracks. So once you have recorded a few tracks, and happy with them, they can be combined on one track and free up several tracks.
I am with Eileen on one thing though, I will never understand why people put so much effort into small details of sound, or features, when they make so little difference. The fact is that most people here are not great players, they certainly are not great vocalists and in fact most times they dont record a vocal. So it can never be anything close to the original recording anyway, and with all that missing, why are they so obsessed with getting the exact sound of a hi-hat in the background. 
Mike

HI mIKF

I am not obsessed with the single hi hat, just getting a good recording. Getting detail in your registrations is good and Mr Blue Sky that i did showed that.
It is nice when you can get near the real thing and of course if i sang i would scare all the birds away
When i used to here my father play his organ it use to infuriate me the way he played keep trilling grace notes to avoid mistakes and that tippy tappy sound. I detest Reginald Dixon stuff!! This is my opinion only!!
Could not wait to get back to my bedroom and put Black Sabbath on!! 
I do not play gigs ,so i have all the time in the world to achieve my goal, to better myself and keep learning.

All the best
john           Keep prog rock Alive!!!

[Eric, B]

I for one love the chord looper.
Have been waiting for this since the 80's when Technics organs had this already ...
I play my song using style mode, but it makes it hard to do a solo with an electric guitar using the pitch-bend effectively.
This is where the chord looper shines fro me.
Just hit the designated button to turn it on and off I go.
Perfect. And it saves different loopers in different registration memory.
One for each song I need.
I for one couldn't be happier for live play ...
Eric

[Fred Smith]

To return to the original subject, I edit Chord Looper files in Mixmaster. I create the chord looper, then take the file to my computer, and do the editing there.

Originally, I changed the extension to .sty so Mixmaster would read it, but now Etienne has enhanced Mixmaster so it can accept .cld files, so no more renaming.

Cheers,
Fred

[nonchai]

It would be really nice if one were able to edit the chord progressions in the chord looper page itself.

Its easy to make a mistake - and being able to quickly fix it without faffing about would be so useful..

If the chord looper functionality in the GENOS and PSR SX family is ever to be considered a useful songwriting or composition aid, some kind of editing facility is a no brainer.

I'll quote the venerable Oliver Twist:  "Please Sir!  Can We have some more?"

I really hope YAMAHA see sense and if not in a free update for all existing Genos or SX users- surely to add editing and more in a Genos 2 is another brainer...

As would be adding a piano roll,  Audio over USB.. the list goes on..

[Lee Batchelor]

Just a quick side bar note for Mike regarding John's attention to detail. You're comparing apples to oranges or live playing versus listening to your own playing as a recording.

With live playing, you need a decent sound but artifacts John mentioned are a non-issue because they pass very quickly or are simply drowned out by room ambience. When you want to listen to a playback of what you just recorded, you're interested in the fine details just as an artist does while listening to his or her recording after a live studio session. That's where the detail matters.

Sorry Uli, for sidetracking your topic .

[Michael Trigoboff]

MixMaster does a great job of editing the .cld files you can export from each of the 8 sections of a Chord Looper bank. Just open the file and go to List View.

Make sure to read this thread to see how you need to set up the .cld file when you edit it.

[maju64]

Did it also work with half measure chords?