How to SEQUENCE without boring everyone
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- Опубліковано 11 січ 2025
- Synth sequences are awesome. So awesome we tend to use them a LOT in electronic music. Let's talk about some ways to sequence without boring our listeners and ourselves to tears.
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One name comes up in my mind immediately: Caterina Barbieri. She is imho the queen of sequencing. Her use of seemingly repetitive patterns is just brilliant. Also how she uses delay and reverb and filters. She starts with a minimalistic, quite dry sequence. But soon the sequences expands into space and time, sometimes it feels like infinity, really impressive. Of course, what she does is not really new, Terry Riley and Steve Reich come to mind. Everybody who loves ambient music should check her out. So, enough fanboy talk now 😆
genuinely some of the best edited music content on the web currently. your humour really shines through each video. great work
Appreciate that! Makes the long hours of editing almost feel worth it....almost....
@@JamesonNathanJones Labour of
It’s highly inspiring to say the least . Thank you so much
where’s the jokes?
I almost never use sequences because of the problems they bring, but your video inspired me to experiment!
Great series. Love how it all ties together from one to the next. love the niche you are carving out that no one else is doing.
Thanks man!
Thank you so much for this series! I definitely find myself caught in the "oh this is a nice 4 bar loop" situation all the time, looking for ways to break out of it!
Glad you enjoy it!
My best layering of sequences seem to be having a 4/16 locked kick drum and literally everything Else at an odd step count like 5,7,9,15. Model cycles excels at this and taught me the value of both polyrhythm and polymeter
This is easier for me to accomplish with drums but I'm starting to figure out how to use it in synth sequences as well
Some sequencers - I've seen this in software, but I'm sure there are hardware versions of it - allow you to randomize particular steps within a sequence and it's usually in combination with what key you set it. In this way, you can make certain steps consistent - usually the 1st or 5th scale degree - whilst the other ones can be random. In fact, any sequencer that can allow for randomization of different parameters - velocity, direction, etc. - will help. Then there's usually employing of various effects to give dynamic character to a sequence over a period of time (flanger, for an example, and that was a go-to for the Berlin School types).
in modular, i use a bernoulli gate (probability) module on a step’s gate out jack that i want to randomize.
I really enjoy your stuff. Please continue the sequence of stuff.
Prokofiev “war” sonatas are the best - love the angular melodic lines. No7 rocks!
After 10 years of sound & music as a hobby, I just learnt that the 3rd dictates if it's a major or minor. I mean I knew how to play a major and a minor, but I couldn't say it in musical terms. Cheers for that JNJ. This will help me in my "minimal theory musical journey".
Predictability/inevitability (and simplistic/simple from another vid) are concepts that really hit home with me; guilty I guess :) I think the master of making bar lines disappear in a perfectly natural way was Scriabin.
Man, this video came in clutch. As a composer who relies heavily on sequences to build out my tracks, monotony is a constant risk. This was truly helpful. Thank you.
Man when you said too many harmonics can lock you into a key I know exactly what you mean. You have to be absolutely sure that you want to do and know how to exit that circle to expand on the musical ideas in the track.
One of the most important things you said in this video:
"...a lot of this is trial and error.". Adsolutely agree. I do appreciat your videos. Thanks for taking the time to do it.
5:21 Those chords sound gorgeous.
@1:59. Wow. Very nice.
@3:38
Inspirational. I was expecting tips for making my synth arps and sequences better, but of course this applies to ostenatos and other types as well.
Thanks and glad to hear! The most helpful concepts for me have been the timeless ones that can serve multiple applications at the foundational level. Just trying to share as many as I can remember lol
Regarding not pinning yourself down with harmony. I’ve found thinking in terms intervals instead of whole chords helps. After all harmony is just a combinations of intervals.
Another thing that is interesting the tetra chord concept. Tetra chords can be combined to create different scales, and you can swap between the two. Another similar concept is pentatonic pairs, where you play two different pentatonic scales depending on the register.
It's all about staying at it and trial and error.. read it again..
You give really good advices!
Love these videos. Thanks for doing them.
Thanks for watching them!
very good content, always!
Excellent content and perfect length! So much information distilled into a fine port!
Thanks!
I liked the "go over the bar" point (and I like Prokofiev but wasn't aware he used that technique). I had tried that before, but very often, the very nature of the "song mode" of some hardware sequencers (1010 blackbox, Squarp Hapax) make this next to impossible. Going back to the Polyend Seq now as it's the most intuitive Sequencer I ever had (and sold), it can do 8 patterns all at different lengths and speeds, so this should help 😅
another great video
Klaus Schulze used a sequence in his track "crystal lake" that might be ... at a first glimpse ... boring. As for me this sequence was truly fascinating (and my personal "door opener" to synthesisers and electronic music). But nevertheless I enjoy your excellent lessons to bring musical theory to those of us who were pure hobbyists 👍.
Excellent info. Great sequences too
Very cool thanks
really good video !
The sequence of Ridley Scott’s alien franchise has become a mystery to me
Highly relatable
Nice video thanks . Subbed
fresh
I just like to make da filter go WEEEOOOP
10:22 THIS
Wonder if you tried Harmony Bloom, from Mario Nieto. I think it is a very cool (newish) plugin to create less static sequences/poly rhythms.
Ambiguous harmonies, chord shapes, melodic lines, rhythms is something I continue to try but fail to learn. Any chance for a video or pdf on it, or suggestions for literature? I have a couple of books on composition and harmony, but they frankly don‘t say much about the sounds that inspire me (Come to think of it, I should probably search for something by or about Debussy)
The track that starts around 00:50, what is it? Absolutely beautiful.
open.spotify.com/track/5PhhffPSjGz8TR0w7FkzFG?si=38d4ef91819940df :)
I’ve been consistently disappointed in my sequences. Hopefully this will help.
That short piece of music at around 5:20, what is that? Is it released anywhere? Sounds really good, would like to hear the entire piece. I've listened to the other pieces you usually use in your videos as well. Great sound.
Also 7:15 as well, such a pleasant combination of sounds. Which project do they belong to?
Thanks! It's one from the cutting room floor. Might be worth revisiting...
Is there a reason you didn't explore these ideas further? I think it would be great if some of the cutting room floor work gets shared in some form. Either as an untitled EP every now and then or something along those lines.
Very sad that I only have a few seconds to enjoy these by the way 😂. Anyway great work altogether, enjoying all the music you've put out so far.
@@JamesonNathanJonesPlease do!
@JamesonNathanJones Have you used a Moog Subharmonicon or written/programmed with the theory it's based on?
I have. The subharmonic series is challenging at best to write for, but the rhythmic elements can be quite musical at any tempo. You could try looking at music written for the original Mixturtrautonium as well
You get some epic sounds out of the pro 3😢
That sequence on your Pro 3 sounds insane! How did you set it up :)?
It's paraphonic, so each oscillator is being sequenced independently. All three sequences are different lengths to create the ever-evolving poly rhythms :)
@@JamesonNathanJones thanks the answer, really enjoy every video you put out :)
Great content. Question: if you could pick just one hardware synth that is the best/easiest at creating sequences which one would it be? Thank you
errrr..... great as always, but what is that black rectangle frame thing moving around behind your head??
That's the headrest to his chair. Lol
@@stevesoucy5932 😂 duhhhh.
What do you mean exactly when you say take away the third to create ambiguity? How do you do this, is this in the ebook as well?
Basic diatonic triads are root third fifth (C E G for example). Remove the 'E' and you have an open fifth which is ambiguous and not major or minor
don’t play the middle note, two fingers only
How about that EastWest Orchestrator, yeahhh…
research ftw o_O
I might’ve missed it but it seems like you’re talking about how to use this this thing but you don’t really explain what a sequence is
Yeah, sequences are almost as cheezy as auto-comp arranger keyboards :O Steve Porcaro is the master, blending together 3 different sequences from Roland MC500, Oberheim DSM and a Sequential Circuits thing ;P