Under this topic I am listing fundamental features or contraptions, that are important to me. Most of them do much more in mulch than other inventions that would need the same developement time, as a lot of them behaves strategic. These ideas save time in mulch´s workflow and made it more musical by building up mulch´s structure.
I list them to their priority to me(yet and discribe them in following posts):
1.copy/past
2.improving rigid snapshots,
3.new automation solutions
4.chords producing features
5.midi/pitch-follower trigger
(6.MIDI is discussed under topic pianoroll)
(7.multiple core CPU: listed here to show my priority)
8.improve pitch/frequency-automation (less important than 3.)
1.copy/paste:
-mark patterns (bassline/southpole/arpeggiator) ,
multiply them or carry them over to another.
-mark or wipe: in bassline a note could be be wiped, when left click on it with the normal arrow and draw it over the other fields.
-shortcut: A group of notes (=steps) could be marked when using a shortcut +drawing: a marking tool isn´t neccassary, if the shortcut is the key of the computers keybord, that make big letters, while you press it, + the key, that locks the big keys, if you pressed it once.
I guess, only wiping to mark isn´t the right solution, because you wipe, too, for extending a gating pattern.
-mark and automate all: marking more than one note with left click and shortcut and then automate with constant value automation (see point 3. here or "feature request" topic "snap to nearest"/ reply #6) all of these by choosing a pitch-amount maybe scaled, additionaly (means allow only d-Moll (sorry d-minor; was German) notes in all octaves and snap to the next based of the pitch-ammount)
1.copy/paste
I assume you mean cut and paste of pattern time ranges. Selection of regions of patterns and cut and paste (like cutting and pasting automation time ranges) is planned. Probably for AudioMulch 2.3. Right now you can already move patterns between contraptions using cut-and-paste of presets.
2.improving rigid snapshots
I'm not sure what you mean by this. Please can you explain further? AudioMulch 2.2 is about to be released with reworked contraption presets and metasurface snapshots. This might address some of your concerns.
As you know, AudioMulch is focused on live performance and your points (3) (4) (6) sound more like sequencer features, therefore, although they may be a priority for you they may not be a priority for the goals of AudioMulch -- unless you can suggest how these features are relevant to performance.
I don´t understand much of what you say, but I want to say the things, that fit your goal- the live performance.
-If you play live a lead- instrument and want to have an accompaniment by mulch, a midi or pitch trigger can help.
It´s idea [5.] It´s simple. How it could work: You must to programm some bassline snapshots at home. Today you can trigger them only by flag-automation. But if you improvise your lead, it would be better if you can assign a chord or note of the lead instrument to one snapshot of the bassline. This could be managed by a midi-input for bassline or by a sidecain with at least one pitchfollower.
The pitchfollower shouldn´t have single notes as a trigger but frequency-areas which borders you can define at home and the snapshots jumps by crossing an area.
-out of my point [4.] Another accompaniment (especially for pads) is realised through a granulator. At first sight it´s like an arpeggiator that uses not an own occilator but an audio input. But the "delay" between the fundamental note (chopped dry signal) and the added notes (delay called the "set in time" in mulchs granulators-how I remember) can be set to near zero so it produces a chord. Today Mulchs granulators produce only noise in this case, but if a phich-follower would trigger the fader called transpose (like a bassline- snapshot could be triggered ) it would sound better. It could bring more liveliness to a pad. If the audiosource isn´t the pad itself, there would be new overtones (a new sound) -beside the pad, but ruled by it. In the case of a pad it might be better the chords doesn´t jump to the next one without floating.
The possibilities of a granulator are exiting: maybe there are faders for frequency´s spread or the pan or little bandpassfilters.
I don´t know, if these ideas are actually useful or even, if such things could be created, while having a good sound quality.
Using pitch trackers comes with a lot of treachery, but if you want to try it out you might want to use something like PD and send MIDI triggers into AudioMulch.
I don't really see AudioMulch bringing native pitch trackers in any time soon, there's a lot more work to them than you would expect and you don't end up with a very reliable pitch tracker in the end from my experience.
After reading the remark of B_Murphy I cannot see at this moment a possibility to improve Mulchs Live-usability except for
----sampling (exspecially out of audio- <= midi can be managed by third-parties; see topic "piano roll/ MIDI sequencer" Reply 25# or direct http://thepiz.org/plugins/?p=midiLooper ),
-------advanced midi- (controlling-) structure (Ross,remember, you say something like planning a keyboard splitter)
-------something like (easy) programming
But if there is time, Ross, I would be pleased, if you improve another strength of mulch, the automation. (the sequencer- basic features provide performance preparation, too)
It is a basic function that improves the looping idea, i have in mind.
---Today mulch loops (for example) bassline patterns accurately pattern after pattern. There is no option to drop a melody on its place, have a break and than repeat it again on its musical place. You can only add silence by changing the snapshot.
1.Now I discribe my idea from the beginning: Different patterns of e.g. the bassline can be automated by snapshot- automation.
This flag-automation is the base of my idea.
If snapshot one (and there mustn´t be a second) is our melody, you have to choose it in the flag. Now audiomulch calculate the points, where the pattern repeats and shows them in the same automation lane. First it´s functional, because now you are able to set other flags in this lane with a look at this information and other lanes could make use of it, too- indirectly. (information means: the points are in the background/ can´t be chosen).
But it´s also the initial thing, that reveals more options in the workflow of mulch.
Every loop-point is a mark, at which a pattern starts and can be seen as a single shot of a pattern/melody. With shift(or activated capslock) and left click you are now able to set a starting point to another point of time,- if more far away from the last single shot or overlapping this one. If its more far away, its the use like in my example: you can place a melody to the next relavant point, without adjusting the pattern.
But it´s important, that there is no loss of controll, because the following patterns stac also after it one on another.
If you want to renew the phase to "default" (patterns are ordered after the timeline beginning) you should be able to do this with an interruption of one flag at the wished point ( could be the same snapshot; mulch calculate once more the following loop points on the base of the timeline beginning; a flag doesn´t move with a change of loop(=starting) points)
2.I have another idea build up on the one above but isn´t that necessary.
If you overlap two patterns or want to limit down your pattern you can build staccatos or cuttings e.g. of one looper file.
I beginn with the workflow that is explained most easily. If you click on a looping point with the other mouse-button, the right-click, together with shift (or activated capslock), the file/or pattern is shown at its full length. Yet you can choose at which point of them they beginns and the point when they ends- before the actual end.
If you do so, the section ,you have chosen, touches its loop-point; right click + shift it unfolds again.
(To define an area is easier and more exactly with the timesignature that was integrated in mulch 2.1.)
Maybe its good to see, what part of pattern your are marking,
in the property- window.
Start and end point of a single shot can be define faster,
but can you say, if you understand, what I´ve written,
if you like the two ideas!