First Steps; Sound Rhythm Tricks - Yamaha CS1x Manual

Note Example B

First Steps

Let's deal with the simple Arpeggio patterns "Up/Down"
and "Random" fi rst. These are by no means unique to the
CS1x, but can be found on many a synthesizer and therefore
serve well as an introduction as to the how Areggiators auto-
matically break up chords. What this actually sounds like
isn't important right now. We want to concentrate exclusively
on the sequence of notes produced. We recommend Perfor-
mance TP060 or a similar percussive sound for reference.
PERIMENT:
Select a 1/16 resolution and a tempo between 100 and
120bpm. You can of course also set the tempo via MIDI
Clock synchronisation – actually that's a good idea, as you
can then use the sequencer as a reference to help you under-
stand the Arpeggio beats and rhythms better. Use the four
note C major chord for all Arpeggios (triad + octave root
note). Now listen how the Arpeggiator translates this chord:
"UpOct1-4" – here each chord note is playing from the
bottom note to the top note over 1, 2 or even 4 octaves if
desired. The opposite sequence
"DownOct1-4", i.e. the notes are played starting with the
highest down to the lowest. "Random Oct1/2/4" however
selects the chord notes randomly from a 1 to 4 octave range.
Whilst the above Arpeggio types hardly require further
explanation, there is one noteworthy difference in the case of
the combined Up/Down Arpeggio type. As you might expect,
in both cases the Arpeggiator begins with the lowest note,
ascends to the top, and then descends back down again,
regardless whether 1, 2 or 4 octaves are selected. Still, the
note sequence produced is slightly different:
PERIMENT:
Play the C major chord using Performances TP061 and
TP062. If you now follow each sound i.e. the sequences gen-
erated by "UpDwAOct2" and "UpDwBOct2", you will notice
a small irregularity with type B: the root note is not played
again after the highest note has been reached – all the other
Arpeggio types in the last X-PERIMENT did! This results in
an unwanted 'shifting', i.e. the Arpeggio's root note doesn't
always fall exactly on the correct beat. The following Note
Examples should make this a little clearer.
Note Example: UpDwAOct2
16

Sound Rhythm Tricks

Looking at these UpDown Arpeggios may lead you to the
conclusion that the chord notes 'are somehow drifting across
the beats'. Perhaps you have already come across this phe-
nomenon when working with other Arpeggiators or testing
some of the CS1x factory sounds. It's true: you can never
separate rhythms and chords when working with the Arpeg-
giator! Here's a little example.
Leave the resolution of Performance TP063 set to 1/16 and
type "UpOct2". Now play a C major triad in the basic confi g-
uration and examine which betas the arpeggiated sounds fall
on. After the fi rst cycle the root note lies somewhere
between the second and third beat, after the second cycle it
falls on the fourth and after the third it's now between the
fi rst and second beats, and so on. If you set the resolution to
1/24 triplet however, the C note will always fall exactly on
each beat. Let's look at this from another angle: Trigger the
Arpeggiator with a four note chord (use the C major chord
with root note octaves) and you will fi nd that the C note
results from type
doesn't fall on the beat anymore. To correct this, choose an
even-numbered resolution (e.g. 1/16 or 1/8). Now everything
is back to normal – i.e. the arpeggiated root note fall once
again exactly on the expected beats.
Are you with us this far? We have a little X-PERIMENT that
will demonstrate the direct relationship between the number
of chord notes and the chord's rhythmic resolutio.n The rule
of thumb here is that you should always choose even num-
bered chords for even rhythmic resolutions (1/4, 1/8, 1/16
and 1/32) and (say) three note or fi ve note chords with odd-
numbered resolutions (1/6, 1/12, 1/24). That's the only way
to avoid generating unwanted syncopations with the Arpeg-
giator.
Note Example: UpDwBOct2
PERIMENT:
Note Example: 1/16
Note Example: 1/24