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Keyboard chords using pads
I'm not going to learn to play the piano anytime in the near future. I would like to be able to have more than the most rudimentary chords keyboard chords in my songs. Is there an Audiobus compatible app out there that lets you assign chords to a group of pads and lets that app drive my piano, organ or synth app's sound engine when I press one of the tabs? I want something like 16 pads on the screen and I can assign whatever chord I want to each pad. Maybe Emaj7 to pad 1, A9 to pad 2 etc. There would be a list of preset chords to assign as well as a virtual keyboard I could use to map any other fingerings to a pad. Then when I'm recording my song, I could just press a pad instead of fumbling around on my physical keyboard.
Cubasis' Microsonic synth has this but its selection of chords is limited and there's no way (at least that I could find) to add new chord types to there preset list. For example, there's no way to do a 9th chord. Also, you can only use the one voicing per chord that they give you. Maybe Cubasis' next version will improve on this and maybe not but I still think a general purpose app for this function would be nice. I looked through the Audiobus compatible app list and nothing jumped out at me.
Comments
I would love a midi controller that let me do this! As for Cubasis' chords, you can program them to be whatever you want them to be. The manual explains how to do it. There is a button, an "e" I believe, that you press, and then press the key you want to program, and then the chord, and then finally the "e" key again (or some similar sequence). I think it is a fantastic innovation!!!
Yamaha Synth Arp & Drum Pad can allow you to do this.
Guitarism is an awesome app with 6 chord pads and each pad can also have 2 alternate chords assigned. It's also an awesome midi controller, u can have 3 different instruments controlling chords, individual notes and bass notes! and the chord library is pretty extensive.
@SpookyZoo created a great template for MidiDesigner Pro for that. MDP isn't AB, but it can send midi to an AB synth app.
http://forum.audiob.us/discussion/532/fave-music-theory-apps#Item_168
Guitarism is great for this but (like many chord generating apps) it has fixed voicing of the chords. If that works for you, you can have up to 18 chords set up in guitarism via the left/right alt-chord buttons. You'll need the MIDI IAP.
If you need your own voicing and don't mind doing it yourself, most of the midi controller apps will allow you to stack notes like spookyzoo's awesome dealio.
Chordion has always looked interesting to me. Think that would fit the bill but I've never tried it.
Chordion is what you're looking for. Paired with midi to control other apps and it gets even more powerful. Great app. I highly recommend it.
Bought chordion. Definitely does what you're after but I get a lot of stuttering on my freshly restarted ipad 3 when switching chords with virtual midi with more than one app in the background. Tried lots of apps. Generally works better without audiobus loaded but still managed to get glitches when controlling more than one app. A bummer because it's a pretty lovely app. Had it running well with nlog pro and sunrizer for a minute and it was synth wank glory but it eventually crumbled completely into distortion. Running either Bs16i or sir sampleton alone also had glitches. I can normally run lots of sir sampleton tracks simultaneously via genome.
Anyone else have the same experience? Tips?
@audiojunkie - Thanks, I would never have noticed/figured out that e button in Cubasis and its associated 10 programmable buttons. I was focused on the pads. I guess I should have read the manual!
I'm still interested in an external app. I'll check out Chordion and Guitarism.
@cheesesteak If you explore using guitarism for this do let me know how your experience goes, always looking for ways to make it better!
Music Studio is another possibility. It has customizable pads as well as MIDI out but I haven't tried triggering other apps via virtual MIDI.
The chord buttons in Cubasis are really great because you choose every note and create the inversions. They work well controlling other apps. I do wish they were a little bigger.
Another app that looks like it may do what is wanted is Musix Pro... :-)
Nave offers a different approach.Goto the mod & keys page and select the blades.Pick a scale and notes within the scale.Turn down the volume as use a a controller.
'Midi mind' uses a similar approach.
Or build your own chords with 'chord explorer',and again use as a controller.
@syrupcore, i can second that. I have Chordion and love it but using it in conjunction with virtual midi and audiobus gives a lot of stuttering. Its just too much for the ipad 3.
Hmmm. I just realized that I have an Akai LPD8 laptop controller drum pad that's been collecting dust for two years because I never figured out a use for it even though I wanted one really, really bad. I've found a youtube video of it being used with an ipad running Sample Lab. Now I'm wondering if this is what I really want after all. Is anyone else using an external pad instead of a keyboard? Would I have to map a pad to Chordion (or something like that) which would then trigger a chord in Galileo or some other app? It looks like I'd have to buy a camera connection kit to connect the LPD8 and iPad.
thanks and wah @OliverImseng. was hoping it was just me. I haven't bought an app in a while so that was a bit of a bummer. Anyone with an iPad 4 have better luck with Chordion and Virtual Midi?
What about the Launchpad app? Granted, you would have to record the samples of the chords first, but afterwards, it would be easy enough to trigger them afterwards, plus I believe they can even be custom labeled. Also, it's free. I believe it allows you to bring in your own samples (I forget, since I removed it from my iPad due to the size.....which was the only downside I found.)
I have Musix Pro, really like it and highly recommend it, but not for this application. While the many definable layouts certainly make chords easier to spot and it's easy to hit most triads with one finger, inversion will require multiple fingers and are not very pad like.
I use the pads in Cubasis for this and route the midi channel to the desired virtual synth. Then record the midi in Cubasis and the audio via Audiobus.