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Changing time signatures on iOS sequencers
It’s amazing how many things my old Alesis MMT8 did so easily like insert one bar of 5/4 time within a song. And that was 35 yrs ago!You’d think that any sequencer nowadays could do it . Among other things .
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Yes, somehow on ios they take this as irrelevant aspect of music, which is kind of insane cause music supposed to be “open ”. And half if the world (the east) using irregular times as much as 4/4.
Absolutely . It’s crazy . Even pop music has odd meter bars “All You Need is Love @.
The old East- West divide, huh?
Now seriously. I see almost no odd time signatures in 95% of the music I have around me, and I am a seeker. Not exactly and audiophile but definitely someone who will not be content with the mainstream radio only.
Also as the name suggests, those are ‘odd’ signatures! Most of people don’t trust odd things. Just in case
I reckon it will stay this way for the foreseeable future. There is a good chance there is a biological predisposition for simplicity and most of folks will stop dancing if something requires an extra cerebral effort.
Having said that, waltz used to be THE THING for a long stretch of time and many traditional songs were in 3\4 (being of the soothing side to side variety) yet it seems to have disappeared from pop music altogether.
So yeah, weird. There must be some scientific papers out there, trying to crack this nut.
Yeah! Even inserting a 2/4 bar in a 4/4 track can be a challenge. Modstep seems to be the most flexible, from what I’ve used on iOS. It takes some work, but you can do odd time sigs and tempo changes in Modstep.
@supadom yeah it's weird that 4/4 is the predominant time signature. I would scientifically expect it to be 5/5 (now you guess why
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Nanostudio 2 will have irregular time signatures, changeable time signatures, and changeable tempo. Observe...
http://downloads.blipinteractive2.co.uk/ForumMedia/NS2/Song Editor 2.png
Taken from this thread. http://forums.blipinteractive.co.uk/node/11615 Cheers.
This should be a default feature I agree, along with tempo changes. I guess nowadays musicians are just pattern musicians and don't make their songs as a musical flow from one end to another. Sadly. Thus most developers don't even see it as a good feature because not popular at all. It's pretty boring.
It’s not only the time signature but also tempo that’s totally overlooked. I don’t know how many sequencers address that on a timeline in song mode. At least Link addressed that as far as playing live is concerned.
I understand if audio based machines don’t do it as speed affects that I.e. Loopy, but I think all midi sequencers should have that feature. Do they?
I think a lot of iOS music apps are geared toward EDM, so most stick with 4/4. It is probably hard to mix 2 tracks with different time signatures for most DJs, seeing as they need so much 4 to the floor kicks at the head to get tracks to sync.
Quantum can mix time signatures by splitting a sequence into linked parts, or a chaining sequences(with different accents).
Its probably not the sort of sequence you want though (quantized based on steps)
Auria Pro has a tempo/time signature track. You can add as many signature and tempo changes as you wish.
It must have to do with supply and demand in the iOS market. I think producers these days are better at knowing their audience.
Because it's natural to music, if I was designing a sequencer, it wouldn't make sense to me to limit time signature and tempo, however, I get that pop dance music is the most accessible to the mainstream, and most pop music is 4/4. That has to be easier for a developer to code, and iOS music-making apps are mostly optimized for organization of loops and shorter pieces. That supplies most of the demand.
Professional composers writing and arranging all styles, scoring films, producing symphonies to commercials, and in music education are not flocking to iOS devices to get their work done. They still pay many hundreds of dollars for pro software on big-screened desktop systems. Realistically, just taking advantage of what's practical and possible on today's mobile devices is the way to go. Use the best tools for whatever job needs doing.
I’m just saying if the Alesis MMT8 could do it .That sequencer was $200 usd. Yes Airia can do it and Modstep but the happy answer here is NS2. Thank you @jwmmakerofmusic for supplying that .
Unfortunately, I think that is the correct answer.
Yes it is but desktop DAWS are not neccesarily geared towards EDM. IOS apps should not be “geared” towards anything IMO. Just leave the “gearing“ up to us, the musicians .
@Telstar5: How many $200 iOS sequencer apps have you tried? I'm almost sure one of them supports time sig and tempo tracks
(kidding... but you mentioned it yourself! If developers could ask $200 for a comprehensive iOS MIDI sequencer, they'd implement both of those YESTERDAY! 
)
Ah yes @Telstar5
I have fond memories of the MMT8. I always thought it was so slick how the manual was readily available underneath the false compartment. My first hardware sequence. My most creative output period.
Well here’s the thing. You could technically charge an IAP for tempo automation and time sig changes in Xequence.
I’ll be willing to cough up the dough. Cheers.
No problem mate. I heard from one of the beta testers that NS2 is being finalised and polished into a proper product.
I'm guessing at what's involved in coding, but I imagine something like that isn't so easy to implement as an add-on. It's probably at the core of the timing mechanism and would require a full upgrade of the app.
I tend to think iOS developers are either big companies aiming their apps at musicians and hobbyists who don't know much about music beyond pop/EDM, or independent devs creating what they themselves use, or what they perceive will be used. Independent devs are often not professional music producers, and they're individuals with limited resources.
Of course, ideally, iOS DAWS should be robust enough to handle anything. The reality is that they're typically made for who mostly buys them. Why should a dev go to all the trouble to make a more complex app when, for most buyers, a simpler one will do?
@SevenSystems : I hear ya. But $200!is dirt cheap for hardware . We’re spoiled in iOS, that’s for sure . But the original Korg Wavestion was $2,200 and the iwavestation is $40. You cant compare hardware costs to software . I only used the $200 reference to illustrate that it was dirt cheap for the time and it was decades ago.
I know you said once that odd bars would be impossible to write into to Xequence but gee it would be great if that ever happened . I DO have the app BTW .
Agreed. I’d be pretty pissed off if my piano only played major chords
Better than those inferior minor ones though.
Not as bad as diminished
Being able to change time signatures and tempi mid-piece is at the top of my wish list for my DAW of choice, Cubasis. I would like much more choice for time signatures, and the ability to change tempi dynamically (especially if you could do smooth rallentandi and accelerandos and such...!) would truly open up so many exciting possibilities. If only... Please, Steinberg?
In Different Drummer you can set a global time Signature 2-5/4 and 5-10/8 -There's a Default Time Signature Setting, and you can change up while playing as well. I think the tuning range is like 420-450ish. You can create Jamlets and drop them in anywhere, and too many other options I couldn't explain
MultitrackStudio has always been able to do it with no limitations.
Right, I am working on a tune that is partially in 7/4 and also 4/4 in parts. I figured I should start taking my sketches and plonk them into Auria Pro, only to notice that 7/4 isn't possible? It has a pre-defined list of time signatures. That's it? None of the alternatives I'm given can be multiplied/divided to emulate 7/4 either.
Perhaps @richardyot knows a way?
Also @SevenSystems : it would be a great feature in Xequence to be able to have multiple time signatures in the app. If I haven't missed it somewhere I'm thinking I indeed can set 7/4 in Xequence, but there is no way of also having 4/4 parts in there, correct? I have to pick one for the song, and stick to it?
I actually noticed/learnt today that Gadget can handle multiple time signatures in the same project, but there obviously the problem become to get the synths/apps in to it that I'd like to use. The same would go for NS2.
MultitrackStudio supports this I believe.
I am surprised that auria doesn’t have 7/4 to be honest.
It does, yes. However, it also has a few other issues with the GUI/workflow for me, I really would have liked to do this in Auria, as I don't feel like re-learning MTS again (I stopped using it when there was a huge gap in real updates for it and have sort of forgotten how to do even basic things in it...I have just downloaded it and fiddled with it for an hour or so).
Also, all my drums are coming from DrumPerfect Pro (before anyone points me towards NS2).