Use Layers to isolate bass/treble clefs

MisplacedDevelopment

When writing some music for an instrument I like to be able to hear the bass line or upper melody in isolation. You can achieve this by using two tracks for bass + melody and mute accordingly, but for an instrument like the piano then it makes composing easier for me if the MIDI is together on one track.

Using the 4Pockets Layers app you can easily define a couple of layers which cover the required 'split' and then double tap the one you want to mute, for example (MultiTrackStudio score view with Layers MIDI FX plugin visible):

Here, I have defined two layers A1 and B1. The 'split' between bass and treble clefs in MTS has been configured to "C5". If I double-tap B1 then the all of the bass notes in the first bar are muted. If I double-tap A1 then all treble notes in the second bar are silenced. This way I can focus on bass or upper melody in isolation.

I have not tried it but you could do something similar I suppose to isolate the different parts of a multi-instrument drum track.

McD

@MisplacedDevelopment said:

I have not tried it but you could do something similar I suppose to isolate the different parts of a multi-instrument drum track.

Sure. Most drum machines/apps output a handful of notes that could be converted to distinct midi channels using StreamByter, Mozaic or The new MIDI Messenger (I think).

I’m going to try this and isolate the bass drum and snare parts to make two Melodie’s that tend towards hip counter point. If the MiDI records cleanly I can save pencil notation time in Staffpad and make more complex sounding orchestral shit. It’s a labor saving strategy for optimized laziness. Something I work really hard at.