Also, because the harmony notes are generated independently, the chances of producing discordant notes as harmony notes increases with the number of semitone steps in the active scale. For example, if the scale is C major, C D E F G A B, then it could occur that notes a semitone away (E and F, B and C) are generated at the same time depending on the specific input note, the positions of the various arpeggiators, etc. Using scales with fewer notes reduces or eliminates this possibility. Pentatonic scales are often a good choice.
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Thanks for your reply. Things make more sense after you explained that I can use wither the poly or the mono outs.
So, intervals are mathematical.
What then are degrees in this context and what are the allowable values?
The degrees are numbered from the active scale notes. For example, if scale is C F G A with tonic C, then C is degree 0, F is degree 1 (one "scale step: from tonic), G is degree 2 (two āscale stepsā from the tonic), and A is degree 3.
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I guess that make more sense when scales may not be diatonic. If every scale was diatonic, it would make more sense to have the degrees 1.2.3,4,5,6,7.
For better or worse, even though Meander for Windows supported about 30 scales, for VCV I only supported diatonic scales. As mentioned elsewhere, my primary reason for limiting to diatonic was that chords using standard practice were well defined and always sounded good, although Meanderās use of 7th chords has never been very pleasing. It is extremely difficult to teach a program when to use dissonance and when not to 
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Is there a simple way to tell how many notes will be in an arpeggio? Edit: Is the arpeggio ever over the three notes of a triad chord if the input is such?
I have the chord arpeggiation working now. I had a patching error.
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The number of output notes is controlled by the terms in the rules file (and the probability settings, but for this discussion letās assume probabilities are set at 100%). The arp note is always output. H1 is output if an $h1 term is present in the rules and the $h1 value is not 0. Similarly, H2 and H3 outputs depend on $h2 and $h3 respectively.
A rules file without any $hx actions outputs only the arp note.
A rules file like the following outputs the arp note and H1 as the 5th scale degree relative to the arp note (this is the harm-1.txt rule set). There are no $h1 actions other than the initialization at the beginning of the sequence so it stays at 5 indicating to use the 5th degree of the scale.
S = $h1=5 X
X = N + X
A rule set like the following (one of my favorites: semi-3.txt) produces all four notes. All 3 harmony actions appear at least once, and production X varies their values so that they produce different harmonies over time.
S = $h1=5 $h2=7 $h3=9 N + X
X = $h1- $h2* $h3+ N + X Y
Y = + N X
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Is it intended that the run input canāt be triggered (toggled via a trigger)? It blinks the run button on run trigger but does not actually keep it lit (running), so no way to hook it up to Clockedās Run out to make it run when clocked starts to runā¦ Seems to be a bug.
tcAprGen 2.0.3 on MacOS 13.4, Rack Pro 2.3.0
This may be due to my naivety with VCV standards and common practices, but the Run port treats the voltage as a quasi-gate. Voltage > 0.5 allows tcArpGen to run, otherwise it pauses. So, yes, a trigger would cause a brief run before pausing. (I had not considered taking a trigger input for the Run port ā¦ perhaps I should look around and familiarize myself with how they are typically designed)
Would hooking the Clocked clock output to tcArpGen clock intput and Clocked reset output to tcArpgen reset input accomplish what you are after? tcArpGen would only run while the clock is running.
yes, that does work, but I like my modules that have a run input toggle on/off on trigger receipt. That is what every other run input I know of does in Rack. I donāt think any others need a high gate, at least not that I have used (still have around 1K modules to test, including a few sequencers though )ā¦
The best approach may be to have a menu option that selects between a trigger and gate-like voltage-level behavior for the Run port. Looked through a few manuals this morning ā¦ the Impromptu sequencers use a trigger input for the Run port, but he Count Modula and Venom sequencers use a gate-like voltage level. Adding a menu option to select the desired behavior seems like a good compromise to let each person choose their desired type of Run port signal sensitivity.
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Here is one last demo of a patch with my Meander and tcArpGen working together cooperatively. This piece is in Db minor with Meander generating a I-IV-I-V chord sequence which is an alternating between a āplagal cadenceā (IV-I) and an āauthentic cadenceā (V-I) ā¦ for anyone interested in harmonic progression theory.
Meander plays the chords and bass as well as a scaler arpeggio (ostinato) with the arp pattern being sequenced. tcArpGen plays chord arpeggios with the arp pattern being sequenced.
Here is the patch: Arped Cadences-1.vcv (11.3 KB)
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Nicely done! You have them working quite well together. Tasty ebb and flow of the shimmer too.
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I tuned the Bass down one octave, as it seemed to high and seems to fit better this way. Great patch, lots to explore!
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Glad you like my demo patch. If you get inspired to play detective, the patch has H1 harmony note being generated and played and sent to the mixer, but, the note is never playing, which I did not realize until I was recording. I have other variations of the patch in which H1 is playing. I suspect it is something to do with using a CLOCKED clock for the tcArpGen Poly In gate but I have some versions that do this in which H1 does play. The only difference I can see is in the version in which H1 does play, I am not sequencing the Arp Algo (labelled Harm Algo) CV. Iām sure I did something that once made sense but now I have lost that sense
Edit: Found it. The problem is induced depending on the setting of the Arp Octave Min and Max. Not sure why that is the case, but this is what causes the H1 note to not play. Likewise, if I set the Harm Octave to match the Arp Octave, H1 plays.
I agree my patch sounds better with the Meander bass part lowered to Oct 2 and the mixer bass track volume level increased.
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Well, I had to do one more version of the Meander and tcArpGen duet demo. In my previous demo, the tcArpGen H1 was not playing due to a mismatch between the arp and harm octave ranges. So, in this demo, I expanded and correctly have H1, H2, and H3 playing along with the arpeggiated chord and with Meander playing chords, melodic scales and bass, in Db-minor.
Arped Cadences Harmonized-1.vcv (10.8 KB)
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Hmm, I get nothing out of the tcArpGen, neither arp, nor H1. H2, or H3 are outputting gate or v/oct. The poly outs do output stuff. Do I have an outdated build where those outs are broken? Iām on MacOSā¦
I have no idea. Iām still using the beta version that I used on my last patch. You were able to get the arp out on that last one werenāt you?
Iām using the most recent tcArpGen beta that @tonecarver posted here.
I am too, but I just checked, and it seems that itās broken on the Mac, Only the poly outs are working. Nothing comes out of the other ones. I did check the previous patch and also donāt see it outputting the arp. Missed that yesterday. So guess time to file a bugā¦
Perhaps this is related to the situation I had where H1 was not playing due to the Harm and Arp octave ranges mismatching.