The Petrichor off-beat comping figure

stab · clean · 86 BPM (78–96) · F major · 4 bars · 64 steps

PetrichorPoly SynthRootless keys comping, off the beat

Every patch on the KORG minilogue xd

The technique

Four bars: ii for one, V for one, I for two. Two strikes a bar, on the "and" of one and the "and" of three, and never on a beat.

Three notes a strike, no root. Over the ii it is the chord’s third, fifth and seventh; over the V, its third, seventh and ninth; over the I, its third, fifth and major seventh. The bass says which chord it is, and the hand plays the colour.

The first strike of the bar holds for a beat and a half; the second is short. Long then short is the comp, and the reverse is a march.

Keep the three notes close and let them move as little as they can. The key’s fourth and sixth are in the first two voicings; only one note changes between them.

Never play the key’s fourth while the I is sounding. It sits a semitone over the third, and the two bars of the I are where the figure rests.

The strike on the "and" of one is the loud one, and it is loudest on the first bar of the I. Everything else sits under it.

The chords

3 chords over 4 bars, in F major.

DegreeChordNotesBarsUnder the figure
iiGmG · Bb · D1–1●
VCC · E · G2–2●
IFF · A · C3–4●

The figure is played over these chords; supply them separately if your rig allows.

The rules

  • Over I, never the 4th — it sits a semitone over the third the voicing is built on.
  • Enter each chord at least 2 steps after it lands — the bar head belongs to the bass and the drums, and the comp sits in the gap after it.

The notes

4 bars in F major. Each note is in force across the steps shown.

  • steps 3–8·over ii Gm·Bb4 D5 F5·degrees 4 6 1·MIDI 70 74 77
  • steps 11–14·over ii Gm·Bb4 D5 F5·degrees 4 6 1·MIDI 70 74 77
  • steps 19–24·over V C·E4 Bb4 D5·degrees 7 4 6·MIDI 64 70 74
  • steps 27–30·over V C·E4 Bb4 D5·degrees 7 4 6·MIDI 64 70 74
  • steps 35–40·over I F·A4 C5 E5·degrees 3 5 7·MIDI 69 72 76
  • steps 43–46·over I F·A4 C5 E5·degrees 3 5 7·MIDI 69 72 76
  • steps 51–56·over I F·A4 C5 E5·degrees 3 5 7·MIDI 69 72 76
  • steps 59–62·over I F·A4 C5 E5·degrees 3 5 7·MIDI 69 72 76

The grid

Every step below strikes the note in force at that point. The grid is where the figure is played.

  • —3, 11, 19, 27, 43, 51, 59
  • —35 (vel 112)

On the KORG minilogue xd

minilogue xd · Voice

Settings for this voice

Settings for a stab · clean voice on this box, written here. They are not the preset’s own values: load the preset to hear it as it ships.

Settings

MASTER

  • PORTAMENTO0(0…127)
  • SWING0%(-75…75 %)

    0 is straight; the arpeggiator uses the same value

    EDIT MODE, PROGRAM EDIT, button 7

VOICE MODE

  • VOICE MODE TYPEPOLY
  • VOICE MODE DEPTH0(0…1023)

    Left at 0 — turning right crosses into DUO, which spends two voices on every key

VCO 1 / VCO 2 / MULTI ENGINE

  • VCO 1 · WAVESQR
  • VCO 1 · OCTAVE8'
  • VCO 1 · PITCH0c(-1200…1200 c)
  • VCO 1 · SHAPE512(0…1023)

    Shape, complexity, or duty cycle of the selected wave

  • VCO 2 · WAVETRI
  • VCO 2 · OCTAVE8'
  • VCO 2 · PITCH5c(-1200…1200 c)
  • VCO 2 · SHAPE300(0…1023)
  • VCO 2 · SYNCOFF

    Locks oscillator 2 to the phase of oscillator 1

  • VCO 2 · RINGOFF

    Oscillator 1 ring-modulates oscillator 2

  • CROSS MOD DEPTH0(0…1023)

    Oscillator 1 modulating the pitch of oscillator 2

  • MULTI ENGINE · NOISE/VPM/USRNOISE
  • MULTI ENGINE · TYPELow
  • MULTI ENGINE · SHAPE6000Hz(10…21000 Hz)

    CUTOFF — the low-pass filter on the noise

MIXER

  • VCO 1760(0…1023)
  • VCO 2480(0…1023)
  • MULTI60(0…1023)

FILTER

  • CUTOFF720(0…1023)

    Set too low and the patch may be barely audible

  • RESONANCE120(0…1023)
  • DRIVE0%

    The filter drive circuit, in three stages

  • KEYTRACK50%

    100% moves the cutoff with the key, centred on C4

AMP EG / EG / LFO

  • AMP EG · ATTACK0(0…1023)
  • AMP EG · DECAY340(0…1023)
  • AMP EG · SUSTAIN120(0…1023)
  • AMP EG · RELEASE300(0…1023)
  • EG · ATTACK0(0…1023)
  • EG · DECAY300(0…1023)
  • EG · INT20%(-100…100 %)

    Negative applies the envelope downwards

  • EG · TARGETCUTOFF
  • LFO · WAVETRI
  • LFO · MODENORMAL
  • LFO · RATE160(0…1023)
  • LFO · INT0(0…511)

    Hold SHIFT, turn INT to invert

  • LFO · TARGETSHAPE

EFFECTS

  • DEL/REV/MODREV

    Selects which effect the two knobs below are setting; the other two keep their stored values

  • OFF/ON/SELECTON

    Hold SHIFT, flip to SELECT

  • DEPTH26%(0…100 %)

This block draws on the minilogue xd Owner's Manual E 9, pp.17-41; its values are starting points.