The Octavia octave answer

lead · dirty · 104 BPM (92–116) · A minor · 4 bars · 64 steps

Octavia7.05A phrase, then the same phrase an octave down with one note changed

Every patch on the Moog Subsequent 37

The technique

A five-note phrase in bars one and two, then the same phrase an octave lower in bars three and four. Same notes, same order, same rhythm, and until the last note only the octave changes.

The phrase is the root, the third, the second, the seventh a tone below the root, and the key’s fifth under that, with the third short and everything after it longer. Start on the bar head and let the last note hold through bar two.

Change one note in the answer and only one: the last. The statement ends on the fifth, which leaves it hanging; the answer ends on the root and stays there. Play both endings the same and the two bars sound like a repeat rather than a reply.

Do not play the answer quieter. The octave is what makes it an answer, and adding a dynamic on top gives the ear two reasons and hides which one is working.

Let bars two and four breathe. The phrase is five notes in two bars and the rest is silence, which is how the answer arrives as a separate thing rather than as a continuation.

Never raise the seventh. One raised seventh turns a figure that stays still into one that is on its way somewhere.

Keep it inside the octave and a fourth it is written in. Both statements sit inside that, and the low one should still read as a lead rather than as a bass line.

The chords

1 chord over 4 bars, in A minor.

DegreeChordNotesBarsUnder the figure
iAmA · C · E1–4●

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

The rules

  • Never the raised 7th, on any chord — over i, a leading tone sends a figure that is meant to stay in one place.

The notes

4 bars in A minor. Each note is in force across the steps shown.

  • steps 1–4·over i Am·A4·degree 1·MIDI 69
  • steps 5–6·over i Am·C5·degree 3·MIDI 72
  • steps 7–10·over i Am·B4·degree 2·MIDI 71
  • steps 11–16·over i Am·G4·degree 7·MIDI 67
  • steps 17–24·over i Am·E4·degree 5·MIDI 64
  • steps 33–36·over i Am·A3·degree 1·MIDI 57
  • steps 37–38·over i Am·C4·degree 3·MIDI 60
  • steps 39–42·over i Am·B3·degree 2·MIDI 59
  • steps 43–48·over i Am·G3·degree 7·MIDI 55
  • steps 49–64·over i Am·A3·degree 1·MIDI 57

The grid

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

  • —1 (vel 118), 33 (vel 104)
  • —5, 7, 11, 37, 39, 43
  • —17, 49

On the Moog Subsequent 37

Subsequent 37 · Voice

Settings for this voice

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

Settings

  • SWING50%(0…100 %)

    50 is straight; it swings the onboard arpeggiator and sequencer, nothing played from elsewhere

    PRESET EDIT, ARPEGGIATOR, SWING

GLIDE

  • ONOFF

    Must be lit for any glide at all

OSCILLATORS

  • OSC 1 · OCTAVE8'
  • OSC 1 · WAVESAWTOOTH

    The knob is continuous; these are its four named points

  • OSC 2 · OCTAVE4'
  • OSC 2 · WAVESAWTOOTH

    The knob is continuous; these are its four named points

  • OSC · HARD SYNCON

    Keep OSC 2 at or above OSC 1 or it barely sounds

  • OSC · KB RESETON

    A defined leading edge, at the cost of a click on hard attacks

  • OSC · DUO MODEOFF

    Off: one note at a time, both oscillators on the same key

  • OSC · KB CTRLHI

    Inert while DUO MODE is off; set so FREQUENCY keeps its semitone scale

  • OSC 2 · FREQUENCY3.5st(-7…7 st)

    Centre is unison with OSC 1; fully clockwise is a fifth

  • OSC 2 · BEAT FREQ0Hz(-3.5…3.5 Hz)

    A constant beat rate at every pitch, unlike FREQUENCY

MIXER

  • OSC 14(0…10)
  • SUB 12(0…10)

    Always a square, always an octave below OSC 1

  • OSC 29(0…10)
  • NOISE1(0…10)

    Pink, not white

  • FDBK / EXT IN3.5(0…10)

    With nothing in EXT IN this feeds the mixer output back into itself

FILTER

  • CUTOFF2200Hz(20…20000 Hz)

    Fully down closes the filter completely

  • RESONANCE5.5(0…10)

    Above 7 the filter sings by itself

  • MULTIDRIVE7(0…10)

    Tube-like warmth at the bottom, hard clipping at the top

  • SLOPE18

    dB per octave: one, two, three or four poles

  • EG AMT3(-5…5)

    Bipolar: below centre the envelope pulls the cutoff down

  • KB TRACK1(0…2)

    1.0 is 1:1 tracking centred on C3; 2.0 is 2:1

ENVELOPE GENERATORS

  • ENV · KNOB SHIFTOFF

    Unlit, or the eight knobs below are DELAY, HOLD, VEL AMT and KB TRACK instead

  • FILTER EG · ATTACK2ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • FILTER EG · DECAY260ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • FILTER EG · SUSTAIN4(0…10)

    0 to 100%, calibrated 1 to 10

  • FILTER EG · RELEASE200ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • FILTER EG · LOOPOFF

    On, the envelope repeats for as long as a note is held — a multistage LFO

  • AMP EG · ATTACK2ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • AMP EG · DECAY520ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • AMP EG · SUSTAIN7.5(0…10)

    0 to 100%, calibrated 1 to 10

  • AMP EG · RELEASE180ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • AMP EG · MULTI TRIGON

    On, every note re-attacks even when you play legato

  • AMP EG · LOOPOFF

    Off on everything but a bed: looping the amplitude re-articulates a held note

MOD 1

  • SOURCERamp
  • HI RANGEOFF
  • SYNCON

    On, so the RATE knob picks a division and no longer reads in hertz

  • LFO RATE (division)1/8

    RATE picks divisions while SYNC is lit

  • KB RESETOFF

    On, the LFO restarts at zero on every note

  • PITCH AMT3(-5…5)
  • OSC2

    Which oscillator PITCH AMT reaches

  • FILTER AMT0(-5…5)
  • DESTVCA LEVEL
  • MOD AMT0(-5…5)

This block draws on the Subsequent 37 User's Manual, pp.21-61; its values are starting points.