The SAW LEAD question-and-answer line

lead · bright · 124 BPM (112–132) · D minor · 4 bars · 64 steps

SAW LEAD8.07A bar climbing to a held note, then the same rhythm falling

Every patch on the Moog Subsequent 37

The technique

Two bars of question, two of answer, and the answer is the question upside down. Bar one climbs the root, third, fifth and octave, on the one, the "and" of two, three and the "and" of four. Bar two is one note, the key’s third above that octave, held for the whole bar.

Bar three falls from that note: third, root, fifth, third, on the same four strikes. Bar four is one note, the second, a semitone below, held for the whole bar. Same rhythm as the first half, the other direction.

The two held notes are the figure. Lean into the high third as the top of the question and lean harder into the second as the bottom of the answer, and then let the next pass start on the root a step below it.

Hold each note to the next strike so the climb and the fall are lines and not steps. Hold the second to the bar line, and let the root that opens the next pass take over from it.

The V is major, and its third is the raised seventh of the key. Never play the key’s own seventh while it is sounding; the held second is the V’s fifth, and the raised seventh is what pulls the next pass back to the root.

If the sound moves on its own while a note is held, the two held bars are where it shows. Keep them the full bar, and keep the climbing and falling bars plain.

The chords

4 chords over 4 bars, in D minor.

DegreeChordNotesBarsUnder the figure
iDmD · F · A1–1●
VIBbBb · D · F2–2●
IIIFF · A · C3–3●
VAA · C# · E4–4●

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

The rules

  • Over V, never the 7th — the A chord is major, and C natural against its C sharp is the answer refusing to close.

The notes

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

  • steps 1–6·over i Dm·D4·degree 1·MIDI 62
  • steps 7–8·over i Dm·F4·degree 3·MIDI 65
  • steps 9–14·over i Dm·A4·degree 5·MIDI 69
  • steps 15–16·over i Dm·D5·degree 1·MIDI 74
  • steps 17–32·over VI Bb·F5·degree 3·MIDI 77
  • steps 33–38·over III F·F5·degree 3·MIDI 77
  • steps 39–40·over III F·D5·degree 1·MIDI 74
  • steps 41–46·over III F·A4·degree 5·MIDI 69
  • steps 47–48·over III F·F4·degree 3·MIDI 65
  • steps 49–64·over V A·E4·degree 2·MIDI 64

The grid

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

  • —1, 9, 33, 41
  • —7, 15, 39, 47
  • —17 (vel 118), 49 (vel 120)

On the Moog Subsequent 37

Subsequent 37 · Voice

Settings for this voice

Settings for a lead · bright 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

  • ONON

    Must be lit for any glide at all

  • TYPELCR

    LCR is constant rate, LCT constant time, EXP fast then slowing

  • OSCBOTH
  • TIME1(0…10)

    The panel calibration; this manual prints no glide time in seconds

  • GATEDON

    On, the pitch only glides while a key is held

  • LEGATOON

    On, glide happens only between overlapping notes

OSCILLATORS

  • OSC 1 · OCTAVE8'
  • OSC 1 · WAVESAWTOOTH

    The knob is continuous; these are its four named points

  • OSC 2 · OCTAVE8'
  • OSC 2 · WAVESAWTOOTH

    The knob is continuous; these are its four named points

  • OSC · HARD SYNCOFF

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

  • OSC · KB RESETOFF

    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 · FREQUENCY7st(-7…7 st)

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

  • OSC 2 · BEAT FREQ0.5Hz(-3.5…3.5 Hz)

    A constant beat rate at every pitch, unlike FREQUENCY

MIXER

  • OSC 17(0…10)
  • SUB 12(0…10)

    Always a square, always an octave below OSC 1

  • OSC 26(0…10)
  • NOISE0(0…10)

    Pink, not white

  • FDBK / EXT IN0(0…10)

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

FILTER

  • CUTOFF3200Hz(20…20000 Hz)

    Fully down closes the filter completely

  • RESONANCE2.5(0…10)

    Above 7 the filter sings by itself

  • MULTIDRIVE1.5(0…10)

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

  • SLOPE12

    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 · ATTACK8ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • FILTER EG · DECAY300ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • FILTER EG · SUSTAIN5(0…10)

    0 to 100%, calibrated 1 to 10

  • FILTER EG · RELEASE240ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • FILTER EG · LOOPOFF

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

  • AMP EG · ATTACK8ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • AMP EG · DECAY600ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • AMP EG · SUSTAIN8(0…10)

    0 to 100%, calibrated 1 to 10

  • AMP EG · RELEASE260ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • AMP EG · MULTI TRIGOFF

    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

  • SOURCETriangle
  • HI RANGEOFF

    On, the LFO runs ten times faster

  • SYNCOFF

    Off, so RATE is in hertz rather than clock divisions

  • LFO RATE6Hz(0.1…100 Hz)
  • KB RESETOFF

    On, the LFO restarts at zero on every note

  • PITCH AMT1(-5…5)
  • OSCBOTH

    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.