The TRIPLET 5THS stacked-fifths ladder

arp · clean · 116 BPM (100–128) · G major · 2 bars · 32 steps

TRIPLET 5THS9.11Fifths stacked three at a time, accented in threes across the beat

Every patch on the Moog Subsequent 37

The technique

The name says fifths, so every note in a group is a fifth from the one before it, three at a time. Up from the root: root, fifth, second. Then up from the fifth: fifth, second, sixth. Then up from the second: second, sixth, third. That is the ladder, and every rung is a fifth.

The name says triplet, so the notes come in threes: three sixteenths, the first of each three the loud one. Four groups in a row is an accent every three sixteenths against a beat every four, and that cross-rhythm is the figure. Do not straighten it out.

The fourth group comes down the same rungs: the third, the sixth, the second, a fifth below each time, landing on the second. Then a beat of nothing. Twelve sixteenths climbing and turning, four of silence, and the next bar starts the ladder again from its own root.

Bar two is the same ladder from the IV’s root, over the IV: the same twelve notes and the silence, every one a fifth lower. Same shape, same accents.

One note at a time, every note the same length. Let each sixteenth go before the next is struck. Held, three fifths are a chord, and this is not a chord; it is a ladder.

The bar head is the loudest note and the start of each group the next loudest. The third note of every group is the quiet one, so the ear counts in threes and not in fours.

Never raise the key’s fourth. It is the next fifth up from the seventh, one rung past the key, and one of them turns the ladder into a modulation. The ladder stops at the third and turns.

The chords

2 chords over 2 bars, in G major.

DegreeChordNotesBarsUnder the figure
IGG · B · D1–1●
IVCC · E · G2–2●

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

The rules

  • Never the raised 4th, on any chord — over I, the seventh fifth up from G is one rung past the key, and one of them is a modulation.

The notes

2 bars in G major. Each note is in force across the steps shown.

  • step 1·over I G·G3·degree 1·MIDI 55
  • step 2·over I G·D4·degree 5·MIDI 62
  • step 3·over I G·A4·degree 2·MIDI 69
  • step 4·over I G·D4·degree 5·MIDI 62
  • step 5·over I G·A4·degree 2·MIDI 69
  • step 6·over I G·E5·degree 6·MIDI 76
  • step 7·over I G·A4·degree 2·MIDI 69
  • step 8·over I G·E5·degree 6·MIDI 76
  • step 9·over I G·B5·degree 3·MIDI 83
  • step 10·over I G·B5·degree 3·MIDI 83
  • step 11·over I G·E5·degree 6·MIDI 76
  • step 12·over I G·A4·degree 2·MIDI 69
  • step 17·over IV C·C3·degree 4·MIDI 48
  • step 18·over IV C·G3·degree 1·MIDI 55
  • step 19·over IV C·D4·degree 5·MIDI 62
  • step 20·over IV C·G3·degree 1·MIDI 55
  • step 21·over IV C·D4·degree 5·MIDI 62
  • step 22·over IV C·A4·degree 2·MIDI 69
  • step 23·over IV C·D4·degree 5·MIDI 62
  • step 24·over IV C·A4·degree 2·MIDI 69
  • step 25·over IV C·E5·degree 6·MIDI 76
  • step 26·over IV C·E5·degree 6·MIDI 76
  • step 27·over IV C·A4·degree 2·MIDI 69
  • step 28·over IV C·D4·degree 5·MIDI 62

The grid

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

  • —1 (vel 118), 4 (vel 108), 7 (vel 108), 10 (vel 108), 17 (vel 118), 20 (vel 108), 23 (vel 108), 26 (vel 108)
  • —2, 5, 8, 11, 18, 21, 24, 27
  • —3, 6, 9, 12, 19, 22, 25, 28 (all vel 76)

On the Moog Subsequent 37

Subsequent 37 · Voice

Settings for this voice

Settings for a arp · 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

  • SWING50%(0…100 %)

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

    PRESET EDIT, ARPEGGIATOR, SWING

ARPEGGIATOR

  • ONON

    Lit, or nothing below does anything

  • SYNCON

    On, RATE picks a division; without MIDI clock or tap tempo the arp will not play

  • RATE (division)1/16

    At SEQ this is the step length

    RATE picks divisions while SYNC is lit

  • RANGE0

    The notes held, and no octave above or below; past either end lights two LEDs and spans three

  • BACK / FORTHOFF

    Off, or the pattern turns round at each end

  • INVERTOFF
  • PATTERNUP

    ORDR sounds held notes in the order pressed; SEQ plays back a recorded step sequence

  • LATCHOFF

    Off, so releasing the keys stops it

GLIDE

  • ONOFF

    Must be lit for any glide at all

OSCILLATORS

  • OSC 1 · OCTAVE8'
  • OSC 1 · WAVETRIANGLE

    The knob is continuous; these are its four named points

  • OSC 2 · OCTAVE8'
  • OSC 2 · WAVETRIANGLE

    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 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 · FREQUENCY0st(-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 15(0…10)
  • SUB 12.5(0…10)

    Always a square, always an octave below OSC 1

  • OSC 22(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

  • CUTOFF1800Hz(20…20000 Hz)

    Fully down closes the filter completely

  • RESONANCE1.5(0…10)

    Above 7 the filter sings by itself

  • MULTIDRIVE0(0…10)

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

  • SLOPE24

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

  • EG AMT2.5(-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 · ATTACK1ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • FILTER EG · DECAY130ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • FILTER EG · SUSTAIN1(0…10)

    0 to 100%, calibrated 1 to 10

  • FILTER EG · RELEASE100ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • FILTER EG · LOOPOFF

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

  • AMP EG · ATTACK1ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • AMP EG · DECAY220ms(0.1…10000 ms)
  • AMP EG · SUSTAIN3(0…10)

    0 to 100%, calibrated 1 to 10

  • AMP EG · RELEASE110ms(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 RATE5Hz(0.1…100 Hz)
  • KB RESETOFF

    On, the LFO restarts at zero on every note

  • PITCH AMT0(-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.15-61; its values are starting points.