Intelligent MIDI Chord & Melody Tool For Mac OS & Windows
Auto Theory Vst Free Download Windows 10. In this music software review, we look at AutoTheory PRO by Mozaic, an innovative standalone plugin that gives musicians the ability to master music theory and play any instrument in perfect key using any DAW. AutoTheory PRO is a revolutionary new application that gives musicians the power to play any. AutoTheory PRO is a revolutionary new application that gives musicians the power to play any instrument in perfect key with any DAW. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned veteran, this software will empower anyone with the ability to play complex chords and melodies in perfect key quickly and easy without knowing any music theory.
Download sony autotune VST for free. Multimedia tools downloads - Antares Autotune VST by Antares Audio Technologies and many more programs are available for instant and free download.
- The demo version of our plugins are available for Windows and Mac and the only limitations they have is that every 30 seconds the volume is turned down, also they cannot receive any automation from the host so no parameters are restored when loading a saved session.
- Smart Keyboard Mappings - New easy to use VST/AU format! Upgrade Available - Registered owners of AutoTheory Pro can Upgrade to AutoTheory 5. Play like a Pro with AutoTheory’s patented MIDI Effects. Easily create signature basslines, melodies and arpeggios from any chord progression.
The best Free Music Software Freeware, VST, VSTi, AU Plugins & Instruments Download. Trusted Windows (PC) download Auto-Tune EFX VST 2.0.1. Virus-free and 100% clean download. Get Auto-Tune EFX VST alternative downloads. Mar 06, 2020 ReFX Nexus 2 Serial Key VST Free Download: The Nexus 2 License Key are most professional ROM synthesizer-plugin that usually used in FL studio maintain for sound quality. This Software make any sound hard ware more efficient in usability. In this data base company provide you build in hundred of sound waves features. Basslines usually focus on the 'root' tone of the chord that is being played. AutoTheory's Smart Scale shifts the 'root' to the first white key in the 'Chord Tones' and 'Dynamic Scale' mappings. While using a simple 'root' oriented bassline works well alongside a more complex melody, sometimes you want your bassline to have more movement.
- Computer / Software >Virtual Instrument
If you want to create convincing keyboard parts but don’t have the playing chops, AutoTheory might save your bacon.
Many of us are not blessed with stellar keyboard skills. I include myself in this category: I can get a half-decent tune out of a guitar, but when it comes to the piano keyboard, I’m far less fluent. As well as having led me to try almost every MIDI guitar system ever invented (they are always interesting and frustrating in equal measure), it has also meant that I’m a keen student of other tools that can assist me in creating MIDI performances in my DAW/sequencer projects.
A new option on this front is Mozaic Beats’ AutoTheory software. Available for both Windows and OS X, AutoTheory sits between your MIDI keyboard and your sequencer and, with a little pre-configuration, can allow you to play complex chord sequences with a single finger, or constrain your melody playing to notes within a chosen chord or key/scale combination.
The Theory Behind AutoTheory
Mozaic Beats describe AutoTheory as an “open arpeggiation system”, and it has two main functions. First, to the left of a MIDI keyboard split point, you can map a set of chords for the currently selected key and then play any of these full chords simply by pressing the appropriate single MIDI key. Second, on the other (right-hand/high-pitch) side of the keyboard split, the software automatically adjusts the notes mapped to your keys so that they are confined to those available either within the currently triggered chord or an associated scale. Within this zone, the note generated by a particular key changes as you trigger different chords.
In practice, what this means is that you can leave the fingers of your right hand poised over the same five keys on your MIDI keyboard and, based on the chord you trigger with a single finger of your left hand, whichever notes you hit with your right will be harmonically ‘correct’ given the current chord. No more fluffed chords and no more out-of-key melody notes. And this is, of course, where the “open arpeggiation system” concept comes from, as you could play an identical finger pattern with your right hand but the MIDI notes generated would change in response to the chords your left hand triggers. The end result will be a perfect arpeggio pattern from your right-hand playing. You can, of course, vary your right-hand note pattern to vary the nature of the arpeggio.
And while I can hear a few cries of ‘cheating’ from the piano-playing readership, I can tell you already that, for my guitar-shaped fingers, when I apply AutoTheory to my keyboard playing, it means I can work faster. For many, especially those working to regular deadlines, that might be reason enough to look further.
Theory & Practice
AutoTheory is a very small download (the OS X version I used was about 14MB in size) and activation can be computer-specific or to a second-generation iLok. I used the former and the process was suitably painless. Incidentally, there is also a version of AutoTheory available as a Reason Rack Extension. This is configured slightly differently to the stand-alone version I used here but the functionality is similar.
AutoTheory provides eight virtual MIDI outputs for your DAW/sequencer to use, as shown here within Cubase.Once installed and authorised, AutoTheory simply runs alongside your DAW/sequencer software. The only initial configuration to be dealt with is to ensure that the MIDI connection with your MIDI controller keyboard is disabled in the DAW and set as the MIDI input into AutoTheory. In essence, MIDI data from your keyboard is routed to AutoTheory and, once remapped by AutoTheory’s settings, the resulting MIDI data is then passed on to the DAW/sequencer via any of the eight virtual MIDI ports created by AutoTheory.
I had no configuration issues within Cubase on my test system and there are simple instructions on the Mozaic Beats web site that illustrate the setup process for a number of the other common DAW packages. It should, in principle, work will almost any MIDI sequencer, providing you can control which MIDI inputs are active.
Zoning In
AutoTheory’s interface is split into five zones. The upper strip contains controls to set the key, scale and the ‘mapping’. The first two are fairly straightforward, while the latter produces gradually more complex (flexible?) note mappings in the right-hand melody zone of your keyboard. These range from restricting the notes to just those within the currently selected chord right through to all the notes within the chosen key/scale; the choice is therefore yours depending upon the level of control you want. There is also a preset system in the upper strip where you can save your own configurations.
In its statement, TomTom clarified why users will be unlikely to get a refund.It says: 'lifetime means the useful life of the device, i.e. Users are unlikely to get a refundUsers on Twitter have voiced their anger.John McGowan tweeted: 'lifetime' apps means for as long as you say my #TomTom has a life.' The company points to the continued memory demands for accurate mapping as the main reason for the unpopular move.It claims that since 2010, a European map has increased in size by almost 5GB - from 1.6GB to 6.5GB. The Dutch firm say sizes of maps has increased by 5GB in eight years and this is a problem for older processorsIn a published on its website, the Dutch navigation firm said: 'Some of our older generation navigation devices do not have sufficient resources to run the newest maps and software available.' Lifetime products sold by by TomTom - including maps - are considered to 'the useful life of the device' by the manufacturer. Gordon ramsay biography.
The two boxes below hold additional settings for the Chord Generator (left hand) and Melody Lock (right hand). The Chord Generator shows the mapping of the current chords across the keyboard so, if you hit a ‘C’ note, then you get a ‘I’ (tonic) chord in the current key/scale combination, and so on. This pattern of chords is repeated as you progress further to the left of the keyboard and the chords are generated in the appropriate octave.
AutoTheory provides a number of global chord settings that you can use as a starting point for building your own presets.You can choose to mute the MIDI output from the Chord Generator, in which case the chord triggered here simply controls what happens within the Melody Lock mapping. In addition, the Root Separate switch allows to you send the chord’s root note out to a separate MIDI destination. As described below, the MIDI output for the root note can be selected in the Chord Generator Output panel at the bottom of the window.
The Melody Lock panel shows you how the combination of the current chord and the Mapping setting places notes from the scale on the right-hand split of your keyboard. As mentioned above, the Mapping setting allows you to keep this mapping either simple (if your keyboard skills and knowledge of musical theory are a bit scratchy) or make it a bit more complex. The two additional switches — Inversion and Accidentals — allow the mapping to reflect any chord inversion or to include additional notes if you have specified more harmonically complex chords within the Chord Editor.
Speaking of which, the Chord Editor panel allows you to customise the voicing of the chords available in the Chord Generator. The Global Chord Types setting provides a basic configuration for all chords, and a drop-down menu provides a number of choices, from simple triads to seventh chords spread across two octaves. Once set, you can then edit any specific chord simply by selecting it (press the appropriate key on your MIDI keyboard) and tweaking the Step, Accidental and Octave settings for each note within the chord. Seventh, ninth, 11th and 13th chords can all be constructed and you can apply accidentals to create more harmonically complex chords as required. Finally, there is a basic strum function where you can adjust the duration and velocity of the strumming effect.
The two panels at the base of the display configure AutoTheory’s MIDI output. You get up to eight virtual MIDI outputs, and this means plenty of flexibility. For example, you can send the data to multiple virtual instruments to layer sounds, and you can also apply an octave transpose to any of these MIDI outputs.
Two-fingered Salute
In practice, then, you can use AutoTheory as a means of playing chords, as a means of simplifying melody parts based on chords, or to generate both at the same time. With the Mapping control set to Chord Tones it’s essentially impossible to hit a duff note. While that perhaps means you don’t have the freedom to create melodic lines that are more harmonically interesting, it is still a satisfying experience for those with limited piano skills — and for some musical genres, simple melodic forms work best anyway.
At one level, AutoTheory really is a doddle to set up and use and, if you are suitably challenged by a piano keyboard, when it comes to just knocking out a few chords and a basic melody line — whether via some trance synth or a grand piano — it is remarkable just how far two fingers and a bit of AutoTheory assistance can get you.
However, at another level, you can use the various configuration options to make that process produce something more harmonically complex. Each of the Scale setting options produces a shift in the set of chords available, while with the Mapping setting you can reduce the extent to which AutoTheory confines your melody lines.
While I’m sure you could find all sorts of ways to put this technology to good use, in my own experiments with AutoTheory I had a lot of fun with three applications in particular. First, with a simple acoustic piano sound, it was rather too easy to create some ballad-like chords and a perfectly ‘in tune’ melody line. Second, with a suitably massive dance-synth patch following the Chord Generator and a similarly full-on lead sound driven by the Melody Lock, crashing out a few club-ready dance tune ideas was a breeze. Finally, while it took a little longer to configure, with the different MIDI outputs feeding a set of orchestral string sounds, and set to suitable octaves for those sounds, I managed to coax a pretty decent full string section performance into life using just two fingers!
Those with better piano skills than me (that’s almost everyone, then) might perhaps yearn for some additional options in terms of defining custom scales for the Melody Lock section, but AutoTheory does exactly what it sets out to do: it brings harmonically correct keyboard parts into the reach of almost anyone.
Conclusion
Almost everywhere you look in music technology, there are products that help you create a musical performance that is somehow ‘better’ than you might otherwise have been able to, whether this is in terms of audio quality or performance. AutoTheory is a tool in the same mould as pitch-correction software or automatic drumming plug-ins: it enables non-keyboard players — and even non-musicians — to create musical performances that are technically and harmonically correct, and it does it in a very straightforward and accessible fashion.
Pro Vst Org
Now, whether you think that is a good thing is another matter. I could, and perhaps should, be spending more time practising my piano skills but, at the time of writing, AutoTheory is currently available for $49.99 (about £30). This is about the price of a single, one-hour piano lesson with a decent tutor. For my own musical needs, I know which will produce faster results.
No connected laptop required). Your track analysis is done in the cloud. A public cloud mapping of track fingerprints to track analysis results makes it nearly instantaneous for already-known tracks. You can use new separate prep and performance apps, so that prep can be done on a desktop/laptop or tablet/phone, and performance can be done either on desktop/laptop, tablet/phone or future standalone Kontrol hardware (i.e. You can use your private cloud music library and/or public streaming music libraries, with offline sync. Traktor pro 3.1.
Some musical background does help in using AutoTheory but, providing you have the music in your head, whatever your level of technical (in)competence on the piano, AutoTheory can help you realise those ideas in your MIDI sequencer. While there are alternatives available, AutoTheory is a very useful little tool.
Alternatives
There are alternatives to AutoTheory, and a number of the major DAW/sequencers include some sort of ‘auto chord’ feature. For example, Cubase includes the Chorder MIDI plug-in and, as explained in the November 2013 Cubase workshop, you can also use the Chord Track to transform your random keyboard doodling into something more coherent. Both of these are, however, more complex to configure than AutoTheory.
Perhaps a closer comparison is with the various MIDI performance apps that are available for iOS (and which can send MIDI data to your desktop virtual instruments) such as Chordion, ChordPolyPad or SoundPrism Pro. All of these allow you to trigger full chords using a single finger and each also offers the ability to add melody or bass lines that are harmonically correct. The apps themselves are pocket-money priced but you do, of course, also need access to a suitable iOS device such as an iPad or iPhone.
Pros
- Allows even non-musicians to create credible MIDI chord and melody parts.
- At the current price, very good value.
Cons
- It might be nice to be able to define your own scale tones for melody construction.
- Some might say it’s cheating!
Summary
If you have musical ideas in your head but lack the keyboard skills to realise them, AutoTheory can sit between your MIDI keyboard and MIDI sequencer and help you create them. A neat little utility and, at the current price, very good value.
information
Test Spec
- Apple iMac with 3.5GHz Intel Core i7 CPU, 32GB RAM and Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 interface, running Mac OS 10.9.5.
- Tested with Steinberg Cubase 7.5.20.
VST Crack – Plugins Audio Samples Free Download
VST Crack is the all in one audio plug-in software that integrates software synthesizer and effects n digital audio workstations. Visual Studio Technology and similar technology uses digital signal processing to simulate traditional recording studio in a software. It is a different sort of programming interface that permits the client to stack outsider sound impacts and virtual instruments as plugins inside VST perfect DAW program. DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation that was initially presented by Steinberg in 1996 that has a tremendous effect in transit we make can make music at home with these plugging and programs. VST and similar technologies use digital signal processing to simulate the traditional recording studio hardware in your software program. Thousands of plugins exist, both freeware and commercial versions and both will be the best for you. Steinberg initially presented the innovation in 1996, and it has had an immense affecting the transit that we make here.
VST All collections with plugins:
There are many different sorts of the programming interface, and it permits the client to stack outsider sound, and it impacts the virtual instruments as a plugin inside a VST perfect DAW program. Most VST plugins are either instruments although other categories exist so that you can get maximum output with useful and practical results. These plugins include software simulation of well-known hardware synthesizers and samplers. If you are passionate about making a new record in the music industry and you do have money to pay to the studio, then this will be the best solution for you to get it and use. VST crack instruments receive notes as digital information via MIDI and effectively output the digital audio. With advanced plugins, you can receive digital audio and process through to their outputs. MIDI tool can control both instrument and effect plugin parameters to obtain high-quality results.
VST 3.0 came in 2008 with included changes of the following
- Audio inputs for VST instruments
- Optional SKI integration
- Multiple MIDI output/inputs
Secondly, a VST crack plugin is mostly virtual impact or virtual instrument planned for use in host project that bolsters virtual studio technology all the time. VST Crack is known as the great VSTs out there for accessible for nothing to download and use a few capable freeware host applications additionally. The rundown is sorted out into three major segments that are most accessible all the time.
List of VST plugins and softwares:
CamelCrusher:
It is a free shading multi-impact module. It also offers two typically different mutilation sounds that can be mixed to make a wide assortment of surfaces and tones. User can allow a MISI controller and begin tweaking tool.
XFER Records OTT
Download Vst Instruments
It is the best and free vst plugin re-production of prevalent forceful multiband upwards/downwards compressor to fully set-up and utilized numerous dubstep and electro makers.
Voxengo SPAN
It is also known as “Quick Fourier change” and sound range analyzer module for expert music and audio creation application. Generally, it was gotten from Voxengo GlissEQ dynamic parametric equalizer and repeated its range examination more useful.
RoughRider
At the present day, this particular program comes with a touch of vintage style nibble and an interestingly warm stabilization. It is ideal for adding pressure impacts to your drum buss, and it likewise sounds incredible with synth bass with clean guitar beats and supports clear vocals.
Ambiance
Indeed it is the generally useful compressor, and it can take care of business when used to add a pump to cadenced for all time. Moreover, Ambience is known for the reverb effect that opponents the nature of best business reverbs.
Sblue.TapeStop
Download Vst Plug-ins
This plugin can re-make the time extended sound that happens when the user presses the stop button
LoudMax64
It is a look-ahead brick wall loudness maximizer plugin with clean and straightforward tone. It is intended to hold the first character of the music.
TAL-Bitcrusher
It is typically the bitcrusher with some helpful tools. There has enhanced low-and high shelf EQ, and commotion cross modulator included. It the best for drum beats.
Voxengo Stereo Touch
It is the sound Au and VST module expert
ValhallaFreqEcho
It is ideal for your name; it has sonic results range from unobtrusive chorusing and twofold following to barber pole reverberations.
PSP VintageMeter
Vst
It gives proficient VU and PPM metering for stereo and mono tracks
Stereo Tool
In VST Crack Stereo Tool offers precise visual criticism mirroring
BitterSweet II 2Ch
Autotheory Pro Vst Plugin
It can mix v5 is worked around most recent 64-bit adaptation systems
Fracture
Auto Theory Pro Download Vst Free Kygen
It makes it easy to give you venture an exceptional specialized edge
Free Vst
Intelligent MIDI Chord & Melody Tool For Mac OS & Windows- Computer / Software >Virtual Instrument
- Jan 18, 2017 AutoTheory is a MIDI mapping software that sits between your keyboard (or qwerty) and your DAW. It receives midi from your keyboard and sends multiple “virtual MIDI controllers” into.
- Apr 26, 2016 In this music software review, we look at AutoTheory PRO by Mozaic, an innovative standalone plugin that gives musicians the ability to master music theory and play any instrument in perfect key using any DAW. AutoTheory PRO is a revolutionary new application that gives musicians the power to play any instrument in perfect key with any DAW.
- VST Crack – Plugins Audio Samples Free Download VST Crack is the all in one audio plug-in software that integrates software synthesizer and effects n digital audio workstations. Visual Studio Technology and similar technology uses digital signal processing to simulate traditional recording studio in a software. It is a different sort of programming interface that.
If you want to create convincing keyboard parts but don’t have the playing chops, AutoTheory might save your bacon.
Many of us are not blessed with stellar keyboard skills. I include myself in this category: I can get a half-decent tune out of a guitar, but when it comes to the piano keyboard, I’m far less fluent. As well as having led me to try almost every MIDI guitar system ever invented (they are always interesting and frustrating in equal measure), it has also meant that I’m a keen student of other tools that can assist me in creating MIDI performances in my DAW/sequencer projects.
A new option on this front is Mozaic Beats’ AutoTheory software. Available for both Windows and OS X, AutoTheory sits between your MIDI keyboard and your sequencer and, with a little pre-configuration, can allow you to play complex chord sequences with a single finger, or constrain your melody playing to notes within a chosen chord or key/scale combination.
The Theory Behind AutoTheory
Mozaic Beats describe AutoTheory as an “open arpeggiation system”, and it has two main functions. First, to the left of a MIDI keyboard split point, you can map a set of chords for the currently selected key and then play any of these full chords simply by pressing the appropriate single MIDI key. Second, on the other (right-hand/high-pitch) side of the keyboard split, the software automatically adjusts the notes mapped to your keys so that they are confined to those available either within the currently triggered chord or an associated scale. Within this zone, the note generated by a particular key changes as you trigger different chords.
In practice, what this means is that you can leave the fingers of your right hand poised over the same five keys on your MIDI keyboard and, based on the chord you trigger with a single finger of your left hand, whichever notes you hit with your right will be harmonically ‘correct’ given the current chord. No more fluffed chords and no more out-of-key melody notes. And this is, of course, where the “open arpeggiation system” concept comes from, as you could play an identical finger pattern with your right hand but the MIDI notes generated would change in response to the chords your left hand triggers. The end result will be a perfect arpeggio pattern from your right-hand playing. You can, of course, vary your right-hand note pattern to vary the nature of the arpeggio.
Mar 02, 2020 Auto-Tune 9.1.1 Crack + Registration Code Full Version Free Download 2020 Auto-Tune Crack is one of the most popular audio correction software at present. It is also the best tool for professional musicians to modify or synthesize electronic music. It can also be used to produce satisfactory electronic sound effects.
Trusted Windows (PC) download Auto-Tune EFX VST 2.0.1. Virus-free and 100% clean download. Get Auto-Tune EFX VST alternative downloads. GTune by GVST (@KVRAudio Product Listing): GTune is a chromatic instrument tuner which operates much like its hardware counterparts. It will automatically detect the pitch of a note being played, and display the Western scale note that it is closest to. The main part of the display mimics a typical electronic tuner. When a pitch is detected, the nearest note is displayed along with an LED.
And while I can hear a few cries of ‘cheating’ from the piano-playing readership, I can tell you already that, for my guitar-shaped fingers, when I apply AutoTheory to my keyboard playing, it means I can work faster. For many, especially those working to regular deadlines, that might be reason enough to look further.
Theory & Practice
AutoTheory is a very small download (the OS X version I used was about 14MB in size) and activation can be computer-specific or to a second-generation iLok. I used the former and the process was suitably painless. Incidentally, there is also a version of AutoTheory available as a Reason Rack Extension. This is configured slightly differently to the stand-alone version I used here but the functionality is similar.
AutoTheory provides eight virtual MIDI outputs for your DAW/sequencer to use, as shown here within Cubase.Once installed and authorised, AutoTheory simply runs alongside your DAW/sequencer software. The only initial configuration to be dealt with is to ensure that the MIDI connection with your MIDI controller keyboard is disabled in the DAW and set as the MIDI input into AutoTheory. In essence, MIDI data from your keyboard is routed to AutoTheory and, once remapped by AutoTheory’s settings, the resulting MIDI data is then passed on to the DAW/sequencer via any of the eight virtual MIDI ports created by AutoTheory.
I had no configuration issues within Cubase on my test system and there are simple instructions on the Mozaic Beats web site that illustrate the setup process for a number of the other common DAW packages. It should, in principle, work will almost any MIDI sequencer, providing you can control which MIDI inputs are active.
Zoning In
AutoTheory’s interface is split into five zones. The upper strip contains controls to set the key, scale and the ‘mapping’. The first two are fairly straightforward, while the latter produces gradually more complex (flexible?) note mappings in the right-hand melody zone of your keyboard. These range from restricting the notes to just those within the currently selected chord right through to all the notes within the chosen key/scale; the choice is therefore yours depending upon the level of control you want. There is also a preset system in the upper strip where you can save your own configurations.
The two boxes below hold additional settings for the Chord Generator (left hand) and Melody Lock (right hand). The Chord Generator shows the mapping of the current chords across the keyboard so, if you hit a ‘C’ note, then you get a ‘I’ (tonic) chord in the current key/scale combination, and so on. This pattern of chords is repeated as you progress further to the left of the keyboard and the chords are generated in the appropriate octave.
AutoTheory provides a number of global chord settings that you can use as a starting point for building your own presets.You can choose to mute the MIDI output from the Chord Generator, in which case the chord triggered here simply controls what happens within the Melody Lock mapping. In addition, the Root Separate switch allows to you send the chord’s root note out to a separate MIDI destination. As described below, the MIDI output for the root note can be selected in the Chord Generator Output panel at the bottom of the window.
Download Vst Instruments
The Melody Lock panel shows you how the combination of the current chord and the Mapping setting places notes from the scale on the right-hand split of your keyboard. As mentioned above, the Mapping setting allows you to keep this mapping either simple (if your keyboard skills and knowledge of musical theory are a bit scratchy) or make it a bit more complex. The two additional switches — Inversion and Accidentals — allow the mapping to reflect any chord inversion or to include additional notes if you have specified more harmonically complex chords within the Chord Editor.
Speaking of which, the Chord Editor panel allows you to customise the voicing of the chords available in the Chord Generator. The Global Chord Types setting provides a basic configuration for all chords, and a drop-down menu provides a number of choices, from simple triads to seventh chords spread across two octaves. Once set, you can then edit any specific chord simply by selecting it (press the appropriate key on your MIDI keyboard) and tweaking the Step, Accidental and Octave settings for each note within the chord. Seventh, ninth, 11th and 13th chords can all be constructed and you can apply accidentals to create more harmonically complex chords as required. Finally, there is a basic strum function where you can adjust the duration and velocity of the strumming effect.
Auto Theory Pro Download Vst Free Kygen
The two panels at the base of the display configure AutoTheory’s MIDI output. You get up to eight virtual MIDI outputs, and this means plenty of flexibility. For example, you can send the data to multiple virtual instruments to layer sounds, and you can also apply an octave transpose to any of these MIDI outputs.
Two-fingered Salute
In practice, then, you can use AutoTheory as a means of playing chords, as a means of simplifying melody parts based on chords, or to generate both at the same time. With the Mapping control set to Chord Tones it’s essentially impossible to hit a duff note. While that perhaps means you don’t have the freedom to create melodic lines that are more harmonically interesting, it is still a satisfying experience for those with limited piano skills — and for some musical genres, simple melodic forms work best anyway.
At one level, AutoTheory really is a doddle to set up and use and, if you are suitably challenged by a piano keyboard, when it comes to just knocking out a few chords and a basic melody line — whether via some trance synth or a grand piano — it is remarkable just how far two fingers and a bit of AutoTheory assistance can get you.
However, at another level, you can use the various configuration options to make that process produce something more harmonically complex. Each of the Scale setting options produces a shift in the set of chords available, while with the Mapping setting you can reduce the extent to which AutoTheory confines your melody lines.
While I’m sure you could find all sorts of ways to put this technology to good use, in my own experiments with AutoTheory I had a lot of fun with three applications in particular. Best settings for evo auto tune. First, with a simple acoustic piano sound, it was rather too easy to create some ballad-like chords and a perfectly ‘in tune’ melody line. Second, with a suitably massive dance-synth patch following the Chord Generator and a similarly full-on lead sound driven by the Melody Lock, crashing out a few club-ready dance tune ideas was a breeze. Finally, while it took a little longer to configure, with the different MIDI outputs feeding a set of orchestral string sounds, and set to suitable octaves for those sounds, I managed to coax a pretty decent full string section performance into life using just two fingers!
Those with better piano skills than me (that’s almost everyone, then) might perhaps yearn for some additional options in terms of defining custom scales for the Melody Lock section, but AutoTheory does exactly what it sets out to do: it brings harmonically correct keyboard parts into the reach of almost anyone.
Conclusion
Almost everywhere you look in music technology, there are products that help you create a musical performance that is somehow ‘better’ than you might otherwise have been able to, whether this is in terms of audio quality or performance. AutoTheory is a tool in the same mould as pitch-correction software or automatic drumming plug-ins: it enables non-keyboard players — and even non-musicians — to create musical performances that are technically and harmonically correct, and it does it in a very straightforward and accessible fashion.
Now, whether you think that is a good thing is another matter. I could, and perhaps should, be spending more time practising my piano skills but, at the time of writing, AutoTheory is currently available for $49.99 (about £30). This is about the price of a single, one-hour piano lesson with a decent tutor. For my own musical needs, I know which will produce faster results.
Some musical background does help in using AutoTheory but, providing you have the music in your head, whatever your level of technical (in)competence on the piano, AutoTheory can help you realise those ideas in your MIDI sequencer. While there are alternatives available, AutoTheory is a very useful little tool.
Alternatives
There are alternatives to AutoTheory, and a number of the major DAW/sequencers include some sort of ‘auto chord’ feature. For example, Cubase includes the Chorder MIDI plug-in and, as explained in the November 2013 Cubase workshop, you can also use the Chord Track to transform your random keyboard doodling into something more coherent. Both of these are, however, more complex to configure than AutoTheory.
Perhaps a closer comparison is with the various MIDI performance apps that are available for iOS (and which can send MIDI data to your desktop virtual instruments) such as Chordion, ChordPolyPad or SoundPrism Pro. All of these allow you to trigger full chords using a single finger and each also offers the ability to add melody or bass lines that are harmonically correct. The apps themselves are pocket-money priced but you do, of course, also need access to a suitable iOS device such as an iPad or iPhone.
Pros
- Allows even non-musicians to create credible MIDI chord and melody parts.
- At the current price, very good value.
Cons
- It might be nice to be able to define your own scale tones for melody construction.
- Some might say it’s cheating!
Summary
If you have musical ideas in your head but lack the keyboard skills to realise them, AutoTheory can sit between your MIDI keyboard and MIDI sequencer and help you create them. A neat little utility and, at the current price, very good value.
information
Test Spec
- Apple iMac with 3.5GHz Intel Core i7 CPU, 32GB RAM and Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 interface, running Mac OS 10.9.5.
- Tested with Steinberg Cubase 7.5.20.