maxWerk - Copyright 2000-2007 Amanda Pehlke
Published by RedMoon Music - www.RedMoon-Music.com
If all of this seems like a lot to stay on top of, let's outline the possibilities of composing purely by trial-and-error, using live scalic transposing from the computer's QWERTY keyboard. Transposing can trigger arpeggiated feedback if maxWerk is not playing, or it can alter looping patterns in play. To trigger Tonic transpositions with a matching (+)Note, use the numeric keypad or the number keys 1-2- 3-4-5-6-7 in the top row. The Arpeggiator sounds chordal tones over two octaves on key presses and key releases, and the tones when you press and release these keys are the same. Press one of the keys Q-W-E-R-T-Y-U, which represent only (+)Notes 1 though 7, and the (+)Note transposes independently from the last value transmitted by the press of a number key.
Release the (+)Note key, and the (+)Note defaults; in other words, maxWerk applies to it a step value that matches the last Tonic. With the transpose function disabled and stored data bypassed, you can trigger (+)Notes from the Q-W-E-R-T-Y-U keys just after you trigger Tonics from the number keys, and make harmonious arpeggiated chord changes. You can also do this while listening to your entered patterns with the Transposer disabled and maxWerk playing. When maxWerk is not playing, a toggling key command turns off the Arpeggiator if you don't want to hear it.
The up and down keyboard arrows shift the Transposing Key (not the Global Offset) by half-steps, and the lower left section of the Main Screen always keeps you informed about the current Tonic, (+)Note, Scale, and Key, and any Global Offset amount in effect. With the Transpose function disabled, you can make changes of Scale by means of the buttons in the Scales window if you wish. Because of the tight timing required to do this with maxWerk running, we don't recommend trying to manually shift everything at once to do a live MIDI-driven performance. As long as maxWerk sends note patterns, it may as well handle Transposer patterns for you too.
We have seen now that an underlying principle of maxWerk is to let you build songs in a premeditated or serendipity-driven combination of any or all transposition types, slipping in a new set of changes whenever you please, with any or all types taking effect at once. It