Assigning a chord to 1 key

[awyatt1]

I am not very advanced on the Kronos yet, so I'm not really looking for a detailed answer to this question...maybe just a nudge in the right direction. Anyway, I'd like to be able to press one key on the keyboard and have it play a chord that I've assigned to that key. Then I could use one octave of the keyboard for major chords, one octave for minor chords, etc. For example, pressing C1 would play a C major chord, C2 would play a C minor chord, C3=C major 7, etc. Is this possible (I would assume it is considering the awesomeness of the Kronos) and, if so, how would I go about doing it?

[QuiRobinez]

you can assign 8 chords to each program or combi, then in the global menu you can assign the notes you want to use to activate each chord.

[awyatt1]

Thanks Qui. That's useful information, but I'm not sure that is exactly what I had in mind. If I'm understanding what I read, if I assign notes to activate chords in the Global menu that will affect all of the programs and combis, not just the one program. I think what I'm wanting to do would be more like creating a new program. To be a little more specific, I'm looking at one of the 6 string guitar programs. When you play an actual guitar and strum it you are playing 6 strings pretty much at the same time. To do this on a keyboard would be impossible with one hand since you only have 5 fingers. As it is with the guitar program now, striking one key is like plucking one guitar string. I would like to be able to use that same program, but be able to strike one key and have it play all 6 guitar strings at once. That way I could have 88 different chords since I have 88 keys, each chord being able to be played by striking just one key. I could use one octave of the keyboard for major chords, one octave for minor chords, one octave for major 7 chords, etc. or I could just have all the variations of say a C chord (major, minor, major 7, minor 7, sus 2, aug 9, and so on and so on) and then use transpose if I instead needed the chord to be D or G or F or whatever. Could using sampling possibly achieve my goal? As it stands now, I know nothing about sampling. I'm still trying to learn the basics of the Kronos. I could read up on sampling if that might be the way to go to achieve my goal. I just don't want to waste a lot of time trying to do something if it can't be done in the first place.

[MarPabl]

Read: Some Thoughts on Chord Mode and Triggers

[awyatt1]

Thanks MarPabl. I think I'll copy my program to an empty slot and experiment with the Chord Pads since this seems to be the way to go.

[SanderXpander]

You can set a program to play a chord on any key, using chord mode. It uses the chord pads for reference, so you set one of the pads up as a major chord (say pad 1) and then turn on chord mode and select pad one. This will get you just the major chords across the entire keyboard as there is no easy way to switch. However, while I haven't actually tried it, I'm pretty sure you could set up a combi with different chords on every octave, simply by saving 7 different guitar programs, each of which plays a different chord. You'll have to transpose the octaves to match of course, but that shouldn't be a problem.

On an aside note, I don't think it would actually sound that good, for me the charm of guitar chords is that mostly you DON'T actually hit the strings at the same time, especially with your average campfire acoustic type playing. I'm afraid it'll sound really static. Have you tried just using Karma to play the different chords?

[awyatt1]

SanderXpander...I have been able to use the chord pads and chord mode as you suggested, where each key will play a chord. I've also been able to put 8 different chords into the pads and then assign one key for each pad in the Global settings. I agree with you about the chords not sounding that great on acoustic guitar when all the notes play simultaneously and I was hoping that when you added a chord into one of the pads you could edit the start times for each "guitar string" to make it sound more realistic, but it appears that this is not possible. You can edit the velocity of each "string", but not the start times. I've had a Trinity for the past 17 years, so Karma is completely new to me. I know that Karma has many preset rhythms to choose from, but can you program Karma to play the exact rhythm that you want?

[QuiRobinez]

I know that Karma has many preset rhythms to choose from, but can you program Karma to play the exact rhythm that you want?

No, not on the kronos.

If you want to create your own KARMA rythm or pattern you need to buy the KARMA Kronos software from http://www.karma-lab.com

[awyatt1]

Wow. That was a quick response, Qui. I actually just went over to the Karma-Lab website and found out that you needed to buy the software to create your own patterns and rhythms. When I came back here to post that I had found the answer I was looking for, you had already beat me to it. I'd like to try out that software in the future, but I probably need to get the basics down first. There is so much to learn with the Kronos. I am looking forward to the day when someone invents a voice activated keyboard where you just tell it what you want to do and it does it for you. I'm not very computer savvy, so I find myself getting overwhelmed and frustrated at times. I have watched some of your video tutorials and they have been extremely helpful. Thanks for sharing some of your knowledge and making things a little bit easier.

[QuiRobinez]

I'd like to try out that software in the future, but I probably need to get the basics down first. There is so much to learn with the Kronos.

well, you can already do a lot with the included KARMA GE's, you can change the behavior with the parameters in the kronos itself, i've used the included karma ge set for years, without the need for the software (started on the M3 which had the same GE's).

But if you want to reproduce the exact patterns from the ones you have in mind (like rythms, patterns, chord gates, etc) then you need the software. Nowadays i use the software to create the patterns i need for my combi set, probably in some cases (like simple arps) there are some factory ge's which could do the same but it's impossible to find them for me and it goes much quicker to simply play the pattern and use the software to export that pattern to a Custom GE.

The software is also quite handy for recreating famous patterns to a KARMA GE, it's fun for instance to have a Stevie Wonder - Superstitious combi where KARMA plays the Superstition bassline and the Clav patterns just like in the original song. Or some of the famous Jean Michel Jarre patterns which i can use in my own combis when i want to play covers of those songs. The software makes this possible when you know how to use the software. Now imagine that you have converted the patterns of a JMJ song and then change the KARMA parameters to modify those patterns during your performance, it's just like improvising with those patterns. I really like this.

[mikewilson5570]

Is there a way to assign chord triggers to patches? For example, I want to be able to use the nanopad 2 to trigger chords for one Combi patch, and then when I change patches, I want to be able to assign different chords to that patch, and have them saved exclusively to each patch.

Right now, I can get the chords to trigger, but the assignments are still there no matter what patch I use. It's evidently stored in RAM because when I cycle the power on the keyboard the chord assignments are gone. What am I missing?

[StephenKay]

Is there a way to assign chord triggers to patches? For example, I want to be able to use the nanopad 2 to trigger chords for one Combi patch, and then when I change patches, I want to be able to assign different chords to that patch, and have them saved exclusively to each patch.

Right now, I can get the chords to trigger, but the assignments are still there no matter what patch I use. It's evidently stored in RAM because when I cycle the power on the keyboard the chord assignments are gone. What am I missing?

The chords that are triggered by the nanopad are actually stored inside each program or combi. You can edit them and assign any chords you want, on the EQ/Vector/Control > Pads page. You don't need to edit each note individually; you can play a chord and assign it to a pad in one of several ways (read the manual). The important thing is, after assigning chords, you save the program or combi and those chords will be there just the way you want.

[mikewilson5570]

I understand about how to assign the chords and I can get it to work fine, but the problem is that when I save the patch, and move to another patch the chord assignments are still the same as the ones on the previous patch. It's like they are separate from the patch itself. And even after I've saved the patches (which I've tried by using the "Write Combination" button on the touch screen and by using the rec/write button below the sequencer section), when I cycle the power, the chord assignments still default back to the factory setting.

[StephenKay]

I understand about how to assign the chords and I can get it to work fine, but the problem is that when I save the patch, and move to another patch the chord assignments are still the same as the ones on the previous patch. It's like they are separate from the patch itself. And even after I've saved the patches (which I've tried by using the "Write Combination" button on the touch screen and by using the rec/write button below the sequencer section), when I cycle the power, the chord assignments still default back to the factory setting.

It may be that you have turned OFF the "Load KARMA Settings when changing: Program/Combination" checkboxes in the Global > Basic Page. Don't do this. In that case, it will keep the KARMA settings from whenever this is activated during all patch changes. The Chords are stored as part of the KARMA settings, so if these checkboxes are off, you will be keeping the same chords every time you change programs or combis. This setting is useful sometimes, such as you have a certain KARMA guitar strumming patch, and you want to try it on different guitar programs. In that case, you turn this off, and you can freely change programs and keep the same KARMA settings. But for general use, and to change the chords, you want these checkboxes to be ON.

[mikewilson5570]

Thank you so much! I'm away from my keyboard right now, but I'm sure that is it. I typically don't use the Karma features when I play live, and I remember turning that off when I first got the Kronos and started exploring the patches so that I wouldn't inadvertently trigger a "Karma Jamboree" in the middle of a live set. I just need to turn that on, and I bet there is another setting in there that will keep the arpeggiator at bay by default on every patch until I hit the Karma button. I really appreciate your quick responses!