Skip to content
All chapters

Learn · Chapter 4 of 9

Chords.

Four chord stabs on SOFT KEYS over two bars, Am, Am, F and G, each written by holding three keys; then the key of the song and its chords on the pads.

About 10 minutes · 18 steps

Start from here

The FM-1 below starts where chapter 3 ended, so you can begin here.

  1. Step 1, now: On TRACKS, turn ALGORITHM to track 3, SOFT.

    Track 3 plays SOFT KEYS on the FM engine, the FM-1's own: bright, glassy keys.

    ALGORITHMManual: Two engines

  2. Step 2: Press SEQ.

    SOFT's pattern switches on and its grid opens: the rows are the notes of A minor.

    SEQManual: Switching a pattern on

  3. Step 3: Hold HOME and press key 2: two bars.

    The chords change every bar, so the pattern is two bars, like the bass.

    SHIFT2G3Manual: The pattern row

  4. Step 4: Turn ALGORITHM two clicks right, to step 3.

    The chords sit off the beat, between the kicks: the push that makes house swing.

    ALGORITHMManual: Writing notes

  5. Step 5: Hold keys 3, 5 and 7 together: Am.

    Keys pressed together make a chord in one step: A, C and E are A minor, the home chord.

    3A35C47E4Manual: Writing notes

  6. Step 6: Turn ALGORITHM to step 11.

    Seven clicks on: the header shows the step as you turn. The cursor moved by itself when the chord went in.

    ALGORITHMManual: Writing notes

  7. Step 7: Hold keys 3, 5 and 7 together: Am.

    The same chord again, later in the bar: a stab, then an answer.

    3A35C47E4Manual: Writing notes

  8. Step 8: Turn ALGORITHM to step 19.

    Past step 16 the grid turns to bar 2 by itself (the header says BAR 2 OF 2).

    ALGORITHMManual: Writing notes

  9. Step 9: Hold keys 1, 3 and 5 together: F.

    F major: the warm one. Under the A of the bass it sounds like Fmaj7.

    1F33A35C4Manual: Writing notes

  10. Step 10: Turn ALGORITHM to step 27.

    The last chord leads back to the start.

    ALGORITHMManual: Writing notes

  11. Step 11: Hold keys 2, 4 and 6 together: G.

    G major pulls back to A minor: the loop closes on itself.

    2G34B36D4Manual: Writing notes

  12. Step 12: Press PLAY.

    Drums, bass and chords. The chords change with the bass's second bar.

    PLAYManual: The grid

  13. Step 13: Tap HOME, then turn SELECT to KEYS.

    KEYS holds the project's key: A, and its scale, MINOR. Every track plays through it.

    HOMESELECT

    Tip: K1 ROOT and K2 SCALE change the key. Leave them on A and MINOR for this song.

    Manual: ROOT, SCALE, IN KEY

  14. Step 14: Turn K4 one click right: CHORDS to PADS.

    Now the white keys from C play the chords of A minor, each on its own letter: the A key plays Am.

    K4Manual: PADS

  15. Step 15: Play keys 10, 8 and 9, one at a time.

    Am, F and G: the chords you wrote, on the keys A, F and G. The screen names every pad's chord.

    10A48F49G4Manual: PADS

  16. Step 16: Turn K4 back to OFF.

    The keys play single notes again, ready for the lead later on.

    K4

    Tip: SHIFT + SEL switches the chord pads on and off from any screen. In any key, a pad plays the chord on its own letter.

    Manual: Chords

  17. Step 17: Tap HOME.

    TRACKS: three lanes of music now, the chords' two bars under the bass's.

    HOMEManual: TRACKS

  18. Step 18: Press PLAY to stop.

    Three tracks in. Next, the sounds get their shape.

    PLAYManual: The panel

Chapter 4 · the end

What you learned.

  • Keys pressed together on SEQ write a chord into one step (up to four notes).
  • ALGORITHM moves the cursor along the steps; past step 16 the grid turns to bar 2.
  • KEYS holds the project's ROOT and SCALE; every track plays through them.
  • K4 CHORDS on PADS makes the white keys chords of the key, each on its own letter. SHIFT + SEL toggles it anywhere.

Checkpoint

The project as this chapter leaves it, saved by the FM-1 itself. Compare it with yours, or carry on from it.

chords-end.groove

Next chapter

5 · Shape the sounds

The K1 to K4 macros, p-locks, ratchets and chance.

Chapter 5: Shape the sounds