The Kyma Language for Sound Design, Version 4.5

MIDI Note Events
below the threshold and the output of the Threshold returns to zero). Try increasing !Thresh until
nothing in the input exceeds it anymore.
Now look at the parameters of the AnalogSequencer. Notice that thresh has been pasted into the Step
field. Each time the amplitude envelope on the audio signal exceeds the threshold, the sequencer will
read the next set of values in its sequences. Notice that the Durations field is set to 0.1. This means that
all notes in the sequence are of equal duration — 0.1 seconds. It also places an upper limit on the speed of
the sequence. No matter how fast the Step triggers come in, the sequencer will never go faster than one
note every 0.1 seconds. This means that you can use the Durations field as a kind of mask, protecting
the basic rhythm against any spurious triggers that might come from the audio signal.
Try playing audio signal ctrl sequencer again, this time adjusting !Thresh to different values, and
checking/unchecking the boxes in the row along the bottom of the virtual control surface (which set the
velocity values to 1 or 0 depending on whether they are checked or unchecked).
This example used the amplitude of the signal as a trigger in Kyma. You could, alternatively, use some
other parameter as a trigger; for example, you could use a FrequencyTracker in place of the Amplitude-
Follower and trigger whenever the frequency exceeds a threshold.
If you are using a MIDI sequencer, you can synchronize Kyma with your other MIDI devices through
MIDI note events. For example, take a look at KeyDown steps sequencer. This is similar to audio signal
ctrl sequencer except that a !KeyDown event is used in place of the Threshold on the envelope of the
audio signal. You could create a timing track on one channel of your sequencer that is never actually
heard — just supplies triggers to Kyma — so that when the tempo changes in the sequencer, Kyma will
adapt along everything else that is being controlled by the sequencer.
MIDI Timing Clock
If one of your MIDI devices can output a MIDI timing clock signal, you can synchronize your Kyma
Sounds to changes in the rate of the MIDI clock through the judicious use of two Event Values in Kyma:
!TimingClock and !TimingClockDuration. !TimingClock is a trigger that repeats at a rate of 24
times per beat. !TimingClockDuration is the duration in seconds of one !TimingClock trigger. In
other words, if you multiply !TimingClockDuration by 24, you will get the duration in seconds of one
beat at the current tempo.
Take a look at MIDI Timing clock ctrl seq & del for an example using !TimingClock and
!TimingClockDuration. This Sound synchronizes both the AnalogSequencer and the length of a delay
to an external MIDI clock.
Look first at the DelayWithFeedback. Its maximum Delay is set to 1 s — the same as the duration of a
beat in the AnalogSequencer. If you change the value of Delay, you should also change the Durations
field of the sequencer so they are equal to each other.
The DelayScale is set to
!TimingClockDuration * 24
This expression is equal to the duration of one beat in terms of seconds. So, for example, if the tempo is
120, the beat is one-half second long, and this number will be 0.5. DelayScale is a multiplier on the
value in Delay, so the delay will be 0.5 seconds long. If the tempo is 60, then !TimingClockDuration
* 24 will equal 1, and the delay will be one second long.
Now look at the AnalogSequencer. First, notice that Step is set to the value
!TimingClock
This means that it is triggered 24 times per beat. But notice that Durations is set to
1
This acts as a mask, meaning that the sequencer cannot be triggered any faster than once per second, even
if the triggers are coming in faster than that. But wait! Almost certainly you will want to trigger this at a
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