Easy Chords and Melodies in Bitwig

Tutorial | Jul 07, 2019

In this video, I talk about a diatonic transposer that can be used in Bitwig to create chord progressions. By using the diatonic transposer, you can correct wrong notes to the right notes of a scale, making it easier to create chord progressions that stay within a specific scale. I demonstrate how to use the diatonic transposer in Bitwig by choosing a scale and mode, and then using the multi-note function to duplicate the notes to different keys. This allows you to easily find starting chord progressions. I also show how to use the diatonic transposer with an arpeggiator to experiment with chord changes, and how to use it with a bassline by using the note receiver and the arpeggiator. Additionally, I introduce the plugin "Cthulu" which allows you to choose specific notes from a chord to create melody lines. I explain that while diatonic chords can be a good starting point, it's important to break out of the diatonic scale scheme at times to add variation and interest to your compositions. I hope this tutorial provides some ideas for creating interesting melody lines and chord progressions, and I encourage viewers to comment with any questions or tutorial requests.

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Summary #

Hey everyone, welcome back to another video. First off, I’ve got a new t-shirt from Intimate Noise— they make some pretty nice samples. I’ve added a link in the description so you can check them out for your productions. You may have noticed we’ve got a different angle in my room because I’m currently transitioning from a Mac to a PC. I’ve been running a dual setup—Mac for music production, coding, and video editing, and a PC for gaming since you can’t really game on a Mac. My Mac is about 10 years old now, so it’s time for an upgrade. I’ve got a new monitor, but it doesn’t have a built-in camera, so I’ll need to buy a new webcam. If you have any suggestions for good webcams, let me know in the comments!

In today’s video, I want to talk about the diatonic transposer in Bitwig Studio. This came up because a user on the Bitwig Discord, Tropical Nation, asked how to create a chord device similar to something he saw in an Ableton Live tutorial. The tutorial used a transition map to correct chords to a scale, and he wanted to know if something like that was possible in Bitwig. The answer is yes, with the diatonic transposer. It works by shifting any wrong notes you play into the correct notes of a chosen scale.

Here’s how it works: First, we add a Polysynth for some sound. Then, we put the diatonic transposer in front of it and select our scale, for example, A minor. We keep constrain mode active, which ensures that any wrong notes are corrected to fit the scale. This is super helpful if you’re not a great keyboard player, because now you can play any note and it’ll always be in key! From here, you can lay down some simple chords, and they’ll always be diatonic (meaning all the notes fit within the scale). It’s a great way to quickly build chord progressions, especially if you’re just starting out.

For a faster workflow, you can use the multi-note device in front of the diatonic transposer. This will duplicate your notes and automatically build chords by adding intervals—like three semitones above the root and seven semitones above the root. You end up with instant diatonic chords without even having to manually play each note.

Of course, diatonic chords can get a little boring after a while. But for starting out or laying down a rough draft, this method is really handy. Once you’ve got a basic progression, you can record it, tweak the notes, add new elements, and bounce it down to audio when you’re done.

Another cool trick is to use a note receiver. You can send the corrected notes from the first track into another track, where you could add an arpeggiator or another Polysynth with some delay for even more experimentation. You can even experiment with different chord changes or unusual progressions this way.

Now, here’s a tip for basslines: You can use the note receiver to send chords to another track, but this time set the synth to mono mode so it only plays one note at a time. Since it’s receiving chords, it usually defaults to playing the root note, which works great for basslines. This is a simple way to make your bass follow the root notes of your chords without any extra effort.

Alternatively, you can use a plugin like Cthulhu by Xfer. This allows you to arpeggiate chords and even select specific notes from the chord—like only the root note or the top note. This can be used for creating basslines or even melody lines. It’s a very versatile tool if you want more control over which notes are played from a chord.

The best part about all these techniques is that you can generate a full chord and melody arrangement just by using the multi-note, diatonic transposer, and note receiver in combination with tools like Cthulhu or an arpeggiator. Once you’ve got your ideas down, you can bounce everything to audio or MIDI and refine it from there. It’s a simple but powerful way to quickly build musical ideas.

Now, I will say that if you only use diatonic chords all the time, things can get a bit predictable. You can spice it up by experimenting with different scales or modes, like Lydian or Phrygian. You can also try modulating between major and minor within the same chord progression to add some flavor. The possibilities are endless.

I hope this video gave you some fresh ideas on how to use the diatonic transposer and other tools to create interesting melodies and chord progressions. If you have any questions or want to see tutorials on other topics, feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one. Bye!

Transcription #

This is what im talking about in this video. The text is transcribed by AI, so it might not be perfect. If you find any mistakes, please let me know.
You can also click on the timestamps to jump to the right part of the video, which should be helpful.

[00:00:00] Hey, welcome back. I have a new t-shirt by Intimate Noise. They make samples, pretty
[00:00:06] nice samples, and you can visit the website. I put a link in the description so you can
[00:00:11] download some nice samples for your productions. And yeah, but you can see we have a different
[00:00:19] viewpoint to my room here because I am currently in the midst of transitioning from the Mac
[00:00:26] to the PC. I had currently running a dual setup where I have a PC for gaming because
[00:00:33] you can't game on a Mac. That's a fact. And I'm using my Mac for coding work and for making
[00:00:41] music, cutting videos, and so on. But this Mac is pretty old now, 10 years or so, and
[00:00:50] I also have a cinema display and there's an eyesight in this cinema display and I'm using
[00:00:56] it for making my tutorials on YouTube. But I currently have a new screen, but there is
[00:01:04] no cam inside so I have to buy a new nice camera. And the benefit of this is basically
[00:01:13] I can move the camera around. And if you have some tips for nice webcams you like, then
[00:01:19] yeah, put it in the description. I'm happy about that. Yeah, in this video I want to
[00:01:27] talk about the diatonic transposal because Tropical Nation, a guy or a user of the Bitwig
[00:01:33] Discord asked how you can create some sort of a chord device. And he showed me a video
[00:01:41] tutorial from a guy in Ableton Live. And this guy used the transition map to basically correct
[00:01:48] chords to a scale. And he asked how you can do that in Bitwig. And I said just use the
[00:01:56] diatonic transposal because it's the same thing. It corrects wrong notes to the right
[00:02:06] notes of a scale. So you choose a scale and then the transposal will correct the notes.
[00:02:13] So the first thing we have to add is of course in Polysynth to have some kind of sound. And
[00:02:34] in front of the Polysynth we're using now the diatonic transposal. And we choose our
[00:02:40] scale which is A. And then we choose a mode which is minor. And we keep the constrain
[00:02:48] mode active. This means a wrong input or a note out of the scale will be corrected or
[00:02:56] shifted to a different note which is in the scale. So we can't press a wrong note. This
[00:03:12] means we can play each note on the keyboard and are always in the scale which is pretty
[00:03:19] fun if you can't play keyboard. And also this means we can now lay down some chords. Okay.
[00:03:48] If we turn this diatonic transposal off. So we have always diatonic chords. diatonic
[00:04:12] means that all notes are in a scale. And you can see we have now three notes here and we
[00:04:24] can make our life pretty easy when we choose the multi-note in front of the diatonic transposal.
[00:04:32] And instead of choosing a root which is zero and one, two, three, four, five, six choose
[00:04:43] the notes or a play. Paint in the notes manually. We can now use this here and delete these
[00:04:51] keys and have the same effect because the multi-note will duplicate the notes to different
[00:05:01] keys. So we have three semitones above the root and seven semitones above the root note.
[00:05:07] And the root note is A. And now we can just choose one note.
[00:05:31] So this is a pretty easy way to find starting chord progressions. Of course diatonic chords
[00:05:57] are maybe a bit boring in the long run. But for the start, if you want to lay down a rough
[00:06:06] draft for your chord progression, it's a pretty easy way to find the right chords. And of
[00:06:13] course you can then start and maybe record from a Polysynth multi-note Diatonic Transposer.
[00:06:39] You can of course record that as you can see and then you can make some changes. Also an
[00:06:52] instrument here. And spicen up some things or add some additional notes or try some different
[00:07:08] stuff. And so you can use this to make some drafts. Then you can record the chord progression,
[00:07:17] make some changes and then you can bounce it down to audio at the end. And it's a pretty
[00:07:23] easy start and a pretty easy setup to do in Bitwig. And what you also can do is use here
[00:07:33] one of the note receivers and just choose our first track. After the diatonic transposals
[00:07:44] we get the correct notes on this track here. Add an arpeggiator, add one Polysynth again
[00:07:56] and maybe some delay. And you can experiment with chord changes.
[00:08:19] Or add some unusual changes.
[00:08:46] And there's also one tip for basslines which I sometimes used. I'll just use this note
[00:09:13] receiver here and use the arpeggiator again. Choose this mode. So we have no arpeggiated
[00:09:34] chords. But this time we go to the settings of the Polysynth and choose just mono mode.
[00:09:41] So this synth can only play one note at a time. And now this one has a problem because
[00:09:48] we input chords. So multiple notes. And most of the times the synth is choosing the root
[00:09:56] note or the first note.
[00:10:18] So you can use this maybe for basslines when you just need one note of the chord progression
[00:10:37] or of the chord, of the currently played chord. And you just won't have the root note as the
[00:10:43] bass note. And there is a better way which is called "Cthulu". Let's find this. Which
[00:10:56] is in plug-in by X-Fare. And as you can see this is also an arpeggiator. But in this arpeggiator
[00:11:08] you can also choose the note you want to have from the input chord. So when you have a chord
[00:11:14] going into this plug-in, so three notes at the same time, you can say "Oh, just give
[00:11:20] me the bottom one, the bottom note of this chord progression". And now it's crashed.
[00:11:31] Something like this. And you can then make alterations.
[00:12:01] So this is a pretty easy way of creating interesting melody lines also. So for instance if you
[00:12:10] don't want to have a bass like I have here with all the bottom notes, you can say "Oh,
[00:12:17] just make a melody line out of it".
[00:12:25] Maybe add some bit of two layers.
[00:12:43] So now you basically created the melody from the chord notes you created in the first track.
[00:13:10] You can basically create a whole melody base and chord arrangement just with the multi-note
[00:13:21] diatonic transposer and note receiver to get the notes on different tracks. Then use
[00:13:30] "Cthulu" or the "Appreciator" to just create melody lines or bass lines. And then when
[00:13:38] you're done and you found your idea or the vibe you're looking for, then you just bounce
[00:13:44] everything down to audio or to notes or to MIDI and use it that way.
[00:13:53] But as you can see, this is a very simple melody.
[00:14:03] But as you can hear, it sounds nice. But if you do this all the time, it gets boring after
[00:14:29] while choosing only diatonic chords. Sometimes you want to break out of the diatonic scale
[00:14:37] scheme and maybe you choose different modes here like Lydian or Phrygian. Or just modulate
[00:14:47] this button here. Just switch from minor to major at some point in your chord progression.
[00:14:54] This will spicen up some things. I hope I gave you enough ideas to create interesting melody
[00:15:03] lines and chord progressions. I think I also made this tutorial some years back but without
[00:15:09] talking over the video. I hope this is enough to bring you the idea across.
[00:15:19] So thanks for watching. Comment me in the comments if you have some questions about it or if you
[00:15:25] want to see some different tutorials about different topics. Let me know and I'll see you in the next video.
[00:15:33] Thank you for watching and bye.