Tags: posts polarity-music Bitwig ControllerScript Tutorial Harmony

Melody & Scale Update for Bitwig

Tutorial | Feb 05, 2025

I've fixed issues with the scale maker script related to hard-coded variables and enhanced the melody maker by adding more scales and modes that are shared between both scripts. Users can now download a separate scales file to customize or share their scales, and there's an updated feature that allows the clip name to reflect the chosen scale. Check my GitHub for the necessary files, and feel free to provide feedback or suggest further improvements.

You can watch the Video on Youtube

Summary

Maybe you don't watch the video, here are some important takeaways:

Hey everyone, welcome back to the channel. I wanted to give you a detailed update on the recent changes made to the Melody Maker and Scale Maker scripts. We've had a few issues popping up, particularly with the Scale Maker inside the clip launcher, which should now be resolved. The problem was due to a hard-coded variable used for referencing the clip, and that's been fixed.

Moving on to the Melody Maker, we've expanded the range significantly by adding more scales and modes. The important part here is that scales and modes are now shared between both the Melody Maker and the Scale Maker. You will need to download a separate file that contains all the scales, which you can then define, modify, share, or even remove certain scales if they're not needed.

You can now create a new clip and generate different scales right within the launcher. For instance, selecting the sharp Mixolydian scale can be done easily, and you can even name the clip according to the selected scale and note. Although it's currently just adding the name or scale to the clip, the next step is to make this feature more interactive, allowing you to switch between clips seamlessly. This will also update the dropdown to the correct scale for each clip in both the Melody Maker and Scale Maker, which is particularly handy for those using multiple scales across different clips in a live set.

Additionally, we've tackled the previous issue with the Scale Maker, and you can now seamlessly operate it within the clip launcher. You can select, switch, and see which notes fit into the scale without issues, overcoming the previous variable problem that occurred. The feature also supports changing views to Arranger and successfully naming clips with their corresponding scales and keys.

For those interested in implementing these updates, visit my GitHub—link in the video description—where I’ve uploaded all necessary presets and scripts. In the "controller scripts" directory, you’ll find Melody Maker, Scale Maker, and the essential scales.js file. This file is crucial as the scripts won't function without it. Within it, you'll find JavaScript objects defining scale names and their intervals, organized by brightness. For example, the Lydian is the brightest, descending through Major, Mixolydian, Dorian, and so on, getting progressively darker with each mode.

This setup allows you to tailor your music, creating scales from bright and happy Lydian to the darker side with Locrian, or to customize it further by editing the scales file. The direction I'm moving in is integrating these scales not just in two, but across more scripts shortly.

I hope these updates enhance your experience and am keen to hear your feedback—positive or constructive. Let me know if you encounter any challenges or have suggestions for further adjustments. Don't forget to like this video, subscribe for more updates, and share your thoughts or additional feature requests. Thanks for tuning in, and I'll see you next time.

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, folks, welcome back.
[00:00:01] I want to give you a quick update
[00:00:03] about the melody maker script and the scale maker script.
[00:00:08] So some people had problems with the scale maker
[00:00:11] inside of the clip launcher.
[00:00:12] This should be fixed now
[00:00:14] 'cause there was some kind of hard coded variable in there
[00:00:18] for referencing the clip.
[00:00:20] So this should work.
[00:00:21] Then we have here in the melody maker
[00:00:25] much, much more, yeah, scales and modes.
[00:00:29] And it's also so that the scales and modes are shared
[00:00:34] between the melody maker and the scale maker, right?
[00:00:38] That's very important.
[00:00:39] So you have to download a separate file
[00:00:41] with all the scales in there, and then you can define it,
[00:00:44] you can change it, you can share it with others
[00:00:48] or just remove some scales
[00:00:50] if you don't need some scales, right?
[00:00:52] So this is what you can do now.
[00:00:55] Then we can here, let's say create a new clip
[00:00:59] and we can say we want to generate in the launcher here.
[00:01:02] So there's an option button, launcher,
[00:01:05] and we want to generate the sharp mixalodion, for instance,
[00:01:10] so we can generate this.
[00:01:12] And then we can also now use here, name the clip.
[00:01:15] So we can push the button
[00:01:17] and then it changes the name or the title of this clip
[00:01:21] to what you are selected here in here, right?
[00:01:23] So the scale and the note.
[00:01:26] So at the moment, it's just writing the name
[00:01:30] or the scale into the clip,
[00:01:32] but in the next step, I want to also make this readable
[00:01:36] so you can have multiple, yeah,
[00:01:40] multiple different scales and modes generate, name the clip.
[00:01:45] And then when you switch between this clip
[00:01:49] and this clip by clicking on it,
[00:01:51] it also changes in here the dropdown
[00:01:55] to the right scale of this clip,
[00:01:58] also in the scale maker here, of course.
[00:02:01] So you can use multiple scales in different clips
[00:02:06] in different scenes because someone suggested this
[00:02:09] and I think it's a great idea.
[00:02:11] So if you have a live set
[00:02:12] and you switch between different scales,
[00:02:14] you can use this feature then to read the current scale
[00:02:19] of the clip from the title.
[00:02:22] So this is kind of the idea.
[00:02:24] Then there was a problem, like I said,
[00:02:27] before you have the scale maker,
[00:02:29] so you can go now into the clip launcher in here
[00:02:32] and just use the scale maker,
[00:02:35] continuous mode, major, C sharp.
[00:02:40] Fit the scale, this kind of works now.
[00:02:45] Also when you select this and switch it around,
[00:02:49] you can see certain notes fit to the scale.
[00:02:52] So this kind of now works also in the clip launcher,
[00:02:55] it was not possible for,
[00:02:56] there was some kind of variable problem.
[00:02:58] It was the last minute change, okay?
[00:03:00] Don't judge me.
[00:03:01] Also works in here, I guess.
[00:03:05] Let me try this out.
[00:03:07] So you have to switch this to Arranger,
[00:03:10] select it, yeah, works.
[00:03:15] Also name the clip, major, C sharp, perfect.
[00:03:20] Okay, that's that.
[00:03:23] If you go to my GitHub here,
[00:03:27] I put the link in the description below.
[00:03:29] Well, at least it's always in the description.
[00:03:32] So my GitHub, you can see all my presets here.
[00:03:34] I usually update, but then there's here
[00:03:36] this directory called controller scripts.
[00:03:39] You go to this and you can see all the scripts,
[00:03:43] melody maker, scale maker and scales.
[00:03:46] So you also need to download now this scales.js file.
[00:03:50] It's very important without this scale maker
[00:03:52] and melody maker doesn't work, okay?
[00:03:55] That's a big change.
[00:03:57] And this will be loaded in into both scripts.
[00:04:02] If you go here into the scale file,
[00:04:04] you can see it's just a JavaScript object defining here
[00:04:08] the name of the scale and then here's some intervals, right?
[00:04:12] So Lydian, you can see from the root to the next node,
[00:04:15] there are two semitones.
[00:04:17] And then from this node to the next node,
[00:04:18] there are two semitones, then two semitones.
[00:04:21] So you can see it's always basically
[00:04:22] a two semitones step scale.
[00:04:25] There's only here one and here one.
[00:04:27] So it's pretty bright.
[00:04:28] So you can also already see with the numbering here
[00:04:32] how bright a scale is.
[00:04:34] So Lydian is the brightest.
[00:04:36] As I said, it's ordered in a kind of bright to dark way.
[00:04:41] Lydian is the brightest major scale with the raised fourth.
[00:04:44] Then the next darkest mode is major.
[00:04:47] Nothing changed, it's a basic major mode.
[00:04:51] Then Mixolydian, major scale with the lower seventh.
[00:04:56] And then it gets darker, Dorian,
[00:04:59] major scale with the lower third and seventh.
[00:05:01] And then, you know, next, natural minor,
[00:05:04] lower third, sixth and seventh and so on.
[00:05:06] So with each mode you choose here, it gets darker.
[00:05:09] There's one node going down, choosing a sharper node
[00:05:14] at some point, so it gets darker.
[00:05:18] This is the main takeaway.
[00:05:20] So when you want to create a happy melody, you know,
[00:05:26] choose Lydian, if you want to have super dark,
[00:05:28] go Lydian, and then everything below is kind of random.
[00:05:32] It's here and there, a node is different.
[00:05:37] But as I said, you can change it, you can tweak this file,
[00:05:40] you can remove some scales if you don't want to,
[00:05:44] you can also add your own scales.
[00:05:46] Yeah, that's the idea behind it.
[00:05:49] And it's shared between the two scripts
[00:05:52] and maybe the third scripts coming soon.
[00:05:54] What else is there to tell?
[00:05:59] So this should work, naming the clip is in there,
[00:06:03] some fixes, yeah, let me know what you think.
[00:06:06] There are some more changes coming soon probably,
[00:06:10] and also a third script is also in the works,
[00:06:13] and I will let you know when it's live.
[00:06:17] Thanks for letting me know, like the video,
[00:06:22] subscribe to the channel, and also let me know
[00:06:25] what kind of problems you have,
[00:06:27] or if you want to have some additional changes, okay?
[00:06:30] Thanks for watching, see you next time, bye.