Chains and songs, Chains, Songs – Elektron Analog Rytm User Manual
Page 52: Chains songs
CHAINS AND SONGS
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CHAINS AND SONGS
Chains are sequences that consist of one or more patterns. Chains are used to form songs.
256 pattern entries are available to the 64 chains. For example, one chain can consist of 256 patterns or two
chains can consist of 128 patterns each. In most scenarios, however, using 2-8 patterns in a chain will be
enough.
One song is always active and worked on. Songs contain two main forms of entries, song rows and a scratch
pad row. The active song row is visible in the bottom left part of the LCD. If a scratch pad row is active, the
graphics will show “_ _:”. The scratch pad row is by default placed at the beginning of the song, before any
actual song rows.
Each song row contains a chain. These entries are saved together with the song. The scratch pad row also con-
tains a chain or a pattern and is also saved as part of the song. The intended purpose of the scratch pad row is
to enable experimentation with chains and patterns without affecting already programmed song rows.
CHAINS
If the active song row or scratch pad row contains a chain, all patterns in the chain will be played when activating
the CHAIN mode by pressing [CHAIN MODE]. When deactivating the mode, and SONG mode is not active, the
currently active pattern will be played over and over. The currently active pattern, and any other patterns in the
chain, are visible in the lower left corner of the LCD screen.
Chains can be created even if CHAIN mode is deactivated. When creating chains this way, two methods exist:
detailed chain mode and quick chain mode. Create chains according to detailed mode by pressing [CHAIN
MODE] + [LEFT]/[RIGHT] to move the chain cursor. It can either be placed before a pattern, on a pattern, or
after a pattern. If the cursor is placed before a pattern and a new pattern is selected by pressing [BANK X/X] +
[TRIG], the selected pattern will be inserted before the pattern located after the cursor. If the cursor is highlight-
ing a pattern and a new pattern is selected, the highlighted pattern will be replaced. When activating CHAIN
mode, the patterns in the chain will be played in sequence. The chain will be looped once the final pattern of the
chain has played. To create chains in quick mode, press and holding [BANK X/X] and then press the [TRIG]
keys in the same order as you want the chained patterns to play. Please note that the previous chain will be
erased when creating a chain using quick chain mode.
Pressing [CHAIN MODE] + [NO/RELOAD] will, depending on the location of the chain cursor, either erase the
pattern located before the cursor or the one highlighted by it.
Pressing [FUNCTION] + [CHAIN MODE] will create a new, blank, scratch pad row. The scratch pad row will at
the same time be moved down one step in the song row list, which can be seen when opening the SONG EDIT
menu. The content of the previous scratch pad row will be added as song row 00.
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CHAIN mode is ideal when improvising live. When CHAIN mode is deactivated and only the active
pattern is looping, create a chain and then activate CHAIN mode. At any time, exit CHAIN mode to
loop one pattern only. Add and remove patterns to create a completely new chain and activate
CHAIN mode again. By creating new chains through pressing [FUNCTION] + [CHAIN MODE],
improvised songs can quickly be created.
SONGS
Songs are essentially patterns and chains structured to form a long sequence. To enter SONG mode, press the
[SONG MODE] key. The
to play, row by row. If the active song row is the scratch pad row, song row 00 will be played afterwards, given
the scratch pad row has not been moved within the song. The currently playing song row is shown in the lower
left corner of the LCD screen.