Native Instruments MASCHINE+ Standalone Production and Performance Instrument - Manual (Page 119)

1. Switch focus to a Sound slot containing a polyphonic instrument, or load one into the desired
Sound slot.
2. Press KEYBOARD to enter keyboard mode.
3. Turn Knob 1 to select a bank of scales.
4. Turn Knob 2 to select the type of scale.
→ The selected scale is available to play on the pads with the root notes highlighted.
Setting the Root Note of a Scale
Use the SCALE parameter Root Note to set the root note of a scale. This means deciding what key
the scale will begin with. The following notes of the scale depend on which scale pattern you
select with the SCALE Type parameter. You can transpose any scale pattern up or down by
selecting a different Root Note.
The Root Note of a scale is visible via brightly lit pads.
Setting the Scale Type
Use the Scale parameter Type to set the scale pattern according to which the notes will be
mapped onto the pads. For example, using the default Root Note value C combined with the
default Scale Type value Major, you get the scale C major, which spans over one octave and
contains the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and B (followed by C again). If instead you select G as your Root
Note, the G major scale contains the notes G, A, B, C, D, E, and F# (followed by G again). You will
notice that the distance between each note follows the same pattern of “whole step–whole step–
half step– whole step–whole step–whole step–half step,” which is the pattern of the Major scale.
If you are triggering an instrument via an incoming MIDI pattern, the notes of the MIDI pattern will
be mapped onto the closest keys belonging to the selected Scale Type. This means that, for
example (with Root Note set to C) a MIDI pattern consisting of the notes C-D-D# will be played
back as such if Scale Type is set to Chromatic (named Chrom in the on-screen overlay), but
instead as C-D-E if Scale Type is set to Major.
Chord Mode
Use the Chord mode to generate chords from single notes.
To enter Chord mode:
▶ Press the CHORD button.
Chord mode has two states, which are described below:
Chord Mode Description
Harm Knob 3 If CHORD Mode is set to Harm, the CHORD Type menu allows you to specify
the interval of notes in the selected SCALE Type that will constitute the
chord. For example, a triad in the form of the root note, the third note, and the
fifth note ( CHORD Type value 1-3-5 ).
RECORDING PATTERNS
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