dear forum.
i'm looking for a convenient way to create simple melodies and lines out of a short hex string. currently, i'm working on a geeky text-based drum sequencer in pdlua which is already capable of creating creating a binary drum pattern from simple text/hex strings. now i want to add a melodic dimension for synth blips or basslines which are somewhat expressive, but relatively simple to construct and type in.
so far i have come up with this 4-nibble (hex digit) version:
"xyzz" where x is an arpeggiator function, y is the arp function parameter and zz is the base note. the arpeggiator functions might be mapped like this: 0 = ramp up 3 notes then repeat, 1 = ramp down 3 notes, 2 = ramp up 4 notes, ..., f = random note...; the arp function parameter is most likely the interval that ramp functions jump up or down. the result of the arp sequence gets added to the basenote and the resulting melody is then mapped onto the already existing drum beat structure that is sequenced independently.
do you think this might be a worthwhile approach, or am i wasting bits and overlooking some obvious solution? maybe a array of 255 preset melodies to choose from, so 2 hex chars for this and maybe 1 char as an transposition argument or for reversing / inverting the melody or...
i'm not looking for a way to store an arbitrary melody, but for a way to create an expressive line out of as few chars as possible. i'd be interested to hear if any of you had other ideas, or maybe even ideas of arp functions fitting into the above model.
yours truly,
syntax_tn