{"id":1062,"date":"2024-09-22T10:50:42","date_gmt":"2024-09-22T10:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/?page_id=1062"},"modified":"2025-08-22T11:51:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T09:51:00","slug":"the-arpeggio-editor","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/the-arpeggio-editor\/","title":{"rendered":"The arpeggio editor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Arpeggio Editor (<strong>AE<\/strong>) allows to create and edit&#8230; arpeggios. Arpeggios are considered an &#8220;expression&#8221; in AT terminology, as opposed to instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is an arpeggio?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p> For those who don&#8217;t know what an arpeggio is, it is simply a loop of several notes (at least 2, but 3 most of the times) that is played generally pretty fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arpeggios can be played with &#8220;real&#8221; instruments, but they are very popular in sound-chip music because they help circumvent a limitation of the hardware: the channel count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine you want a chord in your song. On a piano you would play 3 notes at the same time with one hand, and add even more with the other. On a 8-bit, where most hardware have 3 channels at best, playing these 3 notes would leave you with no more channels free to add more arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arpeggios allows you to go from this&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/ArpFullChords.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230; to this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/ArpMajorMinor.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This sounds different of course, but then there are 2 channels left to add anything you need (bass, melody, drums&#8230; each of these instruments can also use arpeggios for an even richer music!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arpeggio can be musical, as you&#8217;ve just heard, or completely experimental. They can also have the size you want, so you should not limit yourself to the 3 notes everybody uses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The arpeggio list<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On the left side of the AT3 screen is a list of various items, such as instruments, arpeggios and pitches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"260\" height=\"63\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpListSelected.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1465\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpListSelected.png 260w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpListSelected-230x56.png 230w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 260px) 100vw, 260px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Open the arpeggio list (<strong>AL<\/strong>) by<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>clicking on <a class=\"maxbutton-1 maxbutton maxbutton-keyboardshortcut\" href=\"javascript:void(0);\"><span class='mb-text'>shift + F4<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>or clicking on the second icon of the icons to the left (as highlighted above).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The editor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The AE itself opens either by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>pressing <a class=\"maxbutton-1 maxbutton maxbutton-keyboardshortcut\" href=\"javascript:void(0);\"><span class='mb-text'>F4<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>clicking on the third icon of the icons to the right<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>or by double clicking on an item (such as &#8220;Empty&#8221; in the song opened when AT3 is launched).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorMajorPlusList.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1446\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorMajorPlusList.png 900w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorMajorPlusList-300x96.png 300w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorMajorPlusList-768x246.png 768w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorMajorPlusList-230x74.png 230w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorMajorPlusList-350x112.png 350w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorMajorPlusList-480x154.png 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In this screenshot, we have 2 arpeggios: &#8220;Nice&#8221; (which is shown in the editor on the right), and &#8220;Strange&#8221;. The &#8220;None&#8221; at the top means &#8220;no arpeggio&#8221;, so we don&#8217;t really count it as one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The AE looks much like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/the-instrument-editor\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"467\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">instrument editor<\/a>, which you should be acquainted with by now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two rows are present:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the octave, here with no values, indicating &#8220;0&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the note, here with values 0, 4, 7 (forming a major chord. The &#8220;0&#8221; is not written, to make the interface less polluted with numbers).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The note indicates what semi-tones to add to a base note (from the music, or your keyboard), to which is added the octave value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the top is a header:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"636\" height=\"37\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorHeader.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1455\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorHeader.png 636w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorHeader-300x17.png 300w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorHeader-230x13.png 230w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorHeader-350x20.png 350w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorHeader-480x28.png 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 636px) 100vw, 636px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>loop start<\/em> and <em>end<\/em> indicate what part to loop. Note that contrary to instruments, arpeggios <strong>always<\/strong> loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>speed<\/em> goes from 0 (fastest) to 255 (slowest). And just like instruments, you can override this speed in your patterns via the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/effects#arpeggio-speed\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"227\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Arpeggio Speed effect<\/a>, so that you don&#8217;t have to duplicate an arpeggio just because you want to change its speed occasionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Shift<\/em> is new though. It is only a convenience that allows you to add virtual &#8220;0&#8221; at the beginning of the arpeggio. The loop is also shifted. It is useful if you want to have your arpeggio to start with a little delay. You can use this parameter instead of adding empty bars by yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, the loop icon <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"25\" height=\"25\" class=\"wp-image-643\" style=\"width: 25px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/instrumentEditorZoom.png\" alt=\"\"> changes the horizontal zoom of the bars, which can be useful to visualize the arpeggio better if it grows long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Editing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The way to edit the bars is exactly the same as for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/the-instrument-editor#editing-the-values\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"467\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">instrument editor<\/a>, that is, either via the mouse, the cursor, or by typing them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Testing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Just like for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/the-instrument-editor#playing\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"467\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">instrument editor<\/a>, you can use your MIDI keyboard, the <a class=\"maxbutton-1 maxbutton maxbutton-keyboardshortcut\" href=\"javascript:void(0);\"><span class='mb-text'>QWERTY<\/span><\/a> keys of your computer keyboard, or even the piano at the bottom of the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Using an arpeggio in a song<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you feel satisfied with an arpeggio, you can use it in song. As you can see in the AL on the left, each arpeggio has a number associated to it (1 for Nice, 2 for Strange). It is this number that you use in the pattern, thanks to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/effects#arpeggio-table\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"227\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Arpeggio Table effect<\/a>, represented by the &#8220;a&#8221; letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By writing this little pattern (at slow tempo)&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"148\" height=\"135\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpTableInPattern.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1460\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230; you can hear this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/ArpeggioTable.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s break it down:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><code>C-4 01 a01<\/code> means that the arpeggio <code>01<\/code> is used, that is, &#8220;Nice&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>D-4 01 a00<\/code> means that the arpeggio <code>00<\/code> is used. This special value means &#8220;no arpeggio&#8221;, so any arpeggio played before is stopped. The instrument goes &#8220;simple&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The two following notes have no effect, so they continue without.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>G-3 01 a02<\/code> triggers another arpeggio, <code>02<\/code> (&#8220;Strange&#8221;), which sounds just like its name implies!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"453\" height=\"273\" src=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorStrange.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorStrange.png 453w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorStrange-300x181.png 300w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorStrange-230x139.png 230w, https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/arpEditorStrange-350x211.png 350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 453px) 100vw, 453px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There is nothing really musical to it, it was only to show you that you can make strange instruments with arpeggios, sometimes with surprising results. Don&#8217;t hesitate to make all tests in the world to discover new sounds!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Arpeggio Editor (AE) allows to create and edit&#8230; arpeggios. Arpeggios are considered an &#8220;expression&#8221; in AT terminology, as opposed to instruments. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1062","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1062"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1502,"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1062\/revisions\/1502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.julien-nevo.com\/arkostracker\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}