Hi there,
I watched a video on yt that shows someone doing a techno jam on a digitone II. So far nothing complicated. Where it gets complicated for me is that the person changes the patterns on the fly in perfect sync with the sound and the video. I thought he must be counting the bars in his head to trigger his patterns so precisely but i don’t think so. There must be a very specific technique for doing this kind of thing. If anyone can help me on this subject ? Thank you.
Hi,
Link the specific video please, otherwise this discussion is too conceptually broad.
Just copy the youtube share link into the elektronauts reply box.
Thank you.
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This pattern is only 1 page in length, the (8) LED lights on the right side indicate the length of the pattern, so the single light being lit means that this pattern is only 16 steps in length. The purple trig lights mean they’re in a mute mode and since this person made the beat, they know what it sounds like, and I believe they are simply keeping track of it by way of familiarity.
There is nothing complicated going on in this video and with only 1 page (16 steps) looping, I think that it’s probably pretty simple for them to keep track of what’s going on. They’re mostly muting and unmuting tracks in a single pattern.
They may have some other tactic, but the key takeaway is that they are doing something which is essentially very repetitive, and this is not a traditional jam, it’s a rehearsed performance so they are familiar with the material and I think that would aid them in the performance.
In youtube language jam usually means “I haven’t released this on an album” like a lot of rappers will erroniously call a written verse that isn’t on any recorded album a “freestyle”.
Perhaps someone else has a different opinion though.
For what it’s worth, when not in mute mode, the elektron sequencer moves an LED light in constant motion behind the trigs so you can follow which step it’s on. Every time that light behind the numbers goes back to 1, it’s completed one cycle of the loop, and that’s another way to keep track with the elektron sequencer.
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I’ll give you a nice feedback and you’ll be a kind helper. Great thanks at you 
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This is, of course, a cartoon gif but the trig lights move like this depicts.
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Yan Cook is incredibly talented and has a lot of knowledge about sound design and Elektron devices.
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Yes i know like Moe Ferris and Mutlu Karakose too
that ye old technique is what the cynics call “half assed muting”
It’s also what i personally use almost exclusively. Most of the fave music of my youth was made like that, its like electric guitar in rock n roll, why change what works