Scale quantize, option to use nearest higher note (diatonic quantising)

[rbndr]

It would be good if there was an option that let you decide whether the 'nearest note' in scale quantisation is the nearest note up or nearest note down. This would enable you to do modal interchange, and move between major, minor, and modes (specified in user scale) using the full set of notes in each scale without duplicate notes or missing out notes. E.g currently playing something in C Major and switching to C Lydian will result in CDEEGAB rather than CDEF#GAB as F is moved down to E rather than up to F#.

Currently:

a sequence played in major can be switched to following without duplicate or missing notes: dorian, phrygian, mixolydian, aeolian/minor, locrian
all of these modes have flats relative to major

a sequence played in minor can be switched to following without duplicate or missing notes: phrygian, locrian
all of these modes have flats relative to minor

a sequence played in major cannot be switched to following without duplicate or missing out notes: lydian
as has one sharp relative to major

a sequence played in minor cannot be switched to following without duplicate or missing out notes: lydian, mixolydian, Ionian/major, dorian
as have sharps relative to minor

Possible solution

When someone selects a scale, enable them to choose whether 'nearest note' is higher or lower (using one of the keys in the swing or gate area of keyboard).

This would enable someone to freely move between chosen scales/modes using the full set of valid notes rather than mapping two notes from the original scale to one note in the new one when there is another valid note it could be using.

[rbndr]

also noticed the same problem when using transpose: play the notes C,D,E,F while scale is set to C major and transpose to F will result in F,G,A,A when it would be better if it was F,G,A,B.

[rbndr]

it also effects the chord mode, when the scale is set to C Major and the chord is set to major 11, in the root position of C it plays C E F B D F G B C transposing to F should give F A B E G A C E F but instead gives F A E G A C E F it is skipping the B, not only the note of B but the whole step is missing it will play one note less then the specified amount. In this example I set the note number to 9 to show all the valid notes, when transposed from C to F it plays 8 notes.

Think this could all be solved with a diatonic quantise option, that rather than transposes by they original interval and then lowers if not valid in the new scale, instead it should be based on scale degrees.

Playing a C E F in C major is playing the 1st 3rd and 4th degree of C major. Moving to F (while quantised to C major) should result in the 4th 6th and 7th degree as all the notes are moved up 3 degrees of the valid notes in the scale. Instead in sequence mode we get F A A (4th , 6th, 6th) and in chord mode the B in Major 11 is skipped leaving one less note than the amount specified.

I tried to explore the same in minor, it is very confusing. Setting the scale to C minor and sequencing all the note in the scale C D Eb F G Ab Bb C transposing to Eb doesn't work properly as it goes Eb F F instead of Eb F G but weirdly transposing to the out of scale E note will give the correct sequence. Transposing to F gives a doubles C and skips D. Transposing to Ab doubles Bb and Eb and skips D and G but transposing to the out of scale A will give the correct sequence for Ab. Transposing to Bb gives double C and double F and skips D and G but transposing to the out of scale B will give the correct sequence for Bb.

So weirdly, you can get the sequence to work in most of the positions within the minor scale, if you transpose to some notes that are out of the scale, and the pattern here is it is all the white note, so basically C major. So it seems like rather than being able to transpose to a new position in the minor scale instead you have to think of it in terms of I want the third degree of C minor so I need to press the third degree in C major (E) to get there, basically treat the white keys from C to B as numbers 1 -7 and use that to transpose.

This seems linked to another quirk I have notices, when transposing it always assumes the root note is C even if you have specified a different root note. This is quite confusing behaviour as if you play something in a key the way I would expect it to work when transposing the position is to move the sequence to the new note I press. E.g if I set scale to A minor and play a sequence in A minor and want to move it to the D position, if I press D it will not move it to D it will move it to B, because it thinks the root is C so pressing D is one step up not 3 steps up like it should be.

There is a work around, if I play the sequence in C minor transpose to A and then set the scale to minor and the root to A now when I transpose it will move to the note I play except it will have the same issue of when you press valid in scale notes it will lead to sequences with doubled notes and skipped notes, which can be fixed by pressing out of scale notes.

I think the solution would be to make it so the root note specified in the scale is also used as the root note when transposing sequences, in combination with a 'diatonic' quantise option this would remove lots of this confusing behaviour and enable people to freely transpose between scales, and patterns within scales

[rbndr]

I figured out a partial work around, if I mentally transpose the sequence to C Lydian and play it that way, with the scale locked to C Major so it sounds right, it can then go back up to C Lydian by changing back to chromatic or changing to G major, all the other modes can be accessed (by staying in major but changing the root note F for C mixolydian, Bb for C dorian, E b for C minor, Ab for CnPhrygian, Db for C Locrian, C for major, G for C Lydian).

The problem where moving C E F to F A B resulting in F A A is fixed, this problem is because C to F is a perfect 4th which can be moved to any position in C except F because F doesnt have a perfect 4th it has a augmented (raised) one. As the sequence is input as C E F# which the keystep corrects to C E F and wherever this is shifted to the augmented fourth will be corrected to a perfect one, except for the B position where the augmented 4th lands on a valid note F, problem is it is not the fourth, B has a perfect fourth in E, it is actually the diminished 5th, which means moving C E F to B will result in B F F as the augmented 4th is not being corrected from F to E as E is a valid note, and the out of scale perfect 5th for B is F# which is being lowered to F. I think this is preferable because at least it moves the weirdness to the diminished chord.

When transposing to different modes this glitch will occur wherever the diminished chord is, as it is the least used chord it minimised the problem, it is most prominent when switching to C Locrian (C# Major) as it the first chord, but as that is a rarely used mode it is preferable to move the problem here.

While this workaround works it isn't ideal, if you transpose modes it does not work well with the auto chord feature. It works perfectly in major, you can set the chord to an extended major one and then move it to different positions, and the relevant notes will be lowered if needed. This doesn't work when you change mode, as rather than change the root note to the new position and then calculating the chord and then correcting those notes, it seems to calculate the chord at the new position, and then corrects the notes that need to be lowered which gives a different result that sounds quite chaotic.