New tool (3.4.3): Travel Through Phrases v1.2 build 052 (November 2023)

Raul · October 7, 2023, 8:42pm

1. What is “Travel Through Phrases” or “TTP”?

The Travel Through Phrases, also known as TTP, is a powerful and lightweight «dual data direction tool module» oriented for browsing, listening, creating, cloning, direct recording and configuration of instrument phrases from the Pattern Editor with multiple utilities, such as importing to phrase from the current line, importing to phrase by selection or even by adaptive live recording, allowing moving or copying data and even compress them (remove unnecessary note columns or empty lines, or even add final lines to complete the last step). It is also built to be able to deposit entire phrases into the Pattern Editor from the current line and the current note column, even in a continuous loop, thus providing a «two-way data system» between the Pattern Editor and the Phrase Editor of Renoise.

It offers multiple control capabilities, both for keyboard commands (specially designed for them), and for the mouse through a compact floating window (with click, double click and wheel), as well as for MIDI input (focused for a 16-pad MIDI pad or similar). The TTP tool is exclusive for the Renoise DAW (64 bit, v3.4.3) or future versions.

Travel Through Phrases. An original tool for Renoise.

On the other hand, the Travel Through Phrases has unique features thanks to its «Phrase Monitor» panel, such as the thumbnail view of the current phrase, an instrument browser, a phrase browser, an agile mobile browser of phrases for previewing, a bar comparator on quantities of lines of the pattern-track of the Pattern Editor and the phrase, which allows better control of the loop copy. Additionally, the Phrase Monitor panel allows you to easily edit the properties of each phrase with the mouse wheel, including a quick timer to change a specific property across multiple phrases, such as the phrase’s «LPB» value or the «Base Note» of the phrase. In the instrument’s Keymap mode, it also allows you to quickly assign all phrases to keys by range cumulatively, greatly facilitating the process. All of this allows for more skillful visual and listening control on instruments with a large number of phrases, compared to Renoise‘s Phrase Editor and its own browser.

Travel Through Phrases.

In addition, the «MIDI Input Controls» panel offers customizable and fixed profiles that change the complete configuration of the entire Pad x16 in a single step, allowing these profiles to be changed on the fly. This design allows you to quickly change all settings on the linked USB MIDI pad controller, without the need to re-route MIDI links.

Finally, the TTP tool has a sub-tool to export and import XRNZ phrases in bulk. Thus, it is possible to save all the XRNZ phrases of an instrument in a single step to a specific folder, or to load all the XRNZ phrases of a specific folder to the current instrument in a single step.

In short, with all this arsenal of specific options, Travel Through Phrases is a powerful tool, designed by and for the management of phrases, being able to skillfully use the Phrase Editor as if it were a data repository, even similar to a multiple clipboard, allowing not only to easily create new phrases, but also to get rid of them by depositing all the information in the Pattern Editor, resulting in a very practical and flexible 2 in 1.

Travel Through Phrases.

This is another multi-tool for Renoise created and programmed by ulneiz that also includes a sponsor, which means that it has received previous support and encouragement from the «Community of Renoise» to be able to start developing it. This unified tool brings together most of the features requested by other composers for working with phrases and the Pattern Editor. Thank you very much for facilitating the expansion of Renoise with its ecosystem of Lua tools!

Please read the user guide provided to know all the details of the Travel Through Phrases…

2. Download the Travel Through Phrases (Demo Version & User Guide)

Demo Version of Travel Through Phrases

Download the Demo Version of Travel Through Phrases v1.2.052 (XRNX format)
Download the Demo Version of Travel Through Phrases v1.1.050 (XRNX format)
Download the Demo Version of Travel Through Phrases v1.0.046 (XRNX format)

User Guide of Travel Through Phrases

Download the User Guide of Travel Through Phrases v1.2.052 (HTML format)
Download the User Guide of Travel Through Phrases v1.1.050 (HTML format)
Download the User Guide of Travel Through Phrases v1.0.046 (HTML format)

3. Get the Full Version of Travel Through Phrases: Support the Developer!!!

The “Full Version” comes with all the capabilities of this tool and without any restriction. This Full Version requires a “Personalized Use License”, through a “Registration File” which costs 10€ (euros).

If you are interested in getting the Full Version and thus support the developer, send me a Private Message and I will inform you of the details…

Please, seriously consider supporting the development and maintenance of the Travel Through Phrases buying a license. Keep in mind that it takes a lot of time, effort and money to build!!!
…ulneiz

4. Update History.

Travel Through Phrases v1.2.052 (November 20, 2023)

Added: Preferences/Phrase to Pat-Trk: new option “Pre Compact NC (↓Cm)”. When copy the current phrase to pattern-track, it also ignore the note columns “whitout notes”.
Added: Preferences/Miscellaneous: new option “Show Export/Import Phr” to show button for export/import all XRNZ phrases in the “Phrase Monitor”.
Added: Phrase Monitor Panel: New top button to access the floating window “…Export/Import All XRNZ Phrases”.
Added: New floating window “…Export/Import All XRNZ Phrases”. It is now possible to export all XRNZ phrases of the current instrument in a specific folder. It is also possible to import all XRNZ phrases from a specific folder into the current instrument.
Improved: Some of the code has been revised.
Modified: The Basic User Guide has been revised & updated.

Travel Through Phrases v1.1.050 (Octobery 17, 2023)

Added: Phrase Monitor Panel: includes new “Map Start Note” & “Range” properties to distribute quickly all phrases on the piano in “Map” mode.
Modified: Phrase Monitor Panel: the properties “Loops Round”, “Key Tracking” & “Base note” have been updated to work with “Map” mode, including the use of the “Property Timeout” countdown.
Modified: The REC button now includes a flicker effect when recording.
Added: Preferences/Pat-Trk to Phrase: new option “Restore Trk State”. Restore the track state (visible columns) after finishing recording when (Mv) is active.
Added: Preferences/Pat-Trk to Phrase: new option “Force 512 Lines Pat”. Forces 512 lines into the current pattern during recording when (Mv) is active.
Added: Preferences/Pat-Trk to Phrase: new option “Loop Current Pat”. Reactivates before the loop playback of current pattern & restores it after finishing recording.
Added: Preferences/Phrase to Pat-Trk: new option “Extends Pat Length (Ex)”. Extends the length of the pattern (all tracks) so that the entire phrase fits. Also works with (Lp). This option influences all tracks. This can modify the rhythm and beats of the song in this pattern!
Improved: Some of the code has been revised.
Modified: The Basic User Guide has been revised & updated.

Travel Through Phrases v1.0.046 (Octobery 08, 2023)

First Release.

slujr · October 7, 2023, 9:28pm

Sounds amazing and super useful! Looking forward to testing it out! Thanks for all your work, @Raul !!!

martblek · October 8, 2023, 10:08am

Good tool,
I wanted to do something similar in the future for ReTonic.
Would it be possible in the next update when copying from a phrase to a pattern track to throw out a requester that would ask if the pattern should be extended if the phrase is longer than pattern ?
Or instead of copying columns from a phrase, choose whether the entire phrase into one track or each column into its own track ?
These were my ideas for ReTonic.

But as usual, good job.

Raul · October 8, 2023, 10:38am

Thanks @slujr! Enjoy it!

The tool is designed to “grow”. It would be possible to add another variable (a condition) that can be enabled or not in the Preferences panel: adaptive pattern to phrase. However, this does not seem to be very common. I assume that the composer has a fixed number of lines per pattern. That is, if you change the length of the pattern, it influences the playback of the song. But technically it is possible, even exactly what you mention, a warning window for the pattern to adapt or not (increase the number of lines, as long as it does not exceed 512).

This could also be another variable. It may be more useful to adapt the information directly in the pattern editor. That is, if you have a pattern with 4 note columns, transfer 2 to 4 into new tracks. This can work through a function, which can be called automatically after copying the phrase to a pattern-track, or by the user calling it whenever they want from a pattern.

Once again, the problem with this approach is that it influences all note columns in the track throughout the entire length of the song.

When I designed the TTP, I always thought of the pattern-track as a closed concept, which if possible, does not harm other elements of the song, such as adding more tracks or removing note columns that should exist in another pattern.

All this is interesting because we can treat the data in different ways.

I will study these options for the next version, although it will depend on community support.

Raul · October 17, 2023, 4:11pm

Travel Through Phrases 1.1 has been published!

I am pleased to announce the release of version 1.1.050 of Travel Through Phrases. This new version is maintenance, improvement and include new features. Although it is not a major version, it is just as important…

All new features are listed in the Update History (first comment on this thread).

This new version 1.1 of the TTP among other minor things, it includes new options for recording phrases, especially for live recording. Additionally, TTP now supports Keymap distribution mode. It is now possible to cumulatively distribute all phrases on the instrument’s piano in a single step using a common note and range value.

In summary, the broader reinforcement for live recording of multiple phrases and the quick assignment for the Keymap are the two main features of this new version.

Some details descrived inside the User Guide:

Steps to Live Recording Multiple Phrases Quickly. The TTP allows you to continuously record a multitude of phrases for the same instrument, always using the same pattern-track as a base. It involves making continuous recording sweeps, so that when all the recordings are finished, the state of the song is not altered. The usual steps are:

Select the desired track and instrument, focusing on a single pattern-track. The selected instrument will contain the new phrases to record.
In a previous step, go to the TTP Preferences panel to review what settings you are using in the phrase recording options. Depending on this configuration, the recording may vary, as well as the status of the pattern and track used. Don’t forget to activate the variable (Mv) to move the data in each recording.
In the TTP activate the REC button in red, to record live (remember that you can do it from the mouse, the alphanumeric keyboard or from the MIDI input). Also, deactivate the “Phrase Playback” of the instrument used to “Off”, otherwise, in subsequent recordings, phrases may be triggered when recording the notes, something undesired.
In Renoise activate follow the player’s position [Scroll], and activate editing mode [Esc] for displacement in recording.
Press “start playing the pattern” [Space] (or equivalent), and begin recording notes using your alphanumeric keyboard or MIDI keyboard. The pattern will be filled with notes.
Press “stop playing the pattern” [Space] (or equivalent). Automatically, the TTP will place the recording in a new phrase within the selected instrument, and will empty the pattern-track if the (Mv) variable is activated (the pattern-track will be restored according to the configuration used).
Repeat the last two above steps 5 and 6 continuously to record new phrases. This way, you can record up to 126 phrases on a single instrument as quickly as possible, something impossible to do using Renoise alone.
When you finish recording all the new phrases, activate the instrument’s “Phrase Playback” in “Prg” or “Map” so you can use them in your musical composition.
Review all newly recorded phrases if you want to make micro-adjustments from the Renoise phrase editor.
Finally, if you want to save all the phrases in a single container, save the instrument used in XRNI format. Each instrument can contain up to 126 phrases, so you can use them in other song projects.

Phrase Playback Switch (Off, Prg, Map). Allows you to configure the mode of phrase playback on each instrument. To improve the workflow for key mapping, in “Map” mode (Keymap) the new Map Start Note and Range properties appear to be able to map directly with the mouse wheel the distribution of all phrases on the piano, including adding or deleting them.

Raul · November 19, 2023, 9:10pm

Travel Through Phrases 1.2 has been published!

I am pleased to announce the release of version 1.2.052 of Travel Through Phrases. This new version is maintenance, improvement and include new features. Although it is not a major version, it is just as important…

All new features are listed in the Update History (first comment on this thread).

This new version 1.2 of the TTP among other minor things, it includes new options for compact phrase to pattern-track and a new sub-tool for export or import XRNZ phrases in bulk.

Phrase to Pat-trk. Pre Compact NC (Cm)

The new “Pre Compact NC (Cm)” ignore the note colums without notes when copy the currrent phrase to the current pattern-track. This also allows phrases to be used as a data compaction method for the pattern editor.

Sub-tool to export or import XRNZ phrases (folder-instrument)

Travel Through Phrases has a sub-tool for mass export or import of phrases. Exports all phrases from the current instrument to a specific folder or imports all phrases from a specific folder into the current instrument. Remember that the limit of phrases that can be used on a native instrument in Renoise is 126 phrases.

Travel Through Phrases. Sub-tool to export/import all XRNZ phrases.

Export all phrases of the current instrument to a specific folder. In “Export”, press the left button to select a main folder to deposit all your phrases in a classified way. Then press the right button to export. The sub-tool will automatically create a sub folder with the name of the current instrument. In this subfolder it will save all the phrases of the current instrument in XRNZ format, so that the contents of the main folder are classified. At the beginning of each phrase name XRNZ will include a three-digit decimal index (001 name.xrnz, 002 name.xrnz, 003 name.xrnz … 126 name.xrnz) to sort all phrases within its folder.

Import all phrases from a specific folder to the current instrument. In “Import”, prest the left button to select a specific folder containing all the XRNZ format phrases you want to import. Then press the right button to import. The sub-tool will cumulatively and orderly create all the phrases in the current native instrument.

Export and import are very useful for massively transferring phrases from one native instrument to another native instrument, or between Renoise and Redux.

icasiino · November 20, 2023, 7:03am

Excellent work! A great intuitive way to use phrases. They’re completely freeform and not bound to the instrument. This reminds me so much of my first groovebox DAW-Phrazor

Raul · November 20, 2023, 11:39am

Thank you. The TTP tool was missing a sub-tool to be able to massively export and import phrases in one step. Now we can say that the TTP is “complete”.