LinnStrument scales and chords: My approach

[Samplix]

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Hi @all. I am a very happy new LinnStrument user. Can’t tell enough how well designed this instrument is, love it! Coming from Ableton & Push 2 (played mostly „in Key“ mode) I had to make my own way how to approach this device. Further more I had to dig deeper into music theory - a task the LinnStrument is a nice tool for.

Over the last few month I created documents that helped me to learn the LinnStrument for my purpose (making beats in Ableton).

In the first few day’s I missed a „in Key“ mode but realised soon I don’t need it with the LinnStrument. However I made in this time a few presets for the „Scale“ device of Ableton. These presets (for major and natural minor) basically filter out all notes that are not in key. This may be helpful for some Ableton users. The presets can be downloaded with the drobbox link below. I could imagine, that such a feature (filtering non in-scale notes) could be added to the LinnStrument firmware. The way I have it setup with the Ableton device „Scale“ pitch bends still work as expected (linear). As I mentioned, I do not need this anymore but it might be a good answer to the „I need a „in-Key“ mode“ crowd.

My goal was and is to play the LinnStrument with both hands simultaneously (left hand: chords, right hand: melody & chord additions). Since there are multiple ways of playing chords I looked for ergonomically shapes (to play with the left hand). The most useful resource regarding chord shapes was for me the following page: https://studiocode.dev/gridshapes/ (https://studiocode.dev/gridshapes/) Also playing melodies can be done in many ways on the LinnStrument. For me it was crucial to have an ergonomic fingering solution which with repeats itself each octave (root is always pressed with the same finger). I also wanted to avoid the use of the thumb and the pinky as much as possible.

There are many LinnStrument related documents available with information regarding scales and chords (most of them are linked in the support area of rogerlinndesign.com). However, I had to write one for my own needs (and skill level). The document „linnstrument_scales-chords_samplix_v1.4.pdf“ (see link below) contains four pages with information how I approach the LinnStrument today. It may contain a few mistakes, since I am not a trained musician (mechanical engineering does not help). If you find mistakes - please report them to me, I will try to fix it.

I hope my documents are helpful for some LinnStrument users. This forum (and the other official resources provided by Roger) have helped me a lot to get comfortable with my LinnStrument. Therefore I am happy to share.
I am aware that there are a lot of LinnStrument users who do not transpose to set the root note or even use very limited amount of lighted pads. This makes totally sense if you are a long time LinnStrument user - I hope I get to that point eventually.

Here’s the download link to the mentioned documents:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/oeac97y2 ... fq6or&dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/oeac97y2inufm381kdjm0/h?rlkey=x14ts26qyiiax6lg2my4fq6or&dl=0)

I’d like to ask if there are DAW users around who use tools like MPFy (plugin) or MPE-distributor (m4l, Ableton only) to MPE-enable non-MPE plugins? I have had mixed results. MPFy works quite good with most of my (tested) plugins. MPE-distributor has flaws in my experience but is the only tool I get my SWAM plugin to work polyphonicaly (which is very nice!).

Have a nice day!
Tobi (aka Samplix)

[FranklyFlawless]

My goal was and is to play the LinnStrument with both hands simultaneously (left hand: chords, right hand: melody & chord additions). Since there are multiple ways of playing chords I looked for ergonomically shapes (to play with the left hand). The most useful resource regarding chord shapes was for me the following page: https://studiocode.dev/gridshapes/ Also playing melodies can be done in many ways on the LinnStrument. For me it was crucial to have an ergonomic fingering solution which with repeats itself each octave (root is always pressed with the same finger). I also wanted to avoid the use of the thumb and the pinky as much as possible.

See this Chord and Scale Shapes thread for documents using the strings 4th layout.

My approach is pretty similar to yours, but usually I use the little finger on the left hand for the root note when playing seventh chords with the tritone layout. My right hand initially started with the three fingers as you suggested for melodic lines, but recently it has expanded with the little finger for more difficult to reach intervals. I rarely use the thumb for extended chords with the left hand, and have yet to properly utilize it with my right hand.

There will be literal edge cases where you will not be able to follow your guidelines and will require an alternative method. You can reduce but not eliminate that dependency by keeping your hands in the centre of the LinnStrument's playing surface within visual fixation.

[Rune_7s]

Very cool PDF, and I love the GridShapes site as well; first time seeing that. This might be unsolicited advice, but I highly recommend learning to utilize your pinky finger and thumb with both hands. Otherwise, you're just hamstringing yourself and playing at a disadvantage, same as with any other instrument.

[LarsDaniel]

I will have to agree: Aiming to avoid the use of little fingers sounds like a bad idea to me.
Just my 5c.

[mek42]

Very cool PDF, and I love the GridShapes site as well; first time seeing that. This might be unsolicited advice, but I highly recommend learning to utilize your pinky finger and thumb with hands. Otherwise, you're just hamstringing yourself and playing at a disadvantage, same as with any other instrument.

Except harp! Harpists don't use pinkies.