Sundog Scale Studio 1.3.0 out now: Standalone MIDI tool for chord progressions and melodies

[ObsoleteAcc99]

There are no hints for chord progressions inside Sundog (yet?).
On the one hand it would be quite tempting to get some help inside Sundog here, but on the other hand I don't want to discourage anyone to go new ways .

That being said, I know of a nice flow chart that might be interesting for you:
http://mugglinworks.com/chordmaps/genmap.htm
It might look intimidating first, but actually it's quite easy to follow (Sundog uses roman numerals on the Chords Page as well, so it's really just comparing and clicking)

ok thanks, it's not really useful to me then, as i have no problems at all coming up with progressions or melodies when i am in front of my keyboard. I want something to help write them when i am not.

Cubase does this perfectly and gives you options, and incredibly beautiful progressions are one click away..

There really seems to be nothing else on the market that can do it then.. this was the closest

Cubase are always harmonically correct.. you should really check it out and see how it works.

In this case i would just rather play them by qwerty keyboard like i have been or draw them in.. the point is i am looking for something to save me time and cubase does that and i was hoping this was "cubase chord track in an app".

I wonder if i should just keep cubase for that one feature and export the midi into reason. Food for thought. But it's alot of money LOL for one thing.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

PS i don't know why it would discourage anyone.. you could make it optional.. have a little checkbox.. "display harmonically correct progressions only" and with a complexity slider like cubase. It doesn't give you only one chord for your "next one" it gives you plenty, so the ultimate decision of what sort of progression you end up with is still up to you.

[hauke]

PS i don't know why it would discourage anyone.. you could make it optional..

Point taken

Thanks for the hint with Cubase, I will take a look at that. For major and minor it's rather easy to compute or lookup progressions, but for other scales it might be a different thing. I guess I will have to dig deeper there as I'm not sure if the same rules can be applied then.
Any ideas or insights on that?

[ObsoleteAcc99]

PS i don't know why it would discourage anyone.. you could make it optional..

Point taken

Thanks for the hint with Cubase, I will take a look at that. For major and minor it's rather easy to compute or lookup progressions, but for other scales it might be a different thing. I guess I will have to dig deeper there as I'm not sure if the same rules can be applied then.
Any ideas or insights on that?

I honestly don't know how it does it.. it simply displays options that all make sense.. and we are talking ever possible variation also, definitely not just major and minor.

I could make a video of it if it helps you, but best is probably just to download the cubase demo.

All you do is right click create chord track, choose VI output, choose first chord from the list on the left then the type of chord in the middle, press + button to add next chord, put complexity to max (this is what I do) and see the options it provides (one click preview)... then repeat process for as many chords as you like. There are also some right click options (when you are in the chord box) that give you even more complex stuff.. it's pretty amazing

[hauke]

Thanks for this short tutorial and the offer to do a video ! I think I will have to play around with that myself, though, to see how it guides the user in different situations.

[fese]

All you do is right click create chord track, choose VI output, choose first chord from the list on the left then the type of chord in the middle, press + button to add next chord, put complexity to max (this is what I do) and see the options it provides (one click preview)... then repeat process for as many chords as you like. There are also some right click options (when you are in the chord box) that give you even more complex stuff.. it's pretty amazing

Hey, thanks for that explanation, theo, never really looked at the chord track in Cubase (maybe because chords are the least of my musical problems )

[ObsoleteAcc99]

All you do is right click create chord track, choose VI output, choose first chord from the list on the left then the type of chord in the middle, press + button to add next chord, put complexity to max (this is what I do) and see the options it provides (one click preview)... then repeat process for as many chords as you like. There are also some right click options (when you are in the chord box) that give you even more complex stuff.. it's pretty amazing

Hey, thanks for that explanation, theo, never really looked at the chord track in Cubase (maybe because chords are the least of my musical problems )

np when you are done you just can highlight the chords and drag them onto your midi track and presto! like magic they are converted to mid you can then export to any DAW.

[Rajah]

Ok... After 15 Min of Demo... Bought. Now how do I get the full version?

[hauke]

There is no separate full version. Just enter the serial in the box that comes up when you restart the Sundog demo. Or simply use the menu: Help -> Register. Thanks for your purchase !

[Rajah]

There is no separate full version. Just enter the serial in the box that comes up when you restart the Sundog demo. Or simply use the menu: Help -> Register. Thanks for your purchase !

Thank you... Wonderful product..

[hwangman]

I remember watching the 1.0 demo video a couple of months ago and thinking, "hmm, I should definitely look into this sometime."

I just watched the piano melody video and now I'm sold! I will definitely be picking this up. I'm often stuck trying to find good background chords to go with the rest of my instrumentation. This sounds like just the thing I need to help complete my tracks.

Also, kudos to you for the design of your website. Everything is laid out very well and your "how to setup ...." walkthroughs are really helpful.

[dsan@mail.com]

Done deal. Bought and paid for

And ditto hwangman's statement on the website

Now, first FR:

Is it possible to make the <ESC> key a panic button? AND/OR, place a panic button near the Play button on the pages? Seems to be enough room there on the GUI.

No biggy but just in case of stuck notes, which do happen, it's not so good to have to open a dropdown and then scroll to click on the panic. Especially if those stuck notes are screamers!

Thanks for a really useful program hauke!

Looking forward to what else you have in store for us.

Happy Musiking!
dsan

[buhrmi]

I still wish for the option to convert chords that are already placed in the sequence into their inversions without having to manually pick them in the matrix ^_^

[hauke]

Thanks for your suggestions! I just put them on my "wishes and ideas" list .
A panic shortcut is a good idea^^. The menu always worked for me, but then again I never had screamers in my song

[dsan@mail.com]

You have never had a screamer? Seriously?

Man you haven't lived till you have had a screamer

Thanks hauke for considering the request

Once upon a time, in the days before I knew to place a limiter on channels, I was jumping through some pre-sets and came upon one that caused me to, not quite, but close, mess my pants.

It got stuck and I had a hellava time finding the panic button - if I even knew what that was in those days I think I just pulled the plug on everything

Happy Musiking!
dsan