How I'm learning Linnstrument

[rhombuslabs]

I've made a spreadsheet of scale shapes on the Linnstrument, based on the scales provided by Ableton Push. "X" is the root note, "O" is the octave. I tried to optimize for three fingered playing. Hopefully it's clear enough.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

I've also gone one step further and made little MIDI sequences that will make the notes flash on your Linnstrument if you play them to your Linnstrument MIDI In port (works on USB of course too). They're all rooted in C but instead of transposing them in your DAW, try transposing them in your head. Just learn the shape and move it around. They blink every quarter note so you can use them as a visual metronome as well.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bz0Ue ... Tk3MWRScFE

Your pal,
Matt

[Roger_Linn]

Thanks, Matt. You might also be interested in this similar interactive web page from LinnStrument owner Cole Brokamp:

http://ccaaps.duckdns.org:3838/linnstrument_scales/

[48cube]

Thanks to both of you for sharing. I was going into rhombuslabs direction, searching the web for various scales MIDI sequences.
Cole Brokamps app is quite handy, it eases the visual memory imprint a lot.
I found also helpful the Soundscape VST mentioned in some other thread. It has LS layout in one of it's 'spaces'.
http://www.mucoder.net/en/tonespace/

[Chick Sangria]

Cole Brokamp's page looks really great.
What would be an interesting addition is microtonality: LinnStrument offers a great visual surface for playing 24-note scales, as you just have to double the size of the scale and chord shapes. I tried the tuning presets in Kontakt. But still it needs some work to learn it - so it would be great to see some feature like this. Of course, that's a very special request, but maybe there are some other users who would like to experiment with quarter-tones.

[Roger_Linn]

What would be an interesting addition is microtonality: LinnStrument offers a great visual surface for playing 24-note scales, as you just have to double the size of the scale and chord shapes...maybe there are some other users who would like to experiment with quarter-tones.

As I'm sure you're aware, MIDI permits 128 note numbers, which you can define however you like in your sound generator.

If you're interested in 24 divisions per octave, one way to set up LinnStrument would be to turn on Split mode with one split set to 24 columns wide, then set Global Settings > Row Offset to "No Overlap". This will result in each row having 24 consecutive note numbers with no overlap between rows. Then you must define each note number as a quarter tone in your sound generator.

[rhombuslabs]

Cole Brokamp's app is nice, I've had a look at it as well as Tonespace. I like them both. Thanks for the tips.

I'm learning the Web Audio and Web MIDI APIs this weekend to make my own little app that'll talk both ways to the Linnstrument. It'll take some weeks though. Ideally I'd like to make this thing work in such a way that looking at the computer screen isn't necessary.

[Chick Sangria]

If you're interested in 24 divisions per octave, one way to set up LinnStrument would be to turn on Split mode with one split set to 24 columns wide, then set Global Settings > Row Offset to "No Overlap". This will result in each row having 24 consecutive note numbers with no overlap between rows. Then you must define each note number as a quarter tone in your sound generator.

Roger, I think it's more comfortable to use the common note layout and let the sound generator do the scale work. Kontakt and Pianoteq are very good at this. I made a video where I demonstrate the 24-note scale with some fingering examples and an improvisation. It would be great to have a visual scale pattern like Cole's for this and other microtonal scales (but I don't have the skills and the time to make one).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pofFOVxLUw

[Roger_Linn]

I was also suggesting that the sound generator does the scale work because there's no other choice, given that Midi is only capable of sending pitches as note numbers. The only difference was that in my proposal there is no pitch overlap between the rows and in your example there is. But either way is fine. And thank you for the video example.

[Chick Sangria]

Ah, right.
Another setup would be the "polychromatic" approach: Is it possible to use a no overlap setting, where one row has 24 chromatic steps from, say, c' to c''' and all other rows are slightly higher or lower? I guess you could play eight instances of a sound generator, each with one midi channel per row, and then modify the pitch as you like.

[Roger_Linn]

You can choose any Row Offset from 0 to 16 by holding Global Setting > Row Offset > Ocatve. If you're assigning MIDI Note Numbers to 1/4 tones, then a Row Offset of 16 would be 16 1/2 tones = 8 semitones.

[Chick Sangria]

Wow, I just realized this row offset feature. What I was implying would be a Row Offset of 0, where you get the same notes on each row. Then you can pitch up or down every row as you like and have parallel note tunings accessible in a very intuitive layout. Thanks!

[afta8]

Hi all,

I have a question about approaches to fingering when learning the Linnstrument. I don't play any other musical instrument and was recently given a piano lesson where the idea of fingering was explained in the sense that you use certain fingers for certain keys, once the muscle memory for that developed it started to become really enjoyable to learn the piano and things started to click, something I have not had with the Linnstrument so far.

So it got me thinking if this approach should be applied to learning the Linnstrument and if so what approach should be taken to fingering. I have had a guess and come up with this approach using 3 fingers:


Is this the right way to go about this?

Practicing the major scale with this approach certainly 'feels' a lot more natural but with no prior musical instrument experience I don't want to set myself up with bad playing habits. Watching videos on Youtube it seems some users are using a similar approach but then others are using thumbs as well although I don't see anyone using the pinky finger.

Any tips and guidance is appreciated. Thanks

[Roger_Linn]

Common chords can be fingered in a variety of ways so I wouldn't say there's a "right" way, but I understand the need for some initial guidance if LinnStrument is your first musical instrument.

LinnStrumentalist Jeff Moen has created a "Learn the LinnStrument" online video course that may be helpful to you:

http://www.jeffmoen.com

It includes guidance on chord fingerings, and I think Jeff makes it fairly easy to learn.

[afta8]

Thanks Roger, that looks like interesting and I will check it out..

[tiantong]

Hi all,

I have a question about approaches to fingering when learning the Linnstrument. I don't play any other musical instrument and was recently given a piano lesson where the idea of fingering was explained in the sense that you use certain fingers for certain keys, once the muscle memory for that developed it started to become really enjoyable to learn the piano and things started to click, something I have not had with the Linnstrument so far.

You could watch some videos about basic bass playing where the idea of fingering can directly be applied to the Linnstrument. There are, as Roger says, many approaches to this, but you have to start somewhere.

I tend to use three fingers when playing melodies, the thumb and pinky get used with chords. By the way, a better way to learn chords is understanding how they are built, so you don't limit yourself to one position.