The wonderfully crazy world of modular MIDI

The world of software modulars is just as big as the world of hardware - with platforms like VCV Rack and Cardinal, as well as the likes of Reaktor, Voltage Modular or even Bespoke, there are plenty of free and inexpensive ways to get started.

As a big fan of generative tools, software modular is a great way to develop ideas, because through the wonderful world of MIDI, you can use anything that accepts MIDI in a modular way. Some platforms like VCV and Voltage Modular even have dedicated plug-in hosts that let you run your favorite plug-ins as a „module“and use the other modules for control. MIDI modules also let you send that data to your DAW or hardware to extend or modulate your favorite tools in new and interesting ways.

When I get stuck, one of my favorite tricks is to use three to four sample-and-hold modules in parallel with a quantizer, feed them noise, and set them to receive the same trigger. If you send that to one or more synthesizers in the session, you can use it to generate chord ideas. By adjusting the CV input at the S&H modules, you can adjust the range of values generated to create different intensities of chord inversions and voicings. From here, you can even wire up some probability-based gates to add random effects to different voicings of the chord.

When you record the MIDI data into the session, you can save the best parts, change the chords, and explore the generated progressions further, as the Rack keeps spitting out new ideas. Plus, it‘s rare that anything gets repetitive! Generative music is a ton of fun, and it‘s like having the ultimate writing partner when you get stuck on your own!