--- In atari-midi@y..., "Tim" <t.wilson@f...> wrote:
> Hi Tim. Perhaps I am using the term control sequence in a different sense to
> you, but here goes. My understsnding of the term control sequence is that
> one sequence exerts some control over another sequence, so in answer to your
> question, this is easily possible in KCS. A simple example of this in action
> is sequence 2 setting off other sequences in the .ALL files I uploaded.
> Using the event types I detailed in my last post you can mute and unmute,
> start and stop, transpose and generally manipulate other sequences from
> within open mode. 

For me Open mode is two or three different things. 

1) advanced structuring 
2) an interactive instrument
3) a very useful partner in live situations

1) Many sequencers can structure music in sections that follow each other successively, like part a followed by part b followed by part c etc. In Open mode this can be done much more advanced and flexible than in any other sequencer that I know of, by using control sequences. So, instead of the sections following each other head to tail, any sequence can start at any point, and loop any number of times. Also, within the sequences you can set up mutes, transpositions of pitch and velocity, random events etc. This is the feature of Open mode that I have worked most with. I prefer to make music in sections, instead of making pieces that plays from start to finish in one go.

2) When used as an interactive instrument, control sequences get another meaning. You can set up a number of sequences that change the flow (transpose, mute, redirect etc.) of sequences already playing. This can be done in any version of KCS, but it is greatly expanded in the last versions. 

3) When playing live, KCS open mode can be used to initialise your MIDI equipment. That is, send patches, sys-ex, set up panning, volume etc. Set up a sequence for each tune and program them to play only once. Very useful if you have complex setups.


When
> triggering off sequences like this using the qwerty keyboard, it's worth
> bearing in mind whether you want the sequences to sync with each other.
> Unless your timing is very good, you'll most likely be a little out using
> the qwerty to play back sequences. Here's a fix to this. Say you only want
> things to change every 8 bars. Set up some control sequences to start and
> stop other sequences, these must be 8 bars long. For each of these
> sequences, set up 2 other sequences, one to mute, and the other to unmute
> the 8 bar control sequences. These latter sequences will be the ones you
> trigger from your qwerty. If you've done everything right, you'll be able to
> bring stuff in and out of the mix, exactly every 8 bars, no matter how lousy
> your timing. I hope I understood your question properly, and that this is of
> some help.


What about the "align" feature? If you press the "delete" key, new sequences that you start will be aligned (or "quantised") to the ones already playing. You can set up the alignment (or quantise) value to whatever you want, whether it is every bar or every beat. This means that if you trigger a new sequence sequence a little bit before it should start playing, it will wait the specified alignement value.