How to "hold" incoming MIDI notes?

[darkness]

I'm fairly new to VM and modular systems, so please forgive me if this is a stupid question.

The title says it, I'm looking for a way to hold the notes I'm playing on my MIDI keyboard (especially when running VM standalone).
Pretty much the same thing like the "Hold" button of an Arpeggiator. Is there a module or any other way to achieve this?

It's just annoying having to constantly hold down a chord on the keyboard with one hand...
I'm hoping that I'm stupid enough to overlook something very simple

thx

[schoekah]

I'd check some of the bundles to see what kind of MIDI utilities are on offer (macaulay? bernard?), but you may be able to make something using "poly MIDI in" (from cherry audio) to "poly to mono" (cherry) to "sample and hold" connected to each p2m cv out. each s&H being triggered by the cv sources/gate at the top of the program (or "pm in", if you want)
cheers!

[darkness]

Thanks for your response.
I tried with all combinations of the modules you suggested, but no success.
Here's a screenshot of just one example I've tested with:


I've tried many more variations and different cabling. It's either not holding the notes, or holding some kind of "output" with actually no sound (just shows a level on the main out). What do you mean with "pm in"?

Meanwhile I got this module which could've been a workaround/solution, but this seems to be a bit buggy unfortunately.

I'm surprised that something like a "MIDI hold" module doesn't exist (at least I can't find one). Would be handy i.e. for evolving pad sounds, when you're only playing a chord here and there. Right now one hand is always tied up to the keyboard and that, well... sux.
Most Arpeggiators have a "hold" button. To me it doesn't sound too difficult to apply that to non-Arp usecase.
MIDI in > hold button "on" > cv/gate out > done
Already thought about trying to make a module with the Module Designer, but I got zero coding knowledge lol

[Steve W]

Question of Clarification: Do you want a way to latch onto notes that have been triggered from a midi keyboard and are already sounding? For example, after playing notes you press a footswitch that sends out CC64 to latch onto those notes and when you release the switch the envelope passes from the sustain level into the release time.

I was able to do this using a Poly Oscillator, a Poly Amplifier and a Poly Envelope Generator.

The Poly Envelope Generator can take the Sus (CV Source) to make the Poly Amplifier hold the notes while the CC64 Pedal is depressed. The held notes are released when CC64 is switched off. (Notes are triggered from the Poly Gate Source.)

There may be other ways to do this, but this seemed to me to be the simplest.

VM Sustain.jpg (131.26 KiB) Viewed 6346 times

[Steve W]

Just for the fun of it I swapped in the Poly VCO-20 Dual Oscillator and Poly VCF-20 Filter and added a Super LFO to make it an organ with a fixed rate / fixed amount wah-wah based on the filter. More could be done to it, but its another example of using CC64/Sustain which could come from a foot pedal, a knob, slider, or button, or any other source to hold notes.

MIDI Sustain (CC64) 2a.voltagepreset

(11.36 KiB) Downloaded 360 times

The attachment MIDI Sustain (CC64) 2a.voltagepreset is no longer available

[darkness]

First thing: I don't have a sustain pedal.

Question of Clarification: Do you want ...

Well, I guess the best way to describe what I want still is the Arpeggiator "hold" button example.
You're playing a note or chord on the keyboard and when the hold button is active it's holding the notes "forever", until new notes are played or the hold button is deactivated. That's pretty much what I'm looking for, only for non-arpeggiated usecase.

Background:
I'm having this patch here


This is meant to be some kind of "performance" patch. On the left you can see a Sampler module. This one is playing a pad sound, using the "Drone" button to have it constantly running.
I'd like to replace this with my own pad sound from Oscillator(s). But I don't want to hold down a chord on the keyboard all the time to keep this playing. Because I'd like to have both hands for tweaking. Maybe play in another chord from time to time. I can do this with an Arpeggiator with zero effort, because of the hold function.

That's the whole story.

[ColinP]

I just knocked this up. It's not very elegant as it doesn't adapt to the number of notes played.

It works only for triads. Note NUMBER OF VOICES is set to three. You should be able to modify it to work on more notes and with MIDI input instead of poly.

The latch button labelled HOLD just keeps the CV to MIDI modules on.

polyhold.png (807.08 KiB) Viewed 6315 times

The Note Watcher module isn't available to you. I just used it to test the patch.

[Steve W]

First thing: I don't have a sustain pedal.

. . . CC64/Sustain . . . could come from a foot pedal, a knob, slider, or button, or any other source to hold notes.

Some usb/midi keyboards have buttons, knobs, sliders, etc. that can be programmed to send out midi data such as CC64.

Unfortunately the buttons in the Perform section only simulate momentary contact switches. So far as I can tell, there is no built-in option for making them latch.

Well, I guess the best way to describe what I want still is the Arpeggiator "hold" button example.
You're playing a note or chord on the keyboard and when the hold button is active it's holding the notes "forever", until new notes are played or the hold button is deactivated. That's pretty much what I'm looking for, only for non-arpeggiated usecase.

Thanks for the clarification. It makes more sense now. It seems that you want two functions working together: (1) traditional sustain and (2) note replacement sustain. The first works in VM. I suspect the second would require some sort of design to first turn off sustain whenever new notes came in, then play the new notes, and finally turn sustain back on so the new notes are held.

That sounds like something I might be able to use, too, and would be interested to see ideas for implementing this.

[ColinP]

P.moon's handy Buttons 2/1 module is free...

https://store.cherryaudio.com/modules/buttons-21

[Steve W]

P.moon's handy Buttons 2/1 module is free...

Excellent idea (at least for traditional sustain). I was able to use button 3 as a latching toggle.