I would like to play a synth with arabic scale: any tips?

I have never done this and now is the time :slight_smile: is it possible in cubase to play arabic scale or others in a vsti synth or my nord lead? how can i achieve this in cubase?

Thank you very much for any help

If itā€™s a Halion or Halion Sonic series multitimbral VST you can use the microtuner to tune the scales.

Otherwise, you would use the scale tuning parameters in the VSTi or synth you are using to to tune your maqams.

iā€™ll have to look in what you mean ā€œscale tuning parametersā€ thank you!

I think theres a couple of other ways to do this, you could use the Chord Track and set the scale manually, then set the instrument track to follow the Chord Track scale.

The easiest however would be to place a midi modifier under the midi inserts tab of any midi/inst track, and then set the scale to ā€˜Arabianā€™.

thanks i mislead you with the term i told in title ā€œarabe scaleā€ (hamonic minor i think) what i ment is what Steve told:maqams a tuning system not based on tempered notes (micro tuning).

the best and most universal solution is getting better with playing the keyboardā€¦ im certainly no pianist, but as a composer and someone who works with midi on the computer - trying to get half way decent has been extremely important for creativityā€¦ understanding a scale is nice and all - but you cant really think of music as chord pattern + playing on a scale that lines up with itā€¦ you have to think of everything as tonality being the big pictureā€¦ and limiting yourself to a ā€œscaleā€ also removes your ability to make interesting melodies that venture outside of that, not the ability to change the tonal center when you want to

The question is not about major or minor, dorian or lydian. Itā€™s about notes that are not on the piano keyboard.

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correct.

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    Inspector > ā€œMidi Modifiersā€ > Scale (ā€¦Arabic tune, Jazzy, Kirnberger e.g.)
    :slight_smile:

You might want to open your ears and learn something - not all scales are the same notes pitched in the same manner as ours - some Indian and Arab scales have notes which are only a few cents (in western scales) apart. How does a smart**** play those notes?

Note to OP, Melodyne Editor has most wacky scales available to it so you could create rough approximations of your melodies using a western keyboard/sound source and then transfer them to melodyne and edit there - possibly quite a painful process though! Melodyne will snap your polyphonic audio to the new scale but you will still have to do a lot of manual editing.

i need the feeling and ear while playing! melodyne would take the pleasure of playing! thank you for the tip tho! (y)

I guess you could program a drum pad or something like that to send a note + or - a pitch bend the required number of cents to make up yours ā€œinbetween notesā€ scale? Itā€™s be hard work at first but once itā€™s done itā€™s done. Also many samplers (including Kontact) allow you to tune individual notes - so you could create a set of tunings for particular instruments that match the required scale.

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To the OP- have you tired using the microtuner with Halion Sonic SE? If so how did it work out for you?

i still did not try because i am away from the studio! will give you feedback as soon as i try

Steve: yes it worked , i am quite surprised because seems there are no pre made presets because has it is i will do changes randomly. i wonder what you mean by ā€œscale tuning parameters in the VSTiā€ where do i config that? does scala .scl files has anything to with it? is there a library to download like Macedonian , Persian ,Syrian, Turkish, whatever tunings ā€¦

thank you,

I donā€™t understand what youā€™re saying, but the microtuner does have presets.

Scala files work in Kontakt, and elsewhere. Do a web search.

i really canā€™t see them! see in attached file image.
Screen Shot 2015-02-23 at 17.05.56.png

Did you open the preset menu?

ofcourse :slight_smile:

Hmā€¦ your posted imge does not show thatā€¦

this is what you mean, right?

Screen Shot 2015-02-23 at 17.35.31.png