Operation Manual

213
Using KARMA
Overview - What is KARMA?
KARMAstandsforKayAlgorithmicRealtimeMusic
Architecture,namedafteritsinventor,StephenKay.
KARMAgeneratesMIDIdata,usingmanydifferent
algorithmsseamlesslyintegratedtoprovidea
powerful“musicgenerationengine.”Basedonthe
notesandchordsyouplay,KARMAcreatesphrases
andpatternsinreal‐time,generatingnotjustnotesbut
MIDIcontroldataaswe
ll.TheKARMAarchitecture
allowsthevariousalgorithmstobereconfiguredand
variedinrealtime,asyouplaythem.
Forexample,youcancreatethedynamictempo
changesthatoccurwithinaharpglissando,the
synchronizedchangesinvolumeandtonethatoccur
aspartofab
rassphrase,therandomnesswithina
drumphrase,thecrescendoanddiminuendoofafill‐
in,changesinphraseortoneofatechnogroove,
complexinterweavingphrasesthatwouldbe
impossibletoplayonakeyboard,guitarstrumming
andfinger‐pickingsimulationswithnatural‐sounding
changes,andbackinggroovesthatfollowyo
u
r
keyboardplayinginrealtime–allunderyourcontrol.
KARMAletsyouproducephrasesandpatternsatafar
moremusicalandflexiblelevelthanconventional
arpeggiatorsorpatternplaybackfunctions.
OntheKRONOS,KARMAisdesignedtoworkinclose
conjunctionwiththenumerousotherfunctions,giving
yo
uunbelievableperformancepoweronstageorinthe
studio.
The structure of KARMA
KARMAconsistsofthefollowingmajorparts.
KARMA modules
AKARMAmoduleusesaGE(GeneratedEffect)to
createaphraseorpattern.
InProgrammode,onlyoneKARMAmodule(A)is
used.InCombinationorSequencermodes,four
KARMAmodules(A,B,C,D)canbeused.For
example,eachmodulemightbeusedtogenerate
phrasesandpatternsforaseparateso
und,suchas
drums,bass,guitar,andpiano.
InProgrammode,theKARMAmoduletransmits
andreceivesallMIDIdataontheGlobalMIDI
channelspecifiedby“MIDIChannel.”
InCombinationandSequencermodes,theMIDI
datafromeachKARMAmoduleistransmittedand
receivedonthe“InputChannel”and“O
utput
Chann
el”specifiedforeachmodule.
GE (Generated Effect)
ThephrasesandpatternsproducedbyaKARMA
modulearecreatedbyaGE(GeneratedEffect).
Basedonnotedatafromthekeyboard,theGEuses
variousinternalparameterstocontrolhowthenote
datawillbedeveloped,andhowrhythm,chord
structure,andvelocityetc.willbecontrolledto
generateaph
raseorpattern.MIDIcontrolchangesand
pitchbenddatacanalsobegeneratedin
synchronizationwiththephraseorpattern.Asa
capabilityuniquetotheKRONOS,KARMAcan
generateMIDIexclusivemessagestocontrolwave
sequencing,whichswitchesbetweenmultisamplesetc.
ofaprograminrealtime.Thisletsyo
ucreatephrases
andpatte
rnsinwhichthetonecolorandnotepitches
changeindependently.
TheKRONOSprovidesalargenumberofGEsthatcan
beusedforavarietyofinstruments,performance
techniques,andmusicalstyles.
GE RTP – Real Time Parameters
AGEconsistsofovertwohundredinternal
parameters.IneachGE,upto32oftheseinternal
parametersarepre‐selectedasthemostsuitable
MIDI IN
GE
Tone
generator
KARMA function
(Generated Eect)
KARMA module
parameters
MIDI OUT
Phrases or
patterns