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Synthesizer

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Lumi Pakkanen edited this page Nov 9, 2022 · 4 revisions

Scale Workshop has a built-in synth so that you can play and hear your scales. This is useful for auditioning the scale you're working on, however it is very simple and isn't recommended for live performance.

Playing with a MIDI controller

Play notes on any connected MIDI device in order to hear your current scale. This requires you to use a web-MIDI capable browser. Must be enabled first by clicking the MIDI I/O option in the top navigation then selecting your input device from the drop down menu while your controller is connected.

Playing with QWERTY

Use your computer keyboard to play your current scale, much like an isomorphic keyboard.

You can modify the mapping by changing the Vertical and Horizontal values to affect how many scale degrees a step along each axis corresponds to.

Note: QWERTY note input is disabled any time that a text or input field has focus. An indicator can be seen at the top-right of the screen to show you if you are able to play the QWERTY keyboard currently.

Technically all international keyboard layouts are supported, but some browsers fail to detect the physical layout. Users who wish to see their keyboard layout supported are encouraged to file a bug report detailing which keys do not work as expected and be willing to do some testing to figure out how to resolve the issues.

Holding down Shift while pressing a key causes the note to sustain until you press the same key again. To release all sustained keys, press the key to the left of digit 1.

You can quickly change octaves/equaves with numpad * and / keys. You can transpose the scale by one scale degree using numpad + and -.

Using a piano-style layout

As an alternative to the isomorphic approach the (typing) keyboard can be used in a layout that mimics a piano keyboard.

Go to the Synth tab in top navigation and select Piano-style layers as the Keyboard mode. There are three options to choose from:

  • ASDF & QWERTY white keys on the row starting from A and black keys on the row starting from Q.
  • ZXCV & ASDF + QWERTY & 1234 white keys on the row starting from Z with black keys on the row starting from A and another set of white and black keys on the Q-row with the digits row an octave/equave higher.
  • ZXCV etc. (shifted left) Some keyboards have a key between Shift and Z. This option starts the lower row there.

Please note that your scale size must be a multiple of the number of Key colors for piano-style mapping to work correctly.

Playing with mouse / touch screen

Move to the Virtual Keyboard tab in the top menu to see a grid. Click / touch the grid to hear your scale. The mapping on the grid is the same as on the QWERTY keys. The grid is replaced with piano when Piano-style layers is selected on the Synth tab.

Changing the sound of the synth

The synth has the following options:

  • Main volume
  • Waveform: Defaults to a semisine. More details below.
  • Envelope controls:
    • Attack time: Affects how long it takes for the sound to swell to full velocity.
    • Decay time: Affects how long it takes for the sound to decay to sustain level after reaching full velocity.
    • Sustain level: Determines how loud the sound is kept for long notes.
    • Release time: Affects how long it takes for the sound to fade away after the key is released.
  • Presets: Quickly set the envelope controls to a predetermined configuration.
  • Max polyphony: How many notes can be played at the same time. (Higher polyphony requires more processing power.)
  • Audio delay: If you hear clicks or pops at the start of notes, adjust the delay until they disappear.

Available waveforms

  • sine: Pure tone and the most neutral timbre that has the least clashes with other notes.
  • square: Harsh timbre consisting of odd harmonics only.
  • sawtooth: Harsh and full timbre featuring all harmonics.
  • triangle: Softer version of the square wave.
  • warm(n): Progressively softer tones with limited harmonics.
  • octaver: Pure tones in octaves similar to a classic organ sound.
  • brightness: Bright and thin timbre.
  • harmonicbell: Harmonics 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 11 emulating a metallic bell sound.
  • semisine: Softer timbre featuring all harmonics.
  • rich: Only contains harmonics that are multiples of 2, 3 and 5. (2.3.5)
  • slender: 2.3.7
  • didacus: 2.5.7
  • bohlen: 3.5.7
  • glass: 2.7.11
  • boethius: 2.3.19
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