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MidiBrain tutorial: generate chords, bass and melody inside your DAW

3 min read · Updated

MidiBrain is an idea generator: it creates 8 variations of a loop (chords, bass, melody, arpeggio, counter-melody) in the key and mood you choose, plays them with its own sounds, then you drag the MIDI or the audio into your project. It is an instrument: it needs no incoming notes. The numbers match the markers on the screenshot.

Step by step

NAUPLY MidiBrain tutorial: generate chords, bass and melody inside your DAW interface, with numbered markers for each step

  1. Load MidiBrain as an instrument

    Create MidiBrain as a virtual instrument in your DAW and open its window.

  2. Pick tags and a key

    At the top, pick a few tags (INSTRUMENT, CARACTÈRE = character, HUMEUR = mood), the key and Maj or Min.

  3. Generate

    Click GENERATE: 8 variations are created. Click ▶ to hear the loop.

  4. Browse the variations

    Move between variations with the dots (◀ ● ▶). The curved arrows (undo / redo) go back to previous GENERATEs.

  5. Shape each part

    On each part, change the sound, transpose, or use < S > for another version. The big pad (Son = sound / Idée = idea) transforms the whole idea.

  6. Send it to your DAW

    At the bottom, drag MIDI Bundled (one track), MIDI Split (one track per part) or WAV mix into your project; Exporter… saves files.

Tags: instrument, character, mood

INSTRUMENT picks the sounds and which parts play (Keys, Piano, Pluck, Strings, 808 / Sub…), CARACTÈRE the effects macro (Analog, Dark, Vinyl, Warm…), HUMEUR the mood (Chill, Energetic, Sad, Catchy…). Effacer clears all tags; with no tag, MidiBrain generates freely.

The Sound Set (< >) changes all 5 sounds at once; its lock keeps sounds and effects when you run GENERATE again with other tags.

Shaping the five parts

Each part (Chords, Bass, Melody, Arp, Counter) has an on / off switch, a lock that keeps it as is on the next GENERATE, its sound, a transpose (±24), < S > to browse 8 versions over the same chords, its level, and MIDI and WAV handles to drag.

The big pad has two modes. Son: up / down transposes the whole idea, left / right sets the effects (Filter, Lo-Fi, Space, Crunch). Idée: energy × complexity, and releasing the dot runs GENERATE. Double-click = back to the centre.

The piano roll and the Advanced panel

The piano roll shows chord names, with one tab per part and a 4- or 8-bar loop (A, then an answering A'). Edit lets you draw: click = note, drag = length, click a note = delete it. Dropping a .mid file on the piano roll imports it into the part on screen.

The Avancé (advanced) panel gives access to style, scale, complexity, energy, BPM (used when the host does not send its tempo), Hook Factor, the seed (Lock seed to get the same result again), Sync Key and chord import.

Sending the idea to your project

MIDI Bundled drops every part on a single track, MIDI Split one track per part: handy to play them with your own instruments. WAV mix drops the audio render exactly as you hear it. To clean up or humanize the MIDI afterwards, Sutura does it non-destructively.

Frequently asked questions

Does MidiBrain need incoming MIDI notes?
No. It is an instrument: it generates chords, bass, melody, arpeggio and counter-melody by itself, then plays them with its own sounds.
How do I get back an idea generated earlier?
The curved arrows (undo / redo) go back to previous GENERATEs, and Lock seed in the Advanced panel reproduces the same result.
Can I use my own instruments?
Yes: drag MIDI Split to get one MIDI track per part, then assign any instruments you like.

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