klangfarben

klangfarben deals successive notes across MIDI channels, one channel per note.

Point each channel at a different instrument in the DAW and a single line becomes a Klangfarbenmelodie, the melody-of-timbres Schoenberg named and Webern perfected in his orchestration of Bach’s ricercar: the notes are yours, but each one speaks in a different voice. By default the dealing cycles through the channels in the order written; mode="random" draws a seeded channel per note instead.

Random dealing follows its seed: the same seed deals the same channels forever; see Seeds. Note-offs and polyphonic aftertouch follow each note to its dealt channel, so nothing sticks; pedals and other non-note events pass on their original channel.

Parameters

klangfarben takes the channels as bare arguments, at least one, no repeats. The written order is the cycle.

Parameter	Type	Default	Range
channels	integer arguments	required	1..=16, each listed once
mode	string	"cycle"	"cycle", "random"
seed	integer	0	any unsigned 64-bit value; only matters with "random"

Example

miditool.kdl

input "Roland"
output virtual="miditool Out"

klangfarben 2 3 4          // each note to the next instrument, round and round

In the DAW, set three instrument tracks to receive channels 2, 3, and 4; see the DAW guide.

Try this

Let the timbre change as each note fades. The echo repeats are notes too, so every repeat is dealt onward:

echo repeats=4 beats=0.5 decay=0.7
klangfarben 2 3 4 mode="random" seed=11

One keypress now dies away through four instruments, in an order the seed decided once and for all.