Controlling Rhythm in the Frequency Domain

This article describes a way to approach music sequencing, with particular focus on the generation of dynamic rhythm patterns. In contrast to the well known “step sequencer” or “piano roll” style interfaces that specify note pitches and amplitudes as values located at points in time, the device described here calculates note patterns from the sum of a series of discrete sinusoids. When these patterns trigger velocity sensitive percussion sounds, useful rhythms can be generated and transformed with very few controls.