MaYbe Not
In the release notes for the new beta of Renoise 3.0 there is something that immediately caught my eye.
“A new effect command is the MaYbe command (0Yxx). It can be put into a note column or an effect column, and will allow you to trigger a note/line with a certain probability, or to define multiple notes and trigger just one of them with an independent probability factor (this is known as the “mutually exclusive mode”). For a great example of this command being put to use, listen to dblue’s tutorial/demo-song ‘Maybe Melodies’.”
Being a fan of generative beats and melodies I immediately decided to pick apart the feature and see how it works. As the online documentation had not yet been updated I did not have much to go on other than the suggested demo song.
NOTE: If you are not familiar with pattern effect commands I suggest you read the documentation on it before proceeding.
Volume/Pan Method: If you enter Yx for the vol / pan of a note it has a random chance of triggering (Y8 would be 50% chance). If there are multiple notes on a given step and enter Yx for each of them they would each have a chance of triggering. This could result in multiple notes triggering at once.
Effects Command Method: If you enter 0Yxx in the effects command then the MaYbe command is only executed once for the step. Either the full step triggers or it does not.
Mutual Exclusive Mode: If you enter 0Y00 in the effects command and also enter a Yx command in the volume or panning column then the MaYbe command works in Mutual Exclusive mode. Only one of the notes on the step will trigger. The x values in the volume/pan column will be used as a weighted value to determine what note triggers.
To get you started I have created a simple drum beat. Note how I use the MaYbe command only on the accent beats to ensure the rhythm stays identifiable but varied.
