One of the many things to look forward to in the upcoming Ableton Live 11 is support for MIDI Polyphonic Expression.
Peter Nyboer of Sensel has posted an MPE primer in which he takes a look at the implementation of this technology in the beta version of Live 11.
The implication of MPE is that it provides a more natural model for playing instruments. The many actions on acoustic instruments – where you pluck, strike, or bow, the amount of force applied, and what you do as the note sounds – all contribute to the emotional effect of the sound. MPE puts all those dimensions into electronic instruments, opening up some new sonic territory. The final effect can be dramatic or subtle, depending on how you implement it.
In this tutorial I’m going to show off the current state of MPE in Live 11 beta, and show you how to harness this power with your controller, your instruments, and edits to nail down your production. I’ll cover the various instruments that use MPE, as well as how to convert, tame, and edit this new data stream.
The primer comes with a free MPE Pack for Live, which includes a custom Sampler instrument, Wavetable preset, and a factory Sampler preset modified for MPE.
Check out the website for more details.
