# Kelp

Micro-tuning plugins for Max and Kontakt Player

Kelp allows users to accurately play microtonal pitch materials from bach.score or bach.roll objects within Max on instruments hosted in Kontakt. Kelp includes two parts: kelpA is a Max object that accepts Bach playout messages; kelpB is a Kontakt Script that facilitates microtonal tuning.

kelpA converts midi-cent values into pairs of midi pitches and poly-aftertouch messages, which control tuning. For dense chords, where several pitches require the same midi pitch to be tuned differently, kelpA automatically generates a new chord consisting of three midi pitches along with tuning information for each pitch that recreates the desired sonority.

kelpB takes the poly-aftertouch messages sent by kelpA and uses them to alter the tuning of individual pitches. This approach facilitates chords that include multiple tunings of a single pitch class, whether in the same or different octaves.

Kelp quantizes tunings to 8th-tones (25¢), but that quantization happens only at the last moment within kelpB. With some simple modifications, kelpB could be modified to accept any tuning system supported by the Bach objects.

# Instructions

Place kelpA.maxpat in the same directory of the max-patch with which you are working, or else in your Max Library (typically at ~/Documents/Max\ 7/Library/).

Add the kelpA object to your working max-patch and connect it to the playout outlet of a bach.roll or bach.score object.

Double-click on the kelpA object and edit the midi port name in the midiout object as necessary to route messages to Kontakt Player.

Add kelpB.ksp to your Kontakt scripts folder (typically at ~/Documents/Native\ Instruments/Kontakt\ VERSION/presets/Scripts/Tuning).

Add the kelpB script to whatever instrument you want to detune.

You can disable micro-tuning at any time from the script display by toggling the tuning_active button.