I’ve been working toward something that looks at MPE and acoustic modeling from an additional angle. My intent is both a philosophical and practical exploration of expression.
First off, I am incredibly grateful for the pioneers of MIDI and acoustic modeling. From the early wild west and east days of creating standards, to the incredible minds pushing things forward today, thank you. It’s this foundational work which provides the freedom and ease to tinker, hack, and rethink how to interface with sound design and musical inventions of all sorts…
Lately, I’ve been obsessed with how we, as humans, drive expression but also that which “expresses” upon us, a form of cohabitation.
The brilliant EaganMatrix acoustic modeling engine and the way it handles organic, fluid responses is magical or perhaps elegantly mathematical. An equally brilliant mathematical generative sandbox is KARMA. Created entirely to express human intent, breaking free from the rigid midi landscape of yesteryear. Dedicated MPE controllers are also beautiful, the QuNexus was a great step in the journey and the current offering of fantastic controllers is growing, but I started wondering about all sorts of friction we create which could translate into musical expression.
How to expand on these foundational implementations as well as learn, by looking back to go forward?
How to achieve a similar deep, independent per-note expression which is musically aware of itself by using music theory as a variable in the model?
Eventually being able to introduce many new variables and modes of expression…
Currently, a functioning rough draft of something akin to a voice allocation scheme I am calling: HARMONIC_mpe. This might be the long lost keytar cousin of 6 string allocation. 
I have been able to build a routing bridge that leverages KARMA v3.3 for the Motif XS with off the shelf MIDI 1.0 gear to unlock a “musically aware” style of multi-dimensional, acoustic-modeled expression. The goal isn’t to automate my music, but to create a setup where I’m generating the dynamics, using all forms of inputs to express multi-dimensional articulations on individual notes within a chord or phrase. And that chord or phrase also musically lives and breathes.
The Canvas: a multi-channel setup (Song mode) on the XS, and or a large mix of multi-timbral synths to create the voices specifically tuned for “organic, acoustic-style modeled” types of responses or easily re-geared towards a yet to be discovered soundscape.
The Brain: I am using a 6-module setup within the KARMA software. Instead of using it to generate traditional tracks, it’s acting as a “musically aware” voice allocation router.
The Splitter (Note Series Index Filters): play a chord, KARMA’s filters instantly recognize the chord structure and cleanly separates the notes —sending the indexed intervals to distinct modules. Such that the Root note goes to Module 1, the 3rd to Module 2, and so on. Each module gets its own dedicated MIDI channel. And by extension, when the sound module has multi-channel output, separate audio chains for post processing.
The Human Driver: By using KARMA’s DynMIDI matrix, I can mimic axis movements thru standard physical gestures—like moving individual faders, pedals or pads from MIDI 1.0 controllers—and map them directly to those specific modules. This extends to non human organic drivers of expression, using nearly any “midi controller” becomes possible. Weather, time, density, proximity, any sensor, any data which can be translated to midi CC.
Because the indexed notes are already separated by the filters and routed to distinct midi channels, “wiring” a traditional midi data stream thru DynMIDI cleanly reshapes and modulates the root of the chord. While another data stream breathes life into another interval of the chord. Each interval distinct but always perfectly or as imperfectly harmonious as expressed… much is yet to figure out
A Few Thoughts on Musical Intent & The Road Ahead
What excites me most about this setup, even as a legacy project, is how it unlocks a musical intent for both generative midi and acoustic modeling. In this sandbox, a chord is “understood” rather than simply transmitted. Because the routing relies on KARMA’s Index math rather than being strictly pitch-based, the musical structure itself becomes an active participant in how data flows. The system inherently knows the relationship of the notes within the harmony, changing how interactions are mapped.
It also challenged me to expand the horizon of what expressions might actually be possible. True musical articulation is more than just what a physical finger touches. We must respect the physical “cohabitation” we share with an instrument, but also remember that we already play countless instruments through an intermediary—sticks for a drum, bows for a violin, or complex mechanical hammers for a piano. And certainly math…
Should that intermediate layer not naturally extend to all possible interactions? After all, a physical guitar slips out of tune in humid or dry conditions. Saliva accumulates and alters the resonance of a brass horn. So many wild, chaotic environmental variables enter into how our ears ultimately perceive a sound—well beyond the neat, direct tactile intent of its original creator.
By decoupling the note-triggering surface from the modulation source, I am simply leaning into that acoustic chaos, introducing entirely new macro-gestural dimensions into physical modeling.
Ultimately, I look at this setup as a transition. As the saying goes, “a bridge gets more people to the promised land than a catapult.” For myself, heavily invested in the fun and exploration of both new and “legacy” gear, this offers a healthy, functioning pathway forward. It allows me to keep some beloved instruments relevant within a framework like MPE—which, if I am being completely honest, resides as one of truly beautifully formulated, brilliant hacks.
The fun truly starts when playing the mpe controller of your choice to modulate the over 400 parameters within each KARMA module routed back to an mpe enabled sound module!
Expressing a musical intent in real-time from each axis of the controller.
MIDI 2.0 is to me the new wild frontier, the promised land!!!
A work in progress: Harmonic mpe ?
PEACE
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