PO-12: MAKING A GROOVE BY ELIMINATION (v3.1)

PO-12: MAKING A GROOVE BY ELIMINATION.md

This is not a sound design tutorial. This is a subtraction tutorial.

The PO-12 rewards removal, not addition.

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The Core Principle

Groove emerges when unnecessary steps are removed.

Knobs do not create groove. They only prevent surviving sounds from stealing attention.

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PO-12 Sound Map (1–16)

1. Bass drum
2. Snare drum
3. Closed hi-hat
4. Open hi-hat
5. Synthesized snare
6. Sticks
7. Cymbal
8. Noise
9. Hand clap
10. Click
11. Low tom
12. Hi tom
13. Cowbell
14. Blip
15. Tone
16. Bass tone

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WRITE Behavior (Important)

• WRITE toggles modes: SEQ ↔ PLAY.
• To sequence a sound: select the sound, press WRITE to enter SEQ, then tap steps.
• To play live: press WRITE again to return to PLAY.

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Step-by-Step: One Complete Pattern

We work on a 16-step pattern. Steps are numbered 1–16 left to right.

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1. Kick Drum (Sound 1)

Start Dense (Ω full)

• Select Sound 1
• Enter SEQ
• Press all 16 steps

Everything is wrong on purpose.

Eliminate to Anchors

Pattern A survivors:

1 · · · 5 · · · 9 · · · · · 16

Anchors:

• 1
• 5
• 9
• 16

Stop here. Do not decorate.

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2. Snare Drum (Sound 2)

Start Dense

• Select Sound 2
• Enter SEQ
• Press all 16 steps

Eliminate to Backbeat

Survivors:

· · · · 5 · · · · · · · 13 · · ·

Only:

• 5
• 13

The snare defines time. Do not embellish it.

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3. Closed Hat (Sound 3)

Start Dense

• Select Sound 3
• Enter SEQ
• Press all 16 steps

Eliminate Until Motion Appears

Pattern A survivors:

1 · 3 · · 6 · 8 · 11 · · 14 · ·

This creates motion without chatter. Silence does the work.

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4. Open Hat (Sound 4)

Start Dense (Briefly)

• Select Sound 4
• Enter SEQ
• Press all 16 steps

Eliminate Aggressively

Survivors:

· · · · · · · 8 · · · · · · 15 ·

Two accents. Nothing more.

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Attention Control (Live Tuning)

This is not composition. This is attention management.

• While the pattern plays, hold WRITE and turn knobs.
• Shorten decay.
• Pull hats back.
• Reduce overlap.

Rules that survive elimination:

Knobs remove dominance.

If a sound steals focus, reduce it. Never add another.

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Pattern B: Variation by Further Elimination

Do not add notes. Delete different ones.

Kick (Sound 1)

From Pattern A, remove one anchor.

Option 1 — remove 9:

1 · · · 5 · · · · · · · · · 16

Option 2 — remove 1:

· · · · 5 · · · 9 · · · · · 16

Option 3 — ultra-minimal:

· · · · 5 · · · · · · · · · 16

Removing different anchors shifts the perceived downbeat. No new notes required.

Snare (Sound 2)

Keep unchanged:

· · · · 5 · · · · · · · 13 · · ·

Snare is the ruler. Do not move it.

Closed Hat (Sound 3)

From Pattern A:

1 · 3 · · 6 · 8 · 11 · · 14 · ·

Remove 6 and 11:

1 · 3 · · · · 8 · · · · · 14 · ·

Space increases. Swing appears without timing tricks.

Open Hat (Sound 4)

Keep only the late accent:

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · 15 ·

One event. Maximum effect.

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Ultra-Radical Inversion (Occasional Exercise)

• Start with only one open hat (Sound 4)
• Everything else muted

Then:

• Add one closed-hat step at a time
• Stop as soon as it stops improving

Inverse method. Still subtraction-first.

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Performance: Elimination in Motion

Mute Discipline

• Mute Sound 3 for 1–2 bars
• Unmute without changing anything

Silence creates drops.

Live Deletion

• Enter SEQ briefly
• Delete one step
• Return to PLAY

Never add during performance. Only remove.

Pattern Switching

• Alternate Pattern A ↔ Pattern B
• Do not chain more than two patterns

Contrast comes from subtraction, not variety.

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Why This Works on the PO-12

• Limited voices
• No undo
• No visual clutter

The machine forces honesty.

You cannot hide bad ideas. You can only delete them.

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The Mental Model

Ω = all steps, all sounds
C = remove steps, mute tracks, reduce decay
R = groove that breathes

Parameters are secondary constraints. Step removal is the primary act.

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Fill everything, then delete until the beat breathes. Tune only to stop survivors from shouting.

If it sounds busy, you failed to delete enough.

Elimination first. Always.