Stacks

Control matrix for the chord-progression tool on Ableton Push 3, a Push Hack catalog hack. Open it from Push Hack Home (Shift + Help): it takes Push's screen, encoders, buttons and pads; Live keeps the transport. The same six banks as on Move, with full names on a 960×160 screen and 64 pads that write the selected chord.

7tabs 43encoder params 64pads 6kept by Live

Web interfaces · open in a browser on the same network

Stacks panel

http://<push>:7711The same browser panel as Stacks on Move, for the progression you play on Push. Every region and control of it: Stacks Panel (schwung-stacks, docs/panel.html).

Push Manager

http://<push>:7701Fixed port. Files, display, MIDI, and every installed hack with the port it got.

Push Hack Catalog

http://<push>:7702Fixed port. Installs, updates and removes hacks.

<push> is your Push's network address, for example push.local. 7711 is the port in Stacks' hack.json. Push Hack Catalog gives each hack a port when it installs it, from 7711 up, so on your Push it can be another one: Push Manager lists it.

The surface

Schematic, not to scale, in the hardware's order. Every label, colour and screen here comes from the code that runs on Push: the screens are the device renderer's own output for one progression (Axis, in A).

Banks — top buttons 1 to 6

MAIN

acts on the whole progression

top button 1 · 8 of 8

SCALEKEYOCTAVE DEFAULTCHORDSNEW CHORD LENCLIP BARSVOICE GROUPINGNOTE LANES

1SCALEWhich notes exist. Roots snap to it and it draws the grid's lanes. Live: changing it re-snaps the progression already in the buffer.13 options · Minor · scale

2KEYThe tonic, and the line you read pitch against. Transposes the buffer as you turn it; at the edge of the range it stops rather than deforming.12 options · A · key

3OCTAVE DEFAULTThe octave the progression sits in. Moves the whole buffer by octaves as you turn it, and sets where a newly filled slot starts.1 – 5 · 3 · defoct

4CHORDSHow many chords. Growing copies the last one; while the buffer is still empty it instead divides Clip Bars between the slots.1 – 16 · 4 · steps

5NEW CHORD LENThe length a chord is given. It cannot reach a chord you have written — but while the buffer is empty it re-lengths every slot, and the clip follows.2 bar / 1 bar / 1/2 / 1/4 · 1 bar · rate

6CLIP BARSHow long the clip is, and the one loop length. It follows the music — both ways — until you turn it yourself; after that it is yours, and only grows if the music would not fit.1 – 16 · 4 · bars

7VOICE GROUPINGHow the chords sit against each other, and where. dynamic leads each voicing from the one before; the registers fold them into two octaves; opens and drops space them.16 options · none · grouping

8NOTE LANESWhich grid lines the staff draws: only the notes of the selected scale, or all seven letter names.scale / diatonic · scale · lanes

INSERTDELETEDUPLICATEHALFTIMEDOUBLEMUTEUNDOREDO

START

acts on the whole progression

top button 2 · 5 of 8

GENREPROGRESSIONCOMMON PROGUNCOMMONCOLOUR

1GENREGroups the library into 17 styles, house to cinematic. Turning it jumps to that genre's first progression and applies it — the gesture Family performs on Shape.18 options · none · genre

2PROGRESSION142 progressions, stored as semitones from the tonic so they land in your Key and Scale. Voiced by style, so Colour leaves them alone. It overwrites.143 options · none · progression

3COMMON PROGThe progressions most songs are built from. Written as plain triads with no style of their own, which is what makes Colour meaningful on them.13 options · none · common

4UNCOMMONChromatic and modal material: borrowed iv, backdoor, Phrygian, chromatic mediants, secondary dominants. Plain triads like Common, so Colour applies.14 options · none · uncommon

5COLOURHow the chord is voiced, not which chord it is: close, open, the drops, shell, rootless, quartal, spread, cluster. The axis Shape cannot express.10 options · close · colour

INSERTDELETEDUPLICATEHALFTIMEDOUBLEMUTEUNDOREDO

CHORD

acts on the selected chord

top button 3 · 8 of 8

ROOTCHORD OCTSHAPE FAMILYCHORD SHAPEINVERSIONLENGTHOFFSETCHORD VEL

1ROOTThe chord's root note; Family and Shape build upward from it. A root you name here is exact: the Scale moves only roots chosen by degree.60 options · Key at Octave Default · root

2CHORD OCTWhich octave that root sits in. Moves the whole chord with its shape and inversion intact, leaving the voicing alone.1 – 5 · follows Octave Default · coct

3SHAPE FAMILYNot a value of its own: it reads the chord's family and writes Chord Shape. Leaving a family and coming back lands on that family's first chord.6 options · triad · family

4CHORD SHAPEThe chord itself, from intervals through 13ths — the one thing stored per chord and written into the clip. Includes rest.38 options · maj · shape

5INVERSIONOne ladder through zero: up rotates the lowest voice an octave up, down rotates the highest an octave down. Under a dyn Voice Grouping the encoder reads AUTO: voice leading picks the inversion, and the value you set waits for grouping to change.-3 – 3 · 0 · inv

6LENGTHHow long this chord lasts, in eighths of a bar — an absolute duration, so 8 is one bar whatever New Chord Len says. Chords run back to back.1 – 64 · 8 · len

7OFFSETDelays the chord inside its own slot so it can sit off the beat. It never pushes the next chord along.0 – 15 · 0 · off

8CHORD VELOffsets this chord's velocity against the global Velocity. Visible in the grid: a quieter chord draws lighter.-63 – 63 · 0 · cvel

INSERTDELETEDUPLICATEHALFTIMEDOUBLEMUTEUNDOREDO

VOICE

acts on the selected chord

top button 4 · 6 of 8

COLOURSTRUMCHORD GATEMUTERHYTHMTRANSPOSE

1COLOURThe same setting as Start's Colour, reached per chord: Start voices the whole progression, this voices the one you are editing, and each reads what the other left.10 options · close · ccolour

2STRUMSpreads this chord's notes across time, lowest first — a strum rather than every note landing together.0 – 100 · 0 · cstrum

3CHORD GATEOffsets how much of this chord's length actually sounds, against the global Gate. Shorter reads as a stab.-50 – 50 · 0 · cgate

4MUTESilences this chord but keeps it in the progression. Drawn as an outline, so you can still see what it would play.off / on · off · cmute

5RHYTHM35 figures — the grid, syncopation, clave, jazz comping, rock, house stabs, cinematic pulses. Anchored to the BAR and repeating across the chord; hold strikes once and is held.35 options · hold · rhythm

6TRANSPOSETransposes this chord in semitones after its shape is built, so the shape survives and only the pitch moves.-12 – 12 · 0 · ctrans

INSERTDELETEDUPLICATEHALFTIMEDOUBLEMUTEUNDOREDO

FEEL

acts on the whole progression

top button 5 · 8 of 8

PREVIEWVELOCITYGATESWINGHUMAN VELRANDOMIZE VELHUMAN TIMERANDOMIZE TIME

1PREVIEWWhether editing a chord auditions it, and whether the progression keeps looping while the transport is stopped.off / chord / loop · off · preview

2VELOCITYBase velocity that every chord is measured from. The per-chord Chord Vel is an offset against it.1 – 127 · 100 · velocity

3GATEBase proportion of a chord's length that actually sounds. The per-chord Chord Gate offsets this one.5 – 100 · 90 · gate

4SWINGLeans the off-beat at the finest level the figure uses: odd 16ths under a 16th figure, the ands under an eighth one. Anchored to the bar.0 – 75 · 0 · swing

5HUMAN VELSpreads velocity per note, as a share of the base. Seeded, so the same feel repeats until you randomize it.0 – 100 · 0 · hum_vel

6RANDOMIZE VELturn to fireRe-rolls which deviations the notes get. Same depth, a new feel — and Stamp writes the take you heard.off / on · roll_vel

7HUMAN TIMESpreads onsets per note and per hit. The spread is shifted so the earliest note still lands on the beat, never clamped.0 – 100 · 0 · hum_time

8RANDOMIZE TIMEturn to fireRe-rolls the timing spread and leaves velocity where it is, so the two can be dialled in separately.off / on · roll_time

PREV OFFPREV CHORDPREV LOOPRANDOM VELRANDOM TIMEUNDOREDO

CLIP

acts on the whole progression

top button 6 · 8 of 8

READ CLIPREAD MODESTAMP CLIPCLEARCLIP TRANSPOSECLIP OCTAVERUNUNDO

1READ CLIPturn to fireNot on Push yet. On Move it reads a clip from Move's own set file; Live's sets are a different format, so this will come through Browser Bridge. The encoder says NOT ON PUSH YET.off / on · read

2READ MODEGoes with Read Clip, so not on Push yet. On Move it chooses whether reading replaces the progression or appends to it.replace / append · replace · read_mode

3STAMP CLIPturn to fireArms one lap for Live to record. Press Record on Push (it goes to Live) and Stacks plays the progression once, from Live's downbeat, into the selected track. The screen says ARMED - PRESS RECORD. Also on Capture and the CLIP tab's bottom row.off / on · stamp

4CLEARturn to fireEmpties the buffer to a single rest, in your Key and Octave Default — not to a demo progression.off / on · clear

5CLIP TRANSPOSEMoves everything that sounds by semitones, Stamp included. Key, Scale and the degree pads stay as written; the staff names the chords that sound.-12 – 12 · 0 · transpose

6CLIP OCTAVEMoves everything that sounds by whole octaves, for performing. What you wrote is untouched, so turning back to 0 is exactly where you were.-2 – 2 · 0 · octave

7RUNWhether Stacks plays along with Live's transport (Play on Push). Switched off after a stamp so the clip is not doubled. Closing Stacks also stops it playing along; opening it gives Run back.off / on · on · run

8UNDOturn to fireSteps back through the buffer. Every write is captured, so an ordinary shape edit undoes like a Duplicate does.off / on · undo

STAMPCLEARRUNPLAY CLOSEDUNDOREDO

Pads — three pages, picked by the scene buttons

The bottom two rows are always the chords and the top two always the patterns. The middle four write the selected chord, and change with the page. Holding a scene button shows the screen below; the table is the same map, with the pads' LED colours.

PATTERNS 9-16	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
PATTERNS 1-8	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08
SHAPE	MAJ	MIN	DIM	AUG	SUS2	SUS4
FAMILY	5TH	TRIAD	6TH	7TH	9TH	EXT
LENGTH	1/4	1/2	3/4	1	2	3	4	8
DEGREE	I	II	III	IV	V	VI	VII	REST
CHORDS 9-16
CHORDS 1-8	AMAJ	EMAJ	F#MIN	DMAJ

PATTERNS 9-16	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
PATTERNS 1-8	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08
STRUM	0	10	20	35	50	65	80	100
OCTAVE	1	2	3	4	5
COLOUR	CLOSE	OPEN	DROP2	DROP3	DROP2+4	SHELL	ROOTLESS	QUARTAL
INVERSION	-3	-2	-1	0	+1	+2	+3
CHORDS 9-16
CHORDS 1-8	AMAJ	EMAJ	F#MIN	DMAJ

PATTERNS 9-16	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
PATTERNS 1-8	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08
OFFSET	0	1	2	3	4	6	8	12
VELOCITY	-63	-40	-20	-10	0	+10	+20	+40
GATE	-50	-35	-20	-10	0	+10	+25	+50
RHYTHM	HOLD	HALF	QUARTER	EIGHTH	16TH	OFFBEAT	DOTTED	PUSH
CHORDS 9-16
CHORDS 1-8	AMAJ	EMAJ	F#MIN	DMAJ

Listen mode — Shift + LIVE

The pads, buttons and encoders stay with Live: play your instrument as usual. The screen names the chord being played, on split-flap tiles that flip as you add a note (C, CMAJ, CMAJ7), with its degree and role in the key, its inversion or slash bass, and what a voicing leaves out. One tile per note drops in and latches; the keys go down, the root in amber. Below: C E B in A minor, a Cmaj7 without its 5th.

Every button

Worth knowing