Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Fluid Pitch adds MPE to your keyboard

30/04/2021

Pitch Innovations reinvent the wheel

Pitch Innovations are a new company founded by Bollywood score composer and music programmer Krishna Chetan. Their debut product is called Fluid Pitch, and its a MIDI plug-in that adds advanced pitch manipulation - including MPE - to any pitch-wheel-equipped MIDI keyboard.

Standard pitch-wheel behaviour on most instruments is to provide 2 semitones on any note played, which Pitch Innovations rightly point out is unlikely to be ideal for every note in a scale. One of Fluid Pitchs key functions is to scale your pitch-wheel data so that, for example, the wheel will go up two semitones but down just one, if it detects that youre playing, say, the third note in a minor scale (as selected in the plug-in). Fluid Pitch offers a selection of nine different scales, including harmonic major and minor, pentatonic major/minor, and also a range of modes (Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian and Locrian). You can customise these scales by activating and deactivating certain notes (much as you can in Auto-Tune and other pitch-correction processors), and you can even set custom pitch-bend ranges, so you can whizz up and down in seconds, thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths or sevenths (or just a straightforward octave), all while remaining in scale.

Perhaps even more impressive, though, is Fluid Pitchs MPE Upscale mode. This essentially adds MPE to any keyboard with a pitch wheel, by sending different amounts of pitch-bend to different notes, again depending on the scale you select. So, say youre playing a tonic triad in C-major. If you push your pitch wheel up, itll bend the root and fifth up a whole tone, while only bending the third (E) up a semitone (to F). This is all subject to the same customisations as in monophonic mode, so you can smoothly bend between almost any chord you like in a given scale. While in MPE Upscale mode, Fluid Pitch will also map your mod wheel (if youve got one) to vertical MPE movement (called Slide by ROLI, among others), and aftertouch data (again, if your keyboard supports it) to the Pressure gesture.

Another feature that will really appeal to keyboardists is the ability to apply pitch-bend data in one direction only. To demonstrate why this would be useful, Pitch Innovations use the example of legato: if you want to play an ascending scale in which the first two notes are played legato (via pitch-bend), youd normally have to release your pitch wheel at exactly the right time: after playing the second note in the scale but before playing the third. Even then, youd need to leave a slight gap between the second and third notes, or youd hear the pitch wheel being dropped back down again. The other way to play it would be to hold the pitch wheel up, and then play the rest of the scale two semitones flat on your keyboard - which is a recipe for mistakes. With No Last Bend (which ignores the most recent pitch wheel motion) or No Return Bend (which blocks the wheel drop) enabled, you can perform your initial slide just as you normally would, and then simply ignore the pitch wheel and play the rest of the scale on the usual keys.

Finally, Fluid Pitch offers a powerful micro-tuning section, which you can either use globally (for non-standard temperaments), or in conjunction with your pitch-bend wheel and the Fluid Pitch scale modes, for playing realistic sitar parts, emulating a B-Bender vibrato arm, or any other instrument or style that relies on sub-semitone intervals.

The MIDI plug-in (which works in every major DAW) is available now, for the introductory price of $45 (normal price $75). Pitch Innovations are also apparently working on a companion iOS app, which will let you control the plug-in and invoke presets, the idea being that you can keep your iPhone handy on top of your keyboard, and switch between settings in an instant.

Check out the video below for an excellent overview of Fluid Pitchs features.

Video of Fluid Pitch from Pitch Innovations | Flexible Pitch Bend for MIDI & MPE | Features Walkthrough

https://www.pitchinnovations.com/home/oi/
LINK: https://www.soundonsound.com/news/fluid-pitch-adds-mpe-your-keyboard...
See more stories from soundonsound

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

30/05/2026

NAB Asks FCC to Shift Regulatory Fee Burden to Big Tech, Broadband

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/05/2026

NAB Announces 2026 Board Election Results

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/05/2026

IAB Tech Lab Releases Guidance for Managing AI Crawlers and Bots

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/05/2026

Zero in on one that says yes (and no)

Zero in on one that says yes (and no) Andy Marken May 29, 2026 0 Comments Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos For content creators the most difficu...

29/05/2026

InfoComm 2026: NDI Demos NDI 6.3, Hands-On Presentation About Educational Integrations

With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...

29/05/2026

Bell Media Inks New Long-Term Media Rights Deal for Broadcast, Streaming of the Canadian Football League

Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...

29/05/2026

Spring 2026 TV Survey: Vertical Live Matters. The Bigger Story Is Context

Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format Ring Digital's Sprin...

29/05/2026

Germanys Berliner Ensemble Bolsters Backstage Infrastructure With Riedel Stage Systems

Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...

29/05/2026

InfoComm 2026: Solid State Logic Spotlights TCA Tour, Live V6.2 Software, New SSL Live Trade-in Program

Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...

29/05/2026

Gerald Jerry Pierce, Architect of Modern Digital Cinema, Passes Away at Age 73

Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...

29/05/2026

CBS Sports Becomes New Home of Barclays Women's Super League Thorough 2029-2030

Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...

29/05/2026

Calrec Scales ImPulseV to Empower Broadcasters With Greater Choice in Virtualized Workflows

Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...

29/05/2026

Switzerlands Canal Alpha Streamlines Playout to Delivery With Harmonic

Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...

29/05/2026

InfoComm 2026: PTZOptics Showcases Intelligent Video Ecosystem

PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...

29/05/2026

Arizona's Family Sports Debuts Direct-to-Consumer Streaming App

Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...

29/05/2026

DAZN Brings The Canadian Football Leagues Saturday Night Football to the Masses in New Media Rights Deal

Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...

29/05/2026

Comcast Business Supports Advanced Technology Infrastructure at Levi's Stadium for Fan Experience, Venue Operations

Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...

29/05/2026

College Sports-Production Community Gathers in Atlanta for 2026 SVG College Summit

In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...

29/05/2026

TBT Reaches Two-Year Extension With FOX Sports for New-Look $2 Million Tournament

The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...

29/05/2026

Roku Expands Premium Subscriptions Experience with FOX One

Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...

29/05/2026

CBS Sports UEFA Champions League Today Studio Show Heads Budapest for Final as Transcontinental Popularity Grows

In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...

29/05/2026

Ratings Roundup: NBA, NHL Playoffs and Indy 500 Photo Finish Power a Record-Setting Week

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...

29/05/2026

Your Summer 2026 Soundtrack? Spotify's Predictions Are In

The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...

29/05/2026

Akai Pro unveil the MPC Live III Retro

New retro-inspired MPC announced There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...

29/05/2026

Bjooks Beat Gems Kickstarter continues

Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...

29/05/2026

Genelec update Aural ID

Binaural monitoring application improved Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...

29/05/2026

IMSTA FESTA 2026

6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...

29/05/2026

Remembering Gerald Jerry Pierce, Architect of Modern Digital Cinema

Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...

29/05/2026

Roku Unveils Redesigned TV Home Screen

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

Sinclair and AMP Sports to Launch Style of Play' Podcast

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

TV Pharma Ads Are Getting Longer, VAB Says

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality

Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality Kate Luvis May 29, 2026 0 Comments Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...

29/05/2026

Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio

Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio Brie Clayton May 29, 2026 0 Comments Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...

29/05/2026

FCC Reminds Broadcasters of Their Public Interest Obligations

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

Roku Unveils New TV Home Screen

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

Sinclair and AMP Sports Announce New 'Style of Play' Podcast

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

Study: YouTube Leads Global Streaming Ad Growth

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

TV Pharma Ads Are Getting Longer, According to VAB

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/05/2026

At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration

At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...

29/05/2026

Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to Video Content with Dolby Atmos

May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...

29/05/2026

Audiences Are Everywhere. Your Ad Strategy Should Be Too.

Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...

29/05/2026

Rosie Jones's Disability Comedy Extravaganza returns with another new lineup of eight comics

Youtube exclusive special drops today Watch now UKTV today announces another e...

29/05/2026

The Official Trailer of 'Physical 100' Italy, on Netflix From September 11

Back to All News The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...

29/05/2026

Genelec announces V2.1 for Aural ID binaural headphone monitoring application

Genelec announces V2.1 for Aural ID binaural headphone monitoring application posted: 29/05/2026 Aural ID 2.1 enhances binaural monitoring for stereo and ...

29/05/2026

Super Garden 2026 winner revealed

At just 20 years old, Sean Melia from Summerhill Co. Meath has been revealed as the winner of Super Garden 2026. Sean is the youngest ever contestant and winner...