Layering and Splits

Stack several voices in one range and switch timbre in another; the keyboard becomes a map.

Related

SynthesizerPolyphonic synthesisOrganModern

The question

One hand needs chords, the other bass, and the two want different timbres; or one key must sound like piano and strings. Layering and splits divide and stack the keyboard for these needs.

How it works

Layering makes one key trigger several voices, each with its own timbre, level, range and effects. A split cuts the keyboard into two sections, each aimed at a voice, with a movable break point. The two can combine: a bass and a piano in the low range, a pad and a lead up top. Polyphony is spent by layers, so four layers cost four voices per note. Key-range limits keep two layers from colliding in the same band.

Settings and what you hear

Layered voices need similar attack and decay, or two attacks arrive in sequence. The main layer should lead, and a secondary layer 6 to 10 dB lower is enough. Place the split away from notes the melody uses, or the timbre changes mid-phrase. Two layers in the same range with a slight detune widen; identical phase only makes them louder.

What to listen for

Hear organ and bells stacked and notice two attacks on the same beat. Then hear the strings split between low and high registers and guess where the break sits. Finally hear tuba, strings and piano low and judge whether three layers turn the bass into mud.

Common misconceptions

That more layers are always better; that a split only cuts the keyboard, when the two ranges may still overlap; that layered voices do not consume polyphony.

Sources

• Gordon Reid, Sound On Sound Synth Secrets — keyboard layering checked, not quoted
• Curtis Roads, The Computer Music Tutorial — multi-voice control checked, not quoted

Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.