note_selfmask

Controls note-stealing behavior for a single pitch, when using note_polyphony.

This affects only muting of notes where the polyphony is limited by note_polyphony and not cases where polyphony is used.

Default self-masking behavior is that higher-or-equal-velocity notes turn off lower-velocity notes, but lower-velocity notes do not turn off higher-velocity notes. A new note will always play.

To be more precise, assuming a note_polyphony=1, the self-masking behavior by default is:

• If a low-velocity note is playing, a higher-or-equal velocity note kills the low-velocity note.
• If a high-velocity note is playing, a strictly-lower-velocity note will play without killing the high-velocity note.

The note_polyphony opcode is thus not a strict polyphony limit but more of a hint for the instrument behavior. This behavior is indeed generally desirable when playing repeated piano notes, ride cymbals, hammered dulcimers etc. With note_selfmask set to off, notes turn off notes with the same pitch regardless of velocity, which generally sounds less “musical” but does ensure that note polyphony is always preserved within the set limit, and can sound right for certain instruments.

Example #

note_selfmask=off

Category: Instrument Settings, Voice Lifecycle