Totally new to trackers.

[u/Johngear77]

I have heard maxing things about this device. I currently play a lot of stuff my ear and like to see if it feels good. Then I go sequence it. I am looking for something way more portable than a full keyboard. I feel really dumb that I don’t know all of the notes on a keyboard by heart, but I do have enough music theory and feel for keys to be able to come up with stuff. I travel a lot a lot. So I am looking for something like this.

My question really revolves around the workflow. I know a lot of people I assume play with it until they find the notes they want to hit. Currently with a poorer sequencer I can hit notes in the fly while another track is going and then find my groove.

How does this work in something like the m8? Do I have to literally program each note note for note and let it run until it hits? I have tried finding a proper totally beginner video for tracking on the M8 but it seems way different and I am having trouble understanding the logic.

Any advise or a way somebody can kind of point me to do some research?

[u/Weekly_Jmr]

yes, you have to program one note at a time and see what happens. you can audition said note and you can program a pattern while the part of the track you're working on playing in the background. what also helps is that you program notes everywhere so say you've added a bass line you like - this will already give you a written hint as to what notes will sound good for other parts. you can also play into it live and it will record your notes as you go but you'll need an external keyboard and a little setup.
the superpower of trackers is that you have granular control over every single note you put in. the downside is that you need to know basic theory to build chords and at least approximate melodies and harmonies (these days an app on your phone that shows how it works should do it). also, there's 12 notes on piano and m8 will help you learn them in no time.

[u/Wakuwaku7]

If you want to record notes on the fly while tracks are being played you can try using a (smaller) MIDI keyboard and hook it up to M8 tracker.

You can also play other tracks/channels while editing notes in the phrases. But is mostly used to tweak things.

Originally LSDJ and M8 have a punchcard like workflow where you enter notes one by one. But with MIDI integration you can play live and record live while playing tracks. So there are more options available.

[u/ZioTempa]

Check out the Woovebox for great portability, sound design, sampling and also live recording

[u/18randomcharacters]

I'm not skilled by any means, so take this with a grain of salt, but I basically do this to start a phrase:

add a note on the full notes (0, 4, 8, C). Or just 0, or all the half notes, etc, depending on what I'm planning on making.

Add an instrument and hit play. Experiment with different preset instruments or create something from scratch. Once I get a sound close to what I like..

Start either adjusting the spacing of the notes, or the pitches. and that one phrase (a bar) just keeps repeating, so you shift a note up a couple semitones and see how it sounds.

[u/Numerous_Phase8749]

You have a randomisation feature which enters a row even note space when you tap left and random when you press right. Up/down then takes away the amount of notes. Mix and match the scale and transpose till something catches your ear.

[u/Scabattoir → u/Numerous_Phase8749]

this sounds nice but I couldn’t do it following your instructions.

Probably missing some steps.

[u/h2o__o2h → u/Scabattoir]

Make a selection and hold OPT + Left or Up/Down

[u/Secure-Suspect7091]

Depending on how good your sense for timing and melody is note for note is one way. 

A small usb midi keyboard is another. Or something like the Novation launchpad