ambient talkie: ep 33 - NORNS standard vs shield

video upload by tworoundrobins

"due to popular demand, here are my personal thoughts on norns shield and norns standard. where do they differ? what are their similarities? etc...

i try to present my experience with both devices and hopefully this will give you a bit of a clue when deciding which one might be the right for you.

#norns #monome #ambient #tutorial

monome
if you want a standard norns you can get it direclty from directly from their site and this way support monome https://monome.org

build a norns shield
sadly, as of publishing this video, I believe that due to worldwide chip shortages monome is not offering any more norns shields. however, you can build one yourself.
https://github.com/monome/norns-shield

denki oto's shield XL
https://denki-oto.weebly.com/store/p9...

visit lines and join the most amazing community
https://llllllll.co

Contents
00:00 - intro
01:05 - similarities
02:08 - shield vs standard
03:21 - build quality / casing / look & feel
06:25 - connectivity
10:58 - sound
14:16 - why I got myself a standard norns
16:14 - conclusion
16:35 - conclusion & announcement"

🍀 Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/tworoundrobins

Meng Qi Wingie 2, Norns (Awake), Digitakt | run

video upload by patchesinblue

"@Meng Qi 's #Wingie 2 is one of the most deeply gratifying instruments i've interacted with in the last few years; it feels personal, intimate and experimental all at the same time. when i began sketching, i missed being able to add notes from a lower octave, while keeping most of the melodic content in the upper registers. so - i went out and got another Wingie 2. they make a beautiful pair together

for this piece, i tried to push the Wingie out side its usual familiar territory, and it responded very well. both Wingie's are receiving input from the monome norns awake synth; the black Wingie resonating an octave below the silver one, subtly, with a shorter decay time. i also added some color to the original sound from the wingie; the silver wingie is going through an electro-harmonix big muff guitar pedal (just off camera on the top). there's also an mxr dyna comp pedal (also slightly off camera) that is boosting the right-channel of the silver wingie.

there's also a norns shield (next to the silver Wingie), running an arp from Awake, tempo-linked to the standard black norns. ironically, the norns shield display went to sleep sometime before i started recording.

the expressive e touché is controlling the filter cut off of the norns awake synth. as the cut off changes, the wingie resonates accordingly.

lastly, there's digitakt for rhythm. yet another wonderful instrument that never fails to deliver.

this piece was a bit outside the usual for me, but so are the times we live in and everything i'm experiencing. i hope you enjoy listening."

Monome Norns

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"Monome's killer app - standalone, battery-powered hardware with community-driven scripts, apps etc. for use with MIDI controllers, Grid, or by itself. Worth it alone for the MLR sampler, tbh.

--- From monome:

changes. travels. is open to possibilities.

norns is many sound instruments. it connects to grids, MIDI and other objects. norns lets you define its behavior with scripts and DSP.

past. present. future. norns is many tomorrows.

WHAT IS IT REALLY?
norns is a small, portable sound computer that dynamically runs scripts and DSP, such as:

sample-cutter (using a grid, aka mlr)
polysynth (connect a MIDI keyboard)
algorithmic drum machine (MIDI CC-mapped)
drone box (no input)
granulator (controlled via OSC using a phone or tablet)
asynchronous looper (stompbox-style)
polyphasic sequencer (using a USB-CV interface to control modular synths)
these are just a few examples. scripts can be created or modified to completely alter the functionality of the system. we maintain a growing repository of scripts which means the machine will continue to have new possibilities.

norns is designed to be changed, encouraging customization and invention."

CLICK FOR MORE »

ambient talkie: ep 56 - NORNS and MIDI

video upload by tworoundrobins

"got a couple of questions from random followers asking about norns' MIDI capabilities, so I figured might be cool to just make a very basic guide into using norns standard with various (usb) MIDI scenarios.

enjoy!

#norns #monome #midi #ambient

contents
00:00 - intro & announcement
01:49 - basic usb midi control
04:38 - midi learn
08:16 - sequencing hardware
12:12 - double norns and 2host
17:25 - norns with DAW
22:14 - conclusion"

Introducing D2MS - The Augmented Drumming Sandbox For Monome Norns

video upload by D2MS Script

D2MS Tutorials

video uploads by D2MS Script






Details follow:

"D2MS (Drums 2 Midi Synths, Samplers, Sequencers…Something) is an Augmented Drumming script for the Monome Norns platform.

Born of an online collaboration between two Lines Forum (https://llllllll.co/) users phillwilson (MyOneManBand) and Illges.

D2MS is a sandbox environment for taking the velocity and gestural data from regular drum triggers, drum pads and e-drums. It allows drummers to use their regular playing to drive sequences of notes and execute a huge range of performance altering functions.

D2MS was built from the ground up with improvisation in mind, so there are “quick creation” features all over it, to randomise and remix midi data live.

Users can play a 'full band' performance from behind the drums and all editing and set design can be handled through a custom layout on the Norns Grid interface.

Key Features

· Use up to 16 inputs (incoming midi notes from pads, triggers etc)

· Each input can control up to 5 machine layers (MIDI note driving units) and 5 Trig Layers (utilities that modify a performance)
· Over 10 Machine types including;
Basic –For playing melodies
Riff – Ideal for bass-lines
Chord – Great for pads
Fixed – For non-chromatic samples and percussion
Strum – A semi-manual arpeggios
Stack – A rotating chord pack
…And many more

· Over 12 Trig Types including;
Conductor – To move between patterns and change instruments
Direction – To change playback order
Fill - To randomize note sequences
CC – To turn things such as Midi FX on and off dynamically
Gears – To create cascades of movement

…And many more

CLICK FOR MORE »

Allinaire Live: Monome Norns/Fates + ARC. Granular Synthesis. New Atlantis

video by Allinaire

"Monome Norns / Fates controlled by ARC and Faderbank. Live performance at 'New Atlantis, Artists Edition' at the Io Myer Theatre at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Recorded 6th March 2021.
Testing the Quadraphonic sound stage at the theatre, this event featured several NSW modular and sound artists.
Huge thanks to Adam Hulbert of UNSW and New Sound Waves for organising and facilitating the event.
Video Synthesis and projection mapping onto the 4 screen panels by Adam Hulbert and Simon Trevaks (with Luke S Dearnley operating Vidiot during my set).
Quadraphonc sound in the Theatre but only stereo on this video - still some good sound panning and movement best heard on quality headphones or speakers.
Norns / Fates features several reels of material including field recordings of underwater audio from the Great Barrier reef off Carins QLD, percussion extracts from my Asalt studio piece & various Norns apps pieces and percussion.
Using Norns App ASH/ ANGL the ARC controls the pitch and speed in a high precision granular manner and Faderbank adjusts various other parameters.
4 Granular 'tape heads' are available concurrently and I swap out 'sound reels' during the performance.
The performance is basically made 'on the fly', by ear, by granularising the sounds into tiny pieces and adjusting parametaers to mix, smear, pan and resize & overlap grains.
Picked up some radio interference towards the end as well!
Thanks for watching."

Orac development update, Norns on a Push2/Raspberry PI

Published on Jun 14, 2018 Mark Harris

"This is a vlog about:
- Development progress on Orac 1.1, and what it contains.
- A demonstration of a project Ive been woking, to allow a Push 2 to be used with Monome Norns as a display and controller.

Timeline:
Intro - 0:00
Demo - 2:00
Orac Update - 10:00

Thanks to Monome for making this possible, by making Norns open source.

if your interested in more information about Norns, you can visit.
http://monome.org/norns"

ASTROGENIC HALLUCINAUTING - late night noiz for late night fiends

thenoiztemple

"ASTROGENIC HALLUCINAUTING - late night noiz for late night fiends - for more noiz: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/as... website: http://manipulate.net This is a series of live noiz and video noiz performances created during The Plague. #covid19 #coronavirus #isolation #quarantine #spike"

The list of noiz weaponry:

DELPTRONICS - LDB-1
MATTOVERSE - ANALOG KICK DRUM MKII
VXXY - DCM8
MFB - TANZMAUS
SONIC POTIONS - LXR
NORD - DRUM 2
DENHA - XR NOIZBOX II
CIAT-LONBARDE - PLUMBUTTER 2
LEPLOOP - MULTICASSA
GOTHARMAN'S - SPAZEDRUM
THE DIVISION DEPARTMENT - 01/IV
JOMOX - MBASE 11
E-LICKTRONIC - NAVA EXTRA 9
VERMONA - DRM MKIII
JMT SYNTHS - DRUM SYNTH

multiple norns and the scripts they are running:
norns 1 - COMPASS
norns 2 - CHEAT CODES
norns 3 - FOULPLAY

norns SHIELD - OOOOOO

and a few other effects warping the noiz...


VIDEO NOIZ provided by:

Erogenous Tones - Structure
VIDEOWAAAVES - Auto Waaaves
Critter & Guitari - EYESY

Monome Norns o-o-o script w/ Soma Lyra-8

video upload by Andre Bregegere

"In this video, I explore the sonic possibilities of the o-o-o ("odashodasho") script, a fun generative sequencer (also boasting its own FM synthesis engine!) for the Monome Norns. I am pairing it with the Lyra-4, a touch-sensitive synthesizer known for its organic, often unpredictable textures and its ability to create complex, evolving drones and tones.

This session was fully improvised, letting the interaction between the two instruments guiding the performance. it was recorded live and lightly mastered in Pro Tools.
--
Monome Norns: https://monome.org/docs/norns/
o-o-o script: https://norns.community/o-o-o
Lyra-4: https://somasynths.com/lyra-4/ @somasynths"

patterning: norns study 2

patterning: norns study 2 from tehn on Vimeo.

https://monome.org/docs/norns/study-2/

"norns offers a view into its thoughts through a charmingly low-resolution screen. the 128 by 64 pixels can display 16 gradations from black to white.

each script defines what happens on the screen. an interface can be as complex or simple as you like..."


many tomorrows: norns study 1

Machinedrum Randomizer MDPatch for Monome Norns #elektron #machinedrum #monome #norns

video upload by HANJŌ

"Excited to share MDPatch, second of a series of Elektron Randomizers for Monome Norns. It is now available free for the Monome community. This one’s been a real labor of love, built in collaboration with my friend @syntheticjudah, founder of Machine Store—the same force behind the recent resurrection of +Drive support for legacy Elektron machines.

MDPatch is a patch randomizer and performance tool designed specifically for the Elektron Machinedrum, running on Norns. You can explore, randomize, and control synth parameters in real-time via MIDI. It’s a great way to breathe new life into old machines and spark unexpected sounds.

MDPatch came out of countless late-night sessions digging into the legacy Elektrons and wishing for a more playful, exploratory way to shape sounds without diving through menus. With Norns as the brain and MIDI as the bridge, this tool lets you sculpt, mutate, and chance upon new patches in a really immediate way.

We’ve structured it around a 16-page layout—each one corresponding to a track of the Machinedrum and you can find subpages (SYNTH, EFFECTS , ROUTING). You can toggle parameters for randomization, send new patches instantly, and keep that sweet hands-on Elektron flow intact.

Big thanks to this community for being such a constant source of inspiration over the years. If you’ve got suggestions, ideas for expansion or want to share what you make with it—please drop it below"

Ambient w/ OP-1 field, norns shield, monome, MOOD MK2 | Campo 2025-03-12 by atnr

video upload by atnr

"A piece created using norns shield ( https://monome.org/docs/norns/shield/ ) , Monome, ‪@teenageengineering‬ OP-1 field, and ‪@ChaseBlissAudio‬ MOOD MK 2. A drone generated by 16 oscillators gradually evolves.

On the norns shield, I generate a drone sound using sines ( https://norns.community/sines ) . Additionally, I connect its output to MOOD MK2, where reverb is applied and the pitch is occasionally adjusted.

On the OP-1 field, I trigger a drone bass sound using the ENDLESS sequencer."

Minimal Ambient w/ norns shield, OP-1 field, wavestick | Hesitation 2025-06-01 by atnr

video upload by atnr

"A piece created with norns shield, ‪@teenageengineering‬ OP-1 field, and wavestick—ambient music built from evolving minimal phrases, gentle harmonies, and deep drones.

Norns Shield ( https://monome.org/docs/norns/shield/ ) : Runs awake (https://norns.community/awake); a step-sequenced phrase loops and is manipulated live from a monome grid.

OP-1 field: A harmony loop plays while additional lines are performed on its internal synth.

Wavestick: The wavetable is continuously swept, with ‪@strymon‬ NIGHTSKY opening and closing the filter to reshape the timbre."

Orchestral Colours - Kria MIDI for Norns, Spitfire Tundra, Diva and Roli Noise & Seaboard

Published on Nov 18, 2018 junklight

"I've just finished porting Monome Kria from the eurorack module onto the Norns platform so it can drive MIDI (& other Norns things). This is such a deep and powerful sequencer and I'm quite excited about exploring it outside of Eurorack - written by Tehn from Monome it provides 4 separate tracks - every part of it has its own clock divider and length , there is also an alternate note page and an octave. Each track can produce quite incredibly complex sequences and with 4 going together you can make an a lot of music!

Here I have three channels of Kria driving some instruments from the wonderful Spitfire Tundra, and the 4th channel driving Diva. I'm also playing Noise SWAM clarinet from the seaboard (which you will note irritatingly loses it's connection at one point) . It's all recorded into Ableton but that's just hosting the instruments - no sequencing going from that side at all.

I'm going to be submitting the PR in the next day or two so any Norns users will have access to this fantastic sequencer"

Dark Ambient Drones With Norns Dronecaster

video upload by Perplex On

"Sometimes some dark ambient drones is all what you need and feel. Here #dronecaster script for #norns is casting drones while the visuals should loosely visualize the idea of radio waves emitting and interfering. Norns‘ output is going into the ipad with a pinch of additional effects like Blackhole and Rymdigare. Visuals #madewithnotch"

Norns

canyon loops

canyon loops from ioflow on Vimeo.

"experimental ambient. live performance for monome norns.

two rhodes improvisations were recorded into norns and loaded into mlr. also present is a field recording of an anna's hummingbird, taken while on a nature walk in a canyon preserve.

the main rhodes improvisation is duplicated across the first two tracks. the second, shorter rhodes improvisation is on the third track, just above the hummingbird loop. all the rhodes tracks are played at different speeds and directions, jumbled, chopped and switched, accompanied by the gentle sounds of the hummingbird chirping happily to itself in the shadows of the dense canyon foliage, on a warm summer day.

this is my first recording with monome norns. sample-based grid apps--mlr, mlrv, rove, and all their variants--have been a part of my creative workflow for several years. being freed from the confines of desktop computers and their fidgety, cantankerous operating systems and software stacks; instead being able focus on the immediacy of hardware music-making, as easily as sitting down at my piano, is incredibly liberating. it's pretty much everything i've wanted to be able to do since i got my first monome grid in 2011. norns is wonderful, so full of possibilities. i'm looking forward to fulfilling more musical dreams."

Monome Norns Arc Grid Bundle

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this Reverb listing

"Monome bundle! In excellent shape and kept in a smoke free home. Some signs of wear along the bottom of the Norns and Arc, but nothing major. Includes:

- Monome Norns (2024 version)

- Monome Grid (2020 version)

- Monome Arc (2019 version)

Norns does not include the power adaper—just the USB cable and no original box. Grid includes USB cable and original box. Arc includes USB—no box."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Monome Norns - hedge & the haze

Published on May 31, 2019 Jae Ryan

"I was noodling around with MLR tonight using a sequence I recorded with poly-earthsea on Norns as the mangling material. The whole jam is just that one sample being MLR'd to death. I need to start trying MLR with multiple sources to get the full experience eventually.

A field recording of my street is playing from my phone into Norns but it slowly gets lost in the mix as layers and effects are added. Norns is running through Strymon Volante & then into OTO BAM (as usual)

I also used the UAD studer tape plug-in to get a little distortion/compression for a more lo-fi vibe.

Highly recommend stereo on this one as it really falls apart in mono thanks to copious amounts of extreme effects!"

Another Wasp improv this time with Norns

video by junklight

"Still getting to know the Wasp again after all these years (and through something better than a cheap guitar practice amp ;-) ). I so need to sort out my workspace and up my production values a bit but stupidly busy as ever and prefer to spend my music time playing rather than sorting things out right now :-)
Using the Norns oooooo script by infinitedigits (who I think is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3xuU...) [video below]
https://norns.community/authors/infin..."

"everything" by infinite digits, live | norns, po-32, korg monotron delay, raspberry pi

video by infinitedigits

"a live performance of the last track on my latest album: https://infinitedigits.bandcamp.com/a...

the entire album was made with the cheapest synth on the market: the korg monotron. i hacked it to use midi from a raspberry pi. i added drums with a po-32 and mixed it live with a koma field kit."

spacetime: norns study 3

spacetime: norns study 3 from tehn on Vimeo.

https://monome.org/docs/norns/study-3/

norns study