Utilities

This chapter tells you:-

• about future enhancements to MIDI3c

and gives you an overview of the Plugin modules:-

• Metronome
• Rhythm Generator

Metronome
Metronome is a program that lets you play either through a connected MIDI device or the internal speaker. Full details of this module can be found in the TickTock Manual.

On entry to the module you are presented with the Metronome Settings dialogue where you can define:-

• Beats Per Minute - set the beats per minute for the metronome in the range 20 to 480 beats per minute.
• Time Signature - If `Accent' is Enabled (see below), the metronome player will use the Time Signature setting to correctly determine and emphasis the first beat of the bar and any upbeat of off-beats. The user may select from a number of pre-defined Time Signatures (2/2, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8 and 9/8) or define a custom Time Signature.
• Accent - In conjunction with the Time Signature, this allows the upbeat or off-beat to be emphasised. The chart below indicates which beats in the bar are emphasised based on the Time Signature chosen. For all custom time Signatures only the first beat is emphasised.
• Metronome Output - use this setting to select either the internal speaker or a connected MIDI device as the sound output. If you select MIDI Output but you do not have a MIDI device connected then MIDI3c will automatically revert to speaker mode.

The remaining three settings only apply when MIDI Ouput is specified for `Metronome Output'

• Drum Channel - lets you specify which MIDI channel is assigned to Drum sounds. This option is only available if you have selected None or XG Compliancy in the MIDI3c Setup module.
• MIDI DownBeat Instrument - if the metronome output is via a connected MIDI device, the user can select the instrument that will be used to play the DownBeat. The choice of instruments is selected from the General Midi Drum Patch.
• MIDI Beat Instrument - if the metronome output is via a connected MIDI device then the user can also specify the instrument that will be used to play the upbeat or offbeat notes. Again the instruments are selected from the GM Drum Patch.

Metronome Player
After all the settings are made, press <ENTER> to start the Metronome Player.

The Metronome Player screen is now displayed.

The screen displays the current tempo and time-signature settings as well as providing a visual status indicator for the beats.

To stop the Metronome Player press the <SPACE> bar. The program will then return to the Metronome Settings screen.

 To assist with synchronising the Metronome to an existing session the user can use the following two key-presses:-

• S - resets the beat counter to 0 forcing the program to play the next tick as the first beat of the bar. This option is only available if Accent has been enabled.
• D - delays the next tick by 1/32nd of a second allowing the user to synchronise the Metronome.

Rhythm Generator

Drummer is a MIDI-based Rythm Generator. The generator provides you with two Pattern bars each supporting up to 4 MIDI GM Drum instruments and up to 16 beats. The final rhythm is then a combination of these two Patterns.Full details of this module can be found in the Drummer Manual.

The current version has predifined rhythm patterns of Pattern A only, Alternating between Pattern A and Pattern B, and Pattern A with fill-ins (Pattern B) on either the 4th, 8th or 16th bar.

On entry to the program you are presented with the Drummer Descriptor List:-

The Descriptor List shows you the various rhythm files that have been created and saved. Each file has a description field allowing for detailed description of the file, the storage device and the actual filename.

Having selected a file and pressing <ENTER> you will be presented with the main display screen:-

The screen is divided in to a number of sections as follows:-

• screen header - this line at the top of the screen displays the description of the file as entered in the Descriptor List.

• Pattern A and Pattern B

• Tempo and Metronome indicator (when playing)

Drummer lets you use up to 4 instruments in a pattern. Each pattern may have the same or completely different set of instruments. The selected instruments are displayed to the right of the relevant pattern grid.

Each grid consists of 4 rows (one for each instrument) and 16 columns (one for each beat). Each beat is further divided in to two half-beats allowing for complex rhythm patterns to be generated. An `*' indicates that the relevant instrument will sound on the beat while a '-' indicates a rest.

Editor

To edit the variouis settings press the <MENU> key.

Player

To play the current rhythm simply press <ENTER>. As the rhythm is played, Drummer will display a `bouncing ball' above the current beat of the current Pattern.

Future Enhancements
MIDI3c is continually being enhanced. A number of new features planned for later release include:-

• Patch Librarian
• SMPTE and Tape Calculators
• Series 5 version