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Digital Performer User Guide PDF
Digital Performer User Guide PDF
DIGITAL PERFORMER 9
User Guide
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iv
CONTENTS AT A GLANCE
Contents
Contents
Part 1: Managing Projects 51
51
Project File Interchange
Overview
95
95
Consolidated Window
Overview
15 The Digital Performer Project 51 Introduction to OMF and AAF 96 Quick Reference
15 Overview 51 Importing OMF/AAF files 97 Window menu
15 Components of a DP Project 52 Exporting OMF/AAF files 97 Deciding how to work with windows
16 Creating a new project 57 Final Cut Pro XML interchange 98 Consolidated Window preferences
16 Creating a new project with Create Tracks 99 Opening the Consolidated Window
16 Creating a new project from a template 100 Going full screen
17 Opening an existing project
Part 2: Customizing Your Workspace 100 Consolidated Window title bar
17 Open Recent sub-menu 100 Other window Title bars
67 Preferences and Settings 100 The Control Panel
17 Saving a project 67 Overview
17 Saving a project file under a different name 100 The body (center) section
67 The Preferences window
18 Save a Copy As 100 The Sidebars
68 Audio Files
18 Using Save a Copy As for incremental backups 101 The Mixing Board
69 Audio Plug-ins
18 Autosave 102 Using Horizontal Dividers
69 Background Processing
18 Collecting a project for backup or transfer 102 Dragging cells
69 Document
19 Avoiding disaster 102 Cell focus
70 Shortcuts
19 Importing files in other formats 102 Getting rid of a cell
70 Auto Scroll
19 Exporting a project 102 Popping windows in and out
70 Consolidated Window
19 Moving a project between Mac and Windows 103 The Consolidated Window and Window Sets
71 Control Panel
19 Interchanging with Final Cut Pro XML 103 Opening old documents
71 Data Display
19 Exporting to notation software through MusicXML 72 Themes 105 Window Sets
19 Reverting to a previously saved project 73 Track colors 105 Overview
20 Creating project templates 77 Automatic Conversions 105 Creating a new window set
21 Loading a sequence, song or V-Rack 78 Chord Symbols 105 Choosing a window set
22 Adding project notes 78 Continuous Data 105 Changing an existing window set
22 Printing project windows 79 Edit Windows 105 Otherwise modifying window sets
23 Closing a project 79 Information Bar 106 Window set tips and tricks
23 Quitting/Exiting Digital Performer 79 Lyrics
24 Setting Digital Performer’s startup preferences 80 MIDI Editing
24 Helpful project and disk hints 80 Region Commands
Part 3: Sequences and Tracks
25 Import and Export 80 Soundbite List 109 Sequence Basics
25 Overview 80 Tools 109 Overview
25 Importing project files in other formats 81 Tracks List 109 Chunk types
25 Exporting a project 81 Tracks Overview 109 Managing sequences, V-racks and songs
27 Exporting selections 81 Undo Pruning
28 Interchanging with Final Cut Pro XML 81 Waveform Editor 111 Track Basics
28 Importing and exporting audio 81 Audio Options 111 Overview
32 Bouncing audio files 82 Click 111 Basic track types
82 Click Defaults 112 Special track types
33 Soundbites Window 82 Countoff 112 Track settings
33 Overview 114 Creating a track
82 Film Scoring Events
33 Quick Reference 114 Creating several tracks at once
82 MIDI Solo & Patch Thru
34 Soundbites window mini-menu 115 Creating multiple track types at once
82 Receive Sync
35 Opening the Soundbites window 115 Duplicating a track’s settings
82 Transmit Sync
35 The Soundbite list 115 Duplicating a track’s settings and data
82 Transport
39 Soundbite Basics 115 Renaming a track
83 Help menu
39 Mono, stereo and multi-channel audio 115 Deleting a track
39 Importing and exporting audio 85 Time Formats and Display
39 Soundbite Management 85 Overview 117 Bundles
43 Dragging and dropping soundbites 85 Specification of time formats 117 Overview
44 Working with multiple sample formats 86 Time Formats window 117 Audio bundles
44 Converting sample rate/format 89 Setting the start time 118 Bundle types
44 Automatic conversions 118 Adding and deleting bundles
91 Commands 118 Renaming bundles
45 Reload Soundbite 91 Overview
45 Replace Soundbite 119 Working with tiles on the grid
91 Opening the commands window 119 Exporting and importing bundles
45 Edit in Waveform Editor 91 Navigating the commands window
45 Use external waveform editor 119 Bundle channel formats
92 Command groups 120 Reassigning bundles
45 Viewing more Sound File Information 92 MIDI Masters 121 Bundles and surround sound
47 Audio File Management 92 Assignments 121 The instruments tab
47 Overview 93 Numeric Base note 122 The MIDI Devices tab
47 The Audio Files folder 93 Chunk remote assignment
47 Renaming audio files 93 Export Key Bindings 125 MIDI Tracks
47 Moving audio files 93 Import Key Bindings 125 Overview
47 Working with multiple drives 94 Upgrading command bindings 125 Integrated MIDI and hard disk audio
47 Deleting audio files 125 MIDI only
48 Getting rid of unused audio 125 What is a MIDI track?
50 Compacting an entire project 125 Creating a MIDI track
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125
126
Creating several MIDI tracks at once
MIDI track settings
Part 4: Playing and Recording 226
226
Punch Guard
Overdub recording
126 Record-enabling a MIDI track 173 Control Panel 227 Recording multiple takes
126 Choosing an input source 173 Overview 227 Cycle-recording
126 Choosing a MIDI output destination 174 Quick Reference 229 Step Recording
127 Making I/O assignments for multiple MIDI tracks 176 Control Panel preferences 229 Recording in External Sync
127 Multiple output destinations 176 Transport Controls 230 Sample Format
128 Creating a MIDI device group 179 Counter 231 Getting an error message
129 MIDI Drum & percussion tracks 183 Large Counter 233 Click and Countoff
129 Remap MIDI Devices 184 Memory buttons 233 Overview
129 Choosing a default patch (sound) 188 Auto-Record button 233 Click
129 The patch list 190 Overdub record mode 234 Click Preferences
129 The current patch 190 Countoff button 236 Click Defaults
130 MIDI Keys 190 Wait button 237 Countoff
133 Audio Tracks 191 Slave to External Sync button 238 Countoff preferences
133 Overview 191 Saving Memory and Auto Record Times
191 Status Strip 241 MIDI Monitor
133 Integrated MIDI and hard disk audio 241 Overview
133 Types of audio tracks 192 Tempo Controls
196 Click 241 Opening the MIDI Monitor Window
133 Audio (disk) tracks 241 Basics
133 Mono, stereo, and surround tracks 196 Audible Mode
133 Creating an audio track 196 Auto Scroll 243 Audio Monitor
134 Creating several audio tracks at once 196 Solo Mode 243 Overview
134 Audio track settings 197 Keypad shortcuts 243 Audio Monitor quick reference
134 Input source: Audio bundles 197 Display Preferences 244 Mini-menu quick reference
135 Choosing an audio input and output 244 Buses in the Audio Monitor
199 Playback 244 Virtual instrument inputs
135 Record-enabling an audio track 199 Overview
135 Input monitor enable 245 Naming a takefile before recording
199 MIDI Playback basics
135 Enable/disable 245 Changing the takefile location before recording
199 Audio playback basics
136 Monitoring an audio track input 246 Adjusting the level meter range
199 How to play a sequence or song
136 Changing audio track settings on the fly 247 Setting the input level
200 Monitoring levels
136 Making I/O assignments for multiple tracks 247 Other ways to monitor input levels
200 Editing during playback
137 Managing your computer’s system resources 200 Screen re-display 249 Looping
137 Freezing tracks 201 Muting and unmuting tracks during playback 249 Overview
139 Instrument Tracks 201 Soloing Tracks 249 Basics
139 Overview 201 ‘Partial-solo’ 250 Creating a loop
139 Creating an instrument track 202 Looping playback 253 Step Record
140 Instrument track settings 202 Playing the current selection 253 Overview
140 Working with instrument plug-ins 202 Event Chasing 253 Step Record quick reference
141 Instrument tracks in the Mixing Board 204 Auto scroll 254 Basics
141 Open Instrument shortcut 206 Scrubbing multiple MIDI tracks 254 Getting ready
141 Instrument track automation 207 Scrubbing audio 258 Performing step entry
141 Freezing instrument tracks 207 Slow and fast forwarding 261 Step recording during playback
141 Instruments as audio plug-ins 207 Stop Sounding MIDI Devices (Panic) 261 Step Record shortcuts
141 Instrument plug-ins in V-Racks 209 Recording 264 Be careful
142 Multiple audio outputs 209 Overview 264 Hints
142 Digital Performer’s included instruments 210 Choosing a sequence to record into 265 POLAR
143 Aux Tracks & Master Fader Tracks 210 Setting tempo and meter 265 Overview
143 Overview 210 Recording to a click 266 A typical POLAR session
143 Aux tracks 210 Recording with a Countoff 267 Ideas for using POLAR
144 Master Fader tracks 211 Input Filter 267 Preparations for using POLAR
211 Input Quantize 268 Opening the POLAR window
147 Tracks Window 212 Non-destructive output quantize
147 Overview 268 Memory used
213 Preparing a MIDI track for recording 268 Ways to free up RAM for POLAR recording
148 Quick Reference 213 Preparing an audio track for recording
150 Tracks Window Mini-menu 268 Setting the length of each pass
216 MIDI input monitoring 269 Choosing an input and setting input level
151 Opening the Tracks window 219 Audio input monitoring
151 Sequence management in the Tracks window 269 Processing POLAR input with effects
221 Using the wait and countoff features 269 Recording multiple channels into POLAR
153 The Marker menu 221 Start recording
153 The Track List 269 Choosing an output
222 Stop recording 270 Controlling POLAR’s output volume
158 Working with the Track List 222 How audio is recorded on disk
160 The Track Overview 270 Effects processing on output
222 Undo record 270 Monitoring POLAR’s live audio input
164 Customizing the Tracks Window 222 Recording stereo audio 270 The current pass
165 Track Folders and Track Groups 223 Recording in surround 271 Adjusting levels and panning
165 Overview 223 Recording several MIDI tracks in one pass 271 Playback and transport control
165 Track Folders 224 Recording several audio tracks in one pass 271 Punching in and out
165 Track Groups 224 Recording audio and MIDI at the same time 271 Creating new passes
224 Manual punch-in/punch-out on the fly 272 The record gate settings
224 Automatic punch-in/punch-out 272 Viewing previous passes
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CONTENTS
272 Working with passes in the pass list 311 I-Beam tool 365 MIDI Editor
272 Working with pass groups 312 Pencil tool 365 Overview
272 Exporting a POLAR session 312 Insert/Reshape Curve 366 Quick Reference
273 Saving and loading POLAR sessions 312 Reshape tool 368 Tool palette quick reference
274 Remote control of the POLAR window 313 Reshape Mode menu 369 MIDI Editor mini-menu
313 Rhythm Brush 369 MIDI Editor title bar
275 Movie Window
275 overview 314 Zoom tool 369 MIDI Editor basics
275 Random access digital picture 314 Scrub tool 369 Opening the MIDI Editor
275 Supported video formats 314 Loop tool 369 The Track Selector
275 Opening movies 314 Mute tool 369 The master track selector
276 Closing movies 315 Scissors tool 370 Opening a separate MIDI Editor for each track
277 Movie control bar 315 Trim tool 370 Switching tracks with the Window Target menu
277 The movie track 316 Roll tool 370 Snap, Cursor, Selection, and Event Information
278 Movie window mini-menu commands 316 Slip tool 370 The Time Ruler
279 Scrubbing the Movie window 316 Slide tool 371 The Marker Strip
279 Improving movie window performance 316 Comp tool 371 The Note Grid
279 External video hardware output 373 The Pitch Ruler
317 Information Windows
281 FireWire video output 317 Snap Information 373 Inserting Notes
282 Streamers and other visual cues 320 Cursor Information 374 Selecting Notes
282 Exporting a Movie 321 Event Information 375 Editing Notes
321 Selection Information 376 The Continuous Data Grid
283 ReWire 377 Three continuous data display modes
283 Overview 323 Track Inspector
324 Channel Strip 378 The Continuous Data Ruler
283 What is ReWire? 379 Showing/hiding continuous data types
283 Setting up ReWire 325 Track Selector
326 Sound File Information 379 Cont. Data Icons
284 MIDI output 380 Changing continuous data colors
285 Multiple ReWire audio outputs 329 Information Bar
380 Note velocities
285 Synchronization and transport control 331 Sequence Editor 381 Editing continuous data in Points or Bars mode
285 Tempo control 331 Overview 383 Editing continuous data in Lines mode
285 Plug-in processing on ReWire synth inputs 332 Quick Reference 386 The Median Strip
285 Renaming ReWire synth inputs 334 Tool palette quick reference 387 Zooming
285 Quitting the ReWire synth 335 Sequence Editor mini-menu 387 Graphic editing techniques
336 Sequence Editor title bar 388 The View Filter
336 Sequence Editor basics 388 Scrolling during playback
Part 5: Editing 336 Opening the Sequence Editor 388 Scrubbing in the MIDI Editor
336 Switching sequences 388 Editing in the Conductor Track
289 Editing Basics 336 Sequence management
289 Overview 391 Event List
336 Track management
289 Unlimited Undo/Redo 391 Overview
337 Snap, Cursor, Selection, and Event Information
289 Editing during playback 391 Quick Reference
338 The Time Ruler
289 Selecting and searching 392 Event List mini-menu
338 The Marker Strip
289 Region editing 392 Event List title bar
339 Zoom buttons
290 Track groups 392 Event List basics
339 Zooming techniques
290 View menu 393 Types of events
339 Audio track settings
292 View Filter 393 MIDI Data
344 MIDI track settings
295 Zooming 396 Audio data
345 Resizing tracks vertically
297 Graphic editing techniques 397 Mix automation data
346 Working with MIDI tracks
298 Audio editing basics 398 Loops and Conductor Track data
346 Audio editing basics
299 Sample accurate editing 399 Inserting data in the Event List
348 Inserting soundbites
300 Audible mode 399 Editing data in the Event List
349 Moving soundbites
303 Edit Windows 351 Muting and unmuting soundbites 402 Event List hints
303 Overview 351 Overlapping and layering soundbites 403 Drum Editor
303 Edit window overview 352 Trimming (edge editing) soundbites 403 Overview
305 Edit windows by track type 354 Graphic time stretching of audio 404 Quick Reference
305 Opening edit windows 355 Applying fades and crossfades 406 Tool palette quick reference
306 Viewing multiple tracks in one edit window 355 Takes 407 Drum Editor mini-menu
307 Viewing the same track in multiple edit windows 355 Graphic editing techniques 408 Drum Editor basics
307 Window Target 355 Selection techniques 408 Opening the Drum Editor
308 Edit Window mini-menus 356 Show times 408 The Drum Editor title bar
308 Information windows 357 Sync points 408 The Track Selector
308 Legend 358 Working with breakpoint mix automation 408 The Master Track Selector
308 Related topics for Editor windows 362 Soundbite volume automation 408 Using the Window Target menu
309 Tools 363 Working with loops 408 Snap, Cursor, Selection, and Event Information
309 Overview 363 Working with event flags 409 The four drum editor panes
310 Rotating the Tool palette 363 The View Filter 409 The note list
310 Palette docking 364 Scrolling during playback 415 The note grid
310 Closing the Tool palette 364 Scrubbing in the Sequence Editor 418 The controller grid and median strip
310 Keyboard shortcuts for tools 364 The movie track 418 Using the Tool palette in the Drum Editor
311 Pointer tool 364 The Conductor track 422 Note groups
422 Scrolling during playback
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CONTENTS
422 Scrubbing in the Drum Editor 481 Global time format 535 Splice Multiple
422 Zooming 481 The Undo History button 535 Other Splice commands
422 Graphic editing techniques 481 The audio file overview 535 Shift
423 Notation Editor 482 The Waveform display 536 Continuous Data
423 Overview 485 Selecting with the I-Beam cursor 536 Heal Separation
424 Notation Editor Quick Reference 486 Making an insertion point 537 Split
425 Notation Editor Mini-menu 487 Auditioning 537 Split Audio
425 Notation Editor basics 487 Scrubbing 537 Split at Counter
425 Opening the Notation Editor 488 Soundbite mode 538 Trim
425 The Notation Editor title bar 489 The soundbite menu 538 Trim Audio
425 Snap, Cursor, Selection, and Event Information 490 Loop mode 538 Trim End / Trim Start
425 Display resolution 491 The Loop menu 539 Show/Hide Clipboard
426 Octave up/down buttons 493 Soundbite and loop shortcuts 539 Search
426 Inserting, selecting & editing notes 493 Beats mode 539 Select All
427 Scrubbing in the Notation Editor 493 Beats menu 539 Select All in Range
428 Zooming in the Notation Editor 493 Tempos mode 539 Deselect All
428 Graphic editing techniques 493 Tempos menu 540 Smart Selections
493 Pitch mode 541 Region Menu
429 QuickScribe Editor 493 Volume mode
429 Overview 541 Overview
493 Creating a new, empty audio file 541 Region command windows
430 QuickScribe Editor Quick Reference 493 Creating a new audio file from a selection
431 QuickScribe Editor mini-menu 542 Previewing
494 Edit menu operations 542 Transpose
433 QuickScribe Editor basics 494 Region and Audio menu operations
434 Opening the QuickScribe Editor 550 Quantize
495 Waveform Editor preferences 556 Groove Quantize
434 The QuickScribe Editor title bar
434 The Track Selector 497 Selecting 561 Create (Extract) Groove
434 The QuickScribe transcription engine 497 Overview 564 Smart Quantize
435 The playback wiper 497 Selection basics 565 Humanize
435 Getting around in the QuickScribe Editor 498 The View Filter 567 DeFlam
436 Zooming 498 Choosing a Pointer tool selection mode 568 Change Velocity
436 QuickScribe options menu 499 Selecting events 572 Change Duration
437 Score options 501 Selecting a time range 575 Split Notes
438 Track options 506 Smart Selections 578 MIDI Effects Plug-ins
440 Marker options 511 Searching 578 The continuous data commands
441 Measure numbers 511 Overview 580 Thin Continuous Data
442 Measure spacing 511 Search window Quick Reference 580 Insert Continuous Data
442 Set Score Length 512 Search window mini-menu 582 Change Continuous Data
442 Controlling page size 512 Basics 582 Reassign Continuous Data
442 Adjusting system margins 514 Working with search settings 583 Invert Pitch
443 Snap, Cursor, Selection, and Event Information 516 The time-related search settings 584 Reverse Time and Retrograde
443 The QuickScribe Tool Palette 517 The event-related search settings 585 Scale Time
443 Working with notes 518 Working with search results 586 Scale Tempo
448 Chord Symbols 519 Basing settings on the current selection 588 Insert Loop
450 Inserting a staff brace or bracket 520 The Search Results window 588 CLear Loops
450 The Dynamics Palette 588 Set Sequence Tempo from MIDI
523 Edit Menu 588 Capture real-time MIDI effects
451 Popup Meter Changes, key changes and tempos 523 Overview
453 Working with text 589 Take automation snapshot
523 Undo 589 Set Gap Between Soundbites
457 Lyrics 523 Redo
460 Score Arrangement 589 Insert Mute Automation
523 Redo Next/Select Branch 589 Clear mute automation
466 Display-only and playback-only notes 524 Undo History
468 Film Cues view 589 Audition Selection
530 Cut
470 Printing 530 Copy 591 Audio Menu
471 Exporting a musicXML file 530 Copy to Clipping window 591 Overview
475 Waveform Editor 530 Paste 592 Dither
475 Overview 531 Paste Multiple 592 Strip Silence
476 Waveform Editor quick reference 532 Paste Repeat 593 Fade
477 Tool palette quick reference 532 Paste Repeat Multiple 593 Delete fades
477 Waveform editor mini-menu 532 Other Paste commands 593 Freeze/Unfreeze selected tracks
477 ‘Destructive’ editing 532 Erase 593 Merge Soundbites
478 Opening the Waveform editor 532 Repeat 594 Smooth Audio Edits
479 The Waveform Editor title bar 533 Merge 594 Fade In/Out
479 The soundbite list 533 Merge Multiple 594 Normalize
479 Snap, Selection, and Event Information 533 Merge Together 594 Spectral Effects
479 Cursor Information 533 Merge Repeat 594 Bite volume and gain
480 Waveform Editor edit grid 534 Merge Repeat Multiple 595 Audio Pitch Correction
480 The Waveform Editor tabs 534 Merge Repeat Together 595 Apply Plug-in
480 The waveform editor menus 534 Other Merge commands 595 Audio Beats
481 Transport lock 534 Snip 595 New Soundbites from Beats
481 Selection 534 Splice 595 Adjust Beat Sensitivity
595 Adjust Beat Detection
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CONTENTS
595 Copy Beats 633 How the tempo analyzer works 692 Viewing and editing tempo changes
595 Soundbite Tempo 633 Editing beats to improve tempo detection 692 Tempo editing resolution
595 The soundbite tempo commands 634 Reanalyzing tempo after editing beats 692 Changing tempo on-the-fly during playback
596 Soundbite layering 634 Doubling or halving the tempo map 693 Change Meter
596 Time stamps 634 Additional ways to adjust soundbite tempo maps 693 Overview
597 Set/clear sync points 634 Viewing and editing soundbite tempo maps 693 Change Meter quick reference
597 Set Sync Point At First Beat 635 Tempos menu 693 Change meter basics
597 Duplicate 635 Exemptions for preemptive tempo analysis 694 Using the Change Meter window
597 Reload Soundbite 636 Beat and tempo commands in the audio menu 697 Viewing meter changes
600 Replace Soundbite 636 New Soundbites from Beats 697 Editing meter changes in the Conductor track
600 Reveal in Finder/Show in Explorer 637 Adjust Beat Sensitivity 697 Hints and examples
600 Edit in Waveform Editor 638 Adjust Beat Detection
600 Use external waveform editor 638 Copy Beats 699 Change Key
601 VocAlign 638 Soundbite tempo sub-menu 699 Overview
638 Analyze Soundbite Tempo 699 Change key Quick Reference
603 Fades and Crossfades 699 Change Key basics
603 Overview 638 Set/Clear Soundbite Tempo
639 Halve Soundbite Tempo 700 Types of key signatures
603 What is a crossfade? 700 Inserting key signatures
604 Creating a single fade or crossfade 639 Double Soundbite Tempo
640 Find Tempo Factor Near Sequence Tempo 701 Viewing and editing key changes
606 Types of crossfades
607 Fade curves 640 Set Tempo From File Name 703 Insert Measures
608 How fades are generated 640 Set Sync Point At First Beat 703 Overview
608 Fades are anchored to their splice 640 Smooth Audio Edits 703 Before you use Insert Measures
608 Applying multiple fades in one operation 641 Smooth Audio Edits Again 703 Using the Insert Measures command
609 Reapplying the last fade settings 643 System Exclusive 705 Adjust Beats
609 Deleting fades 643 Basics 705 Overview
609 Editing existing fades 643 Recording and playing SysEx messages 705 The problem
610 Fades that cannot be fully computed 644 Viewing and editing SysEx data 705 Using Adjust Beats
610 Trimming soundbites that have a fade or crossfade 645 Editing data in the system exclusive window
709 Record Beats
610 Clipping when crossfades are calculated 646 Inserting SysEx data in the event List 709 Overview
611 Takes and Comping 646 Editing SysEx data with the Edit Menu 709 Record Beats example
611 Overview 646 Transmitting a SysEx message 710 Using Record Beats
611 Take menu 647 Recording SysEx into the Editor Window 711 Handling odd meters
612 Indication of multiple takes 647 Recording SysEx into a track 712 Handling pick up beats with the shift data to option
612 Comp takes 648 Hints 712 Recording beats while slaved to tape
614 Comp tool 649 Be Careful
715 Markers
616 Takes and key commands 651 Clippings 715 Overview
617 Conductor track takes 651 Overview 716 Markers window quick reference
617 Takes interact with multiple mixdowns 651 Clipping Window Quick Reference 717 Markers window mini-menu
619 Tempos and Audio 651 Clipping Window Basics 717 Basics
619 Overview 653 Using clippings 718 Opening a Markers Window
619 Soundbite Tempo Maps 655 Custom Consoles 718 Switching between sequences and songs
620 Applying tempo maps to audio 655 Overview 718 Scrolling during playback
621 Analyze Soundbite Tempo 656 Custom Console Basics 718 Creating new markers
621 Set Soundbite Tempo 656 Building a Custom Console 718 Changing the name of a marker
622 Clear Soundbite Tempo 664 Controlling Knobs and Sliders 718 Changing a marker time location
622 Halve/Double Soundbite Tempo 665 Recording a Knob, Slider, or Button 719 Marker streamer, punch & Flutter settings
622 Find Tempo Factor Near Sequence Tempo 666 Taking a Snapshot of a Console 719 Custom pre-gap for CD Burn
622 Set Tempo From File Name 667 Animation During Playback 719 Setting the counter to a marker location
622 Copy Sequence Tempo to Soundbite 667 Using Controllers Above 63 719 Marker locate numbers
622 Adjust Soundbites to Sequence Tempo 667 Grouping Control Items 720 Jumping to a marker with a shortcut
623 Adjust Sequence To Soundbite Tempo 670 Generating Sysex with a Slider or Knob 720 Selecting markers
625 Beat Detection Engine 672 Hints 720 Using markers to define an edit region
625 Overview 721 Selecting with markers
721 Markers in edit windows
625 The Beat Detection Engine Part 6: Arranging 721 Markers in the Song window
626 What works and doesn’t work
626 Enabling preemptive beat and tempo detection 721 Editing markers in the conductor track
677 Conductor Track
627 Manually applying beat and tempo detection 677 Overview 722 Locking and unlocking markers
627 Where beats and tempo maps are stored 677 Conductor track basics 722 Shifting locked markers in time
627 Viewing beats in the Sequence Editor 677 Opening the Conductor track 722 Locked markers and the sequence start time
628 Aligning beat-analyzed audio to the time ruler 677 Types of Conductor track events 722 Locked markers and changing meter
628 Editing beats in the Waveform Editor 681 Working with the Conductor track event list 723 Recording hits
629 Beats menu 681 Working with the Conductor track Editor 723 Using markers to find a tempo
631 Using the beat grid 681 Editing in the Conductor Track 723 Streamers
631 Quantizing beats within soundbites 723 Marker hints
633 Applying a groove to beats within soundbites
685 Change Tempo
685 Overview 725 Find Tempo
633 Extracting a groove from audio 725 When Find Tempo works best
685 Change Tempo quick reference
633 Ideas for quantizing audio 726 Preparing markers
686 Change Tempo basics
633 Tempo analysis requires beats 726 Opening Find Tempo
687 Using Change Tempo
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CONTENTS
726 Entering search parameters 795 Global automation enable/disable 848 Plug-in automation
727 Processing the results 795 Automation setup for each track 848 Taking an automation snapshot of plug-in parameters
728 Browsing the tempo search results 797 Automation settings in other windows 848 Attaching a MIDI controller to plug-in parameters
729 Auditioning a specific tempo 797 Reasons to disable automation 849 Tempo-locked effects
729 Viewing the results of a specific tempo 798 Automation modes 849 Channel configurations
729 Applying the tempo to your sequence 802 Recording automation 849 Side chain inputs
729 Copy and move locked markers 802 Inserting and editing automation 849 Multiple audio outputs
729 Locking tracks before applying a new tempo 806 Insert and clear Mute Automation 849 Making a real-time plug-in effect permanent
731 Streamers, Punches and Flutters 806 Tempo locked, beat-based automation 850 Digital Performer plug-ins
731 Overview 806 Snapshot automation 851 Digital Performer virtual instruments
731 Streamers 811 Automation preferences 853 MIDI Effects Processing
731 Punches 812 Removing and restoring plug-ins 853 Overview
731 Flutters 812 Automation and system resources 853 Change duration
731 Video output from Digital Performer 812 Control surfaces 853 Change velocity
732 Supported film cue hardware 813 Mixing in Surround 854 DeFlam
732 Setting up the VTP or DTP 813 Overview 854 Echo and Arpeggiator
732 Setting up the ProCue 1m1 or ClickStreamMachine 813 Your monitor system 858 Groove Quantize
733 Activating streamers, punches and flutters 813 Surround bundles 859 Humanize
734 Working with marker streamers 814 The surround panner dish 859 Invert Pitch
736 Visual cue events in the Conductor track 815 Controlling a surround panner with a joystick 859 Quantize
736 Exporting visual cues 816 Surround formats 860 Reassign Continuous Data
737 Chunks Window 816 Creating a multichannel submix 860 Remove Duplicates
737 Overview 817 Surround tracks 860 Time Shift
737 Chunks window Quick Reference 818 Fold down 860 Transpose
739 Chunks window basics 819 Panner plug-ins 861 Audio File Conversion
744 The Chunk Control buttons 822 ArcPanner 861 Overview
822 N Panner 861 Performing conversions
747 V-Racks 823 TriPan
747 Overview 861 Converting the sample rate
824 Auralizer 862 Converting the sample format
747 V-Rack basics 825 Other surround plug-ins
748 Creating a V-Rack 862 Converting the file format
748 V-Rack quick reference 827 Meter Bridge 862 Converting the interleave format
748 Working with a V-Rack 828 Opening the Meter Bridge 862 Converting entire audio files
828 Showing and hiding meters 862 Soundbite replacement options
753 Songs 828 Linear and wrap-around layout 862 Automatic Conversions
753 Overview 828 Meter width
753 Quick reference 863 Time-stretching and pitch-shifting
828 Meter scale 863 Overview
755 Columns 828 Inputs
755 Creating a song 863 ZTX™ audio processing
829 Outputs 863 Selecting audio for processing
757 Recording MIDI into a song 829 Busses
759 Edit menu commands and the song window 864 Editing MIDI and audio together
829 Bundles 864 Constructive editing
759 Song window hints 829 Instruments 864 Audio quality is preserved
829 Tracks 865 Handling lengthy processing tasks
Part 7: Mixing 829 Clipping 866 ZTX Preferences
867 Soundbite preferences
765 Mixing Board Part 8: Processing
765 Overview 869 Background Processing
766 Mixing Board quick reference 869 Overview
833 Effects Window 869 Background processing
768 Mixing Board mini-menu 833 Overview
769 Mixing Board window basics 869 The Background Processing window
833 Effects Window Quick reference 870 Background processing and Undo/Redo
771 Track strips 835 Opening and Closing the Effects window
778 EQ and Dynamics (audio tracks only) 870 Background processing preferences
835 Bypassing an effect
784 Instrument tracks 835 Saving, loading, and editing presets 873 Spectral Effects
784 Automated mixing 837 Editing Effects 873 Overview
786 Mixing in real time 873 The Spectral Effects command
786 Editing your mix graphically 839 Audio Effects Processing 873 What is a formant?
786 Monitoring 839 Overview 874 What does Spectral Effects do?
786 Audio mixing features 839 Native plug-in processing 874 Gender-bending
787 Aux tracks 840 Real-time versus rendered effects 874 Special effects such as “chipmunking”
787 Master faders 840 File-based plug-in processing 874 Any pitched audio can be used
787 Track groups 841 Working with MAS plug-ins 874 Spectral Effects dialog controls
788 Remote control 842 Working with VST and Audio Unit plug-ins 874 Spectral Effects presets
789 Working with effects plug-ins 843 Organizing plug-ins 875 Applying Spectral Effects to audio
791 Narrow view in the Mixing Board 843 Audio plug-in preferences
846 Using effect presets 877 Transposing Audio
791 Working with multiple mixes 877 Overview
846 Busing, master faders & aux tracks
793 Mix Automation 846 Monitoring system performance 877 Pitch Shifting mode
793 Overview 846 Monitoring Effect Performance 878 Pitch automation
793 Automated mixing for MIDI and audio 848 Copying and pasting effect settings 885 Using the Transpose command
795 Mix automation setup 848 Plug-ins from other companies 886 Transposing audio and MIDI together
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CONTENTS
886
886
Temporarily disabling pitch modifications
Converting audio pitch to MIDI data
Part 10: Synchronization Part 11: Appendices
887 Formant-corrected vs. standard pitch shifting 917 Receive Sync 953 Control Surfaces
887 ZTX processing preferences 917 Overview 953 Overview
888 Background processing 917 Receive Sync basics 953 MIDI Device configuration
889 Scale Time 917 Basic types of sync 953 Enabling a control surface driver
889 Time Scaling 918 Using Receive Sync 953 Configuring a driver
889 The Scale Time command 918 Choosing a SMPTE frame format 954 Working with multiple control surfaces
889 Selecting a region to time scale 919 Choosing a SMPTE start frame 954 CueMix Console control surface
889 The “Don’t Time Scale” Preference 919 Sync to port menu 954 Emulated devices
889 Audio and tempo 919 Record while still-framed 955 Working with an Open Sound Control (OSC) device
889 Graphically time-scaling audio 920 Sample-accurate sync 957 Troubleshooting and Support
921 MTC (MIDI Time Code) 957 Overview
891 VocAlign 922 MIDI Beat Clocks
891 Overview 957 Preventing Catastrophe
923 Tap Tempo 957 General troubleshooting
891 How it works 924 Slaving to external sync 958 MIDI troubleshooting
925 Using Tap Tempo 958 Audio troubleshooting
Part 9: Mastering 927 Using Tap Tempo while slaved to external sync 960 Technical support
928 Recording with a multitrack analog tape recorder
895 Bounce To Disk 930 Converting a click track into a tempo map 963 Menus reference
895 Overview 932 Slaving to VITC 963 Overview
895 Setting outputs 932 Synchronization hints 964 Digital Performer menu (Mac only)
896 Previewing 965 File menu
933 Audio Sync 966 Edit menu
896 Bounce to Disk settings 933 Overview
900 Bouncing to Disk 968 View menu
934 Sample-accurate sync 970 Region menu
900 Bouncing to MP3 935 Frame-accurate sync
902 Bouncing to a CD or disk image (Mac only) 971 Audio menu
936 Sync and the computer’s built-in audio 973 Project menu
907 Bouncing to a Movie 937 Audio System Clock
908 The Bounce Settings menu 975 Studio menu
939 Transmit Sync 976 Setup menu
911 Mastering 939 Overview 977 Window menu
911 Overview 939 MIDI Time Code 978 Help menu
911 Master fader 940 MIDI Beat Clocks
911 Allocating processing power 981 Index
941 Turn off Transmit Sync when you don’t need it
912 Real-time bounce to disk
913 Rendering audio 943 MIDI Machine Control
914 Bounce to disk 943 Overview
914 Delivery 943 Setting up MMC hardware
945 Setting up Digital Performer
945 Setting up a MOTU MTP AV or Digital Timepiece
946 Activating MMC in Digital Performer
xi
CONTENTS
xii
CONTENTS
Part 1
Managing Projects
CHAPTER 1 The Digital Performer Project
Project
Components of a DP Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 document
Creating a new project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Creating a new project with Create Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Creating a new project from a template . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Opening an existing project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Open Recent sub-menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Saving a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Saving a project file under a different name . . . . . . . . . 17
Save a Copy As. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Using Save a Copy As for incremental backups . . . . . . 18
Autosave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Collecting a project for backup or transfer. . . . . . . . . . . 18
Avoiding disaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Importing files in other formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Exporting a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Moving a project between Mac and Windows . . . . . . . 19
Interchanging with Final Cut Pro XML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Reverting to a previously saved project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Creating project templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Loading a sequence, song or V-Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Adding project notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Printing project windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Closing a project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Quitting/Exiting Digital Performer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Setting Digital Performer’s startup preferences. . . . . . 24
Helpful project and disk hints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
15
The Project Folder Undo folder
When you first create a new project, Digital This folder is created automatically as needed when
Performer makes a project folder in which it places an operation gets rid of an audio file.The audio file
your new Digital Performer project file. In addition, will remain in the Undo folder until you flush the
several additional folders, described below, are Undo History.
created to store files that Digital Performer may
generate as you work on the project. For further details, see “Undo” on page 523 and
“Undo History” on page 524.
Audio Files folder
An audio file is a document on your computer’s Plug-in Data folder
hard disk that contains digital audio data. (For This folder may be created automatically as needed
further explanation, see chapter 8, “Hard Disk by some of Digital Performer’s included plug-ins.
Recording Concepts” (page 53) in the DP Getting For more information, see chapter 1,“Audio Effects
Started Guide). As you record, Digital Performer Plug-ins” (page 5) and chapter 2, “Instrument
places newly generated audio files into the Audio Plug-ins” (page 93) in the DP Plug-in Guide.
Folder, unless you change this default location
before you record. (See “Changing the takefile CREATING A NEW PROJECT
To create a new project:
location before recording” on page 245.) Audio
files are not required to be in this folder. A Digital 1 Launch Digital Performer (if it is not already
Performer project can use audio files located on running).
any available hard drive. Digital Performer keeps
track of them, even if you move them on the 2 Choose File menu> New> New.
computer desktop. The Audio Files folder is
primarily intended as a default location for new You’ll now see a standard Save dialog.
files that you record in the project. For further
information, see chapter 4, “Audio File 3 Navigate to the hard drive and folder where
Management” (page 47). you’d like to save the new project.
Only one Digital Performer project can be open at You can’t use a colon in the name; all other
a time, although there are many ways to transfer characters are permitted, including spaces. If you
data between projects. For details, see “Loading a enter a name that is already in use, a dialog box will
sequence, song or V-Rack” on page 21 and ask you to confirm your choice.
chapter 52, “Clippings” (page 651).
3 Click Save.
OPEN RECENT SUB-MENU
For convenient access, the Open Recent sub-menu SAVING A PROJECT FILE UNDER A
DIFFERENT NAME
in the File menu displays the most recent Digital
To preserve the last-saved version of the project
Performer projects you have opened, so you have
and save the current state of the project under a
quick access to them.
different name:
To clear the list of recent files, choose Clear Menu.
1 Choose Save As from Digital Performer’s File
SAVING A PROJECT menu.
When you choose Save from the File menu, Digital
The Save As dialog appears.
Performer writes the changes you have made into
the original project file on the disk. If you do not 2 Choose the desired location for the new project
save, the changes you have made are never written file and type in the new name for the project, if
to the disk. For example, if you quit without saving desired.
changes, the work you have done is not saved on
the disk and is permanently deleted from the 3 Click Save.
computer’s memory.
17
THE DIGITAL PERFORMER PROJECT
Your project is saved on the disk in its current state AUTOSAVE
under the new name. In addition, the project you If the Autosave preference is enabled, Digital
currently see on your computer screen is the newly Performer will save automatically, according to
created project. your preferred settings. You can either save, or save
a copy as for automatic incremental backups. See
SAVE A COPY AS “Autosave” on page 70.
The Save a Copy As command works exactly the
same way as the Save As command described COLLECTING A PROJECT FOR BACKUP OR
above, except for the very last sentence. When TRANSFER
you’ve completed the Save a Copy As operation, the The Save As commands described in the last two
project you see on your computer screen is not the sections only save the project file under a different
newly created project; instead, it’s the original name. The rest of the files related to the project
project that you were saving from. In addition, it (audio files and analysis files) are not included in
may still be in an unsaved state (if you haven’t saved the Save As operation.
it since making any changes).
There may be times, however, when you need to
USING SAVE A COPY AS FOR INCREMENTAL use the Save As operation with the entire project,
BACKUPS including all related audio files and analysis files.
The Save a Copy As feature as described above is
great for making incremental backups of your There is an option in the Save As and Save a Copy
project file. To do so: As windows called Duplicate audio data and copy
shared samples to project. When checked, this
1 Every 15 minutes (or as often as you can bear), option makes Digital Performer create an entire
choose Save A Copy As. duplicate set of all the audio files being used by the
current project. Also included are all of the analysis
2 Type in new name for the backup file. files, if any. This command will “collect” all audio
files that are being used, even if they are scattered
For example, you might adopt a numbering
across several hard drives.
convention, such as MyProject.1, MyProject.2, etc.
3 Click Save.
18
THE DIGITAL PERFORMER PROJECT
AVOIDING DISASTER developer for information regarding any
Digital Performer project files often represent differences that may exist between their Mac and
many hours of hard work. If something bad should Windows VSTs.
happen to the file, and it’s your only copy, you’ve
lost all that hard work forever. So please follow Moving legacy Mac projects to Windows
these guidelines and make them habit: If you have a legacy project created in an earlier
(Mac-only) version of Digital Performer, check to
☛ Save early and save often see if it contains audio files in the Sound
Designer II file format. If so, you’ll need to open the
☛ Make incremental backups with Save As project in the current version of DP running on a
☛ Backup early and backup often Mac to convert all SDII files to WAV files, as
explained in chapter 74, “Audio File Conversion”
For details about incremental backups, see “Using (page 861).
Save a Copy As for incremental backups” on
page 18. After checking for SDII files and converting them,
if any, save a copy of the project. Doing so creates
IMPORTING FILES IN OTHER FORMATS an updated, cross-platform project file that is fully
Digital Performer can import a wide variety of compatible with the Windows version of DP. In
industry standard interchange file formats. See addition, the .dpdoc file extension is added to the
“Importing project files in other formats” on end of the project file name, which is required by
page 25. the Windows version of DP. The newly saved copy
of the project can then be successfully opened by
EXPORTING A PROJECT Digital Performer on a Windows computer.
Digital Performer can export a project to a variety
of industry standard interchange formats. See INTERCHANGING WITH FINAL CUT PRO
“Exporting a project” on page 25. XML
Digital Performer can exchange XML files with
MOVING A PROJECT BETWEEN MAC AND Final Cut Pro 6 and 7. See “Interchanging with
WINDOWS Final Cut Pro XML” on page 28.
Digital Performer runs on Mac OS and Windows.
You can move Digital Performer projects between EXPORTING TO NOTATION SOFTWARE
Mac and PC computers. Remember, however, that THROUGH MUSICXML
Audio Unit plug-ins and virtual instruments are Digital Performer can export a QuickScribe
Mac-only, so if they are used in a Digital Performer notation score as a MusicXML file for import into
project on your Mac, they will not be available notation programs such as Finale™ and Sibelius™.
when you open the project in Digital Performer See “Exporting a musicXML file” on page 471.
running under Windows.
REVERTING TO A PREVIOUSLY SAVED
All plug-ins and instruments included with Digital PROJECT
Performer will transfer across platforms just fine. If you’ve made unwanted changes to a project, you
The same is true for any VST plug-ins or can undo the changes you’ve made by returning to
instruments, as long as they are installed in both the last saved version. This operation is identical to
your Mac and PC systems. Check with the plug-in closing the project without saving and opening it
again.
19
THE DIGITAL PERFORMER PROJECT
1 Choose Revert to Saved from the File menu. 1 If you aren’t already in a Digital Performer
project, open one or choose New from the File
A dialog box asks you to confirm this choice. menu.
2 Click on OK to confirm the action, Cancel to 2 Configure Digital Performer’s windows, their
withdraw it. contents, and any other features as you find most
useful.
Reverting to the last saved version of the project
means that all changes you’ve made since you Digital Performer will remember your exact track
opened or last saved the project will be lost. setup, window layout, mix automation settings,
and so on.
Reverting to a previously saved version is useful
when experimenting with a project. You can 3 Choose Save As Template from the File menu.
quickly discard all changes by using this command.
Make sure that you save the file in the state you A dialog appears.
want it before beginning to experiment.
For example, let’s say you typically work in projects 5 The newly created template now appears in the
with one sequence, the same number of tracks, New command sub-menu (in the File menu).
measure time and SMPTE displays in the Large
Counter, and a Sequence Start Time of measure -1. Removing a template file from the sub-menu
In addition, you arrange Digital Performer’s To remove a template from the New command sub-
windows to suit your screen size and style of menu, remove it from Digital Performer’s
working. document templates folder, which is located in
your user directory preferences folder. Here is the
You can use the Save As Template command to give path:
your ‘New’ projects all of these characteristics
Platform Path
automatically. You can also create your own list of
Mac OS X ~/Library/Preferences/Digital Performer™/ Docu-
new file templates in the New sub-menu. ment Templates
20
THE DIGITAL PERFORMER PROJECT
You can quickly access this folder with the “Open
Document Templates Folder” button under
Preferences > Startup Options.
Alternatively, you can drag the Digital Performer 4 Select the sequence, song or V-Rack you wish to
project that contains the material you wish to load load.
from the desktop and drop it into the Chunks
window of the currently open project. If you wish to load more than one, Shift-click or
drag to select contiguous items and Command/
2 In either case, the Load window appears: Ctrl-click to select non-contiguous items.
21
THE DIGITAL PERFORMER PROJECT
Loading a song automatically loads its component 4 Set up the printer options as needed, such as the
sequences (and songs). For example, you choose to number of copies, and click OK.
load Song-1, which contains Seq-1, Seq-2, and
Song-2. Song 2 contains Seq-3 and Seq-4. When The entire contents of the list is printed.
you execute the Load command, all six Chunks
Printing notation
(two songs and four sequences) will be loaded in
Printing notation in Digital Performer is easy.
and added to the Chunks list of the open project.
Digital Performer transcribes unquantized or
ADDING PROJECT NOTES quantized MIDI data in a readable fashion. You can
Choose Project menu> Project Notes to type in format the music on screen exactly as it will print,
notes about your project. This is a simple text including text, page margins, staff spacing,
editor that allows you to store text within the measure spacing, and more.
project itself.
To print notation:
PRINTING PROJECT WINDOWS
1 Choose Page Setup from the File menu, choose
You can print the contents of some Digital
the desired page size, make any desired changes to
Performer windows. This includes list windows,
the page settings, and click OK to confirm the
such as the Event List, Tracks, Markers, Chunks,
settings.
and Commands windows, and notation windows,
such as the QuickScribe Editor. The options that appear in this dialog box depend
on the type of printer you are using. For example, if
Printing the contents of a list window
To print the contents of the Track List, an Event you are printing on a laser printer, you can choose
List, the Markers Window, the Chunks window, or an enlargement or reduction above or below 100%.
the Commands window:
2 Select the MIDI track (or tracks) that you would
1 Bring the window you want to print to the front like to print.
to make it the active window.
3 Open the QuickScribe Editor.
To do so, click its title bar or choose its name from
A window appears containing staves for the MIDI
the Window menu.
track or tracks you have selected. This window
2 Choose Page Setup from the File menu, make displays the music on a page exactly as it will print
any desired changes to the page settings, and click out. For information about editing music and
OK to confirm the settings. formatting it in this window, see chapter
chapter 40, “QuickScribe Editor” (page 429).
The options that appear in this dialog box depend
on the type of printer you are using. For example, if 4 Use the QuickScribe Editor mini-menu and
you are printing on a laser printer, you can choose Page Setup commands to format the music on the
an enlargement or reduction above or below 100%. page as desired.
22
THE DIGITAL PERFORMER PROJECT
Summarized below, these menu commands are
discussed in detail in chapter chapter 40,
“QuickScribe Editor” (page 429).
CLOSING A PROJECT
To close a project, choose Close ‘Project Name’ from
the File menu.
23
THE DIGITAL PERFORMER PROJECT
SETTING DIGITAL PERFORMER’S STARTUP Be sure to backup your projects as often as is
PREFERENCES bearable, at least at the end of every working
When Digital Performer first launches, you have session and several times during the session if
four choices for what it can do: possible. The consequences of not making backups
are severe: if your hard disk is damaged, some or all
■ Open a new project
of the projects may be lost forever.
■ Present you with the Open file dialog box, which
lets you open either an existing project or a new Using the Mac OS stationery feature (Mac only)
project with the “New” button Digital Performer supports the Mac OS “Stationery
pad” feature in the Get Info window for a project
■ Neither of the above, which lets you either file as shown below:
choose Open or New from the File menu
■ Open the project you last had open
To set this preference, choose Preferences from the
Digital Performer menu (Mac OS) or Edit menu
(Windows), select the Startup Options pane, and
choose the desired setting. This setting is stored in
the Digital Performer Preferences file in the
Preferences Folder inside your user library
directory on your hard disk.
24
THE DIGITAL PERFORMER PROJECT
CHAPTER 2 Import and Export
IMPORTING PROJECT FILES IN OTHER Importing OMF/AAF files via drag and drop
FORMATS You can import OMF and AAF interchange
Use the Open command in Digital Performer’s File
documents (with the .omf or .aaf file name
menu to open the following types of files:
extension) by dragging and dropping them into the
■ Files created in earlier versions of Digital
Chunks window.
Performer and Performer
EXPORTING A PROJECT
■ Files created in AudioDesk™ Digital Performer can export projects in several
other file formats:
■ Standard MIDI files
■ OMF interchange files ■ Standard MIDI file (type 0 and type 1)
25
2 If you are saving a MIDI file, and you want the 6 If you are saving a standard MIDI file or OMF/
tempo and meter map of the sequence to be saved AAF interchange document, you’ll now see another
with the MIDI data, choose Conductor Track from window with several options that are specific to
the Tempo control menu in the Control Panel. that file format.
Figure 2-2: The file icon for a standard MIDI file created by Digital
Performer.
27
IMPORT AND EXPORT
Exporting a selection as a clipping file
To export the currently selected audio and/or
MIDI data as a clipping, choose File menu > Export
> Selection As Clipping File. See chapter 52,
“Clippings” (page 651) for more information about
clippings.
To import using the Import Audio command, Figure 2-4: Importing audio. On Mac OS X, click the audition button
choose Import Audio from the File menu (or the (circled) to turn on auditioning. This allows you to hear individual
audio regions when you click them. Click the Add button to add them
Soundbites window mini-menu). You’ll see the to the list of regions you would like to import. As you can see, this
standard file window (as shown below in window lets you import individual audio regions.
Figure 2-4). In this window, you can import Video sound tracks, MP3 files and many other
individual regions from an audio file (unlike drag types of audio files can be auditioned in the Import
& drop into the Soundbite list, which imports all Audio dialog.
regions), and you can audition them before
importing. (See “Specifying audio output for Digital Performer can natively use interleaved or
auditioning” on page 301.) deinterleaved 16-bit, 24-bit, or 32-bit floating point
audio files in AIFF and WAVE formats.
28
IMPORT AND EXPORT
imported” on page 29, and for details on the Converting soundbites that cannot be played
conversion settings, see “Automatic Conversions” When you import soundbites into Digital
on page 862. Performer, it may be the case that they cannot be
played properly. For example, the imported audio’s
Importing and exporting audio by drag & drop sample rate might not match the playback sample
Digital Performer supports standard drag and rate currently chosen in the Configure Hardware
drop techniques for importing audio files from the dialog box. In this case, Digital Performer can
computer desktop into any window in Digital automatically convert the audio to the project’s
Performer that holds audio, such as the Soundbites sample rate, sample format and even tempo. For
window. This is true for all of the supported file complete details, see “Automatic Conversions” on
formats listed in “Audio file formats that can be page 862.
imported” on page 29. If the imported file does not
match one of Digital Performer’s supported native If an audio file has a sample rate that does not
formats, Digital Performer can automatically match the current sample rate setting in the
convert the file for you. Configure Audio System > Configure Hardware
Driver command in the Setup menu, it appears
Soundbites can be exported in a similar fashion by with an “X” on its move handle in the Soundbites
grabbing their move handle in the Soundbites window, as shown in Figure 3-13 on page 41. You
window and dragging them to the computer can play the audio file either by changing the
desktop (or any window on the computer sample rate setting in the Configure Hardware
desktop). dialog to match the audio file, or by changing the
sample rate of the audio file itself with the Convert
Importing an entire audio file
Audio File command in the Soundbites window
The easiest way to import an entire audio file is to
mini-menu. For more information, see chapter 74,
drag and drop it into a track in Digital Performer’s
“Audio File Conversion” (page 861).
Tracks window or Sequencer Editor. Make sure the
track type (mono or stereo) matches the audio file. Audio file formats that can be imported
You can also import an entire audio file using the Digital Performer is able to import the following
Import Audio File menu command as described in audio file formats:
the previous few sections.
■ AIFF
Loading soundbites from other Digital
Performer files ■ WAV
You may encounter a situation in which you have
■ Broadcast WAV (non-MPEG)
created soundbites in another Digital Performer
file and you would like to work with them in the ■ Sound Designer II
current Digital Performer file. To load soundbites ■ mp3
from another Digital Performer file, use the Load
command in the File menu and check the ■ Acid
Soundbites option. For details, see “Loading a ■ REX (and RCY)
sequence, song or V-Rack” on page 21.
■ Apple Loops (AIFF or CAF)
■ Core Audio Format (CAF)
29
IMPORT AND EXPORT
■ QuickTime movies Importing a REX file into a track
When you drag and drop a REX file into a track, be
■ AVI movies
sure that the track format (mono or stereo)
■ Audio CD files matches the REX loop. As shown in Figure 2-5, the
individual audio slices in the REX loop are placed
■ MuLaw files
in the track at the appropriate measure, beat and
You can import any of the file formats above by tick location to preserve the feel of the loop at the
dragging the file into Digital Performer and current tempo of the sequence. After importing,
dropping it into the Soundbites window or — in each slice of the REX loop is treated as in individual
most cases — any window that holds audio. soundbite, both in the track and in the Soundbites
window.
If you drag and drop an audio file into Digital
Performer’s Soundbites window, all of the regions If you change the tempo, the REX slices will
in the audio file are imported. “breath” with the tempo, staying precisely in time
with the conductor track. When they are first
Importing REX files imported, REX slice soundbites are given the Don’t
Recycle 1.0 and 2.0 REX files can be imported into time scale attribute in the Soundbites window, so
Digital Performer, either by dragging and dropping each individual slice won’t be automatically time-
them from the computer desktop into a mono or stretched when the tempo is changed. However,
stereo audio track, or by using the Import Audio you can easily change this attribute to Time Scale in
command (File menu). Recycle 1.0 RCY files can the Soundbites window, as explained below.
also be imported.
30
IMPORT AND EXPORT
Importing REX files into the Soundbites window tempo will be imported with the audio so that it
You can import REX files using the Import Audio will automatically conform to the sequence tempo
command in the Soundbites window mini-menu when placed in a track, as long as automatic tempo
(or the File menu). This opens the audio import conversion (as explained in “Automatic
window, in which the REX file can be auditioned Conversions” on page 77) is enabled.
before importing. Just enable auditioning by
clicking the speaker button and the click on the Audio file exporting
REX file in the file list. After importing, all of the The Export Selected Soundbites command in the
REX file’s individual slices are handled as Soundbites window mini-menu can export any
individual soundbites, with no further grouping or soundbite in the file formats shown in Figure 2-6
association. Therefore, it is better to drag and drop for Mac and Windows.
a REX file into a track, where you can then loop,
repeat or cut/paste it as a whole loop.
don’t time scale the slices, you might (but are For the Mac OS X Core Audio Export formats,
unlikely to) hear gaps between the slices when stereo soundbites are exported in the interleaved
using the loop at a tempo that is considerably less stereo version of these formats.
than its original tempo. Most of the time, however,
you will get better results with the Don’t Time Scale For further information about exporting to the
setting, which preserves the audio slices in their MP3 file format, see “Bouncing to MP3” on
original form (tempo). For more details, see page 900, as MP3 export works the same way for
“Sound File Information” on page 326. bouncing as it does for exporting.
Acid file and Apple Loop import Saving an audio export preset
Digital Performer can import Acid WAV and Apple To create and save an audio export preset, check
Loop AIFF files. To do so, drag and drop the Acid the Save Settings as Audio Export Format option in
or Apple Loop file into the Soundbites window or the audio export dialog (Figure 2-6). If there are
into an audio track of the same format (mono or any additional settings required, they will appear in
stereo). Or import them as usual using the Import subsequent dialogs. Then, you’ll be asked to name
Audio command in the Soundbites window mini- your export preset. After a preset has been saved, it
menu (or the File menu). If the file has a tempo, the appears in the audio export file format menu
31
IMPORT AND EXPORT
(shown in Figure 2-6) for your convenience, as well
as the Bounce to Disk format menu (Figure 81-7 on
page 899). To use an export preset, simply choose it
from the menu when bouncing or exporting. These
presets are saved as a preference, so they are not
project-specific. They are global to all projects. See
also “Editing audio export presets” on page 899.
32
IMPORT AND EXPORT
CHAPTER 3 Soundbites Window
33
SOUNDBITES WINDOW MINI-MENU Create New Folder: Adds a new folder to the
soundbite list. This command is only available
when Folders is chosen in the View by menu at the
top of the Soundbites window.
Figure 3-2: Soundbites window mini-menu. Compact: Caution! Unlike Delete, this command
actually removes audio data from the hard disk.
New Audio File: Creates an empty mono, stereo or
Compact removes all portions of the parent audio
multichannel audio file on your hard drive. You can
file of the currently selected soundbites which are
then paste material into it or otherwise do what you
not defined as a region in the audio file region list.
want with it. For further information, see “Creating
This command can be used to remove unused
a new, empty audio file” on page 493.
audio data in one or more audio files to free up
New Audio File from Selection: Creates a new, space on the hard disk.
separate audio file on your hard drive based on the
currently selected soundbite. In other words, the
Convert Audio File: Opens a dialog box that lets
you change the sample rate, sample format, file
new audio file will contain a copy of the currently
format, and/or interleaved format of the currently
selected audio.
selected soundbites in the list. Several levels of
Import Audio: Opens a dialog box that allows you quality are provided. For complete information,
to audition and import audio files and/or see chapter 74, “Audio File Conversion” (page 861).
individual soundbites (regions). This is the same as
the Import Audio command in the File menu.
Automatic Conversions Settings: Opens the
Automatic Conversions preferences where you
Export Selected Soundbites: Lets you save the configure how Digital Performer automatically
currently selected stereo soundbites in a variety of converts audio data, wherever necessary, to make it
file formats, including AIFF, WAVE, Sound conform to the current project’s sample rate, file
Designer II, and MP3. format, interleave format, and tempo.
Edit Audio Export Formats: Lets you delete and Remove From List: Deletes the soundbite from the
rename saved audio export formats. See “Saving an Soundbites window list without deleting its
audio export preset” on page 31. corresponding region in the audio file region list.
Columns Setup: Lets you show and hide the Delete: Removes the selected soundbites from the
columns in the Soundbite list. list, removing Digital Performer’s reference to the
data from the Soundbites window. If the soundbite
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SOUNDBITES WINDOW
is the last one in the parent audio file to be deleted, Rearranging soundbite list columns
Digital Performer asks if you would like to delete To rearrange the order of the columns (as in the
the parent audio file entirely. Tracks window), drag the label at the top of a
column to the left or right. Digital Performer saves
OPENING THE SOUNDBITES WINDOW your customized column arrangement in the
To open the Soundbites window, choose Project Digital Performer preferences file, so it is
menu>Soundbites, or press its keyboard shortcut, remembered in all of your Digital Performer files.
Shift-B.
Soundbite list quick reference
THE SOUNDBITE LIST Here is a brief explanation of each column in the
The Soundbite list provides a complete list of all soundbite list.
soundbites in the Digital Performer project, along
with detailed information about each soundbite. Move Handle: Drag up or down to reposition the
soundbite in the list. Also use it to drag and drop
Showing/hiding columns in the soundbite list the soundbite into other windows or the computer
Figure 3-1 at the beginning of this chapter desktop. When dropping it into an audio track in
(page 33) shows the default information shown in the Sequence Editor, hold down the Command/
the soundbite list. The Columns Setup mini-menu Ctrl key while dragging to make it “snap” to the end
item lets you show and hide columns as desired. of the previous soundbite in the track. A question
(As a shortcut, double-click or Option/Alt-click mark icon on the move handle means that Digital
the label at the top of one of the columns to open Performer does not currently know the location of
these preferences.) Figure 3-3 below shows all of the audio file containing the soundbite. The
the columns. soundbite can’t be played and its waveform can’t be
displayed. An ‘X’ icon on the move handle means
that Digital Performer cannot currently play the
soundbite for some reason. For example, it may not
match the current sample rate setting of your audio
hardware. For details, see “Lost soundbites” and
“Finding lost soundbites” on page 41.
Figure 3-3: The soundbite list with all detail columns shown.
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SOUNDBITES WINDOW
rename the soundbite. Double-click the name to Sample Rate: Indicates the rate in samples per
edit the soundbite in Digital Performer’s built in second at which the audio data making up the
Waveform Editor or in a third-party audio editor soundbite was sampled.
such as Bias Peak™ (see page 45).
Format: Displays the bit depth (e.g. 16-bit, 24-bit,
Original time: The time at which the soundbite was or 32-bit floating point) of the audio data in the
originally recorded (or created), regardless of soundbite.
where it currently resides. If a soundbite does not
have an original timestamp (perhaps it was created Interleaved Format: Displays the interleaved
in an earlier version of Digital Performer that didn’t format (mono, deinterleaved, or interleaved) of the
support timestamping), then no time is shown. For audio file the soundbite is from.
details, see “Show times” on page 356.
Creation Time: Displays the date and time that the
User time: Displays the soundbite’s user soundbite was created.
timestamp, if it has one. A user timestamp can be
Source: Explains briefly how the soundbite was
applied to a soundbite at any time with the Time
created.
Stamps command in the Audio menu. If a
soundbite does not have a user timestamp, then no
DSP: The DSP column shows the soundbite’s
time is shown. For details, see “Show times” on
preference settings for transposing and time
page 356.
scaling. These settings determine what happens (or
does not happen) when you attempt to transpose
Duration (real time): Indicates the length of the
to time-scale the soundbite. Each soundbite can
soundbite in hours, minutes, seconds, and
have its own unique settings. For complete
hundredths of a second.
information about these preferences, how to set
Ticks (duration in ticks): Displays the length of the them, and what the results will be, see “Dragging
soundbite in quarter notes and ticks. If the and dropping soundbites” on page 43.
soundbite doesn’t have a tempo map, this column
File: This is the name of the audio file that contains
will be empty.
the soundbite. Double-click to replace or relocate
Tempo: In order to make time-scaling musically the soundbite. Option/Alt-click to change the
useful, Digital Performer allows Soundbites to have name of the audio file.
tempo maps. This makes it very easy for you to
manipulate audio along with MIDI without
Disk: Shows the name of the disk on which the
audio file resides.
worrying about the tempo, and change the tempo
however and whenever you want. A soundbite does
Shortcuts for finding soundbites in the
not have to have a tempo, but if it does, it is Soundbite list
displayed here. If the tempo of the soundbite The shortcut for selecting a soundbite in a track (in
varies, the average tempo is shown (labeled “avg.”) the Sequence Editor or other edit window) and
If the soundbite doesn’t have a tempo map, this then viewing that soundbite in the Soundbites
column will be empty. For complete information, window is Command-Option-Control-L (Mac) or
see chapter 49, “Tempos and Audio” (page 619). Ctrl-Alt-Win-L (Windows).
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SOUNDBITES WINDOW
Keyboard shortcuts are also available for viewing
the selected soundbite in the Sound File
Information window (Command-Option-
Control-A on the Mac and Ctrl-Alt-Win-A on
Windows) or in the Waveform Editor (Command-
Option-Control-W on the Mac and Ctrl-Alt-Win-
L on Windows).
View By menu
The View By menu at the top of the Soundbites
window is a powerful sorting feature that allows
you to view soundbites hierarchically by the
characteristics shown below in Figure 3-5:
When you choose an item from the View By menu, ☛ When creating a new folder, you may need to
the Soundbites window sorts all soundbites alpha- scroll to the bottom of the list to see the new folder.
betically and/or numerically based on what you
choose, displaying soundbites hierarchically
☛ Command–double-click a folder (or any
other ‘view by’ container) to select all soundbites
beneath the attribute that you choose, with
within it.
disclosure triangles so that you can show/hide all of
the soundbites for a certain attribute. For example, Soundbite source
if you sort by file name, audio files will be listed The Soundbites window displays the source of each
alphabetically with a disclosure triangle that shows soundbite (as shown in Figure 3-7), to provide you
the soundbites indented to the right beneath it, as with information about where it came from. For
demonstrated below in Figure 3-6:
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SOUNDBITES WINDOW
example, the source might say “Transpose from plug-ins menu in the Audio menu, etc.) or from
Guitar.1” or “Bounce”. This setting can often help soundbite editing operations (such as Edge Edit
you trace the relationships between soundbites. Copy) where there is a clearly defined source
soundbite.
Viewing soundbite sources hierarchically with
‘By Folder’ view You can separate hierarchically related items by
The By Folder view has one additional feature over dragging them elsewhere in the list, but the visual
other views: it displays the sources of soundbites representation of their relation to one another
and newly generated audio files hierarchically, so cannot be later restored after you’ve done so.
that you can trace their origins. For example, if you
use the Edge Edit Copy feature to make a new Dragging soundbites into folders
soundbite from an existing soundbite, the new In ‘By Folder’ view, there are two ways to put a
soundbite will be listed below the original with an soundbite into a folder:
indentation to the right. If you make yet a third
soundbite from the second, it will be listed below ■ by dragging the soundbite’s move handle into
the second and further indented to the right. This the name column to manually determine its
is demonstrated in Figure 3-8: position in the list, or
■ by dragging the soundbite’s move handle onto
Figure 3-7: The Soundbites window displays where a soundbite came from in the Source column.
In this example, the soundbite list is being sorted by source, as well.
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SOUNDBITES WINDOW
MONO, STEREO AND MULTI-CHANNEL
AUDIO
Soundbites may be mono, stereo or multi-channel
(surround). Digital Performer supports both
interleaved and deinterleaved audio files as native
formats.
SOUNDBITE MANAGEMENT
As you work with Digital Performer, you’ll create
many soundbites. The Soundbites window helps
you manage them. Think of the Soundbites
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SOUNDBITES WINDOW
window as your “catalog” of audio data. It lists all of Renaming a soundbite
the portions of audio that you are dealing with in To rename a soundbite in the soundbites window,
the file. It helps you save the ones you want to keep Option/Alt-click its name.
and throw away the ones you don’t.
3 To stop playback, wait for the soundbite to finish When you change the name of a soundbite, Digital
playing, or click the mouse. Performer updates the name of the corresponding
region in the audio file. For example, if you use the
Alternatively, you can do the following, regardless Split command to create a new soundbite, it
of whether the Audible Mode button is highlighted appears in the Soundbites window with a name like
or not: Soundbite.3. Digital Performer adds a new region
to the audio file region list called Soundbite.3 as
1 Highlight the name of the soundbite you wish to well. At this point, if you viewed the audio file’s
hear. region list with third-party waveform editing
software, you would see Soundbite.3 in the audio
2 Option/Alt-click the Audible Mode button. file’s region list. If you change the name of
Soundbite.3 to Low whistle in Digital Performer’s
3 To stop playback, wait for the soundbite to finish
Soundbites window, Digital Performer updates the
playing, or click the mouse.
name of Soundbite.3 to Low whistle in the audio file
Changing the audio output for auditioning region list as well.
See “Specifying audio output for auditioning” on
Lost soundbites
page 301.
At times, Digital Performer may lose track of the
location of an audio file. For example, the audio file
may have been dragged to the trash since the
Digital Performer file was last saved. Or the hard
disk on which the audio file is located may be off
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SOUNDBITES WINDOW
line at the moment. In this case, Digital Performer
displays the move handle of the soundbite with a
question mark as shown below:
Figure 3-13: Digital Performer displays this icon when it cannot play
back the soundbite for some reason.
Figure 3-11: Deleting soundbites removes their corresponding region in the audio file. Just
the region and its pointers are removed; not the actual audio data.
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SOUNDBITES WINDOW
To select unused soundbites, choose Select unused Removing soundbites from the soundbites list
soundbites from the Soundbites window mini- without deleting their corresponding region in
menu. All soundbites that are not being used in a the audio file
There may be times that you wish to delete a
track become highlighted in the Soundbites
soundbite from the list, but you do not want to
window list.
delete its corresponding region in the audio file
Deleting soundbites region list as shown in Figure 3-15 on page 43. For
The Delete command in the Soundbites window example, the region might be part of a sequence in
mini-menu removes currently selected soundbites another Digital Performer project. In this situation,
from the list. In addition, the soundbite’s use the Remove from list command.
corresponding region is removed from the audio
file region list as shown in Figure 3-15 below After this command severs the connection between
(unless the region is being used as part of a playlist the soundbite and the region in the audio file, you
in the audio file). won’t have access to the region unless you import it
again. (See “Importing and exporting audio” on
Note that the Delete command will only delete the page 39.) Also, after removing a soundbite from
actual audio data when the last soundbite referring the list, you cannot compact its audio data without
to an audio file is deleted. If you want to delete just a first importing it and then deleting the soundbite.
portion of the audio data from an audio file, use the (See “Compacting audio files” on page 48 for more
Compact command. See “Compacting audio files” information.)
on page 48. If you do not want Digital Performer to
remove the region from the audio file region list Deleting the last soundbite in an audio file
If you delete a soundbite, and it is the last soundbite
(because it is used in another Digital Performer
belonging to a particular audio file, Digital
project, for example), use the Remove from list
Performer asks you if you wish to completely
command described in the next section.
remove (delete) the audio file from the hard disk:
Deleting soundbites that are currently being
used in a track
If a soundbite you are deleting is being used in a
track, Digital Performer presents a warning box as
shown below.
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SOUNDBITES WINDOW
Bypassing warning dialogs when deleting All of the highlighted soundbites are removed from
audio files the list, and their parent audio files are deleted from
You can bypass warning dialog boxes by holding the hard disk.
down the Option/Alt key while you choose Delete
or Remove from list from the mini-menu. Digital Compacting audio files
Performer proceeds as if you answer Yes to the The Compact command in the Soundbites window
alerts. mini-menu deletes portions of an audio file that are
not part of a soundbite and then closes the gaps
Deleting an audio file that contains regions between the leftover regions. For more
If an audio file contains regions, but you are information, see “Compacting audio files” on
absolutely sure that you want to throw away the file, page 48.
you can do so by dragging the file into the trash on
the computer desktop. DRAGGING AND DROPPING SOUNDBITES
You can “drag and drop” soundbites into the Track
Getting rid of unused soundbites after a Overview, Sequence Editor, Event Lists and even
session the computer desktop (or any desktop window). To
After a recording session with Digital Performer,
do so, grab the move handle of the soundbite as
you can quickly get rid of all the soundbites that
shown below in Figure 3-16 and drop it into the
you did not use in a track as follows:
desired window.
1 Choose Select unused soundbites from the
In the Track Overview the soundbite is placed at
Soundbites window mini-menu.
the beginning of the grid segment you drop it into.
This highlights all soundbites that are not being If you hold down the Command/Ctrl key while
used in a track. dragging, the soundbite will “snap” to the end of
the previous soundbite from the drop point or to
2 Hold down the Option/Alt key and choose the beginning of the track.
Delete from the Soundbites window mini-menu.
Figure 3-15: The Remove from list command leaves the region list in the
audio file untouched. You can re-import the soundbites later, if desired.
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SOUNDBITES WINDOW
In the Sequence Editor, the soundbite is placed WORKING WITH MULTIPLE SAMPLE
where the cursor is located when you drop. If you FORMATS
hold down the Command/Ctrl key while dragging, Digital Performer can use 16-bit integer, 24-bit
the soundbite will “snap” to the end of the previous integer, and 32-bit floating point audio files
soundbite in the track from the drop point or the together in the same project, without any
beginning of the track. For more information, see conversions.
“Dragging and dropping audio into the Sequence
Editor” on page 348. CONVERTING SAMPLE RATE/FORMAT
The Convert Audio File command in the
In both the Track List and Sequence Editor, you Soundbites window mini-menu allows you to
can drag and drop a soundbite into the left-hand change the sample rate, sample format (bit depth),
side of the window (into the Track List itself or into file format (AIFF, Broadcast WAVE, or Sound
the left side of the Sequence Editor where the track Designer II), or interleave format of an audio file or
information panels are displayed) to add a new soundbite. Like Digital Performer’s other file-based
track to the project and insert the soundbite into “constructive” DSP processes, these operations can
the new track. The soundbite is placed at its occur in the background. For complete details, see
original timestamp, or, if there is none, at the chapter 74, “Audio File Conversion” (page 861).
beginning of the track.
AUTOMATIC CONVERSIONS
In an Event List, the soundbite is placed end-to- Digital Performer can automatically convert audio
end with the last soundbite at the bottom of the list. data wherever necessary to make it conform to the
For more information, see “Dragging soundbites current project’s sample rate, file format, interleave
into the Event List” on page 400. format and tempo. Because processing is initiated
automatically and carried out via background
For more information about dragging and processing (for lengthy operations), these auto-
dropping soundbites to and from the desktop (to conversion features greatly streamline the process
import and export them), see “Importing and of importing audio quickly into your projects, or
exporting audio by drag & drop” on page 29. the process of converting the entire project to a
Figure 3-16: Dragging and dropping Soundbites into the Sequence Editor.
Soundbites can also be dropped into other windows, such as Event Lists.
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SOUNDBITES WINDOW
different sample rate, bit depth or tempo. For USE EXTERNAL WAVEFORM EDITOR
complete details, see “Automatic Conversions” on The Use External Waveform Editor option lets you
page 77. choose a third-party waveform editor, such as
BIAS Peak™, as your preferred waveform editor
RELOAD SOUNDBITE (instead of Digital Performer’s own built-in
Reload Soundbite (Audio menu) updates a waveform editor). For details, see “Use external
soundbite to match its corresponding region in the waveform editor” on page 600.
audio file. For example, if you trim the edges of a
region with other software, the Reload Soundbite VIEWING MORE SOUND FILE INFORMATION
command updates the soundbite in your Digital To view more information for a soundbite or audio
Performer project to use the new edge boundaries. file, such as the length in samples, the creation or
This command is useful after using the Edit in last edited date & time, Automatic Conversions
Waveform Editor command (see below). For more settings, sync point, sampler loops, and more, use
information, see “Reload Soundbite” on page 597. the Sound File Information window.
45
SOUNDBITES WINDOW
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SOUNDBITES WINDOW
CHAPTER 4 Audio File Management
Figure 4-1: Compacting removes all audio data that doesn’t fall within an existing
region. Depending on how much unused audio gets removed, this process can free
up large amounts of space on the hard disk.
48
AUDIO FILE MANAGEMENT
that deletes portions of an audio file that are not Digital Performer does not delete any regions in
part of a soundbite and then closes the gaps the audio file, even if they are not used in the
between the leftover regions. currently open Digital Performer file.
As shown in Figure 4-1, the unused data between Since compacting results in the erasure of audio
soundbites is removed, and the remaining data on the hard disk, and possibly very large
soundbites are placed end to end. Compacting amounts of audio data, this operation may take a
conserves disk space by removing unwanted data few moments, depending on how much audio data
from within a file, while preserving data being used is being removed.
for soundbites.
To compact one or more audio files:
You can compact all audio files at once or
individually. 1 (Optional) Choose Select unused soundbites
from the Soundbites window mini-menu.
When compacting occurs, there is only one
criterion for determining if data is thrown out: This highlights all of the soundbites that are not
being used in any track in the file. These are likely
☛ Is the data part of a region in the audio file’s candidates for disposal.
region list?
2 Delete all soundbites from the Soundbites
If the data is part of a region in the audio file’s window that you want to discard using the Delete
region list, it is not deleted. command in the mini-menu.
If the data is not part of a region, it is deleted. If necessary, you can audition ones that you aren’t
sure about using Audible mode. To delete the
The key to successfully compacting a file is to make soundbite, highlight its name and choose Delete
sure that the region list in the audio file contains from the mini-menu. Don’t use the Remove from list
regions that you want to keep, and only those command—it will not remove the regions from their
regions that you want to keep. audio files.
How do you do this? With the Soundbites window. 3 Highlight a soundbite from each audio file that
If you delete a soundbite that you want to discard, you wish to compact.
Digital Performer removes the soundbite’s
corresponding region in the audio file’s region list If you want to compact all the audio files, choose
(see “Deleting soundbites” on page 42), and the Select All from the Edit menu (or press Command/
remaining audio data is deleted when compacted. Ctrl-A).
Conversely, soundbites that are not deleted are not
compacted. 4 Choose Compact from the Soundbites window
mini-menu.
If any audio data in the audio file is being used by
other Digital Performer files, it is not deleted by The compacting operation may take some time.
these commands as long as you have not deleted After compacting, an alert box informs you that
the region from the audio file’s region list with disc space won’t actually be reclaimed until after
Digital Performer or other sample editing software. you flush the undo history, which permanently
discards the data removed by the compact
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AUDIO FILE MANAGEMENT
operation. If you click Don’t Flush, then the they might take up hard disk space without you
compacted data is preserved in the undo history, even knowing it. If this is the case, import the
and you’ll still have a chance to recover it if you region into Digital Performer and then delete the
change your mind. If you click Flush, then the undo soundbite with the Delete command.
history is flushed, and the data removed by the
compact operation is permanently discarded (and COMPACTING AN ENTIRE PROJECT
therefore becomes unrecoverable). The Compact Project command (File menu)
provides a unified, comprehensive way to discard
unused audio, flush the undo history and reduce a
project’s overall size on disk. Compact Project is
specially designed to eliminate the items you
choose in the dialog in the optimum order to
achieve maximum efficiency in compacting the
project.
Compacting won’t work if… You can use this feature at any time you wish
There is one condition in which compacting won’t during the course of a project, but it flushes the
do the right thing for you: if the data you want to entire undo history, so beware. This feature is
get rid of exists as a region in the audio file and particularly useful for project archiving, as it can
there is no corresponding soundbite for it in significantly reduce the amount of disk space used
Digital Performer’s Soundbites window. This by the project, making it much easier to archive.
situation can arise if:
☛ Warning: Compact Project affects the original
■ the region wasn’t created in the current Digital project, and it permanently discards data that is
Performer file flushed during the compacting process.
OR
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AUDIO FILE MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER 5 Project File Interchange
has been mostly tested with Pro Tools, Logic Pro, files using WAVE, AIFF, Sound Designer II, or
Cubase and Avid Xpress. embedded audio. Digital Performer does not
import MXF audio.
IMPORTING OMF/AAF FILES
■ Digital Performer can import OMF & AAF files
OMF and AAF files can be opened like a regular
Digital Performer project: using 16 and 24 bit audio.
■ Video files embedded in or referenced by OMF
■ Using File menu > Open and AAF files are ignored when imported into
■ Double-clicking the file on your computer Digital Performer.
desktop
51
■ Digital Performer can accept OMF or AAF files EXPORTING OMF/AAF FILES
at any of the frame rates Digital Performer can use To export an OMF or AAF file, choose Save As or
as its project frame rate: 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97 (drop Save a Copy As from the File menu, and then
& non-drop), and 30 (drop & non-drop). Files at choose OMF Interchange or AAF Interchange from
HD frame rates of 50, 59.94 (drop & non-drop), the Format menu (Figure 5-1). The OMF/AAF
and 60 (drop & non-drop) can also be imported, Export Options window appears (Figure 5-2).
but the frame rate is set to the corresponding half
rate. Files at other frame rates can also be
imported, but their frame rates are not supported
and you must choose one of Digital Performer’s
supported frame rates.
■ When exporting OMFs for use in Digital
Performer, choose OMF 2.0 over 1.0 whenever
possible. If no choice is provided, check the
application’s documentation to find out which
OMF version is exported. Though OMF 1.0 files
will generally import into Digital Performer
without issue, OMF 2.0 is strongly recommended
for the most robust OMF interchange. Figure 5-1: Digital Performer can import and export OMF and AAF
files.
■ Fades can be saved as part of the OMF/AAF file;
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PROJECT FILE INTERCHANGE
data. Because the Digital Performer Project and
OMF/AAF file refer to the same set of audio, use
this option when you are making permanent
(“destructive”) changes to the audio data in the
audio files that you would like to be reflected in
both Digital Performer and the program you are
interchanging with. For example, you might be
removing clicks and pops, normalizing, etc. It can
also help to simply save disk space when you are
interchanging with another application on the
same computer.
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PROJECT FILE INTERCHANGE
Reference existing audio files exceptions The Copy all audio files option is grayed out if
When the Reference existing audio files option is you’ve chosen the Quantize edits to frame
selected, Digital Performer will try to reference the boundaries option, which requires you to use the
existing files if possible. However, there are some Consolidate audio files option (explained in the
cases where your choices for the other export next section).
options will force the creation of new audio:
Consolidate audio files
■ When the export format (OMF or AAF) does Like Copy all audio files above, the Consolidate
not support audio files in the file format of those in audio files option leaves no references to the
your project, any files in non-supported formats original project and instead copies the original
are exported as audio files. OMF supports AIFF, audio. However, it only copies audio that is actually
WAVE, and SDII, whereas AAF supports only AIFF used in soundbites. Portions of audio files that fall
or WAVE. So for example, if you are exporting as outside of soundbite boundaries are not copied.
AAF and your Digital Performer project contains This option is useful because it can save a
mostly WAVE files, but also contains some SDII significant amount of disk space in some projects.
files, Digital Performer will export references to the If you are looking to economize on the project size,
WAVE files (i.e., they will not be copied) but the perhaps for archival purposes, this option is a good
SDII files will be converted to WAVE files. choice.
■ When converting from 24-bit to 16-bit, the The Handle Size option specifies the amount of
converted files are exported as audio files. extra audio (in milliseconds) to include before and
■ When using Export fades as precomputed regions, after each soundbite. This is useful if you will be
the fade regions are exported as audio. trimming (edge editing) the soundbites in the
destination application.
When additional audio must be created, the new
audio will be embedded (when exporting as OMF) Embed audio data in OMF
or created as additional WAVE files (when This option applies to audio being copied during
exporting as AAF). the export operation, if any.
Copy all audio files Choose Embed audio data in OMF file to place the
Choose Copy all audio files to make a completely copied audio directly into the OMF file itself. This
self-contained copy of the entire project, including makes a single, completely self-contained
all audio files. All audio files that are listed in the document that consists of a copy of the entire
Soundbites window are included, even if they are project, including all audio files. See “Copy all
not used in any tracks in the project. This option is audio files” on page 54 and “Consolidate audio
ideal for transferring the project to another hard files” on page 54 for further information about
drive or computer as it ensures that all associated what audio gets copied and when this option is
audio files are “collected” and included in the useful.
interchange document. When you use this option,
the exported project will have no references to your
original project. This makes it completely
independent, and it will not be affected by any
changes made to the original project.
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PROJECT FILE INTERCHANGE
Export audio data as Sound Designer II/AIFF/ Export sample-accurate edits/Quantize edits to
WAVE files frame boundaries
These options apply to audio being copied during For Avid Xpress and other applications that require
the export operation, if any. Choose the desired file OMF/AAF files to specify all timing in SMPTE
format for the audio files being copied to the AAF time code frames, choose Quantize edits to frame
or OMF project. boundaries. Digital Performer’s current frame rate
setting (Setup menu> Frame Rate) is used. This
The Sound Designer II file option is disabled (not frame rate setting must match the frame rate in the
available) when you are exporting to an AAF file Avid Xpress session into which you will import the
because AAF files do not support Sound OMF/AAF file.
Designer II files. In general, exporting as WAVE or
AIFF is recommended. Also, when using the Quantize edits to frame
boundaries option, you are forced to use the
‘Export fades as’ options Consolidate audio files and Export fades as
The Export fades as OMF/AAF effects option precomputed regions options. All of your
produces fades and crossfades that can be fully soundbites will get trimmed so that they start and
modified in the target application after the transfer, end on frame boundaries. To maintain timing and
if desired. The Export fades as precomputed regions ensure that all audio is properly included, Digital
option renders each fade as an audio region, Performer then generates one-frame audio regions
preserving the exact nature of the fade or crossfade placed before and after the trimmed soundbite,
as it was programmed in Digital Performer but containing the audio that was trimmed.
rendering it un-modifiable. For example, if you like
the way your fades and crossfades sound already in For all other applications (that don’t require frame-
Digital Performer, and do not need to further based timing), choose Export sample-accurate
modify them in the target application, use this edits. Consult the documentation for your editing
option. application to determine if it requires frame-based
timing for audio.
If you’ve chosen the Quantize edits to frame
boundaries option, then the Export fades as OMF/ Export clip-based volume/pan
AAF effects option is not available (grayed out). Because the OMF and AAF interchange formats
support a clip-based automation model,
Exporting 24-bit audio automation data between clips is lost when
The Convert 24 bit audio to 16 bits option converts exporting, but automation data within the
all 24-bit audio in the project to 16-bit audio. Most boundaries of every audio region is preserved
third-party audio applications support 24-bit during transfers.
audio, so it is recommended that you enable this
option only if you must. If you are exporting 24-bit The Export clip-based volume and Export clip-based
audio and wish to maintain this bit depth, choose pan options determine whether volume and/or pan
Export 24 bit audio directly. automation data will be included in the resulting
OMF or AAF interchange document.
☛ One notable 16-bit–only example is
OMFTool/DigiTranslator 1.0. If you intend to open
the OMF file in DigiTranslator 1.0, enable the
Convert 24 bit audio to 16 bits option.
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PROJECT FILE INTERCHANGE
If the Enforce Pro Tools compatibility or Enforce OMF/AAF export summary
Logic compatibility options are checked, then the Here is a summary of OMF and AAF export:
Export clip-based pan option is grayed out because
OMF/AAF
Pro Tools and Logic do not support pan export option Summary
automation interchange via OMF or AAF. When Disables Reference existing audio files (when
exporting AAF using SDII files)
Disables Export audio data as SDII files
If you are exporting an OMF file intended for use
with DigiTranslator 1.0, leave both options Pro Tools Disables Export clip-based pan
compatibility Disables Export all sequences
unchecked as these options are not supported by Disables Export all takes
DigiTranslator 1.0.
Logic Disables Export fades as OMF/AAF effects
compatibility Disables Export clip-based pan
Export original timestamps Disables Export all sequences
Disables Export all takes
Check the Export original timestamps option to
include the original timestamps in each audio file. Avid Xpress Requires Quantize edits to frame boundaries
compatibility
If your destination application does not support
Quantize edits Requires Consolidate audio files
them, you can turn them off. For a complete to frame Requires Export fades as precomputed regions
explanation of timestamps, refer “Time stamps” on boundaries
page 596.
General OMF/AAF export recommendations
If you are exporting an OMF file intended for use If the application you are interchanging with is not
with DigiTranslator 1.0, leave this option covered by the OMF/AAF Export dialog’s Enforce
unchecked as this option is not supported by compatibility modes, use the following generic
DigiTranslator 1.0. settings as a starting point. There are two basic
groups of OMF/AAF settings: those intended for
Export soundbite names DAWs (digital audio workstations, such as Digital
Check the Export soundbite names option to export
Performer), and those intended for NLEs (non-
each audio region with its given soundbite name in
linear video editing applications, such as Final Cut
Digital Performer.
Pro).
Export all sequences
Exporting to DAWs
If the Digital Performer project you are exporting
Digital Performer’s default settings are a good
has two or more sequences, check the Export all
starting point for interchange with any DAW. To
sequences option if you wish to include all
return to the default settings, press the Default
sequences, even the ones that are not currently
button in the OMF/AAF Export Options window
play-enabled. This option is grayed out if you are
at any time. The default settings are:
enforcing any compatibility modes other than Avid
Xpress. ■ Enforce Pro Tools compatibility
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PROJECT FILE INTERCHANGE
composer/editor can simply import, to then
compare and conform all music and audio tracks
to the latest picture edits. All changes are displayed
in Digital Performer’s Import Final Cut Pro 7 XML
window, which provides a complete, detailed list of
every new picture edit. Double-click any edit in the
list, and Digital Performer scrolls to and highlights
the location of the edit in the Sequence Editor time
line. The highlight shows a blue border (old
position) and red border (new position) for each
picture edit. The Digital Performer composer/
editor can then adjust their conductor track, audio
data and/or MIDI data as necessary to conform to
Figure 5-3: Final Cut Pro XML Export dialog.
the new edit, snapping edits to the vertical red line
if necessary. Video and audio files
The XML file format only makes references to
If Digital Performer is running on the same audio and video files stored on your hard disk. It
computer as Final Cut Pro, the Export Final Cut Pro does not copy the audio or video data into the XML
XML command sends all tracks (and all file (which is just a text file). Therefore, if you want
sequences) in the current Digital Performer project to send a Final Cut Pro XML file to a colleague
to the project currently open in Final Cut Pro (or running Final Cut Pro on a different computer, and
any FCP file on disk, if desired), allowing easy your colleague doesn’t already have the media files,
transfer of all work done in Digital Performer into you need to send the audio and video files
Final Cut at any point during the production separately, along with the XML file.
process, from previewing dailies to final conform
and export from Final Cut. Conforming path names
If the location of the media files on the destination
The Final Cut Pro XML Export Dialog computer does not match their relative location
The Final Cut Pro XML Export dialog (Figure 5-3) stored in the exported XML file, then the path
exports all sequences (excluding V-Racks and names of the audio and video files embedded in the
Songs) in the currently open Digital Performer XML file must be edited to match their location on
project. It does so either to an XML file that you the destination computer’s hard drive. This can be
specify, or to an invisible temporary XML file, done with any standard text editor, as the XML files
which is used to transfer the information directly to are simply text files. The file path names in the
Final Cut Pro running on the same computer. XML file look like this (note that spaces are
represented by “%20”):
<pathurl>file://localhost/Users/YourDirectory/Documents/
Audio%20Files/Audio-2-0</pathurl>
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PROJECT FILE INTERCHANGE
you are sending the XML to Final Cut Pro 3. A bin named Master Clips from DP is created to
Version 5. XML Version 4, used by Final Cut Pro contain all audio files referenced by the Digital
Version 6 and later, is a more robust file format that Performer sequences. If you enabled the Include
can identify audio and video clips by ID and video track option, the referenced movie files also
recognize them even after they have been appear in this bin.
reordered. This more advanced format provides
Open Final Cut Pro project
much better support for Digital Performer’s XML
The Open Final Cut Pro project sub-option
Compare feature (explained later in this chapter).
(Figure 5-3) modifies how the Export directly to
Final Cut Pro” option works. When it is enabled,
Include video track
When checked, the Include video track option you are asked to select a Final Cut Pro project
(Figure 5-3) creates a Final Cut Pro video track in document (a file ending in .fcp). You can use the
each sequence that references the movie associated Browse button to make your selection immediately,
with that sequence in Digital Performer. or you will be prompted to do so if you have not
already done so when you click the Export button.
Export to XML File After you have chosen a .fcp file, Final Cut Pro will
When the Export to XML file option (Figure 5-3) is first open that project document and then import
enabled, the results of the export are put into an the sequences from Digital Performer into that
XML file of your choosing. Click the Browse button document. It will not overwrite existing sequences
to choose a location and filename for this file, after in the Final Cut Pro document; instead, it will make
which the name of the file will appear in the read- new ones. If the chosen Final Cut Pro project is
only file name box below the radio button. Or, you already open in Final Cut Pro, it will just be
can just click Export, and you will be prompted to brought to the foreground and used as the receiver
specify your output file if you have not already of the incoming sequences from Digital Performer.
done so. (Note: the Final Cut Pro project will not be reverted
to the state saved on the hard disk beforehand.)
Export directly to Final Cut Pro This is useful if you have several Final Cut Pro
When the Export directly to Final Cut Pro option projects open at the same time, some with unsaved
(Figure 5-3) is enabled, Digital Performer exports changes.
to an invisible temporary XML file, which it then
sends directly to Final Cut Pro for import. This Show Current DP Sequence
works only if Final Cut Pro is currently running on The Show Current DP Sequence option (Figure 5-3)
the same computer. If neither of the check boxes displays the imported current (play-enabled)
below this radio button are enabled, when you click Digital Performer sequence in Final Cut Pro after
on the Export button, the following will happen: the export operation.
1. Final Cut Pro comes to the foreground. The Final Cut Pro 7 XML Import Window
The Final Cut Pro 7 XML Import window
2. Final Cut Pro creates a new untitled project, and
(Figure 5-4) allows you to import sequences from
fills it with sequences with the same names as the
Final Cut Pro into Digital Performer, and to
incoming Digital Performer sequences.
compare different versions of Final Cut Pro
sequences. The compare feature can even analyze
changes made to video and audio clips in Final Cut
Pro sequences without the need to import
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PROJECT FILE INTERCHANGE
anything. These features allow you to conform a Include video
Digital Performer project to the current version of When the Include video option (Figure 5-4) is
cues in a Final Cut Pro project. enabled, Digital Performer searches for the first
movie clip in a video track for each imported Final
Cut Pro sequence. If it finds one, it will install it as
the movie associated with that Digital Performer
sequence.
Include Audio
When the Include Audio option (Figure 5-4) is
enabled, Digital Performer creates audio tracks
that duplicate any Final Cut Pro audio tracks that it
finds in each imported sequence.
Replace sequences
Figure 5-4: Final Cut Pro 7 XML Import window. When the Replace sequences option (Figure 5-3) is
enabled, Digital Performer replaces any sequence
Import from XML File
in the currently open Digital Performer project
The Import from XML File option (Figure 5-4) lets
with an imported sequence that has the same uuid
you import a Final Cut Pro 7 XML file that already
tag, which is a unique identifier applied to each
exists on your hard disk. Use the Browse button to
sequence by Final Cut Pro. To see the uuid tag for
locate the file you want to use, or just click the
any sequence, export an XML file from Final Cut
Import button and you will be prompted to choose
Pro and look for a line similar to what is shown
an XML file. After you have done so, the file name
below, usually located just after the sequence id
appears in the read-only box below and can be
line:
used again the next time you want to import.
<uuid>2305560D-F0FE-417F-A133-CE1407363D1F</uuid>
Import directly from Final Cut Pro
The Import directly from Final Cut Pro option To see the uuid stored in Digital Performer for a
(Figure 5-4) lets you import directly from the Final sequence, export a Final Cut Pro XML file from
Cut Pro application, which must be currently Digital Performer and inspect the same line.
running on the same computer. When using this
Add new sequences
option, you must specify a Final Cut Pro project file
When the Add new sequences option (Figure 5-4) is
(ending in .fcp) that you wish to import from. The
enabled, Digital Performer creates new sequences
Final Cut Pro project file need not be currently
for the imported Final Cut Pro sequences, even if
open in Final Cut Pro —if necessary, Digital
an existing sequence in the current Digital
Performer will first open it in Final Cut Pro and
Performer project has the same uuid as an
then do the import. Use the Browse button to locate
incoming one.
the Final Cut Pro project file that you wish to use. If
that project is already currently open in Final Cut Missing media files
Pro, then you will be importing the current state of If a media file cannot be imported, you will be
that project in Final Cut Pro — including any warned. This may be for one of three reasons:
unsaved changes.
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PROJECT FILE INTERCHANGE
■ The path could be incorrect on the host of sequences being compared (the older version) is
machine, and therefore DP can’t find the media file determined by the options in the right side of the
window, described in the next few sections.
■ The media file could have an unsupported
format (meaning DP can’t play it and can’t convert Compare Import Source To: XML file
it) When the Compare Import Source to: XML file
■ The media file could be in a format that DP
option (Figure 5-4) is enabled, you select an XML
understands, but cannot play natively. file that contains a description of the sequences you
want to compare to. Use the Browse button to
These three conditions are now reported with locate the XML file on your hard disk. A typical
alerts during the import process, along with workflow is to export each version of a changed
information about the offending file. You’ll see a project from Final Cut Pro to an XML file, and save
warning dialog like the one shown below: each file on disk as a change history. To compare
any two such files, simply set the Import source to a
newer XML file and the Compare Input Source To:
XML file to an XML file that holds an older version
of the sequences. Then click on the Compare
button to see a list of differences in the bottom
section of the import window.
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PROJECT FILE INTERCHANGE
option is most useful when comparing XML Click the disclosure triangles in the left column to
sources to see how audio changed, not how video show or hide portions of the comparison report. If
changed. you Option/Alt-click on a triangle, all of the
triangles will open or close.
If your Import Source is currently set to Import
directly from Final Cut Pro (Figure 5-4), you will be
comparing to the current state of a Final Cut Pro
project in the Final Cut Pro application, including
any unsaved changes that have been made to that
project in Final Cut Pro.
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PROJECT FILE INTERCHANGE
Here’s an example. Suppose you select the clip edge in the Compare To (older) sequence. In an
following change in the comparison report: XML comparison, blue lines correspond to
original (old) positions — the positions in the
Compare To sequence. Red lines correspond to
changed (new) positions — the positions in the
Import Source sequence.
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PROJECT FILE INTERCHANGE
Volume and pan information ■ DP and Final Cut Pro handle panning of stereo
Final Cut Pro allows you to automate volume and and surround tracks differently, so although pan
pan settings within each audio clip (what Digital data on mono tracks is maintained when
Performer would call a soundbite). Final Cut Pro importing or exporting via Final Cut Pro XML,
does not support track automation of volume or pan data on stereo or surround tracks is not.
pan, independent of the clips in the track. Final Cut
■ DP imports “linked” tracks as dual mono. If you
Pro allows a maximum +12 dB boost in clip
export those dual mono tracks from DP via XML
volume automation, whereas Digital Performer
and re-import back into Final Cut Pro, the tracks
allows only a maximum +6 dB boost.
will be preserved but will no longer be linked.
When you import a Final Cut Pro sequence via ■ It is recommend that you do not “stereo link”
XML into Digital Performer (including audio), all clips in FCP that are not truly stereo (i.e., clips that
clip-based volume and pan automation is are not the left & right channels of the same file).
converted to track volume and pan automation in
Digital Performer audio tracks. In addition, any
volume levels set to higher than +6 dB in Final Cut
Pro are pinned to +6 dB in Digital Performer. On
tracks which have more than one volume or pan
keyframe of different values, automation will be
automatically play-enabled.
Additionally:
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Part 2
Customizing Your
Workspace
CHAPTER 6 Preferences and Settings
67
Closing the Preferences window ☛ How quickly you create a 4 GB file depends on
Changes you make in the Preferences and Settings the channelization, sample rate, and sample
window go into effect as soon as you make them. format. When recording a mono 16 bit 44.1 kHz
To close the window, click its close button, or click file, it takes about 13.4 hours to create a 4 GB file,
the Done button. but less than an hour when recording an
interleaved stereo 24 bit 192 kHz file.
AUDIO FILES
When using Broadcast WAVE, if a file will be
smaller than 4 GB at the end of an audio recording
pass, the resulting file will be a regular Broadcast
WAVE file. If the resulting file will be larger than
4 GB, it will use the industry standard Wave64
extension to the Broadcast WAVE file format.
be convenient for Digital Performer to dialog box appears. Instead, Digital Performer’s
automatically copy the imported file into the menu bar appears at the top of the screen, and the
project’s Audio Files folder anyway, so that all audio only menu available is the File menu, from which
for the project, imported and otherwise, is you can choose New or Open.
consolidated in one place. If so, choose the Always
copy Imported Audio To Project Folder option. If
you only want this to happen when the imported
audio is in non-native format and needs to be
converted, choose the Only when format is not a
playable file format option. If, however, you want
even converted files to remain in the same folder as
their originals (instead of the project’s Audio Files
folder), choose the Never option.
AUDIO PLUG-INS
This preference pane allows you to manage your
audio plug-ins. For details, see “Audio plug-in
preferences” on page 843.
Figure 6-3: Document preferences
BACKGROUND PROCESSING
Recent Documents
For details about the background processing
Specify the number of recent documents that you
preferences, see “Background processing
want to appear under File menu > Open Recent.
preferences” on page 870.
Ask before closing
DOCUMENT When the Ask before closing preference is enabled,
Startup Options Digital Performer always asks before closing the
Choose how you would like Digital Performer to project. This is useful in situations where re-
open when you first launch the application. Digital opening projects might take a long time due to
Performer can do one of three things: virtual instrument loading.
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P RE FER EN C ES A N D S ETTI N GS
Autosave To configure which buttons you would like to
Autosave can be toggled on or off, and the save appear in the Shortcuts window, use the Shortcuts
interval can be specified (from 1 to 60 minutes). preference pane.
You can keep all Autosave files or limit to a certain
number of the most recent ones. Autosaved files go
in an Autosave sub-folder in the project folder.
Document Templates
This “Open” button will open the folder on disk
which contains your Document Template files.
There, you can rename, copy, delete, etc. your
template files.
CONSOLIDATED WINDOW
For details about the Consolidated Window
preferences, see “Consolidated Window
preferences” on page 98.
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CONTROL PANEL Pitch Display
The Control Panel has options to float as a separate The Pitch Display preference lets you choose how
window (with adjustable transparency) or to note octaves are numbered. Also lets you control
appear across the top of the Consolidated Window. how pitches are displayed. Your choices are by note
There are many options for what to show and hide spelling/octave (C3) or by MIDI note number (60).
in the Control Panel. These settings are controlled
in the Control Panel preferences pane. Tempo Display
Digital Performer can display tempos throughout
the program in beats per minute or in clicks per
frame (i.e. “frame clicks”). Frame click tempos can
be displayed with either a slash (/) or a dash (-).
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Regardless of how the tempos are displayed, you Audio pitch automation reference
can type them in using either format and Digital The Audio pitch automation setting lets you adjust
Performer will convert between the formats at an the reference frequency for audio pitch
extremely high degree of resolution (well beyond a automation. This preference defines the A above
hundredth of a bpm). middle C, with a default setting of 440 Hz.
Figure 6-11: In this example, the ‘JF #1 Scat.2’ track is rectified because
it is vertically smaller than the other tracks.
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P R E F E R E NC E S AND SE T T I NG S
Meter Color TRACK COLORS
Meter color can be further customized. Digital Performer allows you to choose any display
color you want for each track. Coloring tracks can
Option Where the color is defined
help you to distinguish them more easily in the
Use Theme’s Meter The theme
Color Track Overview, Mixing Board, MIDI Editor
windows and elsewhere in the program. You can
Use A Custom Color The single color picker
use preset colors or choose any color you want
from the color picker. Digital Performer also
Use A Custom Color The three color pickers, for the bot-
Gradient tom, middle, and peak ranges, provides many different color schemes (sets of
respectively
colors) for you to choose from. You can even create
your own schemes.
Animated examples are shown for each of the
meter color options. The Track Color Preferences
Choose View menu > Color > Track Color
Selection Color Preferences to set the color use preferences:
Selection color can also be further customized.
Platform Path
Mac OS X /Library/Application Support/MOTU/Digital
Performer/Themes/
Press the Open button (Figure 6-12 on page 72) to Figure 6-13: The Track Colors preferences.
open the folder on disk which contains your theme The check boxes in the Track Colors section let you
files. There, you can rename, copy, delete, etc. your enable/disable the use of color in various windows.
theme files.
Use custom track colors
In the Use custom track colors section, use the check
boxes to choose the various windows in which you
would like to display customized track colors.
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P RE FER EN C ES A N D S ETTI N GS
Assign new tracks options over the appearance of waveforms. These controls
The Assign new tracks options let you determine allow you to optimize waveform appearance for
how color is assigned to new tracks when they are your preferred Theme and track color scheme. A
first created. few examples are shown below:
Waveform Colors
The Waveform Colors sliders let you determine how
colors are displayed for soundbite waveforms. Both
the waveform itself, and the background within the
soundbite, have independent saturation and Figure 6-14: A crossfade is displayed with the audio track’s color.
lightness controls, giving you a great deal of control
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P R E F E R E NC E S AND SE T T I NG S
Working with color schemes Modifying a color scheme
A color scheme is a set of related colors that can be To modify a color scheme, double-click it in the
easily interchanged with a different set of related Edit Track Color Schemes dialog (shown in
colors. For example, you could have a “Metallic” Figure 6-15). When you do, the color palette
scheme and a “Earthy Pastels” scheme. Digital appears as shown below in Figure 6-16.
Performer provides several preset schemes, and
you can freely change between them at any time. The swatches in these two
columns can be changed to
You can also create your own schemes. any color you want. Notice
that they have a heavier
border to indicate that they
Changing the color scheme can be changed.
To switch to a different color scheme, go to the
View menu, choose Colors and choose the desired
scheme from the sub-menu. The swatches in the middle
of each row are a gradual
blend from the left-most
Editing color schemes color to the right-most
To edit a color scheme, go to the View menu, color in the row.
To do this Do this
To open the color picker Double-click on any swatch in
Figure 6-15: The Color Schemes dialog. the left-most or right-most col-
umns.
To do this Do this
To fill a swatch using the Click once on the swatch to
To choose a different scheme Click it once to select it and eyedropper tool select it and then move the cur-
then click Done. sor over any color on your
screen — even colors outside
To edit a scheme Double-click it. Or click it once of Digital Performer and its
to highlight it and click the Edit windows.
button.
To move a row up or down Drag the swatch on either end
To delete a scheme Click it once to highlight it and of the row.
click the Delete button.
To flip a row (switch the left- Drag either swatch to the other
To rename a scheme Click it once to highlight it and and right-most swatches) side of the row.
click the Rename button.
To change which swatch is cur- Use the arrow keys, or click the
To duplicate a scheme Click it once to highlight it and rently selected (with a heavy desired swatch.
click the Duplicate button. border)
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P RE FER EN C ES A N D S ETTI N GS
Using the Color Picker Using the color picker to “import” colors (Mac
The color palette (as shown in Figure 6-16 on only)
page 75) also lets you create your own colors using The color picker (as shown in Figure 6-17 above)
the Mac OS or Windows Color Picker. To open the lets you import any color you like using the
color picker for a swatch, just double-click the magnifying glass tool. Just click the magnifying
swatch. Remember, only the swatches in the left- glass, and then move the cursor anywhere on your
most and right-most columns of the palette can be computer screen — even windows, dialogs, icons,
modified. The swatches in the middle of each row and other items outside of Digital Performer (on
are automatically filled with a gradual blend the Mac OS desktop or in other applications
between the colors on either end of the row. running at the same time as Digital Performer).
Figure 6-17: Double-click any swatch with a heavy border to open the
standard Mac OS or Windows color picker. Use the magnifying glass
tool (circled) to “eye-dropper” any color on your screen.
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P R E F E R E NC E S AND SE T T I NG S
Assigning colors The ‘Pick Colors Randomly’ option
The Assign Track Colors sub-menu command The Pick colors randomly option appears for several
(View menu) lets you Assign Track Colors to of the choices above it in the Assign Track Colors
multiple tracks at one time. Numerous options are dialog. When it is checked, it assigns the specified
provided, as shown below in Figure 6-19: colors at random to all currently selected tracks.
When it is unchecked, colors are assigned from the
current color scheme palette starting with the first
color specified and then proceeding to the right
and then down to the beginning of the next row.
AUTOMATIC CONVERSIONS
Digital Performer can automatically convert audio
data wherever necessary to make it conform to the
current project’s sample rate, file format,
interleaved format, and tempo. Because processing
is initiated automatically and carried out via
background processing (for lengthy operations),
Figure 6-19: Assigning colors to many tracks at one time. these auto-conversion features greatly streamline
To use the Assign Track Colors command, select the process of importing audio quickly into your
one or more tracks and then choose View menu > projects, or the process of converting the entire
Colors > Assign Track Colors. Choose the option as project to a different sample rate, file format,
desired and the click OK. Below is a summary of interleaved format, or tempo.
the assign color options:
The Automatic Conversions preferences
Option Explanation (Figure 6-20) provides a global switch (the Enable
according to Track Assigns colors to each track according to Automatic Conversions option), and it also allows
Color Preferences the settings in the Track Color Prefer- you to further specify your preferences for how
ences dialog (Figure 6-13).
audio is automatically converted.
to all different colors Assigns a color to each track from the cur-
rently selected color scheme (palette).
When the “Pick Colors Randomly” check
box is not checked, this option starts at
the beginning of the palette and works its
way towards the end as needed according
to the number of tracks selected. If “Pick
Colors Randomly” is checked, it will
assign colors randomly from the palette.
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P RE FER EN C ES A N D S ETTI N GS
Enabling and disabling automatic conversions in the Soundbites list, or a soundbite that belongs
Use the Enable Automatic Conversions check box to it, and choose Studio menu > Sound File
to turn automatic conversions on or off for the Information. In the Sound File Information
current project. This setting is saved with the window, check or uncheck the items in the
project. You can also toggle this setting with a key Automatic Conversions section as shown below in
binding. Figure 6-21.
On Import
This option, along with the When Bite is Added to A
Track option, converts audio when it is first
imported into Digital Performer, and in the case of
tempo, when it is first placed in a track.
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MIDI EDITING SOUNDBITE LIST
For details about the Soundbite list column setup
MIDI Editor options preferences, see “Showing/hiding columns in the
These two preferences control the MIDI Editor. If
soundbite list” on page 35.
you would like a separate editor window for each
MIDI track (that displays data only for that one TOOLS
track), choose Open one editor for each track. If you
would like one global MIDI Editor window that Cursor Selection Mode
can display one or more MIDI tracks in one The Cursor Selection Mode menu provides several
window (with collapsible track selector list on the choices for selection operations in graphic editor
left side of the window), then choose Open one windows. For complete details, see “Choosing a
MIDI Editor for each sequence. Pointer tool selection mode” on page 498.
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P R E F E R E NC E S AND SE T T I NG S
If you resize the edit window with the zoom button UNDO PRUNING
in its title bar, it will automatically leave room for For details about the Undo Pruning preferences,
the docked Tool palette. see “Pruning preferences” on page 528.
WAVEFORM EDITOR
For details about the Waveform Editor preferences,
see “Waveform Editor preferences” on page 495.
AUDIO OPTIONS
The audio options apply to Digital Performer’s
audio recording features.
Figure 6-22: The Tool palette docked to the upper left corner of edit
windows. The palette automatically docks itself to the front-most edit
window.
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P RE FER EN C ES A N D S ETTI N GS
Show alert when disk(s) can’t keep up with FILM SCORING EVENTS
record For details about Film Scoring Event settings, see
When this preference option is checked, Digital chapter 63, “Streamers, Punches and Flutters”
Performer will display an alert dialog when system (page 731).
resources do not allow it to record audio without
interruption. MIDI SOLO & PATCH THRU
For details about the MIDI Patch Thru preferences,
MultiRecord is always on for audio tracks see “MIDI input monitoring” on page 216.
Causes audio tracks to always be in this mode.
For details about the MIDI Solo Setup settings, see
Punch Guard “‘Partial-solo’” on page 201.
When Always record pre-roll is chosen, Digital
Performer always records extra time before any RECEIVE SYNC
record pass, as specified by the pre-roll duration For details about the Receive Sync settings, see
option provided. When Only record pre-roll when “Using Receive Sync” on page 918.
punching in is enabled, pre-roll is only recorded
when either manually or automatically punching in TRANSMIT SYNC
on the fly. This is the default behavior. For details, For details about the Transmit Sync settings, see
see “Punch Guard” on page 226. chapter 85, “Transmit Sync” (page 939).
CLICK
For details about the click preferences, see “Click
Preferences” on page 234.
CLICK DEFAULTS
For details about the click default options, see
“Click Defaults” on page 236.
COUNTOFF
Figure 6-24: Transport preferences.
For details about the countoff options, see
“Countoff preferences” on page 238.
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P R E F E R E NC E S AND SE T T I NG S
When a note is played ˙
HELP MENU
Digital Performer Help viewer
The Digital Performer Help viewer provides quick
answers to some questions. See “Help Viewer” on
Figure 6-25: Automatic update check
page 185 in the DP Getting Started Guide.
This automatic check can be disabled by
Help Tags deselecting Help menu > Check for Updates
There is a Show Help Tags checkable item under the Automatically. To check for updates manually,
Help menu. choose Help menu > Check for Updates Now.
When checked, you can hover over most items for Additional Help menu resources
a second or two and a “tooltip” description of the The help menu also provides additional resources,
item will appear. including a direct links to PDF files for the Digital
Performer User Guide, Getting Started Guide,
Plug-in Guide, and additional PDF documentation
files. There are also menu items that provide direct
web links for on-line product registration,
technical support, and downloads.
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P RE FER EN C ES A N D S ETTI N GS
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P R E F E R E NC E S AND SE T T I NG S
CHAPTER 7 Time Formats and Display
85
Frame time (hours:minutes:second:frames) SMPTE is useful as a standardized location scheme
when synchronizing to production devices such as
a tape deck or video deck. When synchronizing to
an external time code source, the counter will
Figure 7-3: Specifying SMPTE time in hours, minutes, seconds and
always display the same frame time that is being
frames. received from the external source. You may specify
Frame time is a visual display of SMPTE (Society of the SMPTE location at which the first measure of
Motion Picture and Television Engineers) time the sequence or song starts. with the Set Chunk
code. It is generally used in film and video work, Start Time command described on page 181.
but is also used for synchronization in audio
See chapter 83, “Receive Sync” (page 917) for a
production. Unlike measure time, frame time is
more detailed explanation of syncing to external
used when absolute time location is necessary.
timecode.
It is displayed similarly to real time, in hours,
Samples
minutes, seconds, and frames. Frames are
subdivisions of a second. The first frame number in
a second is zero.
Digital Performer supports these frame formats: Figure 7-4: Specifying time in samples.
23.976 frames per second (fps), 24 fps, 25 fps,
The Samples time format displays the number of
29.97 fps, 29.97 drop-frame, and 30 fps.
digital audio samples since the beginning of the
Additionally, there are three “nonstandard” frame
project. Digital Performer places digital audio in
rates available.
audio tracks with sample-accurate precision. MIDI
Nonstandard frame rates data is stored with even greater precision.
Three nonstandard frame rates are available: 30
TIME FORMATS WINDOW
drop, Legacy 29.97 drop, and Legacy 29.97 non-
The Time Formats window (Setup menu) lets you
drop.
specify the time format to be displayed throughout
■ 30 drop: Use only when you must accommodate
Digital Performer in event lists, time rulers,
this frame rate. You’ll nearly always want to use one dialogs, windows and any place where time is
of the more common frame rates, such as 29.97 displayed.
drop or 30 non-drop.
■ Legacy 29.97 drop and Legacy 29.97 non-drop:
rates.
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Customizing the time format display Saving time format settings with the project
Click the Details triangle to further customize By default, time format settings are global: they
which time formats are displayed in various areas control the display of any project that you open.
of Digital Performer. You can specify certain time However, there are several commands in the time
formats as needed. Formats window mini-menu that allow you to
apply time format settings to the current project.
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TIME FORMATS AND DISPLAY
names. The Next Time Format command cycles 2 trillion PPQ
through all global time formats, including any Digital Performer has a very high internal timing
custom formats you may have created and saved. resolution. In fact, the internal timing resolution is
about two trillion PPQ. In other words, the
Command Default keyboard shortcut number that Digital Performer now uses to store
Next Time Format Shift-period (.) the location of each MIDI event is a 64-bit number,
Show Measure Time Command-Option-Control-M which can express a range of numbers up to over
Ctrl-Alt-Win-M 8,000,000,000,000,000,000. A quarter note can be
Show Real-time Time Command-Option-Control-R divided into 2,000,000,000,000 parts, while still
Ctrl-Alt-Win-R allowing a sequence over 4,000,000 quarter notes
long.
Show Frame Time Command-Option-Control-F
Ctrl-Alt-Win-F
Adjustable PPQ display
Show Sample Time none This very high degree of internal precision serves
as the basis for Digital Performer’s adjustable PPQ
MIDI display resolution resolution. Digital Performer allows you to view
When displaying the time of MIDI data, Digital and edit MIDI data at any PPQ resolution you
Performer divides a quarter note into 480 ticks by want.
default, giving the program 480 PPQ (parts per
quarter note) timing resolution. A quarter note is PPQ affects data display only
480 ticks long, an 8th note is 240 ticks, a 16th note The adjustable PPQ resolution settings only affect
is 120 ticks, and so forth. how data is displayed in Digital Performer. They
have no effect on how the data is recorded or played
back. For example, data would be recorded just as
accurately at 96 PPQ as it would at 9600 PPQ.
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TIME FORMATS AND DISPLAY
move a note by 0.0001 of a tick. In doing so, you’ve
just nudged it by one one-hundred millionth of a
quarter note.
Figure 7-9: If you’re a seasoned Digital Performer user, you can stick
with 480 ticks per quarter note, and simply add decimal places to
increase precision. In this example, three decimal places are being
used, producing a thousand times the resolution of previous versions
of Digital Performer.
If you’re a Logic or Cubase user who has switched Figure 7-10: With the above settings, one tick equals one one-
hundred millionth of a quarter note.
to Digital Performer, you could choose 960 or
1920, respectively. For even better PPQ resolution, PPQ chart
add extra decimal places (e.g. 960.000 or The following page shows a chart that displays the
1920.000). length in ticks of various note durations at several
common PPQ resolutions.
What’s the minimum/maximum PPQ?
The minimum PPQ resolution you can choose is 2. SETTING THE START TIME
The maximum PPQ resolution you can choose is The start time serves as the base reference for all
10,000.0000. At this maximum resolution, you can time readouts in Digital Performer. It is the time
displayed in the counter when you rewind to the
beginning. For details on setting the start time, see
“Setting the start time” on page 181.
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TIME FORMATS AND DISPLAY
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TIME FORMATS AND DISPLAY
CHAPTER 8 Commands
OPENING THE COMMANDS WINDOW Figure 8-1: To search for a command, type in a text string and click
The Commands window is opened by choosing it Search.
from the Setup menu. The window contains a list
To clear the search results and return to the regular
of all assignable commands in Digital Performer. It
view, click the “x” button at the right side of the
is arranged in columns that display two keyboard
search field, or press the Escape key.
assignments, a MIDI event assignment and master
group designation. Browsing with the list navigation commands
You can use the List Navigation Commands to
navigate the Commands window, select any
command and give it a key binding.
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COMMAND GROUPS The General Master governs all commands that are
Commands are visually organized into logical not covered by the other master commands
groups. For example, all menu items found under (Navigation, POLAR, Sound Selection, etc.)
the File menu are grouped together. Each group
can be displayed or hidden by clicking the You can see which master a command is assigned
disclosure triangle to the left of the group name. to by widening the Commands window to view the
Option/Alt-clicking a disclosure triangle will show master assignment column, as shown below:
or hide all groups.
disabled MIDI Master You can use any key you want, except for the delete
key, which removes the current key binding, if any.
active MIDI Master
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C O M M ANDS
in your setup, you may want to dedicate a EXPORT KEY BINDINGS
controller exclusively to executing Digital Commands are stored in the “Command Bindings”
Performer commands. file inside the Digital Performer Preferences folder.
Key bindings can also be exported to a file which
NUMERIC BASE NOTE can be imported at a later date.
The Numeric Base Note is an arbitrary MIDI note
of your choice. It is used to specify numbers from This allows you to:
your MIDI controller when using other remotes
■ Create libraries of key binding sets with different
that require you to specify something by number.
To designate the base note, choose Set Numeric personalities.
Base Note from the mini-menu in the Commands ■ Back up your key bindings.
window.
■ Export your key bindings for use on another
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C O M MA N D S
To import a set of key bindings, select Import Key Ignore new commands
Bindings from the Commands window mini-menu This option does not add new commands
(Figure 8-5). introduced in a new version of Digital Performer (if
any) to the Commands window.
This will bring up the standard open dialog box
where you can choose a key bindings file to import. Merge new commands
This option merges any new commands included
When importing commands, Digital Performer with a new version of Digital Performer with your
gives you the option of merging the new shortcuts current set of commands. If you have customized
(ones that differ from your current shortcuts) with any key bindings, they will be preserved.
your current set, and you can save or print a list of
bindings that don’t match. Merge new commands and save the old ones
This option does the same as the option above, but
UPGRADING COMMAND BINDINGS it also saves a copy of your old command set on
There are several startup preferences in the disk in your user directory, in case you wish to
Preferences and Settings window in the Digital revert back to the old set using the Commands
Performer menu (Mac OS) or Edit menu window mini-menu Import command.
(Windows) for the Commands window. These
preferences let you decide what to do with your Ask when upgrading commands
Command key bindings when upgrading to a new Check this option if you would like to be asked
version of Digital Performer: what to do with your commands when upgrading
to a new version of Digital Performer.
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CHAPTER 9 Consolidated Window
95
QUICK REFERENCE Left/right sidebar dividers: Drag these dividers to
Main body: This is the main section of the resize the sidebars; double-click the divider to
Consolidated Window. It displays tabs across the open or close the sidebars.
top for switching among Digital Performer’s
various editors and other windows. Window selector: Lets you choose what is
displayed in the sidebar section. Each sidebar cell
Tabs: Click the tabs to switch the main body to the has its own window selector.
desired editor. Command/Ctrl-click on a tab to
close all rows except for the one you clicked on. Sidebar tabs: Each sidebar cell contains one
window by default, but you can add additional
Left/right sidebar: These are resizable columns windows as tabs. To add another tab, choose the
that flank the main body and can be independently “Add tab” item under the Window selector menu,
shown or hidden. In addition, the sidebars can be or hold Option/Alt while selecting another
divided horizontally into any number of window. Click the “x” button on a tab to close it, or
independent sections. hold Option/Alt and click the “x” button to close all
other tabs in the cell.
Sidebar Sidebar Left sidebar Tabs Control Panel Tab Right sidebar Window Tab Sidebar
cells tabs divider bar divider selector bar divider
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Tab bar: The tab bar displays tabs for the cell (or For example, open the window set named
window). Double-click any empty portion of the Editing+Mixer Strip. In this window set, the
tab bar to remove the window or sidebar cell from Mixing Board is parked to the side in a narrow
the Consolidated Window and makes it a separate strip. When you select a track for editing, the fader
window. The tab bar area then turns into a pop- for that track scrolls into view in the Mixing Board
back-in area, which puts the window back into the strip. As another example, open the window set
Consolidated Window. named Soundbite Browser. This window set shows
the Sequence Editor, the Waveform Editor and the
WINDOW MENU Soundbite list. When you select soundbites in the
These items under the Window menu apply to the Sequence Editor, the Waveform Editor
Consolidated Window. automatically switches to display that audio file.
Show/Hide Left/Right Sidebar: Shows or hides the You don’t have to use the Consolidated Window if
sidebar. Keyboard shortcuts are Shift-[ and Shift-]. you don’t want to. If you would like to work with
independent windows as in earlier versions of
Set Focus to Next/Previous Cell: In the
Digital Performer, simply deselect them in the
Consolidated Window, the focus is the section of
Consolidated Window preferences (Figure 9-2).
the window with the slightly darker shaded title
This allows certain features to be displayed in the
bar. Some operations in Digital Performer only
Consolidated Window and others to be displayed
apply to the section that currently has the focus. It
in a window by themselves.
is equivalent to the active (front-most) window
when you are working with multiple windows. Use Whenever you want a window to come out of the
these commands to set the focus to the next or Consolidated Window, simply double-click in its
previous cell in the window. popout area (Figure 9-7 on page 103). To put a
stand-alone window into the Consolidated
Close Cell: Removes the specified cell (the cell that
Window, double-click its pop-back-in area
currently has the focus).
(Figure 9-8 on page 103). Whenever you create a
Pop Out of/Into Consolidated Window: Pops the window layout that you like, you can save it as a
active cell or window out of or back into the window set for easy recall later. For details about
Consolidated Window. Keyboard shortcut is window sets, see chapter 10, “Window Sets”
Control/Win-1. (page 105).
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CONSOLIDATED WINDOW PREFERENCES Consolidated Window and then close the window,
To open the Consolidated Window preferences, the next time you open that window during the
choose Preferences from the Digital Performer session, it will open as a stand-alone window.
menu (Mac OS) or the Edit menu (Windows) and Similarly, if you pop a window back into the
the click on Consolidated Window item in the list, Consolidated Window, and then close it (close the
as shown below in Figure 9-2: window’s cell), the next time you open it, it will
appear in the Consolidated Window, even if it is
turned off in the preferences. The rule of thumb is
this: during a session, windows open in the
location they were in when they were last closed.
Figure 9-2: The Consolidated Window preferences. Maximum rows to add in a sidebar
This preference controls how many rows are added
These preferences are global (they apply across all
to the sidebar sections of the Consolidated
Digital Performer projects).
Window when using the normal methods of
opening and closing windows. After the maximum
Choosing which windows to display in the
Consolidated Window has been reached, when opening a window that will
This preference determines what happens when open in the Consolidated Window sidebar, tabs
you first open a window. Use the list shown in will be added to the existing sidebar cells. However,
Figure 9-2 to specify which windows do or do not it does not limit the number of rows you can create
appear in the Consolidated Window when they are manually. You can always split the sidebars into as
opened. Click a window to highlight (include) or many sections as you wish by dragging the bottom
unhighlight (exclude) it. If a window is included in divider or by Option/Alt-dragging an intermediate
this list, and you then go to open the window, it will divider.
open the Consolidated Window with that chosen
window displayed in it. If a window is excluded, it Maximum Event Lists to add
This preference controls how many Event Lists will
will open as its own separate window.
be opened as separate sections in the Consolidated
During the course of using Digital Performer in a Window. For example, if you set the maximum to
session, using a window’s popout and pop-back-in 2, then you can open two separate Event List
areas (as explained in “Popping windows in and sections in the left or right sidebar. If you then
out” on page 102) overrides this preference. For attempt to open a third Event List, it will replace
example, if you pop a window out of the one of the two already displayed.
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This preference only limits how many Event Lists Scroll the Mixing Board to the Selection: If this
will be opened when using the normal methods of preference is checked, and the Mixing Board is
opening and closing Event Lists. It does not limit being displayed in the Consolidated Window, it
the number you can create manually (using the will scroll to the channel strip for a track as soon as
sidebar cell menu as shown in Figure 9-5 on you select the track — or select some data in the
page 101). track — in any editor. This option is particularly
useful when you are displaying the Mixing Board
Additional Consolidated Window preferences in a sidebar, as demonstrated in Figure 9-1 on
The Consolidated Window has the following page 96. There is a keyboard shortcut for toggling
additional preferences (Figure 9-2 on page 98): this command in the Commands window, which
you can assign to any keyboard shortcut you wish.
Open Old Documents Using Consolidated
Window: If you want old documents (saved in Update the Waveform Editor to the Selection: If
previous versions of Digital Performer) to open the Waveform Editor is being displayed in the
with their window layout preserved exactly as it Consolidated Window, and this item is checked,
was last saved, uncheck this option. If you want the Waveform Editor will always display any
them to open with a Consolidated Window layout soundbite that you select in other editors (such as
that matches your current Consolidated preference the Track Overview or Sequence Editor). There is a
settings, check this option. For further details, see keyboard shortcut for toggling this command in
“Opening old documents” on page 103. the Commands window, which you can assign to
any keyboard shortcut you wish.
Open Old Window Sets Using Consolidated
Window: If you want old window sets (saved in Update Edit windows to Play Chunk: When this
previous versions of Digital Performer) to open preference option is checked, editor windows (such
with their window layout preserved exactly as it as the Event List, MIDI Editor, etc.) will always
was last saved, uncheck this option. If you want show tracks from the currently play-enabled
them to open with a Consolidated Window layout sequence or song. If you play-enable a different
that matches your current Consolidated preference sequence or song, edit windows will update to
settings, check this option. For further details, see reflect this change. There is a keyboard shortcut for
“The Consolidated Window and Window Sets” on toggling this command in the Commands window,
page 103. which you can assign to any keyboard shortcut.
Close document when Consolidated Window OPENING THE CONSOLIDATED WINDOW
closes: The Consolidated Window is considered to To open the Consolidated Window, open any
be the Digital Performer document window. By window that is currently configured to appear in
default, closing the Consolidated Window also the Consolidated Window, as explained in
closes the project entirely. Uncheck this option if “Choosing which windows to display in the
you want to be able to close the Consolidated Consolidated Window” on page 98. You can also
Window without closing the project. open the Consolidated Window:
Mixing Board default preference: This preference ■ by choosing a window set that contains it, or
lets you choose where the Mixing Board opens in
■ by double-clicking the pop-back-in area
the Consolidated Window, by default. See “The
Mixing Board” on page 101. (Figure 9-8 on page 103) on an individual window.
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GOING FULL SCREEN When displaying shortcuts and the tool bar, you
The Consolidated window supports the full-screen can further show/hide the desired tools and
feature in Windows and Mac OS X 10.7 or later. shortcuts.
When the Consolidated window is full screen,
plug-in windows float above it.
THE SIDEBARS
Sidebars display list windows, monitors and
Figure 9-3: When the Sequence Editor and other windows are legends. To open the left-hand or right-hand
displayed in the Consolidated window, their title bar appears as the
Tab bar at the top of the cell. sidebar, double-click the divider as shown in
Figure 9-3, or simply drag it towards the center of
THE CONTROL PANEL the Consolidated Window. You can also use the
The Control Panel appears across the top of the keyboard shortcuts (Shift-[ or Shift-]). Likewise, to
Consolidated Window. Like other cells, it can be close a sidebar, double-click the divider, drag it
popped in or out. It is also highly configurable, towards the edge of the Consolidated Window,
allowing you to show and hide sections. A Compact until it disappears, or use its keyboard shortcut
Height option conserves even more screen space. (Shift-[ and Shift-]).
To access these settings, visit the Control Panel
preferences (Figure 6-7 on page 71), or right-click
anywhere on its background (Figure 9-4 below).
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Sidebar cell Using multiple tabs in one cell
menu Each sidebar cell contains one window by default;
choosing a different window from the window
selector menu will change the current window to
the newly selected window.
Figure 9-5: The sidebar cell menu lets you choose what is displayed in THE MIXING BOARD
the cell.
The Mixing Board is a special case because it can be
Choosing what to display in a sidebar cell displayed either in the main body (center) section
You can choose what is displayed in a sidebar cell of the Consolidated Window or in either sidebar.
via a menu accessed by clicking on the current
The center section is better for viewing many
window’s title, as shown above in Figure 9-5.
channels at a time. For example, you could display
Resizing the sidebar several dozen faders in the center section below the
To resize the sidebar horizontally, drag its divider. Sequence Editor, as demonstrated below:
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DRAGGING CELLS
You can drag a window from one cell to another by
grabbing its tab bar with the hand cursor and
dragging it to the desired location. Some of the
main tabs in the center section cannot be dragged
(or displayed) in sidebar cells. But you can freely
drag sidebar sections to any new location within
either sidebar, as well as freely drag body sections
above or below one another in the center section.
The sidebars are best for showing just one — or CELL FOCUS
several — channel strips at a time, as demonstrated In the Consolidated Window, the focus is the cell in
in the left sidebar in Figure 9-1 on page 96. the window with the blue (or shaded) title (tab)
bar. (The default color is blue in DP’s factory
Mixing Board preference default UI theme, but it is different in other
There is a preference (Figure 9-2 on page 98) for
themes.) Some operations in Digital Performer
whether the Mixing Board appears in the body or
only apply to the cell that currently has the focus. It
in a sidebar by default.
is equivalent to the active (front-most) window
when you are working with multiple windows.
USING HORIZONTAL DIVIDERS
To divide the body or the sidebars into two more
To apply the focus to a cell, click its Tab bar with the
horizontal sections, grab the horizontal divider at
hand cursor. Its Tab bar turns darker. You can also
the bottom of the section and drag up.
use the Set Focus to Next/Previous Cell Window
You can divide sidebars into as many horizontal menu commands. You can also apply cell-related
sections (cells) as you like. features to that cell, such as removing it as
explained in the next section.
You can divide the body (center) into as many
horizontal sections as you like, regardless of the GETTING RID OF A CELL
To remove a cell from the Consolidated window,
maximum number of rows set by the preferences
give it the focus (as explained in the previous
(Figure 9-2 on page 98).
section), and then choose Close Cell from the mini-
In both the sidebar and body, you can also create menu. You can also click its Tab bar close button.
additional dividers by Option/Alt-dragging an The cell can also be moved out of the Consolidated
existing divider. Window by dragging it as explained above or
popping it out as explained below.
If you’d like to close all of the rows in the body and
display only one row, Command/Ctrl-click on the POPPING WINDOWS IN AND OUT
tab for the window you wish to display. The The empty space in the Tab bar of each cell
window you Command/Ctrl-click doesn’t have to constitutes its popout button. Double-click this
be open already when you click on it. area to move the cell out of the Consolidated
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Window and make it a separate window. The Working with the Consolidated Window can feel
keyboard shortcut for this is Control/Win-1 much different than working with the separated
(which pops out the cell that currently has the window layouts in previous versions of Digital
focus). Performer. Therefore, you may wish to open old
window sets (last saved in a previous version of
Tab bar Digital Performer) with the same separated
window layout. You can then gradually migrate the
windows in these older windows sets into the
Consolidated Window at your leisure, as you get
accustomed to working with the Consolidated
Window.
Figure 9-7: Double-click the Tab bar to extract the cell and make it an If this is the case, uncheck the Open old window sets
independent window.
using Consolidated Window preference option
Conversely, when windows are open on their own, (Figure 9-2 on page 98).
double-click the Tab bar to “pop” the window back
into the Consolidated Window in its original On the other hand, if you wish to directly migrate
location. the window layout of your old window sets into the
Consolidated Window as soon as you open them,
Tab bar in a Tab bar show/hide button then check the Open old window sets using
separate window (Mac OS X only) Consolidated Window preference option
(Figure 9-2 on page 98).
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these older files into the Consolidated Window at
your leisure, as you get accustomed to working
with the Consolidated Window.
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CHAPTER 10 Window Sets
105
Renaming a window set 4 Click anywhere outside the text box.
To rename a window set, click its name in the Edit
Window Sets dialog as shown in Figure 10-2 to WINDOW SET TIPS AND TRICKS
highlight it and then click the Rename button. When you save a window set, only edit windows
from a single chunk are stored. The top-most open
Deleting a window set window that belongs to a chunk (such as a Tracks
To delete a window set, click its name in the Edit window, Event List or Song window) determines
Window Sets dialog as shown in Figure 10-2 to which chunk this is. If there are no open windows
highlight it and then click the Delete button. that belong to a chunk, the play enabled chunk is
used. All editing windows that belong to the target
Changing the order of window sets in the chunk are remembered, as well as all the other non-
menu
editing windows. Edit windows that do not belong
To change the order of the window sets in the
to the target chunk are ignored.
Window menu, click on the icon to the left of their
name in the Edit Window Sets dialog as shown in
When a window set is recalled, a similar process is
Figure 10-2 and then drag them up or down as
applied in reverse. First, the target chunk is
desired in the list.
determined by looking at the open windows — or
the play-enabled chunk, if necessary. Then for each
Assigning a keyboard shortcut to a window set
To assign a keyboard shortcut to a window set: edit window type in the window set, Digital
Performer looks for an existing open window
1 Choose Window Sets>Edit Window Sets from belonging to the target chunk that matches the
the Window menu. window in the set. If no existing open window is
found, the system tries to open one based on the
2 Click on the dash to the right of the window set name of the track in the window when it was saved
name. with the window set.
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Part 3
Sequences and
Tracks
CHAPTER 11 Sequence Basics
OVERVIEW V-Rack
Digital Performer is modeled after the straight- V-Racks™ (virtual racks) are similar to sequences,
forward, conventional concept of a multitrack except that they have no time domain and they do
recorder. For a multitrack tape recorder, the basic not hold track data or automation. The only types
unit of musical organization is a reel of tape. of tracks that you can add to them are Instrument
Typically, one song would be recorded on one reel tracks, aux tracks and master faders. As such, they
of tape. are intended to be used as “effects” racks, a
centralized location for effects processing and
In Digital Performer, the basic unit of organization virtual instruments.
is called a sequence (a term that originates from
Digital Performer’s roots as a MIDI sequencer). A For more information, see chapter 65, “V-Racks”
sequence holds a set of tracks. (Think of a sequence (page 747).
as a reel of tape — or one section of the tape, like
the chorus or the first verse.) Each track, in turn, Song
holds an individual stream of MIDI or audio data. A song is a collection of chunks that you organize
to play back in the preferred order and
Every Digital Performer project must contain at combination. Each song has its own Conductor
least one sequence. By default, this sequence is track, end time, and markers. Each song has its
named “Seq-1”. own Song window, where you arrange the chunks
that comprise the song.
Unlike analog tape, Digital Performer sequences
can hold as many tracks you like. For more information, see chapter 66, “Songs”
(page 753).
Chunk types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Managing sequences, V-racks and songs . . . . . . . . . . . 109 MANAGING SEQUENCES, V-RACKS AND
SONGS
CHUNK TYPES The Chucks window lets you add, duplicate, delete,
There are three kinds of chunks: sequences, and rename, and otherwise manage multiple
V-Racks, and songs. Each type is described briefly sequences, V-racks and songs in your Digital
below. Performer project. For complete details, see
chapter 64, “Chunks Window” (page 737).
Sequence
A sequence is a complete performance of MIDI
and/or audio consisting of any number of tracks,
which are shown in the Tracks Windows, edit
windows, Mixing Board, and so on. Each track
contains MIDI or audio data which may be
assigned to a MIDI destination or audio output. A
sequence also has a Conductor track, which
contains meter, key, and tempo information.
109
110
SE Q UE NC E B ASI C S
CHAPTER 12 Track Basics
OVERVIEW effects. You can record any audio you want into an
Each track in Digital Performer holds an individual audio track, including speech, vocals, sound
stream of MIDI or audio data. Each track has its effects, etc.
own settings, input/output assignment, and a
separate mixer channel. Tracks can be edited Instrument tracks
individually or together with other tracks. They An instrument track is a special kind of audio track
can be grouped into track folders. which has a virtual instrument plug-in as its first
effects insert. Virtual instrument plug-ins work
Basic track types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 very much like synthesizers, samplers and other
Special track types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 hardware instruments: you send them MIDI data
Track settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 and they output an audio signal. Instrument tracks
Creating a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 do not contain MIDI or audio data, but you can
Creating several tracks at once. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 insert and record mix automation data into an
Creating multiple track types at once. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Instrument track. For details, see chapter 16,
Duplicating a track’s settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 “Instrument Tracks” (page 139).
Duplicating a track’s settings and data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Renaming a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Aux tracks
Deleting a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 An Aux track is a special kind of audio track that
routes an input directly to an output. You cannot
BASIC TRACK TYPES record audio into an Aux track, nor can you place
A sequence can have the following types of tracks. pre-recorded audio into it. But you can insert and
record mix automation data into an Aux track.
MIDI tracks
A MIDI track is where MIDI data is recorded, Aux tracks are primarily intended as a routing
edited and played back. In Digital Performer, MIDI mechanism. Aux tracks allow you to route audio
data is stored in a MIDI track without channel from any source to any destination. For example,
information. Instead, each track can be assigned to you can route several audio tracks to a single effects
play back to one or more MIDI channels. During plug-in that you have placed on an Aux track effects
playback, the MIDI data in the track is transmitted insert.
to the assigned channels. Any MIDI instrument
that is listening to (receiving on) that same channel Master Fader tracks
will respond to the MIDI data from the track. A Master Fader track controls the overall level of a
output or bus bundle. Like Aux tracks, master fader
Audio tracks tracks have no record button, and you cannot place
An audio track is where digital audio data is audio in them. Instead, the master fader track
recorded, edited, and played back. It could be a provides an output assignment and volume control
recording of a single instrument, containing any and automation over the output or bus you assign
number of punch-ins and overdubs for the to it. The most common way to use a master fader
instrument. Or it could contain a wide variety of is as a sub-mix fader for an output (or a bus) to
sounds occurring at different times, such as sound
111
which you have assigned a group of audio tracks. Name
You can then control (automate, process, etc.) To change the name of a track, click it while
them as a group with the master fader. holding down the Option/Alt key and edit the text
as desired in the resulting box. To confirm your
SPECIAL TRACK TYPES change, press the Return key. To cancel the change,
In addition to the basic track types, there are two press the Command and period keys, or the Escape
special-purpose tracks. key. You can also click outside the box to confirm
your edit. Use the Enter or Down Arrow key to OK
The Conductor track the name change and move to the next track in the
The Conductor track stores meter, key, tempo, and
list. Use the Up Arrow key to OK the name change
marker information. For details, see the chapter 54,
and move to the previous name in the list. The
“Conductor Track” (page 677).
Conductor Track’s name cannot be changed.
The Movie track
The track type icon
The Movie track is for playback and display
Digital Performer provides the following types of
purposes only, and is displayed only in the
tracks, with the following icons to identify them in
Sequence Editor. For details, see chapter 35,
the Track List:
“Sequence Editor” (page 331).
Icon Track type
TRACK SETTINGS Conductor track
All basic track types have the following common
track settings: MIDI track
■ Play/mute
Quad surround audio track
■ Solo exemption
LCRS surround audio track
■ Output assignment
5.1 surround audio track
■ Take
6.1 surround audio track
■ Automation settings
■ Lock 7.1 surround audio track
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TRACK BASICS
Play/mute soloing, such as master faders and aux returns. In
The Play-Enable button engages a track for addition, there might be disk tracks that you wish
playback. When the button is lit, the track plays; to always hear as you work (such as a tempo
when the button is empty, the track is muted. If reference of some kind). For cases like these, tracks
muted, the data for the track is still there; you are provide a setting called Solo Exempt, which appears
just silencing the track during playback. Click the as a column in the Track List labeled XMPT. If you
button to toggle between these two states. click in this column for a track, it turns on solo
exemption for the track. This means that the track
Any number of tracks may be play-enabled at one will not be muted when other tracks are soloed. To
time, but your MIDI and audio hardware resources further indicate this, the track’s solo button in the
— the MIDI devices in your studio and the audio Mixing Board disappears. Master faders are always
hardware installed in your computer — ultimately solo exempt; therefore, their setting in the Track
determine how many tracks you can truly play all List cannot be toggled. Aux tracks are always Solo
at once. Exempt by default (although you can defeat their
exempt status, if you wish). Solo exempt status can
When Solo mode is engaged, clicking the play
also be toggled in the track settings menus in the
button toggles between play-enabled (blue) and
Sequence Editor and the Mixing Board (below the
muted (orange) or disabled (gray), depending on
track name).
its state before entering solo mode.
Here are a few shortcuts for play-enabling tracks: to Figure 12-1: Solo-exempted tracks will not be muted when other
tracks are soloed. In this example, the track “Aux-1’ and the master
toggle the status of several tracks at one time, just fader are exempted.
drag (“glide”) over their play buttons. To Play-
enable all tracks except for one, command click its Output assignment
play-enable button. To play-enable only one track the Output column displays the destination for the
and unplay-enable all others, Option/Alt-click the MIDI or audio data in the track.
track’s play-enable button. This convention also
MIDI tracks, are assigned to a MIDI device in your
applies throughout Digital Performer to similar
studio followed by a dash and a MIDI channel
toggle buttons, such as record-enable buttons, play
number (between 1 and 16). It can also be a MIDI
and record buttons in other windows (such as the
device group, which consists of several devices.
Sequence Editor), and Lock buttons in various
The list of possible MIDI devices is provided by
windows.
your MIDI device configuration (Setup menu >
For important information about track soloing and Bundles > MIDI Devices tab). For information, see
how it relates to the play-enable buttons, see “Choosing a MIDI output destination” on
“Soloing Tracks” on page 201. page 126, “Multiple output destinations” on
page 127 and “Changing the MIDI device list” on
Solo exemption page 127.
When you solo a track, the track you solo plays and
all other tracks are muted. However, there are often
tracks that should never be muted, even during
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TRACK BASICS
Audio tracks are assigned to physical outputs on See “Track colors” on page 73 for more
your audio hardware (such as the headphone information on creating, using, and editing color
output of your computer or a pair of outputs on an schemes, and “Assigning colors” on page 77 for
audio interface), or to one of Digital Performer’s details about how to assign colors to multiple
internal busses. For information, see chapter , tracks at one time.
“Choosing an audio input and output” (page 135).
Comment
Take The Comment is a remark that you can display for
The Take menu is used to manage track takes. For the track. It is simply a space for text that you can
more information, see chapter 48, “Takes and use for whatever purposes you wish. To enter or
Comping” (page 611). change a comment, click on it and enter or edit the
text. Click OK or the Enter key to confirm your
Automation settings entry, or press Cancel or Command/Ctrl-period (.)
This menu lets you specify various mix automation to cancel it. As much of the comment as possible is
settings for the track. For details, see “Automation displayed in the Track List. If you wish to see the
settings in other windows” on page 797. entire comment, click on it.
Lock You can edit the comments for each track in
When a track is unlocked (the default setting), all succession: after bringing up a comment box, press
data in the track stays anchored to its measure the Down Arrow key to approve the changes you’ve
location. If you change the tempo of the sequence, made and move to the comment for the next track.
the SMPTE frame location of the data will change. The Up Arrow key likewise moves to the comment
for the previous track.
When a track is locked, all data in the track stays
anchored to its current SMPTE frame location,
CREATING A TRACK
even if you change the tempo of the sequence. To create a track, choose the desired track type
from the Project menu > Add Track submenu:
Color
To choose a color for a track, click on the color MIDI, mono audio, stereo audio, and so on. New
swatch next to the track name in the Tracks List, as tracks are added to the Track List, the Sequence
shown below in Figure 12-2. Editor, and all other windows that display tracks.
In addition, a fader strip is added to the Mixing
Board. You can create as many tracks as you like. If
a current track is selected when you add new
tracks, the new tracks are added below the selected
track (or the last selected track, if more than one is
selected).
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TRACK BASICS
CREATING MULTIPLE TRACK TYPES AT DUPLICATING A TRACK’S SETTINGS AND
ONCE DATA
If you want to add multiple tracks that are a mix of To duplicate one or more existing tracks, including
different track types (MIDI, audio and instrument the contents of the tracks, select the tracks you wish
tracks, for example), choose Project menu> Create to duplicate and choose Duplicate Tracks from the
Tracks. Project menu. The new track will have the word
“copy “ appended to its name.
RENAMING A TRACK
Option/Alt-click the track name to change it.
DELETING A TRACK
To delete a track, select it and choose Delete Tracks
from the Project menu. The track will be removed
from the sequence. Delete several tracks at once by
selecting them all before choosing the Delete Track
command. When a track is deleted, all of its data is
gone. You can undo the Delete command. You may
also assign a keyboard shortcut to the Delete
Figure 12-3: Create Tracks.
Tracks command.
115
TRACK BASICS
116
TRACK BASICS
CHAPTER 13 Bundles
Tabs
Available inputs,
Bundle type menu outputs or busses
A mono bundle
Add/delete bundle
buttons
Figure 13-1: The Bundles window (Studio menu).
117
switch a bus from an outboard reverb to an internal Creating an audio bundle from assignment
plug-in, the Bundles window allows you to rewire menus
your entire project in a single operation. Anywhere in Digital Performer where you can
choose an input or output assignment, such as in
You can even change the behavior of existing the Tracks window, you can also create a new
bundles. If you decide you want to make a bundle.
surround mix of your stereo project, simply change
your primary output assignment from a stereo
bundle to a surround bundle.
BUNDLE TYPES
The Bundles window has tabs that display inputs,
outputs, busses, instrument outputs, and MIDI
devices. Click on a tab to view the type of bundle Figure 13-2: Creating a new output bundle from the Track List.
you wish to edit. Before adding or removing After a bundle is defined, it will remain available
bundles, be sure you are looking at the correct tab. until the bundle is deleted.
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BUNDLES
WORKING WITH TILES ON THE GRID BUNDLE CHANNEL FORMATS
The Bundles window consists of a grid where you After you’ve created a bundle, choose a channel
can place and move tiles that connect audio format for it (mono, stereo, 5.1 surround, etc.)
bundles (rows) to their sources or destinations from the menu to its right, as shown below.
(columns). You make a connection by placing a tile
in the grid square that intersects the bundle (row)
with its source or destination (column).
EXPORTING AND IMPORTING BUNDLES arrangement of the channel tiles in the grid)
There are two options in the Bundles window
mini-menu that allow you to exchange bundles If you switch to a different hardware driver, the
between Digital Performer projects. bundles you’ve created remain, but you can
completely reconfigure the properties listed above
Import Bundles: Imports saved bundles into the without disturbing these same properties for the
current Digital Performer project. original hardware driver. For example, if you are
working with a MOTU 2408mk3 (or other
Clear and Import Bundles: Clears the existing PCI-424 based audio interface), and you then
bundles and imports saved bundles into the switch to built-in audio, you can change the
current Digital Performer project. physical output assignments (move the tiles) for a
bundle for built-in audio without disturbing your
Export Bundles: Exports all audio bundles for use 2408mk3 output assignments.
in any other Digital Performer project.
This same principle applies when switching
between different MOTU drivers (such as from the
PCI-424 driver to the MOTU FireWire driver).
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BUNDLES
Bundles and panners
The output bundle assigned to a track determines
the type of panner it has. There are three primary
types of panners: Surround Panners, Stereo
Panners and mono (direct). Stereo panners look
and operate exactly like stereo pan knobs on a
normal mixing console. Surround panners consist
of a panning ‘puck’ inside a panner dish. The
operation is similar to how a joystick works. Mono
bundles remove the panner altogether, offering a
direct path from the channel to the bus or output.
Figure 13-4: The output bundle assigned to a track determines what REASSIGNING BUNDLES
type of panner it has in the Mixing Board.
After a bundle is defined, you can move the
A mixing board can contain multiple types of assignment to another location. This is a powerful
bundles and even multiple surround formats. You feature of bundles.
can mix in surround, send multiple mono outputs
to a digital mixing board and create a stereo mix To reassign the reverb send of a an entire project to
simultaneously. a new set of busses, simply grab the bundle tiles
and move to the new assignment.
Direct line outputs
Mono audio bundles allow you to bypass panners if
you wish to use Digital Performer like a tape
recorder. This is useful if you use an external
mixing board to mix. In Figure 13-5 below, see
eight mono bundles are routed to eight analog
outputs on a MOTU 828mk3 audio interface.
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BUNDLES
To swap the left right output of a stereo bundle,
drag the bundle tile onto its opposite channel.
Figure 13-7: The Bundles window allows you to change the behavior
of a bundle with a pull down menu.
Stereo bundles can be split over non-adjacent
destination pairs. Audio Bundles can be created that share outputs
with a surround bundle so you can directly assign
audio to those outputs. For example, as shown in
Figure 13-1 on page 117, you can create stereo
bundles for the front and rear speaker pairs in a 5.1
mix and mono bundles for the center and LFE
channels. This allows you to send audio directly to
You can double-click a box to move the tiles in that
those outputs without using a surround panner.
row directly to the box (without having to drag
them). For more information on Surround Sound, see
chapter 69, “Mixing in Surround” (page 813).
BUNDLES AND SURROUND SOUND
Surround output bundles can be rewired quickly. If
THE INSTRUMENTS TAB
you find you have mis-wired the physical outputs Some plug-ins and ReWire-compatible
of your monitoring system, it may be easier to applications provide multiple audio outputs. You
switch your output bundle than to move the can use the Instruments tab to route them anywhere
physical connections, particularly if the cables are in the Digital Performer mixing environment. For
in a hard to reach spot. details, see “Multiple audio outputs” on page 142.
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BUNDLES
THE MIDI DEVICES TAB and MIDI out (O) tile for each MIDI device to the
Once you’ve connected your MIDI hardware appropriate MIDI interface port column (the
devices, you are ready to configure them in Digital column that represents the physical port it is
Performer for use in all of your Digital Performer connected to on the MIDI interface). For example,
projects. To do so: in Figure 13-8 the Roland JV-1080 is connected to
MIDI IN port 1 and MIDI OUT port 1 on the
1 Launch Digital Performer. micro express USB interface.
2 Create a new project from the File menu. Devices connected directly with USB, etc.
If you have a controller keyboard or other MIDI
3 Choose Studio menu > Bundles to open the device that connects directly to the computer with
Bundles window. USB, FireWire, or other standard computer
peripheral connection, it will appear above the I/O
4 Click the MIDI Devices tab (Figure 13-8).
grid in the same fashion as the MIDI interface
The MIDI devices tab lets you create and configure shown in Figure 13-8 (as long as its drivers have
MIDI devices connected to your MIDI hardware. been installed successfully). In this case, no
The settings you make here will be available to all additional I/O configuration is required and the
Digital Performer projects. If you transfer the device will be available as a MIDI input and/or
project to another computer system, the devices output, as determined by its driver.
you used will be preserved so that you can easily
Renaming an interface or USB device
remap them as needed.
To rename an interface or USB device above the
Making MIDI connections in the I/O grid grid, double-click its name.
Any connected MIDI interfaces appear across the
Deleting offline interfaces
top of the I/O grid, with their MIDI ports shown in
If your USB MIDI interface or keyboard goes
columns beneath the interface. Use the Add
offline (it gets turned off or disconnected), its
buttons to create MIDI devices, which appear in
name appears in italics. If you wish to remove it
the left-hand column and represent the hardware
from the Bundles window grid, click its name and
connected to the interface. Drag the MIDI in (I)
click the Delete button.
MIDI interface
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BUNDLES
MIDI device properties Patches
Click a MIDI device in the left-hand column to If you have a device which supports expansion
select it and then click the Edit button to specify the boards, such as the Roland JV-1080, use this
manufacturer and model for the device and to section to configure which expansion cards are
make additional device property settings loaded in the device. This will ensure that your
(Figure 13-9). patch lists are displayed accurately.
123
BUNDLES
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BUNDLES
CHAPTER 14 MIDI Tracks
MIDI ONLY
If you would like to run Digital Performer as a
MIDI sequencer only (no digital audio), choose
Setup menu> Audio System>MIDI Only. Doing so
streamlines Digital Performer for MIDI
sequencing, although many “off-line” audio
125
MIDI TRACK SETTINGS CHOOSING AN INPUT SOURCE
Each MIDI track has the following universal track When Multi Record mode (in the Studio menu) is
settings: turned off (unchecked), a record-enabled MIDI
track will record data from any MIDI channel.
■ Name
When Multi Record mode is turned on (checked),
■ Track type icon
each MIDI track can record from an individual
■ Play/mute MIDI device on a particular MIDI channel. This
lets you record into several independent tracks
■ Solo exemption
from several independent sources during a single
■ Output assignment record pass. Each MIDI track displays its own
incoming MIDI device and channel number next
■ Take
to its record-enable button. These device-specific
■ Automation settings recording assignments are only present for MIDI
■ Lock tracks in Multi Record mode. See “Recording
several MIDI tracks in one pass” on page 223 for
■ Color details.
■ Comment
Click on the current input source to change it. If the
For further details on these universal settings, see input assignment for a MIDI track is blank, click in
“Track settings” on page 112. Each MIDI track also the blank space to open a menu of MIDI devices.
has the following MIDI-specific settings: You can select only one device and channel for each
MIDI track. If a device menu does not appear when
■ Record-enable you click on the blank space for a MIDI track,
■ MIDI input source make sure that Multi Record is checked.
127
MIDI TRACKS
channels from any combination of devices in your
MIDI setup. To create a MIDI device group, read
the next section. Click the check
boxes to quickly
☛ Hint: if a track is currently assigned to a MIDI
add MIDI channels
to the MIDI device
device group, and you want to make changes to the group.
Devices groups appear in the same output Add a device to the group Click the menu arrow beneath
the device group name and
assignment list as all the rest of your MIDI devices, choose the desired device and
MIDI channel from the menu.
and they are used to assign multiple MIDI channels
to a single track in the Tracks window. Add several devices quickly Click the Expand/Compress
icon below the device group
name to open up a display of all
the devices in you studio. Then
To create a MIDI device group: click the check boxes that corre-
sponds to the MIDI channels
you want to add to the group.
1 Choose MIDI Device Groups from the Studio
menu to open the MIDI Device Groups window. Close the check box display Click the Expand/Compress
icon below the device group
name again.
2 Choose Add Device Group from the mini-menu.
Remove a device Click the device and choose
None from the menu.
If you would like to add more than one at a time,
Set a default patch for a device If the device is currently
hold down the Option/Alt key while selecting the expanded, close it first by click-
command from the mini-menu. ing the Expand/Compress icon
below the device group name.
Then click in the default patch
column to the right of the device
and choose the desired patch
from the menu.
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MIDI TRACKS
Clear a default patch Click the device name to select it CHOOSING A DEFAULT PATCH (SOUND)
and choose Clear Default Patch The default patch is the sound that the track always
from the mini-menu.
begins with. It is remembered when you save the
Remove a device or device Click the name to select it and
group from the list choose Delete from the mini- Digital Performer project so that the next time you
menu. open the project and press play, the default patch is
Duplicate a device group Click the name to select it and called up from the synthesizer before playback
choose Duplicate from the begins so that the track will play with the correct
mini-menu.
sound. To select a default patch for a track, choose
MIDI DRUM & PERCUSSION TRACKS it from the default patch column or menu.
If you are working with a MIDI drum kit that is
made up of percussion sounds from multiple
THE PATCH LIST
The list of patches (sounds) you see in the Default
devices (a combination of a drum machine,
Patch menu displays the ‘factory’ sound names for
sampler and a synth kit, for example), creating a
many popular MIDI instruments. In some cases,
MIDI device group for the drum kit is not the best
patches are given the generic name “Patch-1”,
way to handle this situation. Instead, it is best to
“Patch-2”, etc.
create a separate track for each drum kit sound and
then use the Drum Editor to work with them
together in one window as a single drum kit. For
details, see chapter 38, “Drum Editor” (page 403).
Click in the Default Patch column (Tracks List) or Default Patch menu
(Sequence Editor) to choose a sound for the track. For many popular
MIDI devices, Digital Performer provides a list of the factory-default
sounds in the instrument.
Figure 14-4: Choosing a MIDI instrument sound from the patch
menu. If you see generic names like “Patch 1, Patch 2”, etc., you can go
ahead and use them anyway, as long as you know what sounds
correspond with each patch change number.
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MIDI TRACKS
If you would like to choose a patch for the track, Octave display
but you do not want the patch to be remembered Displays the current octave being played by the
with the project, choose it from this Patch menu. If MIDI Keys, as controlled by the octave up/down
you do, however, want it to be remembered, choose keys. Or click anywhere on the octave display
it from the Default Patch menu. keyboard to jump directly to the desired octave.
Mod wheel
Press the 4 through 9 keys to apply modulation
wheel as follows:
Octave up/down
Press the minus (-) and equal (=) keys to go down
or up one octave, respectively.
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MIDI TRACKS
Recording into a MIDI track with MIDI Keys
To record into a MIDI track with MIDI Keys,
simply record-enable the MIDI track, start
recording and play MIDI Keys.
131
MIDI TRACKS
132
MIDI TRACKS
CHAPTER 15 Audio Tracks
Integrated MIDI and hard disk audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 AUDIO (DISK) TRACKS
Types of audio tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 An audio track (disk track) is where digital audio
Audio (disk) tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 data is recorded, edited, and played back. It could
Mono, stereo, and surround tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 be a recording of a single instrument, containing
Creating an audio track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 any number of punch-ins and overdubs for the
Creating several audio tracks at once . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 instrument. Or it could contain a wide variety of
Audio track settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 sounds occurring at different times, such as sound
Input source: Audio bundles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 effects. You can record any audio you want into an
Choosing an audio input and output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 audio track, including speech, vocals, sound
Record-enabling an audio track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 effects, etc.
Input monitor enable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Enable/disable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Audio (disk) tracks are the only type of audio track
Monitoring an audio track input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 into which you can record or place audio. They can
Changing audio track settings on the fly. . . . . . . . . . . . 136 be mono, stereo or surround (discussed later in
Making I/O assignments for multiple tracks . . . . . . . . 136 this chapter).
Managing your computer’s system resources . . . . . . 137
Freezing tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 MONO, STEREO, AND SURROUND TRACKS
A mono track holds one channel of audio. A stereo
INTEGRATED MIDI AND HARD DISK AUDIO track holds two channels of audio. Stereo tracks are
In Digital Performer, audio tracks are very similar designed to support stereo recording and editing.
to MIDI tracks, and they all appear together in Mono tracks can only hold mono soundbites,
Digital Performer’s various multitrack windows while stereo tracks can only hold stereo
(Tracks window, Sequence Editor, Mixing Board, soundbites. Stereo tracks have an input pair (i.e. in
and so on). 1-2) instead of a single input, like mono tracks.
TYPES OF AUDIO TRACKS Surround tracks are multichannel tracks that may
Digital Performer provides these audio track types: contain anywhere from four to twelve channels of
audio. The number of channels in a surround track
■ Audio (disk) tracks depends on the surround format chosen.
■ Instrument tracks
CREATING AN AUDIO TRACK
■ Aux tracks Choose Add Track from the Project menu, and then
■ Master faders from the Add Track sub menu choose the desired
type of audio track you wish to create (mono,
stereo, or surround track). If you choose stereo,
133
you’ll see the inputs for the track shown as pairs For further details on these universal settings, see
(e.g. 1-2, 3-4, etc.) You can create as many audio “Track settings” on page 112. Each audio track also
tracks as you like, although the maximum number has the following audio-specific settings, discussed
that you’ll be able to simultaneously play and in this chapter:
record depends on your computer.
■ Input source
New tracks are added to the Track List, the
■ Record-enable
Sequence Editor, and all other windows that
display tracks. In addition, a fader strip is added to ■ Input monitor-enable
the Mixing Board.
■ Enable/disable
New audio tracks are named Audio-1, Audio-2, etc. In addition, the Track Settings menu (Figure 15-1)
You can rename the track by Option/Alt-clicking contains a few settings that are specific to the
the name. Sequence Editor window, and they are covered in
“Track settings menu” on page 341.
CREATING SEVERAL AUDIO TRACKS AT
ONCE Input Play/ Record- Track
If you want to add several audio tracks at once, monitor mute enable settings
menu
hold down the Option/Alt key while accessing the Track name
Project menu and choose one of the multiple track Track type icon/
color selector
options from the Add Track submenu.
Audio input
AUDIO TRACK SETTINGS Audio output
Each audio track has the following universal track
settings:
Take
■ Name
Figure 15-1: Choosing an input and output for an audio track.
■ Track type icon
INPUT SOURCE: AUDIO BUNDLES
■ Play/mute
Audio bundles serve as the crucial link between the
■ Solo exemption virtual mixing world in Digital Performer and the
actual audio hardware that is physically connected
■ Output assignment
to (or installed in) your computer. Bundles provide
■ Take a convenient layer between them that lets you
effectively manage audio and MIDI input and
■ Automation settings
output. To save time, you can create bundles as part
■ Lock of the process of making audio track input and
output assignments (as explained in the next
■ Color
section). If you have a more elaborate studio setup,
■ Comment you can set up your audio bundles in advance using
the Bundles window. For further information, see
chapter 13, “Bundles” (page 117).
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AUDIO TRACKS
CHOOSING AN AUDIO INPUT AND OUTPUT To arm several adjacent audio tracks, glide the
For each audio track, choose an input source and arrow cursor over their record buttons (with the
output destination as shown in Figure 15-1. The mouse button held down).
available choices in the input and output menus
reflect the physical input and output jacks on the INPUT MONITOR ENABLE
audio hardware installed in or connected to your The Input Monitor enable button (Figure 15-1 on
computer. They also include any virtual page 134) lets you listen to the live audio signal
instrument software running at the same time as being received on the audio track’s chosen
Digital Performer. hardware input. See “Audio input monitoring” on
page 219.
You can choose an existing input or output (or
input or output pair), or you can create a New ENABLE/DISABLE
mono bundle or New stereo bundle to assign the Audio tracks require varying amounts of
track to a new input or output. Or you can assign it computing resources, depending on the amount of
to an input or output bundle that you created in the mix automation data in the track, what plug-ins or
Bundles window, as explained in chapter 13, instruments are instantiated on the track and other
“Bundles” (page 117). Bundles which are already factors. The audio track Enable/Disable option
in use are bolded in input and output assignment (Figure 15-2 on page 136) allows you to
menus, and a red dot in the input menu indicates temporarily take an audio track off line to free up
that the input is currently record-enabled. its computing resources. Note, however, that doing
so causes Digital Performer to re-allocate its audio
Output assignments engine resource. Track enabling/disabling is not
The track in Figure 15-1 above is assigned to —and designed to produce totally smooth transitions
panned across — the main outs of the audio during playback or recording. Therefore it is best
interface. To play a track on a single output, pan done when Digital Performer is stopped. You can
hard left or right (where the odd numbered output certainly do it during playback, but it is strongly
is left and even is right). Alternatively, you can recommended that you avoid doing so in critical
create a mono bundle and assign the output to that listening situations.
bundle.
☛ When an audio track has been disabled, it’s
RECORD-ENABLING AN AUDIO TRACK volume fader cap in the Mixing Board disappears,
The record-enable button (arms the track for to clearly indicate that the track has been disabled.
recording). When the track is armed, the button is
red. If you wish to simply mute and unmute a track
during playback (or recording), leave it enabled
Record-enable buttons are only present if the and use its play button to mute and unmute it.
sequence is selected for playback in the Chunks Doing so preserves the track’s system resources
window or it is record-enabled in a Song window. and ensures a completely smooth transition.
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AUDIO TRACKS
track on line (blue) or off line (gray). In the ☛ Tip: To quickly change the I/O assignments
Sequence Editor, Mixing Board and other windows for all tracks, use keyboard shortcuts: Command/
that display track settings in menus, this setting is a Ctrl-A to Select All, then Option/Alt-A to open the
checkable menu item. When a track is disabled, it Track Assignments dialog.
relinquishes all of its system resources. But note
that bringing it back on line is not instantaneous.
Audio track
enable
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AUDIO TRACKS
MANAGING YOUR COMPUTER’S SYSTEM If you freeze a mono track assigned to a stereo
RESOURCES output, the resulting frozen track will be a stereo
The number of tracks you can play or record at the track, so that it faithfully reproduces the stereo
same time depends on the computing resources output of the original track.
provided by your computer. See “Configuring the
hardware driver” on page 25 in the DP Getting This operation is especially useful for managing
Started Guide to optimize your system for the your computer’s processing resources. It lets you
maximum number of audio tracks. temporarily freeze a track in its current state, with
the option of changing the track later and
Track bouncing with the Bounce command refreezing it. If you make changes to the original
One way to hear more tracks at once is to mix many track and refreeze it, it is “bounced” again to the
tracks down to one track. You can do this freely in same “frozen” track.
Digital Performer because in the realm of digital
audio, there is no noise accumulation as a result of To unfreeze a disk track, select it and hold down
digital mixing. Another great advantage to digital the Shift key while choosing Unfreeze Selected
mixing is that the original tracks remain intact, so Tracks from the Audio menu. Unfreezing an
you can always go back to them if you want (or you original disk track re-enables it, so that you can
can delete them to free up space on your hard again play the original, unfrozen disk track. If you
disk). You can even create multiple versions of a freeze the original disk track again, it once again
mix and quickly A/B the mixes. For more becomes disabled. By consecutively choosing
information about using the Bounce command, Unfreeze Selected Tracks on the original track, you
see chapter 81, “Bounce To Disk” (page 895). can toggle the enable state between the original
track and the frozen disk track (for A/B
FREEZING TRACKS comparison or other purposes).
The Freeze Selected Tracks command (Audio
menu) can be thought of as a “mini”, temporary You can also freeze virtual instrument MIDI
bounce: it creates a new audio track, with the same tracks, along with their corresponding instrument
output as the original track, that contains a track. Select both tracks, choose Freeze Selected
recorded pass of the entire original track, complete Tracks from the Audio menu, and the result will be
with all real-time effects rendered to the track. an audio disk track, assigned to the same output as
the instrument track, that contains the bounced
To freeze an audio track, aux track, or instrument instrument output. Note that after a MIDI/
track, select any portion of the track. For instrument track freeze operation, you may need to
instrument tracks, be sure to also select the same disable the original MIDI track’s play-enable
portion of the MIDI track that is playing the button, and set the instrument track output to
instrument. Then choose Audio menu> Freeze None. This is not done automatically because if the
Selected Tracks. Only the portion of the track you instrument is multi timbral, it may still need to be
select is “bounced” in the freeze operation. able to play other tracks that have not yet been
frozen.
For hard disk tracks, the new frozen track “steals”
the mix engine resources of the original disk track,
which becomes disabled to mute the original track
and free up any system resources it takes up due to
plug-ins, etc.
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AUDIO TRACKS
Freezing and track mute automation
The Freeze Tracks feature takes into account track
mute automation data. If you insert track mute
automation, and it is enabled, then the resulting
frozen track will have silence during the muted
portions of the original track.
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AUDIO TRACKS
CHAPTER 16 Instrument Tracks
Digital Performer provides a variety of included Figure 16-1: Creating an instrument track.
virtual instrument plug-ins; for details on these
From there, you have several choices:
instruments, see chapter 2, “Instrument Plug-ins”
(page 93) in the DP Plug-ins Guide. It also supports 1. Choose Add Instruments. This opens a dialog
third-party virtual instrument plug-ins in its native that lets you add one or more instrument tracks
MAS plug-in format (Mac and Windows), the VST and one or more MIDI tracks for each instrument
format (Mac and Windows), and Mac OS X’s at the same time.
Audio Unit (AU) format. For further details about
VSTs and AUs, see “Working with VST and Audio
Unit plug-ins” on page 842.
139
An option is also provided to place the new INSTRUMENT TRACK SETTINGS
instrument and MIDI tracks together in a new Each instrument track has the following universal
Track Folder, if desired. Each instrument is placed track settings:
in its own folder, with its MIDI tracks.
■ Name
2. Choose Add Unassigned Instrument. Doing so
■ Track type icon
creates the new instrument track with no
instrument yet assigned. You can then assign an ■ Play/mute
instrument in the Mixing Board from the
■ Solo exemption
instrument insert, as explained later.
■ Output assignment
3. Choose a specific instrument from the
Instruments sub-menu. This creates an audio ■ Take
instrument track for it with the instrument already ■ Automation settings
instantiated, but afterwards, you’ll need to create a
MIDI track using Project menu > Add Track > ■ Lock
MIDI Track. ■ Color
VST, AU, and MAS instruments ■ Comment
All instruments in all supported formats (VST, AU
For further details on these universal settings, see
and MAS) appear in Digital Performer’s
“Track settings” on page 112. Each instrument
instrument plug-in menus. You can manage which
track also has the following setting, discussed in
formats you wish to use, using the audio plug-in
chapter 15, “Audio Tracks”:
preferences. See “Plug-ins with multiple versions
(formats)” on page 844. ■ Enable/disable (page 135)
Organizing instrument menus
WORKING WITH INSTRUMENT PLUG-INS
Instruments are organized into several convenient
Instrument plug-ins work very much like
sub-menus, which you can further customize using
synthesizers, samplers and other hardware
the plug-in browser. See “Choosing a plug-in for an
instruments. You send them MIDI data from a
insert” on page 773.
Digital Performer MIDI track, and their audio
Unavailable instruments in the sub-menu output goes to the output of the instrument track
If an instrument is unavailable (grayed out) in the itself.
Instrument Track sub-menu, it means that there is
When you first open (“instantiate”) an instrument
no current audio bundle in the project that
plug-in, it publishes its MIDI ports, which appear
supports the instrument’s audio output format
in the output menu of Digital Performer’s MIDI
(quad, 5.1, etc.) Create a bundle that matches its
tracks, as shown below in Figure 16-3.
format, and it will become active in the menu.
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INSTRUMENT TRACKS
■ Sequence Editor track menu
■ Mixing Board track menu
■ Track Inspector/Info Bar button
If a MIDI track is not assigned to a virtual
instrument, the Open Instrument command will be
unavailable.
■ keyboard shortcut
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INSTRUMENT TRACKS
can then be accessed from all sequences in the Using instrument output bundles
project. See chapter 65, “V-Racks” (page 747) for Instrument output bundles operate just like a bus:
more information. they can be used to route audio from the
instrument to any other destination within Digital
MULTIPLE AUDIO OUTPUTS Performer’s powerful mixing environment. For
Some instrument plug-ins provide multiple audio example, you could route the instrument’s output
outputs. You can access them in the Instruments tab to an aux track.
in the Bundles window (Studio menu) as shown in
Figure 16-4. DIGITAL PERFORMER’S INCLUDED
INSTRUMENTS
Creating instrument output bundles Digital Performer includes a variety of instrument
To make the instrument plug-in’s outputs appear plug-ins. Refer to chapter 2, “Instrument Plug-ins”
across the top of the Bundles window, instantiate (page 93) in the DP Plug-ins Guide.
the instrument plug-in as usual. Then use the Add
button at the bottom of the window to create as
many bundles as needed in the usual fashion:
choose the desired channel format, specify a name,
and place the tiles on the desired channels.
Figure 16-4: The Instruments tab in the Bundles window provides access
to multiple outputs from instruments.
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INSTRUMENT TRACKS
CHAPTER 17 Aux Tracks and Master Fader Tracks
143
The most likely cause of these situations is the For further details on these universal settings, see
presence of an Aux track. If you have created an “Track settings” on page 112. Each aux track also
Aux track that patches an input directly to an has the following setting, discussed in chapter 15,
output, you’ll always hear the signal from the Aux “Audio Tracks”:
track’s assigned input — unless you un-play-
enable the Aux track altogether. So if you encounter ■ Input source (page 135)
monitoring problems, check your Aux tracks. ■ Enable/disable (page 135)
■ Comment ■ Play/mute
■ Solo exemption
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AUX TRACKS AND MASTER FADER TRACKS
■ Output assignment
■ Take
■ Automation settings
■ Lock
■ Color
■ Comment
For further details on these universal settings, see
“Track settings” on page 112. Each master fader
track also has the following setting, discussed in
chapter 15, “Audio Tracks”:
145
AUX TRACKS AND MASTER FADER TRACKS
146
AUX TRACKS AND MASTER FADER TRACKS
CHAPTER 18 Tracks Window
Sequence Marker Conductor Play- Time Marker Memory Cycle Playback Window Marker
menu menu track enable Ruler start point and scrub Target well
buttons Wiper
Track Track Take Input Input Output Window Soundbite Phrase Phrase Vertical
handle Color menus monitor menu divider (audio) of tempo events of MIDI data zoom
toggle buttons
Show/hide Track Record- Solo
Track selector Activity names enable Exempt Audio track Time
meters buttons enable/disable zoom
buttons
147
QUICK REFERENCE Conductor Track: A special track that contains the
Track List: Displays the track names and important tempo map, meter changes, and key signatures for
information about each track: the MIDI output the sequence. The Conductor track also contains
device assignment, the current patch setting, audio Markers. Data in the Conductor track can be
track input and output assignments, the play and edited just like MIDI and audio data in regular
record buttons, comments, etc. Option/Alt-click tracks. The Conductor Track cannot be deleted.
the track name to rename it.
Time Ruler: Displays the location of each segment
Track Overview: Displays the MIDI and audio in any combination of Digital Performer’s four
contents of all the tracks. The default horizontal time formats: measures|beats|ticks, SMPTE time,
zoom level displays one-measure columns, but real time, or digital audio samples. Click in the top
they can also be zoomed to show as much as 16 half of the ruler (with the “wiper” cursor) at any
measures per segment or as little as 30 ticks. You location to instantly cue playback to that location.
can also vertically scale the Tracks Overview to Drag horizontally in the lower half of the ruler
show greater detail. (with the “I-Beam” cursor) to select a time range.
Shift-drag to extend the selection.
Phrases of MIDI events are shown as blocks that
display a miniature representation of the events. Marker: An indicator that you can create to identify
The blocks of events can be selected, dragged, an important point in the music, such as the
duplicated, and otherwise edited as a single event. beginning of a section or a SMPTE hit point.
Soundbites in audio tracks appear in miniature Create markers by dragging them from the marker
form, too. For a more detailed view of the events, well at the top of the vertical scroll bar on the right.
use the Sequence Editor window. Drag markers to move them. Command/Ctrl-drag
them to freely move them without snapping to
Sequence menu: Lets you switch between columns. Option/Alt-click or double-click the
sequences. When you choose a sequence from this name to change it. Option/Alt-click the marker
menu, the Track List displays the tracks of the icon to toggle whether it is locked or not. To delete
sequence. a marker, drag it downwards until the cursor turns
into a trash can icon.
Marker menu: Lets you jump to any marker, or
other significant points in the sequence, such as the Memory Cycle loop points: These repeat barline
Memory Cycle points or the Auto-Record punch- icons indicate the points where the entire sequence
in location. will loop when the Memory Cycle button is
highlighted. Command/Ctrl-drag them to
Play-Enable button: Enables or disables a track for
override column snapping.
playback. To toggle its play status, simply click the
button. Any number of tracks may be play- Playback and scrub wiper: Shows the current
enabled. Most commonly, all tracks will be play- playback location. Click in the top half of the ruler
enabled. When solid blue, the track is play-enabled (with the “wiper” cursor) at any location to
and will be audible. If orange, the track is muted or instantly cue playback to that location. Drag the
silent. If muted, the data for the track is still there; wiper to “scrub” the music. (The Audible Mode
you are just temporarily silencing the track during button in the Control Panel must be turned on for
playback. scrubbing.)
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TRACKS WINDOW
Sequence Name: The Window Target tab displays left to see more of the Track Overview or right to
the name of the sequence. A Digital Performer see more of the Track List, comments, etc. If you
project can contain any number of sequences, each drag all the way to the right, the Track Overview
with their own Tracks window. Click to view a completely disappears (the divider remains).
different sequence in the window. Double-click the divider to hide the Tracks List;
double-click the divider again to restore it to its
Marker well: Allows you to drag and drop an previous position.
unlimited number of markers anywhere into the
Time Ruler. Option/Alt-click the marker name to Default patch: Displays the name of the patch that
rename it. Drag it left and right to move it. Drag will initially be called up for a MIDI track when the
makers downwards until the cursor turns into a sequence starts playing. This setting is saved with
trash can to delete them. the file.
Zoom Buttons: The horizontal zoom buttons zoom Track names: Click a track name to select the track
the Time Ruler so that each segment represents a (or a portion of it) for editing. Option/Alt-click a
smaller or larger duration, while the vertical zoom track name to rename it. Double-click or
buttons scale the vertical size of the tracks. Command–double-click it to open editing
windows for it. Drag over adjacent tracks to select
For example, in the Quick Reference diagram, each several at a time. You can Shift-click tracks to select
segment currently represents one measure of music a contiguous range of tracks, or Command/Ctrl-
at the default height. Clicking the Horizontal Zoom click to select tracks that aren’t next to each other.
In button will cause each segment to represent one
quarter note. Other zoom-in levels are: eighth note, Take menus: Each track can have an unlimited
sixteenth note, 32nd note, and 64th notes per number of takes. A take stores the contents of the
segment. Other zoom-out levels are: 4, 8, and 16 track. If you want to keep what is already in a track,
measures per segment. The vertical height of the but you want to try an alternative version of it
tracks can also be scaled down (if you have a very (either recorded from scratch or based on the
large project and want to see many tracks at once) current take), choose New Take or Duplicate Take
or scaled up (if you want to see each track in more from the Take menu. The original data is preserved
detail). Option/Alt-clicking any zoom button in its own take, which you can always return to by
zooms all the way in that direction. choosing it by name from the Take menu.
Phrase of tempo events: A stream of tempo events Output menu: Each track has an output
that creates a smooth tempo change. assignment, which can be selected from a menu by
clicking in this column next to the track. MIDI
Phrase of MIDI data: A series of related MIDI tracks are assigned to a MIDI device (channel) or a
events are displayed as a block so they can easily be combination of several devices (several channels).
dragged, copied, duplicated and otherwise edited Devices in the menu are provided by your MIDI
as a single event. device configuration (Setup menu > Bundles >
MIDI Devices tab). Audio tracks are assigned to
Window Divider: Separates the Track List from the
physical outputs on your audio hardware (such as
Track Overview. You can grab the divider anywhere
the headphone output of your computer or a pair of
along its length and drag it left or right to resize
outputs on a MOTU audio interface), or to one of
each portion of the window proportionally. Drag
Digital Performer’s internal busses.
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TRACKS WINDOW
Activity Meters: Indicate the intensity of playback Track locking toggle: Locks or unlocks the track.
coming from the track. For MIDI tracks, they When a track is locked, all data in the track stays
monitor either note-on velocities or amount of anchored to its current SMPTE frame location,
data, including controllers and any other types of even if you change the tempo of the sequence.
MIDI data. For audio tracks, the level meters
provide a rough indication of audio level. For a Loop Indicator: Shows if a loop exists in the track.
more accurate level reading, use the full length level
Move Handle: Drag up or down to change the
meters in the Mixing Board.
position of a track in the Track List.
Solo Exemption: When enabled, this button
Show/hide track selector: Opens and closes the
prevents the track from being muted when solo
track selector. Click or drag over the names of the
mode is engaged.
tracks in the list to show or hide them. Option/Alt-
Input menu: Choose the desired source for click to hide all except the one you click;
recording into the track. For audio tracks, the input Command/Ctrl-click to show all except the one
sources shown in this menu are provided by the you click. Use the commands in the View menu to
hardware driver. In many cases, such as the show/hide tracks.
PCI-424 driver for MOTU PCI audio interfaces,
Track Comments: Display remarks that you can
you can enable and disable inputs as needed.
type in for the track. To enter or change a
Enabled inputs appear in this menu. For MIDI
comment, simply click on it and enter or edit the
tracks, this menu is only available when Multi
text. Press OK or the Enter key to confirm your
Record mode is enabled (checked in the Studio
entry, or press the Up or Down Arrow keys to
menu) and it lets you choose a specific device and
confirm your entry and move to adjacent tracks, or
MIDI channel to record from. When Multi Record
press Cancel or Command/Ctrl-period (.) to
is turned off, MIDI tracks record any MIDI input
cancel it.
received by Digital Performer.
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TRACKS WINDOW
Tracks Overview Preferences: Displays the tracks You can also open the Tracks window by double-
overview preferences. For details, see “Configuring clicking the sequence name in the Chunks window
the MIDI activity meters” on page 155 and (as described in “Opening chunks” on page 742).
“Customizing MIDI phrasing blocks” on page 160.
Opening multiple tracks windows
Open Edit Windows: This is the same as double- If your Digital Performer project contains more
clicking a track to open its default editor window. than one sequence, you can open more than one
Tracks window at a time (one window for each
MIDI Track Annotations: Lets you quickly add (or sequence) using any of the methods described in
remove) information about MIDI playback device the previous section. The Tracks window has many
and patch settings to track names and comments. features for working with multiple sequences, as
explained in the next section. For further details
Scroll To Counter: Scrolls the graphic display to the about working with multiple sequences in a Digital
time currently displayed in the Counter. The Performer project, see chapter 64, “Chunks
counter location will appear at the left-most Window” (page 737).
position in the window.
SEQUENCE MANAGEMENT IN THE TRACKS
Go To: Scrolls the graphic display to a time you WINDOW
specify, which will appear at the left-most position The Tracks window displays one sequence at a
in the window. time. That is, it displays all tracks in a single
sequence. The Tracks window provides several
Clear default patch: Removes the default patch features for working with multiple sequences, if
assignment in the Default patch column for the your Digital Performer project has them.
currently selected MIDI tracks.
Making the Tracks window display a different
OPENING THE TRACKS WINDOW sequence
To open the Tracks window, choose Tracks from You can create an unlimited number of sequences
the Project menu. Like the other windows in this in a Digital Performer project. You can make the
sub-menu, the Tracks window is bound to a Tracks window display any sequence you want by
particular sequence (explained in the next choosing it from the Sequence menu shown below.
section). You can also open the Tracks window by Doing so causes Digital Performer to display the
clicking the Tracks window tab in the Consolidated sequence’s tracks in the list; in addition, the
Window: sequence name is displayed in the Window Target
menu of the Tracks window. It also play-enables the
Tracks sequence being viewed. If the Tracks window is
displaying a sequence that is not play-enabled, then
this menu will appear blank.
Figure 18-2: This tab in the Consolidated Window opens the Tracks
window. If your Digital Performer project has multiple sequences, this
button opens the Tracks window for the currently play-enabled
sequence.
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TRACKS WINDOW
The Sequence
menu
Figure 18-3: The Sequence menu lets you display a different sequence
The Sequence menu
in the Tracks window.
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TRACKS WINDOW
THE MARKER MENU THE TRACK LIST
The Marker menu, as shown in Figure 18-6, The Tracks window is divided into two portions, as
contains markers and other significant locations in shown in Figure 18-7: the Track List on the left and
the sequence. Use it to conveniently and instantly the Track Overview on the right. The following
jump to any location in the sequence. sections discusses the Track List. For the Track
Overview, see “The Track Overview” on page 160.
The Marker menu
The Track List provides a list of all the tracks in the
sequence. In addition, it shows all of the settings for
each track, such as the track’s output assignment.
This information is shown in the same row as the
track, as shown in Figure 18-9.
Figure 18-6: The Marker menu lets you instantly cue to any marker, Showing and hiding columns in the Track List
Memory Cycle loop point or Auto-Record point.
To hide or show columns in the Track List, choose
Track Columns Setup from the Tracks window
mini-menu. As a shortcut, you can double-click
any column heading instead. The Column Setup
preferences appear.
Figure 18-7: The Tracks window shows the Track List on the left and the Track Overview on the right.
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TRACKS WINDOW
The move handle
The move handle allows you to shift the position of
a track in the Track List. Use it to rearrange the
tracks in an order that is most useful to you. To use
the Move Handle, press on it and drag the track
where you want it to go.
Lock button
Figure 18-8: Showing and hiding columns in the Track List. “Lock” on page 114 in chapter 12, “Track Basics”.
Changing column order
Audio track enable/disable
You can rearrange the order of the columns simply
Brings the audio track on line or takes it off line,
by dragging the title of the column left or right.
which frees up computer system resources. See
“Enable/disable” on page 135.
See “Customizing the Tracks Window” on
page 164 for an example of a more compact,
customized Track List.
Move Record device and channel Solo Play- Output Track type Conductor Default Patch (the sound Controller Track
handle (only appears when Multi Exemption enable device icons track the MIDI track starts with) display Comments
Record is enabled) buttons
Loop Track Record- Input Activity Output Take Track Instrument Track Current Automation Window divider
Indicator locking enable monitor meters menu menus Color track names patch menu (Dragged all the
toggle buttons (sound) way to the right to
Audio track Audio cover up the Track
enable/disable input source Overview)
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TRACKS WINDOW
The record-enable button The input column
The record-enable button arms the track for The input column displays the source for MIDI or
recording. When the track is armed, the button is audio data to be recorded into the track. For MIDI
red. tracks, see “Choosing an input source” on
page 126. For audio tracks, see “Choosing an audio
Record-enable buttons are only present if the input and output” on page 135.
sequence is selected for playback in the Chunks
window or it is record-enabled in a Song window. Activity meters
The Activity Meters act very much like the level
Multiple audio tracks may be record-enabled at meters on a tape deck: when there is signal on the
one time, although there is a preference (Setup channel, the level meter registers the signal.
menu) that can restrict them to being record- Similarly, at the moment a MIDI track plays data,
enabled only one at a time, if you wish. For MIDI the activity meter registers the outgoing MIDI
tracks, the Multi Record item in the Studio menu data. For audio tracks, the activity meters register
controls this. When Multi Record is checked audio level, although not with as much resolution
(enabled), you are allowed to record-enable two or as the level meters in the Mixing Board.
more MIDI tracks at a time, and each record-
enabled track allows you to specify a single MIDI Configuring the MIDI activity meters
device (and channel) for input. When Multi Record To configure the MIDI activity meters choose
is off, only one MIDI track can be armed for Tracks Overview preferences from the mini-menu to
recording at a time. open the MIDI Level Meters preferences shown
below. These settings are global across files and are
To arm several adjacent audio tracks (and/or MIDI automatically saved in the Digital Performer
tracks when Multi Record is enabled), glide the Preferences file.
arrow cursor over their record buttons (with the
mouse button held down).
To hide the activity meters, double-click the track The track name
column heading above the meters (labelled See “Name” on page 112 in chapter 12, “Track
“LEVEL”) to open the Track Columns Setup dialog Basics”.
box as shown in Figure 18-8. Uncheck the Levels
option. The conductor track
The conductor track contains meter changes,
If you’d rather not hide the meters, another tempo changes, key changes, and markers. See
overhead-reducing tactic is to monitor MIDI chapter 54,“Conductor Track” (page 677) for more
activity instead of velocities because MIDI activity information.
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TRACKS WINDOW
Track color
See “Color” on page 114 in chapter 12, “Track
Basics”.
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TRACKS WINDOW
add the track somewhere in the middle of the Track
List, click an existing track first to highlight it. The
new track is added just below the highlighted track.
Track folders
Track folders allow you to visually group, collapse,
and manipulate multiple tracks in any window that
displays tracks, including the Tracks window,
Sequence Editor, Mixing Board, QuickScribe
Editor, etc. For details, see chapter 19, “Track
Figure 18-13: In this example, device name and current patch
annotations have been copied to track names. Folders and Track Groups” (page 165).
To remove annotations, choose one of the two Showing and hiding tracks
Remove Annotations commands. Annotations are Use the Track Selector list (“The track selector list”
preceded by a forward slash ( / ) or a colon ( : ). on page 306) to show and hide tracks. Shortcuts for
When removing them, all text to the right of a showing and hiding tracks are provided in the View
forward slash and/or colon in the track name text menu. See “Show/Hide Tracks” on page 290.
or comment text will be removed.
Creating and saving track layouts
WORKING WITH THE TRACK LIST You can take a snapshot of which tracks are
The following sections describe the many ways in currently shown and hidden and save it for future
which the Track List helps you manage your Digital recall. See “Track Layouts” on page 291.
Performer project.
Duplicating track layouts
Creating a new track “Duplicating a track’s settings” on page 115 in
To create a new, empty track, choose Add Track chapter 12, “Track Basics”.
from the Project menu and choose the type of track
desired from the sub-menu (MIDI track, mono Duplicating tracks
audio track, stereo audio track, etc.) The new track “Duplicating a track’s settings and data” on
is added to the bottom of the list with the name page 115 in chapter 12, “Track Basics”.
“Track-n”, where n is a number. If you would like to
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TRACKS WINDOW
Transferring tracks to another sequence Looping tracks
The Track Overview allows you to duplicate tracks Each track can be looped independently. If there
and even transfer them to another sequence. See are loops in a track, the looping indicator in the
“Track copying and transfer via drag & drop” on Track List becomes illuminated. In addition, the
page 164. loop is visible in the Track Overview. For a detailed
discussion of loops, see chapter 26, “Looping”
Selecting tracks (page 249).
There are many reasons for selecting tracks. For
example, to select data for editing or delete a track, Opening an edit window for a track
you must first select the track. There are several The Edit windows display the MIDI or audio data
methods for selecting tracks: in a track for detailed viewing and editing. Each
track has several event editing environments to
To select a single track, click on its name. It will choose from: the Event List, the MIDI Editor, the
highlight. Notation Editor, the QuickScribe Editor, the Drum
Editor and the Sequence Editor. In these windows,
To select several adjacent tracks, press on a track
the location and other details for each event are
name and drag over the desired names. All tracks
expressed numerically, graphically, or as music
dragged over will highlight. You can also click on
notation. You can edit, add and delete events in
the first track, the hold down the Shift key and click
these windows as well as select regions of events to
on a second track to select all tracks between the
be modified by commands from the Region menu.
first and second tracks you clicked on.
To open an edit window, highlight the track name
To select several non-adjacent tracks, hold down the
or an event in the track and click as follows:
Command/Ctrl key and click on the names of the
tracks you wish to select. They will highlight. To open this Do this
To deselect tracks when more than one are Your default editor Double-click
(as specified in Preferences)
highlighted, hold down the Command/Ctrl key and
click on the tracks you wish to deselect. They will Event List Command–Option/Ctrl-Alt–
unhighlight. double-click
on page 501.
Notation Editor (MIDI) Option–Control/Alt-Win–
double-click a MIDI track
Deleting tracks
“Deleting a track” on page 115 in chapter 12, Sequence Editor Shift–Control/Shift-Win–
double-click
“Track Basics”.
Or
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TRACKS WINDOW
For your convenience, the Preferences command in data into blocks. Purple bars inside a block
the Digital Performer menu (Mac OS) or Edit represent notes. Green bars near the bottom of the
menu (Windows) lets you decide which window block represent controller data. The blocks of
opens when you double-click a track. For more events can be selected, dragged, duplicated, and
information, see chapter 6, “Preferences and otherwise edited as a single event.
Settings” (page 67). For a detailed explanation of
event editing, see Part 5 , “Editing” (page 287). Stereo Block of Mono Tempo data in the Automation
audio MIDI data Audio conductor track data
soundbite soundbite
THE TRACK OVERVIEW
The Track Overview portion of the Tracks window
provides you with a global view of the MIDI and
audio data in a sequence. It is useful for getting a
“bird’s eye” view, arranging parts among tracks,
using edit commands such as Cut and Paste, and
other region operations that affect more than one
track at a time. It allows you to view and edit the
data in your sequence all at once instead of one
track at a time.
For more detailed editing of MIDI and audio tracks Figure 18-14: The Track Overview automatically and musically
groups MIDI data into singular blocks that you can view and edit as
together, see chapter 35, “Sequence Editor” units. It is designed to give you a “bird’s-eye” view of your music.
(page 331).
Customizing MIDI phrasing blocks
The time ruler The Phrase setup settings in the Tracks Overview
The Time Ruler displays time as regularly spaced preferences lets you customize the way that data is
columns labeled in any one of Performer’s various phrased in the Track Overview.
time formats. By default, one column equals one
measure of music (regardless of meter). You can,
however zoom the columns with the +/- buttons in
the horizontal scroll bar to show many measures
per column (for an even greater overview) or as
little as 30 ticks (for microscopic precision). To Figure 18-15: Phrase Setup, which can be found in the Tracks window
change time formats, choose Time Formats from preferences (in Tracks window mini-menu), lets you customize the
way that data is grouped into phrase blocks in the Track Overview.
the Setup menu.
Phrase Setup settings are saved with the project file,
The Time Ruler can also display markers. See which allows you to choose different settings for
“Working with markers in the Time Ruler” on different projects. You can also choose the desired
page 163. settings for your new file template. (See “Creating
project templates” on page 20 for details.)
MIDI data
The Track Overview displays phrases of MIDI Dynamic Phrase Parsing
events as blocks containing a miniature represen- This is Digital Performer’s special algorithm for
tation of the events inside the block. Digital determining how events should be grouped into
Performer automatically determines how to group phrase blocks. Dynamic Phrase Parsing does much
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TRACKS WINDOW
more than just separate blocks of events by a responsiveness when scrolling, zooming and other
certain minimum amount of empty time. It looks redraw operations. Here is a summary of the three
at overall event density and takes a number of possibilities:
factors into account. The result is a more musical
organization. Phrase
detail
setting Explanation
Break Phrases After ____ Ticks
This option gives you a simple, straightforward On Phrase detail is always computed before any
redrawing happens. This setting produces the
way of controlling where phrases begin and end. best-looking results, but it is also the slowest in
redrawing. If you are running Performer on
The number of ticks that you enter determines how fairly slow computer, you will probably find one
of the other two options to be more convenient.
much space there must be for a phrase to end and
another one to begin.
On Demand Phrase blocks are initially shown by their outline
when redrawing, and detail is filled in after you
Phrase Detail stop scrolling, zooming or otherwise redrawing
The term Phrase Detail refers to the miniature the Overview. This setting is faster than above,
but it is not quite as elegant.
representation of the MIDI data you see inside each
phrase block. The Phrase Detail menu gives you
Off Phrase detail is completely turned off. Instead,
several choices for how this detail is displayed so phrase blocks are filled with a generic pattern.
that you can control the trade-off between a high This setting definitely produces the fastest
redraws, but it is, of course, missing all detail.
degree of detail versus the Track Overview’s
Audio data
Soundbites (sections of audio data) are displayed
as blocks containing a waveform. They are selected
and edited as single events. Their edges cannot be
trimmed in the overview. Use the Sequence Editor
or Waveform Editor for trimming.
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TRACKS WINDOW
Modifier key shortcuts in the Track Overview Scrubbing with the playback wiper
Here is a summary of modifier key shortcuts that You can “scrub” playback with the Track Overview
will save you time when using the Track Overview: playback wiper by dragging the wiper left and right
(when Audible Mode is turned on.) For more
To do this Use this shortcut information, see “Scrubbing multiple MIDI tracks”
Extend the current selection Hold down the Shift key while
on page 206.
clicking or dragging
Nudging with the arrow keys
To make a duplicate copy of Option/Alt-drag the selected You can “nudge” an event selection in the Track
the selected data (or a time data or time range
range selection) Overview with the Left Arrow and Right Arrow
keys on the computer keyboard. Just make a
Override the current grid Hold down the Command/Ctrl
snapping setting key while dragging (in combi- selection, and use the keys as desired. by default,
nation with any of the above nudging snaps to columns, but you can set the
modifiers, if desired)
nudge amount as desired. For details, see “Nudge”
on page 319.
Clicking the time ruler for selecting and cueing
Click in the top half of the ruler (with the “wiper” Zooming
cursor) at any location to instantly cue playback to Zooming the Time Ruler in the Track Overview
that location. Drag horizontally in the lower half of changes the amount of time shown in each column.
the ruler (with the “I-Beam” cursor) to select a time If you zoom out, each column represents more
range. Shift-drag to extend the selection. Any of time, resulting in a more global view of the
these operations can be done while playing back. sequence. If you zoom in, each segment represents
less time, allowing for more detailed work.
Temporarily suspending scrolling during
playback
The default settings in the Auto Scroll command
(View menu) cause the Track Overview to scroll
during playback with a wiper that shows the
current playback location. Zoom buttons
When Auto Scroll is turned on, you can The Track Overview window defaults to showing
temporarily override it simply by clicking one measure per column. Zoom-Out levels zoom
anywhere in the Track Overview or by scrolling the to many measures per column (regardless of
window manually. The window will stop for a meter). Zoom-In levels zoom from 1 measure
moment before it resumes auto-scrolling. This lets down to a quarter note, an eighth note, a sixteenth
you inspect data and make edits without having to note, a thirty-second note, and a sixty-fourth note.
stop playback.
You can also zoom in or out vertically, to scale the
Resuming scrolling vertical height of all tracks larger or smaller.
If you have suspending scrolling as described
above, you can immediately resume scrolling by
clicking the Auto Scroll button in the Control
Panel.
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TRACKS WINDOW
Working with markers in the Time Ruler
The Time Ruler lets you display and edit Markers.
Here is a summary:
To make the tracks smaller Press Command/Ctrl–Down Move a marker Drag its icon left or right.
vertically Arrow
Zoom to the normal zoom Press Command/Ctrl-Shift-N Move a marker with- Command/Ctrl-drag its icon left or
level out “snapping” to col- right.
umns
Making a selection in the Track Overview Delete a marker Drag its icon downwards until the cur-
sor turns into a trash can.
To edit data, you must first select it. The Track
Overview provides several graphically intuitive
ways to make selections. After you’ve made a
selection, you can use Digital Performer’s many
powerful Edit menu and Region menu commands
on the selection. For information about selecting in Select everything from Click the icon of the first marker. Shift-
one marker to the next click to extend the selection.
the Track Overview, see: one
■“Making an event selection in the Track Lock (or unlock) a Option/Alt-click its icon.
marker
Overview” on page 500
■ “Selecting a time range in the Track Overview”
on page 502.
For general information about selecting, see Using the View Filter with the Track Overview
chapter 42, “Selecting” (page 497). The View Filter (Setup menu) allows you to choose
what types of events are displayed in the Track
Overview. For example, if you would momentarily
like to see patch changes only, you can use the View
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TRACKS WINDOW
Filter to temporarily hide all other data types. For CUSTOMIZING THE TRACKS WINDOW
more information about using the View Filter, see The Tracks window can be completely customized.
“View Filter” on page 292. This allows you to set it up in the way that best suits
the way you work. Refer to these sections for
Track copying and transfer via drag & drop details:
You can drag and drop a Track Overview selection
into the Track List (on the left side of the Tracks ■ “Customizing the Track List” on page 153
window). Doing so creates a new track (or tracks)
■ “Showing and hiding columns in the Track List”
at the bottom of the list.
on page 153
For example, you can make a selection in the Track ■ “Changing column order” on page 154
Overview of a source sequence and then drag and
■ “Configuring the MIDI activity meters” on
drop it into the Track List of a completely different
destination sequence. When doing so, not only is page 155
the data transferred, but the tracks that contain the ■ “Track color” on page 157
data are copied, too, along with all their settings
(including effects plug-ins). ■ “The controller display” on page 157
■ “The time ruler” on page 160
This allows you to transfer tracks from one
sequence to another. Just make a selection in the ■ “Customizing MIDI phrasing blocks” on
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TRACKS WINDOW
CHAPTER 19 Track Folders and Track Groups
OVERVIEW In the Track List, you can drag tracks in and out of
Track folders allow you to visually group, collapse, track folders using the track move handles. It helps
and manipulate multiple tracks in any window that to position the move handle column next to the
displays tracks, including the Tracks window, track name column, as shown below in
Sequence Editor, Mixing Board, QuickScribe Figure 19-2.
Editor, etc.
To delete a folder, use the Project menu > Track
Track groups allow you to functionally link Folders > Delete Track Folders command.
multiple tracks for editing and mixing purposes.
TRACK FOLDERS
There is a Track Folders sub-menu in the Project
menu. Choose New Track Folder to create one, and
then drag tracks into it (see below). Or select two or
more existing tracks first and choose New Track
Folder from Selected Tracks. Track folders can be
used in all windows that display multiple tracks,
including the Tracks window, Sequence Editor,
Mixing Board, QuickScribe Editor, etc. Track
folders can be nested (folders within folders).
165
☛ Tracks can also be organized into track To cancel, press Command/Ctrl-period, the escape
folders, which allows you to show or hide them as a key (esc), or click elsewhere in the window (such as
group. See “Track folders” on page 158. Track the title bar).
folders are independent of track groups.
Deleting a track group
If tracks are grouped for mix volume, dragging any To delete a track group, click one of its tracks to
fader within the group moves all members of the select it and choose Project menu>Modify Track
group, scaling them proportionally to their current Groups>Ungroup Tracks. Or delete it in the Track
values. Option/Alt-dragging temporarily overrides Groups window (explained below).
the group to adjust a control relative to the group.
The Track Groups window
Creating a track group in the Tracks window or Track groups are displayed and modified in the
Sequence Editor Track Groups window (Project menu).
To create a track group in the Tracks window or
Sequence Editor, select two or more tracks (or
make a multitrack selection) and choose Project
menu>Modify Track Groups>New Track Group. Or
press Command/Ctrl-Shift-G. (This shortcut can
be customized in Setup menu > Commands).
The cursor turns into a plus sign to indicate that Group enable/disable
you are now ready to add (or remove) faders and/
or pan knobs from the group. Existing faders in the
group display a flashing green box. Figure 19-3: Track Groups window.
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TRACK FOLDERS AND TRACK GROUPS
Use the Track Groups window as follows to manage ☛ You can override the grouping for volume and
track groups: pan in the Mixing Board by holding down the
Option/Alt key while dragging the fader or pan
To do this: Do this:
pot.
To rename a track Double-click or Option/Alt-click its
group name. Edit group
To delete a track Click it to highlight it and choose Delete An Edit group controls time range selections. If you
group Track Group from the mini-menu. make a time range selection in one track, all other
tracks in the group are included. It also includes
To view the tracks in a Click its disclosure triangle
group inserting, reshaping and dragging continuous data,
as well as the following track display characteristics
To add a track to a Select the tracks (or make a selection in
group the tracks you wish to add), click the in the Sequence Editor: edit layer, continuous data
track group in the Track Groups window mode, track size and vertical zoom size.
to highlight its name, and then choose
Add Selection to Group from the mini- Mix & Edit group
menu.
A Mix & Edit group controls both the Mix and Edit
To add a grouped Temporarily disable track grouping (see group operations described above.
track to another “Temporarily suspending track groups”
group on page 168) and then use the procedure
Custom group
above.
A Custom edit group lets you control a customized
To remove a track Click it to highlight it and choose Remove set of operations that you specify (see below).
from a group Tracks from Group in the mini-menu.
To temporarily dis- Click the box to the left of its name. Custom groups
able or enable a group If you choose the Custom group type, a dialog
appears that lets you pick and choose what
To change the group Choose it from the Type menu as shown
type in Figure 19-3. functions the track group will affect (Figure 19-4).
Check the items you wish to control in the group. If
Group types you choose Edit, Mix or Edit & Mix from the menu
Track grouping allows you to apply operations to at the top of the window, the check boxes in the
the tracks in the group as a single unit. For window will update to show you what the default
example, for a mix group, moving the volume fader settings are for these preset groups.
for one track in the group moves the faders in all
tracks in the group. The Group Type menu
(Figure 19-3) lets you determine which operations
are affected by the group:
Mix group
A Mix group controls track volume, play-enable
(mute/unmute), solo, solo exempt status,
automation play-enable, automation record-enable
and automation mode.
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TRACK FOLDERS AND TRACK GROUPS
might group your kick, snare and hi-hat tracks into
a group called Drum Kit, which is part of a larger
group called Percussion, which is part of yet
another larger group called Rhythm Section, which
might include bass guitar, rhythm guitar, organ,
etc. In addition, the group type can be different at
each level. For example, the Rhythm Section group
in our example might be for mixing only, whereas
the Percussion and Drum Kit groups might be
mixing and editing.
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TRACK FOLDERS AND TRACK GROUPS
Temporarily overriding the group on the fly
To temporarily override a group when moving a
fader, Option/Alt-drag it. This allows you to adjust
a track’s level relative to the rest of the group.
Temporarily Group T
Selection
Temporarily Group W
Visible Tracks
169
TRACK FOLDERS AND TRACK GROUPS
170
TRACK FOLDERS AND TRACK GROUPS
Part 4
Playing and
Recording
CHAPTER 20 Control Panel
173
QUICK REFERENCE For more information about editing times in the
Transport Controls: These are Digital Performer’s Main Counter, see “Main counter shortcuts” on
main controls for playback, recording, etc. page 69 in the DP Getting Started Guide.
Main Counter: Displays the current playback Sub Counter: Displays the current playback
position in one of Digital Performer’s four time position in an alternative time format.
formats: measures|beats|ticks, real time, SMPTE
time, or samples. Use the time format menu to the Time format menus: Independently for each
right to cycle through the four formats. Click the counter, choose from the time display formats:
numbers and type to change the playback location. measures|beats|ticks, real time, SMPTE time,
samples, or markers.
Counter settings
and Marker menu
Audio settings:
Transport Controls Main Time Format Aux Clock Mode, Sample
Counters menu Counters Rate, Buffer Size, Sample
Format, Frame Rate
Click Audible
mode
174
CONTROL PANEL
Marker menu: Lets you jump to any marker, or Wait button: Causes Digital Performer to wait for a
other significant points in the sequence, such as the keystroke (or any other MIDI event) from a MIDI
Memory Cycle points or the Auto-Record punch- or computer keyboard as a signal to start playing
in location. back or recording. Wait can also be used together
with Countoff to create an indefinite countoff.
Auto-Rewind button: Causes automatic rewinding
to the Memory Start location any time playback is Slave to external sync: When engaged, Digital
stopped (for any reason). Performer will wait for external sync. Option/Alt-
click to open the Receive Sync preferences to set
Auto-Stop button: Causes playback or recording to sync options.
automatically stop at the Stop location in the
Memory Bar. Memory Bar: Contains the locations for Memory
functions.
Memory Cycle button: Causes the time range
between the Memory Start and Stop points to Sequence Bar/Auto Record Bar: Displays the name
seamlessly repeat. In the time ruler of Edit of the project, the name of the current chunk, and
windows, repeat barlines appear in the time ruler the Sequences menu, or if enabled, the Auto Record
to indicate the repeat points. punch-in and punch-out times.
Link Playback to Memory: Causes playback to Current Meter: Displays the meter at the current
start at the Memory Start location and end at the playback location. To change the meter, you must
Memory End location. use the Conductor Track>Change Meter command
in the Project menu or insert a Meter change event
Link Selection to Memory: Causes the Memory in the Conductor track.
Start and End locations to be set by the current
time range selection. Tempo Slider: Lets you control the tempo of the
sequence. When the Tempo Control menu is set to
Auto-Record button: Causes automatic punch in Tempo Slider, drag the slider to change the tempo;
and punch out during recording at the start and when the Tempo Control menu is set to Conductor
end times specified in the Auto Record Bar. Track, the slider cannot be edited; and when the
Tempo Control menu is set to Tap Pad, the slider is
Overdub record button: Toggles overdub record
replaced with a tap pad.
mode, in which newly recorded MIDI data merges
with existing data instead of replacing it, and newly Current Beat Value: Displays which note value gets
recorded audio data is layered on top of existing the beat in the beats-per-minute tempo indicator.
data (without replacing it). Click on it to change it.
Countoff button: Causes a number of measures to Current Tempo: Displays the current tempo in
countoff before playback or recording. The button beats per minute. Click on it and type in a new
denotes the number of measures, which can be set tempo or drag the Tempo Slider. If you work with
in the Countoff preferences by Option/Alt-clicking film, you can use the Display Preferences in the
the button. Digital Performer menu (Mac OS) or Edit menu
(Windows) to display tempos in frame-clicks.
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CONTROL PANEL
Tempo Control menu: Selects the current source of CONTROL PANEL PREFERENCES
the tempo from a menu. Tempo can be controlled The Control Panel appears across the top of the
from the Tempo Slider, the Conductor track, the Consolidated Window. Like other cells, it can be
Tap Pad, or remotely from a MIDI controller such popped in or out (see “Popping windows in and
as a mod wheel. Tempo control can be changed out” on page 102). It is also highly configurable,
during playback. allowing you to show and hide sections. A Compact
Height option conserves even more screen space.
Clock Mode: Provides quick access to the master To access these settings, visit the Control Panel
clock source for your system. preferences (Figure 6-7 on page 71), or right-click
anywhere on its background (Figure 20-2 below).
Sample Rate: Lets you set the sample rate of your When displaying shortcuts and the tool bar, you
project. can show/hide individual tools and shortcuts.
Buffer Size: Controls the hardware buffer size,
which affects latency. See “Audio monitoring
latency” on page 220.
Pre/Post Roll: Adds a “lead-in” and “lead-out” Think of Digital Performer’s transport controls as
when using Link Playback to Memory. Available similar to tape recorder or CD player transport
only when Link Playback to Memory is enabled. controls. But Digital Performer’s transport controls
are more flexible than their hardware counterparts
176
CONTROL PANEL
in that they are programmable via the Memory
buttons (on the left of the window), utility buttons
(on the right) and menu commands.
The Play button and playback Figure 20-4: Digital Performer’s Rewind button.
Clicking the Play button starts playback of the
If the Rewind button is clicked during playback,
currently play-enabled sequence or song. Playback
playback is held for a moment while the sequence
will begin from the current time specified in the
rewinds. Playback then resumes from the rewind
Counter. Playback can be delayed by the Countoff
location.
button and held by the Pause and Wait buttons.
If the Rewind button is clicked during recording,
the record button is turned off. The sequence
rewinds normally.
greyed out during playback or they will have no The Pause button
effect. Clicking on the Pause button once turns it on;
clicking on it a second time turns it off. The Pause
The Rewind button
button is highlighted when it is on.
Clicking on the Rewind button sets the current
location to the start of the sequence. If the Memory
Bar is showing, clicking on the Rewind button will
rewind to the Memory Start location. Double-
clicking the button will always rewind to the start
of the sequence or song. Figure 20-6: Digital Performer’s Pause button.
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CONTROL PANEL
Turning on the Pause button during playback will If the Record button is flashing in “record-ready”
cause playback to be suspended without turning mode due to Auto Record, clicking on it will turn it
any notes off. Turning it off will cause playback to off, cancelling the punch-in.
resume.
When slaved to external sync, stopping or
If the Pause button is turned on before playback, rewinding the master device will turn off the
playback will be suspended until the Pause button record button except in the case of Tap tempo sync,
is turned off. which requires that you click the Stop button.
While the Pause button is on, you can use the Overdub Record
Rewind button and Counter window to adjust the See “Overdub record mode” on page 190.
current playback location. You may also set times
in the Edit, Memory, and Auto-Record bars. Undo Record
Recording can be undone at any time with Digital
The Record button and recording Performer’s unlimited undo features. For details,
Clicking on the Record button turns it on and see “Undo” on page 523.
begins recording in the currently play-enabled
sequence from the current location in the counter. Fast/Slow Forward & Rewind
When it is on, the Record button is red and can be These four buttons scan through your sequence –
turned off by clicking on it again. This disables the fast or slow, forward or backwards. The right set of
record function while continuing playback. You arrows cues forward in time, the left set cues
can also turn on and off the record button during backwards. The inner arrows cue slowly, the outer
playback for manual punch-in and punch-out, as ones cue faster. The left arrows cause playback to
many times as you like. A more general way to pause while cueing backwards until the arrow is
think of the Record button is as an on/off toggle released. If used during recording, the Record
switch that you control manually. button will be turned off before cueing.
Using the Counter to change the current Using the decimal key or Command/Ctrl-T to
playback location edit SMPTE main counter
The current playback location is the position where The decimal key on the numeric keypad (with
the Chunk will next play or record from. You can Num Lock engaged under Windows) will highlight
edit the counter fields to change the current the main counter, even if it is SMPTE time, real
location. time or samples.
You can change the current location in the There is a shortcut for setting the measure time:
currently play-enabled Chunk (sequence or song) using Command/Ctrl-T or the decimal point on
by editing the counter numbers. This can be done the keypad will select the measure field and set the
while the Chunk is stopped or playing. If you edit beat field to 1 and the tick field to 000. You may
the counter while the Chunk is playing, it will then enter the number of the measure you want to
continue to play while you enter the values and will move to. As soon as you click outside the
cue to the new location after you confirm your edit. highlighted field or press the Return key, the
To edit the counter: specified value will be entered.
1 Click on the time value you wish to change. These keys will always edit the main counter, even
when it is set to SMPTE time, real time or samples.
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CONTROL PANEL
Setting the counter time format become 4|1|000, 5|1|000, 6|1|000, etc.; with “Round
To change which time format is shown in the Main on Entry” disabled, the counter value will become
or Auxiliary Counter, click the Time Format menu 4|2|017, 5|2|017, 6|2|017, etc.
buttons to the right of each counter.
Marker counter
Figure 20-9: Use the Time Format menus to choose which of Digital The Markers counter can also be used to move the
Performer’s various time formats you would like to display in the
counter. main transport to a marker location. Clicking on
the marker name makes the field editable and
The counter displays dashes when no sequence or displays a menu; choose the highlighted marker by
song is play-enabled in the file. To display clicking on it, or by pressing the Return or Enter
numbers, play-enable a Chunk in the Chunks keys.
window.
Playback dashes
If you would like for the last field of the counter to
Figure 20-10: Selecting a marker from the Markers counter
be displayed as dashes, instead of numbers quickly
rolling by, enable the “Playback Dashes” option. You can also type in the text field. As you type, the
You can set this independently for each counter. drop-down menu will narrow the list to show only
the markers containing the characters that you’ve
Round on Entry typed. In the example shown in Figure 20-10,
By default, the “Round on Entry” option, found typing “ver” would narrow the list to Verse 1 and
under the Time Format menu (Figure 20-9), is Verse 2, while typing “2” would narrow the list to
enabled and edits to larger time fields will clear Verse 2. The Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys can
smaller time fields. When the “Round on Entry” is be used to navigate the list.
disabled, smaller time fields are preserved when
editing larger fields. Marker menu
The Marker menu, underneath the sub counter’s
For example, locate to 3|2|017, then select the time format menu, functions the same as the
counter’s measures field and drag it upward. With Marker menu in the Tracks window. For details, see
“Round on Entry” enabled, the counter value will “The Marker menu” on page 153.
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CONTROL PANEL
Setting the start time The start times you enter for measure and real time
The start time of the sequence is what you see in the are arbitrary and only affect the display of time
counter when you rewind to the very beginning. locations. The SMPTE time code start time,
Normally, the default start time for a sequence or however, determines the frame at which the
song is measure time 1|1|000, real time 0:00:00.00 sequence will actually begin playing while Digital
and frame time 0:00:00:00. Performer is slaved to external time code.
You can, however, use the “Set Chunk Start Time” To set the start times of a sequence or song:
command under the Sequence menu in the Status
Strip. 1 If you have more than one sequence or song in
the file, make sure it is the currently play-enabled
chunk.
Figure 20-11: The Start Time button allows you to choose the start Figure 20-12: The current sequence name is displayed in the informa-
time at the beginning of the sequence for all of Digital Performer’s tion bar.
time formats.
2 Click the Sequence menu and choose “Set
If you are synchronizing Digital Performer to
Chunk Start Time.”
SMPTE time code, you’ll need to set the SMPTE
start time according to SMPTE frame at which you 3 A dialog box appears. The current Chunk name
want the Digital Performer to begin playing. For is displayed near the top of the dialog box.
example, you may want the downbeat of the first
measure in the sequence to begin playing when the
time code reaches 1:00:20:00.
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CONTROL PANEL
Preserving locked markers when changing the
start time
If your project contains locked markers, you can
either preserve their location relative to the start of
the sequence or preserve their absolute frame time
when changing the sequence’s SMPTE start time.
For details, see “Locked markers and the sequence
start time” on page 722.
Using SMPTE timecode bits If you set up two or four pickup measures instead of
In addition to the start frame, you may offset the only one, the counter would read -1|1|000 or
SMPTE start time by a number of bits. There are 80 -3|1|000 respectively.
bits per frame. Although Digital Performer does
not have single bit time resolution, it does offer 3 If you already had data recorded in the
sub-frame time resolution. Use the bit offset to sequence, shift the data back to its original
finely adjust the start time. location.
Setting the SMPTE frame rate When you change the Measure start time, data that
The SMPTE frame rate can be set with Frame Rate used to be at 1|1|000 is now at 0|1|000, and so on.
command in the Setup menu. All data has changed to match the new start time.
To restore all data to its original position before you
changed the start time, use the Shift command to
shift it back to where it was before.
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CONTROL PANEL
4 Highlight all track names in the Tracks window A side effect of this is that the counter may not
and double-click the “Load Selection” button in the always be accurate. It should therefore not be used
Selection Information window. as a metronome. In general, the counter display
should not be used as a visual indication of tempo.
This selects the entire sequence.
Controlling how often the counter updates
5 Choose Shift from the Edit menu. During playback, the measure time counter is
updated each time a metronome click would occur.
6 Choose the Later option and type in the number For example, if the click value of the current meter
of pickup measures that you previously added. in the sequence is set to a half note in 4/4 time, only
beats 1 and 3 will display in each measure. The
If you added 1 pickup measure by setting the start
click value can be set with the Change Meter
time to 0|1|000, shift by 1 measure here.
command in the Conductor Track sub-menu in the
Project menu.
LARGE COUNTER
The Counter window is identical to the main
7 Click OK. counter in the Control Panel, except that it is a
large, separate window, and it can display all time
You have now successfully restored all data back to
formats at once.
its original location before changing the measure
start time, and you also have several empty pickup
measures in which to record.
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CONTROL PANEL
Resizing the Counter window MEMORY BUTTONS
The Counter window is freely resizable, and the The Memory buttons (Auto-Rewind, Auto-Stop
text size scales along with the window size. At and Memory Cycle) allow you to automate the
larger sizes, the Counter window is easily visible primary transport controls. By using the Memory
from across the studio or across the stage. buttons, you can program the transport controls to
activate at times specified in the Status Strip.
Setting the Counter window display
The counter window can display one or more of the The Auto-Stop button
four time formats in any combination. One format Enabling the Auto-Stop button causes playback of
is designated as the Main Counter. It will appear at the sequence to automatically stop at the Stop
the top of the window. You can also specify three location on the Memory Bar. Clicking on the Auto-
“Aux” (auxiliary) Counters which appear below the Stop button enables it; when enabled, it is
Main display. The format is identified by a small highlighted.
icon positioned just to the right of it. To set the
counter display, choose the Set Display command
from the Counter window mini-menu.
Figure 20-16: The Auto-stop button.
Time” command. This functions the same as the Auto-Rewind is useful for returning to a particular
Set Chunk Start Time” command under the location after stopping. It saves you from having to
Control Panel’s sequences menu. stop and rewind manually.
For complete information about setting the start The Memory Cycle button
time of a sequence or song (chunk), see “Setting The Memory Cycle button is a cycle-playback and
the start time” on page 181. cycle-recording feature that causes a portion of the
entire sequence to be played repeatedly until the
stop button is pressed, just like drum machines and
hardware sequencers. Cyclic playback begins when
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CONTROL PANEL
the sequence reaches the specified Memory Cycle Viewing Memory Cycle points graphically
time rage. When the Counter reaches the end of the When Memory Cycle is enabled, the start and end
cycle range, it seamlessly returns to the beginning times appear graphically as repeat barlines in the
and will continue to do so until you press the stop Time Ruler of the Track Overview and MIDI
button, un-highlight the Memory Cycle button, or Editors at the start and end time as shown
cue past the end time. Figure 20-19.
When cycle-recording, you add a new part to the Setting Memory Cycle points
loop with each consecutive pass. For MIDI tracks, The Memory Cycle range is defined by the start
be sure Digital Performer is in overdub record and end times in the Memory Bar. You can set these
mode so that each new pass doesn’t erase the last points by:
one. For audio, you can use Memory Cycle to
overdub multiple audio passes using Digital ■ typing (use the Tab key as usual)
Performer’s POLAR recording environment. For ■ dragging on the numbers vertically
details, see chapter 28, “POLAR” (page 265).
■ choosing the desired command from the
You can also record successive takes when cycling. Memory Bar menu
If you want to permanently loop a region in one or ■ using several clicking shortcuts
more tracks and specify the number of times the ■ using several keyboard shortcuts
loop will repeat, insert a loop as described in
■ linking them to selection (as explained in “Link
chapter 26, “Looping” (page 249).
Memory to Selection” on page 188)
Click on the Memory Cycle button to enable it. The ■ using the Remembered Times command
next section discusses several ways to set the start
and end times in the Memory Bar as shown in These same techniques are also used in the
Figure 20-19. Selection Bar, and they are described in detail “The
Track Overview” on page 160.
The Memory Cycle button and the Auto-Stop
button cannot be enabled at the same time.
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CONTROL PANEL
2 Drag over the desired time range in any time
ruler.
To automatically set the times to the current The time range is loaded into the Memory start
selection bounds, see “Link Memory to Selection” and end times. In addition, the Memory Cycle
on page 188. To do so manually: repeat barlines appear in the time rulers at the
beginning and end of the range you highlighted.
1 Set the Edit resolution in the time ruler. Now Digital Performer will cycle between them
during playback and recording.
If you want the end points to land directly on beat
or measure boundaries, the easiest way to do so is
to set the edit resolution to an appropriate value,
such as eighth notes or quarter notes. If you want to
be able to set the loop points with no constraints
whatsoever, uncheck the edit resolution box.
Memory Cycle
button is activated.
Figure 20-19: Playback and recording loop seamlessly between the Memory Cycle
start and end markers, which you can drag with Snap to Grid turned on or off.
186
CONTROL PANEL
Selecting the Memory Cycle range for editing If Memory Cycle is also enabled (see “The Memory
If you would like to quickly select the time range Cycle button” on page 184), playback will
within the Memory Cycle repeat barlines to insert a continuously loop within the Memory Cycle
loop, quantize, or any other editing operation, click points, and the memory start and stop indicators
one of the two repeat barlines. appear with brackets to indicate that looping will
occur:
Link Playback to Memory Figure 20-24: If Memory Cycle is also enabled, the memory start/stop
When enabled, the Link Playback to Memory indicators appear with brackets to indicate that playback will loop.
Figure 20-23: Memory start and end indicators show where playback
will begin and stop with the ‘Link Playback to memory’ mode is
enabled. Figure 20-25: The Preroll and Postroll indicators.
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CONTROL PANEL
The Preroll and Postroll text boxes adhere to the always begin and end at the start and stop of the
current global time format. This allows you to current time range selection, with preroll and
specify the amount of Preroll and Postroll in any postroll, if any. If Memory Cycle is also enabled,
time format you wish, including SMPTE frames, playback will loop indefinitely within the current
milliseconds, etc. For further information about time range selection. In this mode, the current
time formats, see “Time Formats window” on selection can be changed by editing the Memory
page 86. bar, and vice versa.
Figure 20-28: To always play (or loop) the current time range selec-
tion, enable both memory link buttons, and Memory Cycle. If you
Figure 20-26: With AutoRecord enabled, separate punch in/out include Memory Cycle, there is no postroll.
points are provided by the AutoRecord bar.
Looping a soundbite
Link Memory to Selection To quickly begin looping playback around a
When enabled, the Link Memory to Selection selected soundbite, double-click the soundbite
button (Figure 20-27) causes the Memory Start with the I-Beam tool (in the Tool palette). To
and Stop times to always match the current temporarily get the I-Beam tool (without having to
selection start and end times. By combining this go to the Tool palette), hold down the “ i ” key.
mode with other memory modes, playback will
always begin, end, and loop over the current AUTO-RECORD BUTTON
selection. For example, if you enabled Memory Auto-Record causes recording to automatically
Cycle, the memory cycle start and end times will turn on and off in a specific time range. This allows
always match the time range that is currently you to record without having to manually enable
selected. and disable the Record button.
Figure 20-27: Link Memory to Selection button. Figure 20-30: The Auto-Record button allows you to precisely
program punch-in and punch-out points for recording.
Linking playback to the current selection
By enabling both Link Playback to Memory and Clicking on the Auto-Record button enables and
Link Memory to Selection, you essentially link highlights it. Clicking on the Auto-Record button
playback to selection. In other words, playback will also causes the Auto Record punch in and punch
out times to appear in the Status Strip. Punch in
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CONTROL PANEL
and punch out times are specified in the Auto (such as 8th notes, for example) as you drag them.
Record Bar: Punch in is the time where recording For an explanation of edit resolution, see “Snap to
begins; Punch out is where recording ends. Auto- Grid” on page 317.
Record can be used while Digital Performer is
slaved to external sync; see chapter 83, “Receive You can adjust the arrows at any time, even during
Sync” (page 917) for details on recording while playback or recording. This lets you adjust punch-
slaved to each type of sync. in and punch-out on the fly without having to stop
the music.
The Auto-Record button will remain on until you
click on it again to disable it. Remember to disable Setting the punch-in and punch-out points
it when you finish using it. The Auto-Record time range is defined by the in
and out times in the Auto-Record Bar. You can set
Viewing the punch-in and punch-out points these points by:
graphically
When Auto-Record is enabled, the punch-in and ■ typing (use the Tab key as usual)
punch-out times are displayed graphically as
■ dragging on the numbers vertically
arrows in the time ruler of the Track Overview, as
well as the time ruler in any MIDI Editor as shown ■ choosing the desired command from the Auto-
in Figure 20-29. Record Bar menu
■ using several clicking shortcuts
You can drag the arrows left and right with the
mouse to change the punch-in and punch-out ■ using several keyboard shortcuts
points. If the edit resolution check box is checked,
■ using the Remembered Times command
the arrows snap to the current resolution setting
Auto-record button
is activated.
Punch points are displayed in all time rulers. They can be dragged left
and right; when you drag them in the Sequence Editor, they snap to the
current edit grid.
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CONTROL PANEL
These same techniques are also used in the COUNTOFF BUTTON
Selection Bar, and they are described in detail “The This buttons toggles the Countoff on and off. For
Track Overview” on page 160. more details on the Countoff and its options, see
“Countoff ” on page 237.
Quickly selecting what you have recorded
You can quickly select the time range between the WAIT BUTTON
punch points by clicking one of the arrows. This is Enabling the Wait button causes Digital Performer
a handy shortcut for editing what you have just to wait until it receives a MIDI event before it
recorded with auto-record. begins to play back or record. The Transport
preferences (on page 82) let you control what types
OVERDUB RECORD MODE of MIDI data the Wait button responds to.
If you click the Overdub button, Digital Performer
goes into Overdub record mode. Overdub mode
causes all recorded MIDI data to merge with,
instead of replace, pre-existing data on the record-
Figure 20-32: The Wait button causes Digital Performer to wait for an
selected track. The pre-existing data on the track is incoming MIDI event before it begins to play or record.
not erased. For audio data, new data is overlaid on
top of existing data, rather than erasing and To enable the Wait button, click on it; it will
replacing existing data. highlight. Then, press either the Record or Play
buttons. The wait button will then begin to flash,
signaling that it is waiting for a keystroke. To start
playback or recording, press the enter key on the
computer keyboard or your MIDI controller
Figure 20-31: Digital Performer’s Overdub Record mode button.
instrument. If recording is enabled, the MIDI event
For MIDI tracks, the word overdub is used in a very you send to turn off Wait will be recorded.
specific sense in Digital Performer: real-time
merging of incoming data with data already in a The Wait button will remain enabled until it is
track. It works as if you recorded one track, clicked off. Thus, it will be in effect every time the
recorded a second track to go along with it and Record or Play button is clicked on.
then merged the two. You can use Overdub mode
Use Wait to give yourself a moment to ready
in conjunction with Memory Cycle to build
yourself at your keyboard or other input
patterns in multiple passes over a time range,
instrument before recording. Using Countoff and
similar to drum machines. (Overdub does not
Wait together allows you as much time as you need
affect the Conductor Track; specifically, recording
to prepare for recording.
on the Conductor Track while slaved to Tap tempo
sync always erases existing tempo events.)
If you turn on the Wait button together with the
Countoff button, you create an indefinite countoff
For further information, see “MIDI overdub
— the countoff keeps going until you start playing.
recording” on page 226 and “Audio overdub
recording” on page 226.
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CONTROL PANEL
SLAVE TO EXTERNAL SYNC BUTTON If you would like to save times that will appear in
When engaged, Digital Performer follows an the menu only when the current chunk is play-
external clock source, as specified in the Receive enabled, use the New Saved Time for This Chunk
Sync command (Setup menu). Double click this command instead. Use the Edit Saved Times
button to open Receive Sync settings. For details, command to rename and delete saved times.
see chapter 83, “Receive Sync” (page 917).
STATUS STRIP
The Status Strip has two sections that display
information. The left side displays the Memory
Bar, which contains the locations for Memory
Figure 20-33: The Slave to External Sync button.
functions. The right side displays the name of the
SAVING MEMORY AND AUTO RECORD project and the sequence, or the AutoRecord
TIMES punch-in and punch-out times, if enabled.
You can save Memory start/stop times and Auto
Record In/Out times using the commands in their The Memory and Auto Record Bars
menus, as shown in Figure 20-19 on page 186 and The Memory Bar is always visible on the left-hand
Figure 20-29 on page 189. Choose New Saved Time side of the Status Strip. The Auto-Record bar
to name and save the currently loaded times, which appears on the right-hand side of the Status Strip
will then appear in the menu as shown below: when you enable the Auto-Record button.
Figure 20-34: Saving a Memory start/stop or Auto Record in/out time. Figure 20-36: The Memory Bar.
The
sequence
menu
Figure 20-35: The status strip.
191
CONTROL PANEL
For details about editing the start and end times in name is the Sequences menu, which lets you add,
the Memory bar, see “Setting Memory Cycle delete, rename and otherwise manage multiple
points” on page 185. sequences in your project.
TEMPO CONTROLS
The Control Panel displays the tempo and meter of
Figure 20-37: The Auto-record bar lets you set precise, automated
punch-in and punch-out points during recording. the currently play-enabled Chunk (sequence or
song).
You can enter the start and end times numerically
in the Auto Record Bar. See “The Memory and
Auto Record Bars” on page 191. You can also set Current Current Current
meter beat value Tempo
them up graphically. “Viewing the punch-in and
punch-out points graphically” on page 189.
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CONTROL PANEL
■ The Conductor track This mode is similar to Tempo Slider mode: the
sequence plays at a global constant tempo. Use the
■ By remote control from an external MIDI
Tap Pad (instead of the Tempo Slider) to establish
controller, such as a modulation wheel
the tempo. Click the Tap Pad repeatedly at the
■ The back slash key (Tap to Enter Tempo tempo you wish. You can also set the tempo by
command) using the Tap to Enter Tempo feature (“Tap to Enter
Tempo” on page 194). Or you can simply type it in
The Tempo Control menu displays the current
as usual.
tempo source with a check mark; choose any other
source from the menu to change it. You can change The Tap Pad is similar to the Tap to Enter Tempo
the tempo source at any time, even during command in regards to playback: it does not track
playback, and the tempos you set in each mode are your tapping while the sequence is playing. So
remembered. In addition, the tempo control you’ll probably find it easier to use the Tap Pad
settings are saved with each Chunk. when the sequence is stopped. If you would like
Digital Performer to track your tapping during
Tempo slider
When the Tempo Control is set to Tempo Slider, playback, use the Receive Sync Tap Tempo mode.
you can change tempo by entering a value in the For details, see “Tap Tempo” on page 923.
tempo box in the Metronome window or by
Conductor Track
dragging the slider with the mouse or by placing When the Tempo Control is set to Conductor
your mouse over the slider and using the mouse Track, you cannot use the tempo box or slider to set
scroll wheel. Tempo is expressed in beats per the tempo. Instead, the tempo map in the
minute (bpm). Any programmed tempo changes Conductor track takes control of the Chunk. In this
(the tempo map) are ignored. You control the mode, the tempo slider is merely an indicator of the
tempo directly with the tempo box and slider. This current tempo; the plus/minus buttons become
mode is useful for Chunks with one constant disabled and you cannot change the tempo or beat
tempo or for temporarily adjusting tempos when value directly
working on a Chunk.
To hear tempo changes that you create with the
Change Tempo command or by using Tap tempo
sync, set the Tempo Control to Conductor Track,
Figure 20-40: when Tempo Control is set to ‘Tempo Slider’, use the where programmed tempo changes and tempo
slider, or just tap the back slash key ( \ ) to enter a tempo value in the maps are stored.
tempo box below the main counter. Press return to confirm the
tempo.
Remote control of the tempo
The Tap Pad When the Tempo Control is set to Remote Control,
When the Tempo Control is set to Tap Pad the tempo slider can be controlled from an external
(Figure 20-41), the Tap Pad appears in place of the MIDI source such as a modulation wheel on a
Tempo Slider: MIDI keyboard, or any other source of continuous
controller data.
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CONTROL PANEL
To set up the Tempo slider for external MIDI Tap to Enter Tempo
control: The Tap to Enter Tempo command in the
Commands window (Setup menu) allows you to
1 Choose Remote Control from the Tempo tap a tempo setting from your computer keyboard
Control menu. (or a MIDI trigger event):
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CONTROL PANEL
type in a number) and then tap the Tap to Enter metronome click to a dotted quarter note
Tempo keyboard shortcut at the tempo you wish to (standard in 6/8 time). Quite often though, the
enter. This allows you to specify the tempo by beat value will be the same as the meter
“feel”, rather than by typing a number. denominator (the lower number of the meter
marking).
The default keyboard shortcut for the Tap to Enter
Tempo command is the back slash key ( \ ). You can The current tempo
easily change this default key binding by searching By default, tempos are displayed in beats per
for the word “tap” in the commands window as minute (bpm). The beat value can be any standard
shown in Figure 20-43. You can also assign a MIDI musical duration between a sixteenth and whole
event from a drum pad or other MIDI source. note. All beat values can be dotted. A dotted value
is equivalent to one and a half times the value of the
☛ The Tap to Enter Tempo command shown in duration. (A dotted quarter note is equivalent to
Figure 20-43 is not the same as the Tap Tempo one and a half quarter notes, for example.) Tempos
feature (see “Tap Tempo” on page 923). The Tap are displayed and entered with an accuracy of a
Tempo command shown above is meant solely for hundredth of a beat per minute. This allows you to
entering a BPM value in tempo text boxes. specify tempos with two numbers to the right of
the decimal point, e.g. 104.78 beats per minute. In
Cancelling tempo entry
addition to providing you with a high degree of
If you begin to tap in a tempo, but then change your
resolution, this also allows you to easily enter
mind, press the escape key (esc) to exit the tempo
tempos that match standard frame click
text box without making a change to it.
metronome values.
The current meter display
The meter at the current location is displayed for When the tempo slider is controlling tempo, you
your reference. To change meter, you must use the can enter the tempo directly into the current tempo
Change Meter command in the Conductor Track box. To change the tempo, click the current tempo
sub-menu in the Project menu. box to edit the tempo. If necessary, click the current
beat value to change it.
The beat value
The beat value is the note duration that “gets the Displaying and typing in frame-click tempos
beat” in a given meter. In 4/4, for example, the If you write music for film, you might be
quarter note usually gets the beat: in this case, the accustomed to expressing tempos in frame-clicks
beat value is a quarter note. In 6/8, the beat as well as beats per minute.
generally falls on the first and fourth eighth notes
In Digital Performer, you can type in tempos using
in the measure, thus the dotted quarter is the beat
either format. If you enter a frame click tempo,
value.
such as 12-6, Digital Performer will automatically
The beat value you set does not necessarily convert it to beats per minute—at an extremely
correspond to the value you set for the metronome high degree of resolution (well beyond a hundredth
click. The metronome click value is set when of a bpm).
specifying the meter with the Change Meter
command in the Conductor Track sub-menu in the
Project menu. For example, in 6/8 meter, you may
set a tempo of an eighth note = 220, but, set the
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CONTROL PANEL
When synchronizing to Tap tempo sync, you
control the tempo in real time by tapping (sending
a MIDI event to Digital Performer), using any
Figure 20-44: You can type in tempos in Digital Performer in frame
clicks (using either a dash or a slash). Digital Performer will convert MIDI controller. For details on creating a tempo
the click tempo to beats per minute at a very high degree of resolu- map using Tap tempo sync, refer to the chapter
tion. Use the Display Preferences in the Digital Performer menu (Mac
OS) or Edit menu (Windows) if you want to see frame clicks all the Receive Sync. When you choose Tap tempo and
time. check the Slave to external sync command in the
You can freely switch between the two formats. If Setup menu, the Tempo slider is disabled and it
you prefer to view frame-click tempos throughout reminds you why:
Digital Performer, you can do so by setting the
Data Display Preferences in the Digital Performer
menu (Mac OS) or Edit menu (Windows)
accordingly. See “Tempo Display” on page 71. Figure 20-46: When Digital Performer is slaved to external sync via
Tap Tempo, the Tempo Control menu, slider handle and current
tempo settings are temporarily hidden to indicate that tempo is
Tempo Control during external being controlled by the incoming Tap Tempo events.
synchronization
When Digital Performer is slaved to external sync Digital Performer automatically adjusts real time
using the Standard MIDI beat clocks mode, the and frame locations when the current tempo is
master device generates the tempo. The tempo changed.
slider acts solely as an indicator in this case: the
master device (drum machine, a hardware CLICK
This buttons toggles the Click on and off. For more
sequencer, etc.) has complete control over Digital
details on the Click and its options, see “Click” on
Performer’s tempo, and the tempo control displays
page 233.
the phrase MIDI Sync to remind you that the
Tempo slider is disabled because tempos are being
AUDIBLE MODE
generated externally by the master device: When engaged, Audible Mode allows you to listen
to notes and soundbites one at a time as you
highlight them. For details, see “Audible mode” on
page 300.
Figure 20-45: When Digital Performer is slaved to external sync via
MIDI Beat Clocks, the Tempo Control menu, slider handle and current AUTO SCROLL
tempo settings are temporarily hidden to indicate that tempo is
being controlled by the incoming MIDI sync data. Auto Scroll controls if and how windows will scroll
during playback, recording, and cueing. For
When synchronizing to time code (such as
details, see “Auto scroll” on page 204.
SMPTE) using the Indirect or Direct lock modes,
Digital Performer follows its own internal tempo. SOLO MODE
Set the desired tempo in the normal fashion, or set This button toggles Solo Mode on and off. For
the Tempo Control menu to Conductor track to use more details on Solo Mode, see “Soloing Tracks”
a tempo map you have programmed into the on page 201
Conductor track.
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CONTROL PANEL
KEYPAD SHORTCUTS DISPLAY PREFERENCES
The Control Panel functions can be operated from The Control Panel can be configured to be a
the numeric keypad on an extended keyboard. floating window so it always appears on top of
other windows. Its transparency can also be set,
from fully opaque to fully transparent. Both
options can be enabled in the Control Panel
preferences. For more information, refer to
Memory “Control Panel” on page 71.
Toggle
Mac
Keypad
Memory
Toggle
PC
Keypad
197
CONTROL PANEL
198
CONTROL PANEL
CHAPTER 21 Playback
199
4 For each MIDI track, choose a MIDI output Here are some examples of things you can do
destination and patch (sound) as explained in during playback:
“Choosing a MIDI output destination” on page 126
■ Select a region for editing (in an Event List,
and “Choosing a default patch (sound)” on
page 129. Tracks Window, etc.)
■ Edit a region with the Edit or Region menu
5 For each audio track, choose an audio output
commands
destination as explained in “Choosing an audio
input and output” on page 135. ■ Rearrange Chunks in the Song window
6 Set the location from which you want playback ■ Cut, copy, drag, Option/Alt-drag (copy), etc.
to begin. notes and data in MIDI Editor and QuickScribe
Editor
There are many ways to cue Digital Performer. ■ Choose a different output destination for a track
Here are just a few: to simply rewind to the
beginning of the sequence, click the Rewind ■ Add, delete, rename, or reposition a track
button. To choose a general location, click the ■ Access a mini-menu command
“wiper” cursor at the desired playback location in
any time ruler in any window. Some features, because of their nature, cannot be
accessed during playback. These features are either
7 Press the Play button or press the spacebar. greyed out (inaccessible) during playback or will
have no effect unless you press the Stop button
The sequence will begin to play. The Counter before using them.
advances.
SCREEN RE-DISPLAY
8 When finished playing back, press the Stop During playback, Digital Performer does its best to
button, or press the spacebar again. update items on the computer screen, such as the
Counter and scrolling windows. However, audio
MONITORING LEVELS recording and playback can often place a high
Long throw metering is available in both the demand on the computing power of the machine,
Mixing Board (“Level meters” on page 783) and and Digital Performer makes playback a much
the Meter Bridge (“Meter Bridge” on page 827). higher priority than refreshing the screen display.
Therefore, you may find at times that Digital
EDITING DURING PLAYBACK
Performer must devote all of the computer’s
Many of Digital Performer’s features, such as
resources towards this end and thus may not be
windows, dialog boxes, edit region selection, edit
able to keep the screen display completely smooth
commands, and other features can be used during
and current. In addition, editing commands may
playback. For example, you can open another
sometimes take longer due to the amount of
window or use the Transpose command while the
processor time required to deal playback. Rest
music is playing back; you do not have to press the
assured, however, that your data is playing back
Stop button beforehand. As you listen to your
accurately.
music and find that you would like to make a
change, don’t reach for the Stop button. Just
execute the command while the music is playing.
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PLAYBACK
MUTING AND UNMUTING TRACKS DURING Both the soloed play state and the un-soloed play
PLAYBACK state are remembered until you change them, and
Both MIDI and audio tracks can be muted and both are also saved with the project.
unmuted during playback by using solo mode or
by clicking their play-enable button in the Tracks If the Solo front-most edit window option is checked
window or Sequence Editor, or their mute button in the Solo Setup dialog (see “‘Partial-solo’” below
in the Mixing Board. You can also record the action for details), individual tracks can be soloed when
of muting and unmuting tracks. For details, see their edit window is open (Event List, MIDI
chapter 68, “Mix Automation” (page 793). Editing, QuickScribe Editor, etc.) by pressing the
solo button in the Control Panel.
When muting a track, the response is instanta-
neous. When tracks are muted during soloing, Digital
Performer continues to process the MIDI and
SOLOING TRACKS audio data contained in them. This allows tracks to
Soloing tracks allows you to isolate tracks for be soloed and un-soloed during playback without
playback. This is a quick way to temporarily mute pauses or glitching.
or unmute many tracks at once without having to
click on the Play-Enable buttons of each. Think of ‘PARTIAL-SOLO’
soloing as a second, independent play-enable state The solo button provides an additional capability:
for all tracks. Any combination of tracks can be “partial solo mode”. In this mode, MIDI tracks
play-enabled when solo is turned on — even tracks that are being muted are not muted all the way.
that have been muted when solo is off. Instead, their volume is brought down part way by
reducing their note-on velocities by a percentage
The color of the play-enable button tells you its play that you choose.
status:
To enable partial-solo mode: Option/Alt-click the
■Blue — means the track will play in the current “S” Solo Mode button in the Control Panel.
mode (solo or not soloed)
■ Gray — means the track is muted and will not
play
■ Orange — means that the track is muted when
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Partial solo percentage then the program change event will not be played
The value you choose is the percent that note and the synthesizer may produce the wrong sound
velocities in each muted MIDI track will be (such as a trumpet sound instead of a bass sound).
reduced to when muted. (Velocities are not
permanently changed; they are only modified Event chasing prevents such discrepancies:
temporarily during playback.) Whenever playback is stopped, Digital Performer
searches backward through each MIDI track for
The ‘Solo front-most edit window’ option the previous occurrence of each type of MIDI
This option determines what is soloed when you event that is enabled in the Event Chasing window.
are editing an audio or MIDI track in an edit When playback starts again, it transmits those
window (i.e. an Event List, MIDI Editor, events, which updates the destination instrument
QuickScribe Editor, etc. is open and active). When plug-in or MIDI sound module to the expected
this check box is checked, the track you are editing settings. In the previous example, this would
is soloed by itself. When this option is unchecked, ensure that the synthesizer changes to the bass
which tracks are soloed is determined by the sound (according to the previous patch change
(soloed) play-enable buttons in the Track event) when playback begins from measure twenty.
Overview and the solo buttons in the Mixing Board Event chasing is also very useful for making sure
window. that plug-ins and sound modules are updated to
the correct settings for volume, pan, and other
Disabling ‘Partial Solo’ mode control change data (controller data).
To disable ‘partial-solo’ mode, Option/Alt-click the
Solo Mode button and set the menu to “Off ”. Enabling event chasing
To enable event chasing, choose Event Chasing in
LOOPING PLAYBACK the Setup menu. Event chasing can be enabled or
Playback of the entire sequence can be looped
disabled for different types of MIDI events
seamlessly between any two points. For
independently of each other.
information see “The Memory Cycle button” on
page 184.
EVENT CHASING
Event chasing addresses a common difficulty in
MIDI sequencing: Since MIDI data is transmitted
serially (one event at a time), events that occur
early in the sequence will not change the sound of a
virtual instrument plug-in or MIDI sound module
when playback is started from a point later in the
sequence. For instance, if a program change event Figure 21-2: Event Chasing ensures that you get what you expect to
(patch change) occurs in the sequence at measure hear from your MIDI tracks, no matter where you start playback in
your sequence or song.
five and you begin playback at measure twenty,
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Enable the types of MIDI events that you want The “Take Automation Snapshot” command
Digital Performer to chase. Click Set All to enable button in the Region menu is a convenient way to
event chasing for all types. In some cases, you may insert controller events for controller 7 (volume)
not want certain types of MIDI events to be chased. and controller 10 (pan). For details, see chapter ,
For example, it may be useful to disable event “Snapshot automation” (page 806).
chasing when transmitting MIDI to devices that
use MIDI messages for non-musical purposes, Omitting initial controllers in MIDI tracks
such as lighting controllers or console automation If you don’t insert initial controller events at the
systems. beginning of a track, Digital Performer’s event
chasing feature transmits a default value when
Audio track, auxiliary track, and master fader track playback begins before the first event of a given
parameters are not included in the Event Chasing type in a track (except for a few commonly used
window because Digital Performer always chases controllers discussed below). This only occurs for
mix automation events in those types of tracks. MIDI event types that are enabled in the Event
Chasing window and are present somewhere in the
Inserting initial events in MIDI tracks track.
Inserting initial MIDI events such as patch change
and controller values at the beginning of each track For example, the first pitch bend event in a track is
in the sequence is a useful practice in MIDI in measure five and its value is -100. When event
sequencing. This ensures that you hear what you chasing is enabled for pitch bend and playback is
expect from your instrument plug-ins and MIDI started from measure one, Digital Performer will
sound modules regardless of the state in which they transmit a pitch bend event with value 0. When the
were left when you finished working on a different wiper reaches measure five, a pitch bend event with
sequence or playing a different part of the current value -100 will be transmitted as usual.
sequence. It is especially useful when event chasing
is enabled because it ensures that there are events This behavior is usually desirable for tracks that are
for Digital Performer to chase when playback is transmitting MIDI data to musical devices like
started before any notes are transmitted from a virtual instrument plug-ins, synthesizers, and
given track. samplers. It may not be useful for devices that use
MIDI messages for non-musical purposes, such as
For example, you might use the same hardware lighting controllers or console automation systems.
sampler module for a drum kit patch in two
different sequences. In one sequence, the drum kit Forward chasing
part plays quietly because its controller 11 If event chasing is enabled for controllers, the
(expression) value is 20. In the second sequence, following commonly used controller types actually
the drum kit plays louder because its controller 11 chase forward if there is no initial even in the track:
value is 100. When you stop the first sequence and CCs 1, 7, 10, and 11. For example, if you have CC7
begin playing back the second sequence, the in the track and the playback wiper is before the
sampler’s volume will still be low before the higher first CC7 event in the track, Digital Performer
controller 11 value is received. Combining event chases forward to the first event in the track to
chasing and placing an initial controller 11 event establish the current value, rather than using a
with value 100 at the beginning of the drum kit default value of 127. This is similar to how DP’s
track in the second sequence guarantees that the audio automation works.
sampler will play at the intended volume.
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PLAYBACK
Event chasing and loops
MIDI event types that are enabled in the Event
Chasing window will be chased inside a loop the
same way that they would be chased outside a loop.
For instance, controller data inside a loop in a
MIDI track will be chased as if the loop were
expanded and the data were written linearly in the
track.
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Paging versus continuous scrolling disable Auto Scroll by window type using the Auto
Digital Performer provides two types of window Scroll button in the Control Panel when each
scrolling: window is the active window.
■ Paging
■ Continuous scrolling
Paging
When the Continuous Scroll option is unchecked,
all Digital Performer windows proceed one
windowful at a time during playback. That is, when Figure 21-5: Enabling and disabling Auto Scroll by window type
using the Auto Scroll button in the Control Panel.
playback reaches the last measure or event in the
current time range being displayed in the window, Displaying the playback wiper
the window jumps to the next windowful of data, To display a scrolling cursor, or “wiper”, check the
just like clicking in the grey area of a scroll bar. Cursor check box in the Auto Scroll window for
each window in which you’d like to see it.
Continuous Scroll
When the Continuous Scroll option is checked, the
contents of the top-most window scroll smoothly
from right to left, with the current playback
location centered (left to right) in the window. If
the wiper is being displayed in the window, the
wiper remains centered in the middle of the
window, except when it is close enough to the
beginning of the sequence that it must first travel
from the left-hand side of the window to the center.
only applies to the top-most (active) window. Cueing with the wiper
There are several ways to cue the current playback
Continuous Scroll is available in the Sequence
location with the wiper, either when Digital
Editor, MIDI Editor and Drum Editor windows.
Performer is stopped or playing:
Enabling Auto Scroll by window type
■ Double-click any time ruler at the desired
The Window section of the Auto Scroll dialog lets
location
you enable and disable auto scrolling by window
type. Just check the boxes for the types of windows ■ Click once in the upper half of the time ruler
you wish to auto scroll. You can also enable and with the “wiper” cursor
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■ Drag the wiper tab in the time ruler stop for a moment before it resumes Auto Scrolling.
This lets you view or edit things quickly without
Zooming with the wiper having to stop playback. Auto scrolling resumes
You can zoom in and out by Control/Win- after you leave the window alone for about 5
dragging vertically on the playback wiper handle. seconds. You can manually resume auto scrolling
Control/Win-drag down to zoom in; drag up to for the active window by clicking the Auto Scroll
zoom out. Release the Control/Win key to button in the Control Panel.
temporarily suspend wiper zooming. This allows
you to continue zooming, even after you’ve reached When Auto Scroll is enabled, windows that contain
the top or bottom of the computer screen. For time rulers open to the current playback location.
example, if you pull down to zoom in, and you
want to zoom in further but you’re getting close to Disabling Auto Scrolling
the bottom of the screen, release control, move To disable Auto Scrolling altogether, click the Clear
back up to the top of the wiper (doing so maintains button in the Auto Scroll preferences window.
the current zoom level), press control/Win, and
then pull down to continue zooming in further. SCRUBBING MULTIPLE MIDI TRACKS
Scrubbing refers to the act of controlling playback
To move horizontally while zooming, simply manually, forwards or backwards, by dragging the
release the Control/Win key temporarily while Digital Performer’s current playback location left
continuing your drag gesture. For example, you or right. Scrubbing allows you to play MIDI tracks
can drag left or right and then press Control/Win forwards or backwards in non-real time, where you
again to further zero in on a particular location. control the tempo by how quickly you drag.
Scrubbing is great for zeroing in on wrong notes or
Wiper zooming is an extremely useful zooming other artifacts that you hear during playback.
shortcut. It works particularly well when used hand
in hand with the Zoom Back command Scrubbing only happens in Digital Performer when
(command-[ ). Audible mode is turned on. To turn on Audible
Mode, click the button with the speaker icon in the
Auto Scrolling with multiple sequences or Control Panel.
songs
Auto Scrolling will only occur in windows related You can scrub playback by using any of the
to the currently play-enabled Chunk. For example, following techniques:
if a Song window is open, it will not Auto Scroll
unless the song is play-enabled in the Chunks ■ Drag the playback wiper
window. Windows associated with Chunks inside ■ Drag the QuickScribe Editor playback wiper
the song will not scroll when the song is play-
enabled. Only the Song window and its Markers ■ Drag Movie Window slider
window will scroll. ■ Press the fast forward/rewind buttons or slow
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conjunction with Partial Solo Mode to only scrub
the Edit window you are currently viewing. See
“‘Partial-solo’” on page 201 for details.
■ patch changes
■ notes
■ pitch bend
■ volume controllers
■ sustain pedal controllers
While scrubbing, however, only the following
event types are played back:
■ notes
■ pitch bend
■ sustain pedal
SCRUBBING AUDIO
You can scrub the audio in a soundbite in the
Sequence Editor. For information, see “Scrubbing
audio inside a popped-up soundbite” on page 356
and “Scrubbing” on page 487.
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208
PLAYBACK
CHAPTER 22 Recording
209
CHOOSING A SEQUENCE TO RECORD INTO Setting the tempo
If you have more than one sequence or song in the To set a constant tempo, choose Tempo Slider from
project, be sure to play-enable the one that you the Tempo Control menu in the Control Panel and
wish to record into. To do so, look at the current drag the tempo slider to the desired tempo. Using
chunk indicator in the Control Panel. the tempo slider is handy for quickly setting a
straight tempo. If your music involves a tempo map
(a series of tempo changes, including, perhaps,
ones that change smoothly over time), you may
prefer to set these up before actually recording any
MIDI data. See chapter 54, “Conductor Track”
Figure 22-1: The current sequence or song.
(page 677) and chapter 55, “Change Tempo”
If you need to switch sequences, use the Sequences (page 685) for details.
menu next to the current chunk name, or use the
Chunks window. If the sequence is inside a song, Programming a meter map
open the song’s window by double-clicking on the A meter map is a series of meter changes. To set up
song, highlight the sequence, and choose Set a meter map before recording, see chapter 56,
Record Sequence from the Song window mini- “Change Meter” (page 693).
menu.
Recording at a slower tempo
If the MIDI or audio material you are recording is
SETTING TEMPO AND METER
particularly challenging for you to play, try setting
If the material you are recording is musical in
the tempo slider to a slower tempo, perhaps 10 to
nature, then it is best to match it with the tempo
20 bpm slower than normal, and record at the
and meter changes in the sequence, if any. Then it
slower tempo. Afterwards, you can return the
will be much easier to edit and mix the material
tempo slider to the correct tempo. MIDI data will
musically with reference to measures and beats.
be scaled to the correct tempo automatically. Audio
There are two ways to align live-recorded audio data can be scaled to match the correct tempo in
and MIDI data with the beats and barlines in one easy step. For details, see “Adjust Soundbites to
Digital Performer: Sequence Tempo” on page 622.
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Opening the Input Quantize Window rather than the Quantize window. But Input
To open the Input Quantize window, choose Input Quantize options behave the same way as their
Quantize from the Studio menu: counterparts in the Region menu.
Loop Recording
For information about how to use input quantize
while loop recording, see chapter 26, “Looping”
(page 249).
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R E C O R DI NG
PREPARING A MIDI TRACK FOR RECORDING 5 (Optional) If you are using MIDI Patch Thru,
To prepare a MIDI track for recording: choose the desired patch (sound) for the track
from its Default Patch or Patch column in the Track
1 Record-enable the MIDI track. List. For details, see “The patch list” on page 129
and “The current patch” on page 129.
This can be done in several different windows in
Digital Performer. In the Tracks window, click the 6 (Optional) Set the Input Filter, if needed.
Record button next to the track (in the REC
column). If the button is red, the track is record- See “Input Filter” on page 211 for details.
enabled. In the Mixing Board, click the record
button below the solo and mute buttons. In the 7 (Optional) Set up Input Quantize or non-
Sequence Editor, click the record button next to the destructive output quantize, if desired.
track name. In standard record mode, only one
MIDI track can be record-enabled. In Multi See “Input Quantize” on page 211 and “Non-
Record mode, several MIDI tracks may be record- destructive output quantize” on page 212 for
enabled (see “Recording several MIDI tracks in details.
one pass” on page 223).
You are now ready to record MIDI.
2 If you are using Multi Record (Studio menu) to
PREPARING AN AUDIO TRACK FOR
record two or more MIDI tracks simultaneously, or RECORDING
if you need to specify a MIDI device and channel to To prepare an audio track for recording:
record from (in order to exclude data received from
other input sources at the time of recording), 1 Make sure that the audio hardware that you are
choose the input device and channel from the using for recording is activated.
track’s Input column in the Track List.
If you are using the MOTU Audio System, choose
See “Choosing an input source” on page 126 for Setup menu> Configure Audio System>Configure
details. Hardware Driver to activate the hardware driver.
For details, see “Configuring the hardware driver”
3 Select the playback device for the track being on page 25 in the DP Getting Started Guide.
recorded.
2 Choose an audio input to record from.
See “Choosing a MIDI output destination” on
page 126 for details. This is the microphone input on your computer, a
physical input jack (or pair of jacks) on your
4 (Optional) Turn on MIDI Patch Thru (Studio recording hardware, or a virtual input from a
menu) so that you’ll record the track with the same software synthesizer or sampler. You can also
sound as it will play back with. choose one of Digital Performer’s internal virtual
busses as the input. This means that you can record
Patch Thru echoes incoming data to the output
output from any other track—or combination of
destination device you’ve chosen for the track. This
tracks—that are assigned to the bus you choose. In
is essential when using a separate MIDI controller
the Track List, choose the input by pressing on the
instrument: it allows you to hear what you are
input column next to the track as shown below in
playing while it is being recorded. For details, see
Figure 22-3. You can also choose the track input
“MIDI input monitoring” on page 216.
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REC O R D I N G
from the Mixing Board or Sequence Editor Sequence Editor, click the record button next to the
windows (from the menu next to or below the track track name. More than one audio track can be
name). record-enabled at a time. However, there is a
preference (Digital Performer menu) that restricts
record-enabling to one track at a time. For details,
see “Audio Options” on page 81.
Play some sample input to Confirm that the take file for the record input is on Confirm the location of the audio file. Is it located
make sure the input level standby (not italicized). This means that the file where you want it (or where your hard disk recording
meter reads as close to zero has been created on the hard disk. If it isn’t, record- system requires it to be)? Click to toggle between full
dB as possible. enable the audio track in the Tracks window. and abbreviated path display.
Figure 22-5: The Audio Monitor (Studio menu) is an important component of the audio recording process. Always check the
settings shown above before recording. In this example, recording is being done on inputs 3-4.
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R E C O R DI NG
When you record-enable an audio track, the When Digital Performer records audio, it places
corresponding input row in the Audio Monitor the audio data in an audio file on your hard disk
turns red. In addition, the takefile name switches to with a name that matches the track being recorded
plain text (instead of being italicized) as shown in into, followed by a dash and a take number. We
Figure 22-5. Plain text indicates that the takefile has refer to this destination audio file as a takefile. By
been created on disk and that the system is ready to default, takefiles are located in the same place on
record. your hard disk as the last takefile recorded for that
input. For new projects, takefiles are initially
5 In the Audio Monitor, check for free hard disk located in a folder called Audio Files, which is
space as shown in Figure 22-5. located in the project folder. (See “Components of
a DP Project” on page 15.)
The Audio Monitor displays free hard disk space in
either minutes or megabytes (click to toggle the The current takefile location is displayed in the
display as shown in Figure 22-5). One mono Audio Monitor as shown below in Figure 22-5.
minute of audio at 44.1 kHz (CD quality) takes up
approximately 5 megabytes of disk space. One If desired, you can change the current takefile
stereo minute of audio takes up twice that (10 location. For details, see “Changing the takefile
megabytes). (For other sampling rates, see “How location before recording” on page 245. You can
much disk space does audio require?” on page 56 also rename the current takefile. For details, see
in the DP Getting Started Guide.) Plan your session “Naming a takefile before recording” on page 245.
accordingly. If necessary, you may need to back up
and remove audio files left over from other projects 7 Check the audio input level.
from the hard drive. Or you may need to record
Under MAS, check Retain Clip in the Audio
onto a different hard drive than the currently
Monitor mini-menu, play the input signal at its
selected one (see the next two sections).
peak levels, and watch the level meter and adjust
It’s a good idea to give yourself extra space (several the input so that the peaks occur as close to 0 dB as
hundred megabytes at least) because hard disk possible without triggering the Clip indicator
fragmentation is more likely to adversely affect shown below.
audio recording when the hard disk is almost full.
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REC O R D I N G
MIDI INPUT MONITORING Turning on MIDI Patch Thru
MIDI Patch Thru (Studio menu) allows you to hear To turn on MIDI Patch Thru, choose it from the
incoming MIDI data from your MIDI controller Studio menu and select either Direct Echo or Auto
instrument played back on your output Channelize:
synthesizers (Figure 22-6) or virtual instruments.
More technically, Patch Thru echoes MIDI data
received by Digital Performer to any MIDI device
in your studio that you choose. You’ll want to use
Patch Thru most of the time because it allows you
to hear what you are playing on your MIDI sound
modules while recording. Patch Thru also provides
an easy way to experiment with different playback
synthesizers without having to manually reconnect
patch cords and change MIDI channels on the
instruments.
Figure 22-7: Digital Performer’s MIDI Patch Thru command offers two
Patch Thru works whether you are recording or types of patch thru: Direct Echo and Auto Channelize.
not. However, MIDI data will only be patched
through tracks which are record-enabled. If you Direct echo
don’t hear anything on your synthesizer modules Direct Echo causes incoming MIDI data from your
when playing your controller, check to be sure that controller to be echoed back out on the same
the correct track or tracks are record-enabled. channel it was received. For example, if your MIDI
controller is transmitting on channel 3, MIDI data
Timing and synchronization data are not echoed in is echoed back out on channel 3 by Digital
Patch Thru. Performer. The Input Filter settings do not affect
direct-echoed data; information is simply echoed
straight through, bypassing most of Digital
Performer’s MIDI processing.
Digital Performer
Figure 22-6: Here is an overview of how Patch Thru works. You press a key on your controller keyboard. The note gets sent to Digital Performer.
Digital Performer determines which device (MIDI channel) the note will be echoed to by the track is currently record-enabled. It then sends the
note to the output device assigned to that track, which plays the note using whatever sound (patch) is currently selected on that channel.
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R E C O R DI NG
Direct Echo is useful in situations where you want
to be able to change the channel you are echoing to
from your MIDI controller keyboard by simply
Figure 22-8: In Multi Record mode, you can choose a specific source
changing its transmit channel. instrument (and channel, if desired) for each track that is record-
enabled.
Auto channelize
In the above example, the two controller
Auto Channelize causes incoming MIDI data from
instruments will be rechannelized separately. If two
your controller to be echoed to the output device
different tracks had the same input recording
and channel for the currently record-enabled MIDI
channel and had a common output channel, the
track. The following sections discuss several
incoming data will be echoed twice to that output
scenarios that affect Auto Channelize.
channel. This may cause problems with some
Auto channelizing in a sequence MIDI instruments; caution is advised.
When a sequence is play-enabled in the Chunks
window, here is how Auto Channelize Patch Thru Since Patch Thru works even when you’re not
works. In normal recording mode (Multi Record recording, you can use Digital Performer as a
off), incoming data from any input source is echoed sophisticated MIDI merger, mapper, or
to the device specified for the record-enabled track rechannelizer during playback, recording or when
in the currently play-enabled sequence. stopped. Patch Thru allows you to route MIDI
information from your controller instrument to
Every time you change the record-enable track, any combination of synthesizer modules. By
Patch Thru repatches your controller instrument to adding a group of tracks, each assigned to a
echo out to the specified device for that track. Thus different MIDI channel or set of channels, you can
you always hear your incoming data as it would be change the module configuration used for
played back. playback by simply clicking on the record-enable
button for the track or tracks with the desired
If the record-enabled track is assigned to a MIDI channel configuration. This allows you to
device group (several playback devices at the same experiment with channelization freely.
time), all of the devices will receive the patched
thru data. (See “Creating a MIDI device group” on Auto channelizing with MIDI effects plug-ins
page 128.) The Mixing Board allows you to apply real-time
MIDI effects plug-ins to a track. For example, you
Auto channelizing with Multi Record turned on could apply the Echo effect to a MIDI track to
If Multi Record is on (it’s checked in the Studio make it echo during playback.
menu), only MIDI data received on the specified
recording Device for a track will be echoed to the These same effects plug-ins will affect MIDI Patch
corresponding playback channels for that track. In Thru as well. When you record-enable a track, and
the following example, notes played on the K2600, the track has MIDI effects plug-ins currently
channel 1 will be heard on MachFive, channel 2. applied to it, you will hear the effects on what you
Notes played from the ReMOTE controller, play.
channel 2, will be patched through to the JV-1080,
channel 1. This allows you to apply effects — in real time — to
what you are recording into (and patching thru)
Digital Performer. For example, you can apply a
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Transpose Map that constrains all notes to within a MIDI Patch Thru on Digital Performer or
certain scale — which automatically cleans up any incoming data will be echoed twice. If you choose
wrong notes that you play! Or you can apply a to use MIDI Patch Thru in Digital Performer, turn
MIDI echo as you record. See “Working with off the echo feature on the interface for the same
effects plug-ins” on page 789 for details. reason.
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REC O R D I N G
track input monitoring, whereas the Mixing Board when you play it back after recording it, it will be
provides both MIDI and audio track input fine (again, as long as you managed to play it in
monitoring. time with the sequence).
Monitoring outside of Digital Performer Again, audio is always recorded accurately. Latency
If you are using Digital Performer with an external is only an issue for monitoring (the live audio input
mixer, or via the hardware-based CueMix DSP that you listen to while recording).
monitoring features in your MOTU audio
interface, you might choose to monitor in the There are several ways to minimize monitoring
external hardware instead of through Digital latency. Some of them are specific to certain
Performer. In this scenario, or any situation in hardware.
which you do not need to monitor the incoming
■ Monitor outside of Digital Performer entirely
audio via the outputs of the audio interface
connected to your computer, disable Audio Patch (with a mixing console, for example).
Thru. ■ Use your audio hardware’s direct, hardware-
You can apply effects plug-ins to the live input monitoring mode to ‘Direct hardware playthough’.
signal by adding effects plug-ins to the track in the You will not be able to monitor through audio
Mixing Board. (See “Inserts” on page 771.) effects plug-ins, but monitoring latency will be
However, you should read the following sections greatly reduced or completely eliminated. See
first, which discuss several important issues “Hardware monitoring versus monitoring with
surrounding audio input monitoring under the effects” below for more information.
MOTU Audio System.
Hardware monitoring versus monitoring with
Audio monitoring latency effects
You might hear a slight delay when monitoring When you use your audio hardware’s built-in
audio input. For example, if you have a sequence “hardware-based” monitoring feature (if any),
that already has several tracks of audio recorded, there is little or no audible delay. However, the
and you then try to record along with it while trade-off is that the input signal is not routed
monitoring your input via Audio Patch Thru, you through the MOTU Audio System. This means that
might hear a slight delay in what you are playing. if you have effects such as EQ or reverb assigned to
This delay is commonly referred to as monitoring the track that is currently record-enabled, you will
latency. Fortunately, however, the audio will be not hear the effects applied to the input signal.
recorded into the sequence accurately and in sync
with the other previously recorded audio tracks (as In summary, your two choices for monitoring
long as you managed to play it in sync with the input are: 1) delayed input with effects, or 2) dry
sequence). But what you hear while you are input with no delay.
recording will be noticeably and consistently
You also have a third option: turn off your audio
behind. In other words, what you hear during
hardware’s “hardware-based” monitoring and
recording will not be what you get: during
lower the Buffer Size setting. The default settings is
recording, the input signal will sound late, but
1024 samples. Try lowering it to 512, 256 or even
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128 samples. This gives you the best of both worlds: Monitor record-enabled tracks through effects
very low monitoring latency (3-6 ms) with effects Monitor record-enabled tracks through effects lets
processing. The trade-off in this scenario is that the you apply effects to the input signal (via the effects
lower buffer settings put more strain on your inserts of the currently record-enabled track), but
computer. you might hear a delay during recording. If,
however, the input signal is actually received by the
Setting the input monitoring mode computer in sync with the rest of the sequence, the
The two choices for input monitoring described in input signal with be recorded properly (with no
the previous section are provided by choosing delay).
Configure Audio System > Input Monitoring Mode
from the Setup menu, which opens the dialog When this option is chosen, the input signal
shown below in Figure 22-10. currently being monitored can always be heard
when Digital Performer is either stopped or
recording. During playback, however, the input
signal being monitored will never be summed with
existing track contents. Instead, you will hear
either one or the other.
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The Record button will turn red, indicating that STOP RECORDING
Digital Performer is recording in real-time. You can To stop recording, stop Digital Performer by
also trigger recording by pressing the [3] key on the clicking the Stop button, pressing the spacebar, or
numeric keypad (with Num Lock engaged under pressing the [0] key on the numeric keypad (with
Windows) or, if you have already set up a MIDI Num Lock engaged under Windows).
remote control, by sending a MIDI event from your
controller. Digital Performer stops recording and takes a
moment to process the audio data.
☛ To achieve the fastest response possible when
you begin recording, use pause-record. That is, For audio tracks, each record pass gets placed in
press the pause button first and then record. Digital the audio track as a single soundbite. The soundbite
Performer allocates record buffers as needed and also gets added to the list in the Soundbites
then waits for you to press pause again to begin window. You can view the soundbite by opening
recording. the Sequence Editor or Event List of the track.
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■ If your project interleave format is interleaved, In addition to the steps listed in “Preparing a MIDI
the stereo audio will be recorded to a single file. track for recording” on page 213 above, you need
to do the following to prepare for recording in
■ If your interleave format is deinterleaved,
Multi Record mode:
recorded audio data is stored as two separate mono
files, each with the same name and .L or .R in the 1 Find out the current transmit channel on your
file names (e.g., “Guitar-1.L.wav” and “Guitar- MIDI controller keyboards or other input devices.
1.R.wav”). The corresponding soundbites in the
track will remain perfectly sample-locked, no If you are recording from multiple MIDI sources,
matter what you do. you may want to set each instrument or source
sequencer track to transmit on a different channel.
RECORDING IN SURROUND This helps avoid accidently merging them.
Recording in surround is handled as already
described in this chapter, except that you record 2 Choose Multi Record from the Studio menu to
into a surround track. To add a surround track, check the menu item.
choose Add Track from the Project menu and then
choose the desired surround format from the sub- The INPUT column appears.
menu. Then just record-enable the track and
prepare for recording as usual. 3 Record-enable the MIDI tracks that you wish to
record on.
■ If your project interleave format is interleaved,
the surround audio will be recorded to a single file. Click on the record-enable button next to the track.
To toggle the record status of several tracks at one
■ If your interleave format is deinterleaved,
time, just drag — “glide” — over their record
recorded audio data is stored as separate mono buttons. This is a great shortcut for toggling many
files, each with the same name and the appropriate tracks quickly.
surround channel name in each file (.L, .C, .R,
etc.). The corresponding channels in the surround 4 Select the input device and channel for each
track will remain perfectly sample-locked, no track from the menus provided in the INPUT
matter what you do column.
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If you are sending data from another sequencer or To manually punch in, press play and then press
a time-based MIDI device, you will probably want the record button in the main transport at the
Digital Performer to synchronize with it. To put desired time. Press record again to punch out. You
Digital Performer in External Sync mode, see can also use the [3] key on the numeric keypad
chapter 83, “Receive Sync” (page 917). (with Num Lock engaged under Windows). For
MIDI tracks, you could alternatively use the track’s
Changing Multi Record on the fly individual record-enable button, but not for audio
You can toggle Multi Record (Studio menu) during tracks.
playback.
AUTOMATIC PUNCH-IN/PUNCH-OUT
RECORDING SEVERAL AUDIO TRACKS IN Digital Performer’s Auto-Record feature allows you
ONE PASS to automate recording at precise punch-in and
Digital Performer lets you record as many audio
punch-out points. This feature allows you to record
tracks at one time as your computer and audio
without having to manually enable and disable the
hardware allow. Just record-enable the tracks as
Record button. Automatic punch-in produces the
needed.
most accurate results possible when punching in.
The total number of audio tracks you can record When you punch-in manually, there may be a brief
into at one time depends on your audio hardware. delay—on the order of a few hundred milliseconds
for audio tracks—before recording actually begins.
RECORDING AUDIO AND MIDI AT THE SAME
TIME
Digital Performer allows you to record audio tracks
and MIDI tracks at the same time. Just record- Figure 22-13: The Auto-Record button allows you to precisely
program punch-in and punch-out points for recording.
enable all the tracks that you want to record into.
Multi Record mode is only necessary if you wish to To punch in automatically, set up Digital
record multiple MIDI tracks as well. But if you only Performer’s Auto Record feature in the Control
need to record one MIDI track with multiple audio panel as shown below in Figure 22-14.
tracks, Multi Record is not necessary.
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R E C O R DI NG
while Digital Performer is slaved to external sync; The sequence plays from the current location in the
see chapter 83, “Receive Sync” (page 917) for Counter. The Record button starts flashing. When
details. the Punch In time is reached, the record button
becomes continuously highlighted. When this
happens, Digital Performer is recording and you
can play new material. When the Punch Out time is
reached, the Record button will return to flashing.
Figure 22-15: The Auto-record bar lets you set precise, automated
punch-in and punch-out points during recording.
7 Press the Stop button when you are finished.
The Auto-Record button will remain on until you
click on it again to disable it. Remember to disable Punch-in recording in MIDI tracks
it when you finish using it. If Digital Performer starts recording in a MIDI
track while a pre-existing MIDI note is sustaining,
To use Auto-Record: it does not cut off that note. Only notes with attack
times after the punch in time are erased. For
1 Arm the tracks you wish to record into.
example, in Figure 22-16 below, the two notes
2 Press the Auto-Record button, which is located represented by light grey bars begin within the
below the transport controls. punch in time range, but the sustained note
represented by the dark grey bar begins before the
The button highlights to signify that Auto-Record punch in point:
is on.
Punch-in Punch-out
3 Enter the Punch In and Punch Out locations.
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REC O R D I N G
PUNCH GUARD newly overdubbed soundbite will play, i.e. what
When recording audio tracks, Digital Performer you see is what you’ll hear. See “Overlapping and
can capture several extra seconds of audio before layering soundbites” on page 351 for more
and after record passes. This feature is called Punch information about how multiple, overlapping
Guard, and it applies to both manual and soundbites play back in a track. If you change your
automatic punch-ins (on audio tracks). For mind about the punch-in and wish to remove it,
example, if you clicked the record button a little just delete the overdubbed soundbite, which
late, you can edge-edit the recorded soundbite to uncovers the original audio beneath.
expose several extra seconds of audio before the
beginning. If you clicked stop while the reverb was ☛ When overdub recording over existing
still decaying, you can edge edit past the end of the material, the new material is not merged with the
recorded soundbite to expose the rest of the reverb existing material. Instead, it is overlaid on top. To
tail. By default, Punch Guard only happens when merge soundbites together into one soundbite,
manually or automatically punching in, and the place them into separate tracks first and then use
pre- and post-roll times are 4 and 1 seconds, the Bounce to Disk command in the File menu. Or
respectively, but you can customize these settings use the POLAR window, if you need to do large-
as desired, and configure the pre-roll recording scale on-the-fly audio merging.
behavior. See “Punch Guard” on page 82.
When overdub record mode is disabled, and you
OVERDUB RECORDING punch-in over existing audio in a track, the existing
Overdub recording works slightly differently for audio is completely replaced by the newly recorded
MIDI tracks and audio tracks, although the basic audio. This record behavior prevents multiple
principle is the same: existing data in the track is layers of soundbites from piling up on top of one
preserved. Overdub mode can be combined with another when you are overdubbing. Instead,
Cycle-Recording (described later in this chapter) punching in will never create overlapping
for drum-machine style MIDI loop recording and soundbites. Wherever there is a punch-in, the
multi-take audio loop recording. current soundbite is trimmed and a new soundbite
begins. However, only those parts of existing
soundbites you recorded over are erased. For
example, if you record over the beginning of a
soundbite, only the portion recorded over is
Figure 22-18: Digital Performer’s Overdub Record mode button.
replaced.
MIDI overdub recording
In MIDI tracks, overdub mode causes all recorded If you change your mind about the punch-in and
MIDI data to merge with, instead of replace, pre- wish to remove it, go back in the Undo History, or
existing data on the record-selected track. The pre- remove the punched in soundbite and use the Heal
existing data on the track is not erased. It works as Separation command (“Heal Separation” on
if you recorded one track, recorded a second track page 536) to close the gap.
to go along with it and then merged the two.
Overdub record mode lets you choose either
Audio overdub recording method (replacing or layering) for punch-in
When overdub record mode is enabled, punched- recording.
in audio is layered on top of existing audio. The
existing audio remains beneath it, but only the
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Overdub recording and the Conductor Track The Memory Cycle button causes Digital
Overdub does not affect the Conductor Track; Performer to loop a section indefinitely. To prevent
specifically, recording on the Conductor Track accidental erasure of the previous record pass,
while slaved to Tap tempo sync always erases Digital Performer falls out of record mode when it
existing tempo events. hits the cycle end point, unless Overdub mode is
enabled.
Record With Overdub On or Off
Regardless of the current Overdub state, you can 2 Set the start and end times of the time range you
override when recording it by using the Record want to loop in the Memory bar.
With Overdub On or Record With Overdub Off
commands. These do not have key bindings by For a two measure loop, make the stop time
default, but can be assigned key bindings in the 3|1|000. For a four measure loop, make the stop
Commands window. time 5|1|000. Stop time is always the downbeat of
the measure after the last one in the loop. You can
RECORDING MULTIPLE TAKES set the loop points graphically by dragging the loop
A take stores the contents of the track. Each track repeat barlines in the time ruler of any window that
can have an unlimited number of takes. Takes are has one, such as the Sequence Editor or the Track
an ideal way to record, store, edit, and combine Overview, as shown below.
multiple versions of the material in a track. For
details, see chapter 48, “Takes and Comping” Memory Cycle start and end points (can be dragged)
(page 611).
CYCLE-RECORDING
Several of Digital Performer’s features can be
combined to provide comprehensive cycle-
recording, complete with MIDI Spot Erase and
erasing the last pass. 3 If the playback wiper is not visible in the Track
Overview or Sequence Editor, open the Auto Scroll
Setting up for cycle-recording window (View menu) and turn on (check) the
To cycle-record: cursor option for the window.
1 Click the Memory Cycle and Overdub record The wiper shows you where playback is during
buttons in the Control Panel. looping.
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Cycle-recording in MIDI tracks Spot Erasing from your MIDI controller
When you cycle-record into a MIDI track, each A set of cycle-record commands, including a MIDI
new pass is combined with the data from previous Spot Erase function, is included in the Commands
passes in the same track take. For example, if the window. These controls help further provide
track is currently set to Take 1, and you first record drum-machine style loop recording by providing
a kick drum, the snare drum notes that you play in the ability to spot erase from your MIDI controller
the second pass are combined with the kick drum while cycle-recording.
notes in Take 1. You can, of course, change takes at
any time. After you’ve assigned a key to Spot Erase, hold
down the Spot Erase key and play back; any notes
Editing newly recorded MIDI data you hold down on your MIDI controller keyboard
In Digital Performer, recorded MIDI data and that exist in the track are erased as the wiper passes
digital audio data appears immediately as you them.
record it, before you press the Stop button. For
MIDI data, this allows you to edit the data (erase,
transpose, quantize, etc.) without stopping cycle-
recording. Audio data, however, cannot be edited
until after you press the stop button.
To quickly erase the last pass while recording a Next/Previous item Key to press
MIDI drum track, open the Drum Editor or MIDI Device Shift up-arrow
Editor and double-click the note name in the note Shift down-arrow
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Recording while still-framed two different sample formats. 24-bit audio has a
If you are slaving to an external sync source, Digital noticeably enhanced detail, tightness in the bottom
Performer allows you to remain in record mode end, and overall depth.
while the video parked on a SMPTE frame. To do
so, check the Record while still framed option in the 32-bit floating point audio file resolution is an
Receive Sync settings in the Setup menu. emerging standard used for high-end recording,
mixing and mastering applications. The advantage
SAMPLE FORMAT of floating-point representation over fixed-point
Digital Performer supports three sample formats: representation is that it can support a much wider
16-bit integer, 24-bit integer, and 32-bit floating range of values by allowing the decimal point to
point. “float” among the digits than store the value of each
sample. For example, a fixed-point representation
24-bit digital audio recording uses a 24-bit word to that has eight decimal digits, with the decimal
describe each sample recorded. 16-bit recording point assumed to be positioned after the sixth
provides 2 to the 16th — or 65,536 — values to digit, can represent the numbers 123456.78,
record the level of audio for any given sample. 8765.43, 123.00, and so on, whereas a floating-
24-bit recording supplies 8 more bits (2 to the point representation with eight decimal digits
24th), providing over 16 million separate values could also represent 1.2345678, 1234567.8,
(16,777,216 to be exact) with which to record the 0.000012345678, 12345678000000000, and so on.
level of any given sample. As you can see, 24-bit 32-bit resolution allows audio data to be stored
recording provides 256 times the resolution — or with a very high precision and very wide dynamic
“fineness” — of 16-bit recording. range.
24-bit recording has several advantages over 16-bit Digital Performer’s mix engine employs 32-bit
recording. One is signal-to-noise ratio. In digital floating point precision throughout. Recording as
recording, each bit provides approximately 6 dB of 32-bit float is a good way to preserve the floating
signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). So 16-bit recording point precision employed by the Digital Performer
provides a theoretical 96 dB of SNR, 20-bits mix engine at all stages, particularly if you will be
provide 120 dB, and 24-bits provide 144 dB. With re-recording, bouncing, or applying effects
medium to loud audio material, such as a pop constructively or destructively to your audio.
music recording, this extra 48 dB of SNR is not a
significant advantage. On quiet recordings, Choosing the sample format
however, with long instrument decays or reverb Digital Performer allows you to use audio files of
tails, the extra SNR can become much more of an different sample formats within the same project.
important advantage over 16-bit recording. You can freely import files at different sample
formats and use them without first converting
The much more significant difference between 16 them.
and 24 bit recording is the resolution, and this
factor impacts sound at all levels, soft and loud, The project’s sample format setting (Preferences >
even to the untrained ear. As mentioned earlier, Audio Files) applies only to newly recorded or
24-bit recording has 256 times the resolution of created files; existing files are not affected when you
16-bit recording. You can readily hear the change that setting.
difference when A/B-ing material recording at the
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The sample format is saved with the Digital
Performer project, and it can be different from
project to project. You can also set a default sample
format that will be used for new projects. You can
change the sample format of a Digital Performer
project at any time.
slow
■ Other interruptions
See “Audio troubleshooting” on page 958 for more
information about how to handle error messages.
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REC O R D I N G
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CHAPTER 23 Click and Countoff
OVERVIEW CLICK
Digital Performer provides flexible, programmable The Click is the audible indication of the
click and countoff features to help you achieve Metronome beat. The Click can “click” on the beat,
optimal results during recording. or you can customize it to click in any pattern that
you prefer. When it clicks on the beat, we refer to
You can use the click and countoff in any recording the click pattern as a beat click. For the beat click,
situation, from personal record passes to the the beat is determined by each meter change in the
Hollywood scoring stage. Conductor track (or the default 4/4 beat if no meter
changes have been added). If the Click is on,
Click . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Digital Performer will click at the beginning of
Click Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
every measure. The first beat of every measure is
Click Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
slightly accented. The subsequent clicks in the
Countoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
measure depend on how the metronome click
Countoff preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
value is set in the current meter. To learn more
about setting meters, see chapter 56, “Change
Meter” (page 693).
233
Enabling the click
To turn on the Click, choose Click from the Studio
menu or press Command/Ctrl-5. To turn off the
click, choose it again. When the Click is on, the
Click menu item will be checked.
Type of click
There are three choices for the type of click: Audio,
MIDI and Visual Punches.
Audio click
The audio click plays back with sample-accurate
precision. You can assign the click to play on any
available audio output bundle in your system. A
variety of preset click sounds are provided, and you
can add an unlimited number of your own custom
click sounds.
Figure 23-3: Choosing a click sound.
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CLICK AND COUNTOFF
Adding your own click sounds First, you specify the device that will play the
To add your own clicks to the click sound menus, accented and unaccented click by choosing it from
save them as a mono AIFF, or WAVE audio file, give the menu provided. The list of devices in the menu
the file the name you wish to see in the menu, and shows any virtual instruments that are currently
then drop it into the Clicks folder below. You can available, as well as any external instruments
add as many click sounds as you wish. provided by your MIDI device configuration
(Setup menu > Bundles > MIDI Devices tab).
Platform Path
Mac OS X /Library/Application Support/MOTU/Digital Pitch is the pitch of the note, expressed as a scale
Performer/Clicks
letter (A-G) (use the number sign # to represent a
Windows C:\ProgramData\MOTU\Digital Performer\Clicks\ sharp, or a small letter ‘b’ to represent a flat) and an
octave number. For example, C3 means middle C.
Playing the audio click on the computer internal
speaker (Mac only) Velocity is the attack (on) velocity, expressed as a
You can play the audio click on the computer’s number from 0-127.
internal speaker, even when you are using a third-
party audio interface product general audio input Gate specifies the length of the note in milliseconds
and output. Just Command/Ctrl-click the Built-in (thousandths of a second).
Audio option in the Configure Hardware Driver
dialog to select it (along with your third-party Visual Punches
hardware driver), as shown in Figure 4-1 on Visual Punches work just like the punches
page 25 in the DP Getting Started Guide. Then associated with streamers, as explained in
choose Built-in Audio from the audio click’s output chapter 63, “Streamers, Punches and Flutters”
menu (Figure 23-2). (page 731), except that they flash on-screen on
each click. They can be used with or without the
Disabling the audio click audible click. Choose the desired color and size
To disable the audio click, uncheck the Audio check from the menus provided (Figure 23-1). You can
box (Figure 23-1). also choose the output devices to be used to
generate the visual click.
MIDI Click
The MIDI click (Figure 23-1) sends a MIDI note for Click options
every click. For this option, you must set up an Always click makes the click audible whenever
instrument to receive these notes and play a ‘click’ Digital Performer is counting off, playing or
sound of your choosing. For example, you could recording.
use Digital Performer’s Model 12 virtual drum
module or an external hardware drum machine to Only during countoff makes the click audible only
play a side stick or rim shots. during countoff measures. When playback or
recording begins, the click will fall silent. See
Data for MIDI click “Countoff preferences” on page 238 for more
These options define what notes are played if the information about the countoff.
MIDI option is selected. The Accented note is played
on the first beat of each measure; the Normal note is Only when recording makes the click audible only
played at all other times. Each note has four when Digital Performer is in record mode. If the
parameters: Countoff button is enabled, Digital Performer will
also click during the countoff in this mode.
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CLICK AND COUNTOFF
No accent removes the accent from the first click in The default click list
each measure. This option affects both the audio Using the Add button (Figure 23-4) to add a default
click and the MIDI click. click panel to the list. Each panel in the list defines
a click setting for a specific meter within a tempo
Audition Click range. Each default click (Figure 23-5) is defined by
If the Audition Click option is enabled, Digital the following information in its panel:
Performer will audition the metronome sound as it
is currently configured, at the current tempo. ■ A meter
CLICK DEFAULTS
To access the Click Defaults, choose Preferences
from the Digital Performer menu (Mac OS) or Edit
menu (Windows) and click the Click Defaults list Figure 23-5: A default click.
entry (Figure 23-4). This feature lets you choose a Default click settings
preferred click pattern for any meter and tempo Choose the desired meter from the menu and then
range that you specify. For example, at a slow 6/8 specify a tempo range using the controls provided.
time, you might prefer to click on eighth note sub- Then choose the type of click you would like to
divisions, whereas for a fast 6/8 you might prefer to hear for that meter within the tempo range you
only click every dotted-quarter note. You can specify. You can specify either a Pattern click or a
create as many default click patterns as you wish for Beat click, or you may choose a saved custom click
any variety of meters and tempo ranges. pattern from the click menu.
After you customize your default click patterns as Saving a customized click
desired, Digital Performer will automatically use If you create a customized click and you wish to
them whenever the click is enabled and your save it by name for use with Digital Performer’s
sequence Conductor Track matches the meter and many other click-related features, use the
tempo of each default click. commands in the click menu (Figure 23-6), which
allow you to save, rename and delete as many
custom clicks as you wish. To save a pattern click,
choose Pattern from the menu, type in the desired
pattern as explained in “Pattern click” on page 679,
and then choose Save Pattern from the menu
(Figure 23-6). Saved clicks then become available
from the Saved Patterns sub-menu in all projects.
Saved click patterns do not hold any meter or
tempo information; they just hold the customized
click pattern that you specified at the time that you
saved it. To rename or delete a saved click pattern,
choose it first and then choose the Rename Pattern
Figure 23-4: Click Default preferences. or Delete Pattern menu command (Figure 23-6).
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CLICK AND COUNTOFF
☛ Tip: if you begin the name of each saved enter the number of measures and beats. Several
custom click pattern with the base meter (i.e.“4/4”, other options are also provided. For further details,
“3/4”, etc.), then all saved click patterns for a given see “Countoff preferences” on page 238.
meter will be grouped together in the Saved
Patterns sub-menu. In general, the menu lists them If you choose a countoff that is not simply a whole
in alphabetical order. number of measures, the Countoff button in the
Control Panel displays the number of beats in the
countoff that you have chosen. For example, the
countoff button displays 2 Bars if you have chosen 2
measures and 0 beats. But it displays 9 Beats if you
have chosen 2 measures and 1 beat (in 4/4 time).
Indefinite countoff
Figure 23-7: The Countoff button produces any number of bars For an indefinite countoff (the countoff keeps
(measures) and/or beats of countoff that you wish.
going until you start playing), turn on the Wait
To set the number of countoff measures and/or button (discussed in the next section) at the same
beats, Option/Alt-click on the Countoff button. time as the countoff button.
The Countoff preferences will open, where you can
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CLICK AND COUNTOFF
COUNTOFF PREFERENCES Beat Value
To access the Countoff preferences, Option/Alt- The beat value option clicks according to the
click the Countoff button in the Control Panel. You current meter’s beat value. See “Change meter
can also choose Preferences from the Digital basics” on page 693 for an explanation of what a
Performer menu (Mac OS) or Edit menu meter’s beat value is.
(Windows) and click the Countoff list entry
(Figure 23-8).
238
CLICK AND COUNTOFF
Pattern overlays them on video being played in Digital
The Pattern click produces a click according to a Performer’s movie window. For more information
pattern specified, with a single specified sound about working with visual streamers and punches,
(such as a drum kit). See “Pattern click” on see chapter 63, “Streamers, Punches and Flutters”
page 679. (page 731).
Visual countoff
The countoff preferences (Figure 23-8) allow you
to trigger visual streamers and punches during the
countoff. These visual effects can be produced by
supporting hardware (as listed in “Supported film
cue hardware” on page 732) and displayed on a
video monitor connected to the hardware. They
can also be generated by Digital Performer, which
239
CLICK AND COUNTOFF
240
CLICK AND COUNTOFF
CHAPTER 24 MIDI Monitor
OPENING THE MIDI MONITOR WINDOW ☛ The Input Filter has no impact on the MIDI
Choose MIDI Monitor from the Studio menu; the Monitor window’s display.
window will appear. To move it, click in the title bar
☛ The MIDI Monitor window only displays
and drag to the desired location. To close the MIDI
incoming MIDI activity — only data being received
Monitor window, click in the window’s close
by Digital Performer from somewhere else — not
button.
outgoing data being sent by Digital Performer.
241
Active sensing messages, which are sent by some
brands of MIDI equipment, are ignored by the
MIDI Monitor window. To see if your equipment is
“on-line” and working correctly, send note data
and observe the Channel Activity indicators.
242
MIDI MONITOR
CHAPTER 25 Audio Monitor
243
Available record time the name of the input of the track currently being
Displays the total amount of time available for recorded into. Use “Custom” to choose your own
recording on the hard disk where the take file is names.
currently located. Time is displayed in minutes and
seconds. Click the value to toggle between Scroll to Record Enabled Inputs: When checked,
minutes:seconds and megabytes (MB). Option/ the Audio Monitor will automatically scroll to the
Alt-click to toggle all inputs at once. One minute of record-enabled inputs.
audio at 44.1 kHz takes up about 5 MB of hard disk
space. For other sample rates, see “How much disk BUSES IN THE AUDIO MONITOR
space does audio require?” on page 56 in the DP The Audio Monitor shows both inputs and busses.
Getting Started Guide. For example, under the MOTU Audio System,
typically you’ll have several hardware inputs, along
Take Folder with sixteen or more buses. (Under the MOTU
Displays the current location on disk of the takefile. Audio System, the number of available buses is
Click to toggle the display between showing the full adjustable. See “Stereo buses” on page 31 in the DP
path name and the abbreviated path name; hold Getting Started Guide.) Bus inputs are displayed in
option to toggle the display for all takefiles at once. the Audio Monitor because you can assign a bus to
the input of a track, which you can then record.
MINI-MENU QUICK REFERENCE When you record a track that has a bus as its input,
Set Take Folder: Lets you change the location of the the audio input from the bus gets recorded onto
currently selected takefiles in the Audio Monitor your hard drive into the takefile shown for the bus
window. Click, Shift-click, or use Select All to in the Audio Monitor window. To help you identify
highlight the take file names before choosing this them, takefiles for bus inputs are given a default
command. name that includes the word bus.
Level Range: Lets you choose among several VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT INPUTS
different level ranges for the meters in the Audio The Audio Monitor also displays any virtual
Monitor, from 6 dB to 42 dB. instrument inputs that may currently be available
to Digital Performer, from instrument plug-ins or
Retain Clip: When checked, this command causes virtual instrument software that is running
the clip indicators to remain lit after clipping has concurrently with Digital Performer. Any inputs
occurred (instead of only remaining lit as clipping that appear in the Inputs tab of the Bundles window
occurs). Click the clip indicator to turn it off. (Studio menu) will also appear in the Audio
Monitor.
Base file names on menu: When the “Track” option
is checked, this command causes takefile names to
be derived from the name of the track currently
being recorded into. For example, When this
option is checked, and the currently record-
enabled track is named Guitar, the takefile name
will be called Guitar-x, where x is a take number
automatically assigned by Digital Performer.
Likewise, when the “Input” option is checked, this
command causes takefile names to be derived from
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AUDIO MONITOR
NAMING A TAKEFILE BEFORE RECORDING To change the location where a takefile will be
If the Base file names on >Track mini-menu item is recorded:
checked (Figure 25-3 on page 246), then Digital
Performer will automatically derive the audio file 1 Double-click the takefile name in the Audio
name from the name of the track currently being Monitor.
recorded into.
Alternatively, you can click the takefile name once
If the Base file names on >Input mini-menu item is to highlight it and choose Set take folder from the
checked (Figure 25-3 on page 246), then Digital mini-menu. The Change Directory window
Performer will automatically derive the audio file appears.
name from the name of the input of the track
currently being recorded into. 2 If necessary, use the Change Directory window
to go to the desired folder or location on your hard
If you want, you can choose the Base file names on disk.
>Custom mini-menu item and give the takefile any
name you wish. To manually set the takefile name 3 If you want to create a new folder, click New
before recording, choose the Base file names on Folder.
>Custom mini-menu item and Option/Alt-click
4 If you want to select an existing folder, click the
the takefile name in the Audio Monitor. To rename
folder’s name in the list to highlight it, and click
the audio file after it has been recorded, Option/
Choose.
Alt-click its name in the Soundbites window.
Changing the takefile location for several (or
CHANGING THE TAKEFILE LOCATION all) inputs once
BEFORE RECORDING To change the takefile location for all inputs at one
Digital Performer automatically keeps track of the
time, click and Shift-click the takefiles you want to
audio files associated with the project, regardless of
change and then choose Set Take Folder from the
where you store them on your hard disk. (For more
Audio Monitor mini-menu.
information, see chapter 4, “Audio File
Management” (page 47).) There might be times, Organizing audio files into folders as you go
however, when you would like to change the Let’s say you’re currently adding the following to a
takefile location. sequence: backup vocals on input 1 and acoustic
guitar on input 2. You also know you will be
By default, Digital Performer places takefiles into a recording at least several takes for each part, thus
folder named Audio Files, which it automatically creating several audio files for each.
creates in the project folder when you first open a
new project. If necessary or desired, you can move In this situation, you might find it handy to place
the takefile to a different disk or folder. For the vocal takes into one folder and guitar takes
example, you may want to organize your takefiles (record files) into another so that you don’t get the
into folders as you record them for convenience. vocal audio files mixed up with the guitar audio
Each input can be assigned a different location, files. (It isn’t absolutely necessary to separate
allowing you to record into separate folders and record files like this, but the more takes you record,
even hard drives. For general tips about audio file the easier it will be to sort through them later on, if
management, see chapter 4, “Audio File necessary.)
Management” (page 47).
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AUDIO MONITOR
Checking the current takefile location For a signal with a wide dynamic range, use a larger
The current location of the takefile for each input is value; for a signal with a fairly consistent and
shown in the Take Folder column in the Audio narrow dynamic range, use a smaller value and
Monitor as shown below. record it as close to zero as possible. But be sure not
to clip. (See the next section.)
The abbreviated take file location is Click it to display the full path name
shown as the hard disk and folder of the take file location, which is
name separated by two colons. shown with single colons.
1 Click the take folder location. Figure 25-3: The Audio Monitor mini-menu.
2 Click the window’s zoom button in the title bar Using the clip indicator to avoid clipping
to expand the window so you can see the full path Each sample in a digital audio signal is expressed as
name. a number within a certain range. (In 16-bit audio,
the value of each sample is expressed as a binary
number containing 16 bits, which provides a range
of over sixty five thousand values.) If the level of
audio being recorded or played back exceeds the
range that can be expressed, the result is clipping.
Figure 25-2: Click the zoom button to expand the window. Those portions of the audio waveform that exceed
3 Click the zoom button again to return the the maximum value of the dynamic range get cut
window to its original size and position. off at the maximum value that can be expressed.
This causes the top of the waveform to get chopped
You can also double-click the path to open a off, giving it a shape more like a square wave, as
window to that location. shown below. The clipped audio signal on the left
will sound distorted:
Remembering takefile locations
Digital Performer remembers the takefile location
settings when you save the file so that it will
remember to put takefiles in the same folder the
next time you record. If you like, you can save
takefile locations in your new template file using
Clipped Not clipped
the Save As Template command.
247
AUDIO MONITOR
248
AUDIO MONITOR
CHAPTER 26 Looping
249
A loop need not be set on measure boundaries (i.e. Here are some examples of the effects of conflicting
on beat one, tick zero of the measure). They can loops:
start anywhere in a measure. We’ll use loops
■ Bars 1 to 9 played four times, bars 5 to 13 played
starting on measure boundaries as examples to
keep things clear. In practice, any location is fine. four times.
The first loop takes precedence. Bars 1 to 9 are
If a track contains loops, a looping indicator
played and the loop repeats back to bar 1. The
appears in the Loop column next to the track name
second loop is ignored.
in the Track List; this indicator can’t be used to
change anything: it is merely a reminder that the ■ Bars 1 to 17 played four times, bars 1 to 3 looped
track contains loops. The loop also appears infinitely.
graphically in the Track Overview and the various
graphic editor windows. Bars 1 to 3 are played eight times, lasting until bar
17. Then the “outer” loop (the one with the later
Nested loops end time) takes over, terminating the “inner” loop.
Each track may can contain multiple loops. You can This returns to bar 1, playing the inner loop eight
even have nested loops in a track, i.e. loops within times again. This cycle repeats four times until the
loops. Here’s an example of nested loops, all in the outer loop is finished. At that point, the sequence is
same track: at bar 65 and it continues playing from there, all
previous loops done.
■ Bars 1 to 3 played 8 times (lasting from bar 1 to
eight times.
■ Bars 17 to 19 played 4 times (lasting from bar 17
2 If desired, enable the edit grid and choose a grid 1 In the Tracks Overview or any edit window,
size. select the data you would like to loop.
3 Click at the desired start location in the Marker 2 Choose Insert Loop from the Region menu.
Strip (in the MIDI Editor) or directly in the track
strip (in the Sequence Editor), drag to the right to
draw the desired length, and release the mouse at
the end location.
2 Choose Loop from the insert menu and press the Choose the number of repetitions for the loop, or
“+” button to insert it. choose “Infinite”.
A new loop event pops up. 4 To enter the loop, press Return. To cancel, press
Escape or Command/Ctrl-period (.).
type “i” in the repetitions field, Digital Performer Drum Editor “Loop tool” on page 422
will fill in the word “infinite”.
Notation Editor “To insert a loop” on page 371
(Same as MIDI Editor)
4 To enter the loop, press Return. To cancel, click
QuickScribe Editor N/A
anywhere with the mouse. (Loops can’t be inserted in QuickScribe)
If you’d like to insert another loop, press the Enter Sequence Editor “Working with loops” on page 363
key. This enters your loop and produces another Waveform Editor “Creating a sampler loop” on page 490
new loop event.
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LOOPING
Viewing and editing loops in the Event List To edit loops using the Tracks window and the Edit
Loops can be viewed and edited in the Event List menu, first make sure Loops are checked in the
for the track that contains them. Viewing loops in View Filter. Then select the tracks to be edited,
Event Lists is a good way to see them in context. define the region using the Selection Start and End
This will help you to see when they occur, what times, and choose the desired command from the
data they cause to be skipped, etc. Edit menu. Checking only Loops in the Filter is
useful for editing loops without altering the MIDI
data in the selected region.
Nested loop
Removing loops
Looped
events Loops can be deleted like any other type of data.
Select the loop and press the delete key, or use the
Cut or Erase commands.
Skipped
loop events Loop recording
“Loop recording” is the process of overdub
recording into a region over and over again “drum-
Figure 26-2: Data inside a nested loop is indented. Data that won’t machine style” to build up a pattern. This is best
play as a result of the loop is italicized.
done with the Memory Cycle feature in Digital
Events in a loop are indented to the right in the Performer or the POLAR window (for audio). See
Event List, as shown in Figure 26-2. Events in “Cycle-recording” on page 227 and chapter 28,
nested loops are indented further to the right. “POLAR” (page 265) for detailed information.
Events that are skipped due to loops are displayed After you have built a loop using Memory Cycle or
in italics. These display features will let you see POLAR, you can insert a permanent loop over the
immediately which events are within loops, what region. See “Creating a permanent loop” on
level of loop nesting is happening at any given page 229.
location and what the effect of the loop is, i.e. what
data will be skipped. Inserting and editing loops during playback
Loops can be inserted and edited during playback
You can edit loops in the Event List just like any as described throughout this chapter. Just
other event. Simply click on the value in the loop remember that it may take Digital Performer a
you wish to change and enter a new value. To clear moment to cue up data after you’ve made a change,
a loop or loops from an Event List, highlight the depending on the magnitude of what you did with
loop and select Erase from the Edit menu. your edit or insertion.
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LOOPING
CHAPTER 27 Step Record
Step Record quick reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 The Tick box displays the duration in ticks for the
Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 step. You can enter the duration for the step directly
Getting ready . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 by clicking in this box and typing in the number of
Performing step entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 ticks.
Step recording during playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
The Tuplet duration box allows you to enter any
Step Record shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
kind of tuplet: triplets, quintuplets, etc.
Be careful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 The Backstep button erases the previous step.
STEP RECORD QUICK REFERENCE
The Step button records the current step with the
Current Tick Step Tuplet Step-
record box Duration duration record chosen duration.
track Buttons box Mini-
menu
The Beat button records the current step and
advances you to the next beat.
The Duration box sets the duration of the notes ■ nothing: i.e. a rest
being entered, where 100% is the length of the
■ struck notes: Notes with attacks at the beginning
current step.
of the step. Unless held into the next step, these will
The Offset box shifts the attack time of the note be released at the end of the step.
being entered earlier or later than the current step. ■ held notes: Notes with attacks in a previous step.
Step recording notes and rests 2 (Optional) Open the Sequence Editor, Event
A step consists of a particular duration (an eighth List, MIDI Editor, QuickScribe Editor, or other edit
note, for example). In addition, a step can contain window for the track on which you are recording.
one or more notes that are being held over from
previous steps. All notes in a step last for the You can open several edit windows, if you like. This
complete duration of that step. is recommend because it allows you to see what you
are step recording as you go.
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STEP RECORD
3 If you are using the Sequence Editor, MIDI
Editor, or QuickScribe Editors, make sure these
windows are set to follow the counter in the Auto
Scroll preferences, including their playback wiper. Figure 27-3: The Overdub Record mode button lets you record data
into a track without erasing what is already there.
4 Set the Counter to the time you wish to start 6 Select Step Record from the Studio menu.
recording.
The Step Record window appears.
If you want to start at the beginning of the
sequence, set the Counter to 1|1|000. The current step indicator in the Step Record
window displays the starting location for the first
5 If you don’t want to erase pre-existing music on step; this is automatically set to the current Counter
the track and want to merge new material with old, location.
click the Overdub record mode button in the
Control Panel.
Figure 27-2: The Step Record window, along with the Event List, Sequence Editor, and QuickScribe Editor for the track being
step recorded into. Notice that since Auto Scroll has been enabled in the Setup menu, the windows are scrolling as notes are
entered. Also notice that the Sequence and QuickScribe Editors have the scrolling cursor to indicate the current step location.
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STEP RECORD
When you are finished setting up, you will see the Entering a tuplet duration
Step Record window, along with one or more of the The tuplet box can be used to set the step duration
edit windows for the track. The notes that you step to a tuplet value, allowing you to enter triplets,
record will appear in the edit windows as you quintuplets, septuplets, etc. These values are
proceed with step recording. expressed in the standard way, x in the time of y
durations. The tuplet box, when active, actually
Setting step durations modifies the duration you choose in the duration
The duration buttons are used to set step durations. boxes (including the dot and double dot
Clicking on a duration button will highlight it and modifiers). For example, at 480 ppq, an eighth note
assign that duration to the step. Durations remain duration is equivalent to 240 ticks. If the tuplet box
set until changed, allowing you to enter a stream of is set to “3 in the time of 2”, step duration
notes with the same duration very quickly. (displayed in the tick box) becomes 160 ticks, one
third of a quarter note.
To select more than one duration box at once, hold
down the Shift key while clicking on the desired Here are a few additional examples: eighth note
duration box(es). When more than one box is triplets are three equal duration notes in the time of
selected, the step duration is equal to the sum of the two eighth notes. Quintuplet sixteenth notes are
selected values. five equal notes in the time of four sixteenth notes.
You can also select durations using the extended The tuplet box is active when the check box next to
numeric keypad. (On Windows, make sure the the word “Tuplet” is highlighted. Make sure to
Num Lock key is engaged to use these keypad deselect it when you have finished entering the
shortcuts.) Press one of the number keys to select a tuplet values. You may enter any number of notes in
duration. It remains selected until you deselect it. the space of any other number. Digital Performer
To deselect it, press it again. does all the necessary calculations for the proper
durations; you needn’t worry about the exact
These Step Controls are completely customizable.
number of ticks a single tuplet duration will
See chapter 8, “Commands” (page 91).
require.
Setting dotted durations
Specifying an exact number of ticks for a step
The dot and double dot boxes can be used to
Digital Performer computes the number of ticks
modify the selected step duration. If the dot box is
for each duration automatically when you click on
selected, it signifies a dotted step duration, i.e. one
the boxes. You can directly specify the exact
and one half the value of the highlighted duration.
number of ticks for a step by editing the numeric
If an eighth note and dot are selected, the step
duration specified in the tick box. All duration
duration will be a dotted eighth note, i.e. a metrical
boxes will be deselected to indicate that you are
value of an eighth plus a sixteenth. If the double-
entering the number of ticks directly. At this time,
dot box is selected, it signifies a double-dotted step
you can type in a new duration value. Click on any
duration, i.e. one and three quarters the value of
duration box to return to specifying durations as
the highlighted durations. If a quarter note and
note values.
double dot are selected, the step duration will be a
double-dotted quarter note, i.e. a metrical value of
a quarter plus an eighth plus a sixteenth. Only one
of the dot boxes may be active at a time.
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STEP RECORD
Choosing a note duration notes to be played in a staccato fashion, you would
Normally, the duration of the note being probably set the duration to approximately 120
step-entered is 100%, which makes it exactly as ticks or some other value less than 480 ticks.
long as the step itself. For example, if the step was a
quarter note, the note would be 480 ticks long (at One way to control the duration is with the
480 ticks per quarter note resolution). duration option described earlier in “Choosing a
note duration”.
Often, however, you might want to choose a
different duration than the length of the step. For Often, however, you might like to select a different
example, you might want to enter staccato quarter duration for each type of note (quarter note, half
notes: at 480 ppq, the step duration is 480 ticks, but note, whole note, sixteenth, etc.). For example, you
the duration of the notes should be much shorter— might want quarter notes to be 80% of their step
say around 60 ticks. duration, half notes to be 100%, and sixteenth
notes to be 65%, where each duration has an
To set a duration that is longer or shorter than the independent duration.
current step duration, type in a percentage below
or above 100%. You can set up default durations for each note
duration as follows:
The duration can be controlled on the fly using a
pitch bend or modulation wheel. For more 1 Double-click the duration button that you
information, see “Step Record shortcuts” on would like to set.
page 261.
A dialog box appears in which you can set the
Generating random note durations within a default duration for that note.
range
Note durations can be generated randomly within
a range. Choose Note Durations from the Step
Record mini-menu. In the duration range, as
shown in Figure 27-9 on page 262, enter the lowest
and highest percentage that you would like to use.
100% equals the current step duration, so if you’d
like to be able to enter notes longer than the step
duration, make the top value be above 100%. Figure 27-4: The Default Note Duration window (which you open by
Check the “Randomize Durations within a range” double-clicking a duration button in the Step Record window) lets
you choose a duration for each note length that is different than its
option. step size. For example, you may want to enter a lengthy passage of
staccato sixteenth notes. In this case, their step size is still 120 ticks (at
480 ppq), but you would want to make their duration shorter,
Setting default step-record durations perhaps 60 ticks.
Digital Performer allows you to control the
duration of the notes that you are step-entering 2 Type in the desired duration.
independently of the step duration. For example, if
you are entering quarter notes, the step duration is You can either type a percentage or a number of
480 ticks. However, if you would like the quarter ticks. In either case, the other text box will update
to reflect the value you enter. For example, if you
entered 50% in the box above, the tick value box
would change automatically to 240 (at 480 ppq).
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STEP RECORD
3 Click OK. Soloing the record track
Normally, all play-enabled tracks play along with
4 Repeat this procedure for each desired duration. you as you step record. However, if you want to
mute all other tracks in order to solo the one being
Choosing a note offset recorded into, click the Solo Playback check box.
Normally, step entered notes are inserted exactly at
the tick location of the current step. The offset PERFORMING STEP ENTRY
option allows you shift their entry a few ticks After setting the step duration, you are ready to
before or after the current step location. Offset is enter notes. When entering them, you can proceed
ideal for passages in which you’d like to push or lay to each next step automatically (with the Auto Step
back the feel. option checked) or manually (with the option
unchecked).
To place notes a certain number of ticks before the
current step location, type in a negative number of Stepping automatically
ticks in the offset text box. Enter one or more enter notes with Auto Step in the
following manner:
To place the notes a certain number of ticks after
the current step location, type in a positive number 1 Hold down one or more notes on your MIDI
of ticks. controller.
The offset can be controlled on the fly using a pitch 2 Release the notes to enter the step.
bend or modulation wheel. For more information,
see “Step Record shortcuts” on page 261. When Auto Step is enabled, a step is automatically
recorded when you release a key on your MIDI
Generating random note offsets within a range input keyboard, just as if you had pressed the Step
Note offsets can be generated randomly within a button. This makes entry quick and easy.
range. To do so:
For example, using Auto Step, you could enter an
1 Choose Note Offsets from the Step Record eighth note scale without using the step button: just
mini-menu. set the duration to an eighth note and play the scale
on your MIDI keyboard.
2 In the offset range, enter the earliest and latest
offset that you would like to use. When using Auto Step, be aware of the following
things:
Use a negative number to indicate the earliest
offset, such as -15. Play staccato: make sure that the notes for each step
are attacked and released crisply, with clean gaps
3 Check the “Randomize Durations within a
between the notes. If the release of a note overlaps
range” option.
with the attack of the next one, you may get two
notes in a step in which only one was intended.
4 Click OK.
Don’t worry about the duration. Remember, it is
determined by the duration option.
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STEP RECORD
Wrong notes will be recorded automatically. If you Hearing a click after each step
hit a wrong note, you must use the Backstep button When the Click with Each Step mini-menu item is
to erase it and re-enter the note or chord. This enabled, it causes a click to sound every time a step
differs from manual step mode in which you can is entered. This is highly recommended when using
replay the notes as many times as you like before Auto Step, as it is a useful indicator of step
you click on the Step button, and only those notes completions.
being played at the moment you click on the button
are recorded.
Stepping manually
At times, you may wish to choose when to proceed
to the next step, such as when you are holding a
note or chord through several steps. To do so: Figure 27-5: The “Click with Each Step” mini-menu item produces a
click every time a step is entered.
1 Hold down one or more notes on your MIDI
input keyboard. Listening to what you have recorded
When you are finished step recording, and you’d
2 Click on the Step button. like to hear what you have done, press Rewind, or
cue to the desired start measure. Then press Play.
3 Release the notes.
Disconnecting the counter from step record
This will cause one step to be recorded containing Notice that when you rewind and play back, or do
the notes you played. Clicking on the Step button just about anything else besides step-recording, the
will record those notes which are being held down Lock to Transport button in the lower left corner
on the controller keyboard. The step will not be unchecks. (You can also uncheck it by clicking it.)
completed until you press the Step button. If you This indicates that the main Counter in the Control
continue to hold the same notes down and press Panel is no longer locked to the current step
the Step button again, the notes will be recorded as location in the Step Record window.
“held” since they were not released in the previous
step.
If you play a wrong note, simply play the correct Figure 27-6: The Lock to Transport button is important: it engages
(and disengages) step recording from Digital Performer’s main trans-
one before pressing the Step button. port controls. If you don’t want the rest of the sequence to play as you
are step-recording, uncheck this button.
Entering rests
In this mode, the Step Record window acts entirely
Rests are entered by pressing the step, beat, or
independently of Digital Performer’s main
measure buttons with no notes held down. This
transports (play, stop, rewind, etc.), as well as the
records a step with no notes for the chosen
main Counter. Thus, you can play, rewind, fast
duration.
forward, stop, and otherwise cue around in the
sequence completely independently of where you
are step recording.
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STEP RECORD
In this mode, other tracks do not play along with window, such as the Event List, MIDI Editor, and/
the track that you are step recording into. To get or QuickScribe Editor for the track on which you
them to play along, click the Lock to Transport box are recording. See Figure 27-2 on page 255.
again to highlight it. Doing so locks the transports
to Step Record. Erasing the last step with the backstep button
Pressing the Backstep button will erase the step you
Connecting the main counter to step record just entered (the one displayed just above the
If, as you Step Record, you would like other tracks current step bar). After pressing the Backstep
to step along with you, enable Lock to Transport button, the time in the current step bar will be the
before you begin. Doing so causes Digital exact starting time of the step erased with the
Performer’s main Counter to follow the current Backstep button.
step indicator in the Step Record window. All play-
enabled tracks will play as you step through the Stepping to the next beat or measure
sequence. The Beat and Measure buttons are special step
advance buttons. They compute the duration
necessary to get to the next beat or measure: the
step is recorded using that duration and you are
Figure 27-7: Turning on Lock to Transport engages the Step Record advanced to the next beat or measure for the next
step buttons to Digital Performer’s main transport controls so that step. For example, if the current step is on 2|1|212
the entire sequence plays as you step record.
the meter is 4/4, and Digital Performer’s PPQ
Changing the current step location resolution is set to 480, when the Beat button is
To change the current step location: pressed, a step of 268 ticks will be recorded and the
next step will be entered at 2|2|000. If the Measure
1 Click the Current Step location to edit it. button is pressed, a step of 2|268 (2 quarter notes
and 268 ticks) will be entered and the next step will
be entered at 3|1|000.
To Step Record into a loop during playback: 9 When you reach the end of the loop, edit the
current step indicator to step-record the next pass
1 Choose Step Record from the Studio menu and through the loop.
uncheck the Lock to Transport box.
As Digital Performer keeps playing, you can repeat
This disconnects the main Counter from Step this step as many times as necessary as you build
Record. the loop. As you build it, you will continue to hear
it playback.
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STEP RECORD
Keyboard shortcuts in brackets are located on the
numeric keypad.
Step [Enter]
Beat [+]
Measure [-]
Figure 27-9: The Note Durations feature lets you adjust on the fly the
Tuplet on/off [/] durations of the notes you are step-recording with an external MIDI
controller, such as the pitch bend wheel on your controller keyboard.
128th note [9]
2 For duration range, enter the lowest and highest
64th note [8]
percentage that you would like to use.
32nd note [7]
100% equals the current step duration, so if you’d
16th note [6]
like to be able to enter notes longer than the step
8th note [5] duration, make the top value be above 100%. The
Quarter note [4] maximum value you can enter is 200%.
Half note [3] 3 For the MIDI remote control, enter the
Whole note [2] controller type, and enter a range of controller
values that will be mapped to the duration range
Double whole note [1]
you specified above.
Dot [.]
For example, if you specify a duration range of 50%
Double dot [=]
to 150%, and you specify a controller range of 0 to
Auto Step on/off [*] 100, when you move the mod wheel (pitch bend
Solo Playback on/off P wheel, or data slider) to 100, the duration will be
set to 150%. Likewise, if you move the controller to
Audible Click on/off K
0, the duration value will be set to 50%. You can
Clear MIDI Events [Clear] enter any of the above values by highlighting the
text box with the Tab key and moving the
Controlling duration with a MIDI controller controller wheel or slider.
You can set up Step Recording such that a mod
wheel or other continuous controller controls the ☛ Tip: use your pitch bend wheel so that you can
duration of the notes being inserted. always “snap” back to each note’s normal duration.
To assign a pitch bend wheel, mod wheel, or data 4 To enable the MIDI remote control, click the
slider to the duration: MIDI Remote Control check box.
1 Choose Note Durations from the Step Record 5 If you wish notes to be assigned a random
window mini-menu. duration within the duration range you’ve chosen,
click the “Random Duration within range” check
box.
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STEP RECORD
6 Click OK to confirm your choices. Likewise, if you move the controller to 0, the offset
value will be set to -15. You can enter any of the
Now you can control the duration with your mod above values by highlighting the text box with the
wheel. As you move the wheel, notice that the Tab key and moving the controller wheel or slider.
duration value changes in the Step Record window. The minimum is -240 ticks and the maximum is
240 ticks (at 480 ppq).
Controlling the offset with a MIDI controller
You can set up Step Recording such that a mod 4 If you would like the note’s duration to be
wheel or other continuous controller controls the maintained, check the “Subtract offset from
offset of the notes being inserted. durations” option.
To assign a pitch bend wheel, mod wheel, or data 5 To enable MIDI Remote Control, click the “Use
slider to the offset: MIDI Remote Control” check box.
1 Choose Note Offset from the Step Record 6 If you wish notes to be assigned a random offset
window mini-menu. within the range you’ve chosen, click the
“Randomize offset within range” check box.
HINTS
If you discover that you’ve left out a note after step
recording, use the Shift command on the Edit
menu to remove or add extra space to avoid having
PC
Keypad to re-enter the entire passage again.
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STEP RECORD
CHAPTER 28 POLAR
265
A TYPICAL POLAR SESSION After choosing the bass line you like the best (by
A typical POLAR session might go as follows: you muting all the other passes), you proceed to some
import a 4-measure drum loop, place it in a regular layered percussion. This time, you use POLAR’s
audio track in the Tracks window and set up the overdub recording capabilities, recording each
memory cycle points around it so you can loop- percussion instrument into the same pass. The
record over it in the POLAR window. result is one pass with all of the percussion parts in
it.
You open POLAR and record a bass line over the
drum loop. You like it, but you want to try again to Using these same techniques, you add rhythm
see if you can lay down something a little better. guitar and a lead guitar solo on top, mixing as you
You start playing another bass line and as soon as go with the mute, volume and pan controls for each
you start playing, POLAR automatically mutes the pass.
first pass for you (so it doesn’t interfere with your
new pass). You then record several more takes, When you’re done, you click the Export button in
automatically muting each previous pass as you the POLAR window, which writes the session to
begin recording a new one. Each take is stored as its disk as audio files and adds the session to the
own “pass” in the list at the bottom of the window, sequence as a single hard disk track right below the
as shown in Figure 28-1. drum loop you started with. (Or, if you prefer, you
can export each pass as its own separate track.)
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POLAR
Finally, you click the Save button in the POLAR ■ POLAR is also ideal for recording multiple takes
window to save the entire POLAR session as its of the same material, such as multiple takes for
own document. This allows you to go back to the solos, etc.
POLAR session at any time —exactly as you saved
■ How about writing entire sections of music? As
it — for further tweaking, layering, or other
long as you have enough RAM, you can build
modifications.
entire sections of music, interactively, in real time.
RAM-based loop recording
The scenario above is just an example. Generally
PREPARATIONS FOR USING POLAR
The following sections cover the specific features in
speaking, POLAR is ideal for any recording
the POLAR window.
situation that calls for recording multiple passes of
material, and either layering the passes on top of Listening to existing audio and MIDI tracks
one another or recording each pass individually, while recording in POLAR
storing each pass as a “take” that gets muted as you POLAR lets you record either with or without
begin a new take. listening to existing MIDI and/or audio tracks.
Recording in context If you don’t want to hear any sequence tracks while
One of the best things about POLAR is that you can recording in POLAR, the easiest way to keep them
play the rest of your sequence — both MIDI and from playing is to turn off the Link play button to
audio — while recording into it. main transport button in the POLAR window. For
details, see “Playback and transport control” on
Saving your POLAR session
page 271.
When you’re done recording into POLAR, you can
export your RAM-based audio as hard disk audio If you do want to listen to sequence tracks, leave
— and even automatically create tracks, right along this button turned on so that when you start
side your current MIDI and audio tracks — to save POLAR, the sequence will start, too. Often, you’ll
them with the rest of your Digital Performer want to loop a specific section of the sequence
project. Or you can save your POLAR session as its while recording in POLAR. To do so, turn on
own document. You can even do both, so that you Memory Cycle and set the cycle points accordingly.
can always go back to the original POLAR session This will make the sequence loop that section of
for further modification. music while you’re recording in POLAR.
IDEAS FOR USING POLAR Keep in mind, however, that you don’t necessarily
Here are a few ideas for how you can use POLAR: have to loop the sequence while recording a
POLAR session. For example, you could (if you
■ For years, Digital Performer has allowed you to
wanted to) play a 10-minute sequence from start to
build MIDI drum loops by overdub recording into
finish while layering 8-measure loops in POLAR.
a MIDI track. Now you can do this sort of thing
with audio in the POLAR window! Establishing a tempo reference
■ Remember the EchoPlex™? For those of you that
If you’re listening to existing material while
don’t, it was a device introduced in the 70’s that let recording into POLAR, then you’re all set to record
you record a short phrase and then build on top of at the tempo of the sequence.
it. POLAR is ideal for building this type of layered
effect.
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POLAR
If you don’t have any existing material to listen to, ■ Quit all other applications while you are running
but you want your POLAR material to match the Digital Performer.
tempo of the sequence, you might want to set up
■ Purchase more RAM for your computer. RAM is
Digital Performer’s metronome click as a reference
affordable these days (compared to the cost of your
for your first pass in POLAR. After you’ve recorded
computer). The more you have, the more flexibility
the first pass, you can turn off the click.
you have when using POLAR (e.g. you will be able
Recording without a tempo reference to record longer passes, more passes, etc.)
Of course, there’s no rule that says you have to
record at the sequence’s tempo. You can record into
SETTING THE LENGTH OF EACH PASS
POLAR is a loop recording environment.
POLAR with no tempo reference at all if you want
Therefore, each pass has a fixed length, which it
and then just build on your first pass — although
continuously (and seamlessly) loops as you record
you might find it a bit difficult to anticipate the end
into the pass and then play it. The length of each
of the loop when doing this sort of “free-form”
pass is determined by the current Memory Cycle
recording. Therefore, for free-form recording like
points (Figure 20-19 on page 186) at the moment
this, you might find it easier to give yourself a loop
when the pass is first created. So before you create a
length that is 5 or 10 seconds longer than what you
pass, set the Memory Cycle points as desired to
intend to record so that you can give yourself some
determine the length of the pass. After a pass is
blank time at the beginning and end of each pass.
created, its length cannot be changed. (But don’t
OPENING THE POLAR WINDOW worry. The POLAR window is very flexible, and
Choose POLAR from the Studio menu. there are other things you can do. For example, you
can collapse a pass with passes of other lengths.
MEMORY USED More on this later.)
POLAR records audio into RAM instead of writing
it to your hard disk. It uses memory in your Each pass can be any length you want. Even within
computer that it not being used by the system, the same POLAR session, you can create passes of
Digital Performer, MAS, or any other currently any length. For example, you might start with an 8-
running applications. The memory used display measure pass, and then record a 2-measure pass.
shows you how much RAM is currently being used The 2-measure pass simply loops continuously
by POLAR. over the 8-measure pass, which itself loops
continuously. You could then add a 1-measure pass
The maximum number of passes you can record in and even a 3- or 7-measure pass. Even though they
POLAR is determined by how much RAM is have odd lengths that don’t match, they all
available in your computer and how long the loop continuously loop against each other.
is that you are currently recording into.
Getting creative with passes of different
WAYS TO FREE UP RAM FOR POLAR lengths
RECORDING By using passes with odd lengths — especially ones
You can give yourself more passes by freeing up as that don’t land on measure or beat boundaries —
much RAM as possible before using POLAR. Here you can create loop “collages” that sound
are a few ways to free up RAM: somewhat repetitive but also sound like they are
continuously evolving. For example, you might try
a pass that is 14 and half beats against one that is 5
268
POLAR
and three quarters of a beat long. When you add 5 4 In the Mixing Board, choose whatever plug-ins
or 6 layers with lengths that don’t match, you can you would like from the track’s five plug-in inserts.
end up with some very interesting results. For example, you might use echo and PreAmp-1
fuzz on a live guitar input.
Setting the length of the first pass
When you first open the POLAR window, it opens 5 In the POLAR window, choose the same bus
empty, with no passes. As soon as you press the from the input menu.
record button, the first pass is created. So be sure to
set the Memory Cycle points before you begin ☛ When applying effects to input in this manner,
recording (or before you click the new button, if the effects will be recorded as part of the signal in
you’re using it to create the first pass) so the first POLAR, so you won’t be able to remove or modify
pass is the length you want. them later on. If you’d like to have that flexibility, do
your processing on output instead (discussed
CHOOSING AN INPUT AND SETTING INPUT shortly).
LEVEL
Use the INPUT section of the POLAR window to RECORDING MULTIPLE CHANNELS INTO
choose the input you would like to record from. POLAR
The input menu shows all of the inputs provided by If you need to record multiple channels of audio
your audio hardware; these are the same inputs that into POLAR, the way you set this up depends on
are available to regular audio tracks in the Tracks whether or not you’ll be recording them simulta-
window. neously.
You can switch the input at any time during If you are recording several live inputs simulta-
POLAR recording. neously, you’ll need to create a separate track with
the appropriate input for each one and then bus
Input level is determined by your audio hardware, them all to POLAR on the same bus. For example,
just like it is for a regular audio track. you could assign all of their outputs to bus 1-2 and
then choose bus 1-2 from POLAR’s input menu.
PROCESSING POLAR INPUT WITH EFFECTS
Notice that the input menu lets you choose a bus Notice that this technique allows you to apply
(or bus pair) as an input. This allows you to process different effects processing to each input in the
the live input going into POLAR with real-time Mixing Board.
effects plug-ins in Digital Performer’s Mixing
Board. Here’s how: If you are going to record several inputs one at a
time (not at the same time), you can set them up as
1 Create an audio track or aux track. just described above, or you can set up each one on
its own input and then just switch inputs on the fly
2 For the track’s input, choose the input from in POLAR during recording.
which you’ll be feeding POLAR your live audio
material. CHOOSING AN OUTPUT
Use the OUTPUT section of the POLAR window
3 For its output, choose a bus (or bus pair). to choose the output you would like to send
POLAR’s master stereo output mix. The output
menu shows all of the outputs provided by your
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POLAR
audio hardware; these are the same outputs that are sure that Audio Patch Thru is not set to “Off ” in the
available to regular audio tracks in the Tracks Studio menu, and choose the appropriate channel
window. pair from the output menu. If necessary, set the
buffer size in your audio hardware driver
You can switch the output at any time during accordingly to reduce patch through latency. See
POLAR recording. “Audio monitoring latency” on page 220.
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POLAR
THE RECORD GATE SETTINGS pan each pass. It also lets you reassign a pass to a
Attack preservation: This is the amount of material different group. (More on groups in the next
(in hundredths of seconds - hs) that POLAR section.) The table below discusses several other
preserves (includes in the recording) just before the capabilities in the pass list:
instant that the record gate is triggered. If you are
To do this Do this
using the record gate, and the material you are
recording sounds clipped off at the beginning, try Select a pass Click its waveform
increasing this setting. Delete a pass Select it and click the delete button
273
POLAR
it into RAM exactly in the same state as when you Toggle Toggles the Link play button to main trans-
saved it. For example, you might record a fairly Transport Link port button.
elaborate POLAR session, export just a stereo mix Set Group Assign Opens a dialog that lets you type in a group
number or play the group number from your
of it in your sequence as an audio track (for MIDI controller. (See “Export Key Bind-
simplicity), and then save the POLAR session ings” on page 93 to learn how to do this from
your MIDI keyboard.) This changes the
separately so that you can go back to it at any time number in the Assign new passes to group
box, and the current pass will be assigned to
to make modifications or additions. Between this group.
exporting and saving, the POLAR window gives
Increment/ Raises or lowers the current group number
you all the flexibility you need in saving your Decrement in the Assign new passes to group box.
Group Assign
POLAR sessions.
Toggle Auto Toggles the Auto increment group button.
Increment
POLAR session files are saved and opened as Group
separate documents on your hard drive using the
New Pass in Opens a dialog that lets you type in a group
buttons in the POLAR window. Group number or play the group number from your
MIDI controller. (See “Numeric Base note”
on page 93 to learn how to do this from your
REMOTE CONTROL OF THE POLAR MIDI keyboard.) A new pass is created and
assigned to the group.
WINDOW
POLAR is optimized for live, interactive recording Delete Passes In Opens a dialog that lets you type in a group
Group number or play the group number from your
with the computer. Therefore, all of its features can MIDI controller. (See “Numeric Base note”
be used by MIDI remote control, so that you can sit on page 93 to learn how to do this from your
MIDI keyboard.) All of the passes in the
in front of your instrument (or microphone or group you specify will be deleted.
whatever) and make music without having to reach Export Passes In Opens a dialog that lets you type in a group
over to the computer. To set up remote controls, go Group number or play the group number from your
MIDI controller. (See “Numeric Base note”
to the Commands window in the Setup menu. The on page 93 to learn how to do this from your
MIDI keyboard.) All of the passes in the
following table explains each POLAR command. group you specify will be exported (accord-
ing to the current Export Options settings).
POLAR remote What it does/ how to use it
Collapse Passes Opens a dialog that lets you type in a group
Toggle Play Toggles POLAR’s play button. In Group number or play the group number from your
MIDI controller. (See “Numeric Base note”
on page 93 to learn how to do this from your
Toggle Record Toggles POLAR’s record button. MIDI keyboard.) All of the passes in the
group you specify will be collapsed into one
Clear Passes Deletes all passes, including the current one. pass.
This is the same as clicking the Clear button.
Toggle Group Opens a dialog that lets you type in a group
Export Passes Exports as determined by the current Export Play Enable number or play the group number from your
options. This is the same as clicking the MIDI controller. (See “Numeric Base note”
Export button. on page 93 to learn how to do this from your
MIDI keyboard.) All of the passes in the
group you specify will be muted (or
Collapse Passes Merges all of the currently selected passes unmuted).
into one pass. This is the same as clicking the
Collapse button.
Polar Group Makes the current group louder or softer.
Louder/Softer The current group is the one whose number
New Pass Creates a new pass. The same as clicking the (assign group) is currently displayed in the Assign new
new button. passes to group box To specify the group
number, use the Set Group Assign remote
Toggle Manual Toggles between the two buttons in the Cre- before using this remote.
Pass Mode ate New Passes section of the POLAR win-
dow: the Manually button and the Trigger by Group Pan Left/ Pans the current group hard left or hard
record gate button. right (assign right. The current group is the one whose
group) number is currently displayed in the Assign
Toggle Mute Pre- Toggles the Mute Previous Passes button. new passes to group box. To specify the group
vious Passes number, use the Set Group Assign remote
before using this remote.
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POLAR
CHAPTER 29 Movie Window
275
■ Each sequence can have its own unique sequence Displaying a blank movie for visual cues
start time, but the movie start time is the same for You can open a blank movie (with a black
all sequences. Changing the sequence start time background) by choosing Project menu> Movie,
will make the movie begin earlier or later in the but then cancel the resulting dialog box. A blank
sequence. movie can be used for any purpose, but it is
especially useful for the purpose of providing a
■ The movie window is placed at the same
convenient, blank background for film score event
position and size for every sequence.
visual cues, as shown below in Figure 29-1:
■ Closing the movie window closes it for all
sequences.
■ Choosing a new movie for one sequence chooses
276
M O V I E W I NDO W
MOVIE CONTROL BAR Frame backward/forward
The movie control bar (Figure 29-2) appears in the The frame backward/forward buttons move
movie window when you move the mouse over the through the movie one frame at a time. Note that
window. Drag the bar to reposition it as desired. this means movie frames, not SMPTE frames. A
movie may have 15 fps, 30 fps, or even a number
Volume Play/Stop Full which varies throughout the movie. The left/right
screen
arrow keys will also work if the window is active.
Window resizing
Drag the bottom right corner to resize the movie
Time Scroll bar Frame Transport Time window, while maintaining its original aspect ratio.
elapsed backward/ lock remaining Shift-drag to resize and change aspect ratio of the
forward
window, which will add black bars (pillar box or
Figure 29-2: The Movie control bar.
letter box) above or below the movie as needed.
Volume Drag again without the shift key to remove the
The volume control allows you to set the playback black bars.
volume for the movie’s audio track.
Popping in and out of the Consolidated
Play/Stop Window
The Play/Stop button starts and stops movie Double-click anywhere on the movie to pop it in or
playback. out of a cell in the Consolidated Window. For
example, you may want to edit with the movie
Full screen displayed in a window cell, then pop it out and go
Click the full screen control to enter or exit full- full-screen to review your edits. Exit full-screen
screen mode. If you have multiple monitors, place mode and double-click it again to pop it back into
the movie window on the monitor you wish to fill the original window cell.
before entering full-screen mode. If the movie
window is full screen when you save and close the THE MOVIE TRACK
file, it will reopen in full screen mode when the Use the Sequence Editor track selector (see “The
project is reopened. To exit, press the escape key as Track Selector” on page 336) to display the Movie
a shortcut. track, which displays the movie you’ve opened in
the Digital Performer project, if any. For details
Time elapsed/remaining about the movie track, see “The movie track” on
Displays the amount of time already played page 364. All of the controls for the Movie window,
(elapsed) and yet to be played (remaining). such as the movie start time, audio output settings,
and mini-menu, are available in the track setting
Scroll bar panel to the left of the movie track, as shown in
The scroll bar shows where in the movie you are, Figure 29-3.
and can be used to “scrub” the movie or to set your
location in the movie. If Audible mode is turned on
(with the speaker button in the Control Panel),
MIDI data will scrub along with the movie.
277
MOVIE WINDOW
Set Movie Start Time: Allows you to set the SMPTE
time which corresponds to the beginning of the
movie. If you want the movie to start at the
beginning of the sequence, this should be set to the
same time as the SMPTE chunk start time. You may
need to try adjusting the start time by ±40 time
code bits if you find that the frames in the movie
don’t precisely line up with the frame numbers in
Digital Performer’s counter.
will always be on top of other windows, even the double, full, or half size)
active edit window.
■ Having many other open windows with scrolling
Audio Output: (Appears in the Movie window wipers, auto scroll, level meters, etc.
mini-menu, right-click menu, and the Sequence Avoiding these things will help your movies play
Editor info panel) Lets you route the movie’s back more smoothly.
embedded audio track to an audio output, bus, or
aux track. From there, you can fully route, mix, and EXTERNAL VIDEO HARDWARE OUTPUT
process it as desired within Digital Performer’s The Movie window can output SD or HD video to
mixing environment. a video interface to view it as standard definition
(SD) or high definition (HD) video on one or more
No External Video Output: Choose this menu item external video monitors. MOTU video hardware
to disable video output to an external video device, and some third-party video hardware is supported.
such as a FireWire camera or a MOTU video
interface. MOTU video interfaces
Supported MOTU video devices include:
HDX-SDI/HD Express/V4HD: If you have a MOTU
video interface connected to your computer, ■ V4HD
choose it by name from the menu to output video ■ HDX-SDI
to one or more video monitors connected to the
interface. ■ HD Express
279
MOVIE WINDOW
1080 output in component, HDMI and HD-SDI, ☛ The only requirement for choosing a format is
except the HD Express, which does not supply that the frame rate of the movie must match the
HD-SDI. frame rate of the chosen output format. If you get
an error message regarding frame rate, make sure
All interfaces provide at least sixteen channels of the video hardware is set to the same frame rate as
simultaneous audio output. MOTU video the format you are choosing.
interfaces serve as capable video and audio I/O
hardware solutions for film scoring and post If you choose Auto-Detect Video Mode, Digital
production workflows. Performer automatically chooses the video format
that best matches the frame rate and format of the
Third-party video hardware current movie.
Under OS X 10.7 or later, video interfaces from AJA
Video Systems and Blackmagic Designs are also Once a format is chosen, Digital Performer
supported. conforms the movie to the chosen output format,
adding letter box or pillar box formatting as
Enabling external video hardware output required to best reconcile the movie’s aspect ratio
Install your video interface as instructed in the user with the chosen output format.
guide. Be sure to check www.motu.com or the
third-party manufacturer’s web site for the latest Turning off external video output
up-to-date video driver installer. Run the MOTU To disable external video output, choose No
Video Setup software (or third-party video setup External Video Output from the mini-menu.
utility) to ensure that the software can successfully
communicate with the hardware. Consult the video External video playback offset
interface’s user guide for any troubleshooting tips, Some video monitors introduce a small delay
if necessary. during playback, from the time they receive a video
frame to the time it actually appears on screen. The
Once you’re video interface is running successfully, specific amount of delay depends on the monitor,
open a movie in Digital Performer. Then, display with most devices in the range of a few frames.
the movie track in the Sequence Editor (see “The Digital Performer can automatically compensate
Track Selector” on page 336). In the movie track for this offset, so that external video playback
mini-menu (Figure 29-3 on page 278), you should remains frame-accurate with audio, both when the
now see your MOTU video interface listed by transport is stopped and during playback. This
name. offset feature supports video hardware output and
FireWire video output.
Choosing a video format
Choose the desired output format from the MOTU To set the external video playback offset, choose
video interface sub-menu as shown in Figure 29-3 Video Output Playback Offset> Other from the
on page 278. Movie window mini-menu (Figure 29-5):
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M O V I E W I NDO W
DV camera or
FireWire-to-video
converter
video
FireWire
cable
cable
FireWire
equipped
Mac or PC
TV
or
video
monitor
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MOVIE WINDOW
the format, make sure the video hardware frame EXPORTING A MOVIE
rate (NTSC or PAL) matches the output format you You can bounce an audio output bundle (mono,
are choosing. stereo or any surround format), together with
video, to a movie file. This allows you to export a
If you choose Auto-Detect Video Mode, Digital complete movie from Digital Performer in one easy
Performer automatically chooses the video format operation, complete with a sound track that you’ve
that best matches the frame rate and format of the created in Digital Performer, as well as any visual
current movie. cues (streamers, punches and flutters) that you
would like to overlay on the resulting movie. For
Turning off external video output
details, see “Bouncing to a Movie” on page 907.
To disable external video output, choose No
External Video Output from the mini-menu.
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M O V I E W I NDO W
CHAPTER 30 ReWire
ReWire synths are different than plug-ins because 6 Before you launch the ReWire synth, do one of
they run as a separate application. But they can still the following:
operate in a tightly integrated way with Digital
■ Create a stereo Aux track, give it a valid
Performer, so practically speaking, there is little
difference. (currently active and therefore not italicized) audio
output assignment, and then assign the ReWire
ReWire is easy to set up and use. Refer to the synth main Mix (L/R) as its audio input
following brief sections for a few important
OR
pointers about using ReWire.
283
■ Do the same thing using regular stereo audio That’s it. When the ReWire synth plays, you’ll now
track AND record-enable or input monitor-enable see its audio output present on the Mixing Board
the track. channel strip for the track it’s assigned to. In
addition, you’ll hear its output on the ReWire synth
track’s playback destination.
MIDI OUTPUT
After audio is flowing as described in the previous
section, any ReWire instruments (such as a synth
module in Reason) should appear as MIDI output
destinations in the MIDI output assignment menus
for Digital Performer’s MIDI tracks. This allows
you to use your ReWire instrument like a sound
module, where you sequence MIDI in a Digital
Performer MIDI track, and trigger the ReWire
Figure 30-1: ReWire provides the ReWire synth inputs in Digital
Performer, even when the ReWire synth is not running. Assign at least
instrument.
one the ReWire synth input to a Digital Performer audio track or aux
track before launching the ReWire synth. In this example, the ReWire
synth main L/R mix is being assigned to a Digital Performer Aux track.
Also make sure that the aux track has a valid audio output assign-
ment.
284
REWIRE
MULTIPLE REWIRE AUDIO OUTPUTS Performer’s tempo slider will jump to the tempo of
Some ReWire-compatible applications provide that ReWire synth file. If desired, you can then re-
multiple audio outputs. After the ReWire adjust the tempo in either program.
application has been launched, you can access its
audio outputs in the Instruments tab in the Bundles If you have Digital Performer’s tempo slider set to
window. These outputs function in the same way as Conductor Track mode, Digital Performer’s
multiple outputs. For details, see “Multiple audio Conductor track governs the tempo and the tempo
outputs” on page 142. cannot be changed in the ReWire synth.
285
REWIRE
286
REWIRE
Part 5
Editing
CHAPTER 31 Editing Basics
289
Applying Edit and Region menu operations TRACK GROUPS
After you’ve selected a region, you can choose any Digital Performer allows you to create an unlimited
command from the Edit or Region menu. Edit number of track groups, and tracks can be linked
menu commands affect audio in the same way as for mixing, editing, both, or for a customized set of
MIDI. See chapter 44, “Edit Menu” (page 523) and operations that you specify. Tracks can be a
chapter 45, “Region Menu” (page 541) for details member of more than one group. Groups can also
about these basic commands. Region menu be “nested” within each other. For further details,
commands affect audio as discussed below. see “Track Groups” on page 165.
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EDITING BASICS
adjust what is shown or hidden using additional Show Only
consecutive show/hide command(s), or by using The Show Only… commands in the View menu
the track selector. control the display of automation data and MIDI
continuous controller data in the Sequence Editor
When using several show/hide commands consec- and Graphic Editor.
utively, the effect is cumulative, which allows you to
fine-tune the track display. When Show Only the Active Edit Type is checked,
the Edit Layer menu (in the Sequence Editor track
Show Tracks settings pane as shown in Figure 35-10 on
The Show Tracks command “unhides” the type of page 339) and the Graphic Editor insert menu (as
track you choose from the sub-menu. The visibility shown in Figure 36-1 on page 366) control the type
of any other tracks remains unchanged. This of automation data that will be visible.
command is good for adding tracks to the display.
To use the Show Only Selected Types (Quick Filter)
Show Only Tracks command (to make it not grayed out), the
The Show Only Tracks command “unhides” the following two conditions must be met:
type of track you choose from the sub-menu and
hides all other tracks. This command is good for ■ the Show Only Active Edit Type command is
“soloing” the type of track you choose from the unchecked, and
sub-menu.
■ at least one MIDI controller event must be
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EDITING BASICS
Colors
The Colors sub-menu in the View menu lets you
control track colors in Digital Performer. See
“Track colors” on page 73.
Auto Scroll
Auto Scroll controls how windows with time lines
scroll during playback. See “Auto scroll” on
page 204.
VIEW FILTER
The View Filter (View menu) allows you to specify
what types of MIDI, audio and mix automation
information are affected by Edit and Region menu
operations. Using this feature, you can extract
different types of information from a region
without having to laboriously edit out events that
you don’t want. For example, if you wanted to copy
only patch changes and aftertouch from a track,
Figure 31-1: The View Filter lets you control what you see and what
you could select only those items in the View Filter. will be affected by edit operations. Use the tabs at the top of the
Only the selected data would be copied to the window to switch between the Global View Filter and the Event List
View Filter.
clipboard. As another example, if you were editing
Tempo changes in the Conductor track, you could 2 Choose the types of data to be edited as follows:
set the View Filter for Tempo changes only. You
To do this Do this
could then cut and paste Tempo changes without
To view all types of data Click Set All.
erasing or in any way affecting meter and key
changes in the same region. Remember, the View To hide all types of data Click Clear.
Filter setting you make will affect all the commands
To view one data type and hide Option/Alt-click its check box.
from the Edit menu, and all editing from the tracks all others
window. You should therefore make sure to change To hide one data type and view Command/Ctrl-click its check
it back after doing a specific editing task since it all others box.
may cause unwanted effects the next time you use To show/hide controllers or Use the controllers menu as
the Edit commands. mix automation described in “Specifying con-
troller numbers and automa-
tion types in the View Filter” on
page 293.
Global View Filter vs. Event List View Filter
The View Filter window actually represents two
separate Filters: the Global View Filter and the 3 If you want to make separate view filter settings
Event List View Filter. After you have the window for Event Lists, choose the Event List View Filter tab
open, you can switch between them with the tabs at at the top of the window and repeat this procedure
at the top of the window. as desired for the Event List settings.
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EDITING BASICS
Always be aware of the View Filter settings
When using the View Filter, keep these rules in
mind: The View Filter settings you select will stay in
effect until you change them, and they affect all
editing operations. When you are done using the
View Filter, you should reset it.
Figure 31-2: Saving a view filter setting.
Specifying controller numbers and
automation types in the View Filter Recalling saved settings
The buttons under the Automation and Controllers To recall a saved setting, choose it by name from
check box in the View Filter allow you to quickly the lower portion of the View Filter mini-menu.
choose which automation and controller data to When you recall saved filter settings, they are
include in Edit operations: restored as you saved them for whichever filter is
currently displayed.
■ All: All automation data and controllers will be
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EDITING BASICS
1 Choose View Filter from the View menu.
The Global View Filter affects all windows that Here’s an alternative method for removing a
display MIDI data and Conductor Track data, specific kind of data using the Event List:
including the Event List; the Event List settings only
1 Open the Event List for the track.
affect the Event List. That is, when something is
hidden in the Global View Filter, it will also be 2 Choose View Filter from the View menu.
hidden in the Event List. However, you may hide
additional items just in the Event List by disabling 3 Choose Event List View Filter tab at the top of
them in the Event List View Filter. the window.
Both View Filter settings determine which types of 4 Check only the check box for the type of data
events are affected by Edit menu commands when you wish to remove.
the data is selected in the Event List. Here’s a simple
rule to remember: if you can see an event in the This will display only that type of data in the Event
Event List, it will be affected by edit commands. List. Option/Alt-click on the check box for the type
of data to be removed; all other check boxes will
View filter example: removing a specific type of uncheck.
data from a track
This works for removing one or more particular 5 Select a region of events.
kinds of data from a track, such as mono key
pressure, patch changes, etc.
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EDITING BASICS
Click on the first event and drag over the rest of Wiper zooming
them. In many windows that display the playback wiper,
you can very quickly and conveniently zoom in
6 Choose Erase from the Edit menu. and out by Control/Win-dragging vertically on the
green playback wiper handle. For details, see
ZOOMING “Zooming with the wiper” on page 206.
Zooming in the edit windows is similar to the
zooming found in most computer graphics Keyboard zooming shortcuts
programs. When zooming in, objects become Below are several keyboard shortcuts for zooming.
larger as the display magnifies a portion of the In addition, all of the zooming shortcuts discussed
screen. When zooming out, objects shrink as the in the next section (“Mini-menu zoom shortcuts”)
display encompasses a larger region. have keyboard shortcuts, which are available in the
Commands window (see chapter 8, “Commands”
There are many ways to zoom the edit windows, as (page 91).
explained in the following sections. Individual
windows may also have additional zoom abilities; Shortcut What it does
refer to the chapters on each window for more Command/Ctrl-left Zoom out horizontally.
arrow
details.
Command/Ctrl-right Zoom in horizontally.
arrow
Zoom buttons
The Time zoom buttons appear in the bottom right Command/Ctrl-up Zoom in vertically (track height or
arrow note grid).
corner of the window. Zooming out ( - ) gives you
an overview by compressing more time into the Command/Ctrl-down Zoom out vertically (track height or
arrow the note grid).
window; zooming in ( + ) focuses on a shorter
period of time at a higher viewing resolution. Option/Alt key When added to the above shortcuts,
the Option/Alt key zooms all the way.
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EDITING BASICS
Switching among 2 or 3 zoom settings
The zoom settings commands discussed above are
ideal for zooming among several different zoom
settings. For example, you might want to switch
back and forth between the sample level and an
overview level to consecutively make small sample
edits and then audition them.
Zoom tool
The Zoom tool (magnifying glass) in the Tool
palette lets you zoom in on a portion of the edit
Figure 31-5: The Zoom menu in Sequence Editor mini-menus.
window by dragging a zoom box over it. In the
Zoom in/out time ruler or continuous data grid, drag
Zooming in (either vertically or horizontally) horizontally to zoom the time axis only.
enlarges the data; zooming out reduces it.
Zoom to selection
Zoom to Selection fits the current selection to the
left and right edges of the window.
1 Zoom the display the way you want. Zooming, Edit Resolution and nudging
Editing is allowed at any zoom setting. However,
2 Choose the desired Set Zoom Setting command the current zoom level may affect the resolution at
in the menu. which events can be edited by dragging. For
example, let’s say that the Edit Resolution unit is set
To restore the zoom setting, choose the desired
to 20 ticks. If you zoom way out, you will not be
Zoom to Setting command.
able to drag a note by only 20 ticks because one
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EDITING BASICS
screen pixel, which is the smallest unit of Option/Alt-drag to duplicate
movement on the computer screen, will equal a Option/Alt-dragging an event (or several selected
time value greater than 20 ticks. So, even if you events) leaves the original data unchanged and
move the note as little as possible, you will still have places a copy of the data at the destination. Option/
moved it more than 20 ticks. Alt-dragging is a convenient shortcut for copying
and pasting.
In the example above, Digital Performer handles
the situation by constraining location to multiples Shift-clicking to select non-adjacent events
of 20 ticks. When you move the note, its new Holding down the Shift key also serves as a useful
location will become the nearest multiple of 20 way to select more than one event. For example, if
ticks, such as 80, 140, or 420 ticks. you have already selected a note and you want to
select another, scroll to the other note (if
If you need more precision, zoom in. Or, you can necessary) and Shift-click on it (but don’t drag). It
nudge data in precise increments at any zoom level will highlight, and the first note will remain
use the arrow keys and the Nudge Amount highlighted.
window. See “Nudge” on page 319.
Other selection techniques
GRAPHIC EDITING TECHNIQUES There are many other useful selection techniques.
Digital Performer has many powerful editing See chapter 42, “Selecting” (page 497).
features. Most editing can be done with the mouse
using familiar actions like clicking, dragging, and Dragging multiple data types
Shift-dragging. Such actions can shift data, change The Shift-click method of selection allows you to
note pitch and duration, reshape continuous data simultaneously select and drag multiple data types.
curves, and more.
For example, to move a loop containing notes,
The sections below describe basic features that you pitch bend data, and a patch change, select all four
will find helpful when working in Digital data types by Shift-clicking and drag them to a new
Performer’s graphic environment. location.
Using Undo
The Undo command in the Edit menu will undo
the last action you executed. For example, if you
move a note and then change your mind, you can
choose Undo Move from the Edit menu and the
note will return to its original position.
Soundbites in a track are ‘clones’ of the original Figure 31-7: Soundbites in tracks are merely references, or “clones”, of
It is important to understand that soundbites in a the original soundbite in the Soundbites list. In turn, the Soundbites
there are references to the original audio data in the audio file on the
track are “clones” of the original soundbite in the hard disk.
Soundbites window as shown below in Figure 31-7.
Interestingly, the original soundbite is itself merely
They do not actually consist of the soundbite itself;
a reference to something else: it is a pointer to the
they are a reference to the original soundbite. As a
original audio data in the audio file, as shown
result, you can freely cut, copy, paste, duplicate,
above in Figure 31-7. As a result, the amount of
and re-arrange a soundbite in a track as much as
data that you generate by duplicating soundbites is
you want without affecting or duplicating its
insignificant, since soundbite data is merely a
original in the Soundbites window. On the other
pointer to the actual audio data.
hand, if you change the soundbite’s name or length,
all instances will change, including the original.
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EDITING BASICS
Non-destructive, destructive and constructive operations” on page 494. (In the Region menu only
audio editing the Transpose command can be applied in the
When you edit audio, your edit operation is either Waveform Editor.) The Waveform Editor also
non-destructive, destructive or constructive. A provides other destructive waveform editing
clear understanding of these terms will help you operations, such as Pencil tool editing of digital
make better decisions about how to edit your audio samples and DSP features such normalize,
audio. Here is a brief explanation: reverse, time dilation, etc. For details, see
chapter 41, “Waveform Editor” (page 475).
Type of
audio editing Explanation
Non-destructive Original audio data is preserved. Only
You can’t mix audio and MIDI in the same track
pointers to the original audio data are mod- In Digital Performer, you cannot mix the two data
ified. Example: trimming the edge of a
soundbite in the Sequence Editor. types together into one track. You can, however,
edit both types of tracks simultaneously as
Destructive Original waveform data is permanently
modified. Example: normalizing audio in described in the next section.
the Waveform Editor.
Constructive Original audio data is preserved on disk Editing audio and MIDI data simultaneously
while being replaced in the Digital Per- As an integrated audio and MIDI editing
former project by new audio generated by
the constructive editing operation. Exam- environment, Digital Performer lets you to select
ple: applying an audio effect via the Audio
menu. audio tracks at the same time as MIDI tracks for
simultaneous editing of audio and MIDI data. For
For further explanation, see “Non-destructive example, you can select all tracks of an eight
editing” on page 55 in the DP Getting Started measure chorus, including audio tracks, to cut,
Guide, “‘Destructive’ editing” on page 477 and copy, or paste the audio data along with the MIDI
“Constructive editing” on page 864. data.
Non-destructive Edit menu and Region menu Editing soundbites in the Event List
editing Editing soundbites in an audio track Event List is
Edit menu and Region menu operations are non- pretty much the same as editing MIDI note data.
destructive when applied to audio that has been Soundbites are treated as single ‘events’ in the track,
selected in the Sequence Editor, Event List, or and Edit menu commands such as Cut, Copy,
Tracks window, except for the Transpose Paste, Snip, Repeat, etc. affect soundbites in the
command in some cases. When using Transpose same way that they affect MIDI notes. For details,
with the “Transpose audio by creating new see chapter 37, “Event List” (page 391).
soundbites”, audio data is processed construc-
tively, (where the original audio is replaced by Editing soundbites in the Sequence Editor
newly processed audio.) See “Constructive The Sequence Editor offers and advanced, graphic
editing” on page 864. environment for audio editing and selection. See
chapter 35, “Sequence Editor” (page 331).
Destructive editing in the Waveform Editor
Edit menu operations are destructive when applied SAMPLE ACCURATE EDITING
to audio that has been selected in the Waveform Digital Performer provides sample-accurate
Editor. In addition, only some Edit menu editing of audio and MIDI data. This capability
commands can be applied to audio in the affects Digital Performer’s interface in several ways,
Waveform Editor. For details, see “Edit menu as explained in the following sections.
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EDITING BASICS
The Samples time format Control Panel. Audible Mode provides an easy,
Digital Performer has a samples time format, intuitive way to see and hear an individual note,
which can be chosen for display in the program’s phrase or soundbite while you are working in
main counter and auxiliary counters. It is also Digital Performer’s editing windows. Notes and
available as a time ruler in the editor windows. (See soundbites can be played back one at a time by
“Time Formats window” on page 86.) clicking on them individually or as a phrase by
highlighting a region.
If you display samples in the counter, it shows the
number of digital audio samples from the For MIDI tracks, Audible Mode playback is similar
beginning of the project. This number is, of course, to pressing the Play button in the Control Panel,
dependent on the project’s overall sample rate. For including output assignment and volume
example, if the sample rate for the project is information. If you click on a note and don’t hear
44.1 kHz, and you cue the counter to 1 second, the anything when Audible Mode is activated, make
sample counter will display 44,100 samples. sure that the output assignment for the track is set
up properly. If the track plays back correctly when
you press the Play button in the Control Panel, it
will play back properly in Audible Mode as well.
Figure 31-8: Digital Performer’s sample counter.
For audio tracks, see “Specifying audio output for
Zooming in to the sample level for editing, auditioning” on page 301.
trimming, nudging, etc. by sample
Both the Sequence Editor and the MIDI Editor (as Enabling audible mode
well as the Waveform Editor) allow you to zoom in To toggle Audible Mode on and off, click the
to the sample level to perform sample-accurate speaker icon in the Control Panel.
editing tasks. For example, you could place a
soundbite — or even a MIDI note — at an exact
sample location. (Note, however, that the playback
of the MIDI event may not be sample accurate due Figure 31-9: The Audible mode button.
to the timing resolution of MIDI hardware.) You
can also trim the edges of soundbites at the sample Playing individual MIDI notes
When Audible Mode is enabled and you click on a
level, or select them and nudge them one sample at
note, the note will simultaneously select and play
a time with the arrow keys. Audio playback is
back on its MIDI instrument. The note sustains for
sample accurate, and you can even perform
as long as you hold down the mouse. In the Event
sample-accurate digital transfers to other devices,
List, you can ‘scrub’ a series of notes by dragging
such as ADATs and Tascam digital tape recorders, if
over them. Notes will play in the same fashion
your hard disk recording hardware supports this
when you Shift-click to highlight discontiguous
feature, such as the MOTU 2408mk3 audio
(non-adjacent) notes.
interface.
Playing individual soundbites
AUDIBLE MODE
To audition a soundbite in the Sequence Editor,
Audible Mode allows you to listen to notes and
click the soundbite and hold down the mouse
soundbites one at a time, or phrase by phrase, as
button. The soundbite will only play until you
you highlight them in a Digital Performer track.
release the button.
This feature appears as a speaker icon in the
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EDITING BASICS
To audition a soundbite in the Soundbites window, while holding down the mouse button. Or you can
click it (but don’t hold down the mouse button). start on the last note and drag upward. Each note in
the chord will play as it highlights.
Specifying audio output for auditioning
When you audition a mono soundbite, Digital
Performer plays it via the first mono output bundle
that it encounters in the Bundles window (i.e. the
highest one in the list). Similarly, when you
audition a stereo soundbite, it plays via the highest Figure 31-10: Playing chords with the Audition Selection command.
stereo bundle in the Bundles window list. The same
principle holds for auditioning surround audio To hear the entire chord at once, highlight all of the
files via surround bundles. To change which notes and choose Audition Selection from the
bundle is used, make it the highest bundle in the Region menu (or Option/Alt-click on the Audible
list using the move handle. For complete Mode speaker icon in the Control Panel). To hear
information about audio bundles, see “Input only selected notes within the chord, highlight only
source: Audio bundles” on page 134. the notes you wish to hear.
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EDITING BASICS
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EDITING BASICS
CHAPTER 32 Edit Windows
OVERVIEW
Digital Performer’s edit windows provide many
ways to view and edit your MIDI and audio
projects. Some edit windows display only MIDI
data; others only audio. Several display both MIDI
and audio in one integrated pane, allowing you to
look past the distinction of MIDI versus audio and
Figure 32-1: A sample of the Track Overview display.
think instead about the composition of your
project, musical or otherwise. The Tracks window is more of a global edit
window, whereas the rest of the edit windows let
Edit window overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
you get directly at the data in your project, down to
Edit windows by track type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
the finest level of detail.
Opening edit windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Viewing multiple tracks in one edit window . . . . . . . . 306 Sequence Editor
Viewing the same track in multiple edit windows . . 307 The Sequence Editor is the primary window for
Window Target . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307 multitrack audio editing. But it can also serve as
Edit Window mini-menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308 your primary work environment because it brings
Information windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308 all tracks together in one graphic window,
Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308 including audio tracks, MIDI tracks, the
Related topics for Editor windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308 Conductor track, and even a movie track, if you are
working with video. In addition, it combines many
EDIT WINDOW OVERVIEW
of the features of the other windows. See
Digital Performer’s edit windows share many
chapter 35, “Sequence Editor” (page 331).
features. This chapter provides a summary of the
edit windows and their common features. The
chapters that immediately follow provide the
complete information about the unique features in
each edit window.
Figure 32-2: MIDI and audio tracks side by side in the Sequence Editor.
303
The Event List
The Event List provides a numerical representation
of each event in a track. The Event List displays one
track at a time. See chapter 37, “Event List”
(page 391).
Notation Editor
Figure 32-3: Event List data.
The Notation Editor provides a conventional music
MIDI Editor notation display for a single MIDI track, where
The MIDI Editor provides a piano-roll style MIDI notes are displayed on a single grand (piano)
display for MIDI notes and a graph-style represen- staff. The notes do not have engraver spacing;
tation of MIDI continuous controller information, instead, the spacing is linear to allow for the time
as well as a graph-style display for tempo changes ruler above the notation and the controller graph
in the Conductor Track. The MIDI Editor can below. This is the only window that displays
display two or more MIDI tracks at the same time. notation and MIDI controller data side by side. See
chapter 39, “Notation Editor” (page 423).
Drum Editor Figure 32-6: The continuously scrolling grand staff in the Notation
Editor.
The Drum Editor provides a fixed note grid that is
ideal for MIDI percussion programming and other QuickScribe Editor
rhythmic MIDI composition tasks. Many The QuickScribe Editor provides a WYSIWYG
advanced features are included, such as a (“What You See Is What You Get”) music notation
continuous controller display, note list (with display. Multiple tracks can be displayed as a
percussion instrument names), and much more. conventional music score with natural-looking,
See chapter 38, “Drum Editor” (page 403). engraver spacing on a virtual page, exactly the way
they will print out when you print the score.
QuickScribe also supplies musical symbols, text
insertion and page formatting features for score
printing. See chapter 40, “QuickScribe Editor”
(page 429).
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EDIT WINDOWS
EDIT WINDOWS BY TRACK TYPE
The table below lists the types of tracks in Digital
Performer and the edit windows available for each:
Event List
MIDI Editor
Drum Editor
Notation Editor
QuickScribe Editor
From the Tracks window or Select the track (or tracks) you
Sequence Editor wish to edit, and from the Project
menu, choose the desired editor.
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EDIT WINDOWS
VIEWING MULTIPLE TRACKS IN ONE EDIT Track
WINDOW selector list
The number of tracks that can be viewed in an
editor window varies by the type of editor.
■ QuickScribe Editor
Exceptions
If you prefer to have a separate MIDI Editor for
each MIDI track, instead of displaying all MIDI
tracks in the same MIDI Editor window, there is a
preference for this. See “MIDI Editor options” on
page 80.
Click a track name to show (select) it or hide Figure 32-10: Nested track folders in the track selector.
(deselect) it. Option/Alt-click to hide all except the
one you click; Command/Ctrl-click to show all
except the one you click. Drag across several
adjacent tracks to show or hide them.
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EDIT WINDOWS
The track selector list and soloing immediately reflected in all other windows. Think
If the Solo frontmost edit window option is enabled of the edit windows as different ways of viewing the
(Figure 21-1 on page 201), then showing and same data in the track.
hiding tracks with the Track Selector also affects
whether they are soloed or not when solo mode is WINDOW TARGET
engaged. In edit windows that display one track at a time, the
Window Target tab displays the name of the track.
Master track selector In edit windows that display multiple tracks at
The Drum Editor and MIDI Editor have an once, the Window Target tab displays the name of
additional element in the track selector list: the the sequence.
master track selector. The master track selector
controls which track’s controller data is currently Switching to a different track
being displayed in the median strip and controller In edit windows that display one track at a time,
grid in the window. It also affects note insertion you can switch to a different track in the same
with the Pencil tool, loop insertion with the Loop window. To do so:
tool and other tasks that apply to a single track
only. Click the master track selector next to the 1 Click the Window Target tab in the title bar.
track name to make it the master track.
A menu appears as shown below.
Track Selector
The Track Selector window is a Track Selector list
which is available as a separate window that
updates its contents to the active Edit window. For
more information, see “Track Selector” on
page 325.
Figure 32-12: Click the Window Target menu to use the menu to move
VIEWING THE SAME TRACK IN MULTIPLE from track to track within the same window.
EDIT WINDOWS
Digital Performer allows you to display the 2 Choose the desired track.
contents of a track in multiple edit windows at the
same time. For example, you could view a drum The contents of the window changes to the track
track in the event list and drum editor at the same you select.
time. Or you could view a piano track in the
Switching to a different sequence
QuickScribe, Graphic, and Sequence Editors. In graphic edit windows that display two or more
When you select an event in one window, it tracks at a time, such as the Sequence Editor, you
becomes selected in all windows (see “Selections can switch to a different sequence in the same
are global” on page 498). Any edits or window using the same technique as just
modifications you make in one edit window are described: click on the Window Target tab.
307
EDIT WINDOWS
EDIT WINDOW MINI-MENUS LEGEND
This section covers mini-menu commands that are The Legend (Setup menu) is a window that shows
common to all editors. For mini-menu commands what each kind of MIDI event is named, and what
that are specific to a specific type of editor, refer to it looks like in the Event List and info windows. For
its chapter. further explanation of each type of event, see
“Types of events” on page 393.
Other editors
Scroll To Counter
Scrolls the editor window to the time currently
displayed in the Counter.
Scroll To
Scrolls the editor data display to a time you specify.
Figure 32-14: The Legend window provides a handy reference for
Reinsert learning the icons that represent each type of data in the Event List.
Inserts another event that is the same type as the
RELATED TOPICS FOR EDITOR WINDOWS
last one you inserted.
Scrolling during playback
Other editors All edit windows can scroll during playback and
Choose the desired editor to open it. If you do so recording, and there are various settings that
from an editor that displays one track at a time govern scrolling. See “Auto scroll” on page 204.
(such as the Event List), the chosen editor window
will open for the same track. Selecting data in edit windows
Before you can modify data in an edit window, you
INFORMATION WINDOWS must first select it. There are many powerful and
The Information Windows — Snap, Cursor, convenient ways to do so. See chapter 42,
Selection, Event, and Sound File — are windows “Selecting” (page 497).
shared by all Edit windows to provide information
about the current cursor position, grid settings, Showing and hiding data with the View Filter
selected event, selection range, and so on. The The View Filter lets you temporarily hide data in
information displayed in these windows can also edit windows by data type, allowing you to focus
be configured to be displayed in a strip across the on and edit only the data types you wish. See
top of the Edit window, called the Information Bar. chapter , “View Filter” (page 292).
Insert/Reshape Reshape
Pointer curve mode Zoom Loop Scissors Roll Slide
I-Beam Reshape Rhythm Scrub Mute Trim Slip Comp
Pencil Brush
309
ROTATING THE TOOL PALETTE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS FOR TOOLS
The Tool palette can be rotated to a vertical Hold down the following keys for tool selection:
orientation by pressing Shift-Option/Alt-tilde (~).
Command Keyboard shortcut
Pointer tool A
Pencil tool P
Reshape tool R
Zoom tool Z
Scrub tool S
Loop tool L
I-Beam tool I
Mute tool M
Scissor tool C
Trim tool /
Figure 33-2: Press Shift-Option-tilde (~) to toggle the Tool palette
between a horizontal and vertical orientation. Comp tool B
PALETTE DOCKING
There are two preferences in the Preferences
A I P R E Z S L M C / ‘ , . B
command in the Digital Performer menu (Mac
OS) or Edit menu (Windows) for the Tool palette
that allow you to dock the Tool palette to the edge
of edit windows, either vertically or horizontally.
Figure 33-3: Tool shortcuts.
See “Tools” on page 80.
Tool shortcuts can be “sticky”
CLOSING THE TOOL PALETTE If you double-tap the keys shown in the tool
Press Shift-O, or click the close button in the upper
shortcuts shown above in Figure 33-3, the tool will
left corner of the Tool palette title bar.
remain selected until you select another tool.
Cycling tools
Shift-tilde (~) cycles to the next tool.
310
TOOLS
POINTER TOOL them to the current selection without changing the
The Pointer tool produces the standard start and end times. To make a time range selection
‘cross-hair’ selection cursor for ‘marquee’ that matches the duration of a soundbite or MIDI
selections over multiple events and and note, double-click the soundbite or note with the
‘finger’ selection cursor for selecting and editing I-Beam. To temporarily get the I-Beam cursor
individual events. For example, you could select when another tool is selected, hold down the “ i ”
several measures of notes by positioning the cross- key.
hair cursor over an empty portion of the data grid
and dragging out a selection box over the desired Here are some further details about double-
events. Here’s a summary: clicking with the I-Beam to create time range
selections.
To do this: Do this with the Pointer tool:
To select an event Click it with the ‘finger’ cursor. Selecting soundbites with the I-Beam tool
If, using the I-Beam tool, you double-click a
To select several events Shift-click each one.
portion of a soundbite that is partially covered by
To select a region of events Drag a selection box over them other soundbites, you’ll select the entire soundbite,
with the cross-hair cursor. To
get the cross-hair, position the even the parts that are covered. However, if you
cursor over an empty cell.
hold down the Option/Alt key while double-
To select all events within a Drag in the time ruler. clicking it with the I-Beam tool, you’ll only select
time range
the portion of it that you clicked, as determined by
To duplicate an event Option/Alt-drag it. soundbites that cover it on either side of where you
To move an event Drag it with the finger cursor. click.
To move several events Select them, grab one with the Double-clicking a soundbite with the I-Beam tool
together finger tool and drag.
can also cause Digital Performer to immediately
To change the duration of a Position the cursor over its
note (only available where right edge until you see the begin looping playback around that soundbite. For
note durations are displayed) ‘hand’ cursor and then drag it. details, see “Looping a soundbite” on page 188.
The Pointer tool can use different selection modes, Selecting MIDI notes with the I-Beam tool
which will change what kinds of selections are If you double-click a MIDI note with the I-Beam
made in some places; see “Choosing a Pointer tool cursor in a MIDI Editor, you aren’t really double-
selection mode” on page 498. clicking the note itself. Instead, you are clicking a
location in time for all pitches in the track. Doing
I-BEAM TOOL so creates a time range selection that is determined
The I-Beam tool allows you to make time by any notes of any pitch whose duration crosses
range selections in any graphic editor, the time location you clicked.
regardless of the material you are
dragging over to make the selection. Time range Here’s an example: if you double-click a MIDI note
selections in the Sequence Editor are much easier in a MIDI Editor, you’ll get a time range selection in
with this tool, especially when you are making the track that matches the duration of the note. If
selections that begin in the middle of soundbites. the note’s duration overlaps the duration of another
As usual, you can hold down the Shift key while note (of the same pitch or a different pitch), then
using the I-Beam tool to extend or shorten the you can double-click it with the I-beam tool in two
current selection. Shift-click other tracks to add places: where it overlaps, or where it doesn’t
311
TOOLS
overlap. If you double-click where it overlaps, you’ll PENCIL TOOL
get a time range selection that includes the The Pencil tool lets you insert data using
durations of both notes. If you double-click where the following techniques:
it doesn’t overlap, you’ll get a time range selection
To do this: Do this with the Pencil tool:
of just the note you clicked.
To insert an event Click in a note grid or continuous data
grid.
I-Beam cursor
Click the I-Beam tool at any location in any graphic To remove a MIDI note Click it on a MIDI note grid.
editor to place an I-Beam cursor (flashing vertical To insert continuous Click the master track button for the
line) wherever you click. The I-Beam cursor serves data curve (MIDI or desired track, if any, click the Pencil
audio) tool, choose the desired shape from
two basic purposes: the in the Tool palette, choose the
desired data type in the continuous
data grid (or make it the active layer in
■ An insertion point for a paste or merge the Sequence Editor) and then click or
drag on the grid.
operation
To edit audio pitch Click and drag on the audio pitch dis-
■ An anchor point for selection commands automation play.
RESHAPE TOOL
The Reshape tool lets you reshape a
stream of continuous data. For complete
details, see “Reshape Mode menu”. The
techniques can be used in any continuous data
grid, including volume editing mode for audio and
MIDI tracks in the Sequence Editor.
312
TOOLS
Using the Reshape tool in the Drum Editor note You can reshape any kind of continuous data, such
grid as MIDI continuous controllers, audio volume
In the Drum Editor, the Reshape tool can also be automation, etc. To reshape a stream of continuous
used to modify velocities in the note grid. See “The data, in this example a MIDI CC:
Reshape tool” on page 419.
1 Click the Reshape tool in the Tool palette.
RESHAPE MODE MENU
Digital Performer provides several
powerful ways to reshape continuous
data curves.
A variety of reshape modes are available, as shown 2 Choose the desired shape of the curve from the
below: Pencil/Reshape Curve menu in the Tool palette
(Figure 33-4 on page 313).
Scale Scales all data values based on how far above RHYTHM BRUSH
or below the origin you draw the reshape The Rhythm Brush can only be used in
curve. Draw above the origin to scale up;
draw below it to scale down. the Drum Editor. (It is grayed out when
Max limit Lowers all data values that are above the
another editor window is active.) The
reshape curve. Rhythm Brush lets you quickly ‘paint’ in drum
Min limit Raises all data values that are below the
parts in a wide variety of percussion instrument
reshape curve. styles. For complete details, see “The Rhythm
Brush tool” on page 419.
313
TOOLS
ZOOM TOOL SCRUB TOOL
The Zoom tool (magnifying glass) in the The Scrub tool lets you scrub data as
Tool palette lets you zoom in on a portion follows:
of a graphic editor by dragging a zoom
To scrub this: Do this:
box over it. Click to zoom in and Option/Alt-click
MIDI notes in the Drag horizontally in the note grid.
to zoom out. In the time ruler or continuous data MIDI Editor or Only notes in tracks that are cur-
grid, drag horizontally to zoom the time axis only. Drum Editor rently being displayed in the grid
are scrubbed. (To scrub all play-
enabled tracks, drag the playback
wiper.)
LOOP TOOL
Figure 33-6: Zooming with the Zoom tool. The Loop tool lets you graphically insert a
loop in a track by dragging in the
Zoom tool shortcuts
Sequence Editor or the Marker Strip of the
Here are some zooming shortcuts:
MIDI Editor and Notation Editor. For details, see
“Loops in the Marker Strip” on page 371. You can
Shortcut What it does
also insert a loop in the Sequence Editor by
Click once To zoom in horizontally. dragging directly over the portion of the track that
you wish to loop. For details, see “Inserting a loop”
Option/Alt-click To zoom out horizontally.
on page 363. It also lets you insert a sampler loop in
Shift click To zoom backward through the Waveform Editor as explained in “Creating a
zoom history sampler loop” on page 490.
Shift-control click To zoom forward through
zoom history MUTE TOOL
The Mute tool mutes and unmutes
Drag in the time ruler To fill the window with the soundbites or MIDI notes when you click
region you select without affect-
ing the pitch zoom them or drag over them in the Sequence
Editor or Track Overview. The Mute tool only
Drag over an area in the note To zoom time and pitch simul-
grid taneously works when soundbites or MIDI notes are the
active layer in the track. Muting occurs
Option/Alt-click the zoom To zoom all the way out independently of any volume automation in the
out button
track. Muted soundbites appear with a grayed-out
Option/Alt-click the zoom in To zoom all the way in waveform; muted MIDI notes appear as grayed out
button notes.
Command/Ctrl-click the To toggle between the last two
zoom buttons zoom levels The Mute tool is a handy way to temporarily mute
soundbites or notes, but it is also great for
arranging and creating interesting rhythm parts.
For other zooming features and shortcuts, see
Here’s just one example: use the Scissors tool to
“Zooming” on page 295.
314
TOOLS
split an ambient pad into a rhythmic grid of slivers TRIM TOOL
(explained further in the next section) and then The Trim tool allows you to trim
use the Mute tool to quickly create syncopated riffs soundbites and continuous data. To
by muting various combinations of the slivers. To temporarily get the Trim tool when
temporarily get the Mute tool when another tool is another tool is selected, hold down the forward
selected, hold down the “ M ” key. The same slash key (/).
technique could be used on a MIDI drum loop or
phrase of any kind. Soundbites
With the Trim tool chosen, click anywhere in a
In the Waveform Editor Beats tab, the Mute tool soundbite to move the right edge to the location
can be used to disable or enable individual beats. where you clicked. Hold down the Option/Alt key
to move the left edge of a soundbite.
SCISSORS TOOL
The Scissors tool splits a MIDI note or Continuous data
soundbite where you click. With the edit The Trim tool can also be used on continuous data,
grid turned on, you can also drag across a such as audio track volume, MIDI CCs, and pitch
note or soundbite to split it repeatedly on grid bend.
lines, as demonstrated below in Figure 33-7. To
temporarily get the Scissors tool when another tool When the Trim tool is chosen and the mouse is
is selected, hold down the “C” key. directly over continuous data, the Trim tool cursor
will change to a hand with a pointed finger. You can
Before:
click on a data point, or on the line segment
between data points, and drag it up or down to
trim its value.
Figure 33-7: Turn on the edit grid and drag across a MIDI note or
soundbite to split it repeatedly along edit grid lines.
315
TOOLS
Scaling continuous data ROLL TOOL
A selection of continuous data can also be scaled The Roll tool allows you to edge edit the
with the Trim tool. When there is a time range or beginning of one soundbite and the end of
event selection of continuous data, move the cursor another where they abut each other. They
within the selection (but not directly over a point must be touching one another. To temporarily get
or line segment) then click and drag up or down. the Roll tool when another tool is selected, hold
\
down the apostrophe key (’).
SLIP TOOL
The Slip tool allows you to edge edit the
start and end of a soundbite while the
soundbite remains at the same position in
the track. The soundbite’s length does not change.
To temporarily get the Slip tool when another tool
is selected, hold down the comma key (,).
SLIDE TOOL
The Slide tool allows you to move a
soundbite in the sequence while leaving
the soundbite’s audio at the same playback
Figure 33-9: Scaling continuous data
time. This is the same as edge editing both ends by
the same amount forwards or backwards. To
Points are automatically added at the boundaries of temporarily get the Slide tool when another tool is
the selection to preserve the data before and after selected, hold down the period key (.).
the selection.
COMP TOOL
Flattening continuous data The Comp tool allows you to create a
Holding the Option/Alt key while using the Trim composite, or “comp,” take from multiple
tool as described above will flatten the data rather takes in an audio track. To temporarily get
than scale it. the Comp tool when another tool is selected, hold
down the “B” key. See chapter 48, “Takes and
Comping” (page 611).
316
TOOLS
CHAPTER 34 Information Windows
317
example, if you move several sound effects events
to a location in the sequence that is at a different
tempo, their spacing with respect to one another
Figure 34-2: Snap to Grid. will not expand or contract due to the different
tempo; instead, their relation to one another will be
If the Snap to Grid box is turned on, data snaps to
maintained. This is similar to the editing behavior
the edit grid. If it is turned off, data doesn’t snap to
in locked tracks.
grid. The Edit Grid Resolution determines the
amount of time between grid points.
Snap to Beat
Snaps actions to the beats within the waveform.
This is active only when in the Sequence Editor or
Waveform Editor. See “Using the beat grid” on
page 631.
Figure 34-5: Setting the Nudge Amount.
319
INFORMATION WINDOWS
When you choose any other time format (real time, cursor is over a MIDI note grid, controller values
SMPTE frames, sub-frames, milliseconds, or when over a continuous data grid, audio volume
samples), the real time performance of the data is when over audio track volume automation,
preserved, regardless of any tempo changes. soundbite names when over soundbites, and so on.
When you choose the Use Edit Grid menu item, the
nudge amount is determined by the edit grid
setting above. If the edit grid is currently disabled,
then nudging occurs in the same manner as in the
window itself (by one screen pixel). In the Tracks
window, the column duration determines the
nudge amount.
CURSOR INFORMATION
The Cursor Information window displays the
current location of the mouse cursor with respect
Figure 34-7: The vertical value of the cursor updates to the type of
to the horizontal and vertical axis in the edit data under the cursor
windows. Values in this box are continually
updated as the mouse cursor moves around the Cursor Info in the Waveform Editor
Additional fields are shown in the Cursor
edit window, giving you immediate, numerical
Information window when the Waveform Editor is
accuracy when inserting and manipulating data
the active window. See “Cursor Information” on
with the mouse.
page 479.
Value
The cursor’s vertical coordinate, Value, depends on
its location, and in the Sequence Editor, the active
layer. It will display MIDI note values when the
320
INFORMATION WINDOWS
EVENT INFORMATION SELECTION INFORMATION
The Event Information window displays numerical The Selection Information window holds the start
details about a single event that has been selected. and end times for any region that you wish to edit
This displays data in the same way as it appears in in any currently highlighted tracks. If the Digital
the Event List. For example, a selected note appears Performer project file contains multiple chunks
with its location, pitch, on velocity, off velocity, and (sequences and/or songs), separate Selection
duration. Information is stored for each chunk.
Figure 34-8: When you click a note, its numerical information can be
displayed and edited in the Event Information window. Figure 34-9: The Selection Information window.
them
■ choosing the desired command from the Set To
menu
■ using several clicking shortcuts
■ using several keyboard shortcuts
■ loading them with the Remember Times
Command
These techniques are discussed in the following
Information displayed in the Event Information sections.
section can be edited by clicking it (with the
exception of some soundbite attributes). The same Editing the selection bar numbers directly
editing conventions as the Event List apply, such as To enter a start or end time, click in a field and enter
using the Tab key and arrow keys to move from a value. You can use the Tab key (or decimal point
field to field and press return to confirm any key on the keypad) to cycle through the
changes you have made. The event’s graphic measure|beat|tick fields. Or you can simply press
display will change to reflect the modifications. on any field and drag up or down to change its
value.
321
INFORMATION WINDOWS
Using the Set To menu shortcuts Command/Ctrl-click the button to load the
The Set To menu holds several great shortcuts for beginning or end of the sequence into the start
loading times into the Selection Information time or end time, respectively.
window:
Control/Win-click the button to load the beginning
or end of the Remembered Times (previously
retrieved from a selection with the Remembered
Times command) into the start time or end time,
respectively.
322
INFORMATION WINDOWS
Preroll and Postroll
These text fields set the Preroll and Postroll for Link
Playback to Memory mode. See “Preroll and
Postroll” on page 187.
Smart Selections
A check box is provided as a convenient shortcut to Figure 34-12: The Track Inspector in the QuickScribe Editor
enable or disable Smart Selections. For more Information Bar.
information, see “Smart Selections” on page 506.
Additionally, the Track Inspector has a mini-menu
TRACK INSPECTOR option to “Use Small Menus in Info Bar” (shown
The Track Inspector window shows track settings below). By default, this item is unchecked and the
such as color, input, output, play-enable status, menus shown in the Track Inspector’s Info Bar
record-enable status, and so on. section are displayed at their full width.
323
INFORMATION WINDOWS
CHANNEL STRIP When in two, three, or four column view, the fader
The Channel Strip window shows the Mixing defaults to the left side of the window. To reverse
Board channel strip controls for a single track. The the order of the columns, deselect the “Fader on
Channel Strip window updates to focus on the left” mini-menu item.
current track at hand.
Additionally, similar to the Mixing Board, you can
show and hide sections of the Channel Strip via the
as
mini-menu:
as
324
INFORMATION WINDOWS
This only affects the Channel Strip window; if
you’re displaying the Channel Strip in the
Information Bar (see below), it will always follow
the selected track.
■ Solo/Mute/Record/Input
■ Automation play/record-enable
Figure 34-18: The Channel Strip in the Information Bar
■ Input/Output
The controls function in the same manner as in the
■ Track name
Channel Strip window, with the exception that the
Inserts and Sends sections display only one insert For more information, see “Track Inspector” on
or send at a time. To change which insert or send is page 323.
being displayed, click the up/down arrows in each
section. A label is shown to the left of the insert or TRACK SELECTOR
send to indicate which is shown. The Track Selector window is much like the Track
Selector which is a part of each Edit window.
However, rather than being a part of a window, it is
a separate window which updates to the current
Figure 34-19: These controls change which insert or send is shown active edit window. In this way, you can use a single
Small menus Track Selector for all edit windows.
The Channel Strip has a mini-menu option to “Use
Additionally, since it is a separate window, it can be
Small Menus in Info Bar”. By default, this item is
resized and positioned anywhere on screen, rather
unchecked and the menus shown in the Channel
than being a fixed size in a fixed location.
Strip’s Info Bar section are displayed at their full
width.
325
INFORMATION WINDOWS
SOUND FILE INFORMATION
Sound File Information window (Studio menu)
gives you detailed information about the currently
selected soundbite.
327
INFORMATION WINDOWS
would typically be set to Allow Time Scale, so that Original Time Stamp is the location at which the
its tempo will always match that of the rest of the soundbite was originally recorded, if any. This
sequence. setting, as well as the User Time Stamp, are
explained further in “Time stamps” on page 596.
Setting sound file prefs for multiple soundbites The Transpose, Time Compress/Expand, Tempo and
To set the sound file preferences for two or more Time Signature items are the same as the
soundbites at one time: information displayed in the Soundbite list (see
“Soundbite preferences for transposing and time-
1 Select the soundbites.
stretching” on page 327). The final two sampler-
2 Open the Sound File Information window. The related details, the Sample Pitch and Pitch Fraction
Sound File menu will now say “Selected files”. settings, can be useful when you need to transfer
the soundbite to a sampler. Bite Volume Bypass lets
3 Choose the desired preferences in the Soundbite you bypass or play volume automation data that is
section. If the Soundbite section’s details are not associated with the soundbite (see “Soundbite
visible, click the triangle next to the Soundbite volume automation” on page 362). Bite Gain non-
section to expand it. destructively raises or attenuates the overall
volume of the soundbite. The range is from -140 to
The Soundbite section +80 dB.
The Soundbite section in the middle of the window
shows details about the currently selected The Audio Loop section
soundbite, such as its start time, end time and The Audio Loop section at the bottom of the Info
length (in samples). pane provides details about any sample loops in the
audio file. Sample loops are the loop points created
by samplers (or sampler editors).
The menu at the top of the Soundbite section lets The Loop Type and Loop Tune items refer to the
you display the information for any soundbite you corresponding loop settings in today’s samplers.
wish. These settings have no effect in Digital Performer.
The start, end and length of the soundbite are The Transfer In SoundBites option lets you control
displayed in number of samples, whereas the which soundbites the loop “belongs” to. Listed are
Length in Time is a real-time measurement. The all of the soundbites that encapsulate the loop (i.e.
328
INFORMATION WINDOWS
all soundbites that start before it and end after it). Configuring the Information Bar
When you check the box next to a soundbite, the There are two parts to configuring the Information
loop will be included when you transfer that Bar:
soundbite to the sampler (using Digital Performer’s
sample transfer abilities). ■ Choosing which sections are visible
■ Choosing which fields are shown within each
INFORMATION BAR section
The Information Bar is a configurable strip
available in the Tracks Window and each of the Edit To choose which sections are visible, open the
windows. It can contain some or all of the Information Bar preferences and enable the desired
information shown in each of the Information sections.
windows (excluding the Track Selector and Sound
File Information windows).
329
INFORMATION WINDOWS
To enable a field so that it will be shown in the
Information Bar, check the circle next to the field;
to disable a field so that it will not be shown in the
Information Bar, uncheck the circle next to the
field.
When an Information window is in configuration ■ Option/Alt-clicking the circled letter will open
mode, you’re configuring its appearance in the the Information window in configuration mode.
active window’s Information Bar. For example,
■ Command/Ctrl-clicking the circled letter will
when the Sequence Editor is focused and the
open the Information Bar preferences.
Cursor Info window is open in configuration
mode, enabling or disabling a field does so for the
Cursor Info section of the Information Bar in the
Sequence Editor. If you leave the Cursor Info
window in configuration mode and change which
edit window is focused, say, from the Sequence
Editor to the MIDI Editor, the Cursor Info window
will update to the configuration used for the new
window. If you wish to enable or disable a field for
all windows at once, Option/Alt-click the field’s
circle.
330
INFORMATION WINDOWS
CHAPTER 35 Sequence Editor
331
QUICK REFERENCE
Track Cursor Event Marker Time Edit Beat Snap to Nudge Mini-
selector coordinates Information strip ruler grid grid marker amount menu
Vertical
waveform
zoom
Note grid
zoom
Track Show/hide Track Track Loop Audio MIDI MIDI Scrolling Selected Zoom
name track Settings settings mix automation notes volume controller wiper soundbite buttons
selector panel menu data data
Insert/Reshape Reshape
Pointer curve mode Zoom Loop Scissors Roll Slide
I-Beam Reshape Scrub Mute Trim Slip Comp
Pencil
Tool palette
332
SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
Track selector: Click or drag over the names of the Snap to Marker: Snaps actions to markers. See
tracks in this list to show or hide them in the “Snap to Markers” on page 338.
Sequence Editor. Option/Alt-click to hide all
except the one you click; Command/Ctrl-click to Nudge amount: Specifies how far selected events
show all except the one you click. Use the are moved by the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys.
commands in the View menu to show/hide tracks. See “Nudge” on page 319.
Cursor Coordinates: Displays the mouse pointer’s Mini-menu: Provides features specific to the
current location in the unit of measurement for the Sequence Editor. See “Sequence Editor mini-
currently active layer in the track (dB for audio menu” on page 335.
volume, 0-127 for MIDI volume, note pitch for
Vertical waveform zoom: Controls the height of
MIDI notes, the name of the soundbite the cursor
the audio waveform within the track strip.
is currently over for, etc.)
Note grid zoom: Controls the vertical scale of the
Event Information: Displays the currently selected
MIDI note grid within the track strip.
soundbite, MIDI note, audio automation control
point, MIDI controller, or other type of event as it
Show/hide track selector: Opens and closes the
would appear in the Event List and allows you to
track selector.
edit the event’s parameters, such as name, velocity,
and attack time. Automation Snapshot: Takes a snapshot of the
current automation settings you specify for the
Marker Strip: Displays markers, meter changes,
tracks you specify over the time range you specify.
and key changes. Markers and meter changes must
The snapshot operation inserts automation events
be edited in the Conductor track or Markers
in each included track. This can be done while
window. No MIDI or audio data appears in the
Digital Performer is stopped or playing back.
Marker Strip.
Track settings panel: Displays information and
Time Ruler: Measures time in any combination of
track settings. The amount of information
Digital Performer’s various time formats. Double-
displayed depends on the track’s current vertical
click on the ruler to place the playback wiper. Drag
size. All settings are always available in the Track
within the ruler to make a time range selection.
settings menu.
Shift-click in the ruler to extend or shorten the
existing time range selection. Track settings menu: Contains all settings for the
track. Some of these settings might also be
Edit Grid: If the Edit Grid box is turned on, data
displayed in the Track settings panel, depending on
snaps to the edit grid. If it is turned off, data doesn’t
the track’s current vertical size.
snap to grid. Edit Resolution can be changed by
typing in a different number of beats|ticks, or by Loop: You can insert loops, MIDI, controllers,
choosing a duration from the note menu. automation or any other type of track data by
choosing it from the Insert sub-menu in the Track
Beat Grid: Snaps actions to the beats within the
settings menu.
waveform. See “Using the beat grid” on page 631.
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Audio mix automation data: Mix automation of time at higher resolution. Editing can be done at
events (volume, pan, plug-in parameters, etc.) are any zoom level. Option/Alt-click to zoom in or out
viewed by choosing Volume from the Track’s Active to minimum or maximum zoom level.
Layer menu in the track’s information panel. Mix
automation data is displayed as a line TOOL PALETTE QUICK REFERENCE
superimposed on top of the audio waveform, with Pointer: Use the Pointer to select data, move data,
automation events appearing as breakpoints on the lengthen or shorten notes, and trim soundbites.
line, which can be inserted, dragged, and selected.
I-Beam: Use the I-Beam tool to make time range
MIDI Notes: MIDI tracks in the Sequence Editor selections.
display notes on a note grid just like the MIDI
Pencil: Use the Pencil tool to insert data.
Editor. The main difference is that MIDI
continuous data and Median Strip data are Reshape: Use the Reshape tool to reshape audio
superimposed on top of the note grid, which mix automation data or existing MIDI controller
changes into a continuous data grid when any type data using one of the curves in the curve menu just
of MIDI controller data is chosen as the active layer to the left of the Reshape tool.
for the track.
Pencil/Reshape Curve: Determines the shape of
MIDI volume controller data: When MIDI volume the continuous data that you insert or modify with
or any other type of MIDI continuous data is
the Pencil or Reshape tools.
chosen as the active layer for a MIDI track, it is
displayed with one of the three continuous data Reshape mode: Determines what the Reshape tool
display modes. All of the techniques for editing does to continuous data: set it to a specific value,
MIDI continuous data in MIDI Editor can also be add to it, subtract from it, scale it or limit it.
used on an active MIDI continuous data layer in
the Sequence Editor. When another layer is Zoom: Click to zoom in the time ruler (for all
currently active, MIDI continuous data and audio tracks). Option/Alt-click to zoom the time ruler
mix automation lines appear as thin lines drawn in out. Shift-click to zoom backwards (through
the track’s color. previous zoom levels). Shift-control click to zoom
forwards.
Scrolling wiper: Indicates the current playback
location. Drag it to change it or double-click in the Scrub: Plays back the audio contained in a
time ruler. soundbite as you drag horizontally over it. Hold
down the Shift key to select while scrubbing.
Selected soundbite: Soundbites can be (Soundbites must be the active layer in the track.)
manipulated directly (and inserted) when they are When you drag horizontally in a MIDI track (when
chosen as the active layer for the track. Use the notes are the active layer), the Scrub tool plays back
Pointer tool for most soundbite editing operations. the MIDI data in the track. Only the track you drag
in scrubs. To scrub all currently play-enabled MIDI
Zoom buttons: Reduce and enlarge the display tracks, drag the playback wiper.
vertically or horizontally. Click the plus sign to
zoom in; click on the minus sign to zoom out. Press Loop: Inserts a loop in a MIDI or audio track when
to zoom continuously. Zooming out gives you an you drag horizontally.
overview; zooming in focuses on a shorter period
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
Mute: Click a soundbite to mute it. SEQUENCE EDITOR MINI-MENU
In addition to the standard items covered in “Edit
Scissors: Use the scissors tool to split soundbites. Window mini-menus” on page 308, the Sequence
With the edit grid or beat grid enabled, you can Editor mini-menu shares many items with the
drag across a soundbite to quickly split it up into MIDI Editor and Tracks window mini-menus, as
pieces at edit grid or beat boundaries. shown below in Figure 35-2.
Slip: The Slip tool allows you to edge edit the start
See “Edit Window mini-
and end of a soundbite while the soundbite menus” on page 308.
remains at the same position in the track. The
soundbite’s length does not change. Figure 35-2: The Sequence Editor mini-menu.
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SEQU EN C E ED I TO R
original. When Edge Edit Copy is unchecked, SWITCHING SEQUENCES
trimming a soundbite affects the original Like other multitrack editors, the Sequence Editor
soundbite (and all instances of it in elsewhere in the allows you to switch to other sequences by clicking
project). Option/Alt-drag to override the current its Window Target tab. See “Switching to a different
Edge Edit Copy setting (checked or unchecked). sequence” on page 307.
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
Selecting tracks
Reposition To select tracks for the track management
cursor operations discussed in the next three sections,
click or Command/Ctrl-click their names to select
them.
Figure 35-3: Move the cursor over the left edge of the Track settings
panel until you see this cursor. Then drag it up or down ad desired.
Adding, duplicating and deleting tracks
Track Folders Use the track-related menu items in the Project
To show or hide the contents of a folder, click its menu to add, duplicate, delete and otherwise
disclosure triangle. Command/Ctrl-click it to manage tracks in the Sequence Editor. Select the
show/hide all sub-folders inside it. Option/Alt- tracks you wish to duplicate or delete. You can also
click to show/hide all other folders at the same select a track to add a new track just below it. These
level. Command/Ctrl-Option/Alt-click to show/ operations are the same as those explained in
hide all folders at all levels. “Working with the Track List” on page 158.
In the Sequence Editor, you can freely drag tracks Making audio track input/output assignments
in and out of folders, even empty folders, by The Track Assignments command in the Studio
dragging them vertically as shown below in menu is a convenient shortcut for making input
Figure 35-4. To span multiple levels of the folder and output assignments to many tracks in one
hierarchy, drag left or right as you also drag quick operation. Select the tracks you wish to
vertically. Tracks become indented when they are assign and then choose the Track Assignments from
dragged into a folder. You can also use Digital the Studio menu. For further details, see “Making
Performer’s track color assignment features to I/O assignments for multiple tracks” on page 136.
further enhance your track folder organization.
Opening other edit windows from the Sequence
Editor
To open an Event List, MIDI Editor or other editor
Click in either for a track, click the track name to select it, or select
area to grab a a note, soundbite or other event in the track and
track or track
folder and choose the desired edit window from the mini-
move it verti-
cally in the list. menu (or click the appropriate tab in the
Consolidated Window).
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SEQU EN C E ED I TO R
This information can optionally be displayed Markers, meter changes, and key changes often
directly in the Sequence Editor in the Information occur very close together or at the same location. If,
Bar area just above the time ruler. The Information for example, a marker and meter change occur
Bar preferences let you choose which information exactly at the same tick, they are displayed with a
you would like to display. single icon, shown below in Figure 35-7. Press the
icon to view a menu of the events at that location.
For complete details about these information
windows and the Information Bar, see chapter 34,
“Information Windows” (page 317).
Figure 35-5: The Time Ruler gives you a visual indication of where Figure 35-8: A locked marker.
data is. It can display time in any of Digital Performer’s various time
formats.
Showing marker grid lines
THE MARKER STRIP The Show marker grid lines Edit Window
The Marker Strip appears just below the Time preference (see “Edit Window guides” on page 79)
Ruler (Figure 35-6). It displays markers, meter toggles the appearance of a yellow line that extends
changes, and key changes. It is always visible and is downwards from each marker through the note
not affected by vertical scrolling. grid, median strip and continuous data grid. This
line is can be used to align notes to the marker
location.
Snap to Markers
To make items snap to marker locations (regardless
Figure 35-6: The Marker strip shows markers, loops, and Conductor
track items like meter changes. of whether marker grid lines are currently
displayed), enable the Snap to Marker option in the
The Marker Strip shares the Time Ruler with the
Snap Information window or Information Bar. For
audio, MIDI and movie tracks below it. Therefore,
more details, see “Snap Information” on page 317.
the location of items in the Marker Strip will always
correspond with data displayed below.
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
Making a time-range selection with markers shortcuts. In particular, you can very quickly and
Click the marker to make a time range selection conveniently zoom in and out by Control/Win-
that extends to the next marker. dragging vertically on the green playback wiper.
For details, see “Zooming with the wiper” on
Editing markers page 206. For general zooming techniques, see
To move, delete or otherwise edit the marker, use “Zooming” on page 295.
the Conductor track or the Markers window. See
chapter 61, “Markers” (page 715) for more Mini-menu zoom shortcuts
information about editing markers. The Zoom mini-menu item provides many useful
options for magnifying or reducing the data
Markers in the Conductor Track Graphic Editor displayed in the Sequence Editor. See “Mini-menu
In the Conductor track, markers are displayed in zoom shortcuts” on page 295.
the Median Strip. See “Editing in the Conductor
Track” on page 388 for more information. AUDIO TRACK SETTINGS
The panel to the left of each track shows all of the
Meter and key changes settings for the track. Audio track settings are as
Meter and key changes appear in the Marker Strip
follows:
in much the same way as they do in the Event List.
(Tempo changes are not displayed in the Marker Input Play/ Record- Track Level Waveform
Strip.) Similarly, they can only be edited in the monitor mute enable settings meter vertical
Track name menu zoom
Conductor track. See “Editing in the Conductor
Track” on page 388. Track type icon/
color selector
Edit layer
ZOOM BUTTONS
Audio input
The Sequence Editor lets you zoom all tracks both Audio output
horizontally and vertically. Zoom in using the ‘plus’ Automation
button to get more detail. Zoom out with the settings
‘minus’ to get more of an overview. If you press Take
continuously, the window zooms continuously.
Insert menu Resize handle
Shortcut: Option/Alt-click to zoom to the
Figure 35-10: Audio track settings. The display of these controls
maximum or minimum setting. When zooming changes depending on the vertical size of the track.
vertically, tracks proportionally maintain their
relative vertical sizes. For the following universal track settings, see “The
Track List” on page 153:
■ Play/mute button
■ Record-enable button
■ Automation settings
Figure 35-9: The Sequence Editor Zoom buttons. ■ Take
ZOOMING TECHNIQUES ■ Lock
In addition to the zoom buttons shown above,
■ Solo Exempt
Digital Performer provides many other ways to
zoom in and out, including many useful zooming ■ Comment
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For the following audio-specific track settings, see data resides in its own edit layer, which you can
“Audio track settings” on page 134: make active (bring to the front) while other layers
remain dimmed but visible in the background.
■ Audio input
The Edit Layer menu (Figure 35-10 on page 339)
■ Audio output
lets you choose what type of data you would like to
■ Input monitor “bring to the front” as shown below in
Figure 35-11. In audio tracks, mix automation data
■ Enable/disable
(volume, pan, etc.) and loops are displayed directly
The remaining track settings, which are unique to on top of the soundbites, which are dimmed in the
the Sequence Editor, are discussed below. background. When soundbites are made active,
they cover automation data. MIDI continuous data
Track names and audio mix automation lines remain dimmed
Track names operate identically to their and visible in the background when notes or
counterparts in the Tracks window and offer the soundbites are chosen as the edit layer.
following features:
When a data type is made active, it can be inserted
■ Click, Command/Ctrl-click, or Shift-click a and edited independently of other data types.
track name to select the track for deleting,
duplicating and other track management tasks. See
“Track management” on page 336.
■ Option/Alt-click the track name to rename it.
■ Command–double-click a track name to open
the track.
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
Choosing the edit layer for all tracks at once Track settings menu
Hold down the Option/Alt key when choosing The track settings menu (Figure 35-10 on
what to display to change all tracks at once. You can page 339) provides all of the track’s settings in
do so from any track. menu form, as shown in Figure 35-12. Since tracks
can be resized vertically (see “Resizing tracks
Shortcuts for changing the edit layer vertically” on page 345), many of their panel
Here are a few shortcuts for choosing the edit layer: settings get covered up when their vertical size is
reduced. However, the Track Settings menu
■ To activate soundbites for editing, click the title
remains visible, even at a track’s smallest vertical
of any soundbite.
height, so that you always have access to all of the
■ To activate any type of automation data, click on track’s settings.
any control point.
■ To activate any event flag (explained later in this
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SEQU EN C E ED I TO R
View Mode The spectrogram display
The View Mode sub-menu (Figure 35-12 on The spectrogram display shows frequency content
page 341) Lets you display an audio track in the (along the vertical axis) against the Sequence
Sequence Editor in three ways: as a waveform, as a Editor time line (horizontal axis). Bright spots
spectrogram or both. As demonstrated in indicate harmonic content in the audio frequency
Figure 35-13, the Drums track shows the spectrum. This gives you visual insight into the
spectrogram for a stereo track using the default frequency content of your audio, which can help
track color (on a white background). The Rhythm you do things like balance the frequency content of
Guitar track shows the spectrogram for a mono your tracks using visual feedback. You can also use
track using the Jet color scheme. Several color DP’s extensive plug-in processing to manage and
schemes are provided at the bottom of the View manipulate the frequency content of your audio
Mode menu. The Solo track shows both the tracks, and the spectrogram display allows you to
waveform and spectrogram side by side. view the results visually.
Figure 35-13:
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
Waveform/note grid vertical zoom Resize handle
The vertical zoom menu (Figure 35-14) vertically The Track Info Panel (Figure 35-10 on page 339)
shrinks or expands the waveform display in an can be resized horizontally by dragging the handle
audio track and the note grid in a MIDI track. In on its right-hand edge. The menu items for each
audio tracks, it has no effect on the actual track automatically rearrange themselves in the
amplitude of the audio in the track; it is for display panel as its width changes. By dragging it further to
purposes only. Option-drag to vertically zoom all the right, you have more direct access to the menus
audio tracks or all MIDI tracks. when viewing many tracks at once with small
vertical track settings, as demonstrated in
[
Figure 35-15:
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Insert menu MIDI TRACK SETTINGS
The insert menu in each track lets you choose any MIDI tracks have the following settings:
type of data to insert into the track (except
soundbites). In audio tracks, you can insert Track Record- Track Level Note grid
name enable settings meter vertical
volume, pan, send levels, track mutes and plug-in menu zoom
parameter automation for any plug-ins currently Play/mute
Track type icon/
assigned to the track. For complete details, see color selector
“Inserting and editing automation” on page 802. In Active layer
MIDI tracks, you can insert any type of MIDI data. MIDI output
MIDI input
Insert menu
Take
Default patch
Note grid
scroll bar
Figure 35-17: MIDI track settings. The display of these controls
changes depending on the vertical size of the track.
The audio track
insert menu. Several of these settings are the same as they are for
audio tracks:
■ Play/mute button
■ Record-enable button
■ Automation settings
Figure 35-16: The Insert menu.
■ Take
■ Lock
■ Solo Exempt
■ Comment
For the following MIDI-specific track settings, see
“MIDI track settings” on page 126:
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
■ Default patch Note grid scroll bar
The note grid scroll bar lets you scroll the note grid
■ MIDI input
up and down, just like the MIDI Editor note grid.
■ MIDI output See “The Pitch Ruler” on page 373 and also see
“Viewing notes that are out of view” on page 372.
The remaining MIDI track settings, which are
unique to the Sequence Editor, are discussed below. RESIZING TRACKS VERTICALLY
Both MIDI and audio tracks can be resized
MIDI track settings menu
vertically. Position the mouse over the bottom edge
The track settings menu provides all of the track’s
of the track settings panel until you see the hand
settings in menu form. Since tracks can be resized
cursor. Then drag up or down as desired.
vertically (see “Resizing tracks vertically” on
page 345), their panel settings get covered up when
their vertical size is reduced. However, the Track
Settings menu remains visible, even at a track’s
smallest vertical height, so that you always have
access to the track’s settings.
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SEQU EN C E ED I TO R
■ Because of its multi-track design, the Sequence
+100%
zero crossing
Amplitude
0
Time
-100%
Figure 35-21: A simple audio waveform displayed on a time versus amplitude scale.
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
A soundbite is represented as a “block” of neously, with sample-accurate phase lock between
waveform data with adjustable boundaries. The the channels. You can edit surround channels
waveform inside it represents the actual audio data separately in the Waveform Editor.
in the audio file on disk. This graphic display allows
you to make edit decisions based on what you see,
as well as what you hear.
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SEQU EN C E ED I TO R
There is a similar command called Display this
soundbite in Waveform Editor. See “Searching for
commands” on page 91.
Figure 35-26: Click the soundbite name and then click OK, or—as a
shortcut— simply double-click the soundbite. You can also select the
desired soundbite by typing the first letter of its name. When the list
disappears, the cursor turns into a cross-hair.
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
Click the cross-hair cursor in the Sequence Editor Constraining dragging operations
at the location where you want to place the You can vertically or horizontally constrain
soundbite, using the cursor information (see dragging operations in the Sequence Editor by
page 320) to help determine the location. holding down the Shift key while dragging. This
applies to soundbites, automation data, MIDI data
Building a playlist and other events.
You can quickly build a playlist in the Sequence
Editor by Control/Win-dragging soundbites into it Moving multiple soundbites at the same time
from the Soundbites window. Holding down the You can move several soundbites together by
Control/Win key when you first grab the soundbite selecting them and dragging them together as a
causes it to “snap” to the end of the previous unit. Shift-click to select multiple soundbites. Also
soundbite when you drop it. see “Selection techniques” on page 355.
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Option/Alt-Control/Win-dragging to copy
soundbites & place them end to end
By holding down both the Option/Alt key and the
Control/Win key when dragging soundbites, you
can copy and place soundbites end-to-end at the
same time. This is a great shortcut for building
playlists made up of many repeating soundbites, as
shown in the example below.
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
MUTING AND UNMUTING SOUNDBITES OVERLAPPING AND LAYERING
There are two ways to temporarily mute a SOUNDBITES
soundbite: Digital Performer allows two or more
soundbites—or portions thereof—to occupy the
■ Insert mute automation same location in an audio track. Each soundbite is
handled in a separate layer that can be manipulated
■ Use the Mute tool
independently of other soundbites. However, only
Inserting mute automation the visible portion of each soundbite plays back. A
To mute a soundbite using mute automation, select simple, intuitive rule of thumb is: what you see is
it and choose Mute Region from the Region menu. what you hear. In other words, when one soundbite
This inserts mute automation data at the beginning covers up another, it also takes over playback in the
and end of the soundbite. To unmute, select it again track.
and choose Clear Mute Automation from the
Region menu. Use the Layering commands in the Audio menu
(Move Forward/Backward and Move to Front/
Back) to control how overlapping soundbites are
layered as you edit them.
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TRIMMING (EDGE EDITING) SOUNDBITES the audio file as illustrated in Figure 35-33. If the
As explained in Figure 8-6 on page 59 in the DP edge stops when you drag it, preventing you from
Getting Started Guide, a soundbite represents a going any further, then you have reached the end of
portion of audio from its parent audio file stored the audio file.
on disk. For example, a soundbite can be as short as
a fraction of a second or as long as many hours. A Trim: The Trim tool allows you to click anywhere
soundbite can represent a portion of the parent in a soundbite to move the right edge to the
audio file, or it can represent the entire file. location where you clicked. Hold down the
Option/Alt key to move the left edge to where you
The Pointer, Trim, Roll, Slip and Slide tools click.
The Pointer, Trim, Roll, Slip and Slide tools (shown
below in Figure 35-33) can be used to edit the Roll: The Roll tool allows you to edge edit the
edges of a soundbite. The current edit resolution beginning of one soundbite and the end of another
applies. where they abut each other. They must be touching
one another.
Pointer: The Pointer tool allows you to trim the left
or right edge of a soundbite. The arrow cursor Slip: The Slip tool allows you to edge edit the start
changes to the trim cursor (Figure 35-33) when and end of a soundbite while the soundbite
you move it near the edge of a soundbite. When remains at the same position in the track. The
trimming, you “uncover” or “cover up” the audio in soundbite’s length does not change.
Roll Slide
Pointer Trim Slip
Soundbite
boundaries
Trim cursor
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Slide: The Slide tool allows you to move a Option/Alt-dragging to override Edge Edit
soundbite in the sequence while leaving the Copy
soundbite’s audio at the same playback time. This is Option/Alt-dragging a soundbite edge temporarily
the same as trimming both ends by the same overrides the current setting of the Edge Edit Copy
amount forwards or backwards. command. This allows you to set it the way you
prefer most of the time, and the Option/Alt-drag to
Affecting all copies of a soundbite versus one temporarily override it when necessary. For
copy example, if you may want to edit all instances of a
The Edge Edit Copy command in the Sequence soundbite most of the time, uncheck the Edge Edit
Editor mini-menu allows you to choose whether Copy command so you can simply drag soundbite
you want to modify the original soundbite you are boundaries, and use the Option/Alt key to override
dragging or preserve the original by making a copy this setting when needed.
of it when you drag.
Edge editing multiple soundbites
Edge editing all copies To trim (edge edit) multiple soundbites together at
When Edge Edit Copy is unchecked, dragging a the same time, select them, and then trim either the
soundbite edge affects the original soundbite, as left edge or right edge of any selected soundbite.
well as every other instance of it. For example, if
you edge edit a soundbite called Drum Fill that has
been placed many times throughout a percussion
track, all copies of it in the track will change.
already has a number, it will increment by 1). The If you would like all edges to snap to the same
new soundbite is also added to the list in the location, hold down the Control/Win key while
Soundbites window. dragging an edge as shown below:
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Scrubbing while trimming soundbites
If Audible Mode is turned on (the button in the
Control Panel with the speaker icon), audio scrubs
as you drag the edge of a soundbite to trim it. This
allows you to hear your trim edits as you make
them.
Figure 35-37: Edge editing when the edge you want to drag is covered
by another soundbite.
Using the edit grid when edge editing Figure 35-38: To graphically time-stretch a soundbite, position the
The edit grid does not affect edge editing. cursor over the edge of the soundbite just below the crossfade handle
and grab it with the hand cursor.
However, if you would like your edge edit to snap to
the edit grid, hold down the Command/Ctrl key
while clicking on the soundbite edge to move it.
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
APPLYING FADES AND CROSSFADES like clicking, dragging, and Shift-dragging. Such
You can apply fades and crossfades to the actions can shift data, change note pitch and
boundaries of soundbites using fade handles or duration, reshape mix automation data curves, and
time range selections. For complete details, see more. For a summary of Digital Performer’s basic
“Fades and Crossfades” on page 603. graphic editing techniques, see “Graphic editing
techniques” on page 297.
Fade/crossfade handles
SELECTION TECHNIQUES
Digital Performer offers a variety of ways to select
audio and MIDI data in the Sequence Editor. After
audio is selected, you can apply one of Digital
Performer’s many powerful editing operations. For
a complete discussion of selecting techniques in the
Sequence Editor, see chapter 42, “Selecting”
TAKES
(page 497). The sections below discuss several
Takes are a way to store multiple versions of a track
selection operations that are unique to the
within a single track. You can add, delete, expand,
Sequence Editor.
absorb, and comp takes using the Takes menu and
the Comp tool. For complete details, see
Selecting a time range in the time ruler over
chapter 48, “Takes and Comping” (page 611). one or more tracks
To select any time range, regardless of the audio or
GRAPHIC EDITING TECHNIQUES MIDI data contained within that range, drag in the
All of Digital Performer’s powerful editing features
time ruler as shown below. A time ruler selection
are available in the Sequence Editor. Most editing
affects all visible tracks, as well as all data currently
can be done with the mouse using familiar actions
Be sure to hide the tracks Drag in the time ruler. Use
you don’t want to include in the edit grid if desired.
the selection.
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visible in the view filter. Be sure to hide tracks and Scrubbing while selecting
data types you don’t wish to include. Mix When dragging to make and adjust selections
automation data in the time range will also become inside a soundbite, you can scrub the audio while
selected, unless they are hidden in the View Filter. selecting by holding down the Command/Ctrl and
Shift-click to extend or shorten the current Shift keys together as shown below in Figure 35-41.
selection. You can also turn on the edit grid when This lets you hear what you are selecting as you
dragging. drag. For example, if you have made a selection
already, and you want to extend its edge and scrub
Pasting into a time ruler selection at the same time, hold down both the Command/
If there is data in the clipboard, you can use the Ctrl and Shift keys while you drag.
Paste or Merge commands. Doing so pastes the
clipboard contents into the same track (or tracks) it
was copied or cut from starting at the beginning of
the selected region.
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
If a soundbite has a user timestamp, you can move
the soundbite to its user timestamp location with
the Time Stamps command in the Audio menu.
SYNC POINTS
A sync point can be placed inside a soundbite as
positional reference point for the soundbite instead
Figure 35-42: The Show Times menu lets you choose how to display
the location of each soundbite.
of its beginning (left edge). For example, if you
have a soundbite that consists of a hinge squeak
Current Time followed by a door slam, followed by a hollow echo,
When you choose Current Time in the Show menu, you could put the sync point right at the door slam.
all soundbites display their current location.
Sync points can also be very important for
SMPTE start time percussive hits that have a small bit of sound before
the hit, such as a “ruff ” snare hit. The example
below in Figure 35-44 shows a cymbal crash with a
SMPTE end time
small snare roll going into it. The Sync point has
been placed at the cymbal crash, which is the
Figure 35-43: SMPTE start and end time. highest point of rhythmic interest.
If a soundbite has an original timestamp, you can The sync point determines how the soundbite will
move the soundbite to its original time with the be positioned when doing things like quantizing
Time Stamps command in the Audio menu. the soundbite or dragging it.
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SEQU EN C E ED I TO R
2 Click at the desired location inside the pop- Sync points in the Waveform Editor
edited soundbite to place the flashing cursor. Use Sync points are also displayed in the Waveform
scrubbing, if necessary, to find the desired location Editor. For details, see “Sync points in the
in the audio. Waveform Editor” on page 489.
3 After you’ve placed the flashing cursor as WORKING WITH BREAKPOINT MIX
desired, choose Set Sync Point from the Audio AUTOMATION
menu. The sync point triangle appears. The Sequence Editor lets you display, insert, and
edit volume, pan, plug-in parameters, send levels,
Importing sync points track mutes and other mix automation data in the
If you export audio regions with sync points from form of breakpoints (dots) on a continuous line. In
Pro Tools, you can import them with their sync audio tracks, mix automation data is stored in the
points into Digital Performer. form of sample-accurate control points that
generate sample-accurate ramps during playback.
Clearing sync points In MIDI tracks, mix automation data is stored in
To clear the sync point from one or more the form of MIDI continuous controller data. For
soundbites, select them and choose Clear Sync seamless, side-by-side operation of MIDI and
Points from the Audio menu. audio tracks, the Sequence Editor displays both
forms of automation with the same style of lines
Moving a sync point
and points. The following sections discuss the
You can move a soundbite’s sync point in the
specific techniques of working with breakpoint-
Soundbites window or Digital Performer’s built-in
style automation lines and points. Unless
Waveform Editor. You can also move the sync point
otherwise noted, the techniques are the same for
to the first audio beat in the audio file. For details,
both MIDI and audio tracks.
see “Sound File Information” on page 326, “Sync
points in the Waveform Editor” on page 489, and For complete details about working with MIDI
“Set Sync Point At First Beat” on page 640. continuous data, see “Editing continuous data in
Lines mode” on page 383.
Time-stretching and sync points
The location of sync points are preserved when you
For complete details about working with audio mix
time stretch soundbites by dragging in the
automation, see “Inserting and editing
Sequence Editor as demonstrated below in
automation” on page 802.
Figure 35-45.
For complete details about working with pitch
automation, see “Pitch automation” on page 878.
Figure 35-46: In the Sequence Editor, MIDI tracks and audio tracks
display mix automation data with break-point automation curves.
Figure 35-45: When you time-stretch a soundbite that has a sync
point, the sync point anchors the time stretch, which extends out
from the sync point in both directions.
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
Choosing the active data layer Zooming for a better resolution
To view, insert or edit mix automation data in a When inserting controllers, it helps to get a zoom
track, you must first make it the active layer as level that best suits what you are doing. For
explained in “The Edit Layer” on page 340. example, if you are making fine adjustments to the
Alternately, you can choose to show a separate track level, use a large vertical zoom level for better
automation lane as described below. resolution. If you need to check out the overall level
throughout a track, zoom out.
Displaying automation lanes
To display automation data in a separate lane below Inserting mix automation data
its parent track, choose Show Lanes from the Edit To insert mix automation data in the Sequence
Layer menu (Figure 35-12 on page 341), or click Editor:
the expansion triangle at the bottom of the track
settings pane. Click the plus (+) and minus (-) 1 Choose the data type you wish to insert from
buttons, as shown below in Figure 35-47, to add the active layer menu (Figure 35-10 on page 339)
and remove additional lanes. Use the lane menu to and then click the Pencil tool in the Tool palette
choose the data type for the lane. To hide all lanes (Studio menu).
for a track, choose Hide Lanes from its Edit Layer
menu.
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SEQU EN C E ED I TO R
Figure 35-51: Inserting a periodic waveform. In this example, a sine
Figure 35-50: Choosing a shape for inserting a continuous data wave curve is being inserted.
curve.
4 If you would like the curve shape you have Constraining a periodic waveform to beats
selected to snap to beats or a similar metric grid, set To insert a continuous data periodic waveform that
the Edit Resolution and turn on the Edit Grid (see conforms to a rhythmic grid (quarter notes, eighth
“Snap to Grid” on page 317). notes, etc.), set the edit grid to the duration that
equals one complete period of the waveform. This
Doing so constrains periodic waveshapes to the forces the waveform to conform to the grid
resolution of the edit grid. For example, if the Edit duration you specify.
Grid is set to a quarter note, and you insert a sine
wave, the sine wave will cycle once each quarter Using modifier keys to control period, phase,
and other waveform parameters
note.
When inserting (or reshaping) continuous data
using a waveform shape as shown in Figure 35-51,
Hold down the Command/Ctrl key to override
you can hold down modifier keys while dragging to
grid snapping.
change waveform parameters as follows:
5 Insert data as follows:
To control this: Hold down this key:
To do this: Do this: Toggles grid snapping (on/off) Command/Ctrl key
To insert a single event Click in the track with the Pencil. Phase Option/Alt key
To insert a stream of Drag the Pencil. A stream of data is Duty cycle Control/Win key
events inserted according to the curve shape • Triangle wave skew
that you chose in the Tool palette. You • square wave pulse width
can conform to a beat grid with Edit • sine wave pulse width
Resolution as explained in “Con-
straining a periodic waveform to
beats” below, and you can use the • Periodic frequency Shift key
waveform modifier keys described in • Random curve density
“Using modifier keys to control
period, phase, and other waveform To re-use the last settings for Escape key
parameters” on page 360. sine, triangle, square, random
steps or random ramps
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
Using the spline curve 2 Make a selection as follows:
The spline curve (Figure 35-50) provides three
handles that can be adjusted for the desired shape To do this: Do this:
during insertion. Just place the handles as To select a single Click it with the finger cursor.
event
demonstrated below in Figure 35-52 and then click
To select several Drag over the events in the grid with the
anywhere off of the spline to complete the events lasso cursor.
insertion.
To select a continu- Drag over the curve with the lasso cursor.
ous data curve
To add to the current Hold down the Shift key while using any
selection of the selection techniques above.
To deselect events Hold down the Shift key while using any
of the above techniques on selected data.
To deselect all data Choose Deselect All from the Edit menu
or press its keyboard shortcut. Or click
once in any empty area in the Sequence
Editor.
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SEQU EN C E ED I TO R
Selecting multiple data types at one time Disabling automation temporarily
To select several data types at one time: To temporarily disable the automation data in an
audio track, turn off automation playback as
1 Click the Pointer tool in the Tool palette (Studio explained in “Global automation enable/disable”
menu). on page 795.
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
WORKING WITH LOOPS ■ Any MIDI event that would appear the MIDI
2 Turn on edit resolution as desired. parameters that are not continuous (i.e. they have
discrete values, such as LFO type — sine, square,
3 Drag over the region you wish to loop. triangle, etc.)
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SE Q UE NC E E DI T O R
CHAPTER 36 MIDI Editor
365
QUICK REFERENCE
Insert/Reshape Reshape
Pointer curve mode Zoom Loop Scissors
I-Beam Reshape Scrub Mute
Pencil Tool palette
Time ruler
Pitch zoom
Marker strip
Pitch ruler
Median strip
Median strip
move handle
Continuous data
grid ruler
Continuous data grid
Grid Insert menu Quick A selected Note-on Selected Volume Time zoom
display Filter Note-on velocity velocity note controller
mode events
Grid Pitch
view filter bend
events
Figure 36-1: The MIDI Editor provides a powerful, “piano-roll” style environment for viewing and editing your
music. The tools in the Tool Palette are an important component of working with the MIDI Editor.
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MIDI EDITOR
AutoRecord: Drag the AutoRecord points to and meter changes must be edited in the
change the punch-in or punch-out time. Conductor track or Markers window. No MIDI
data appears in the Marker Strip.
Continuous Data Grid: Displays continuous data
on a time vs. value grid. Pitch bend, key pressure, Median Strip: Displays discrete MIDI events such
controllers, and note velocities are displayed simul- as patch changes, mode changes, switch controllers
taneously on this grid. An event’s location is like #64 (sustain), system exclusive events and
measured by the Time Ruler at the top of the mute automation events. Each type is displayed as
window. Value is determined by the Continuous an icon, defined by the Legend window. The
Data Ruler on the left. Each type of continuous Median Strip serves as a border between the Note
data has a unique icon. If the display mode is set to Grid and the Continuous Data grid; drag it
Lines mode, streams of controllers are represented vertically with the handle on the left to propor-
as breakpoints on a line. tionally resize the grids. Double-click it to hide the
continuous grid.
Continuous Data Ruler: Measures continuous data
events. When viewing all continuous data types in Median Strip Move Handle: Moves the Median
the grid, this ruler can be switched among three Strip up or down. Double-click to hide the
scales: a controller scale from 0 to 127, whose Continuous Data Grid entirely.
origin rests at the bottom of the window; a pitch
bend scale from -8192 to 8191, whose origin Memory Cycle: Drag the memory cycle points to
appears in the middle of the grid; and a change them.
combination scale that shows both pitch bend and
Note Grid: Displays notes as horizontal bars on a
controller data at once on a -80 to 127 scale. Switch
time vs. pitch grid. Only notes are displayed on this
among the three scales by clicking on the ruler.
grid. Pitch is determined vertically by the pitch
Grid display mode: This menu lets you choose ruler on the left. Location and duration are
among three ways to display continuous data in the measured by the Time Ruler above, with duration
grid: Points, Bars and Lines. determined by the length of the bar. If the Shade
notes using velocity MIDI Editor preference is
Grid view filter: Lets you insert and view only one checked, a note’s velocity is indicated by its
type of continuous data in the grid while hiding all shading. (Darker means a higher velocity; lighter
others, or view all data types at the same time. means lower.) Notes can be edited with the mouse
one at a time, in a group, or by region.
Loop: Use the Loop tool in the Tool palette to insert
loops in the Marker strip. Drag the loop icon to Note-on velocity: Can be edited just like
move the loop. Drag the loop’s right bracket to continuous controller data. Use the View Filter to
change the loop length. When several tracks are hide note-on velocities, if desired.
being displayed in the window, loops in the Marker
Strip belong to the current master track. Insert menu: Specifies the type of continuous data
to be inserted with the Pencil tool.
Marker Strip: Displays markers, meter changes,
key changes, and loops. Loops (in the current Pitch Ruler: Measures pitch along the vertical axis
master track) can be edited in this strip. Markers with a standard keyboard format. Each C-natural
indicates the octave. For clarity, shaded lines
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MIDI EDITOR
extend to the right from each black key. With the TOOL PALETTE QUICK REFERENCE
Pitch Zoom menu, this ruler can zoom to increase Pointer: Use the pointer to select data, move data
or decrease the number of visible octaves. and lengthen or shorten notes.
Pitch Zoom: Zooms the pitch ruler. Zooming out I-Beam: Use the I-Beam tool to make time range
allows you to see more octaves at once. Zooming in selections.
allows you to focus on a particular pitch range. The
keyboard shortcuts for these zoom buttons are Pencil: Use the Pencil tool to insert data or erase
command-up arrow and command-down arrow. existing notes.
Playback wiper: Scrolls across the window to Reshape: Use the Reshape tool to reshape existing
indicate the current playback location, or remains controller data using one of the curves in the curve
stationary in the middle of the window while the menu just to the left of the Reshape tool.
data grid scrolls beneath it. See “Auto scroll” on
Pencil/Reshape Curve: Determines the shape of
page 204 for more information.
the continuous data that you insert with the Pencil
Quick Filter: When viewing all continuous data or modify with the Reshape tool.
types, the Quick Filter temporarily hides all
Reshape mode: Determines what the Reshape tool
continuous data types in the grid except for the
does to continuous data: set it to a specific value,
currently selected ones. (Only one event of each
add to it, subtract from it, scale it or limit it.
type needs to be selected for all events of that same
type to remain visible.) Zoom: Click or drag to enlarge the note grid.
Option/Alt-click to zoom out. Option/Alt-Shift-
Selected Note: When a note is selected, it
click to zoom backwards (through previous zoom
highlights. Complete information about the
levels). Option/Alt-Control/Win-Shift click to
selected note appears in the Information Bar at the
zoom forwards.
top of the window. Drag the end of the note to
change its duration. Scrub: Scrubs MIDI data when you drag in the
note grid. Only the tracks currently visible will
Time Ruler: Measures time in any combination of
scrub. To scrub all tracks, drag the playback wiper.
Digital Performer’s various time formats. Double-
click to place the playback wiper. Drag to make a Loop: Inserts a loop in the Marker Strip just below
time range selection. Shift-click to extend or
the Time Ruler.
shorten the existing time range selection.
Mute: Temporarily mutes or unmutes a note.
Time Zoom: Zooms the Time Ruler in or out. Click
the plus symbol ( + ) to zoom in; click the minus Scissors: Click on a note to split it. Click on the
symbol ( - ) to zoom out. Zooming out gives you note grid to split all notes at that location. With the
an overview; zooming in focuses on a shorter edit grid enabled, drag over a note to split it into
period of time at higher resolution. Editing can be subdivisions equal to the current edit grid. Or drag
done at any zoom level. across the note grid to split all notes into
subdivisions.
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MIDI EDITOR
MIDI EDITOR MINI-MENU In the MIDI Editor, the piano-roll display for notes
In addition to the standard items covered in “Edit and the continuous data grid for controllers and
Window mini-menus” on page 308, the MIDI pitch bend allows you to manipulate MIDI data
Editor mini-menu has the following additional using many of the standard conventions
items: established over the years by graphics programs.
For example, you can insert a note with the Pencil
Zoom: Provides many shortcuts for zooming in the tool, drag it to change its location and lengthen it
MIDI Editor. See “Mini-menu zoom shortcuts” on by dragging its end-point. If the Edit Resolution
page 295. feature is enabled, the note, when moved, will
‘snap’ to a time grid. You can select a group of notes
MIDI Edit: Allows data in the MIDI Editor to be
by dragging a selection marquee over them. When
edited from a MIDI controller.
you release the mouse, notes inside the box will
Filter Selected Continuous Data: This checkable become selected.
menu item is linked to the Quick Filter check box
There are, however, many additional powerful
(Figure 36-1 on page 366) and performs the same
features in the MIDI Editor covered in the rest of
function.
this chapter.
Edit Window Preferences: Opens the preferences
OPENING THE MIDI EDITOR
for edit windows.
See “Opening edit windows” on page 305.
MIDI Editing Preferences: Opens the preferences
THE TRACK SELECTOR
for the MIDI Editor. Like other Digital Performer editors, the MIDI
Editor has a track selector that lets you view
Continuous Data Preferences: Opens the
multiple tracks at one time. See “Viewing multiple
preferences for the display of continuous data in
tracks in one edit window” on page 306.
MIDI Editors.
If you prefer to work in one MIDI Editor window,
MIDI EDITOR TITLE BAR
use Open one graphic editor for each sequence as
The MIDI Editor title bar contains the standard
explained in “MIDI Editor options” on page 80.
edit window elements discussed in “Window
Target” on page 307.
THE MASTER TRACK SELECTOR
When a MIDI Editor is displaying multiple tracks,
MIDI EDITOR BASICS
the Master Track Selector button (Figure 32-9 on
The MIDI Editor is available for MIDI tracks and,
page 306) determines which track is chosen for
in modified form, for the Conductor Track. MIDI
single-track operations in the window. For
graphic editing is also available for MIDI tracks
example, the continuous data grid portion of the
when they are viewed in the Sequence Editor,
window only displays continuous data in the
where multiple MIDI tracks and audio tracks can
master track. As a final example, the master track
be viewed side by side. Most of the MIDI graphic
gets notes that are inserted with the Pencil tool.
editing features discussed in this chapter apply to
MIDI tracks displayed in the Sequence Editor. For
details, see chapter 35, “Sequence Editor”
(page 331).
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MIDI EDITOR
OPENING A SEPARATE MIDI EDITOR FOR THE TIME RULER
EACH TRACK The Time Ruler measures time horizontally for all
There is one way in which the MIDI Editor is MIDI data in the Note Grid, the Median Strip, and
different from other editors: there is a preference the Continuous Data Grid.
that causes Digital Performer to open a separate
MIDI Editor for each track (similar to earlier
versions of the program). If you prefer to see one
track at a time in the MIDI Editor, choose the Open
one editor for each MIDI track option as explained Figure 36-2: The Time Ruler gives you a visual indication of where
data is. It can display time in any of Digital Performer’s various time
in “MIDI Editor options” on page 80. By default, formats.
however, the Open one MIDI Editor for each
sequence option is chosen. Cursor tracking
To help align the mouse pointer with the Time
After a MIDI Editor is open, however, you can Ruler, a line appears inside the Time Ruler to
freely use the Track selector (Figure 32-9 on indicate the current position of the mouse. The
page 306) to show and hide tracks as desired. Note cursor location is displayed numerically in the
that you can have several MIDI Editors open at one cursor information section of the information bar.
time; you can even use the track selector to display
the same track in several MIDI Editors. The only Choosing time formats
restriction is that a track can be designated as the The Time Ruler can display time in any
master track in only one MIDI Editor (see the combination of Digital Performer’s various time
“Master track selector” on page 307). formats. You can choose which formats to display
with the Time formats command (Setup menu), as
SWITCHING TRACKS WITH THE WINDOW shown in Figure 7-6 on page 87.
TARGET MENU
Like other editors, the MIDI Editor allows you to The Time Ruler consists of a main ruler, which
switch tracks by clicking its Window Target menu. appears just above the Marker Strip. Auxiliary
See “Switching to a different track” on page 307. rulers that display other time formats can also be
displayed above the main ruler. The main ruler
SNAP, CURSOR, SELECTION, AND EVENT appears lowest and determines the time format for
INFORMATION editing. Auxiliary rulers appear above the main
The Snap, Cursor, Selection, Event Information ruler.
windows (Studio menu) display information about
the current cursor position, selection range, and Zooming the Time Ruler
selected event. These windows update as you work, See “Zooming” on page 387.
providing constant feedback.
Using the Time Ruler to cue playback
The Information Bar can also be displayed directly You can click the time ruler as shown below to cue
in the MIDI Editor, showing some or all of the data Digital Performer to that location.
shown in the Information windows.
Click once near the top of the
For complete details about these information ruler with the cue cursor…
windows and the Information Bar, see chapter 34, …or double-click in the
lower half with I-beam
“Information Windows” (page 317). cursor.
Figure 36-3: Cueing playback in the Time Ruler.
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MIDI EDITOR
Using the Time Ruler to select a time range When loops are nested inside one another, the
In the MIDI Editor, a time range can be selected by outer-most loop appears above the loops nested
dragging horizontally in the lower half of the Main inside it.
Time Ruler with the I-beam cursor as shown below.
For more similar techniques, see “Time Ruler Working with loops
selection techniques” on page 505. Loops can be edited by dragging the loop icon in
the Marker Strip with the mouse or by editing the
numbers displayed in the Information Bar.
Drag in the lower
half with I-beam
cursor. To insert a loop
To insert a loop, click the Loop tool in the Tool
Figure 36-4: Selecting a time range in the Time ruler.
palette as shown in Figure 36-1 on page 366, and
THE MARKER STRIP drag horizontally in the Marker Strip. To edit the
The Marker Strip appears just below the Time number of repetitions for the loop, switch back to
Ruler. It displays markers, meter changes, key the Pointer tool in the Tool palette, click the loop
changes and even loops (unlike the Marker Strip in icon in the Marker Strip and then edit the loop
the Sequence Editor, which displays loops in their repetition parameter in the Information Bar.
individual tracks). For complete details about the
Marker Strip, see “The Marker Strip” on page 338. To Edit a loop
To move a loop, drag the loop icon with the Pointer
Loops in the Marker Strip tool. To change its length drag the bracket on its
Loops appear in the MIDI Editor Marker Strip as a right side. To change the number of repetitions,
loop icon followed by a line that ends in a bracket click the loop icon to select it and then edit the loop
(Figure 36-5). The loop icon indicates the repetition parameter in the Information Bar.
beginning of the loop; the line and bracket
represent the duration and end of the loop. THE NOTE GRID
The Note Grid is the part of the MIDI Editor
window between the Marker Strip and the Median
Strip. It is flanked by the Pitch Ruler on the left and
Figure 36-5: A loop in the Marker Strip has three components: the
start (loop icon), end (bracket) and a time over which it plays (gray the edge of the window on the right.
lines following the bracket).
When a loop is selected, the loop icon highlights, Figure 36-6: The note grid.
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MIDI EDITOR
a note is, the higher it will appear on the grid. The
later a note occurs, the farther to the right it will
appear on the grid.
Figure 36-8: Viewing notes that are currently scrolled above or below
the note grid.
Displaying Notes
Only notes are displayed on the Note Grid, and
they appear as horizontal bars. The vertical
position of the bar indicates pitch. The left end of
the bar indicates where the note begins, and the
right end indicates where the note releases. The
length of the bar represents the note’s duration. All
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MIDI EDITOR
of these characteristics can be determined by the
Time Ruler above the grid and the Pitch Ruler to
the left.
Listening to the Pitch Ruler 3 If you are displaying multiple tracks in the MIDI
When the Audible Mode is enabled (see “Audible Editor, click the master track selector for the track
mode” on page 300), the keys on the pitch ruler in which you wish to insert notes (Figure 32-11 on
play their pitch via MIDI when you click on them. page 307).
When you click on a Pitch Ruler key, a MIDI note
with that pitch is transmitted to the MIDI output 4 Click the Pencil tool in the Tool palette (Studio
device for the track. If you are displaying two or menu).
more tracks in the MIDI Editor, the pitch ruler
plays the master track. See “The master track
selector” on page 369.
Figure 36-10: Use the Pencil tool to insert notes in the MIDI Editor.
6 Repeat as desired.
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MIDI EDITOR
Inserting two or more notes of equal duration The chord is inserted where you click. You can
After specifying a duration with the first note change the notes in the chord while still holding
inserted, you can insert more notes of the same down the mouse.
duration simply by clicking.
SELECTING NOTES
Erasing notes with the Pencil This section describes how to select notes on the
To erase an existing note, click it with the Pencil. Note Grid. To learn how to select an entire time
range by dragging in the Time Ruler, see “Using the
Inserting a note using a MIDI controller Time Ruler to select a time range” on page 371.
To determine the pitch of a note by playing the note
when you insert it: Selecting a note
To select a note on the Note Grid, click it with the
1 Make sure that “MIDI Edit” is checked under Pointer tool. The note becomes highlighted to
the MIDI Editor mini-menu. indicate that it is selected.
2 Insert a note with the Pencil tool as described in
the previous section—except that you do not need
to pay attention to the pitch, just the duration.
3 With the inserted note still selected, press any Figure 36-11: Use the Pointer tool to select notes in the MIDI Editor.
key on your MIDI controller.
Selecting a group of notes
The inserted note will move to the pitch that you To select a group of events, shift click each one or
choose. The inserted note must still be selected drag over them as follows:
from the previous step for this step to work. If you
press the wrong note, try again. You can keep 1 Click the Pointer tool in the Tool palette.
changing the note’s pitch in this fashion as long as
the note remains selected. 2 Drag over the notes with the cross-hair cursor.
Inserting a chord with a MIDI controller A highlighted box indicates the selection area.
To insert a chord from your MIDI controller with
the Pencil tool:
3 While holding down the chord on your MIDI 3 Release the mouse.
controller, click in the note grid with the Pencil
tool. Only events whose attack occurs inside the
selection box will select.
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MIDI EDITOR
Using the Shift key to extend selections If you hold down the Shift key before you drag, the
You can add to the current selection by holding mouse will be constrained either vertically or
down Shift key when selecting individual notes or horizontally, depending on which way you drag
groups of notes as described in the previous two first. This allows you to change the note’s pitch or
sections. location independently.
Selecting all notes of the same pitch Nudging notes with the Left Arrow and Right
You can quickly select all notes of the same pitch in Arrow keys
the note grid by double-clicking a key on the Pitch After a note or group of notes have been selected,
Ruler. Shift–double-click multiple keys to select you can nudge them earlier or later in the track
discontiguous pitches. Shift–double-clicking using the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys; see
selects or deselects without deselecting other “Nudge” on page 319.
events.
Additionally, you can nudge the notes up or down
EDITING NOTES by holding the Command/Ctrl and Control/Win
The pitch, duration, and location of notes can be keys while pressing the Up Arrow or Down Arrow
modified on the Note Grid in much the same way keys.
as objects in a graphics program. Note velocities
can be edited in the Continuous Data Grid. Changing a note’s duration
To change the duration of a note:
Changing a note’s pitch or location
To change a note’s pitch or location: 1 Position the cursor near the right-hand tip or
the left-hand tip of the note.
1 Click the Pointer tool in the Tool palette.
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MIDI EDITOR
2 Click the note once to select it. THE CONTINUOUS DATA GRID
The Continuous Data Grid is the section at the
3 Press any note on your MIDI controller. bottom of the MIDI Editor below the Median Strip
and above the horizontal scroll bar. It is flanked by
The selected note will change to the pitch you play.
the Continuous Data Ruler on the left and the edge
This can also be done with more than one note
of the window on the right.
selected. This is a quick way to convert a group of
different notes to the same pitch. Continuous data grid basics
The Continuous Data Grid displays MIDI
Editing a group of notes controllers, pitch bend, mono and poly key
Editing a group of notes is similar to editing a
pressure, and note-on/off velocities. The grid
single note.
functions like a standard X and Y coordinate
graph, in which time lies on the horizontal axis and
1 Select the notes that you wish to edit as
value along the vertical axis. The higher the value
described in “Selecting a group of notes” on
of a continuous data event is, the higher it will
page 374.
appear on the grid. The later the event occurs, the
2 Click one of the notes and drag it to a new farther to the right it will appear on the grid.
position. All of the notes will move together. When
Location and value are measured with the Time
you begin dragging, an outline of the notes will
Ruler and the Continuous Data Ruler respectively.
appear in place of the mouse pointer.
Grid lines extend from the Time ruler to help in
Changing two or more notes to the same pitch determining an event’s position.
To convert a group of selected notes to the same
pitch: The grid displays the master track only
If you are viewing multiple MIDI tracks in the
1 Make sure that “MIDI Edit” is checked under MIDI Editor window, the Continuous Data Grid
the MIDI Editor mini-menu. displays data for the master track only. See “Master
track selector” on page 307.
2 Select the notes as described in “Selecting a
group of notes” on page 374. Adjusting the grid height with the Median
Strip
3 Press any note on your MIDI controller. The Continuous Data Grid has no vertical scroll
bar. Instead, the grid automatically compresses or
The selected notes will change to the pitch you play. expands to fit in the current space between the
Median Strip and the bottom of the window. The
Hearing notes when editing them grid can be stretched (or compressed) vertically by
See “Audible mode” on page 300. dragging the Median Strip up (or down). To make
more room for both the Continuous Data Grid and
Temporarily muting notes
Note Grid, simply enlarge the entire window with
To temporarily mute or unmute a MIDI note, click
the grow box.
it with the Mute (X) tool (Figure 36-1 on page 366).
Zooming the Continuous Data Grid
See “Zooming” on page 387.
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MIDI EDITOR
THREE CONTINUOUS DATA DISPLAY during playback because Event Chasing maintains
MODES the current value of each type of controller in the
The Continuous Data Grid provides three modes track, regardless of where playback begins.
for displaying continuous controller data: Points,
Bars and Lines.
Points
In Points mode (Figure 36-12), a continuous data
event is displayed on the grid as a small icon, such
as a square or a circle. Pitch bend data, aftertouch,
velocities, and controllers each have a unique icon.
When they are selected, a stalk extends to the
origin (zero). The icons are defined in the
Continuous Data Icons window (see “Cont. Data Figure 36-13: Bars mode.
Icons” on page 379).
The example below illustrates how the value of a
single event is conveyed by the colored bar, up to
the next controller event of the same time.
Bars
Bars mode (Figure 36-13 and Figure 36-14) is
similar to Points mode except that a colored bar
Figure 36-14: Bars mode illustrates how the value of an individual
extends to the right from each event, allowing you controller is maintained until the next event of the same type in the
to see the current value for each type of controller, track.
even in portions of the track where no events of Each type of continuous data has its own color for
that type reside. With Event Chasing enabled the bars. See “Changing continuous data colors” on
(“Event Chasing” on page 202), Bars mode is a page 380.
more accurate representation of what will happen
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MIDI EDITOR
Lines
In Lines mode (Figure 36-15), Digital Performer
employs sophisticated interpolation to draw a line
Controller
that closely approximates the contour of individual scale
controller events.
Pitch
bend
scale
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MIDI EDITOR
SHOWING/HIDING CONTINUOUS DATA The Grid View Filter
TYPES The grid view filter lets you view a single data type
The expression continuous data type refers to a kind or all data types. When viewing a single data type,
of continuous data. For example, pitch bend is one Pencil tool insertion inserts the type of data being
kind of continuous data. Controller #7 (volume) is viewed. In addition, the ruler automatically
another type. The Continuous Data Grid displays switches to the appropriate scale.
all continuous data types at once. At times it is
useful to be able to see all at the same time, or
several, or even just one data type by itself. There
are several ways to show and hide continuous data
types as needed. Except in the case of time range
selections made in the time ruler, data that is visible
is affected by edits; data that is hidden is not.
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MIDI EDITOR
Figure 36-18: Continuous Data Icons window.
Hiding velocities Figure 36-21: Choosing a shape for inserting a continuous data
You can hide velocities using any of the methods curve.
covered in “Showing/hiding continuous data 3 If you would like the curve shape you have
types” on page 379. selected to snap to beats or a similar metric grid, set
the Edit Resolution and turn on the Edit Grid (see
“Snap Information” on page 317).
381
MIDI EDITOR
Doing so constrains periodic waveshapes to the
resolution of the edit grid. For example, if the Edit
Grid is set to a quarter note, and you insert a sine
wave, the sine wave will cycle once each quarter
note.
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MIDI EDITOR
Selecting continuous data in Points or Bars 4 If you are modifying several events, select them
mode first as described in the previous section, and then
To select continuous data in Points or Bars mode: drag one of the selected events.
1 Click the Pointer tool in the Tool palette (Studio Scaling by dragging
menu). If you hold down the Control/Win key when
dragging selected continuous controllers, they are
2 Make a selection as follows: scaled in value (vertically) and time (horizontally).
To do this: Do this:
Editing the value of an event using a MIDI
To select a single Click it with the pointer cursor. A stalk is
event drawn from the icon to the origin of the controller in Points or Bars mode
continuous data graph. To change the value of an event with your MIDI
To select several Drag over the events in the grid with the controller:
events cross-hair cursor.
1 Make sure that “MIDI Edit” is checked under
To select a continu- Drag over the curve with the cross-hair
ous data curve cursor. Hide other data types first, if nec- the MIDI Editor mini-menu.
essary (“Showing/hiding continuous
data types” on page 379).
2 Click the event with the Pointer tool to select it.
To select all events of Double-click one event.
one type
3 Transmit a corresponding event from your
To add to the current Hold down the Shift key while using any MIDI controller.
selection of the selection techniques above.
To deselect events Hold down the Shift key while using any For example, if you have selected pitch bend event,
of the above techniques on selected data.
move the pitch bend wheel on your controller and
To deselect all data Choose Deselect All from the Edit menu the event will change to the new value you set with
or press its keyboard shortcut. Or click
once in any empty area in the grid. the wheel.
Dragging events in Points or Bars mode 4 When you have entered the value you wish,
To change the value or location of continuous data press the Return key or the mouse to confirm the
events in Points or Bars mode: new value.
1 If desired, set the Edit Resolution (see “Snap Reshaping data curves
Information” on page 317). You can modify continuous data with the Reshape
tool. For example, you can scale, compress or limit
2 Click the Pointer tool in the Tool palette. it.
3 If you are modifying a single event, drag its icon For complete details on the Reshape tool, see
to a different position or value. “Reshape tool” on page 312.
Hold down the Shift key to constrain vertically or EDITING CONTINUOUS DATA IN LINES
horizontally. For exact positioning, refer to the MODE
Cursor Information box and the rulers. Lines Mode attempts to represent a stream of
continuous data events as a straight line between
two points, similar to the breakpoint automation
display in audio tracks. This allows you to view and
modify continuous MIDI data in a similar fashion
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MIDI EDITOR
as audio automation data. However, MIDI Again, you can always switch to Bars mode for a
continuous data is fundamentally different than more clear idea of what’s going on with the events
audio automation data: MIDI data consists of a that lie beneath the lines.
stream of individual events, as shown below in
Figure 36-24, whereas audio automation data Points, stair-steps and ramps
consists of two points that prescribe a ramp. It is Lines Mode employs three elements to represent
very important to keep this distinction in mind continuous data streams: ramps, points and stair-
when working in Lines Mode because, as explained steps.
in the next few sections, MIDI Lines Mode does
Ramps
not always act the same way as audio automation.
Ramps are straight lines drawn between two
points. Lines Mode draws a ramp when continuous
data events are close enough and straight enough
to be drawn as a line. The distance between events
that is required for them to be interpreted as a line
can be adjusted with the Ramp Density setting
(explained in the next section).
Points
A point consists of a continuous data event that
falls between two ramps that have different slopes.
The point consists of an actual MIDI data event; by
Figure 36-24: Volume controller data displayed in Lines Mode and moving it such that it falls more in line with events
Bars Mode. Notice the stair-steps in Bars mode—a more accurate around it, you can actually make it ‘disappear’
representation of the MIDI events that underlie the points and lines in
Lines Mode. Lines Mode can be convenient for inserting and editing when it crosses the threshold for being interpreted
continuous data, but Bars mode tells you ‘what’s really going on’ with
the individual events.
as part of the ramp.
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MIDI EDITOR
Steps setup are not smooth enough, you could choose a
Lines Mode displays a step (as shown below in lower number for the Ramp Density. (Be sure to
Figure 36-26) when consecutive events are too far redraw the curve after doing so to generate new
apart to be interpreted as a line. As you can see, a data.) A higher Ramp Density number reduces the
step, gives you an accurate representation of the density, lowering the amount of overall data
underlying data, and the effect it will have when it produced. For example, you might find that a
is played back. particular MIDI instrument might not be able to
handle so much data. In this case, you can raise the
Ramp Density number to send it less data.
To do this: Do this:
To insert a point Click with the Pencil tool.
To add a point to an Click with the Pencil tool on the line and
existing line drag a little bit. If you don’t drag, the
newly inserted event will be interpreted
as part of the line, and it won’t remain an
independent point.
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MIDI EDITOR
(Figure 36-27), both MIDI data and audio data Moving the Median Strip
display a single point within the time range The Median Strip serves as the border between the
selection. However, as you can see in Bars Mode Note Grid and the Continuous Data Grid. It can be
(bottom row), there are actually many selected dragged up and down by its handle on the left edge.
MIDI events, not just one. If continuous data Moving the Median Strip resizes the Note Grid and
scaling is applied (second column), the single the Continuous Data Grid proportionally. For
audio control point scales by itself, whereas all of example, if you drag the Median Strip down as far
the selected MIDI events scale together, producing as it will go, you will see only the Note Grid. If you
a different final result. Note: to get the same result drag the Median Strip all the way up, you will see
with MIDI as audio in this example, you could only the Continuous Data Grid.
simply drag the control point in the MIDI track
downwards. Working with discrete MIDI events in the
Median Strip
Events in the Median Strip do not have durations.
Before After
change continuous data change continuous data Each event is therefore displayed as a single item
inside a small box. Patch changes, system exclusive
MIDI events, Mute Automation events, and controllers
data are displayed with their Event List icon; mode
(Lines Mode)
changes are displayed as text, such as “Poly” or
“Omni on”. An event may be edited in the
audio Information Bar in the same fashion as in the Event
automation
data List. Location is determined by the Main Time
Ruler. To indicate time location, the vertical grid
MIDI
lines from the Main Ruler extend through the
data Median Strip.
(Bars Mode)
THE MEDIAN STRIP Figure 36-29: A mute automation event in the Median Strip.
The Median Strip separates the Note Grid from the
Inserting an event in the Median Strip
Continuous Data Grid. It contains only the
Discrete MIDI events that are not continuous data,
following discrete MIDI events: patch changes,
such as patch changes, mode changes, switch
mode changes, switch controllers like #64 (sustain
controllers like #64 (sustain pedal), and system
pedal), tune requests, song changes, mute
exclusive events, appear in the Median Strip. To
automation events and system exclusive events.
insert such an event:
Notes and continuous data do not appear in the
Median Strip. 1 If desired, set the Edit Resolution and turn on
the Edit Grid (see “Snap to Grid” on page 317).
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MIDI EDITOR
3 Choose the desired data type from the Insert Note grid zooming
menu (Figure 36-22 on page 382). Time and Pitch can be zoomed independently. For
example, you can zoom out the Time Ruler to see
4 Click once at the desired time location in the more measures at one time, and zoom in the Pitch
Median Strip. Ruler to focus on a specific pitch range.
The event will appear where you clicked. With the Pitch Ruler, zooming out reduces the
height of each pitch, allowing you to see more
Editing an Event in the Median Strip octaves at once; zooming in enlarges the height of
Some median strip events, such as patch changes
each pitch, allowing you to focus on a particular
and mute automation events, can be edited directly
pitch range.
in the Median Strip. For other event types, their
parameters can be edited in the Information Bar.
Click the event to select it and then edit parameters Note grid zoom
as desired in the Information Bar.
Figure 36-30: When items in the Median Strip occur very close to one
another (or even on the same exact tick), the Median Strip displays
the menu icon shown here. Click the menu to see the events; you can
select them by choosing them from the menu.
ZOOMING
Digital Performer provides many other ways to
zoom in and out, including many useful zooming
shortcuts. In particular, you can very quickly and Figure 36-31: Note grid zoom control.
conveniently zoom in and out by Control/Win-
dragging vertically on the green playback wiper.
GRAPHIC EDITING TECHNIQUES
All of Digital Performer’s powerful editing features
For details, see “Zooming with the wiper” on
are available in the MIDI Editor; refer to “Graphic
page 206.
editing techniques” on page 297.
For general zooming techniques, see “Information
windows” on page 308; see the sections below for
abilities specific to the MIDI Editor.
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MIDI EDITOR
THE VIEW FILTER Meter changes, key changes, and markers are
In the MIDI Editor, the View Filter serves two displayed in the Median Strip.
useful functions. It allows you to control what
types of data you can see and edit in the window. In The Conductor Track Median Strip
essence, the View Filter acts like an edit filter: if a The Median Strip in the Conductor Track
type of data, such as pitch bend, is visible in the functions much like the Median Strip in a regular
window, it will be affected by editing commands. If track. Each meter change, key change, and marker
the data type is not visible in the window, it cannot is displayed as a single item. The Conductor Track
be edited. Median Strip is wide enough to accommodate all
three kinds of events without overlapping.
For information about using the View Filter, see
“View Filter” on page 292. Editing in the Conductor Track Median Strip
works the same as editing MIDI data in a regular
SCROLLING DURING PLAYBACK track’s median strip: click an item to make it appear
The Auto Scroll command in the View menu in the Information Bar and click in the Information
controls how the MIDI Editor scrolls during Bar to edit its values; drag the item left or right to
playback. For example, the playback wiper can change its location.
travel across the window, or the window can scroll
beneath a stationary wiper that remains anchored Inserting a meter/key change
in the middle of the window. See “Auto scroll” on To insert a meter change or key change:
page 204.
1 If desired, set the Edit Resolution and turn on
SCRUBBING IN THE MIDI EDITOR Snap to Grid (see “Snap to Grid” on page 317).
There are two ways to scrub in the MIDI Editor:
2 Click the Pencil tool in the Tool palette (Studio
■ With the playback wiper — scrubs all play-
menu).
enabled MIDI tracks. For more information, see
3 Click once at the desired time location and
“Scrubbing multiple MIDI tracks” on page 206.
vertical position in the Median Strip as shown
■ With the Scrub tool (Figure 36-1 on page 366) below:
— when you drag horizontally in the note grid,
you’ll hear only the tracks currently shown (with
the Track selector).
Meter changes
Key changes
EDITING IN THE CONDUCTOR TRACK Markers
The Conductor Track Editor is similar to a regular
track but has several differences. It does not have a Figure 36-32: To insert a meter change with the Pencil tool, click in the
top third of the Median Strip; for key changes, click in the middle.
Note Grid because the Conductor Track cannot
contain notes. In addition, the Median Strip is Working with markers
wider and fixed at the top of the window just below Double-click a marker to change its name. To
the Time Ruler. Finally, the Conductor Track has a insert or delete markers, use the Markers Window
Tempo Change Grid similar to the Continuous (Project menu).
Data Grid that displays tempo changes only.
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MIDI EDITOR
Editing the location of a meter change, key Zooming the Tempo Ruler
change, or marker The Tempo ruler in the Conductor track can be
To change the location of an item in the median zoomed in for more precise tempo editing.
strip: Clicking the Tempo ruler toggles quickly between
your custom zoom scale and the normal scale.
1 Click the item you wish to move and drag left to
advance it or drag right to delay it. To zoom the Tempo ruler, drag over the range of
values you wish to zoom. The Tempo ruler will
The event will move to the new location when you
zoom in on the range that you select. Then click the
release the mouse.
Tempo ruler to toggle between your custom zoom
Moving meter changes can produce partial scale and the normal scale.
measures and other situations that require an in-
depth knowledge of how meter changes work.
Before dragging meter changes, be sure to review
chapter 56, “Change Meter” (page 693).
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MIDI EDITOR
390
MIDI EDITOR
CHAPTER 37 Event List
For a window which shows only one event at a Insert menu: Chooses what kind of data will be
time, the currently selected event, see “Event inserted by the Insert button.
Information” on page 321.
Insert button: Inserts an event of the data type
Quick Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391 shown in the Insert menu. Option/Alt-click to
Event List mini-menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392 reinsert another event of the type just inserted.
Event List title bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
Event List basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392 Remove button: Removes the selected events.
Types of events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Event: A row of information concerning a single bit
MIDI Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
of MIDI, audio or conductor track data. Events at
Audio data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
different locations are separated by a line. The
Mix automation data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
information displayed for an event depends on its
Loops and Conductor Track data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
type; see “Event List basics” on page 392 for more
Inserting data in the Event List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
information.
Editing data in the Event List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Event List hints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402 Text box: Appears when you double-click or
Option/Alt-click on a field of an event. You can
enter a new value for the field by either typing or by
dragging up or down.
391
EVENT LIST MINI-MENU types of events. Some are MIDI data, like the patch
In addition to the standard items covered in “Edit change event, notes, and pitch bend. Others are
Window mini-menus” on page 308, the Event List Digital Performer-related events, like the marker,
mini-menu has the following additional item: key change, and meter change events.
EVENT LIST TITLE BAR Audio track Event Lists display audio events,
The Event List title bar contains the standard edit including soundbites, volume automation control
window elements discussed in “Window Target” points and plug-in automation data.
on page 307.
Audio volume Plug-in automation Soundbite
EVENT LIST BASICS
The Event List displays MIDI data and other events
sequentially. There is one event per line in the
display. Events which occur at the same time (such
as notes in a quantized chord) will be grouped
together between horizontal lines. The starting
time is listed only for the first event of these groups.
MIDI notes are defined by their location, pitch, on
velocity, off velocity, duration and end time as
shown below in Figure 37-2. Audio soundbites
display their location, name, duration and end Figure 37-4: Examples of several different types of events displayed in
audio track Event Lists.
time as shown in Figure 37-4.
Choosing time formats
Location Velocity End time Event locations, durations and end times can be
Pitch Duration displayed in any combination of Digital
Performer’s various time formats. See “Time
Chord Formats window” on page 86.
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E V E NT L I ST
Showing/hiding durations, end times and sync On velocity is a value that represents how hard a
points note is struck. The harder you strike a note, the
The Time Formats window in the Setup menu faster you are pressing it down, hence the term
(“Time Formats window” on page 86) lets you “velocity”. Off velocity is a value that represents the
show (check) or hide (uncheck) note and speed at which a note is released. Some
soundbite durations and end times. In addition, instruments don’t respond to off velocities, but
you can show or hide soundbite sync points in the many use this information to determine envelope
Events Lists of audio tracks. For details about sync decay parameters or other effects. Values of on and
points, see “Sync points” on page 357. off velocities range from zero to 127. You can omit
on and off velocities from the Event List display by
TYPES OF EVENTS unchecking them in the View Filter.
Event List data falls into four general categories:
Duration is the time between the attack and release
■ MIDI data
of the note. It is displayed in quarter notes and
■ Audio data ticks, e.g. 3|240. Note that this is different from
measure time, displayed in measures, beats and
■ Mix automation data
ticks. A note must have a minimum duration of one
■ Loops and Conductor Track data tick (0|001).
Within each category, there are several types of End time is the location at which the note stops
events, each identified by a small icon. The playing — where it cuts off. Like note attack times,
following sections provide a brief explanation of the end time is displayed in whatever time formats
each data type. you choose in the Time Formats window.
MIDI DATA Pitch bend
Notes A pitch bend event comprises a start time and a
As shown in Figure 37-2 on page 392, a MIDI note value. Pitch bend data causes the pitch of notes
event comprises a start time (location), a pitch, an being played to change. When a stream of pitch
on velocity, an off velocity, a duration and an end bend data occurs, a smooth pitch change can be
time. The pitch is expressed as a note name and an approximated. A value of zero signifies no bend,
octave, e.g. C#4. C3 is middle C on a keyboard, increasing values bend the pitch up, and decreasing
although with some patches it might sound in values bend it down. Values are in the range -8192
another octave. In addition, there are preferences to 8191.
that allow you to globally specify middle C as C4
instead or to display notes by their MIDI note
number (from 0-127). (See “Data Display” on
page 71.) The spelling of the note name is There is no specific MIDI standard for how much
determined by the key signature you choose. See of a bend specific pitch bend data causes: each
chapter 57, “Change Key” (page 699). instrument may be different. Also, some
instruments do not respond to all 16,384 values;
adjacent values may produce the same result.
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EVEN T L I S T
Patch change Song changes have no channel number when sent
A patch change event has a start time and a patch over MIDI: all connected instruments receive
change number. When an instrument receives a them.
patch change, it changes to the patch specified by
that number.
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E V E NT L I ST
In other words, changing the end time does not Soundbite layering
change the length; instead, it moves the entire The Event List does not indicate soundbite
soundbite. layering. To see how overlapping soundbites are
layered, view them in the Sequence Editor as
Soundbite name explained in “Overlapping and layering
Identifies the soundbite by name. Click it to select soundbites” on page 351.
the soundbite. Option/Alt-click it to change the
name. Double-click the name to replace the Audio volume and pan events
soundbite with another. Command–double-click Audio volume and pan events represent the
to edit in the Waveform Editor. breakpoints that you see on the volume and pan
automation lines displayed in the Sequence Editor.
Event List soundbites are “clones” of their original Audio volume and pan events can be identified by
The most important thing to realize about their name and continuous controller icon in the
soundbites in the Event List is that they are “clones” Event List:
of their original soundbite in the Soundbites
window. For further explanation, see “Soundbites
in a track are ‘clones’ of the original” on page 298.
397
EVEN T L I S T
Tempo changes
Tempo changes can be displayed and edited in the
Mute automation Editor windows for the Conductor track. Tempo
Mute automation events can appear in both MIDI change events display the duration value for the
and audio track event lists. tempo marking, i.e. which value the tempo is
measured in (quarter note = 90 for example), and
the tempo value itself, which signifies the number
of beats per minute. See chapter 55, “Change
Tempo” (page 685) for more information.
chapter 56, “Change Meter” (page 693) for more Notes that won’t play
because of the loop
information.
Figure 37-8: A loop in the Event List.
398
E V E NT L I ST
INSERTING DATA IN THE EVENT LIST will match the event just below the insertion
The Insert button inserts an event of the type cursor. This is a convenient way to insert a new
specified by the Insert menu. To insert an event: event at the same location as an existing event.
1 Activate the Event List for the desired track by Inserting multiple events of the same type
clicking on it. If you will be inserting another event of the same
kind, press the Enter key instead of Return (Mac)
2 Click on the Insert menu: a menu appears or the keypad Enter key (Windows). This will
containing the different types of events you can insert the event and present you with another to be
insert. inserted. Press Command/Ctrl-period or the
escape key to cancel the Insert.
399
EVEN T L I S T
moment — especially lengthy streams of
controllers or pitch bend. See “The Event List View
Filter” on page 294.
■ The Paste and Merge commands on the Edit
menu work as follows: If one or more events are
highlighted, the contents of the Clipboard are
pasted at the time of the first highlighted event. If
no events are highlighted, the contents of the
Clipboard are pasted at the location of the playback
wiper (the main counter). See “Paste” on page 530.
■ The Snip, Repeat, and Retrograde commands do
400
E V E NT L I ST
This technique is particularly useful when you are
uncertain of a value. For example, you can set an on
velocity for a note by double-clicking on the on
velocity field so that it pops up, then hitting a key
on your controller until the note velocity sounds
correct. Each time you hit the key, the new velocity
appears in the pop up box; when you hear the one
you want, simply press the Return key to save the
Figure 37-11: Editing an event parameter. value in the Event List.
After you begin to edit events by using text boxes,
Changing the name of a soundbite
you can use the Tab, Enter, and arrow keys to move
To change the name of a soundbite in an audio
between fields and events.
track Event List, Option/Alt-click the soundbite’s
Here is a list of the keys you can use when a text box name. When you change the name of a soundbite,
is present: you change the name for all instances of that
soundbite.
■ Return enters the value and closes the text box —
as does clicking anywhere outside the box. Replacing a soundbite with another soundbite
You can replace a soundbite with another by
■ Command/Ctrl-period or Escape cancels the double-clicking the soundbite name in the Event
entry. List. A list appears showing of all the soundbites in
the project:
■ The Enter and Down Arrow keys enter the value
and highlight the same field in the next event.
■ The Up Arrow key enters the value and highlights
same field in the previous event.
■ Tab and the Right and Left Arrow keys move
401
EVEN T L I S T
EVENT LIST HINTS 1 Find a Patch Change event in an Event List.
You can use the Event List to find out useful
information about the way your MIDI instruments If you can’t find one, insert one.
output data. For example, you can use the Event
2 Option/Alt-click on the patch number field to
List to determine the controller number for a
make a text box appear.
wheel, slider, foot pedal, etc.:
3 Select the preset or patch on the MIDI module.
1 Locate a controller event in an Event Edit
window.
The patch number box in Digital Performer will
display the MIDI patch number corresponding to
If you can’t find one, insert one.
the preset.
2 Option/Alt-click on the controller number field
4 Press the Return key to save the event, or the
to make a text box appear.
Command and period keys to close the text box
3 Move the controller on your input keyboard. without making any changes.
The controller number will be displayed in the text Inserting multiple events with Repeat
box. You can insert multiple events of the same type
quickly by first inserting the event, selecting a time
4 Press the Return key to save the event, or the range including the event (in any graphic editor)
Command and period keys to close the text box and then choosing Repeat from the Edit menu.
without making any changes. This will effectively duplicate the event the
specified number of times. You can then go back
Finding patch numbers and edit the locations and values of each event.
You can use a similar technique to find the patch
numbers that correspond to each preset on a MIDI
module. Make sure that the MIDI output from the
device in question connects to the MIDI input of
your interface; then:
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E V E NT L I ST
CHAPTER 38 Drum Editor
403
QUICK REFERENCE
Master
track Grid Hot spot for Click here to Playback
button resolution resizing toggle memory location
menu each row. cycle indicator
Track MIDI Note Patch Display Note Time Memory Marker Note grid
selector track list list mode grid ruler Cycle bar strip scroll bar
list menu
Blank row for Instrument/Tool Note Continuous This note This note Selected Selected Continuous Median
adding new Settings group data is being is being note controllers data grid strip
notes or note ruler displayed displayed
groups. in in
‘Velocity ‘Grid
Median and with
strip Duration’ velocity’
move mode mode
handle
Figure 38-1: The Drum Editor provides
a powerful environment for viewing
and editing percussive music.
Pointer Reshape
Pencil mode Loop
Reshape Zoom
Tool palette
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DRUM EDITOR
Blank row for adding new notes: Type in or play in Hot spot for row resizing: When displaying a row
a new pitch to add the note pitch (instrument). Use in any mode other than ‘grid’ mode, you can
the drop-down menu (triangle) to show pitches position the cursor above it’s bottom edge (below
that are currently hidden. its display mode menu) to change the cursor into a
hand. You can then grab the bottom edge with the
Continuous Data Grid: Displays continuous data hand cursor and drag it vertically to resize the row.
on a time vs. value grid. Pitch bend, key pressure,
controllers, and note velocities are displayed simul- Instrument/Tool settings: This area of the window
taneously on this grid. An event’s location is displays settings for the currently selected note in
measured by the Time Ruler at the top of the the note list — or the Pencil tool or Rhythm Brush
window. Value is determined by the Continuous tool if either tool is selected. Use these settings to
Data Ruler on the left. Each type of continuous enter triplet figures or paint custom rhythms.
data has a unique icon. If the display mode is set to
Lines mode, streams of controllers are represented Marker strip: Displays markers, meter changes,
as breakpoints on a line. and key changes. Also displays the Memory Cycle
bar.
Continuous Data Ruler: Measures continuous data
events. This ruler can be toggled between three Master track button: This button is displayed next
scales: a controller scale from 0 to 127, whose to the name of each track in the list. Only one track
origin rests at the bottom of the window; a pitch can be the master track when multiple tracks are
bend scale from -8192 to 8191, whose origin present. The median strip and continuous
appears in the middle of the grid; and a controller grid only display master track data.
combination scale that shows both pitch bend and Click the master track button to make a track the
controller data at once on a -80 to 127 scale. Toggle master track.
among the three scales by clicking on the ruler.
Median Strip: Displays discrete MIDI events such
Display mode menu: Lets you choose one of four as patch changes, mode changes, switch controllers
display modes for each row (instrument): grid, like #64 (sustain), and system exclusive events.
grid with velocity, velocity and duration, or ‘Free’ Each type is displayed as an icon, defined by the
mode. Legend window. The Median Strip serves as a
border between the Note Grid and the Continuous
Grid Resolution menu: Determines the rhythmic Data grid; it can be dragged up and down with the
duration of each column in the note grid for handle at its left to proportionally resize the grids.
viewing and editing notes. Can be changed at any
time to any duration in the menu, from a 64th note Median Strip Move Handle: Moves the Median
to a whole note, with triplet, dotted, and double- Strip up or down. Dragging up shrinks the Note
dotted variants. Grid and enlarges the Continuous Data Grid;
dragging down enlarges the Note Grid and shrinks
Grid with velocity mode: One of four modes in the Continuous Data Grid. Double-click the move
which each row can be viewed (as chosen from the handle to collapse the bar all the way to the bottom
display mode menu to the left of the row). Grid of the window. Double-click it again to restore it to
with velocity mode uses the height of the bar to its original position.
indicate the note’s velocity.
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DRUM EDITOR
Memory Cycle bar: Displays the period of time QuickFilter button: Temporarily hides all types of
currently being looped by Digital Performer’s continuous data, except for the type that is
Memory Cycle feature. Drag the ends of the bar to currently selected.
change the cycle start and end points.
Selected Note: When a note is selected, it
MIDI track: The drum editor can display notes highlights. If the note is being displayed with its
from multiple tracks, as determined by the track duration, drag the end of the note to change its
selector, which shows/hides tracks. The pitches for duration. Complete information about the selected
each track are displayed below the track. The track note will automatically appear in the Event
row itself displays the track’s playback device and Information window, if open.
current patch (drum kit).
Selected volume controller: Continuous
Note Grid: Displays notes on a time vs. pitch grid. controllers, such as volume controllers, are edited
Only notes are displayed on this grid. Pitch is in the same way as they are in the MIDI Editor.
determined by which row the note is in. Location
and duration are measured by the Time Ruler Time ruler: Measures time in measures and beats
above, with duration determined by the length of (and ticks, at small grid resolutions) for the
the bar (either vertically or horizontally, depending columns and data in the note grid, median strip
on the mode in which the row of notes is being and continuous data grid. The time ruler can be
viewed). Notes can be edited with the mouse one at zoomed in or out using the Grid Resolution menu
a time, in a group, or by region. or the time zoom buttons in the bottom right
corner of the window.
Note grid scroll bar: Scrolls the note grid when the
list is longer than the window size. Track selector list: Shows and hides tracks in the
Drum Editor.
Note group: A set of pitches that act as a single
instrument, such as several variations of a hit hat Velocity and duration mode: One of four modes in
sound (pedal, open closed, etc.) A note group which each row can be viewed (as chosen from the
ensures that they won’t be played at the same time; display mode menu to the left of the row). Velocity
it also lets you mute/unmute them as a group. and duration mode uses the height and length of
the note to indicate its velocity and duration,
Note list: Displays the list of MIDI note pitches you respectively.
are working with in the drum editor. Each row
represents one pitch (C3, Eb4, etc.), which TOOL PALETTE QUICK REFERENCE
corresponds to a particular drum instrument. Pointer: Use the pointer to select data, move data
and lengthen or shorten notes (in Free mode).
Patch list: lets you choose the drum kit on your
drum machine or synth for the track. Pencil: Use the Pencil tool to insert data.
Playback location indicator: Shows Digital Reshape: Use the Reshape tool to reshape note
Performer’s current playback location. velocities in the note grid or controller data in the
continuous data grid.
Pointer tool: Turns the cursor into Digital
Performer’s standard arrow cursor for selecting.
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DRUM EDITOR
Pencil/Reshape Curve: Determines the shape of Zoom: Provides many shortcuts for zooming in the
the continuous data that you modify with the Drum Editor. See “Mini-menu zoom shortcuts” on
Reshape tool. page 295.
Reshape mode: Determines what the Reshape tool MIDI Edit: Allows data in the Drum Editor to be
does to continuous data: set it to a specific value, edited from a MIDI controller.
add to it, subtract from it, scale it or limit it.
Filter Selected Continuous Data: This checkable
Rhythm Brush: Turns the cursor into a brush that menu item is linked to the Quick Filter check box
‘paints’ in percussive note patterns in the note grid. (Figure 36-1 on page 366) and performs the same
You choose the desired pattern from the menu in function.
the Brush tool settings area below the note list.
Edit Window Preferences: Opens the preferences
Zoom: Zooms the time ruler in. Option/Alt-click for edit windows.
to zoom out.
MIDI Editing Preferences: Opens the preferences
Loop: Inserts a loop in the drum grid row just to for the MIDI Editor.
the right of the track name.
Continuous Data Preferences: Opens the
Scrub: Scrubs MIDI data when you drag in the preferences for the display of continuous data in
note grid. Only the tracks currently visible will MIDI Editors.
scrub. To scrub all tracks, drag the playback wiper.
Show Pitches for All Notes: Displays all currently
DRUM EDITOR MINI-MENU hidden notes in the note list.
In addition to the standard items covered in “Edit
Window mini-menus” on page 308, the Drum Always Show All Notes: When checked, tracks will
Editor mini-menu has the following additional always display all notes (and their corresponding
items: pitch) that currently exist in a track. This ensures
that you always see every note (and all pitches
being used) in the track. When unchecked, you
need to manually add pitches when adding notes to
the track.
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DRUM EDITOR
Make Group From Selection: Joins two or more Track Drum Percussion
selected pitches in the note list together into a note selector list tracks track
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DRUM EDITOR
For complete details about these information MIDI pitch (C1, Eb3, etc.) and name of the
windows and the Information Bar, see chapter 34, instrument, along with several other parameters
“Information Windows” (page 317). for the instrument. (If the name of the instrument
does not appear automatically, you can type it in.
THE FOUR DRUM EDITOR PANES For details, see “Working with note names” on
As shown below in Figure 38-4, the Drum Editor page 413.) Each row in the note list extends into the
window is divided into four panes, which are note grid to the right, which displays the actual
explained in the remainder of this chapter. MIDI notes (more on the note grid in a bit).
MIDI
track
Blank Group
note
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DRUM EDITOR
Playback device Pitch (instrument)
Just to the right of the track name is the MIDI Displays the MIDI note for the row. To change the
playback device and MIDI channel for the track. If pitch (instrument), click on this box and drag up/
no device is selected, you’ll see dashes. Click on the down, or type in a new pitch, or play a new pitch
playback device to open a menu of MIDI devices. from your MIDI controller. The MIDI notes in the
This list of devices is supplied by your MIDI device grid will be transposed to the new pitch.
configuration (Setup menu > Bundles > MIDI
Devices tab). Name
Displays the name for the MIDI pitch as
Default patch/drum kit determined by the MIDI instrument and drum kit
At the far right of each Track row is the default to which the parent track is currently assigned. A
patch (drum kit) that is currently selected for the drum kit must be assigned to the parent track for
track. If no drum kit is currently chosen, you’ll see note names to appear. If Digital Performer doesn’t
dashes. Click on this area of the row to choose a know the factory-supplied names for the device,
default patch or drum kit. and if you haven’t typed in a name yet, the MIDI
pitch is displayed here instead (e.g. ‘C3’). If it does
Parent track selecting/highlighting not allow you to type in a note name, you need to
Parent track names in the Drum Editor highlight choose a patch for the note’s parent device (in the
when there is a selection in the track, just like in the Patch column). For further details, see “Working
other editors. Similarly, you can click (or Shift- with note names” on page 413.
click or Command/Ctrl-click) the track names in
the Drum Editor to include the track in (or exclude Click the pitch name to select the instrument row.
it from) the current time range selection.
Double-click the pitch name to select all notes of
Working with the note list that pitch in the track.
As shown in Figure 38-5 on page 409, each note is
displayed below its parent MIDI track. Here is a The name column also displays a menu for
summary of the settings in each row for each note changing notes as shown below in Figure 38-6.
(instrument). This menu is only active if the parent MIDI device
and patch has note names. If so, you can use this
Move handle menu to switch the row to a different instrument.
Drag the move handle up or down to move the
instrument in the list. You can’t drag pitches above
their parent track in the list or below the next track
in the list.
Play button Figure 38-6: Changing an instrument with the note menu.
Mutes and unmutes the instrument (pitch), even if
it resides in the same track as other MIDI pitches.
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DRUM EDITOR
Quantize 1. Click the expand button. 2. Drag the expand handle.
This column displays whether the instrument is
being quantized (Q), Groove Quantized (G), or
Humanized (H). All three forms of processing are
applied non-destructively in real time during
playback; they do not modify the actual data in the
track. If no processing is being applied, this
column displays a dash (-). The Quantize options
appear in the area below the note list as explained
below in the next section.
Figure 38-8: Use the expand button on the left of the divider bar and
the resize handle on the right as shown here to get a complete view of
the quantize settings. When you’re done, click the resize button again
to snap the divider bar back to its original position.
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DRUM EDITOR
you first open the Drum Editor window for a track, name menu as shown below in Figure 38-10. You
it will display one row for every note (pitch) that can also use this menu to show notes that have been
already exists in the track. You can also add pitches hidden (explained later).
(instruments) to the list at any time.
Figure 38-9: use the ‘blank’ note at the bottom of each track to add
instruments to the list.
If you’re not sure what the correct pitch is for the
There are several ways to add a pitch (instrument) drum instrument you want, do the following:
using this blank note.
1 Make sure that the Audible mode button in the
If the track has note names (it’s assigned to a MIDI Control Panel is turned on. This allows you to
device for which there are note names), you can audition the correct drum sound before you add it.
choose the instrument by name from the note
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DRUM EDITOR
2 Click on the pitch box of the blank note and the bottom row of each track. Doing so replaces
drag up or down until you hear the drum any currently visible pitches for that track with the
instrument you want. preset kit pitches.
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DRUM EDITOR
If Digital Performer already ‘knows’ the factory
default note names for the instrument, the name of
each drum automatically appears in the note list. If
not, you can type in the name by hand.
If the track is assigned to a MIDI device group, the Figure 38-12: Assigning a track to a drum kit in the Drum Editor.
Drum Editor window allows you to type in names 3 Check for the instrument names in the list.
for each pitch. For information about MIDI device
groups, see “Creating a MIDI device group” on
page 128.
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DRUM EDITOR
names for some drum machines, synthesizers and expressed in note durations, from a 64th note up to
sound modules. There may be times, however, a whole note. You can choose any resolution you
when you need to create your own note name list want and change it at any time. For example, you
for a device that isn’t yet supported. Or you may might normally work with a 16th note grid, but you
have customized the drum kit and need to might want to switch to a 32nd note grid to insert a
customize its associated note name list. The Drum roll of some kind. The longer grid durations
Editor environment is much easier to work with (quarter, half and whole note) give you more of a
when note names are present. ‘birds-eye’ view of the data. You can also set the
grid duration to triplet, dotted, or double-dotted
Working with pitched percussion versions of each note.
Some drum kits contain a pitched percussion
instrument, like a tom sound or a single snare The time ruler
sound, that has been mapped across several The Drum Editor time ruler functions in much the
pitches. Sometimes, an entire drum kit will be same way as the time ruler in Digital Performer’s
devoted to such a thing. The Drum Editor has other windows. However, there are a few minor
several powerful features that let you work with differences. First of all, it displays only one of
pitched percussion of this kind as well. In a case Digital Performer’s four time formats: measures.
like this, you can treat each note separately as usual, This is because the nature of the Drum Editor grid
or you can use the Drum Editor’s grouping feature is musical; it wouldn’t make that much sense, for
to treat several pitches as one instrument. example, to build a drum groove based on SMPTE
frames.
THE NOTE GRID
The note grid displays the MIDI note data for each The other difference is, of course, its appearance.
drum instrument row. Each cell represents a beat The Drum Editor time ruler looks a little different,
on the grid. The resolution (duration) of the cells but it is essentially the same as all other time rulers.
can be changed globally at any time using the View For example, you can drag in it to select time
Resolution menu above the note list. ranges, as usual.
Figure 38-15: The View Resolution menu controls the note grid.
Figure 38-19: The four display modes for each row in the note grid.
Figure 38-17: The Marker Strip displays markers and the Memory
Cycle bar. The bar represents the period of time being looped by You can freely choose any one of the four modes for
Memory Cycle. Drag either edge of the bar to change the loop points. each row. For example, you might use Grid mode
Click on either end of the bar to select everything within the bar.
for the kick and snare, but Grid with Velocity mode
AutoRecord punch-in/out markers for the hi-hat so that you can easily see the velocity
If Digital Performer’s AutoRecord feature is turned (accent) contour of the hi hat part. You might use
on, the time range being recorded into is displayed Free mode for a triplet, tuplet, fill or roll.
in the marker strip as a red bar. It’s left and right
edge can be dragged to change the punch-in and Display mode selection shortcuts
punch-out location. To set all rows to the same display mode, hold
down the Option/Alt key while choosing the
The playback locator desired mode as shown in Figure 38-19. To set all
The row of lights below the marker strip indicates currently selected rows to the same display mode,
Digital Performer’s current playback location, hold Command and Option while choosing the
which illuminates the green light at the top of the desired mode as shown in Figure 38-19.
column and highlights the rest of the column
below. Click anywhere in the row of lights to Grid
instantly cue Digital Performer to that location. In Grid mode (Figure 38-19), each cell in the row is
a simple on/off toggle. Either the note exists or it
Playback
doesn’t. Notes appear as squares inside each cell,
indicator/ just like an old drum machine. Everything is
locator
visually quantized to the current grid setting (even
if the actual data itself is unquantized). Notes that
are inserted in grid mode will be quantized to the
grid.
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DRUM EDITOR
will be darker and more colorful if it has a high
velocity; it will be lighter and less saturated if its
velocity is low.
Free
Free mode is just like Velocity and Duration mode,
except that notes are not visually quantized to the
grid. Free mode is just like a miniature piano roll
display for that one row in the Drum Editor. If you
compare Figure 38-21 with Figure 38-22 below,
Figure 38-20: Grid with velocity mode. you can see the difference between the two modes:
in Figure 38-22, the notes are not visually
Notes inserted in this mode will be quantized to the
quantized to the grid. Free mode is great for
grid, but you may drag vertically within each grid
working with triplets, fills, and other rhythmically
cell to set the velocity. When inserting a series of
complex material.
notes, you can hold the Shift key to constrain the
velocity. You can hold shift and let go as many times
as you want while inserting a series of notes.
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DRUM EDITOR
duration of the note is determined by the Pencil Also, you can choose Free mode for the instrument
tool’s Default Duration (see “The Pencil settings” line in which you wish to insert the triplet or tuplet,
on page 418). then choose the Pencil tool. Go to the pencil
settings panel below the note list in the Drum
Like Velocity and Duration mode, when you reach Editor. Set the pencil settings to triplet/tuplet
the next grid cell a new note is inserted; holding the insertion by choosing, for example, 3 in the time of
Option/Alt key overrides this and creates one long 4, or any tuplet combination that you like. Make
note, spanning multiple grid cells. the other settings as desired. Then drag the Pencil
tool in the instrument line to the left or right.
Resizing each row
In all display modes except Grid, you can vertically THE CONTROLLER GRID AND MEDIAN STRIP
resize the row to any height you prefer. Just drag the The controller grid and the median strip work
bottom edge of the row, just below the display identically to the MIDI Editor. See “The
mode menu as shown below. Continuous Data Grid” on page 376 and “The
Median Strip” on page 386.
Drag here with the hand cursor. USING THE TOOL PALETTE IN THE DRUM
Figure 38-23: Resize the row to any height you prefer. Larger vertical
EDITOR
sizing gives you more precision when editing velocities. Shorter verti- The Tool palette provides essential cursor modes
cal sizing allows you to see more rows at one time in the window.
for inserting, selecting and editing data in the
Resizing shortcuts Drum Editor. For complete information, see
To resize all resizable rows at the same time, hold chapter 33, “Tools” (page 309). The following
down the Option/Alt key while resizing one of sections cover Tool palette features that are unique
them. to the Drum Editor.
To snap to fixed sizes when resizing, hold down the The Pencil settings
Command/Ctrl key. You can combine the When you click the Pencil tool, the pencil settings
Command/Ctrl key with the Option/Alt key as appear in the tool settings section of the Drum
described above. Editor window below the note list, as shown in
Figure 38-24.
Working with triplets, tuplets and non-grid
based rhythms The pencil settings determine what type of MIDI
To insert a triplet in the Drum Editor note grid, data the pencil inserts. For notes, you can specify a
change the View Resolution to the triplet resolution duration and velocity, and you can even choose
desired. quantize settings for inserting in the Free display
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DRUM EDITOR
mode. The Tuplet option allows you to insert across the triangle row in the note grid. The brush
triplets, tuplets, fills, rolls and other rhythmic inserts notes in the preset pattern you chose. You
figures (in Free mode), regardless of the current can either use the pattern as is or modify it as
display resolution in grid mode. desired.
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DRUM EDITOR
Choosing a rhythmic pattern for the Rhythm Using custom rhythmic patterns
Brush The Rhythm Brush Custom option lets you select
There are five ways to choose a rhythmic pattern preset rhythm patterns and create your own preset
for the Rhythm Brush tool, as summarized below: patterns.
Method What to do
To use the same pattern you Choose the Use last preset used
used last time for an instru- with the instrument option.
ment
To use a new pattern that con- Click the Choose Preset option,
sists of a standard rhythmic and then set the grid as desired
grid with the settings shown in
Figure 38-25.
To use a rhythmic pattern Click the Fixed Value button Figure 38-26: Click the ‘Custom’ button to create and select custom
based on a raw number of ticks and type in the desired number
between each note of ticks as shown in instrument patterns.
Figure 38-27.
To choose an existing pattern, select it from the
menu provided.
The preset menu
The preset menu lets you save and recall standard Creating custom patterns
grid pattern settings that you’ve made with the Grid To create and save your own preset pattern:
settings shown earlier in Figure 38-25. To make a
preset, make the settings as desired and then 1 Select some MIDI note data in the Drum Editor
choose Save Pattern from the preset menu. A dialog Note Grid that matches the rhythmic pattern you
asks you for a name, and then you click OK. Your want.
new preset then appears in the Preset menu. To edit
the presets in the menu, use the Edit Patterns item You can select any data you want, including data
in the menu. you recorded, data you imported into the Drum
Editor from a library of drum patterns, or any
other MIDI data. The data you select can be of any
length.
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DRUM EDITOR
the case, then make an event selection of the notes
instead (using the Arrow tool) and set up the
memory cycle points to the desired start and end
times for the pattern. Later in this procedure, you
will choose an option that uses the memory cycle
points to determine the length of the pattern.
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DRUM EDITOR
Loop tool 2 Command/Ctrl-option drag one of their move
The Loop tool lets you graphically insert a handles and drop them into the group.
loop in a track by dragging in the note
grid in the same row as the track name, as SCROLLING DURING PLAYBACK
shown below. The Auto Scroll command in the View menu
controls how the Drum Editor scrolls during
playback. For example, the playback location
indicator can travel across the window, or the
window can scroll beneath a stationary playback
indicator that remains anchored in the middle of
Figure 38-29: Inserting a loop with the Loop tool in the track row. the window. See “Auto scroll” on page 204.
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DRUM EDITOR
CHAPTER 39 Notation Editor
423
NOTATION EDITOR QUICK REFERENCE Octave up/down buttons: Transpose the display of
Selected note: Click once to select the note. While notes on the Grand Staff by octaves. When
the note is selected, its information will appear in untransposed, middle C on the Grand Staff is C3.
the Information Box above. Shift-click or drag a For example, in a bass track, low notes are
selection box to select more than one. Drag the displayed many ledger lines below the staff. To
note up or down to change pitch; drag left or right distinguish the pitches, click the Octave Down
to change time location. button; middle C will become C2 and the bass
notes will be displayed an octave higher on the
Grand staff: Displays notes on standard treble and grand staff. An octave indicator appears in the Staff
bass clef staves. By default, middle C between the Margin to indicate the degree of transposition.
staves is C3. Click the Octave Up/Down buttons to
change middle C to a different octave to place notes Staff margin: A portion of the Grand Staff that
in higher or lower octaves on the staff. displays clefs, key signature, and meter. The
margin remains fixed at the edge of the window
Time zoom buttons: Contract or expand the Time and does not scroll along with the notes.
Ruler, Grand Staff, and Continuous Data Grid to
display more or less measures at a time. The left Continuous data grid: Displays continuous data in
button zooms out (more measures), and the right the same manner as the MIDI Editor.
button zooms in closer (less measures).
Octave Up/Down
buttons
Staff margin
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NOTATION EDITOR
NOTATION EDITOR MINI-MENU For complete details about these information
The Notation Editor mini-menu has the same windows and the Information Bar, see chapter 34,
items as the MIDI Editor. For details, see “MIDI “Information Windows” (page 317).
Editor mini-menu” on page 369.
DISPLAY RESOLUTION
NOTATION EDITOR BASICS Internally, Digital Performer accurately records the
The Notation Window is similar to the MIDI attack and release times of notes at a very high
Editor. It has a Time Ruler, a Markers Strip, a degree of precision. For example, a whole note that
Median Strip, and a Continuous Data Grid, you attempted to play on the downbeat of measure
features that are identical to those found in the three, 3|1|000, may have actually occurred a split
MIDI Editor. Instead of a pitch ruler and note grid, second before the beat at 2|4|465:
however, the Notation Editor displays notes on a
grand staff in standard music notation. Octave Up/
Down buttons are provided to center any octave on
the grand staff, and a non-scrolling staff margin on
Even though the note is a little early, it may sound
the left displays clefs, key signature, and meter.
like it is right on the beat because of the sound
For further information about the Time Ruler, used, the nature of the music, etc.
Markers Strip, Median Strip, and Continuous Data
If Digital Performer tried to apply this degree of
grid, refer to chapter 36, “MIDI Editor” (page 365).
precision when displaying the note in standard
Features that are unique to the Notation Editor are
music notation, the result would be many 64th and
discussed below.
128th rests followed by lots of tied 64th and 128th
OPENING THE NOTATION EDITOR notes—certainly not a recognizable whole note!
See “Opening edit windows” on page 305.
Instead, Digital Performer internally sets up an
THE NOTATION EDITOR TITLE BAR evenly spaced grid of note durations, finds the
The Notation Editor title bar contains the standard nearest grid location, and displays the note as if it
title bar items discussed in “Window Target” on began at the grid location. The Notation Editor’s
page 307. display resolution is a sixteenth note grid. For
example, the above note at 2|4|465 is displayed on
SNAP, CURSOR, SELECTION, AND EVENT the nearest downbeat at 3|1|000 (as a much more
INFORMATION recognizable whole note!)
The Snap, Cursor, Selection, Event Information
windows (Studio menu) display information about
the current cursor position, selection range, and
selected event. These windows update as you work,
providing constant feedback.
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NOTATION EDITOR
Even though the note actually occurs after the
downbeat, it gets displayed on the downbeat,
which is the nearest grid location.
Figure 39-3: Use the Pencil tool to insert notes in the Notation Editor.
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NOTATION EDITOR
3 To insert more notes of the same duration, click
the Pencil. To change duration, drag to the right
after clicking.
Dragging Notes
To change the location or the pitch of a note, simply
drag the note to the desired pitch or location. This To change the duration of more than one note,
can also be done with more than one note selected. select them and Command/Ctrl-drag any one of
As usual, Option/Alt-dragging will produce a copy them.
of the originally selected notes, which can be used
to quickly generate repeated phrases or chords. When changing a duration in the Notation Editor,
the new duration maintains any differences
between its actual length and its displayed length.
For example, if a quarter note ends 17 ticks after
To copy notes, Option/Alt-drag… beat 2, and you lengthen it by one beat to beat 3, the
release will still be 17 ticks after beat 3.
…and a copy of the notes will result.
SCRUBBING IN THE NOTATION EDITOR
There are two ways to scrub in the Notation Editor:
If a note is displayed as several tied notes, you must
click the first of the tied notes. ■ With the playback indicator — scrubs all play-
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NOTATION EDITOR
ZOOMING IN THE NOTATION EDITOR
The grand staff and continuous data grid in the
Notation Editor can be zoomed similarly to the
MIDI Editor, including all zooming shortcuts. See
“Zooming” on page 295.
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NOTATION EDITOR
CHAPTER 40 QuickScribe Editor
429
QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR QUICK REFERENCE
Dynamics
Palette
Insertion
cursor
Arrangement
Palette
Playback
wiper
Page Page
number zoom
Next/previous
page
Pointer Zoom
Tool palette
Figure 40-1: The QuickScribe Editor gives you a “what you see is what you get” notation window in
which you can view, edit, and print your music.
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
Dynamics Palette: Provides graphic insertion of QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR MINI-MENU
dynamics symbols. Go to Page: Provides sub-menu commands for
scrolling to the next, previous, first or last page.
Arrangement Palette: Provides symbols, such as
repeat barlines and endings, that help to condense Go to measure: Jumps to the page containing the
the display of the score for previewing and measure you specify.
printing.
Options>Score options: Provides many options
Insertion Cursor: Indicates the location at which for displaying the score in the QuickScribe Editor.
notes will be inserted via computer keyboard entry
and MIDI step recording. Click on the staff with Options>Track options: Provides unique display
the pointer to activate the insertion cursor, and options for individual tracks.
then use the arrow keys to change its location and
Options>Marker options: Provides options for the
pitch.
display of markers in the score.
Next/Previous Page: Scrolls to the next or previous
Options>Lyrics options: Provides options for the
page, if any.
display of lyrics in the score.
Page number: Click on the page number and type
Options>Chord Symbol options: Provides options
in a different page number to jump directly to that
for the display of chord symbols in the score.
page.
Options>Measure numbers: Provides options for
Page zoom: Provides preset levels at which to
the display of measure numbers in the score.
enlarge or reduce the size of the notation displayed
in the window. You can also zoom with the Zoom Options>Measure spacing: Provides options for
tool in the Tool palette. how tightly or loosely notes are spaced in the score.
Playback Wiper: Indicates the main counter Options>Set Score Length: Lets you specify the
location. Drag it to scrub all MIDI tracks.
length of the score, for both linear view and
arrangement view. In linear view, the score length
QuickScribe Tool palette: Provides mouse
can also be determined automatically.
insertion of notes, dotted notes, triplets, text,
lyrics, chord symbols, braces, brackets and note Edit System Margins: When checked, this menu
spellings. item displays draggable system margins for the
current page. QuickScribe provides separate
Tool palette: When the QuickScribe Editor is the
system margin settings for the first page versus all
front-most (active) window, the Tool palette gives
subsequent pages. The system margins control the
you access to the Pointer and Zoom tools, which
distance of staff lines, as well as all staff-related text
both can be used in the QuickScribe Editor.
like instrument names, from the edge of the page.
Track Selector: Click track names to show or hide
Print Individual Parts: Prints each staff currently
them in the QuickScribe Editor.
being shown in the QuickScribe Editor as a
separate part using the current system margin and
page text settings. Each part is printed exactly the
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
same way as it would if it were being displayed by Playback-only Notes: This sub-menu provides
itself in QuickScribe, including its part transpo- several commands for selecting, showing/hiding,
sition, if any. and playing/muting notes that have been
designated as Playback-only notes (with the Change
Tool Palette: This checkable menu item shows and selected notes to mini-menu command described
hides the QuickScribe Editor tool palette. above).
Dynamics Palette: This checkable menu item Show Lyrics: This option toggles the display of
shows and hides the QuickScribe Editor dynamics lyric text in the QuickScribe score.
palette.
Show Film Cues: This checkable menu item shows
Arrangement Palette: This checkable menu item and hides the Film Cues View at the top of each
shows and hides the QuickScribe Editor system in the QuickScribe Editor.
Arrangement palette. These tools only work when
you have selected Show Arranged Score (described Show Arranged Score: When checked, this menu
earlier), except for the Time-Anchored text tool, item causes QuickScribe to display the arranged
which can be used in the linear score view as well. notation view. When not checked, QuickScribe will
show the linear notation view. Initially, the
Switch Staff: Moves the currently selected notes arranged view will be the same as the linear view,
into the other hand on a piano (grand) staff. except that certain tools and commands can be
used only in the arranged view. In the arranged
Change Selected Notes to: Lets you specify notes as
view, the score can contain repeats, endings, coda
Display-only (silent) or Playback-only (hidden),
and segno symbols, and score jumps like D.S. al
change notes to small noteheads (or back to
Coda (which the wiper will follow during
normal-sized noteheads), or change note
playback). As you apply tools from the
durations to Automatic or Manual.
Arrangement palette and begin to “hide” and
“move” measures, the arranged view will start to
Split Selected Normal Notes: This command
differ from the linear view. Changing the arranged
operates only on those selected notes that are
view does not change the playback of the piece — it
normal, i.e. a note that is not set to be Display-only
just changes the look of the score and changes
or Playback-only. This command replaces each
where the wiper goes during playback (and makes
selected normal note with two copies of itself: a
your notation more readable when you print it
Playback-only copy and a Display-only copy. The
out). See “Score Arrangement” on page 460 for a
purpose of this command is to make it easy to start
complete explanation of how to create and print
editing the appearance of a measure without
out an arranged view of your score.
changing the playback of the measure.
Display-only Notes: This sub-menu provides Show Alternate Bar Menus: Displays a small square
pop-up menu next to each regular measure
several commands for selecting, showing/hiding,
number displayed on the QuickScribe page. Each
and playing/muting notes that have been
alternate bar menu shows all of the linear bars that
designated as Display-only notes (with the Change
are currently associated with an arrangement bar.
Selected Notes to mini-menu command described
This menu item is only available when the Show
above).
Arranged Score command is checked. When
working on an arrangement, also be sure that Show
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
measure numbers is turned on (under Options> Do to Selected Measures>Move: Positions the
Measure Numbers), and that they are set to display currently selected measure anywhere in the score.
on every measure. You will be asked where you want to move the
selected measure to, and you then specify an
Allow Measure Selection: When checked, this arrangement measure location.
menu item lets you select entire measures by
clicking and Shift-clicking on them with the Consolidate Rests / Unconsolidate Rests: Specifies
QuickScribe arrow tool. When a measure is the minimum number of consecutive empty
selected, you can then apply score arrangement measures that will be displayed as consolidated
operations to the measure (such as hiding, rests for all tracks currently visible. If a track is
“popping-out” or moving them). already set to consolidate rests in a certain way, it
will continue to prefer that setting when it is shown
Clear Arrangement: Reshuffles the measures in the by itself or in combination with other tracks.
arrangement view back to a completely linear state
where no bars are hidden. All consolidated rests are Make Arrangement Markers: Creates markers for
unconsolidated. Deletes all Coda, double Coda, interesting points in an arranged score. In
Segno and double Segno symbols from the score, particular, a marker is created at the start of every
as well as all endings. It will NOT delete any time- repeat, at segno and coda marks, and at the start of
anchored text, including time-anchored text boxes each ending. Open the markers window to quickly
that were created using the D.C., D.S., or D.S.S. navigate to the various parts of the arrangement.
tool. Markers can be shown or hidden in the
QuickScribe Editor with the Show Markers check
Do to Selected Measures>Hide: When you Hide a box in the Marker Options window.
measure behind another measure, it disappears.
But when playback reaches a hidden linear Open Selected Ending Bracket: Gets rid of the
measure number, the wiper will jump to the small vertical line at the end of the currently
measure where you “hid” it and wipe over that selected ending bracket. Doing so implies that the
measure while playing the hidden linear measure. reader of the score should continue on after taking
Use this feature to hide the second instance of the ending.
repeated measures behind the first instance, or to
hide the second and third verse measures behind QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR BASICS
the first verse measures. Digital Performer provides one QuickScribe Editor
per sequence, and you can have an unlimited
Do to Selected Measures>Pop Out: Extracts the number of sequences in a Digital Performer
currently visible linear measure (in a selected project. For example, if you have three sequences,
arrangement measure that has several linear you could open three separate QuickScribe
measures “hidden” in it) and places it just to the windows all at once, one for each sequence. To do
right of the arrangement measure you selected. so, you must first pop them out of the Consolidated
After being liberated, you can then move the window. To do so:
popped-out measure anywhere in the score (such
as its original linear position). This operation is the 1 Click the QuickScribe tab in the Consolidated
opposite of “hiding” a measure. Window to view the QuickScribe cell.
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
If QuickScribe is the only cell in the center portion hold your score. The contents of the QuickScribe
of the Consolidated Window at this point, the Editor can be printed at any time. This chapter
QuickScribe cell will not be allowed to “pop out” explains all about preparing the appearance of the
yet. score. For information about printing it, see
“Printing project windows” on page 22.
2 Drag down the horizontal window divider to
create a second horizontal cell in the center portion OPENING THE QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
of the Consolidated Window. See “Opening edit windows” on page 305. The
QuickScribe Editor window position, as well as the
You’ll now be able to pop-out the QuickScribe zoom setting, current page, and other aspects of
window. the window, are saved with the file. In addition, the
QuickScribe Editor can be saved with window sets.
3 Double-click the QuickScribe cell’s pop-out
area. THE QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR TITLE BAR
The QuickScribe Editor title bar contains the
The QuickScribe window is now a separate standard edit window items discussed in “Window
window. Target” on page 307.
4 Play-enable the next sequence in the Chunks list
THE TRACK SELECTOR
and repeat this procedure to extract its Like other Digital Performer editors, the
QuickScribe window from the Consolidated QuickScribe Editor has a track selector that lets
window. you view multiple tracks at one time. See “Viewing
multiple tracks in one edit window” on page 306.
If you keep the QuickScribe window inside the
Consolidated window, then there is only one THE QUICKSCRIBE TRANSCRIPTION ENGINE
QuickScribe cell that simply updates to display the The QuickScribe Editor employs a highly
currently play-enabled sequence. sophisticated transcription engine to interpret
unquantized MIDI data as readable music
Virtual paper
notation. QuickScribe tries to write the music just
The QuickScribe Editor can display any
like it sounds — perhaps like you might write it
combination of tracks in the sequence, and you can
down if you listened to a tape of it and tried to
easily change what is displayed. Page formatting is
transcribe it yourself by ear. Transcription is not an
preserved, even if you decide to change what is
exact science, and QuickScribe does its best to take
displayed in the window. The QuickScribe Editor is
precisely recorded MIDI data (which is often
ideal for quickly printing scores and parts.
played much differently than the way it is written),
Unlike the Notation Editor, which employs linear make “human” judgements about how it might be
note spacing aligned with a time ruler, the written, and then turn it into readable notation.
QuickScribe Editor uses engraver spacing so that
Floating split points and multiple voices
the notation looks more natural for printing. In
Digital Performer’s QuickScribe Editor
addition, the QuickScribe window displays staves
transcription engine is quite sophisticated. For
on a page—essentially a virtual piece of paper—
example, it employs floating split points when
such that what you see on-screen is what you get
notating a track on a grand staff, intelligently
when you print a QuickScribe score. QuickScribe
deciding whether notes should be written on the
automatically generates as many pages as needed to
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
treble or bass clef staves. QuickScribe can also horizontally off the end of a system, the wiper will
notate multiple voices on a single staff — that is, continue on to the next system at its current speed,
notes that have different rhythms happening at the as long as the mouse is held down. Continuing to
same time in the same measure. But you don’t drag left and right with the mouse will change the
really need to know any of this; the result of it all is speed and direction of the “runaway wiper”.
that you get some of the best automated notation
transcription available in music software. GETTING AROUND IN THE QUICKSCRIBE
EDITOR
Displaying triplets and tuplets Use the next/previous page buttons (Figure 40-1
In addition to being able to properly display on page 430) or the corresponding QuickScribe
unquantized data, Digital Performer automatically Editor mini-menu commands to scroll through
detects triplets and tuplets and displays them with each page and go to the first or last page. The mini-
the appropriate bracket and note spacing. In some menu commands have the following keyboard
cases, the placement of the notes in the tuplet may shortcuts:
not be accurate enough for Digital Performer to
Mini-menu command Keyboard shortcut
properly detect the tuplet. If you’d like to see the
Next page N
tuplet properly displayed, try quantizing the data
with the tuplet option in the Quantize command. Previous page P
Try experimenting with Strength settings less than First page F
100%, as the tuplet does not need to be fully
Last page L
quantized for Digital Performer to recognize it.
However, if all else fails, quantize the start time of
all notes in a given measure to be sure that triplets You can also jump to a particular page by using the
and certain other rhythms will be detected. page number box at the bottom of the window.
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
ZOOMING QUICKSCRIBE OPTIONS MENU
The contents of the QuickScribe Editor can be The Options sub-menu in the QuickScribe
magnified and reduced with the following mouse window mini-menu provides several commands
techniques: for controlling the appearance of your QuickScribe
score.
To do this: Do this:
To go directly to a particular Choose it from the zoom menu
zoom magnification at the bottom of the window
(such as 400%) (Figure 40-1 on page 430).
Figure 40-4: Setting options for the three different QuickScribe views.
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
SCORE OPTIONS explained in “Track name abbreviation” on
Choose Score Options (Figure 40-3) to open the page 440. If you don’t want staff names, uncheck
Score Options dialog box: both options.
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
Show tempo marking above first measure notes or lead-ins. Note, however, that if you want to
Digital Performer takes the tempo for the choose which notes to show on a case-by-case
metronome marking from the tempo setting in the basis, you can also make any note invisible by
first measure displayed in the score. The tempo setting it to be “playback only”. For details, see
number is taken from the current settings in the “Display-only and playback-only notes” on
metronome panel. For example, if the tempo page 466.
control is set to the tempo slider, the current tempo
slider setting is used. If tempo control is set to the When you check the Straighten Swing option,
Conductor track, the current tempo setting in the QuickScribe automatically writes swung eighth
Conductor track is used. notes as straight eighths, instead of writing them as
triplets with a triplet bracket. Only the display of
The Pixel offsets option lets you adjust the position the notes is affected. The actual MIDI data remains
of the tempo marking. Positive offsets move the unmodified, so it will still play back with the
marking up and to the right. Negative offsets move original feel. This option is a great way to instantly
it down and to the left. clean up any score that was recorded with a swing
feel.
System Bracket/Grand Staff Brace options
These two options let you choose whether or not TRACK OPTIONS
new tracks should default to using a bracket or a When displaying a track in the QuickScribe Editor,
brace. Brace and bracket groupings can easily be the Track options sub-menu command
changed by using the brace and bracket tools in the (Figure 40-3) lets you specify how you want it to be
QuickScribe Tool Palette. displayed, such as whether to display the track on a
single staff or a grand staff.
Show rests in empty measures
You may choose whether or not to show a whole
rest in empty measures (measures with no note
data in them).
Transcription
The Ignore Mistakes options help clean up the
transcription by ignoring (hiding) notes that have
either a very short duration or a very low
velocity—typical characteristics of notes that were
played by mistake. You can adjust threshold for
what is considered a “mistake” by adjusting the Figure 40-6: Track options.
duration and velocity settings provided. The
Ignore Mistakes option can be especially helpful
when viewing performances with lots of grace
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
Track menu
Choose each track one at a time from this menu
and, below, choose the unique settings you want
for each track. Settings are remembered. You can
change them at any time. The “Default” item in this
menu has its own settings, too; they are applied to
any track for which you have checked the Use
Default option (see below).
Use Default
This check box causes the track to use the default
settings. To change the default settings, choose
Default from the Track menu at the top of the
dialog box. Figure 40-8: Choosing a staff type and clef for a track.
Single staff
The Single staff option causes tracks using the
default settings to be displayed on a single staff,
regardless of what notes are in the track. When
using a single staff, Digital Performer automatically
chooses either a bass clef or treble clef in an effort
to place most of the notes inside the staff and to
avoid lots of ledger lines.
Grand staff
The grand staff option causes tracks using the
default settings to be displayed on a grand staff,
regardless of the notes in the track. Hand splitting
Figure 40-7: The ‘Default’ track options.
is taken care of dynamically by Digital Performer’s
transcription engine.
Type of staff (and clef)
When viewing the track options for an existing Use single staff unless it requires more than ___
track as shown in Figure 40-6, choose the desired ledgers
staff type and clef from the menu provided. This option causes Digital Performer to use a grand
staff for the track if notes exist more than the
specified number of ledger lines above or below a
single staff. Use the ledger line option to control
when a grand staff will be used instead of a single
staff. Raise the number if you want to avoid using
the grand staff very often.
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
Track name abbreviation MARKER OPTIONS
When viewing the track options for an existing Choose Marker Options (Figure 40-3) to display
track as shown in Figure 40-6, type in any track markers in the score at their location in the
name abbreviation you wish in the text box sequence. The marker text can appear above or
provided. This custom name abbreviation below the staff, and you can control the distance
overrides the “Default” track abbreviation (as from the staff by typing in a number of ledger lines
specified by the track abbreviation settings in the in the box provided.
Score Options mini-menu command).
Transposition
The Transpose settings specify a part (instrument)
transposition for each track, as well as a score
transposition. QuickScribe uses the part
transposition when you view or print the track by
itself; QuickScribe uses the score transposition
when you view or print the track together with Figure 40-9: Marker options.
other tracks. You will most likely want to set the
score transposition for each track to concert pitch, Displaying marker location
which is represented as C natural. For transposing You can also choose to show the exact location of
instruments, choose the appropriate transposition. markers along with their name in any combination
For example, you will also most likely want to set of Digital Performer’s various time formats. Just
the part transposition for a B flat trumpet track to check the box next to the time format you wish.
B flat. This time is appended to the marker text:
Inter-staff spacing
These options give you control over the amount of
space above and below the staff. This spacing is
specific to the one track you are making settings
for. To change the spacing of all staves, see
“Adjusting the space between staves and staff
systems” on page 437.
Figure 40-10: Displaying the marker (cue point) time in frames in Film
Cues View.
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
Cascading overlapping markers MEASURE NUMBERS
If markers occur close to one another, given the The Measure numbers sub-menu command
spacing of your score, you can use the Cascade (Figure 40-3) sets the frequency and position of
overlapping markers option to force QuickScribe to measure numbers in the score.
cascade them vertically rather than overlap their
names:
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
MEASURE SPACING SET SCORE LENGTH
The measure spacing sub-menu command The Set Score Length sub-menu command
(Figure 40-3) lets you determine the number of (Figure 40-3) lets you determine the length of the
measures per line or the overall spacing of notes. score.
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
options dialog (QuickScribe Editor mini-menu), THE QUICKSCRIBE TOOL PALETTE
the title page margins can be adjusted separately The QuickScribe Tool Palette allows you to insert
from the rest of the pages to allow for title text. In notes, text, system brackets and braces, dots and
this case, you can adjust the system margins of the tuplets. It also provides a tool for changing the
other pages by scrolling to any page besides the title enharmonic spelling of accidentals. The tools in
page. this palette are explained in the following sections.
For complete details about these information Dot and double-dot tools
windows and the Information Bar, see chapter 34, Triplet tool
“Information Windows” (page 317).
Figure 40-12: The QuickScribe Tool Palette.
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
Inserting notes with the mouse Inserting notes with the computer keyboard
Insert notes and other symbols with the mouse as To insert notes and other symbols with the
follows: computer keyboard:
To change the dura- Click the desired duration in the palette To add a dotted duration Press the d key to turn on the dotted
tion of a note and click the note. to the current note dura- duration tool; press it again to turn
tion it off.
To change several Select the notes with the pointer. Com-
notes to the same mand/Ctrl-click the desired duration To insert a note and Press return.
duration or dot in the tool palette. Note: to scale advance
durations (to double or halve them, for
example) use the Scale Time command
in the Region menu. To insert a note with an Press the + or - key on the extended
accidental keypad.
To change the location Choose the pointer and then drag the
or pitch of one or more note as desired. To drag multiple notes, To insert the first note of a Press the enter key. (Enter inserts
existing notes select them before dragging. chord the note without advancing the
insertion cursor.)
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
Selecting durations with the extended keypad Mac: arrow cursor
The extended keypad can be used to select Windows: Num Lock
durations in the QuickScribe tool palette during
keyboard insertion, as shown below in
Figure 40-13. On Windows, the Num Lock key
must be engaged to enable these keypad shortcuts.
These are the same duration keys used for Step
Record. These QuickScribe keypad shortcuts are
only available when there is an active insertion
cursor somewhere in the QuickScribe window.
Otherwise, the keypad keys are bound to Digital
Performer’s standard transport shortcuts.
32nd note [7] Hearing notes while inserting them with the
16th note [6] mouse
To hear notes played back on a MIDI device as you
8th note [5]
insert them, enable Audible mode (see “Audible
Quarter note [4] mode” on page 300).
Half note [3]
Step Recording notes with a MIDI controller
Whole note [2] To insert notes with a MIDI controller:
Dot [.]
1 Click the Pointer tool in the palette.
Double dot [=]
2 Click on the staff at the location where you
would like to begin entering notes.
Cursor Information
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
There are several ways to select a duration: 1) click Selecting notes for editing
the desired note duration in the tool palette, 2) Below is a summary of how to select notes for
press the open bracket ( [ ) and closed bracket ( ] ) editing in the QuickScribe Editor. Notes are
keys on the computer keyboard repeatedly, or 3) selected with the Pointer tool.
use the extended keypad as described in “Selecting
durations with the extended keypad” on page 445. To select this Do this
The currently selected duration is displayed in the A single note Click it once.
tool palette.
Several notes that are not next Shift-click each note.
to one another
4 Play the desired note or chord on your MIDI
controller.
The notes in several measures Drag a selection box over the
measures.
Notes appear when you release the keys, so be
careful not to slur notes together. It’s best to play in A region of notes Drag a selection box over them.
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
Entering chord symbols
To enter a chord symbol, choose the Chord Symbol
tool in the QuickScribe tool palette ( ) and click
on or above the desired note. Alternatively, assign a
keyboard shortcut to the Enter Chord Symbol
command (Setup menu> Commands) and press
the keyboard shortcut to enter a chord symbol
above the selected note (or if there is no selection,
above the playback wiper).
Figure 40-14: Changing the spelling of an accidental. Choose ‘Auto’
to let QuickScribe automatically choose the accidental using An empty chord symbol edit box will appear, ready
context-sensitive note spelling algorithms. for you to type in the symbol:
Moving a note into the left or right hand on a
grand staff
The QuickScribe transcription engine employs
sophisticated, context-sensitive algorithms to
determine if a note should be written in the right
hand (treble clef) or left hand (bass clef) on a piano
staff. There may be times, however, where you’d Figure 40-15: An empty chord symbol edit box
like to manually override QuickScribe and move a Type the desired chord symbol in the empty box.
note to the opposite staff. To do so, select the note The first character, the root note, must be a letter
and choose Switch Staff from the QuickScribe A–G ; after that, you may use any of the following
Editor mini-menu. symbols:
or Change Selected Notes to> Normal noteheads. diagonal slash for hybrid slash ( / )
chord,
CHORD SYMBOLS inversion, or altered bass
Chord symbols can be added to your score. Chord horizontal slash for a poly underline ( _ )
symbols are MIDI track events, and can be chord
transposed along with MIDI notes. any other text the text itself
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
For chord suffixes, type the opening character, the Chord symbols in the Event List
desired suffix, then the closing character. Use these Chord symbols are also displayed in the Event List.
opening and closing characters: This is for display purposes only — chord symbols
cannot be edited in the Event List. To edit chord
Symbol Description What to type symbols, use the QuickScribe Editor.
stacked suffix with parentheses Left parenthesis,
Right parenthesis
For example, to create this chord symbol: Figure 40-16: Chord symbol in the Event List
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
Text style brace/bracket status when you show or hide it. It
These options specify the default font, size, style, might be useful to think of staff braces and brackets
and vertical positioning of chord symbols. as an attribute of each staff that can be toggled on
or off, rather than thinking of the brace or bracket
Tab key advances as an object. With this in mind, below is a summary
The options for Tab are to advance in one of three of how to add and remove brackets and braces:
ways:
To do this: Do this:
■ To the next beat or the next note, whichever To add a brace or bracket to a Click the staff with the Brace
comes first single staff or grand staff or Bracket tool.
■ To the next note To add a brace or bracket to Drag over them with the Brace
several adjacent staves or Bracket tool.
Apply To Score
To remove a brace or bracket Drag over them with the Brace
The Apply To Score button applies changes made in from several adjacent staves or Bracket tool.
the Chord Symbol preferences to the current
project’s QuickScribe score.
THE DYNAMICS PALETTE
Setting preferences from existing chord symbol To open the QuickScribe Dynamics Palette
The Commands window (Setup menu) includes a (Figure 40-1 on page 430), choose it from the
Use Chord Symbol Settings as Prefs command. If QuickScribe window mini-menu. This palette
you select a chord symbol and invoke this allows you to insert standard dynamic symbols,
command, the font, size, style and vertical offset including hairpin crescendos and decrescendos.
settings for the selected chord symbol are copied
Dynamic symbol placement
into the Chord Symbol preferences for use by all
Dynamic symbols are associated with the nearest
new chord symbols.
staff (track). If you show and hide the track, the
☛ This command is available only when you dynamic symbol will show and hide with its track.
have a single chord symbol selected. When you insert or move a dynamic symbol, make
sure it is closest to the track and measure to which
Setting preferences on-the-fly it applies. In regards to time, dynamic symbols are
Hold down the Control/Win key while dragging a associated with and remain at the measure and
chord symbol to set the resulting vertical offset of time location at which you place them, except as
the chord symbol in the Chord Symbol noted in the next section when moving them
preferences, which will be used by all new chord together with notes.
symbols.
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
Working with dynamic symbols
Below is a summary of how to work with dynamic
symbols: Drag this handle
vertically to change Drag this handle to change the
the overall slope. size of the opening (height).
To do this: Do this:
To insert Click the desired symbol in the pal-
a dynamic symbol ette and then click on the Quick-
Scribe page.
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
Figure 40-19: Changing meter in the QuickScribe window.
To do this Do this
To change an existing key sig- Click on it with the “#/b” cur-
nature sor for a popup menu of
options.
To add a key change before a Click on the left third of a meter Figure 40-20: Changing key signature in QuickScribe.
meter change with the “#/b” cursor to get the
key change popup. Popup Tempo Changes
To add a key change at a Hold down the Option/Alt key You can change tempo at the beginning of a
measure that has no key or and click on the barline itself to measure directly on the QuickScribe page using
meter change get the key change popup.
the mouse. To do so, hold down the Control/Win
key and click on any barline (or near the beginning
Key changes performed with the mouse take effect
of the first measure in a system) with the “bpm”
until the next key change. For more options, use
cursor to get a simple Set Tempo dialog box.
the Change Key dialog in the Project menu>
Conductor Track sub-menu. Note that popup key
changes cannot be performed in the Film Cues
only view, which does not display key signatures.
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
Tempo changes performed with the mouse take 2 Click the Text tool in the Tool palette
effect until the next tempo change. For more (Figure 40-12 on page 443).
options, use the Change Tempo dialog in the
Project menu> Conductor Track sub-menu. 3 As a shortcut, if you want the text to be time-
anchored text (see “Time-Anchored Text” on
☛ Tempo changes that you enter in the page 454), hold down the Control/Win key.
QuickScribe window are placed in the Conductor
track. They display in the QuickScribe window 4 Drag out a text box on the page.
only if you have set Digital Performer’s main
Tempo Control to Conductor Track as explained in
“Tempo Controls” on page 192. Even then, only the
tempo at the start of the first measure is displayed
in QuickScribe via the metronome marking —
5 Choose the desired font, point size, style,
unless you have checked Show Film Cues in the
justification, and display properties from the Text
QuickScribe window mini-menu. Then all tempos
menu. For details about the Display text attribute,
that don’t collide with other text in the Film Cues
see the next section, “Choosing where to display
View will be shown in italics.
text”.
WORKING WITH TEXT
6 Type the desired text.
The QuickScribe Editor Tool palette has several
text items that let you enter titles and other text on
the page, including page numbers and metronome
markings.
7 Click anywhere outside the text box to complete
Text is handled in a similar fashion to standard the text entry.
computer graphics programs. Text is placed on the
page inside text boxes, which can be cut, copied, Choosing where to display text
pasted, and otherwise edited. A text box is a The display sub-menu (in the Text menu) provides
resizable, transparent box in which you can type several ways to control where text appears in your
and edit text. If you have worked with graphics score. Here is a summary:
software, you are already familiar with how to use
Display menu item Explanation
text boxes in Digital Performer.
This page only Text only appears on the page on which
it is entered.
Inserting text
Title page only Text only appears on the first page of
To insert text: the score.
1 Scroll to the page on which you’d like to insert Body pages only Text only appears on body pages (all
pages except the first page).
the text.
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
Both title & body pages Text appears on all pages. Time Anchored Text will adjust its horizontal
position on the page when notes are added or
removed, or when anything else happens that
Time anchor Text is anchored to the linear measure changes the position and size of measures on the
left/center/right where it is inserted.
page. If the time-anchored text is not associated
with a particular track (see “On These Parts Only”
On linear score only Text only appears when the Show below), then its vertical position will always be a
Arranged Score mini-menu item is constant distance from the top of the system in
unchecked.
which it appears. If the time-anchored text is
On arranged score Text only appears when the Show
only Arranged Score mini-menu item is associated with a particular track, then its vertical
checked. position will always be a constant distance from the
On These Parts Only Text only appears when one or more of top of the first staff for that track.
the checked tracks in this submenu are
showing in the QuickScribe window.
Time-anchored text is good for entering the names
On Single Part Only Text only appears when a single part of chords over the top of each system, and for
(track) is showing in the QuickScribe
window. When two or more tracks are adding arranged score directions and labels like To
visible, the text box will not appear.
Bridge, To Coda, and ritard. Time-anchored text
The first two groups of items in the Display menu that is also associated with a specific track can be
are mutually exclusive: either the text box is time- used to enter textual directions that apply only to
anchored in some way, or it is set to appear on title the performance of a specific part, or symbols that
page/body pages/both. The last four items in the you want to attach to specific notes within that
Display menu (linear or arranged score visibility; part.
on specific track[s] or on single part displays) can
be used with either type of text box. Time-anchored text can be shown or hidden with
the Show time-anchored text option in the Score
Time-Anchored Text Options dialog. See “Showing/hiding time-
Time-anchored text boxes stay with the measure anchored text” on page 438.
where they are inserted. If the QuickScribe display
changes in such a way that the measure moves to a On These Parts Only
different location on the page — or to a completely When one or more of the items in this sub-menu
different page altogether — the text will stay with are checked, the text box will appear only when one
the measure. For example, if you change the or more of the checked tracks are showing in the
measure spacing of the score, the text will move QuickScribe window. You can associate a text
with the measure. Time-anchored text sticks to a object with as many tracks as you’d like.
particular time within a linear measure. If you
On Single Part Only
“hide” a linear measure that contains time- When this Display sub-menu item (in the Text
anchored text (see “Hiding, extracting and moving menu) is checked, the text box will appear only
measures” on page 462), the text will become when a single part (track) is showing in the
invisible until the linear measure containing that QuickScribe window. When two or more tracks are
time is made visible again. visible, the text box will not appear.
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
If both On “Track-1” Only and On Single Part Only
are checked, then the text box will appear only
when Track-1 is the only track showing.
Making titles, headers and footers To select individual words within a text box:
Titles, headers, and footers are inserted in the
manner described in “Inserting text” on page 453. 1 Double-click the text box with the Pointer tool,
Just choose the appropriate Display attribute in the or click once on it with the Text tool.
Text menu.
2 Select the desired text by dragging over it.
If the Title page only and Body pages only menu
items are grayed out, check the First page is title
page option in the Score options command located
in the notation view mini-menu. For more
information about this option, see “Creating a title To select multiple text boxes, hold the Shift key
page” on page 437. while clicking on each text box, or make a lasso
selection with the Pointer tool.
Making page numbers
Page numbers are inserted using the Page Number After text is selected, it can be cut, copied, or
tool (Figure 40-12 on page 443). Using this tool, deleted. You can also change the font, style, and
insert them in the same manner as described in other attributes of the text.
“Inserting text” on page 453. The page number
automatically appears in the text box. Be sure to Moving page text
Page text objects can be dragged freely within the
choose the appropriate Display attribute (Body
QuickScribe score; hold the Shift key to constrain
pages only or Both title & body pages). See
the drag horizontally or vertically, as described in
“Choosing where to display text” on page 453 for
“Shift-drag to constrain” on page 297.
more information.
The arrow keys can also be used to nudge the
Displaying the current date
The current date can be inserted using the Date selected page text object up, down, left, or right.
tool (Figure 40-12 on page 443). Using this tool,
insert the date in the same manner as described in
“Inserting text” on page 453. The current date (as
specified by your computer) automatically appears
in the text box. Be sure to choose the appropriate
Display attribute (Body pages only or Both title &
body pages).
Selecting text
To select an entire block of text, click it once with
the Pointer tool. Handles appear to indicate that it
is selected.
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
Typing and editing text inside a text box To change the attributes of an entire text box, click
To edit text, double-click it with the Pointer tool (or the text once with the Pointer tool to select it. Then
click once with the Text tool) to get an insertion choose the desired attributes in the Text menu.
cursor inside the text box. After you have an This works for staff names, staff abbreviations,
insertion cursor inside the text box, use the measure numbers and marker text as well.
following actions to edit the text:
To change the attributes of individual words within
To do this Do this a text box:
Move the text cursor within Press the arrow keys
the text box 1 Select the desired text as described in “Selecting
text” on page 455.
Delete a character Position the cursor to the right
of it and press the delete key
Select several words or sen- Drag over them inside the text
2 Choose the desired text attribute from the Text
tences box menu.
Change the font, point size or Select the text and choose the
style of some text in the text desired font, size, and style in
box the Text menu
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
LYRICS don’t have to add underscores for a syllable that
Lyrics can be added to your score in the extends across tied notes — underscores are added
QuickScribe Editor. automatically beneath tied notes when you hit the
space bar to go to the next non-tied note.)
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
If you don’t make a track selection, then the lyrics them into the QuickScribe score at the pasted
will flow into the first visible track in the score, location; see “Recapturing lyrics from the score
beginning at the first note at — or after — the into the Lyrics window”, below.
playback wiper location. If you select a note in a
track, the lyric will flow over the notes in that track Hiding lyrics
only, beginning at the selected note. If you select To temporarily hide lyrics, deselect “Show Lyrics”
notes in multiple tracks, the lyric will be “shared” in the QuickScribe mini-menu.
by all of those tracks, and will flow over the
Lyrics in an arranged score
combined notes in all of the selected tracks. See
You can enter lyrics into a linear score and then
“Lyrics preferences” below for settings that control
arrange it. Once arranged, lyrics for verses will
how lyrics are displayed for multiple tracks.
automatically stack on top of each other in verse
5 Click on the Auto Flow button to flow the sections. You can also arrange the score first, and
selected lyric text into the selected tracks. then Auto Flow into the arranged score. In that
case, the Auto Flow algorithm still flows the lyrics
Reflowing text after making edits into each linear measure in turn, stacking the lyrics
The Lyrics window is not dynamically linked to the as needed in the second, third, etc. pass through
text in the QuickScribe score. Therefore, if you the repeated sections.
make changes in the Lyrics window, you will need
to reflow the text afterwards to update the Converting regular page text into lyrics
QuickScribe score. Remember, you can reflow just If you have projects containing regular page text
a portion of the lyrics by selecting just the edited that you would like to convert to lyric text, the
text in the Lyrics window and then selecting the Capture Non-Lyric Text command (Lyrics window
note in the score where you want it to reflow. mini-menu) pulls the text from page text objects in
the score (excluding date/time and page numbers)
Erasing lyrics and puts the resulting text into the Lyrics window.
To erase lyrics, use the Arrow tool to select the The text from each text object will appear on a line
desired lyrics in the QuickScribe window and press by itself in the Lyrics window, and all instances of
the Delete key or choose Erase from the Edit menu. two or more spaces will be reduced to a single
space.
To quickly erase a large section of lyrics, select a
note in the part whose lyrics you want to erase and Once all of the page text is in the Lyrics window,
press the Erase in Track button in the Lyrics you can edit it to add syllable breaks and
window. This will erase all lyrics in the selected extensions. Delete the old page text from the score
part after the selected note. and use the Auto Flow process to flow all of the text
back onto the score as lyric text.
Copying and pasting lyrics
Lyrics are not MIDI events; rather, they are a Recapturing lyrics from the score into the
special kind of QuickScribe page text. Therefore, Lyrics window
they will not copy along with notes if you cut and The Lyrics window is not dynamically linked to the
paste sections of the notes themselves. You can, text in the QuickScribe score. Therefore, if you add
however, easily recapture the lyrics from the copied new lyrics directly to the QuickScribe score or
section to the Lyrics window and then re-flow make edits directly on the score, these changes will
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
not be automatically reflected in the Lyrics Lyric text style
window. To update the Lyrics window text, you Options are provided to specify the font, size, and
must recapture the lyrics from the score. style of lyric text in the Lyrics window and on the
QuickScribe page.
If you would like to send lyric text from the score to
the Lyrics window, choose Capture Lyric Text from Lyrics placement
the Lyrics window mini-menu. This captures the Various options specify the placement of lyric text
lyric text for the tracks shown in the QuickScribe on the QuickScribe page.
score; if there is a selection, only the lyrics in that
time range will be captured. ☛ When specifying a vertical offset between two
staves or tracks, the offset is the distance beneath
To capture all text from the score (excluding date/ the top staff or track.
time and page numbers), use the Capture All Text
Syllable extensions
command.
By default, syllables are extended by underlining,
but you can alternatively put a dash under each
Lyrics preferences
The Preferences window in the Digital Performer note.
menu (Mac OS) or Edit menu (Windows) has a
Apply To Score
Lyrics pane to specify the default text style,
The Apply To Score button applies changes made in
placement, and syllable extension behavior of
the Lyrics preferences to the current project’s
lyrics.
QuickScribe score.
SCORE ARRANGEMENT
The QuickScribe arrangement view is shown by
selecting Show Arranged Score from the
QuickScribe Editor mini-menu. The purpose of
this view is to collapse a linear score into a compact
arrangement using repeats, endings, and score
jumps like D.S. al Coda. When you add a repeat in
the QuickScribe arrangement view, it does not
change the playback of the piece: it just changes the
look of the score and changes where the wiper goes
during playback (and makes your notation more
readable when you print it).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
In an arranged score, you use repeat barlines, Arranged score bars:
endings, and other similar arrangement symbols to “2x”
condense the score. For example, when a repeat 1 2 3 4 5 6
happens, the continuous linear measures are folded Linear score bars:
back on themselves, like a ribbon, for the length of 1 2
the repeated section:
3 4
Arranged score bars:
5 6 7 8 9
1 2 3 4 5 6
Linear score bars: Figure 40-28: In this example, the repeat is taken twice, so measures 5
and 6 are included in the repeat, and therefore fall in measures 1 and
1 2 2 of the arranged score.
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8
Linear score bars:
9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
D.C.
Arranged score
measure numbers
Linear score measures
Figure 40-29: Above, linear bars are condensed into an arranged score with a repeat, combined with first and second endings. Below, this
same example is shown as it would appear in the QuickScribe window, except that the alternate bar menus have all been opened simulta-
neously to show you which linear bars reside in each arranged score measure.
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
An arrangement bar number is the number of the consolidation, which will be discussed later. The
bar in an arranged score in QuickScribe. Each other three all appear under Do to Selected
arrangement bar will be associated with one or Measures in the QuickScribe Editor mini-menu:
more linear bars. In other words, if your chorus is
visited three times during playback, then each bar
of the chorus will have a single arrangement bar
number, but will be associated with three different
linear bar numbers.
Figure 40-31: Use these commands to hide, extract and move
Showing alternate bar menus measures in the arranged score.
When working on an arrangement, you should
Hide
turn on Show Alternate Bar Menus in the
When you “Hide” a measure behind another
QuickScribe Editor mini-menu. This displays a
measure, it disappears. But when playback reaches
small pop-up menu next to the regular measure
a hidden linear bar number, the wiper will jump to
number on the QuickScribe page:
the bar where you “hid” it, and wipe over that bar
while playing the hidden linear bar. Use this feature
to “hide” the second or third instance of some
repeated measures behind the first instance, or to
hide the second or third verse measures behind the
first verse measures.
☛ When working on an arrangement, also be 4 Click anywhere in the measure you wish to
sure that Show measure numbers is turned on select. Shift-click to select two or more measures.
(QuickScribe Editor mini-menu> Options>
Measure Numbers) and that they are set to display You cannot hide a measure which contains hidden
on every measure. measures itself, so be sure to select a measure that
has none.
Hiding, extracting and moving measures
Most of the tools for arranging a score simply make
cosmetic changes to it. There are only four
operations that cause the wiper to jump around on
the score during playback. One of them is rest
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
for that bar (as demonstrated in Figure 40-34). But
choosing a linear bar for display purposes does not
mean that those notes are going to play every time
through the bar. The hidden linear bars always play
exactly as recorded when it is their turn to play. The
wiper will wipe over whatever representation is on
the screen for that bar, but the performance of
linear bars 2 and 4 will happen exactly as recorded
Figure 40-32: Selected measures appear with a box around them. regardless of what is on the screen (and on the
printed page).
5 Choose Do to Selected Measures> Hide.
The Hide measures in sequential bars option
You will be asked where you want to hide the
If the Hide measures in sequential bars option is
measures. You must specify an arrangement
unchecked, then all of the measures that you have
measure location as the destination.
selected will be hidden in the destination bar you
choose. For example, if you’ve selected bars 7, 8
and 9, and you choose bar 1 as destination bar to
hide them in, they will all go into bar 1. However, if
the Hide measures in sequential bars option is
checked, then bars 7, 8 and 9 will be hidden
consecutively in bars 1, 2 and 3.
Pop Out
Figure 40-34: Hidden measures can be viewed by choosing them Pop Out is the opposite of Hide. If you select an
from the alternate bar menu.
arrangement bar that contains more than one
Displaying hidden measures does not change linear bar, the Do to Selected Measures> Pop Out
playback command (Figure 40-31 on page 462) extracts the
Note that when you hide a measure behind another currently visible linear bar and places it just to the
measure, you do not change playback. If you have right of the arrangement bar you selected. After
linear bars 2 and 4 associated with arrangement being liberated, you can then move the popped-out
bar 2 in your arranged score, you can choose either bar anywhere in the score (such as its original
linear bar as the representation that you want to see linear position).
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
Moving measures
Do to Selected Measures> Move (Figure 40-31 on
page 462) allows you to position a selected measure
anywhere in the score. You will be asked where you
want to move the selected measures, and you
specify an arrangement measure location. This
command is seldom needed, but will become
necessary sometimes when you have multiple
Figure 40-35: The Arrangement palette.
endings in a score, with other sections (like a
bridge) occurring in between. After you finish Selecting any of these tools changes your cursor to
collapsing the score, you may find that your bridge an image of the tool, and allows you to click on the
lies between your second and third ending, and the score to do something.
only way to get all of the endings together is to
move the third ending measures just after the Begin Repeat: Click near a barline to enter a begin
second ending measures. repeat. Click near the barline again to remove a
begin repeat.
A suggested approach to hiding measures
In general, when building an arrangement you End Repeat: Click near a barline to enter an end
want to start at the beginning of the piece and repeat. Click near the barline again to remove an
proceed forward. As soon as you encounter a end repeat.
measure that is another instance of a previously
played measure, hide that measure under the Fine Bar: Click near a barline to select where the
previous instance. Later, you can use the alternate Fine bar should go. There can only be one Fine Bar
measure menu to select which linear measure in the score, so if it is already present in a score,
instance is the best representation of the notation clicking with this tool will move the Fine Bar to
for a given arrangement measure. where you click.
The Arrangement palette Thin Double Barline: Click near a barline to enter a
To open the QuickScribe Arrangement palette, thin double barline. Click near the barline again to
choose it from the QuickScribe window mini- remove a thin double barline.
menu. The QuickScribe Arrangement palette
contains tools that work only when you have Endings: Click and drag over a number of
selected Show Arranged Score from the sequential measures to create an ending bracket. To
QuickScribe Editor mini-menu, except for the extend an existing ending, hold down the Shift key
Time-Anchored Text tool, which can be used in the and drag in the measures after the existing ending.
linear score view as well. (This is especially useful if an ending needs to
extend across a page break.)
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
Coda and Double Coda: Click on the page to enter
a time-anchored coda or double coda symbol.
Double Segno: Click on the page to enter a time- Time-Anchored Text tool
anchored double Segno symbol. Use the Time-Anchored Text tool in the
Arrangement palette just like the normal text box
D.S. S.: Click on the page to enter time-anchored tool in the main QuickScribe Editor tool palette.
text that says “D.S.S.”. You can set the font, size, However, this tool creates a text box that is
style, etc. of the text as described earlier in this anchored to a time in the score. For details, see
chapter. “Time-Anchored Text” on page 454.
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
Use the Text menu in the main menu bar to select them in order to select them and turn them back
whether the time anchor is at the left, center or into normal notes. See “Showing, hiding and
right of the text bounding box. You can also choose selecting playback-only and display-only notes”
whether you want your time-anchored text to below.
appear in the arranged view, the linear view, or
both, and whether it should appear only when a
certain track is showing, or when any single track is
showing.
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
command replaces each selected normal note with
two copies of itself: a playback-only copy and a
display-only copy. The purpose of this command is
to make it easy to start editing the appearance of a
measure without changing the playback of the
Figure 40-40: Controlling the display and playback of display-only measure. After issuing this command, you can then
and playback-only notes.
edit the display-only notes without affecting the
Temporarily viewing all playback-only notes (now hidden) playback-only notes. Just make sure
To temporarily see all playback-only notes in that playback-only notes are set to be hidden (their
QuickScribe: Display sub-menu item as shown in Figure 40-40 is
unchecked).
1 Turn on (check) QuickScribe mini-menu>
Playback-only Notes> Display. Finding hidden notes
If there is a note in the event list that is not showing
2 Open the View Filter (Setup menu), deselect up in QuickScribe, then one of the following is
“Normal (display/play)” and “Display-only”, and happening:
select “Playback-only”.
■ The note is being hidden from the QuickScribe
Alternatively, to select all playback-only notes: Editor display due to the Ignore Mistakes settings in
the Score Options dialog.
1 Turn on (check) QuickScribe mini-menu>
Playback-only Notes> Display. ■ The note has been designated as a playback-only
Temporarily viewing all display-only notes ■ The note has been designated as a display-only
To temporarily see all playback-only notes in note, and display-only notes are currently being
QuickScribe, open the View Filter (Setup menu), hidden (the QuickScribe Editor mini-menu>
deselect “Normal (display/play)” and “Playback- Display-only Notes> Display setting is unchecked).
only”, and select “Display-only”.
■ The note has been designated as a display-only
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
FILM CUES VIEW When Show Film Cues is checked, the QuickScribe
The QuickScribe Editor can display film cues in a view includes an extra area of film cue information
manner familiar to film composers. To see this above the top staff in every system, as shown in
view, open the QuickScribe window and choose Figure 40-42.
Show Film Cues from the mini-menu:
Tempo changes
As shown in Figure 40-42, the top line of
information in this view (50.00, 40.00, 50.00)
shows tempo changes in Beats Per Minute (BPM)
in italic text.
Beat location
The next line of information in Figure 40-42
(B1.00, B4.08) shows the beat location of a cue
point (marker), accurate to hundredths of a beat.
These numbers appear only where a cue point falls
within a measure. It is displayed with the same
color as the cue point text. In addition, beat
location times are appended with a + or - sign if
their associated cue point is late or early, in relation
to the closest beat or half-beat. The hit range
settings in the Markers window for the cue point’s
marker are considered when determining whether
or not a cue point is hitting a beat or half-beat.
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
Beat number Three different QuickScribe views
Also at the beginning of each measure in Digital Performer maintains a separate set of score
Figure 40-42, two integers are displayed. The options for three separate QuickScribe views:
number above the horizontal line is the beat
QuickScribe view How to view it
number from the beginning of the sequence. The
Normal QuickScribe Uncheck the Show Film Cues
number below the horizontal line is the measure mini-menu item
number from the beginning of the sequence.
QuickScribe + Film Cues Check the Show Film Cues
mini-menu item and display
Beat marks one or more staves in the
QuickScribe window using the
Each measure in Figure 40-42 shows a small “x” track selector.
where the beats lie in the measure. If a cue point lies
Film Cues Only Check the Show Film Cues
within the measure, then the nearest beat to the cue mini-menu item and hide all
staves in the QuickScribe win-
point is marked with a bold “X”. dow using the track selector.
Cue points
The QuickScribe Film Cues view uses markers as Film Cues Only view
If you use the track selector in the QuickScribe
cue points, as demonstrated below in Figure 40-42
window to turn off all tracks, and if you have
by the words WS Swamp and Arial Swamp. To
selected Show Film Cues in the QuickScribe mini-
create or edit markers, choose Project menu>
menu, then you will see a trackless Film Cues Only
Markers. For complete details, see chapter 61,
view shown below in Figure 40-43.
“Markers” (page 715). This section covers the
specifics of marker operation with regard to the
In the Film Cues only view, you can use the popup
Film Cues View.
meter change and popup tempo change features
described in “Popup Meter Changes, key changes
Markers appear in the same measure as their
and tempos” on page 451, but not the popup key
closest beat. By default, the Film Cues View does
change feature. Key signatures do not display in
not display any marker whose weight is set to None
this view.
in the Markers window. To change which types of
markers appear on the QuickScribe page, use the
Marker Options window. If the weight of a marker
is set to Very Important, it appears in red. Use the
Very Important weight to indicate markers that are
key hits.
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
Default QuickScribe Options in the Film Cues Displaying markers in Film Cues View
Views Use the Marker options dialog (Figure 40-9 on
When you choose Show Film Cues for the first time page 440) to set up how markers are displayed in
in a document, Digital Performer will set the the Film Cues View. See “Marker options” on
following default viewing options for optimal page 440.
appearance:
Changing the height of the Film Cues staff
QuickScribe You can change the height of the Film Cues staff
Setting plus Film Cues Film Cues only
simply by dragging it up or down. The staff height
Score options will be the same for every system in the document.
Show rest in empty measures Off Off
Measure numbers
Show measure numbers Off Off
Figure 40-44: Adjusting the height of the Film Cues staff.
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
Preserving formatting for individual parts 8 Choose Print from the File menu.
If you want to preserve the QuickScribe formatting
separately for each track, you can do so by copying Printing a score
each track into its own separate sequence. Since When you display multiple tracks in QuickScribe,
each sequence has its own separate QuickScribe Digital Performer places them together in the same
Editor, each part will be preserved. staff system. So, to print a score, use the Track
Selector to show all tracks that you wish to include
Print Individual Parts and grouped tracks in the staff system for the score. To adjust the
When using Print Individual Parts with tracks spacing between the staves in the system, as well as
which are a member of an active track group, the the spacing between systems, choose Score
grouped tracks will print together, once for each Options (QuickScribe Editor mini-menu).
track in the group. For example, if you have four
horn parts grouped together and you print them Creating blank staff paper
with Print Individual Parts, you will get four copies, To create blank staff paper:
each showing all four parts.
1 Create one or more empty MIDI tracks.
This is useful when printing out a copy for each
2 Use the Track Selector to display the empty
member of the group. However, if you have
MIDI tracks in the QuickScribe Editor.
grouped tracks which will be played by a single
player, such as the individual elements of a drum
3 In Score Options, disable the “Show rest in
kit, suspend the track group before printing with
empty measures” option.
Print Individual Parts, or use File menu > Print.
4 In Measure Spacing Options, choose Space
Printing a keyboard part on a piano staff
measures _ per line and set the number of measures
To print a keyboard track on a grand staff:
per line as desired.
1 Use the Track Selector list (Figure 40-1 on
5 If necessary, you can lengthen the tracks (and
page 430) to display the track.
therefore the number of pages) by extending the
2 Choose Track Options from the QuickScribe length of the sequence. To do so, choose
Editor mini-menu. QuickScribe Editor mini-menu> Options> Set Score
Length.
3 Choose the track that contains the keyboard
part from the Track menu. EXPORTING A MUSICXML FILE
MusicXML is an XML-based file format for
4 Uncheck the Use Default check box, if representing Western musical notation. It is a
necessary. proprietary file format developed by Recordare
LLC that is fully and openly documented, and it
5 Choose the Grand Staff from the staff type can be freely used under public license. For further
menu. information, visit musicxml.com.
6 Set the spacing options as desired and click OK. MusicXML can be used to export a Digital
Performer QuickScribe score to other programs
7 Set the Score Options, text, margins and other that support MusicXML importing, such as
formatting as desired.
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QUICKSCRIBE EDITOR
Finale™ and Sibelius™. For a list of music software Export> Score As MusicXML: This command is
applications that support MusicXML, visit only available when the QuickScribe window is
musicxml.com/software. open, and it exports whatever is currently being
shown in QuickScribe.
What gets exported
Digital Performer exports the following elements Tips for exporting MusicXML
of a QuickScribe score: Importing MusicXML files into Sibelius, Finale or
any program that imports this file format is a
■ Notation transcription, as it appears in the
simple and straightforward process. The key to
QuickScribe window smooth transfers is preparing the score in Digital
■ Key signatures Performer to make sure all the information you
require is included in the exported MusicXML file.
■ Meter changes
Here are some things to check before exporting a
■ Dynamic markings
Digital Performer project as a MusicXML file.
■ Lyrics
Key signatures
■ Transpositions It is easy to work in Digital Performer without
■ Marker text specifying a key signature. Therefore, be sure to
choose Project>Conductor Track>Change Key to
■ Tempo changes (requires that the tempo source
place a key signature at measure one (and any other
is set to Conductor Track) locations in the score where the key changes).
As of this writing, the following elements are not
exported, although future versions of Digital Tempos
Digital Performer will include all tempo changes as
Performer may support these elements as well:
metronome markings in the MusicXML file.
■ Score arrangement markings (repeats, endings,
However, you must have the conductor track selected
etc.) in Tempo Control Menu as your tempo source to
have all your tempo changes included. If you have
■ Chord symbols another source selected, it will only include a
■ Page text metronome marking on measure one of the
exported MusicXML file.
Exporting a MusicXML file
To export a Music XML file, choose File menu> Markers
Export. In the resulting sub-menu, there are two Digital Performer will include all markers as staff
MusicXML export commands. text attached to the top staff of the exported score.
You may find it helpful to go through your project
Export> Selected Tracks As MusicXML: Exports and add markers at all the important points to
the currently selected tracks, which can be selected make them easier to find when you import the
in any edit window. If no tracks are currently MusicXML file into your notation program.
selected, then all MIDI tracks are exported.
Instrument transpositions
The transposition of each track in the score is
dictated by the transposition of the instrument’s
staff in the QuickScribe score. If, for example, you
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
have a trumpet staff set to C transposition in the Importing MusicXML files into Sibelius
score and B flat transposition in the part, the Once you have exported your Digital Performer
exported MusicXML file will use the C project as a MusicXML file, it can be imported into
transposition (not B flat). If you require the Sibelius 6, 7 or 7.5 by following these steps.
trumpet to be in B flat, you will need to change the
staff to B flat transposition in QuickScribe score Sibelius opens MusicXML files the same way it
before exporting. Alternately, you can change the opens Sibelius score files.
instrument definition in your notation program
■ From the Quick start window, click the Open
after you import the MusicXML file.
Other... button in the lower left corner, locate the
Selecting which tracks to include MusicXML file you have exported from Digital
You may have a project with many tracks that do Performer on your hard drive and click the open
not need to be included in the exported MusicXML button.
file, such as key switch control tracks, synth tracks, or
etc. In this case, go to the Track list, select only the
tracks you wish to export and use the ■ Go directly to File menu bar, select Open, locate
Export>Selected Tracks as MusicXML command. the MusicXML file you have exported from Digital
Performer and click the open button.
If you have tracks organized into track folders, you
can select a folder (or folders) and just those tracks The Open MusicXML File window appears. Here
will be included in the exported MusicXML file. you can specify paper size, house style and
instrument options. Explore these options and see
Importing MusicXML files into Finale what best fits your workflow. Generally speaking,
Once you have exported your Digital Performer the default settings with the house style you need
project as a MusicXML file, it can be imported into for your project works well.
Finale 2014 (and several earlier versions) by
following these steps. Sibelius now opens the MusicXML as a Sibelius
score.
■ From the Launch window, click on the
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Q UI C K SC R I B E E DI T O R
CHAPTER 41 Waveform Editor
475
WAVEFORM EDITOR QUICK REFERENCE tempos, and soundbite-based pitch and volume
Transport lock: Links playback and selection to the automation can be viewed, created, selected and
controls in the main control panel. modified.
Show/hide soundbite list: opens and closes the list Zoom, Soundbites, Loops, Beats and Tempos
of soundbites on the left-hand side of the window. menus: Provide commands for zooming,
auditioning and manipulating soundbites, sample
Soundbite/Loops/Beats/Tempos/Pitch/Volume loops, audio beats and soundbite tempo maps.
tabs: Puts the waveform display into a special mode
where soundbites, sampler loops, beats, embedded Audio file overview: Provides an overview of the
entire contents of the audio file currently being
displayed in the window.
Tool palette
Figure 41-1: The Waveform Editor shows the parent audio file of the currently selected soundbite in the soundbite list. The
Soundbite itself is shown by the box on the waveform with the title bar across the top. The entire audio file is shown in the
overview at the top. The ‘Close-up Lens’ controls what area is displayed in the main view below.
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
Close-up lens: Represents the area of the audio file WAVEFORM EDITOR MINI-MENU
currently being shown in the main waveform New Audio File: Creates a new, empty mono, stereo
editor display (below the overview). Drag it to or surround audio file.
move it. Drag its edges to expand or contract the
view. New Audio File from Selection: Creates a new
audio file based on the current selection in the
Currently active soundbite: The currently active waveform editor or soundbite list.
soundbite has emphasized borders and a title bar.
You can sample-accurately edit it, make a selection Import Audio: Imports audio files and their
from it, zoom to its boundaries, move to the next soundbites into Digital Performer.
or previous soundbite, and other useful tasks.
Export Selected Soundbites: Lets you save the
Amplitude ruler: Measures the gain of the audio currently selected soundbites as a separate audio
samples in the waveform display. The range is from files in one of several different audio file formats,
+1 to -1. including interleaved, AIFF, WAV and MP3 files.
TOOL PALETTE QUICK REFERENCE Columns Setup: Lets you show and hide the
Pointer: Gives you an I-Beam cursor over the columns in the Soundbites list.
waveform for placing an insertion point and
New Soundbite Folder: Adds a folder in the
selecting regions of audio for editing. Also gives
Soundbite List. This is unavailable when using the
you a Pointer tool in Soundbites editing mode that
Waveform Editor (and is only available when you
lets you select soundbites by clicking their left or
are viewing Folders in the Soundbite list).
right edge.
Waveform Editor Preferences: Lets you choose
I-Beam: Gives you an I-Beam cursor over the
how stereo files are displayed in the overview. Also
waveform for placing an insertion point and
lets you make several settings regarding how edits
selecting regions of audio for editing.
are handled.
Pencil: Gives you a Pencil tool cursor over the
Remove from list: Deletes the soundbite from the
waveform for redrawing the sample data in the
Soundbites window list without deleting its
audio file.
corresponding region in the audio file region list.
Zoom: Click or drag to enlarge the waveform.
Option/Alt-click to zoom out. Option/Alt-Shift-
Delete: Removes the selected soundbites from the
list. This command does not delete audio data on
click to zoom backwards (through previous zoom
the hard disk. It removes Digital Performer’s
levels). Option/Alt-Control/Win-Shift click to
reference to the data from the Soundbites window.
zoom forwards.
If the soundbite is the last one in the parent audio
Scrub: Gives you a scrub cursor over the waveform file to be deleted, Digital Performer asks if you
for scrubbing and selecting while scrubbing. would like to delete the parent audio file entirely.
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
an audio file. The Waveform Editor window allows OPENING THE WAVEFORM EDITOR
you to apply all of Digital Performer’s editing There are several ways to open the Waveform
capabilities ‘destructively’ to an audio file, Editor:
permanently modifying the original audio data.
Location What to do
In all other Digital Performer windows, audio From the Soundbites window Double-click a soundbite. This
opens a separate Waveform
editing is non-destructive. The original audio data Editor window for the parent
audio file of the soundbite.
remains unaltered, and you merely modify
pointers (references) to the original audio data. For
From other windows Select a soundbite and choose
example, if you cut a portion of a soundbite in the Edit in Waveform Editor from
the Audio menu.
Tracks window or Sequence Editor, you are simply
modifying pointers to the original audio data, but
Sequence Editor Command/Ctrl-double click
the original audio data remains unaltered.
Consolidated Window Click the “Waveform” tab
On the other hand, if you cut a portion of a
Any window Invoke the Display soundbite
soundbite in the Waveform Editor, you are in Waveform Editor command
with your customized key-
removing the actual audio data itself from the board shortcut. Search for this
command in the Commands
audio file. This will affect any soundbites that refer window (Setup menu) and
to the removed portion of the file. In some cases, assign it to any key you wish.
If you find yourself in a situation where you made a Opening a separate Waveform Editor window
destructive edit that you wish you could “take Double-clicking on a soundbite in the Soundbite
back”, Digital Performer has a powerful unlimited window list opens a separate Waveform Editor
undo history feature, discussed later in this window. The window’s title bar displays the name
chapter, that allows you to remove destructive edits of the audio file.
and restore the audio file to its original state.
Another way to open a separate Waveform Editor is
to select a soundbite and choose Edit in Waveform
Editor from the Audio menu.
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
to three separate audio files, you could open three If you would like to drag a specific soundbite to
separate Waveform Editors (one for each audio your project, either drag the title bar of the active
file). soundbite in the Waveform Editor to your
sequence, or drag the soundbite from the
THE WAVEFORM EDITOR TITLE BAR Soundbites list.
The Waveform Editor title bar contains the
standard edit window items discussed in “Window THE SOUNDBITE LIST
Target” on page 307. However, the Waveform When you display the Waveform Editor in the
Editor’s Window Target menu switches between Consolidated Window, the soundbite list is
audio files, rather than tracks or sequences. unavailable. When you open the Waveform Editor
out of the Consolidated Window, the soundbite list
can be displayed by adjusting the divider along the
left side of the window. The divider can be adjusted
just like the sidebar dividers in the Consolidated
Window: drag to adjust the width, or double-click
to show or hide.
CURSOR INFORMATION
As with other Edit Windows, the Waveform Editor
uses the Cursor Information window and/or
Information Bar to display the position and value
of the cursor.
File
If you drag the file icon to a track in your project, Shows the name of the audio file currently
the file will be added to your sequence. This works displayed in the window.
just like dragging a file into your project from the
computer desktop.
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
Time Edit grid Beat grid
Time shows the cursor’s current location in the resolution enable
audio file, in the time formats specified in the
Cursor Information section of the Time Formats
window (see “Customizing the time format
display” on page 87). Edit grid
enable
■ If viewing Samples, the very first sample in the
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
TRANSPORT LOCK SELECTION
The Transport Lock button in the Waveform Editor All of the features in the Selection Information
(Figure 41-5) locks playback of the audio file window (“Selection Information” on page 321) can
displayed in the Waveform Editor window to be applied to selection procedures in the Waveform
Digital Performer’s main transport controls. You Editor, including pre-roll, post roll and so on.
can play, stop, rewind and otherwise control
playback of the audio file displayed in the Additionally, you can click a channel label (to the
Waveform Editor using all of the familiar transport left of the vertical amplitude ruler) to apply the
features in the Control Panel. In essence, the current selection to only that channel.
Waveform Editor acts like the currently enabled
sequence (with regard to all transport-related GLOBAL TIME FORMAT
The global time format controls how time is
features).
displayed in the Waveform Editor. See “Time
Formats window” on page 86. For example, if you
Transport Lock wish to specify a selection by entering the start
time and end time in samples, you can set the
Figure 41-5: Transport Lock button in the Waveform Editor global time format to samples and then use the
Selection Information window to type in the
When you unlock the Transport Lock button,
selection.
transport control returns to the currently play-
enabled sequence. THE UNDO HISTORY BUTTON
Each audio file has its own Undo History. To open
Control Panel
its Undo History window, click the Open Undo
When the Transport Lock button is engaged, all of
History button in the audio file’s Waveform Editor.
the features in Digital Performer’s main transport
The audio file undo history allows you to take back
control panel, such as Memory Cycle, can be
changes you’ve made to the audio file. You can even
employed for Waveform Editor playback. In
remove individual destructive edits in the undo
addition, all of Digital Performer’s other playback-
history, without affecting other items in the history.
related features apply to the Waveform Editor. This
For complete details, see “Undo History for audio
includes:
files” on page 528.
■ “Auto scroll” on page 204
THE AUDIO FILE OVERVIEW
■ “Displaying the playback wiper” on page 205 As shown in Figure 41-1 on page 476, the narrow
strip above the main waveform display provides an
■ “Click Preferences” on page 234
overview of the entire audio file.
■ “Memory buttons” on page 184
The close-up lens
■ “Displaying the playback wiper” on page 205 The close up lens in the overview represents the
■ “Zooming with the wiper” on page 206 area of the audio file currently being displayed in
the main portion of the Waveform Editor window
as shown below in Figure 41-6. Drag the lens, or its
edges, to change what is displayed. To view the
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
entire file, drag the edges of the lens all the way left THE WAVEFORM DISPLAY
and right. (Or you can click the Zoom Normal As shown in Figure 41-1 on page 476, the
button as shown in Figure 41-9.) waveform display resides just below the file
overview. The amplitude ruler on the left measures
sample value from -1 to 1.
Surround audio files in the overview Surround audio files display their channels
Surround audio files are displayed with all channels separately in Digital Performer’s waveform editor.
superimposed on top of one another.
Editing surround files
The Waveform Editor provides full destructive
waveform editing of the separate channels of a
surround audio file. For example, you can use the
Pencil tool on an individual surround channel to
edit out a click or pop. The same is true for all other
destructive edit operations, such as applying plug-
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
in effects, cut/copy/paste operations, etc. To select window” on page 86. The measure|beats|ticks
individual channels, use the same keyboard ruler displays time according to the tempo map, if
shortcuts as for stereo files: Command/Ctrl-drag any, and the soundbite’s sync point, if it has one.
to select individual channels; Command/Ctrl- Below is a summary of how the measure ruler
Shift-click to extend the selection. You can also displays time in the Waveform Editor:
Shift-click the channel name tab (along the left
Measure 1 Time ruler
edge of the window) to add or remove a channel Tempo map? Sync point? placement display
from the current selection. No No At sample zero Follows a constant
tempo of 120 BPM
If you make a selection that includes one or two Yes No At sample zero Follows the
channels, you can use the New Audio File from tempo map
Selection mini-menu command to make a new No Yes At sync point Follows a constant
mono or stereo audio file. tempo of 120 BPM
audio file, all channels must be selected. Home Scrolls all the way up.
The Waveform Editor Time Rulers End Scrolls all the way down.
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
Zooming ■ Click the Zoom to Selection (magnifying glass)
The waveform display has very flexible zooming button in the lower right corner (Figure 41-9) to fill
capabilities. You can zoom all the way out to see the the window with the current time range selection.
entire audio file; conversely, you can zoom all the
■ Click the Zoom Normal (double arrow) button in
way in to make precise edits on individual samples,
the lower right corner (Figure 41-9) to zoom back
as demonstrated below in Figure 41-8.
out all the way.
■ When the Vertical zoom lock button
■ Click the +/- zoom buttons in the lower right Zoom Forward Command–Right Bracket ( ])
corner (Figure 41-9) to zoom horizontally or
vertically. (Press on them continuously to zoom
continuously.)
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
Zoom to Setting 1 Command/Ctrl-Option/Alt-1 Switching among 2 or 3 zoom settings
The zoom settings commands discussed above are
Zoom to Setting 2 Command/Ctrl-Option/Alt-2
ideal for zooming among several different zoom
Zoom to Setting 3 Command/Ctrl-Option/Alt-3 settings. For example, you might want to switch
Set Zoom Setting 1 Command/Ctrl-Shift-Option/
back and forth between the sample level and an
Alt-1 overview level to consecutively make small sample
edits and then audition them.
Set Zoom Setting 2 Command/Ctrl-Option/Alt/
Shift-2
Zooming Back and Zoom Forward
Set Zoom Setting 2 Command/Ctrl-Option/Alt- The Zoom Back and Zoom Forward commands
Shift-3
keep track of every zoom, scrolling and overview
Scroll to Selection Start or End Command/Ctrl-Option/Alt-J lens operation that you do since you first view an
Scroll to File Start or End (no default keyboard shortcut)
audio file. Therefore, they allow you to step
backwards and forwards through all of the
different scrolling and zooming actions you’ve
taken. Just keep choosing them over and over to
work your way backwards or forwards.
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
Scrubbing while selecting To incrementally extend the selection:
It is also possible to scrub while making selections.
For details, see “Selecting while scrubbing” on Keyboard shortcut What it does
Select a time range Drag with the arrow cursor. Option/Alt key Use the Option/Alt key
in the overview Note: you cannot start the selec- together with the above combi-
tion inside the Close-up lens. nation of keys to move by a
smaller amount of samples.
Extend the current selection Shift-click or Shift-drag.
Select All Press command-A, or choose Extending the selection using soundbite or
Select All from the Edit menu. loop boundaries
Select a soundbite Make it active (see “Making a
The Waveform Editor offers several similar key
soundbite active” on page 488) binding shortcuts for extending the current
and the double-click its title bar
or choose Set Selection to Active selection to surrounding soundbite and loop
Soundbite from the Soundbite
menu. boundaries in the audio file. For details see
“Soundbite and loop shortcuts” on page 493.
Select a stereo waveform Use any of the techniques listed
above.
MAKING AN INSERTION POINT
Select just one channel of a ste- Hold down the Command/Ctrl
reo waveform key while doing any of the selec- Clicking the I-Beam tool (Figure 41-1 on page 476)
tion techniques listed above. gives you an insertion point, which determines
where material on the clipboard can be pasted or
Extending the selection spliced. It also determines where playback begins
As noted above, you can extend the current when you press Command/Ctrl-spacebar to
selection in either direction by Shift-clicking audition the audio file.
before it or after it. The Waveform Editor offers
other shortcuts for extending the current selection
in either direction by pressing keys on the
computer keyboard.
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
Auditioning from the insertion point
To audition starting at a specific point in the
waveform, click it with the I-Beam cursor to place
the insertion point. Then press Command/Ctrl-
spacebar to begin playing from the insertion point
to the end of the file.
Stopping playback
At any time during auditioning, click anywhere to
stop playback.
Loop auditioning
For details about the Audition Selection with Active
The insertion point Loop command and other loop auditioning
Figure 41-11: Click the I-beam cursor to place an insertion point. This commands, see “Auditioning the active sampler
can only be done in the waveform display, not the overview. Notice loop” on page 491.
that the current insertion point location is displayed numerically in
the Selection Information window.
SCRUBBING
The insertion point numerical display To scrub audio forwards or backwards, click the
The precise sample location of the insertion point Scrub tool in the Tool palette (Figure 41-1 on
is displayed in the Selection Information window page 476) and drag left or right on the waveform.
(“Selection Information” on page 321).
If the Scrub tool grays out
Placing the insertion point in one channel The Scrub tool grays out when you are zoomed far
To place the insertion point in one channel of a enough in so that the rate of playback would be too
stereo or surround audio file, Command/Ctrl- slow to scrub. Choose Zoom Normal from the
click. To extend the insertion point to another Zoom menu (or use any other zooming technique
channel, Command/Ctrl-Shift-click. you prefer to zoom out until the scrub button
ungrays).
AUDITIONING
The Waveform Editor provides many ways to The Scrub tool also grays out if the MOTU Audio
audition the audio data. System is not currently active (MIDI Only is chosen
in the Setup menu).
Auditioning a selection
To audition any portion of the waveform, turn off Scrubbing one channel of a stereo waveform
Transport Lock and turn on Audible Mode, then To scrub the left or right channel of a stereo
make your selection; it will audition as soon as you waveform by itself, hold down the Command/Ctrl
release the mouse. If Audible mode is currently key while dragging with the scrub cursor.
turned off, make your selection and then press
Option/Alt-spacebar, or choose Audition Selection Selecting while scrubbing
from the Region menu. Hold down the Shift key while dragging with the
scrub cursor to select what you are scrubbing or to
extend the current selection while scrubbing.
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
SOUNDBITE MODE
In Soundbite mode, you can modify where
soundbites start and end, a process referred to as
soundbite trimming. In addition, you can perform
many useful navigation and selection tasks.
Not active Active Figure 41-14: Making a soundbite active by clicking its border with
the ‘finger’ cursor.
Figure 41-12: Before you can do anything to a soundbite, you need to
make it active. Trimming soundbites
To trim (move) the edge of a soundbite, make it
There are several ways to make a soundbite active.
active (as described above), and then grab the edge
One way is to choose it from the Soundbite menu,
with the hand tool and drag it as desired. You can
as shown below.
do this at any zoom level for any degree of precision
you wish. You can also snap soundbite edges to
beats, as explained in “Waveform Editor edit grid”
on page 480.
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
Sync points in the Waveform Editor
If a soundbite has a sync point (as described in
“Sync points” on page 357), it will appear in the
Waveform Editor. In soundbite mode, you can
move the sync point.
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
you choose it again, it will jump to the other edge. based loops. You can also create them in the
This allows you to quickly jump back and forth Waveform Editor (as explained in the next
between the beginning and end of the soundbite section).
boundaries at any zoom level for precise trimming.
Creating a sampler loop
Zooming to a soundbite To create a sampler loop, select the Loop tool in the
To fill the Waveform Editor window with the Tool palette and drag over the waveform. Or make
currently active soundbite, choose Zoom to a selection and choose Create Loop from Selection
Soundbite. This causes soundbite to fill the current from the Loop menu. A loop is created out of the
space in the window. selection and given a default name of “Untitled”.
■ Double-click the loop’s title bar, 2 Shift-click with the I-Beam cursor to the left or
right of the current selection to add preview time
OR
before and/or after the loop.
■ Choose “Set selection to Active Loop” in the
Loop menu (Figure 41-17). 3 After you’ve selected the desired material before
and/or after the loop, choose Audition Selection
Auditioning the active sampler loop with Active Loop from the Loop menu.
The Waveform Editor lets you audition a loop, with
or without playing any material just before or after Making a sampler loop from a soundbite
the loop. Sometimes, you might just want to hear To make a sampler loop from a soundbite:
the loop itself, whereas other times you might want
1 Select the soundbite. (See “Selecting the
to hear some length of material leading up to the
currently active soundbite” on page 489.)
loop (i.e. the attack of a note), the loop itself (the
sustain) and the material just after the loop (the 2 Switch to loop mode.
release).
3 Choose New Loop From Selection from the Loop
Either way, before you audition the loop, you’ll menu.
want to choose how many times you’ll hear it
repeat. To do so, choose Set Loop Audition Options THE LOOP MENU
from the Loop menu and type in the number of The Loop menu offers several convenient features
repetitions, as shown below. for working with sampler loops.
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
Activating the Loop menu Zooming to a sampler loop
The Loop mode becomes active when you go into To fill the Waveform Editor window with the
Loop mode by clicking the Loop tab as shown in currently active sampler loop, choose Zoom to
Figure 41-3 on page 480. Loop. This makes the loop fill the current space in
the window.
Loop navigation shortcuts
Use the commands in the Loop menu as shortcuts Creating a sampler loop from a selection
for navigating the Waveform Editor. These The Loop menu also has an item that lets you create
commands either make a loop active, or they act on a new sampler loop from any current selection. To
the currently active sampler loop. Most of the do so, select any region (as explained in “Selecting
commands have keyboard shortcuts: with the I-Beam cursor” on page 485) and then
choose New Loop from Selection from the Loop
Loop menu item Keyboard shortcut
menu (Figure 41-17).
Next Loop Command–Option–Right Bracket ( [
)
Making a selection from a loop
Previous Loop Command–Option–Left Bracket ( [ ) The Loop menu also has an item that lets you set
Scroll to Loop Command/Ctrl-Option/Alt-B the selection to a sampler loop. Make the loop
Start or End active and then choose Set Selection to Active Loop.
Zoom to Loop (no default key binding)
Deleting a sampler loop
Set Selection to (no default key binding) To delete a loop, make it active, and then choose
Active loop
Delete Active Loop from the Loop menu
Audition Active Loop (no default key binding) (Figure 41-17).
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WAVEFORM EDITOR
SOUNDBITE AND LOOP SHORTCUTS BEATS MENU
The following shortcuts are available for navigating For details about using the Beats menu
through the soundbites and sampler loops in an (Figure 41-4 on page 480) in the Waveform Editor,
audio file. These techniques move the insertion see “Beats menu” on page 629.
point, or the left or right edges of the current
selection (if there is one): TEMPOS MODE
For details about using Tempos mode (Figure 41-3
Keyboard shortcut What it does on page 480) in the Waveform Editor, see “Viewing
Tab Moves the insertion point to and editing soundbite tempo maps” on page 634.
the next soundbite or loop
boundary.
TEMPOS MENU
Option/Alt-Tab Moves the insertion point to
the previous soundbite or loop For details about using the Tempos menu
boundary. (Figure 41-4 on page 480) in the Waveform Editor,
Shift-Tab Moves the end of the current see “Tempos menu” on page 635.
selection to the next soundbite
or loop boundary.
PITCH MODE
Shift-Option/Alt-Tab Moves the end of the current For details about using Pitch mode (Figure 41-3 on
selection to the previous
soundbite or loop boundary. page 480) in the Waveform Editor, see chapter 78,
Shift-Control/Win-Tab Moves the beginning of the
“Transposing Audio” (page 877).
current selection to the next
soundbite or loop boundary.
VOLUME MODE
Shift-Option-Control-Tab Moves the beginning of the For details about using Volume mode (Figure 41-3
Shift-Alt-Win-Tab current selection to the previ-
ous soundbite or loop bound- on page 480) in the Waveform Editor, see
ary.
“Soundbite volume automation” on page 362.
493
WAVEFORM EDITOR
If you want to create a soundbite from a selection, ■ Make a selection
see “Creating a soundbite from a selection” on
OR
page 490.
■ Place the insertion point (Figure 41-11 on
Spectral effects
The Spectral Effects command in the Audio menu,
which applies Digital Performer’s time stretching,
pitch shifting and formant-shifting audio effects,
can be used on any selected region in the Waveform
Editor. Just make a selection and choose Audio
menu>Spectral Effects.
Crossfades applied The pan settings also affect what happens when
here.
pasting stereo into mono files. A hard left setting
Figure 41-20: In this example, when cutting audio, crossfades are will mix just the left channel, for example.
applied as indicated by the arrows.
496
WAVEFORM EDITOR
CHAPTER 42 Selecting
Selection basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497 Time range selections are always affected by Digital
The View Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498 Performer’s Smart Selections feature, which has an
Choosing a Pointer tool selection mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 498 important impact on what happens when you
Selecting events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499 make selections. So be sure to read “‘Smart’
Selecting a time range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501 Boundaries on Time Range Selections” on
Smart Selections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506 page 507.
SELECTION BASICS
Using the Search command
There are three ways to make selections in Digital
The Search command lets you select data by
Performer:
criteria— or rules —that you specify. For
information about using the Search command, see
■ Event selection — Selects specific events
chapter 43, “Searching” (page 511).
■ Time range selection — Selects a region of time,
regardless of what is in the region Edit operations that require time range
selection
■ Use the Search command to make selections
There are a few commands in the Edit menu and
based on time- and event-based search criteria Region menu that require time range selection:
Snip, Repeat, Paste Repeat, Merge Repeat and
Selecting events
Retrograde. These commands wouldn’t be able to
Event selection involves clicking (or dragging over)
do anything useful without a clearly defined end
events in one Digital Performer’s edit windows.
time for the selection, which event selections don’t
The events become highlighted to indicate they are
provide. Therefore, these commands are grayed
selected, and they can then be edited or otherwise
out if the current selection is an event selection. To
modified.
use them, make a time range selection as shown
later on in “Selecting a time range” on page 501.
497
The ‘Smart Selections’ command affects time CHOOSING A POINTER TOOL SELECTION
range selections MODE
Digital Performer’s Smart Selections command Selection operations are made with either the
(Edit menu) has an important impact on edits that Pointer tool or the I-Beam tool.
you apply to Time Range Selections. The effects are
automatic, but you should definitely know about All selection operations made with the Pointer tool
them so that you can use them to your benefit. For in the Track Overview or the Sequence Editor
a summary, see “Smart Selections” on page 506. depend on the Cursor Selection mode
(Preferences> Editing> Tools). These modes
Selections are global control what will happen when you use the Pointer
After you have made any type of selection, the tool to make selections in these multitrack
selection remains in effect until you either deselect windows.
or make another selection. The current selection
appears in all edit windows. For example, if you ‘Event & Phrase Selections only’ (lasso mode)
highlight a few notes in a track’s Event List, and In this cursor selection mode, clicking in empty
then open the MIDI Editor for the same track, the space makes a lasso selection (data only). Clicking
notes will be highlighted in the MIDI Editor, too. on individual soundbites, MIDI notes, or data
points (such as MIDI controllers or automation)
☛ The current selection remains in effect even if selects them.
you close all edit windows. So be careful not to
inadvertently edit hidden data. Always be certain When dragging to make a selection, you can drag
about what the current selection is before using both horizontally and vertically so as to specify a
Edit and Region menu operations. specific time and value range. When you finish
dragging to make your selection and let go of the
Applying successive edits to the selection mouse, only the events themselves remain selected;
Data remains selected even after you apply an edit the time range is not selected.
operation to it. This lets you easily apply successive
edits to the same data. ■ Holding down the Control/Win key forces a
THE VIEW FILTER selection to span the entire vertical range of the
In Digital Performer, if data is visible, it can be track (for example, to select all MIDI notes in a
selected. Conversely, if it is hidden by the View region without having to drag vertically over all of
Filter, it can be excluded from any selections you them).
make. The View Filter can be a very fast and ■ Holding down the Control/Win and Option/Alt
convenient way to include and exclude data by data keys performs a time range (crosshair) selection.
type when making selections. For details, see
“View Filter” on page 292. ‘Range Selections only’ mode
In this cursor selection mode, clicking anywhere
except a selected soundbite or note performs a time
range selection (with the crosshair cursor).
498
SE L E C T I NG
■ Holding the Control/Win key down allows you switch to the Pointer tool. With certain windows
to make a range selection even when clicking on a active, such as the Event List and the QuickScribe
selected soundbite or note. (To perform a throw Editor, the Pointer tool is the only available tool.
operation you must hold the Control/Win key
down after you click.)
■ Holding down the Control/Win and Option/Alt
keys performs a lasso style selection. Figure 42-1: Use the Pointer tool to make event selections.[
499
SEL EC TI N G
Event selection in the Track Overview is affected by
the Cursor Selection mode setting (Preferences>
Editing> Tools). For details, see “Choosing a
Pointer tool selection mode” on page 498.
Figure 42-4: Put the cursor over the very center of a data block to
produce the arrow cursor shown here.
Figure 42-3: Making an event selection (notes, in this case) in the MIDI
3 Click the phrase with the arrow cursor to select
Editor. it.
Making an event selection in the QuickScribe The events displayed inside the phrase becomes
Editor
selected, showing a gold highlight and outline. This
For information about selecting notes in the
is similar to selecting the events in the Event List. In
QuickScribe Editor, see “Selecting notes for
fact, if you open the track’s Event List, you’ll see the
editing” on page 446.
events highlighted in the list.
Making an event selection in the Track
Overview
This section explains how to make event selections
using the Track Overview. Also see “Selecting a
time range in the Track Overview” on page 502.
500
SE L E C T I NG
Time range selections in the Sequence Editor are
affected by the edit grid, if enabled. For details, see
“Snap to Grid” on page 317 and the edit grid
controls in Figure 35-1 on page 332.
Figure 42-5: Clicking a block in the Track Overview with the arrow 2 Enter the desired start and end times.
cursor as shown here produces an event selection. If you look in the
track’s Event List, you’ll see the selected events, also shown.
3 Select the track or tracks that contain the region.
Making an event selection in the Sequence
Editor To learn track selection techniques, see “Selecting
Use the Pointer tool to make event selections in the tracks” on page 159.
Sequence Editor. Be sure that the Cursor Selection
Mode (Preferences> Editing> Tools) is set to either You now have a time range selection that includes
Event & Phrase Selections Only or All Selections. all of the tracks you highlighted. Notice that the
Track Overview reflects the selection as well, as
1 Choose the Pointer tool in the Tools palette (or, does the Sequence Editor and other the edit
as a shortcut, double-tap the “a” key). windows of the selected tracks.
2 Place the cursor over the item you wish to select The Event List and QuickScribe Editor allow
so that the cursor turns into an arrow or a pointing event selection only
finger. The QuickScribe Editor does not provide for time
range selections because it uses non-linear,
3 Click the event to select it. engraver spacing to display MIDI events as music
notation. Therefore, the Pointer tool can be used to
SELECTING A TIME RANGE make “marquee” selections over notes and other
The following topics show you the many ways to events (text, etc.) on the page.
select a time range. For event selection techniques,
see “Selecting events” on page 499. The Event list provides a list of events, with no
graphic representation of time, so it allows for
Time range selections are affected by Digital event selection only using the Pointer tool.
Performer’s Smart Selections feature, which has an
important impact on what happens when you
make selections. See “Smart Selections” on
page 506 for more information.
501
SEL EC TI N G
Using the Pointer and I-Beam tools to make Selecting a time range in the Track Overview
time range selections in graphic editors Both the I-Beam tool and the Pointer tool can be
The Pointer and I-Beam tools in the Tools palette used to make time range selections in the Track
(Studio menu) can both be used to make time Overview. The I-Beam tool restricts time range
range selections in graphic editors, as explained in selections to one track at a time, whereas the
the following sections. Pointer tool lets you select across several tracks in
one operation.
Highlighted tracks
Figure 42-6: Figure 42-7When you make a time range selection using the Track List (by selecting tracks and setting the
selection start and end times), the selection appears as a highlighted region in the Track Overview.
502
SE L E C T I NG
Time range selections with the Pointer tool Folder selections
All selection operations made with the Pointer tool In the Tracks Overview, a time range selection can
in the Track Overview depend on the Cursor be made in collapsed or expanded folders, making
Selection mode (Preferences> Editing> Tools). For a selection across all of the tracks in the folder. The
example, you can choose Range Selections Only selected data can then be copied, pasted, and
mode, which produces a cross-hair cursor otherwise edited like any other selection.
anywhere in the Track Overview. For complete
details, see “Choosing a Pointer tool selection In the Tracks List, selecting the folder name selects
mode” on page 498. all of the tracks in the folder.
Below are some further details about making time ☛ The Edit Tracks in Closed Folders option,
range selections in All Selections mode: found in the Tracks Window’s mini-menu in
previous versions of Digital Performer, has been
removed. If you make a selection which includes a
closed folder but do not wish to edit a folder’s
Placing the cursor over an empty portion contents, deselect the folder by Command/Ctrl-
of the grid always produces a cross-hair,
which makes a time range selection clicking its name in the Tracks List.
when you drag.
503
SEL EC TI N G
Tracks Overview selection summary Selecting a time range in the Sequence Editor
Below is a summary of time range selection Many of the same techniques just discussed for
techniques in the Track Overview: making time range selections in the Track
Overview also apply to the Sequence Editor.
To accomplish this Do this
For example, the I-Beam cursor selects one track at
To get a cross-hair cursor Move the cursor to the top or bot-
over a block of data tom edge of the block. a time; shift click the I-Beam tool above or below a
current selection to add that track to the selection.
To select a single measure Click it with the cross-hair.
To remove a track from the current selection, Shift-
(or a single column segment click the track name.
at any other zoom level)
To deselect all current selec- Click in the area below the over-
tions view or press Command/Ctrl-D.
504
SE L E C T I NG
Time Ruler selection techniques Initiating time range selections with an
There are several time-saving techniques for insertion point
selecting data in the Time Ruler in the Track If you click the I-Beam tool anywhere in any
Overview, Sequence Editor, MIDI Editor, and graphic editor, an insertion point appears:
Notation Editor:
■ Click one of the Memory Cycle markers (to The insertion point can be placed in the Track
select the time range between them). Overview, Sequence Editor, MIDI Editor, Notation
Editor and Drum Editor.
Figure 42-12: In the Track Overview, click the I-Beam cursor to place
the insertion point at the column just to the right of where you click.
Or you can Command/Ctrl-click to place it anywhere.
2 Press Control-R.
SMART SELECTIONS
The Smart Selections command in the Edit menu is
a checkable menu item that can be either turned on
(checked) or off (unchecked). When it is turned
off, it has no effect on selections. When it is turned
on, it affects Time Range Selections. (For an
explanation of what a Time Range selection is, see
Figure 42-13: selection commands. “Selection basics” on page 497.)
Modifying a time-range selection using the What does the Smart Selections command do
mouse when it is turned on? Generally speaking, it makes
Shift-click (or Shift-drag) near the edge of the
Time Range selecting and editing operations give
selection you want to adjust.
you results that are more musical and intuitive. In a
way, turning on Smart Selections is like telling
Digital Performer, “Do what I mean, not what I
say.”
506
SE L E C T I NG
Digital Performer accomplishes this “musical page 508). If Smart Selections is turned off, the
intelligence” in a combination of separate, but selection bar start and end times are hard and fast
related, ways. Below is a summary of Smart — an event that is even 1 tick outside the region is
Selection features, followed by several sections not included.
explaining each feature in further detail.
If you want precision, turn Smart Selections off. If
■ “Smart boundaries” on time range selections — you want musical results without fussing with
this means that events that are a few ticks before or details, turn Smart Selections on.
after the selection boundaries are either included
or excluded, depending on what makes sense Smart Selection must be turned on or off as desired
musically. before you make a selection. Turning it on or off
does not affect current selections.
■ Measure-relative pasting — allows you to place
the playback wiper (or main counter) anywhere in The Smart Selections feature affects all of the Time
the measure you want to paste into and data will be Range selection methods discussed in this chapter;
pasted at its original location within the measure. it has no effect on event selections.
With Smart Selection turned off, data would be
pasted at the exact tick location displayed in Digital Measure relative pasting
Performer’s main counter. In general, when you paste, Digital Performer
pastes at the location currently displayed in the
■ Controller and pitch bend effects are maintained
main counter (and also indicated by the playback
when cutting and pasting — this means that when wiper in windows that have it) — along with one
controller and pitch bend data is added to or additional condition: if Digital Performer’s Smart
removed from a track via time range selection Selections feature is turned off, material is pasted at
copying and pasting, Digital Performer maintains the exact tick location shown in the counter. If
the effect of the controllers before and after the Smart Selections is turned on, material is pasted
selected region by automatically generating and measure relative, which means that it is placed in
inserting new controller events into the track as the measure at its original location within the
needed. measure, so that you don’t have to worry about
■ Barline placement is preserved when cutting and exact placement of the counter, as shown below.
pasting in the Conductor track — allows you to Just get the counter anywhere into the measure you
freely cut, copy, and paste time range selections in want and paste.
the conductor track, even when it has lots of meter
changes in it, without barlines getting out of
alignment with existing music in the tracks.
507
SEL EC TI N G
This is a three-
beat selection
Smart Selections from 81|000 to
turned on 9|1|000 (3/4
time) made with
“Snap to Grid”
turned on.
This note actually occurs at 7|3|411 — just before This note actually occurs at 8|3|423 — just before 2|3|000.
measure 4. But Smart Selections correctly includes it. But Smart Selections correctly omits it.
Figure 42-14: An example of how the Smart Selections feature affects time range selections.
508
SE L E C T I NG
In this example, the data in
Barlines are preserved in the Conductor track
the Clipboard originated in If Smart Selections is turned off, cutting and
beat 3 of measure 3.
pasting time regions in the Conductor Track can
get tricky — especially if you have meter changes in
the area you are editing. For example, if you cut a
meter change, you may find that barlines after the
removed meter change are no longer correctly
With Smart Selec- aligned with the notes they are supposed to be
tions turned on,
the note is pasted aligned with.
at beat 3 of the
measure, regard-
less of where the Smart Selections takes care of problems like these
playback wiper by making sure that meter changes you introduce
(and main counter)
is in the measure. by cutting or pasting will preserve subsequent
measures and meter changes in the Conductor
With Smart Selec- Track to ensure that nothing gets out of alignment
tions turned off,
the note is pasted by mistake. If you are cutting and pasting the
at the wiper (and Conductor Track, be sure to turn on Smart
main counter)
location, which, in Selections.
this example, is
12|2|017.
509
SEL EC TI N G
1. Notice this initial volume controller.
Figure 42-16: S m a r t S e l e c t i o n s ca u s e s
controllers to be automatically generated
where necessary to preserve their effects
after cut and paste operations.
510
SE L E C T I NG
CHAPTER 43 Searching
You can name and save search settings for later use.
511
Add/remove buttons (+/-): The plus-sign button
adds a new time- or event-related search setting to
the bottom of its group. The minus-sign button
removes the bottom setting (or group) from the
group.
SEARCH WINDOW MINI-MENU Searches can be simple. For example, you might
New search: Clears the Search window of all want to search for all notes in a track between G#3
current search settings and restores it to its default and F4. Searches can also be elaborate and detailed.
state, ready for you to enter new search settings. For example, you might want to search for all notes
between measures 10 and 20 that fall directly on
Save search settings: Lets you name and save the downbeats and are between C2 and G3 with on-
current search settings in the Search window for velocities between 80 and 110 and with durations
later recall from the mini-menu. greater than or equal to 240 ticks.
Edit search settings: Opens a dialog that lets you The Search window, which you open by choosing
rename, delete, re-order and assign a keyboard Search>Perform New Search from the Edit menu,
shortcut to saved search settings. lets you specify the search settings (as shown in
Figure 43-1 on page 511). It also lets you choose
Restore default search settings: Puts the factory
whether to select the data or display the results of
default search settings back in the Search window
the search in the Search Results window.
mini-menu (and the Search sub-menu in the Edit
menu). If you choose to select the search results, you can
then apply any Digital Performer Edit menu or
BASICS Region menu command to the selection.
The Search command is found in the Edit window
mini-menu, and it provides a hierarchical sub- If you choose to view the outcome of your search in
menu with several other search-related commands. the Search Results window, you can browse the
The sub-menu also displays search settings you selected data in one convenient list. You can select
have created and saved. any portion of the results. You can go to the data in
its editing window. You can even export the
512
SE AR C H I NG
contents of the Search Results window as an HTML Add new search settings with the plus buttons. Add
file for printing or importing into a word processor a group with the “[ ]” button. To remove the
programs or any other software that can import the bottom setting in a group, use the minus button.
file.
4 To determine what Digital Performer will do
Overview of how to perform a new search with the results of the search, choose the desired
This section gives you the basic procedure for Action from the Action menu.
conducting a search. Each step is discussed in
detail in the sections that follow. 5 Click the Search button.
To perform a new search: If you chose to select the search results, data found
by the search will become selected. If you chose to
1 Decide where you want to search. display the found data in the Search Results
window, it will appear.
There are several things you can do to control
where Digital Performer searches, and they are You can leave the Search window (and Search
discussed in detail in the next section. In most Results window) open to refine your search or
situations, the Search command will search in the conduct as many further searches as you want.
top-most open edit window. So if you want to
search in more than one track, bring the Tracks Choosing where to search
window to the front and select the tracks in which There are several factors that control where Digital
you want to search. If you only want to search in Performer will conduct the search:
one track, bring one of its edit windows to the
1. The Search in all sequences check box option in
front.
the Search window, if checked.
2 Open the Search window by choosing 2. The top-most window behind the search
Search>Perform New Search from the Edit menu. window.
3. The time-related search settings you’ve chosen.
4. The action you chosen to take.
These factors are listed in order of precedence.
Number 1 takes precedence over number 2, and so
on. For example, if the Search in all sequences
option is checked, it won’t matter what the top-
most window is.
Example B
514
SE AR C H I NG
When you choose Events must match all settings, result you want because the duration setting would
the Search command will include an event in the select any notes with a duration less that 1 beat, not
search results only if it matches all of the settings in just ones above C4 and below C1.
the group. In the example below, the only notes that
will be found by the search are ones whose pitch is
between C3 and C4 AND whose on-velocity is less
than 64 AND whose duration is less than 1|000.
515
SEAR C H I N G
settings option for the group. If you want the events Metric grid
in the group to be considered individually, use the Metric grid lets you specify events by their position
Events may match any settings option. within an evenly-spaced grid. For example, you
could choose only data that falls on the eighth-note
In case you are wondering, Figure 43-7 will find offbeat of the first and third beats of each measure
events between measures 10-20 only that fall on the being searched. The grid spacing is set up similar to
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th or 7th eighth-note of the the way you would specify a quantize grid in
measure. In addition, the data must be a note Digital Performer: choose a note duration that
between C3 and C4 with an on-velocity greater defines the grid with the controls provided (shown
than 80, or it can be a controller #55 with a value in Figure 43-8). In addition, Digital Performer uses
less than 10 or greater than 90. its Smart Quantize engine when determining if
events fall on a grid point, so the metric grid works
even on unquantized data.
516
SE AR C H I NG
Value
The Value setting allows you to choose specific time
in which to search. Further choices are shown
below. The Is (with slop) option is notable because
it lets you specify a specific time with a little bit of
“give and take” before and after the time you
specify. You can choose the amount of “slop”.
Selection range If you just want to search for several types of events,
The Selection range setting lets you specify a range regardless of their specific parameters, you can use
of time by the current selection. Make sure you the Event Type>Choose option as shown below:
select a time range — or some data — before you
use this option.
517
SEAR C H I N G
other hand, if you have a selection in the piano
track, the Search command will create a subset of it
(if it finds data within the selection that meets the
search criteria).
Searching again
The Search Again command in the Edit menu
(located in the Search sub-menu) re-applies the
last search you conducted. The settings used are
Figure 43-10: The event attributes for SysEx data. the ones that were in the Search window at the time
you clicked the Search button — not the settings
A few notes on SysEx searches that are currently in the window. On the other hand,
When searching for hex data within SysEx
if you’ve changed the topmost window — or any
messages, do not include the F0 or F7 as part of the
other factor that affects where the search takes
search string.
place, the Search Again command applies the
When you are using the Is at offset option shown in search to the new situation. For example, if the last
Figure 43-10, offset zero is the first byte past the F0 search you conducted was over the entire sequence,
at the beginning of the message. but you now have a single track’s Event List open as
the topmost window, the Search Again command
WORKING WITH SEARCH RESULTS will search that track.
After you set up the search settings the way you
want, as described on the preceding pages, use the Searching again in exactly the same area
The Refresh command in the Search Results
Action option at the bottom of the Search window
window mini-menu (explained later) lets you re-
to determine what will happen to the results of the
apply the exact same search, even if you’ve change
search. The Action options are shown below and
the top-most window or any other factor that
are self-explanatory:
affects where searching takes place. For details, see
“Searching again with the Refresh command” on
page 521.
Saving & editing search settings 4 Click anywhere outside the text box.
The Search window mini-menu has several
commands that let you name, save, edit, rename Restoring default search settings
Digital Performer ships with a collection of useful
and delete search settings that you create. When
search presets, which appear in the Search window
you name and save a set of search settings, you are
mini-menu, as well as in the Search sub-menu in
capturing all of the settings visible in the Search
the Edit menu. If you accidently modify or delete
window at the time you save it.
some of these default search settings, you can
restore them with the Restore default Search Settings
command in the Search window mini-menu. Any
custom search settings you have created and saved
will not be modified in any way by this operation—
as long as they have names that are different from
the factory default search settings.
Figure 43-12: To save the search settings currently shown in the BASING SETTINGS ON THE CURRENT
Search window, choose Save Search Settings from the Search SELECTION
window mini-menu.
Each group of settings in the Search window has an
option called Base settings on current selection.
When you check this option, the values for any
settings in the group are taken from the current
selection, if any. If there is no selection, they are
ignored. In general, when you check this option,
the settings that are taken from the current
selection are displayed differently to indicate that
the information is being taken from the current
selection. For example, the option might gray out,
or it might be displayed as a “----” instead of a text
box.
Figure 43-13: the Edit Search Settings command in the Search
window mini-menu lets you rename and delete search settings, as There are some settings that are not taken from the
well as assign a keyboard shortcut to them. This command is also
available in the Search sub-menu in Digital Performer’s main Edit
current selection when this option is checked — in
menu. useful ways. For example, if you are using the
To assign a keyboard shortcut to a saved search Time>Is (with slop) setting as shown below, the
setting: time itself will be taken from the current selection,
but the amount of slop is not. This allows you to
1 Choose Edit Search Settings from the Search search on various time locations with the same
window mini-menu (or from the Search sub-menu amount of slop each time.
in the Edit menu).
519
SEAR C H I N G
Previous/Next search result buttons: Does the
same thing as the Go button for the next or
previous item in the Search Results window list.
520
SE AR C H I NG
The Previous/Next Search Result buttons, as shown Exporting search results as text
in Figure 43-14 on page 520, do the same thing as The Export command in the Search Results
the Go button for the next or previously window mini-menu lets you export the list in the
highlighted item in the list. window as an HTML file for printing or importing
into a word processor programs or any other
Searching again with the Refresh command software that can import the file.
Often, you’ll conduct a search and then make
changes to your data based on the search. You Grouping search results
might then realize that you want to conduct the Some search criteria, such as the metric grid, find
same search again. But since you’ve been working clusters of events that you might like to highlight,
in many different windows, changing the current select, and view as a whole. The Group item in the
selection, and otherwise changing the conditions Search Results window mini-menu lets you do so.
under which the original search was conducted, Simply check the search criteria you’d like to group
you can’t just click the Search button again because the search results by. For example, if you’ve used a
you won’t get the same results. metric grid in your search, choose it by name —
something like “Metric Grid 1” — from the Group
The Refresh command in the Search Results sub-menu. Now, when you click on an event in the
window mini-menu fixes this problem by Search Results list that belongs to a cluster of events
conducting the exact same search again, regardless found by the metric grid search setting, all of the
of whether the factors that control where the search events in the cluster will highlight. Similarly, if you
takes place have changed. click Go, they’ll all be highlighted in the Event List
that opens for them. The same goes for the
Previous/Next Search Results arrow buttons.
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CHAPTER 44 Edit Menu
OVERVIEW UNDO
For a general explanation of how to use Edit menu The Undo command will undo the effects of most
operations, see chapter 31, “Editing Basics” commands and actions that add, delete, move, or
(page 289). All Edit menu commands can be otherwise modify data. Undo will also undo the
applied to MIDI data, audio data or both: effects of both real-time and step recording. Undo
is unlimited. This means that if you invoke it
Undo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523 repeatedly, you can essentially step backwards
Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
through your previous actions. For example, if you
Redo Next/Select Branch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
Undo History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524 choose Undo three times, you’ll go back three
Cut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530 actions. Undo can be used together with Redo to
Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530 step forwards and backwards through your
Copy to Clipping window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530 document’s Undo History. For further details, see
Paste. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
Paste Multiple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531 “Undo History” on page 524.
Paste Repeat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532
Paste Repeat Multiple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532 REDO
Other Paste commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532 The Redo command restores the action that was
Erase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532 just undone. Like Undo, Redo is also unlimited.
Repeat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532 This means you can restore undone actions until
Merge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Merge Multiple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533 you reach the most recent action you’ve taken in
Merge Together. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533 your project.
Merge Repeat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Merge Repeat Multiple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534 Together, Undo and Redo allow you to step
Merge Repeat Together. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534 repeatedly backwards and forwards through the
Other Merge commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
project’s current history of actions (the “Undo
Snip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534
Splice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534 History” on page 524).
Splice Multiple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535
Other Splice commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535 Both Undo and Redo give you a brief description of
Shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535 the action they are undoing or restoring, such as
Continuous Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536 Undo drag note or Redo paste into track ‘Lead
Heal Separation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536
Guitar’.
Split. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
Split Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
Split at Counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537 REDO NEXT/SELECT BRANCH
Trim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538 The Redo Next/Select Branch command is very
Trim Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538 similar to Redo Next Action: it lets you move
Trim End / Trim Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538 forward through the project’s current history of
Show/Hide Clipboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
actions. But it also lets you choose a different path
Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
Select All. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539 when you come to a point in the undo history
Select All in Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539 where there is a branch, rather than simply
Deselect All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
Smart Selections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
523
stepping past the branch along the main branch. Summary of Undo commands in the Edit menu
Branching is explained in more detail in the next The Edit menu has the following Undo-related
section. commands:
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document. Double-click this column next to any The Editing strip just below Time of Day displays
action to immediately jump to that point in the individual actions as small vertical lines. The white
undo history. You could work for three days, on area represents the elapsed time from the
and off, and still go all the way back to the state you beginning of the session up to the most recent
were in at the beginning of the project by double- action. To go to a particular location in the time
clicking next to the item at the very top of the undo line and identify the actions there, you can click
history list. directly on the action lines in this strip to highlight
them, both in the strip itself and in the undo
Actions that have been undone are displayed with a history list below. The list will provide all of the
blue highlight. To redo (jump to) an undone details.
action, double-click the Now column to the left of
its name. ☛ Here’s a zooming shortcut for the undo time
line: click on the Editing strip and drag vertically.
The Undo history time line Drag down to zoom in and drag up to zoom out.
The Time column in the undo history list gives you
the exact time at which each action was taken. The Branching
time line at the top of the window provides a linear A branch occurs when you jump backwards in the
representation of the undo history. The Time of undo history and then embark on a new set of
Day strip provides a time reference. Drag it left or actions. At this point, you have two branches: the
right to move backwards or forwards in time. original set of actions (now undone) and the new
Zoom buttons are provided to the left. The current set of actions. Digital Performer remembers both
action marker is represented as a green vertical sets of actions, called branches, and allows you to
line. This marker corresponds to the current action return to any point in either branch.
dot in the Now column. To move the current action
marker, move the current action dot as explained Here’s an example. Let’s say that you are starting a
in the previous section. new project. You record some drums. Then you
record some bass. Then you record some lead
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guitar. But after attempting a few passes of lead
guitar, you realize that none of them are good, and
in fact, you need to edit the bass part before going
any further. So you jump back in the undo history
window to the last bass guitar record pass and
begin editing the bass track.
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Figure 44-4: Viewing all branches at once. In this example, you can
see both the ‘lead guitar’ branch and the ‘bass edit’ branch below it,
which is currently undone (shaded blue).
Figure 44-5: By undoing two of our lead guitar record passes, and
In this view, all actions in all branches are shown in then doing some edits on the guitar track, we create a third branch.
The bass track edits are still visible as their own branch at the bottom
the list, with each branch separated by heavy lines. of the list.
This view is not strictly chronological; instead,
If we viewed Figure 44-5 as one branch only, it
actions are grouped by branch. (Actions will
would appear as follows:
always be listed chronologically within a branch.)
In addition, there may be sections of undone
actions (branches), interspersed with actions that
are not undone and that constitute the current
main trunk (as you’d see if you went back to
viewing just one branch at a time). In our ongoing
example, if we stepped back through (undid) two
of our lead guitar record passes and then made
another branch by editing the lead guitar track, the
result would look like this:
Figure 44-6: Viewing the current example (in Figure 44-5) as one
branch. The first branch menu contains the bass track edits made
early on in our example. The second branch menu contains the two
lead guitar passes that we just recently undid before the lead guitar
track edits.
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Undo history and branching is unlimited The Prune Entries on branches option only applies
Digital Performer records an unlimited number of to actions that are in branches and are therefore
branches and actions in the Undo History window. undone. In other words, they are actions that are
How much it can remember is limited only by the not on the path that you took to get to the project in
amount of RAM and disk space in your computer. its current state (the main trunk). Often, these
types of actions are much less likely to be revisited,
Pruning preferences so you can be more aggressive about pruning them.
The undo history has the potential to take up large
amounts of memory and disk space, depending on The last option, When Audio recording try to
the type of work you are doing. In addition, you keep…, forces the undo history to flush items when
may find that you rarely go back in time more than, disk space gets low. It starts with actions farthest
say, about an hour as you work. For circumstances back in the history and works its way forward as
like these, Digital Performer can discard — or needed. What you choose here depends largely on
“prune” — branches according to rules that you how much disk space your system provides, and
specify and that accommodate your work style and the manner in which you record.
needs. Click the Pruning Preferences button to
open these preferences as shown below: Undo History for POLAR sessions
POLAR sessions have their own Undo History
window, which you can open by clicking the
History button in the POLAR window itself.
POLAR session Undo Histories work the same way
as project Undo Histories, except that they are not
saved. Instead, they are discarded when the
POLAR session is closed.
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This window functions identically to the project provides several ways to manually flush (empty)
Undo History window. The Undo History for each the Undo History for a Digital Performer project, a
audio file is saved with the file. POLAR session or an audio file.
Audio file undo histories provide an additional The most comprehensive way to flush the undo
feature: not only can you jump backwards in the history is to use the Compact Project command
history to any action, you can also modify or (see “Compacting an entire project” on page 50).
remove an action without affecting what comes
after it in the history. For example, if you applied The Undo History window mini-menu provides a
some EQ to an audio file, but three months later set of commands for flushing the undo history in
decide that you’d like to change the EQ settings, various ways:
just double-click the EQ action item in the Undo
History list to open the plug-in window or Spectral
Effects window to modify the settings and reapply
them. This works for plug-ins and spectral effects
that have been applied to the audio file. To remove
the action entirely, click its name to highlight it and
choose Erase from the Edit menu or press the Figure 44-10: The Undo History window mini-menu.
delete key. Modifications to actions in the undo
history itself are not undoable, except by manually These commands are present in the Commands
restoring them. window, as shown below in Figure 44-11:
POLAR undo histories: The Flush Undo Entries Prior to Current Point
command gets rid of all undo entries before the
current location of the dot in the Now column (as
explained in “The Now column” on page 524). The
Flush Undo Entries After Current Point command
gets rid of all entries after the current location dot.
Figure 44-9: Pruning preferences for audio files and POLAR. The Flush Undo Entries on Branches command gets
rid of all undo actions on any branches that are not
Manually flushing the undo history
While the Undo History Pruning setup part of the main branch. In other words, it gets rid
automatically flushes items from the undo history of all actions that are not part of the branch that
based on your criteria, Digital Performer also leads up to the document’s current state. The Flush
All Undo Entries clears the entire Undo History log.
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The Apply Pruning Prefs to All Undo Entries Now leaves the measures blank (silent). The type of
clears the undo history according to your current information that is cut is determined by the View
pruning preferences, except that it ignores the time Filter. The Cut command is undoable.
attribute. So, if your current preference setting
reads “Prune entries taking up more than 10 MB on Before measure 3 is cut:
disk, that have not been visited in the last 2 hours”,
Track-1 Clipboard
it will flush all entries larger than 10 MB for all 1 2 3 4 5
time.
If the POLAR window is in front, the undo flush Before measure 3 is copied:
commands are applied to the undo history for the
Track-1 Clipboard
POLAR session that is currently loaded in the 1 2 3 4 5
POLAR window.
If the Soundbites window is in front, the undo flush After measure 3 is copied:
(The length of the music is the same.)
commands are applied to the undo histories of the
parent audio files of any currently selected Track-1 Clipboard
1 2 3 4 5
3
soundbites. In addition, only the Flush All Undo
Entries and Apply Pruning Preferences commands
COPY TO CLIPPING WINDOW
work on selected soundbites in the Soundbite list. The Copy to Clipping Window command places the
To use the other commands on a specific audio file’s current selected data into the clipping window that
undo history, just open its undo history window. you choose from the sub-menu as a single clipping.
For details, see chapter 52, “Clippings” (page 651).
If none of the windows just mentioned are in front,
then the flush commands apply to the project’s
PASTE
undo history. The Paste command inserts the contents of the
Clipboard (i.e. whatever was most recently cut or
CUT
copied) into a track at the location that you specify.
The Cut command removes data in the selected
When you paste, you need to tell Digital Performer
region and places it on the Clipboard. This does
where you want the Clipboard data to go. Digital
not remove the time region specified; instead, it
Performer needs to know:
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E DI T M E NU
■ What track (or tracks) Choosing tracks and location at the same time
You can use any of the selection techniques in the
■ What time in the track (or tracks)
Track Overview to choose the track and the
Choosing a track (or tracks) to paste into location at which you want to paste with one easy
To choose the track you want to paste into, you can selection. See “Making an event selection in the
either open an event edit window for the track (see Track Overview” on page 500 and “Selecting a time
“Opening an edit window for a track” on page 159) range in the Track Overview” on page 502.
or click the track’s name in the Tracks window or
Sequence Editor to highlight it. To paste into What happens when you paste
several tracks at once, highlight their names (see The length of the pasted region is exactly that of the
“Selecting tracks for editing” on page 159). data in the Clipboard (including any blank space at
the beginning and end of the region that was placed
If you are pasting into the MIDI Editor, and it is on the Clipboard).
currently displaying multiple tracks (and there is
no currently selected data), data will be pasted into Pasting data always replaces what was previously
the displayed track that is highest in the track list there — unless you have temporarily hidden it with
(and the track selector list). the View Filter. The types of information pasted
from the Clipboard are determined by the View
Indicating the time at which you want to paste Filter. In addition, only the types of data selected in
There are several useful ways to choose the time at the View Filter are replaced; all other data is
which you want to paste: unaffected. The Paste command is undoable.
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PASTE REPEAT Before measure 3 is erased:
The Paste Repeat command fills the current time Track-1 Clipboard
range selection with the contents of the clipboard, 1 2 3 4 5
repeating the clipboard data to fill up the selection.
For example, if you would like to fill a section of a After measure 3 is erased:
(The clipboard remains empty.)
track with material on the clipboard, repeating it as
many times as necessary to fill the section, just Track-1 Clipboard
1 2 3 4 5
make a time range selection over the section and
choose Paste Repeat. In cases like this, Paste Repeat
REPEAT
is more convenient than the Repeat command
The Repeat command makes an internal copy
because you don’t have to figure out how many
(which does not go on the Clipboard) of the data in
times to repeat the data. Paste Repeat fills the
the selected region, then pastes, splices or merges
selection for you, automatically repeating the data
this data repetitively, immediately following the
as many times as necessary.
selected region. For example, repeating measures
1-3 three times places a copy of measures 1-3 in
PASTE REPEAT MULTIPLE
measures 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12. Regardless of the
This variation of the Paste Repeat command can be
events in the region, the entire selected region is
accessed by holding down the Option/Alt key
repeated. In the above example, the start and end
while accessing the Edit menu. Paste Repeat
locations in the Selection bar would be set to
Multiple allows you to paste data from a single
1|1|000 and 4|1|000, respectively. The entire three
track into multiple tracks in a single operation. For
measure region is repeated, with each repetition
example, if you copied data from track A, and you
starting on the down beat of the following measure.
wish to paste repeat the data into tracks X, Y and Z,
In most cases, it is best to select entire measures or
select tracks X, Y and Z, hold down the Option/Alt
groups of measures to repeat; this ensures that the
key, and choose Paste Repeat Multiple from the Edit
repetitions will line up correctly with measure
menu.
boundaries.
OTHER PASTE COMMANDS
Several additional variations on the Paste
command can be found in the Commands window
(Figure 8-1 on page 91). If you search the
Commands list for the word Paste, you can find
them and assign your own custom keystrokes to
them. Included are Paste At Wiper, Paste At Wiper
Multiple, Paste At Original Time, and Paste At
Original Time Multiple.
Figure 44-12: The Repeat command.
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For example, if you would like to merge clipboard SNIP
data into a section of a track, repeating it as many The Snip command removes data in the selected
times as necessary to fill the section, just make a region and places it on the Clipboard. The time
time range selection over the section and choose region containing the data is removed as well,
Merge Repeat. Merge Repeat is convenient because closing up the gap between the beginning and end
you don’t have to merge many times by hand. of the region: events at the End time are moved to
Merge Repeat fills the selection for you, the Start time. The types of data snipped are
automatically repeating the data as many times as determined by the View Filter setting. The Snip
necessary. command is undoable.
MERGE REPEAT MULTIPLE The Snip command requires a time range selection
This variation of the Merge Repeat command can instead of an event selection. For a further
be accessed by holding down the Option/Alt key explanation, see “Edit operations that require time
while accessing the Edit menu. Merge Repeat range selection” on page 497.
Multiple allows you to merge data from a single
track into multiple tracks in a single operation. For Before measure 3 is snipped:
example, if you copied data from track A, and you
wish to merge repeat the data into tracks X, Y and Track-1 Clipboard
1 2 3 4 5
Z, select tracks X, Y and Z, hold down the Option/
Alt key, and choose Merge Repeat Multiple from the
After measure 3 is snipped:
Edit menu. (Measures 4 & 5 are shifted to 3 & 4.)
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■ Shift to time or marker — lets you specify an
Before measure A is spliced:
exact location, in any time format you wish, or by
Track-1 Clipboard choosing a marker location, to which you would
1 2 3 4 5 A
like to move the data.
Track-1 Clipboard
1 2 3 (A) 4 5
A
SPLICE MULTIPLE
This variation of the Splice command can be
accessed by holding down the Option/Alt key
while accessing the Edit menu. Splice Multiple
allows you to splice data from a single track into
multiple tracks in a single operation. For example,
if you copied track A, and you wish to splice it into
tracks X, Y and Z, select tracks X, Y and Z, hold
down the Option/Alt key, and then choose Splice
Multiple from the Edit menu.
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slightly (try a value of less than 100 ticks to start
with), you can make all instruments sound as if
they are attacking notes at the same time. You may
want to leave some of the disparity between attack
times: let your ear guide you.
CONTINUOUS DATA
The Continuous Data sub-menu provides
numerous commands for working with
automation lanes and the current edit layer for
Original track automation data in the Sequence Editor. The
Commands window provides keyboard shortcuts.
For further explanation, see:
HEAL SEPARATION
Shifted later by a half of a measure
The Heal Separation command joins adjacent
MIDI notes that are the same pitch and that either
Preserve realtime performance
The Preserve realtime performance option, when touch each other or overlap one another. Heal
checked, will shift the selected data to the new Separation also rejoins adjacent soundbites that
location based on the first selected event. All of the currently have a gap between them. Soundbites
rest of the selected events will be shifted relative to must belong to the same parent audio file, and their
the first in a manner that preserves the realtime position in the track relative to each other must
performance at their original location. This allows match their relative positions in the parent audio
you, in effect, to shift material without changing file. For example, if you remove a section from the
how it plays due to differences in tempo between middle of a soundbite, you can use the Heal
the original and new locations. Separation command to rejoin the resulting
soundbites, as shown below in Figure 44-14.
Shift and attack times However, if you move the soundbites relative to
You may find that certain patches on your MIDI each other, Heal Separation cannot rejoin them.
instruments have quicker attack times than others. Heal Separation can be done across multiple
You can play two notes at exactly the same time on soundbites.
two different MIDI instruments (with two different
patches) and hear them not sounding together: one
seems to “play” first and the second takes a longer
time to come to full volume. The Shift command is
useful for lining up attacks in situations like this
one. By shifting a track forward or backwards just
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E DI T M E NU
Original soundbite: SPLIT
Split allows you to break up MIDI notes or audio
soundbites into separate, smaller notes and
soundbites. Split makes divisions at the boundaries
of the region you select.
SPLIT AUDIO
This variation of the Split command can be
accessed by holding down the Option/Alt key
while accessing the Edit menu. Split Audio does the
If you move the soundbites relative to each other, they can’t be healed (use Merge
exact same thing as Split except that it only affects
Soundbites instead): audio data (not MIDI data).
SPLIT AT COUNTER
Split at Counter splits all currently selected MIDI
notes and/or soundbites at the current main
counter location (as indicated by the playback
wiper). The default key binding for this command
is option-Y, but you can customize this binding in
the Commands window.
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Selecting a region:
TRIM
Trim allows you to select a portion of a soundbite
and remove the parts of it that are not selected. For
example, you might want to extract a single
measure from a soundbite that is 8 measures long.
It is also very useful for removing silence at the After using Trim:
beginning and/or end of a recorded soundbite.
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Digital Performer’s Clipboard also lets you cut,
copy and paste text between Digital Performer and
other programs. For example, if you write some
Original text in a word processor application, and you
would like to display it on a page in QuickScribe
Editor just open both programs at the same time,
copy the text from the word processor, switch to a
text box in Digital Performer’s QuickScribe Editor
(or any other text box in Digital Performer), and
paste.
Trim End
SEARCH
The Search sub-menu provides access to Digital
Performer’s powerful rule-based search and select
engine. For complete details, see chapter 43,
“Searching” (page 511).
SELECT ALL
Trim Start The Select All command generally selects all items
in the active window. If the Sequence Editor is
active, choosing Select All will select all the tracks
(thus highlighting all track names). If an Event List
Figure 44-17: Trim End and Trim Start. is active, choosing Select All will select all events in
it.
SHOW/HIDE CLIPBOARD
Choosing Show Clipboard from the Edit menu SELECT ALL IN RANGE
brings up a window which describes the contents To access the Select All in Range command, hold
of the Clipboard (in text). When the Clipboard is down the Option/Alt key while accessing the Edit
showing, the menu entry changes to Hide menu, or press Command/Ctrl-Option/Alt-A.
Clipboard. When you choose this, the Clipboard
window is closed. The Select All in Range command selects all tracks,
as its name implies, but it only selects a certain time
The Clipboard is a temporary storage place that range, rather than the entire length of the sequence.
holds data that is cut or copied. All data that is cut The time range is determined either by the
or copied is put on the Clipboard. When you paste, selection start and end times currently chosen in
the data to be pasted comes from the Clipboard. the Selection Information window, or by the
current selection, if any.
The Clipboard retains data until a new cut or copy
action is made. This means that you can cut or copy DESELECT ALL
a region of data once and paste this same The Deselect All command makes all currently
information as many times as you like. The selected data not selected.
Clipboard retains its data between project files. You
can therefore copy data from one project file and
paste it into another.
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SMART SELECTIONS
The Smart Selections command is a checkable
menu item that can be either turned on (checked)
or off (unchecked). When it is turned off, it has no
effect on selections. When it is turned on, it affects
Time Range Selections. (For further details, see
“Selecting a time range” on page 497 and “Smart
Selections” on page 506.
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CHAPTER 45 Region Menu
541
Apply closes window: Makes the window close The preview check box provides real-time
when you click the Apply button or press Enter. previewing, which allows you to hear the results of
the Region operation in real time (as the sequence
Apply sends window to back: Causes the window plays) before you actually apply it permanently
to go to the back when you click the Apply button with the Apply button. Data remains unaffected
or press the Enter key. until you click the Apply button.
Save settings: Lets you name and save the settings ■ transpose diatonically
currently displayed in the Region commands ■ change key from any root to any other
window. These settings then appear by name at the
bottom of the mini-menu for that same Region ■ change key from any mode to any other
command (Quantize, Transpose, etc.) If the ■ map each pitch to any other pitch
Region command has a matching real-time MIDI
■ transpose using scale sizes larger or smaller than
plug-in, saved settings also appear in the Effect
window mini-menu as presets for the 12 notes
corresponding real-time MIDI plug-in. ■ transpose up or down, by any number of octaves
Show Presets in Finder/Explorer: Opens the ■ create and save custom transpose maps
Finder/Explorer folder where you’ve saved your
■ create and save custom scales or keys
Region menu settings, if any.
■ Create harmonies
PREVIEWING
When performing the above operations, you can:
Some Region menu commands have a preview
check box to the left of the Apply button:
■ play in pitches or entire scales from your MIDI
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The Transpose window provides several ways of The Transpose portamento controller (#84) option
transposing, options for each type, a Transpose transposes portamento controllers.
Map that shows you how each pitch will be
changed, and a Custom Maps list which can save Audio transpose options
transposition maps. The following options are provided for audio
transposition only.
MIDI transpose options
The following options are provided for MIDI Transpose audio by adjusting pitch
transposition only. Choose Transpose audio by adjusting pitch
automation if you would like to transpose the audio
Harmonizing instead of transposing by affecting Digital Performer’s non-destructive,
The Transpose window allows you to either real-time pitch automation data for the selected
transpose or harmonize. The Harmonize option audio. The audio data must already have pitch data
copies the original notes, transposes the copied to transpose; therefore, pitch analysis is required
notes, and the merges them together with the before you can use this option. For complete
original notes. This allows you to build harmonies details, see chapter 78, “Transposing Audio”
quickly. (page 877).
Transposing poly pressure and/or portamento Transpose audio by creating new soundbites
The Transpose poly pressure option transposes poly Choose Transpose audio by creating new soundbites
pressure (aftertouch data) along with the notes that if you would like to transpose the audio by creating
it modifies. a new audio file that is the transposed form of the
original file (leaving the original file in tact).
The Transpose Map changes dynamically to reflect the trans- Create your own types of After you have set up a transposition, you can save it by typing in
position or custom map you have chosen to the left. You can scales with the Edit a name and clicking Save; it will then appear in the list. You can
edit pitches in the To column to create a custom map. scales button. use the transposition map at any time by clicking its name.
Changes in one octave are reflected in all other octaves.
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The Transpose Map When you are using the Custom Map option,
The Transpose Map displays a scrolling list of all Digital Performer provides another intuitive way
128 MIDI notes in a column on the left and the for you to play in pitches from your MIDI
pitch to which each will be transposed in a column controller:
on the right. Notes and spellings in the map change
dynamically according to the transposition 1 Select the Custom Map option.
options that you choose. In addition, you can edit
values directly in the Transpose Map list to further 2 Hold down the pitch you wish to transpose, and
modify the map, as shown below. Changes in one while holding it down, play the pitch you wish to
octave are reflected in all other octaves. transpose it to.
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To create a new map based on an existing map: Adjusting the MIDI transpose map
Having chosen an interval, you can edit the
1 Select the existing map in the list. transpose map to make modifications to it if you
like. As soon as you edit a pitch in the Transpose
2 Type in a new name. Map, thus modifying it from they way it was
originally set up by the Interval transpose options,
3 Click Save.
the Custom Map transpose option will then
The new map will appear in the list. become automatically selected to indicate that the
transpose map is now a custom map.
4 Edit the Transpose Map to make your changes.
Transposing audio by interval
5 Click Save to save the changes you have made. If you’ve selected soundbites, and you’d like to
include them in the transpose operation, check the
Transposing by interval Transpose audio check box (as shown in
Figure 45-4 on page 545) and type in a number of
cents, if desired, for fine-tuning the audio transpo-
sition. (There are 100 cents per half-tone.) To
choose whether the soundbite is transposed using
Digital Performer’s formant-corrected pitch-
shifting or conventional pitch-shifting, set the
Figure 45-4: Transposing by interval. soundbite’s transpose attribute beforehand as
Transposing by Interval is a chromatic, exact trans- explained in “Dragging and dropping soundbites”
position: pitches are shifted by the number of on page 43.
semitones in the interval that you choose. Literally,
Transposing diatonically
it causes a mass shift of all pitch values in the
selected region, just like dragging MIDI notes up or
down in the MIDI Editing or QuickScribe Editors.
For example, chromatically transposing from C3 to
E3 causes all pitches to shift up a major third (four
semitones).
Figure 45-5: Transposing diatonically.
The from and to pitches define the interval. The
notes that you enter to define the interval are not Diatonic transposition transposes MIDI notes by a
important: only the interval between them matters. number of scale steps within the type of scale that
For example, instead of entering C3 to E3 to shift you choose. For example, if you transpose up 2
notes up a major third, you could enter F3 to A3. scale steps in the key of C minor as shown in the
above example, all C naturals (the root) will be
The two pitches entered also define the direction of transposed up two steps to E flat (a minor third).
transposition. If the second pitch is above the first Notice that the number of scale degrees, 2 in this
pitch, pitches will be transposed up. If the second example, refers to the number of scale steps to
pitch is below the first, pitches will be transposed change by; it does not refer to the destination scale
down. step.
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This is extremely useful for quickly creating Remember that the key you choose is a way of
harmonies. For example, as shown above you can setting up the diatonic transposition in the
copy and paste a melody line into another track Transpose Map. Digital Performer doesn’t really
and transpose it diatonically up a third (two scales “know” what key the actual data is in. In fact, just
degrees) to harmonize with the melody. Scale tones about any musical phrase can be described in
in the key you choose are displayed in boldface in musical terms as being in one of several different,
the transpose map column. but related, keys. So, when transposing
diatonically, it is up to you to know which key to
To Transpose diatonically: choose to get the results that you want.
1 Choose the Diatonic option. The above also holds true for how notes get spelled.
The key that you choose only affects the spellings in
2 Choose the direction (Up or Down) and
the Transpose Map: it will not change the spellings
number of octaves.
of the actual track data. Track note data spellings
are controlled by the current key signature in the
3 Type or play in the key root pitch and select a
Conductor track.
mode from the list.
The Constrain to Scale option
This sets up the Transpose Map. You can play in the
The Constrain to scale option is available with the
root pitch from your MIDI keyboard if you place
Diatonic and Key/Scale transpose options. If
the insertion point in the From text box.
enabled, it causes all non-scale tones to be
4 If you would like to transpose all non-scale transposed to the nearest appropriate scale tone, as
pitches into the nearest scale pitch, select the shown below:
Constrain to scale option.
6 Click Apply.
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corresponding minor key. In the above example, The Up and Down options determine the direction
notes in the key of C major are being transposed of transposition, and the Plus ___ octaves option
down to a entirely different root and key: E allows you to transpose by intervals greater than
Harmonic Minor. The Transpose Map shows each one octave.
note in the key of C Major on the left, and on the
right, the pitch each note will be transposed to (in Remember that the source and destination keys
the key of E Harmonic Minor). that you choose are a way of setting up the diatonic
transposition in the Transpose Map. Digital
To Transpose by key: Performer doesn’t really “know” what key the
actual data is in. In fact, just about any musical
1 Choose the Key/Scale option. phrase can be described in musical terms as being
in one of several different, but related, keys. So,
2 Choose the direction (Up or Down) and
when transposing by key, it is up to you to know
number of octaves.
which key to choose to get the results that you
want.
3 Type or play in the source key root pitch and
select a mode from the top list.
The above also holds true for how notes get spelled.
The key that you choose only affects the spellings in
This sets up the From column in the Transpose
the Transpose Map: it will not change the spellings
Map. You can play in the root pitch from your
of the actual track data. Track note data spellings
MIDI keyboard if you place the insertion point in
are controlled by the current key signature in the
the From text box.
Conductor track.
4 Type or play in the destination key root pitch
Transposing using a custom map
and select a mode from the bottom list.
The Custom Map option allows you to do several
This sets up the To column in the Transpose Map. things. You can:
halftones
6 If you would like to customize the transposition,
edit the pitch values in the Transpose map. ■ map each note to any other note
■ map all notes to a single pitch
As soon as you edit a pitch in the Transpose Map,
thus modifying it from they way it was originally Each of these operations are discussed below.
set up by the Key/Scale transpose options, the
Custom Map transpose option will then become Custom transposing based on another
transposition
automatically selected to indicate that the
Often you may want to slightly modify a
transpose map is now a custom map.
transposition set up by one of the first three
7 Click Apply. transpose options. For example, you may want to
transpose diatonically up two scales steps except
for each A-flat, which you would like to maintain as
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REGI O N M EN U
an A-flat. In this case, you can set up the Diatonic The Custom Transpose option frees you from the
transposition and then edit the destination pitch octave and diatonic restrictions of the other
for A-flat so that it doesn’t change pitch. transpose options.
To create a customized map that is based on the To transpose using an custom octave range:
Interval, Diatonic, or Key/Scale Transpose options:
1 Select the Custom Map transpose option.
1 Choose the Transpose option you would like to
base your custom map on. The Custom Transpose options will appear.
5 If you would like to save the map, type in a name 4 If you would like to save the map, type in a name
and click Save. and click Save.
The map will appear in the Custom Maps list. The map will appear in the Custom Maps list.
6 Click Apply to execute the transposition. 5 Click Apply to execute the transposition.
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To create a custom scale: QUANTIZE
Quantizing changes the attack and release times of
1 Click the Edit Scales button. MIDI note events and audio soundbites to make
them more rhythmically precise. It can also modify
The Create Scale dialog box appears.
beats within soundbites that have been analyzed
with Digital Performer’s Beat Detection Engine
(chapter 50, “Beat Detection Engine” (page 625)).
Attacks, releases and beats within soundbites are
aligned with a grid, a set of locations that occur on
the beat and its subdivisions. Quantize is useful in
correcting perceived rhythmic inaccuracies after
your sequence is recorded. It does a rhythmic
“cleaning up” based upon your specifications.
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will be unmodified. The What to quantize menu profile. If you always aligned all attacks and releases
gives you the following choices for what you can with grid locations, your music might have a
quantize: mechanical, inhuman quality to it. You’ll find that
you’ll often want to preserve some of the rhythmic
■ Notes nuances of your playing. Therefore, Digital
■ Soundbites Performer allows you to quantize selectively and
specify the degree of quantizing you want. The
■ Notes and soundbites Sensitivity and Strength options accomplish this.
■ Beats within soundbites In addition, you might want to shift the
occurrences of the beat slightly ahead or behind the
■ Beats within soundbites and notes metronome beats in a particular track or section.
■ Controllers The Grid Offset option allows you to do this.
Original music
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Note that if you choose to change both the attack Generally, you should choose a grid value that is
and release times, the Don’t Change Duration the smallest note value in the region. For instance,
option is automatically disabled. This is due to the if you are quantizing a region with lots of sixteenth
nature of the operation: if you change both the notes and a few quarter notes, choose a grid value
attack and release times of a note, the durations of a sixteenth note.
will automatically be modified.
The grid value can be modified with the dot and/or
Quantizing soundbites tuplet boxes. When the dot is selected, it adds one
When quantizing soundbites, only their location is half of the selected duration to the grid value. For
adjusted: their duration, and the beats within the example, if the quarter note and dot are selected,
soundbite, are not affected. the grid value is a dotted quarter, equivalent to
three eighths. If the tuplet box is selected, the tuplet
Quantizing beats within soundbites specification is applied to the selected duration.
For audio that has been beat-analyzed by Digital This is similar to the way the tuplet box works in
Performer’s Beat Detection Engine, quantizing the Step Record window. Example: you have three
beats within soundbites affects the beats without eighth notes in the time of two specified and the
splitting up the soundbite into smaller soundbites. tuplet box is checked.
Instead, time-stretching is applied between beats to
stretch and shrink them as necessary to move the
beat to the nearest quantize grid location. For
further details, see “Quantizing beats within
soundbites” on page 631. The quantize grid will be set to triplet eighth notes.
Each triplet grid location will have a duration of
Quantizing controllers 160 ticks, which is equal to a third of a quarter note
When quantized, controllers shift their position, (480 ticks). To specify a tuplet grid value:
just like MIDI notes. But they have no duration or
release times, so these options have no effect on 1 Select the base duration you want.
controllers.
Click on one of the note symbols.
Choosing the grid’s duration value
The grid value is the distance between grid 2 Check the tuplet check box.
locations. For example, if you select an eighth note
as the grid value, each grid location is an eighth 3 Enter the number of tuplets in the left text box.
note apart. This means that the note attacks and/or
4 Enter the number of regular note values that the
releases will be moved to the nearest eighth note
tuplet replaces in the right text box.
location.
Grid offset
The grid is aligned such that it begins on the first
The start of the grid may be offset from its standard
beat of the first measure of the selected region. If a
position on the first beat of the selected region by a
meter change occurs in the selected region, the grid
number of ticks. This is done by clicking in the
is realigned at the point of the meter change to
check box next to Offset by n ticks and entering a
begin on the first beat of the meter change.
number of ticks to offset the grid by. Positive values
offset the grid forward in time (after the beat),
negative values offset it backward (before the beat).
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ticks, creating more of a straight swing feel. The
Original music percentage can be any value between 0% and
300%. 0% does nothing and is the same as
quantizing without the swing option. 300% delays
Quantized with positive
grid offset of +50 ticks every other offbeat all the way to the next grid
point.
Quantized with negative
grid offset of -50 ticks Sensitivity
Each grid location has a “field of effectiveness” in
Figure 45-14: An example of quantizing with a positive or negative which note events can be moved by the Quantize
grid offset. command. Normally, this field extends from one
If you enter an offset greater than the distance (in grid location halfway to the next, affecting all note
ticks) between grid locations, the number will be events. The center of each field is the grid location:
scaled down to be less than the distance of the grid each field actually extends out in either direction
value. For example, if you are using a grid value of from the grid location.
a quarter note (480 ticks at 480 ppq resolution) and
you enter an offset of 500 ticks, it will be reduced to
100%
an offset of 20 ticks, that is 500 minus 480. Offset Sensitivity
values range from -9999 to 9999.
Figure 45-15: 100% Sensitivity reaches all the way from one grid
location to the next, as shown here by the gray background.
Swing
The Swing option delays every other grid point to Sensitivity is the size of this field. The default
create a swing feel. sensitivity (without the Sensitivity options
selected) is 100%, i.e. extending continuously
The Swing option defaults to 100%, which between grid locations. This field is actually split
produces straight swing. For example, an eighth into 50% before the grid location and 50% after the
note grid produces a grid point every 240 ticks. grid location. If you select Sensitivity and enter a
The swing option, at 100%, will delay every other value of 50%, the quantizing field will be reduced:
grid point 80 ticks to 320, which is the attack time
of the third eighth note in an eighth note triplet.
50%
Sensitivity
Eighth note
grid points
0% swing Figure 45-16: 50% Sensitivity reaches only part way (25%) on both
(240 ticks) sides of each grid location, as shown here by the gray regions.
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With positive Sensitivity values, the field of all note events so that they align perfectly with grid
effectiveness extends outward from the grid locations. Since this can result in an overly precise
location. In the case of negative sensitivity, the field effect, you might want to leave some of the original
extends inward from the midpoints on either side inaccuracy in the passage. The Strength option
of the grid location. As with positive sensitivity, the does this by not moving the note events all the way
field is split on either side of the midpoint. So if you to the grid locations. Rather, they are moved a
enter a Sensitivity value of negative 20%, notes percentage of the way toward the grid points. Use
from about 41 to 50% before the grid location and the Strength option to tighten up a passage without
about 41 to 50% after would be moved to the grid losing its “feel”.
location:
The Strength value specifies the amount that note
Grid points
events move toward grid locations when
Midpoints Notes
quantized. A Strength value of 100% (the default)
moves them all the way to the nearest grid
locations. A value of 0% leaves them where they
are. A value of 50% moves them halfway to the grid
locations.
summarize:
Consider this example: there is a note event
■ Positive sensitivities clean up the down beats occurring at 10|3|450. The grid duration is a
without affecting ‘swung’ or freely played notes in quarter note (at 480 ticks per quarter note), the
between. Strength option is selected and a value of 40% is
entered. When Quantize is okayed, the note will
■ Negative sensitivities catch major inaccuracies
move to 10|3|462. If no strength option were
while retaining the music’s ‘feel’.
selected, it would have moved to 10|4|000, a
To use the Sensitivity option: distance of 30 ticks. A Strength value of 40%
moved it that percentage of the distance (40% of 30
1 Check the check box next to the Sensitivity ticks = 12 ticks) to 10|3|462.
option.
To use the Strength option:
2 Enter a number between -100 and 100 for the
Sensitivity value. 1 Click in the check box next to the Strength
option.
Strength
Another way to preserve some of the rhythmic 2 Enter a number between 0 and 100 for the
character of your music while making it more Strength value.
rhythmically accurate is to use the Strength option.
Without any options chosen, Quantize will move
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R E G I O N M E NU
Randomize Hints for quantizing
Unlike all of the other Quantize options, which try If you’re trying to simply line up all notes with the
to make notes more rhythmically precise, the beat and its subdivisions, selecting Attacks and
Randomize option does just the opposite: it Don’t change duration will most likely yield the
modifies the quantization randomly to make the results you want. If you select both Attacks and
notes as rhythmically imprecise as you like. 100% Releases, all notes will begin and end at grid
randomization causes note attacks (and/or locations. This may make them too precise,
releases) to be placed entirely randomly. A value of sounding chopped, inhuman, or just wrong.
less that 100% reduces the range over which the
notes will be randomized, and the grid point sits in If you are trying to get the notes of a chord to line
the middle of the range. For example, if you choose up to make the attack precise, consider using the
a 16th note grid (a grid point every 120 ticks), and DeFlam command on the Region menu instead of
a randomize value of 50%, the range is 60 ticks, Quantize. It will line up the attacks but will not
extending 30 ticks before and after each grid point. move the notes to a grid location.
Thus, a note attack (and/or release) would be
If you want to quantize a region containing a
randomly placed within 30 ticks of its nearest grid
mixture of sixteenth, eighth, and quarter notes
point.
which contains just two or three thirty-second
Grid points
notes, set the grid value to sixteenths for
quantizing. You can subsequently change the
thirty-seconds back individually. Otherwise, if you
choose too small a duration value, many notes may
move to undesirable locations. Choose a grid value
that reflects the general rhythmic profile of the
region in its most active, complex areas.
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ticks. Since 960 ticks constitute one half note (at ■ Build a groove database from which you can
480 ppq), 980 ticks is 20 ticks after the third beat. instantly call up any groove you have created
Now choose the Sensitivity option and enter a
value of 20%. This limits quantization to those Groove Quantizing audio
notes near the third beat already (if you didn’t use Groove quantizing has the ability to affect the
the Sensitivity option, all notes would end up timing of beats within soundbites for any audio
quantized to the third beat). You may have to that has been beat-analyzed with Digital
experiment with the percentage. Use a larger Performer’s Beat Detection Engine. For details, see
percentage if some notes don’t get quantized that “Applying a groove to beats within soundbites” on
should; use a smaller percentage if some notes get page 633 and “Extracting a groove from audio” on
quantized that shouldn’t. page 633.
The Offset option was not designed for the mass What is a groove?
shifting of notes in a region. If you want to move a In musical terms, a groove is a unique rhythmic
section of your sequence forward or backward in feel. Many artists are famous for a certain feel—or
time, use the Shift command on the Edit menu. groove—in their music that makes their sound
unique.
GROOVE QUANTIZE
Digital Performer’s Groove Quantize feature is easy Digital Performer’s Groove Quantize feature gives
to use and — from a creative standpoint — one of you complete reign over this important aspect of
Digital Performer’s most enjoyable features. your music.
This section tells you how you can do the following: The effect of adding a groove to an otherwise
mundane track can be stunning: the music
■ Use the Groove Quantize command to control instantly feels like it has a third dimension, and the
the rhythmic depth and “feel” of your music sensation can be similar to that moment when you
put on 3-D glasses in an old 3-D movie.
■ Dynamically adjust the feel of grooves with
Sometimes, the effect is subtle. Often, however,
faders while applying them
you’ll find that a groove completely transforms
■ Use Groove Quantize to apply the rhythmic feel music, making it sound totally different from its
of audio or MIDI tracks to other audio or MIDI original form.
tracks
The elements of a groove
■ Create your own grooves, of any length, from To master grooves, it is important to recognize the
any music you have recorded into Digital musical elements of a groove. A groove is generated
Performer or loaded from a standard MIDI file by variations in the timing, accent, and duration of
■ Extract grooves from audio files that have been
the notes being played. This is true for either MIDI
beat-analyzed with Digital Performer’s Beat data or audio data. In Digital Performer, a groove
Detection Engine and then apply it to other audio consists of a combination of the following
or MIDI tracks elements:
■ Extract a groove from MIDI data and apply it to ■ A quantize grid that affects the timing of notes
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■ A note duration map
■ A meter
■ A length (in measures)
■ An overall beat subdivision
For example, a swing groove is usually based on a
swung 8th note beat subdivision. If it’s a hard
swing, the eighth-note offbeats may be played quite
late. The durations of the notes in such a groove
tend to be longer, and the velocities emphasize the
offbeats. The length of the groove is usually two
measures, and it is often in 4/4 time. Figure 45-18: Groove Quantize.
When you apply a groove to some MIDI data in a 5 Open one of the Groove files (or folders) in the
track, the selected notes are modified according to list by either double-clicking its name or by
these groove parameters. clicking its name once and clicking the open
button.
Applying a groove
To apply an existing groove: You now see a list of grooves stored in that groove
file.
1 Use Digital Performer’s Memory Cycle feature
to cycle playback over the region you wish to apply 6 Select the desired groove by clicking its name.
the groove to.
If the Instant Preview button is checked and Digital
2 Start playback. Performer is playing back the region you selected,
you’ll hear the effect of the groove right away. You
3 Select the data you wish to apply the groove to. can audition as many grooves as you want without
permanently applying one.
Make sure that what you select is within the region
Digital Performer is currently looping. If you don’t, ☛ Instant preview does not affect beats within
you won’t be able to audition the groove before soundbites when Groove Quantizing audio.
applying it. Use any method of selection that you
7 If you’d like to adjust the feel of the groove, click
prefer. You can select individual notes or an entire
the More Choices button.
region of data. The groove will be applied at the
measure boundaries of the region you select.
This option is discussed further later on in this
chapter.
4 Choose Groove Quantize from the Region
menu, or press command-G.
8 To apply the groove, click Apply.
The Groove Quantize window appears.
Instant preview
When the Instant Preview button in the Groove
Quantize window is checked, you can preview
grooves being applied to MIDI data without having
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REGI O N M EN U
to click Apply to apply them. This lets you quickly Renaming grooves
scan through a list of grooves, auditioning each one To rename a groove:
until you find one you like. To apply it, click Apply.
When Instant Preview is unchecked, you won’t 1 Select any data or time range.
hear the groove until after you click Apply.
It doesn’t matter what you select.
☛ Instant preview does not affect beats within
2 Choose Groove Quantize from the Region
soundbites when Groove Quantizing audio.
menu.
The Recent Files menu
3 Locate the groove.
The Recent Files menu is provided for your
convenience. It lets you go directly into recently
4 Option/Alt-click its name, type the new name,
opened groove files.
then press Return.
The More Choices button
5 To exit the Groove Quantize window, click its
The More Choices button causes several sliders to
close box.
appear in the window. A unique and powerful
feature, these sliders let you adjust the degree to Deleting, moving, and duplicating grooves
which the groove is applied—in essence, they let Grooves can be cut, copied, and pasted in the
you “turn up” or “turn down” the groove. For more Groove Quantize window. This allows you to delete
information, see “Adjusting groove parameters them, move them from one file to another, and
when applying a groove” on page 559. duplicate them.
Operation How to do it
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Where grooves are stored To adjust groove parameters while applying a
Grooves are stored in Digital Performer groove groove:
files. You can store as many grooves as you want in
a groove file. You can create as many groove files as 1 Use Digital Performer’s Memory Cycle feature
you want. The only requirement is that groove files to cycle playback over the region you wish to apply
must be placed in a folder called “Grooves”, and the groove to.
this folder must be placed here:
2 Start playback.
Platform Path
Mac OS X /Library/Application Support/MOTU/ 3 Select the data you wish to apply the groove to.
Digital Performer/Grooves
Windows C:\ProgramData\MOTU\
Make sure that what you select is within the region
Digital Performer\Grooves\ Digital Performer is currently looping. If you don’t,
you won’t be able to audition the groove before
This is all taken care of for you when you first applying it. Use any method of selection that you
install Digital Performer, so, unless you have prefer. You can select individual notes or an entire
moved the folder, you don’t need to worry about it. region of data. The groove will be applied at the
measure boundaries of the region you select.
When you create your own groove files (discussed
later), we recommend that you organize them by 4 Choose Groove Quantize from the Region
category as shown above. This will make it easier to menu.
locate grooves.
5 Click the More choices button.
Notice that you can further organize your groove
files by placing them in folders (as long as they Several sliders appear in the Groove Quantize
remain inside the Grooves folder). You can even window, along with several other options.
place Mac alias files or Windows shortcuts in the
Grooves folder and place the actual groove files
somewhere else on your hard disk.
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7 Make sure the Instant Preview check box is effect. We urge you to experiment with them
checked so you get instant feedback while because they produce interesting effects. The
adjusting the groove. sliders perform as follows:
8 Adjust the groove as desired with the sliders. Groove slider setting Result
These sliders are discussed in the following section. Off (0%) Velocities and durations are
unchanged. For timing, a
straight grid quantize is applied.
☛ Instant preview does not affect beats within
soundbites when Groove Quantizing audio. Full (100%) Applies the exact feeling of the
groove.
9 If desired, try different beat divisions by Double (200%) Groove feeling is exaggerated by
choosing them from the beat division menu. a factor of 2.
Changing the beat division often has a dramatic You can clearly hear the effect of one slider by
effect on the feel of the groove. This is discussed setting the other two sliders to their off position
further in a following section. and then trying different strengths on the
remaining slider.
10 When you like the groove, click Apply.
One effective approach with these sliders is to set
Fewer Choices button
them all to off (0%) and then increase each one in
The Fewer Choices button in the Groove Quantize
small increments. Use the up and down arrow
window removes the groove parameter sliders
buttons to make small adjustments. This lets you
from the Groove Quantize window to simplify its
gradually apply the groove to a point that sounds
appearance. Click this button if you do not wish to
best.
adjust the groove with the sliders.
Saving groove settings with a groove
Using the groove adjustment sliders
The option called Save slider and beat division
The three groove adjustment sliders give you
settings with groove does what is says. The result is
complete control over the feel of a groove. They let
that when you first select the groove in the list, the
you dynamically control the degree to which the
sliders will jump as necessary to reflect the
timing, note-on velocities, and durations are
currently saved slider settings for that groove.
affected. All three sliders apply to both MIDI data
and beats within soundbites.
When this option is selected, slider settings are
saved immediately when you move the slider. If you
☛ When you move a slider, the change occurs
want to try changing the setting without losing the
when you let go of the slider (as long as the Instant
saved settings, use the option called Audition
Preview check box is checked). No changes occur
groove with current slider settings (but don’t save),
while you move the slider.
which is discussed below.
In essence, these sliders let you control the extent to
which you are applying the original feel of the Auditioning groove settings
groove. You can either “turn up” or “turn down” its The option called Audition groove with current
settings (but don’t save) lets you adjust the sliders
without affecting the settings that are currently
saved with the slider. The same goes for the Beat
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Division menu. In addition, this option lets you The beat division menu is governed by the radio
quickly audition a number of different grooves button options at the top of the window. (See
with the same settings (because the settings won’t “Saving groove settings with a groove” on
change when you select a new groove). For page 560.) One option saves the beat division
example, if you like the degree of groove you’ve set setting with the groove. The other lets you audition
with the sliders, but you aren’t quite satisfied with different grooves with a certain beat division. For
the type of groove yet, you can try several other example, if you have a bunch of grooves that were
grooves with the same slider settings. created in 16th note divisions, but the particular
section you are applying the groove to right now is
If you’ve auditioned sliders settings and wish to in triplets, you can set the beat division menu to
now save them, click the Save slider settings with triplets, and leave it there as you audition groove
groove button. after groove.
Using different beat divisions The beat subdivision has a dramatic impact on the
The beat division menu lets you choose an groove. Try experimenting with different choices.
underlying quantize grid for the groove. Divisions
range from eighth notes to 32nd notes in both Grooves usually sound closest to their original feel
straight and triplet time; several combination grids with the beat division at which they were created.
are also provided. See “Choosing a beat division”
on page 562 for more information. CREATE (EXTRACT) GROOVE
The Create Groove command lets you create your
This menu allows you to try different beat divisions own Grooves from MIDI note data in any track, or
without losing the original beat division in the beats within soundbites that have been beat-
groove. For example, you can try applying an 8th- analyzed by Digital Performer’s Beat Detection
note division to a groove with a 16th triplet beat Engine. The source material can come from any
division. The original beat division is displayed as Digital Performer file, any standard MIDI file or
shown below: any beat-analyzed audio file or loop. Grooves can
be any length.
Creating a groove
To create a groove:
Notice that a groove can have more than one
original beat division, and each original beat 1 Select the MIDI or audio data you wish to use as
division can have its own unique settings. This can source material for the groove.
be accomplished by editing the groove. See
“Adding an additional default beat division to a
groove” on page 564 for more information.
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You may select them in the Track List, the Track This setting affects the overall length of the groove,
Overview, or any of Digital Performer’s editing and it also affects how many beats are in each
windows. The groove will start at the beginning of measure. Try to choose a meter that most closely
the first measure of your selection, and its length resembles the beat structure of the groove you are
will be a whole number of measures. creating.
☛ When you choose MIDI data for a groove, the 6 Choose a default beat division for the groove
data must be aligned with Digital Performer’s from the menu.
metronome (main counter). For example, you can’t
use a rubato passage, unless you first use the See “Choosing a beat division” below regarding
Record Beats feature to align Digital Performer’s this option.
measure and beat boundaries with the music. For
7 Click OK to save the groove.
audio data, however, the groove can be extracted
from any audio file that has been beat- and tempo-
The new groove gets added at the bottom of the
analyzed, even if it does not currently match
groove list.
Digital Performer’s main time ruler.
Choosing a beat division
2 Choose Create Groove from the Region menu.
The choice you make for a beat division when
The Create Groove window appears. creating a groove is an important one, for it
governs the underlying resolution of the
quantization that occurs when you apply the
groove. The choices range from eighth notes to
32nd notes in both straight and triplet time; several
combination grids are also provided.
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Information about the currently selected beat division.
Groove Click on the timing, velocity, or duration values to edit
information them. Clicking on the word “early” or “late” toggles it.
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Adding an additional default beat division to a Performer’s Create Groove feature, consider
groove handling it in the same fashion as you would for
A groove can have several default beat divisions (as samples.
shown in the menu on page 561). This lets you
produce several permanent variations of the Cubase grooves
groove within the groove itself. To do so, select a Digital Performer can read Cubase groove files if
non-default beat division from the beat division they are placed in Digital Performer’s Grooves
menu in the Groove Quantize window right before folder. They appear in the Groove Quantize list
you click the Edit button. Doing so lets you modify with a different icon along with all of your Digital
the groove based on the newly selected beat Performer groove files. They can be used in the
division. The modifications you make to the same fashion as Digital Performer grooves.
groove in the editor will be unique to that beat
division; you won’t affect the groove with its Cubase grooves can be viewed in Digital
original beat division setting. When you click OK, Performer’s Groove Editor, but they cannot be
the beat division you chose will become outlined, edited directly. To edit them, first move them into a
and you’ll be able to freely change between the two Digital Performer groove file using the Copy and
groove variations simply by selecting the outlined Paste commands in the Edit menu (see “Deleting,
beat divisions in the beat division menu. moving, and duplicating grooves” on page 558).
Commercially available MIDI groove libraries are Smart Quantize is great for quantizing large
similar to sample libraries; they have been sections of music when you don’t want to have to
painstakingly produced in the recording studio. decide what the quantize grid value should be. For
example, if a sixteenth note grid wouldn’t be
MIDI grooves are similar to digital sampling in the appropriate for the music, nor would any other
sense that they present us with similar copyright particular quantize value, try Smart Quantize. It
issues. If you cop someone’s groove using Digital uses a floating grid depending on the music, and it
even recognizes tuplets.
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Smart Quantize also greatly enhances the In addition, you can create a unique blend of these
transcription of the music when it is transferred to humanize elements and save it as a humanize style,
programs which do not have sophisticated which you can recall and use at any time. You can
transcription algorithms like those employed in use the Humanize command to create arpeggiation
Digital Performer’s QuickScribe Editor, which effects, hi-hat (or other percussion instrument)
doesn’t require Smart Quantize. Using a specially- grooves, and other dramatic musical effects.
designed, floating quantize grid, Smart Quantize
quantizes both attacks and releases to ensure that
notes are notated on the correct beat with the
proper duration. Triplets and tuplets will be
properly quantized, along with notes in straight
time.
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randomize it, uncheck it. For example, if you want ■ A range of pitches
to randomize velocities, but not note placement,
■ Certain pitches within a range
uncheck note placement.
In addition, you can assign weight to each pitch
Humanize sub-options within a range so that it is used more or less often
Each element has sub-options which affect how it during the randomization process. For example, if
randomizes. These sub-options are discussed you are creating a humanize style that generates a
briefly below. All of the elements have an Emphasis hi-hat part, you can assign more weight to the
sub-option, which is discussed in a separate closed hi-hat pitch and less weight to the open
section. The last section explains how to save and hi-hat pitch so that the result is mostly closed hit
recall Humanize styles. with an occasional open one.
Onset (note placement) The Set Random Pitch Map button lets you
The Onset sub-option randomizes the attack times determine what pitches notes can be randomized
of notes within a range (in ticks) of the note’s to:
current location. You can specify the range as a
number of ticks, or as a percentage of the note’s Select what If desired, choose a scale in Choose what pitches notes can be
duration, in which case longer notes have a larger pitches can which to randomize here. randomized to and assign them
be used here. Customize the scale by weight here in the random pitch map.
range and shorter notes have a smaller range. creating your own with Weight can have a value between 0
the Edit Scales button. (not used at all) and 99 (used a lot).
Durations
The Durations sub-option randomizes durations
within a range of the current duration, which you
specify in the box provided. This range can be
specified as an absolute number of ticks, or by a
percentage of the current duration.
Velocities
The Velocities sub-option lets you choose between
on (attack) or off (release) velocities. In addition, it
lets you randomize the velocity within a range of its
current value, or within an absolute range.
Randomizing within a range of its current value
lets you preserve the overall contour of the
velocities, while still mixing them up a little bit.
If you like the random pitch map you Recall saved random pitch
Randomizing within an absolute range lets you created, and you’ll want to use it again, maps by selecting them from
name it and save it here. this menu.
limit them to a certain range of values.
Figure 45-24: Creating a random pitch map for Humanize.
Pitches The Edit Scales button
The pitches sub-option allows you to randomize The Edit Scales button opens the Create Scale
the pitch of each note within the region. You can dialog box. For information about this dialog, see
randomize to: “Creating a custom scale” on page 549.
■ Any pitch
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Saving, recalling, and deleting a random pitch tempo is 100 bpm, and you enter 10 percent, the
map tempo will be randomized within a range between
To Save a Random Pitch Map: 90 to 110 bpm (±10 bpm).
1 Set up the pitch map as desired. Within ± _____ bpm
This option randomizes the tempo of each selected
2 Type in a name for the Random Pitch Map.
tempo event within a range of beats per minute.
3 Click Save.
Emphasis
Each Humanize element has an emphasis sub-
To recall a random pitch map, select its name from
option, which can be any value between -9 and +9.
the menu.
The emphasis value causes the tendency of the
To delete a random pitch map: randomization to be higher or lower within the
specified range. Thus, if you wish to randomize
1 Select the pitch map you wish to delete from the within a certain range, but you wish values to tend
menu. to be higher, use a positive emphasis; use a negative
emphasis if you wish them to tend to be towards
2 Click Delete. the lower end of the range. A value of zero equals
no emphasis, which causes the randomization to
To rename a pitch map: occur evenly within the range.
1 Select it from the menu. Saving, recalling, deleting, and renaming a
humanize style
2 Type in the new name. To Save a Humanize style:
3 Click Save. 1 Set up the Humanize style as desired.
4 Delete the original one. 2 Choose Save Settings from the Humanize
window mini-menu.
Tempos
The Tempos sub-option randomizes existing
3 Type in the desired name and click Save.
tempos within the selected region. Note that it does
not generate new tempo events. (To do so, use To recall a Humanize style, select its name from the
Project menu>Conductor Track>Change Tempo.) list at the bottom of the mini-menu.
This option only affects tempo events that already
exist in the Conductor track. If the region you To delete, rename or reorder Humanize styles,
select has no tempo events in it, this option will choose Edit Settings from the Humanize window
have no effect. Use the Change Tempo command to mini-menu.
generate tempo events.
DEFLAM
By ___% of current value The DeFlam command looks for groups of MIDI
This option randomizes the tempo of each selected notes that are very close together. When such a
tempo event within a range that is expressed as a group is found, the average attack time of the group
percentage of the tempo value. For example, if the
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of notes is computed. All notes in the group are resulting attack time of each chord is the average of
moved such that their attack times are aligned the attack times of the four original notes. The
exactly to the average time. durations of the notes are left unchanged.
Using DeFlam
If DeFlam leaves some notes out, try using a larger
tick value; if it includes too many notes, try
decreasing the tick value. (Remember, you can
Figure 45-25: DeFlam. Undo and Redo the DeFlam command.) The
The group of notes that is deflammed is correct tick value depends greatly on the particular
determined by the tick value you specify. This passage you are working with. It may take several
creates a “window” of effectiveness. Groups of attempts to determine the correct value.
notes within that window will be deflammed.
CHANGE VELOCITY
DeFlam basics Change Velocity is a powerful command that lets
When chords are played in real time, the attacks of you modify the velocities of all MIDI notes in a
individual notes are often splayed as in the example region on a scale from 0-127. You can remove
below, which shows two four-note chords: irregularities, make passages louder or softer and
create crescendos, diminuendos and other similar
effects. Note that not all MIDI instruments
respond to velocity data, and those that do may
need to be set up to respond correctly to this
information. Consult your owner’s manuals for
details.
DeFlam is useful for consolidating the attacks of
the notes in such chords. The following is the result The Change Velocity window provides a menu
of using DeFlam with a tick value of 50 on the with numerous options. These options are
above passage: explained briefly in the following sections.
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The Change Velocity command can be applied to maximum volume level on all notes in the region.
either on or off velocities: choose the type you wish You can use it to change the velocities of notes that
at the top of the window. The default setting “stick out”.
changes the on velocities.
Compress/Expand
Set This option works just like an audio compressor or
This option sets all velocities in the selected region expander: it reduces or expands the velocities
to a single value. Enter a value between 1 and 127. above the threshold you specify by the
A result of this option is that all note events in the compression ratio you specify, and then adds any
region will be played back at a constant volume. gain that you specify with the gain control. The
graph shows a visual display of the current
Add compression settings on a 128 x 128 grid, so you
This option adds the value you enter to all can see exactly how velocities from 0 to 127 will be
velocities in the selected region. The value must be affected.
in the range -127 to 127. Velocities that end up less
than 0 or greater than 127 will be set to zero or 127,
respectively. A result of this option is a uniform
increase or decrease in volume of all notes in the Ratio handle
region, within the zero to 127 range.
Scale
This option scales all velocities by the percentage Threshold/gain
value you enter. Percentage values must be between handle
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Smooth Here are a few examples to clarify this option:
This option has two basic sub-options: ___% to
___% of current value and ___ to ___. Each gives
you a different way to specify the smooth velocity
changes. The first changes by percentages, creating
a smooth velocity change for notes in the selected
region while preserving some of the original
velocity characteristics (most notably the accents);
the second creates a smooth change with no
fluctuations. You can specify a curvature for the
Figure 45-27: Change smoothly from 1 to 90, curvature 0. This results
change, which determines its contour. in a linear increase. One effect of this is a gradual, even crescendo.
Curvature: This sub-option controls the contour of Figure 45-29: Change smoothly from 96 to 5, curvature 45. This
the smooth change. With a curvature of zero, the results in a downward curve which is more pronounced at its end, e.g.
a diminuendo that speeds up toward its end.
change is linear from the first to the second entered
value. As you increase the value positively (with
values from 1 to 99), more of the change will take
place towards the end of the region. As you increase
the value negatively (with values from -1 to -99),
more of the change will take place towards the
beginning of the region.
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emphasis if you wish them to tend to be towards
the lower end of the range. A value of zero equals
no emphasis, which causes the randomization to
occur evenly within the range.
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volume, for instance. By sending this controller Changing the duration of soundbites
data through Digital Performer, you can control The Change Duration command does not affect
volume changes. soundbites. To change the duration of a soundbite,
trim it as explained in “Trimming (edge editing)
There is no single solution for making volume soundbites” on page 352. To stretch it, see “Graphic
changes effectively with every patch on every time stretching of audio” on page 354 or “Scale
instrument. You must find the best way for each Time” on page 585.
given situation and use the appropriate command
(Change Velocity or Insert Continuous Data) to Change Duration basics
create the kind of volume changes you want. Duration is the length of a note, i.e. the time
between its attack and release. Durations are
CHANGE DURATION specified in quarter notes and ticks (e.g. a half note
The Change Duration command modifies the would be 2|000 or two quarter notes). A note must
duration of all MIDI notes in the selected region have a duration of at least one tick (0|001).
without changing the placement of attack times.
This means that the amount of time a note is “on” A note’s duration may be misleading in some cases:
or sounding can be changed without affecting its what you see might not be what you hear. The
actual rhythmic placement in relation to other actual duration of a note event is dependent upon
notes and events. The Change Duration command the MIDI instrument and patch used. The attack
is useful for changing the articulation or space and release sent by Digital Performer are
between notes. You can make note events sound equivalent to manually pressing and releasing a key
connected or separate in relation to each other, for on the instrument. Also, some instruments have a
example. sustain pedal that can be used to hold notes,
extending the effective duration of notes far
beyond the time when the release has been sent to
the instrument.
Set
All durations in the selected region will be changed
to the entered value. The value entered must be
between 0|001 and 9999|999.
Add
The value entered will be added to all durations in
the selected region. The value entered must be
between 0|001 and 9999|999.
Subtract
The value entered will be subtracted from all
durations in the selected region. The value range is
0|001 and 9999|999. Notes which would have a
duration of less than one tick after the subtraction
are given a duration of one tick.
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Scale
The durations of notes in the selected region are
scaled by the entered percentage value. The relative Before
lengths of the notes are preserved and their overall
length is modified. The percentage value entered
must be between 1 and 999. To halve durations,
After
enter a percentage value of 50%; to double
durations, use 200%. Using this option may yield
more of the results you want than using the Add __ Figure 45-32: Move releases to closest attack.
to all option; durations are scaled proportionally
Extend releases (to the closest attack)
instead of uniformly lengthened. Try both to see
The duration of each note in the selected region is
which you like best.
extended until it ends at the same time as the next
Limit note begins. This is very similar to the Move
Any notes in the selected region which have a releases to the closest attack option but the
duration greater or less than the values entered will durations of all notes are guaranteed to increase
be assigned to the longest and shortest value you since the release is always moved forward in time.
specify, respectively. The value entered must be Any notes which end after the last note in the
between 0|001 and 9999|999. selected region begins are left unmodified.
Move releases (to closest attack) This option creates a legato effect, where the notes
The release of each note in the selected region is follow each other smoothly and without a gap.
modified to occur just before the attack of the
nearest note following it in time. The duration of
the note may increase or diminish depending on Before
when the next note occurs. If the next note occurs
before the release of the current one, the release of
the current note will be moved back in time,
making the duration shorter. If the next note After
occurs after the release of the current one, the
release of the current one will be moved forward in
Figure 45-33: Extend releases to closest attack.
time, making the duration longer. If the note
release is after the end of the selected region, the Extend Releases sub-options
note is left unmodified. This option creates a legato Use these sub-options to extend releases and still
effect, where the notes follow each other smoothly preserve rests in a region. If both sub-options are
and without a gap. checked, each note in the region is analyzed and
the option that results in the smallest duration
increase is used. Try using these options after
quantizing attacks and releases to improve the
notational display of the notes. Doing so adjusts
the durations of notes that were not played in a
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legato style. For best results, experiment with Using Change Duration to control articulation
different values. A good setting to start with is The Change Duration command is very good for
100%. adjusting the articulation of note events.
Rendering a passage legato or staccato is simple: for
Randomize a legato effect (each note releasing just before the
The randomize option allows you to randomize next one is attacked):
durations within a range of the current duration,
which you specify in the box provided. This range 1 Select the region.
can be specified as an absolute number of ticks, or
by a percentage of the current duration. The 2 Choose Change Duration from the Region
emphasis sub-option causes the tendency of the menu.
randomization to be higher or lower within the
3 Choose the Set option.
specified range. Thus, if you wish to randomize the
durations within a certain range, but you wish
4 Enter a value of 1 tick (0|001) and press Apply.
them to tend to be longer, use a positive emphasis;
use a negative emphasis if you wish them to tend to This insures that durations are uniform for the next
be shorter. A value of zero equals no emphasis, step.
which causes the randomization to occur evenly
within the range. 5 Choose Change Duration from the Region
menu.
Note that the randomize option is a check box,
which means that it can be selected together with 6 Choose the Extend releases option and press the
one of the radio button options above. This allows Apply button.
you to randomize at the same time as executing
one of the other Change Duration options. This is useful for removing any rests or gaps
between notes.
Hints
Some drum machines cannot receive dense bursts For a staccato effect (each note releasing well before
of MIDI data; they will often miss data altogether, the next, giving the passage a rhythmically sharp,
causing drop-outs and other perplexing problems. incisive character):
Since the durations of drum machine events tend
to be very short, the note releases tend to follow the 1 Select the region.
attacks very quickly resulting in a very high data
2 Choose Change Duration from the Region
density. A problem also arises with Step Record:
menu.
the release for each note is sent immediately before
the attack of the next note. One way to improve the 3 Choose the Scale option.
situation is to delay the note releases (most drum
machines ignore these anyway since their note 4 Enter a value of 50% and press the Apply button.
events have such short decays) by making the note
durations longer. Use the Change Duration If you enter a part in Step Record, all durations will
command to set the durations of these note events be as long as specified, rendering a legato effect.
to a value somewhere around 10 to 20 ticks. You can use the Change Duration command to add
the articulation you want to these parts.
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SPLIT NOTES Split Notes basics
The Split Notes command lets you selectively cut or Split Notes is a highly specialized version of the Cut
copy notes in the selected region. The selection is and Copy commands on the Edit menu. Only notes
based upon pitch, velocity and/or duration. This in the selected region and with specific properties
means that only notes with specific pitches, ranges, are affected, other events are not affected. Each
durations and velocities from the selected region note is tested to see if it meets the requirements you
are cut or copied. For example, all notes between specify, including velocity, pitch, and duration.
A3 and C#3 with velocities greater than 100 and They are then placed in a destination you select,
with durations above a half note can be extracted such as the Clipboard or a new track. If cut, they
from a region. Here are some additional things you are removed from the selected region.
can do with Split Notes:
☛ The Split Notes window remembers the
■ Use an on-screen graphic keyboard to specify settings you last chose.
the pitches of notes you wish to split. This
keyboard allows you to pick a non-contiguous Cut or Copy
range of pitches for splitting. If you choose the Cut option, the Split Notes
command will place the selected notes on the
■ Automatically Paste or Merge the split notes to a Clipboard and remove them from the selected
pre-existing track. region. If you choose the Copy option, the Split
■ Automatically create a new track and Paste the
Notes command will place the selected notes on
split notes to it. the Clipboard without removing them from the
selected region.
■ Automatically create a set of new tracks and
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Paste or Merge scroll bar and scroll arrows to select pitches that are
These options let you choose whether you would above or below those pitches which are currently
like the split notes to be pasted at their destination, displayed. You can also play keys on your MIDI
which replaces what is already there, or merged keyboard (or other controller) to select and
together with what is already there. deselect specific pitches.
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one hand’s pitch range and use Split Notes on each Apply the MIDI effects plug-ins in the same
section. You can then add a new track and paste the fashion as other Region menu commands.
notes you’ve cut into it.
For details regarding the options in the Transpose
MIDI EFFECTS PLUG-INS plug-in window, see “Transpose” on page 542.
The MIDI Effects Plug-ins hierarchical menu
supplies “special effects” processing to your MIDI For details regarding the options in the Echo and
tracks. These are plug-ins that can be applied to Arpeggiate effects, see “Echo and Arpeggiator” on
your MIDI tracks in the same fashion as Digital page 854.
Performer’s standard Region menu operations.
For details regarding the options in the Remove
Duplicates effect, see “Remove Duplicates” on
page 860.
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you move a pitch wheel, a different pitch bend pitch bend device to its extreme high position
value might be sent every 20 ticks, resulting in 120 could cause a pitch to be raised by an octave, a fifth
continuous data events per quarter note. or any other interval. All other pitch bend values
are scaled according to the interval the maximum
MIDI continuous data is not really continuous at value produces.
all: it is approximated by large numbers of events,
each of which contain a small value change. When Mono key pressure: Also known as aftertouch or
played back, they create a change that seems channel pressure, this is a special kind of controller,
smooth and continuous. The closer together in which sends out values between zero and 127. If
time successive values are, the smoother the you continue to press down a key after you play a
change will be. If the values are too close together, note, mono key pressure information is sent. The
delays can occur due to the baud rate (data transfer harder you press, the higher the value. Mono key
speed) limit of MIDI transmission. pressure is useful for things like changing the tone
quality of a sound or controlling the amount and
There are 16,384 different pitch bend values and depth of vibrato.
128 different controller and aftertouch values.
Some MIDI instruments do not respond to every Poly key pressure: This is similar to mono key
different pitch bend value: several successive values pressure except that each key can generate its own
may produce the same effect. The response to pressure information, instead of one pressure level
different controller values may also be hard to hear. for the whole instrument based on the key most
These facts may influence your decision about how recently pressed. Poly key pressure therefore allows
many continuous data events to store. Digital for much more subtle and complicated aftertouch
Performer gives you the option to decrease or effects. Since each key can have its own set of key
increase the number of continuous data events in a pressure data, you must specify the note name by
region. entering a pitch value when using the Poly key
pressure option in the continuous data commands.
Types of MIDI continuous data You can enter the pitch directly from your MIDI
The continuous data commands require you to keyboard. If you don’t specify a pitch, all keys will
specify the type of continuous data to be modified. be affected by the command.
The following is a description of the different types
of MIDI continuous data and how they are Controller: Foot pedals, wheels, sliders and breath
produced. controllers are common types of controller
devices. Controllers are general purpose messages
Pitch Bend: On most MIDI instruments, this is used to control such effects as vibrato and tremolo.
controlled by a wheel, joystick or ribbon controller. They are identified by number; the number
When moved, it “bends” or varies the pitch either assigned to a specific controller depends on the
up or down depending on the direction of MIDI instrument you are using. Continuous
movement. Pitch bend data indicates the controllers (such as wheels and sliders) are
movement of the pitch bend device; it does not generally numbered in the range zero to 63. Switch
necessarily correspond to a musical interval. When controllers (on-off types like a sustain pedal) use
played back, this data controls the sound module’s higher numbers. Instruments will often respond to
pitch bend device. Most instruments allow you to more controllers than they have physical controls
specify the interval by which a maximum pitch for.
bend value will alter a pitch. Thus, moving the
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When using the continuous data commands on Since the continuous data is regenerated, it is
controller messages, you must specify the number possible that this command will thicken the data
of the controller whose data you wish to modify. instead of thinning it. You may find this aspect of
This can be done by clicking in the box next to the the command useful if you have thinned out the
controllers option and moving the correct data too much.
controller on your MIDI input keyboard.
The appropriate minimum time change depends
THIN CONTINUOUS DATA on the tempo of the sequence and the controller
MIDI instruments tend to send continuous data as device involved. Generally, a value of 10 to 20 will
fast as they possibly can. If you record several work well. The minimum value change should be 1
tracks of this and play them all back at once, Digital for controllers and 4 to 8 for pitch bend. Experi-
Performer, your instruments, or MIDI itself may mentation is essential to find the best values in each
bog down. The Thin Continuous Data command instance.
selectively removes continuous data events,
“thinning out” the amount of continuous data INSERT CONTINUOUS DATA
while retaining all of its essential characteristics. The Insert Continuous Data command creates a
This allows you to transmit a reasonable amount of stream of continuous data events that change
continuous data that can be handled easily by all smoothly over time. You can use it to create pitch
components of your MIDI system. bends, crescendos and diminuendos, filter sweeps
and many other effects.
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won’t be separated by values smaller than the
minimum value change. Though Digital Performer
can create a perfectly smooth set of values, the
actual result may not be perfectly smooth due to
the minimum time and value changes you enter.
Experimentation is the key to good results.
Emphasis
The Emphasis sub-option causes the tendency of
the randomization to be higher or lower within the
Figure 45-38: Insert Continuous Data.
specified range. Thus, if you wish to randomize the
The Randomize option continuous data events within a certain range, but
The Randomize option allows you to generate you wish them to tend to be higher, use a positive
variability in continuous data that you create, as emphasis; use a negative emphasis if you wish them
opposed to a perfectly smooth line or curve. Doing to tend to be towards the lower end of the range. A
so can introduce extra feel and depth to the musical value of zero equals no emphasis, which causes the
effect you are creating with the continuous data. randomization to occur evenly within the range.
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CHANGE CONTINUOUS DATA Change to ___% of current value
With the Change Continuous Data command, you The values of all events in the selected region are
can modify existing continuous data by scaling it scaled by the entered percentage value. Thus,
or limiting it to a specific range. specifying 50% halves the values, and 200%
doubles the values. If a value exceeds the limit of
the its data type, it will be truncated at the limit
value (e.g. if a pitch bend value comes out to
-10,150, it will become -8192, the minimum limit
for pitch bend values).
Create Stairsteps
Digital Performer supports ramp automation with
plug-ins. If, for some reason, a situation calls for
stair stepping, you can convert it into stair steps
using the Create Stairsteps option.
Randomization
For information about the Emphasis option, see
“Emphasis” on page 555.
Figure 45-40: Change Continuous Data
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Basics
Inversion is an operation in which the interval
between a note and the inversion axis pitch is
measured and the note is transposed the same
interval on the opposite side of the axis pitch. Two
examples are shown below: If the note to be
inverted is F4 and the axis pitch is C4, the interval
between them is a perfect fourth. Since F4 is above
C4, it will be transposed down by the same
interval, a perfect fourth, resulting in a G3. If the
note to be inverted is C#3 and the axis pitch is A3,
the resulting pitch would be F4. In the following
picture, the axis pitch in each measure is
represented by a diamond:
INVERT PITCH
The inversion is always exact, transposing the note
the same chromatic interval above or below the
axis pitch.
Hints
You can invert a region of notes around a pair of
axis pitches. Follow the above procedure for
Figure 45-42: Invert Pitch
normal inversion specifying the lower of the two
The Invert Pitch command inverts or flips MIDI pitches in the Invert Pitch window. Then use the
notes around a specified axis. The inversion is Transpose command on the Region menu to
chromatic, that is, exact. For example, if the transpose the region by the interval between the
following E major scale (starting on E3), two axis pitches.
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Select the region containing the passage and use
the Transpose command on the Region menu Original
phrase
transposing from C3 to E flat 3 (a minor third, the
interval between the two axis pitches).
Reverse
Time
This is the final result, inverted correctly around
the pair of axis pitches:
Retrograde
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SCALE TIME Entering a value in one of these fields automatically
The Scale Time command expands or compresses updates the three other fields.
the duration of MIDI and audio events in the
selected region by the length, end time, percentage When entering a ratio, if the first number in the
or ratio (e.g. 2:3) that you specify. This effectively ratio is larger than the second, the region is
changes the distance between MIDI notes and expanded; if the first number is smaller than the
soundbites, making them closer together or farther second, the region is compressed. A ratio of 2:1
apart. Since the actual duration of events changes, doubles the duration of all events in the region
the region will become smaller or larger after this (and doubles the length of the entire region as
command is invoked. If you check the Time-scale well); a ratio of 1:2 halves the duration of all events
audio check box, then the actual waveform data in the region. You can enter integer ratios with up
inside the soundbites is “constructively” time- to two decimal places.
stretched, too. For details about constructive
Events at the Start time of the region will remain in
soundbite time stretching, see “Constructive
place. Since the overall length of the region
editing” on page 864. For more information about
changes, events at the end will be moved. If the end
time-scaling audio, see chapter 79, “Scale Time”
of the region expands, events in it will be merged
(page 889).
with data already there.
The Scale Time command does not affect loops or
any event in the Conductor track. Original selected region:
■ End time
■ Length Figure 45-44: How Scale Time compresses or expands and then
merges data.
■ Percentage
■ Ratio
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Scale time examples
Here are three examples to give you a better idea of
the use of Scale Time:
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Limit to a range from ___ to ___ frame time. Here is an example: suppose that you
This option searches for tempo events above or have created a sequence with many tempo changes,
below the specified range. When it finds one, it and it is around 3 minutes long. But you would like
changes the tempo to fall within the range. For to make it 3 and a half minutes long. This option
example, if the tempo range is from 200 to 300, a lets you select the three minute region and scale all
tempo of 351 would be changed to 300 and a tempo the tempos so that it stretches out evenly to 3 1/2
of 60 would be changed to 200. minutes.
Change to ___% of current value Here’s another example: suppose you are locking a
This option increases or decreases each tempo sequence to picture via SMPTE time code. You
event by a percent of its current value, where the have composed a section of music, and you’ve
current value is 100%. Use a percentage lower than programmed all of the tempo changes. You’ve got
100% to slow down the tempo; use a value above the section starting at the correct frame time, but it
100% to raise it. Use this option when you wish to ends with a hit that is off by several frames. With
maintain the degree of change between tempos the Scale all tempos to fit new end time option, you
within the tempo map when you raise or lower it. can select the region with the hit as the end time of
the region and type in the new end time where the
Change overall tempo from ___ to ___ and hit should occur. This changes the elapsed time
scale accordingly
such that the hit lands at the correct frame.
This option scales the tempo events by a
percentage, just like the option above it. However,
Randomize
it lets you specify the change in beats per minute The randomize option is a check box option that
(bpm) rather than as a percentage. For example, works in conjunction with the radio button option
suppose you have a piece of music with varying selected above.
tempos, but whose approximate tempo is 80 bpm.
You simply wish to change it’s overall tempo from By ___% of current value
around 80 bpm to around 96 bpm. Rather than This option randomizes the tempo of each selected
figuring out what percent to type in the percentage tempo event within a range that is expressed as a
option to achieve this change, you can use this percentage of the tempo value. For example, if the
option to type in the original approximate tempo tempo is 100 bpm, and you enter 10 percent, the
of 80 bpm and the desired increased tempo of 96 tempo will be randomized within a range between
bpm, and let Digital Performer figure out the 90 to 110 bpm (±10 bpm).
percent increase for you. All in all, this option
provides a more musical way of specifying a By ± _____ bpm
percent by which you wish to scale the tempos, This option randomizes the tempo of each selected
even though it accomplishes the same thing as the tempo event within a range of beats per minute.
“scale by percent” option.
Emphasis
Scale all tempos to fit new end time This sub-option causes the tendency of the
This option scales all existing tempo events to randomization to be higher or lower within the
increase or decrease the overall elapsed time of the specified range. Thus, if you wish to randomize the
selected region. The start time of the region is tempos within a certain range, but you wish them
fixed, and the end time can be made earlier or later. to tend to be higher, use a positive emphasis; use a
Times can be expressed in real time or SMPTE negative emphasis if you wish them to tend to be
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towards the lower end of the range. A value of zero This command is also useful when you want to
equals no emphasis, which causes the tweak a real-time effect in ways that are not
randomization to occur evenly within the range. possible with the effect’s controls. For example, you
might have an arpeggiator effect applied to a track,
INSERT LOOP and you might want to tweak individual note
The Insert Loop command lets you select a region velocities of the notes it is generating. The Capture
and loop it. For more details, see “Inserting a loop Real Time MIDI Effects command writes all of the
using the Insert Loop command” on page 251. notes permanently to the track so that you can edit
them in the usual fashion.
CLEAR LOOPS
The Clear Loops command clears any loops in the
selected region.
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and paste the two measures of data ten times in a essentially a “ripple edit” where the start time of
row. The result sounds the same as if the loop was soundbites later in the track is effected by changes
still there; the only difference is that the actual data to soundbites that precede them.
is repeated for each iteration stipulated by the
original loop. This command has no effect on the very first
soundbite in the track. This lets you Select All and
☛ When you use this option, data that used to be set a gap of two seconds without a gap appearing at
overridden by the loop (data that appeared in the beginning.
italics in the Event List) will be removed and
replaced by the expanded loop data. Soundbites that overlap other soundbites — or that
have a crossfade with another soundbite — are not
If you are capturing real time MIDI effects on a treated as individual soundbites, and so no gap will
track that contains loops, it is usually a good idea to be inserted between them.
check this option because if you don’t, the loop will
probably “override” at least some of the captured This is particularly useful when preparing a
data. In other words, the captured data will appear sequence to be burned to CD. See “Setting the gap
in italics and not play because it is being between CD tracks” on page 905.
overridden by the loop and its data.
INSERT MUTE AUTOMATION
TAKE AUTOMATION SNAPSHOT The Insert Mute Automation command lets you
An automation snapshot is the process of inserting insert mute automation data over a selected time
mix automation data for multiple mix parameters range in any MIDI or audio track. For details, see
in one step at a particular location — or over a “Insert and clear Mute Automation” on page 806.
specified time range. For complete details about
how to use this Region menu command, see CLEAR MUTE AUTOMATION
“Snapshot automation” on page 806 in chapter 68, The Clear Mute Automation command lets you
“Mix Automation” (page 793). remove mute automation data in any MIDI or
audio track. For details, see “Insert and clear Mute
SET GAP BETWEEN SOUNDBITES Automation” on page 806.
The Set Gap Between Soundbites command sets the
gap between each selected soundbite, and the AUDITION SELECTION
previous soundbite, based on the time value The Audition Selection command lets you audition
specified in the dialog: a selection of MIDI and/or audio data. For details,
see “Playing phrases” on page 301.
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CHAPTER 46 Audio Menu
591
DITHER For example, you can use Strip Silence to remove
For an explanation of what dither is, see “Changing the silence between words to separate them.
bit depth with dither” on page 55 in the DP Plug-in
Guide. To use Strip Silence:
Digital Performer’s mixing and processing engine 1 Click the soundbite in the Sequence Editor or
employs 32-bit resolution. When 16-bit or 24-bit Event List to select it.
digital audio first enters Digital Performer, its bit
2 Choose Strip Silence from the Audio menu.
depth (resolution) is raised to 32-bits. From then
on, as the audio is mixed and processed, it remains
A dialog box appears asking for several parameters.
at 32 bits until it leaves Digital Performer. The
See the discussion below for more information.
Dither command, when checked, makes Digital
Performer use dither whenever it must reduce the
bit depth of audio. For example, if you bounce your
mix to disk as a 16-bit, 44.1 kHz AIFF audio file to
later burn a CD, Digital Performer converts your
mix, which internally is being processed in 32 bits,
to 16 bits during the bounce operation. If the
Dither command is checked, dither is employed to
help reduce the inherent quantization distortion Figure 46-2: The Strip Silence dialog.
that occurs when audio bit resolution is reduced.
3 Set the options accordingly and Click OK.
STRIP SILENCE
4 Play back the new soundbites to check for clicks,
Strip Silence breaks up a soundbite into several
pops, or cutoffs.
smaller soundbites by removing all of the portions
that consist of silence. If the parameters you chose do not produce
soundbite regions that are satisfactory, choose
Before: Undo from the Edit menu and try again with
different parameters.
After:
Setting the Strip Silence options
When you remove silence in a soundbite, Digital
Performer needs a precise definition of silence
from you, since there is always some noise in a
recorded audio signal. The three options in the
Strip Silence dialog box define silence. Together,
they act just like a noise gate. They define a volume
threshold, an Attack period, and a Release period.
Figure 46-1: Strip Silence.
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AUDI O M E NU
Threshold Release
The Threshold is a cut off point for the (amplitude) The Release is the period of time in milliseconds in
level of the audio. If audio falls below the threshold, which the audio must remain below the threshold
it will be cut. If it rises above the threshold, it won’t in order to be cut. If the audio stays below the
be cut. threshold for as long as the duration, it will be cut.
If it rises above the threshold before the duration
The Threshold is expressed in percent of has passed, it will not be cut. Try values around 100
amplitude; values range from 1 to 100%. What milliseconds. Set this value higher if the soundbites
value you should use depends on the nature of the sound clipped at the end.
audio and the signal to noise ratio. The rule of
thumb is to try to set it as low as possible without FADE
generating unwanted soundbites (that are merely The Fade command lets you create fades and
“noisy silence”) or extensions at either end of crossfades at the boundaries of soundbites to
soundbites. Using a low setting results in less clicks, eliminate undesirable artifacts. For complete
pops, or clipping at the beginnings and ends of the details, see “Fades and Crossfades” on page 603.
soundbites created. But if you set the threshold too
low, then hardly any audio will be removed, and DELETE FADES
you may still have unwanted low portions of the See “Deleting fades” on page 609.
signal.
FREEZE/UNFREEZE SELECTED TRACKS
For “clean” audio with a high signal to noise ratio, The Freeze Selected Tracks command can be
use a Threshold value below 5%. You may be able to thought of as a “mini”, temporary bounce: it
go as low as 1%, which will reduce a possible creates a new audio track, with the same output as
clipping effect at the beginning or end of each new the original track, that contains a record pass of the
soundbite and still produce individual soundbites entire original track, complete with all real-time
that do not have an excessive amount of near effects rendered to the track. You can then disable
silence at either end. With more noisy audio, you the original track, and its real-time effects plug-ins
may have to select a higher Threshold to avoid or virtual instruments, to conserve computer
creating lots of short, unnecessary soundbites. power. For details, see “Freezing tracks” on
page 137.
Attack
The Attack is the minimum amount of time in MERGE SOUNDBITES
milliseconds that audio must remain above the Use Merge Soundbites to quickly create a single,
Threshold in order not to be cut. If the audio new soundbite out of several adjacent soundbites.
contains percussive attacks, such as drum sounds, To do so, select the adjacent soundbites and choose
you can set this fairly low (less than 10 Merge Soundbites from the Audio menu. This
milliseconds) to obtain a clean attack on the operation creates a new audio file, sort of like a
resulting soundbites. If the audio contains longer, “mini-bounce”. But it does not include any
sloping attacks, or irregular attacks, you might volume, pan or other automation data. It is meant
need to set this higher to avoid a clipped effect at for joining audio regions on a small, local scale.
the beginning of the soundbite.
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A UD I O M EN U
If you use the Merge Soundbites command when that temporarily bypasses both soundbite gain and
there is a time range selection that extends beyond soundbite volume automation. When bypass is
the selected soundbites, the resulting soundbite engaged, the soundbite plays at its original volume.
extends to the beginning and end of the selection. The commands in the Bite Volume and Gain sub-
menu control these settings for individual
SMOOTH AUDIO EDITS soundbites. To use them, select a soundbite (either
Audio edits often produce gaps between in the Sequence Editor or in the Waveform Editor)
soundbites. This is especially true when editing and choose the desired command below:
dialog, or splitting soundbites into small slices
using the New Soundbites from Beats command. Soundbite volume submenu item What it does
Gaps of silence between soundbites can be audible Clear Bite Volume Clears the selected range in
the soundbite volume curve.
and usually sound unnatural. The Smooth Audio
Edits (and Smooth Audio Edits Again) feature fills Clear Bite Gain Sets the selected soundbite’s
these gaps with “room tone” to mask them. For gain to 0.0dB
complete details, see “Smooth Audio Edits” on Set Bite Gain Sets the selected soundbite’s
page 640 and “Smooth Audio Edits Again” on gain to the value entered in
the dialog.
page 641.
Toggle Bite Volume Bypass Toggles the gain/volume
FADE IN/OUT bypass setting for the
Use these commands to apply a linear fade in or selected soundbites
fade out in the Waveform Editor. These commands Adjust Bite Volume +0.5dB Adds a half a dB to any
permanently alter the original waveform data. soundbite volume within the
current selection.
SPECTRAL EFFECTS
The Spectral Effects command allows you to apply
Digital Performer’s formant-corrected pitch-
shifting, time stretching and “gender-bending” to
monophonic digital audio. For details, see
chapter 77, “Spectral Effects” (page 873).
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AUDIO PITCH CORRECTION AUDIO BEATS
The commands in the Audio Pitch Correction sub- The Audio Beats sub-menu lets you manage Digital
menu let you control Digital Performer’s real-time Performer’s extensive audio beat detection
pitch automation data. For complete information, features.
see chapter 78, “Transposing Audio” (page 877).
Here is a brief summary of the commands in this NEW SOUNDBITES FROM BEATS
sub-menu: The New Soundbites from Beats command lets you
split up a soundbite into pieces at beat boundaries.
Pitch mode command What it does See “New Soundbites from Beats” on page 636.
Clear Pitch Returns a pitch segment to its original
pitch. See “Pitch curve control points”
on page 881. ADJUST BEAT SENSITIVITY
The Adjust Beat Sensitivity command lets you
Clear Pitch Control Removes any control points in the cur-
Points rently selected portion of a pitch curve. control how many beats are enabled or disabled in
See “Pitch curve control points” on a soundbite based on their velocity threshold. See
page 881.
“Adjust Beat Sensitivity” on page 629.
Quantize Pitch Centers any currently selected pitch
segments, so that they are tuned exactly
to their relative root pitch (to fix any ADJUST BEAT DETECTION
notes that are a little sharp or flat). See
“Quantizing pitch” on page 885. The Adjust Beat Detection command (Audio
menu) lets you control how many beats are enabled
Scale Expression Accentuates or flattens the currently
selected pitch curve. See “Scaling the or disabled in a soundbite based on how confident
pitch curve” on page 881.
the Beat Detection Engine’s algorithm was in
Adjust Pitch Raises or lowers the number of pitch determining the beat’s existence. See “Adjust Beat
Segmentation segments used to manipulate audio
pitch. See “Adjusting pitch segmenta- Detection” on page 630.
tion” on page 882.
Set Track Pitch Mode Sets the default pitch mode for any COPY BEATS
audio material newly recorded into that The Copy Beats command lets you copy beats from
track. It does NOT affect existing
soundbites already in the track, or one track to another. See “Copy Beats” on
soundbites dragged into the track. See
“Setting the pitch mode” on page 882. page 638.
Set Pitch Mode for Sets the pitch mode and modifies the
Selected Bites pitch segments accordingly for the cur- SOUNDBITE TEMPO
rently selected audio in the Soundbites The commands in the Soundbite Tempo sub-menu
window or in any tracks. See “Setting
the pitch mode” on page 882. help you to control the timing and tempo of your
Set Pitch Mode for Applies the pitch mode to both the track audio tracks using Digital Performer’s Beat
Track and Selected and any currently selected soundbites Detection Engine. For complete information, see
Bites as described above in one operation.
See “Setting the pitch mode” on “Soundbite tempo sub-menu” on page 638.
page 882.
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SOUNDBITE LAYERING Moving soundbites to their original or user
In audio tracks, soundbites can overlap one timestamp
another, giving you a great deal of flexibility when Regardless of their current location, you can always
working with audio in the audio graphic editing move soundbites to their original or user
environment in the Sequence Editor. See timestamp location by selecting them and
“Overlapping and layering soundbites” on choosing the Move to Original Time Stamp or Move
page 351. to User Time Stamp command from the Time
Stamps sub-menu in the Audio menu as shown
TIME STAMPS below in Figure 46-3.
A timestamp is the SMPTE timecode location at
which a soundbite starts and ends. Digital
Performer provides a host of features for creating,
importing, displaying, modifying and using
timestamps.
Figure 46-3: The Time Stamps commands in the Audio menu.
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Searching by timestamp original by adding a number extension to the end
Digital Performer’s powerful search feature lets you of the original name. For example, if you duplicate
locate soundbites by their timestamps, as a soundbite with the name Snare Hit, Duplicate
demonstrated below. creates an identical soundbite with the name Snare
Hit.2. The important thing to realize here is that
you now have two separate soundbites that are not
connected to each other. As a result, you can freely
modify Snare Hit.2 (trim its edge, for example)
without affecting the original soundbite, Snare Hit.
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A UD I O M EN U
discrepancy exists between the region in the audio parent audio file for a region that matches the name
file and the soundbite in the Digital Performer file: of the soundbite and loads the parameters for the
the soundbite still consists of the original region, region into the soundbite. Reload Soundbite affects
not the modified one. To make the soundbite all instances of a soundbite in a Digital Performer
match the region again, use the Reload Soundbite file.
command.
Reloading after destructive editing in an audio
To reload a soundbite, select the soundbite by file
highlighting them in the Soundbites window, As another example, let’s say that you have created
Event List, or Sequence Editor. (The Reload several soundbites in Digital Performer.
Soundbite command operates on only one
If you open the audio file with a third-party
soundbite at a time. If you select more than one in
waveform editor and cut a region of audio data at
the Soundbites window, it replaces the highest one
the beginning, all of the regions after the cut are
in the list. If you select more than one soundbite in
shifted earlier, as shown in Figure 46-5 on
the Event List or Sequence Editor, it replaces only
the earliest one.) Choose Reload Soundbite from
the Audio menu. Digital Performer searches in the
Audio file:
Soundbite.1 Soundbite.2 Sound-
Audio data that will be
cut in BIAS Peak
Audio file:
Soundbite.1 Soundbite.2 Soundbite.3
Audio file:
Soundbite.1 Soundbite.2 Soundbite.3
Figure 46-5: Using Reload after destructively editing an audio file with another program.
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page 598. Digital Performer, which may not even You’ll notice that Reload Soundbite isn’t really going
be running at the time, has no indication that to be used much if you don’t use any other
anything has changed in the audio file. programs besides Digital Performer to work with
the audio file. However, any time that you edit
The soundbites in Digital Performer no longer regions or audio data in an audio file, think about
correspond correctly with the original regions of what impact the editing has on any Digital
audio data, which have shifted earlier in the audio Performer files that contain soundbites from that
file due to the removed data. In fact, as you can see audio file.
in Figure 46-5, Digital Performer is pointing to
Soundbite.3 in a portion of the audio file that no Reloading all soundbites in an audio file at one
longer even exists! time
Often, you’ll have several — and usually many —
By using the Reload Soundbite command on the soundbites that originated the same audio file, and
soundbites, you can properly re-align the you’ll need to reload all of them. Certainly a
soundbites in Digital Performer with their original tedious task if you had to do so one at a time. But
regions of audio data: there is a shortcut for reloading all of them at once:
You can do so by highlighting it in the Soundbites It doesn’t matter which soundbite you choose, as
window, Event List, or Sequence Editor. long as its from the parent audio file you need to
reload from.
2 Choose Reload Soundbite from the Audio menu.
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A UD I O M EN U
If reloading fails 2 Choose Replace Soundbite from the Audio
The Reload Soundbite command fails if Digital menu.
Performer cannot find a region with the same
name as the soundbite in its parent audio file. Or, it The open audio file dialog box appears.
may not be able to find the parent audio file. If so,
Digital Performer warns you that this is the case 3 Select the audio file and region you want to
and asks you to select another region to replace the replace the soundbite with.
soundbite. For information about replacing
After you click the Done button, the new region
soundbites, refer to the next section.
takes the place of the old region. Likewise, all
REPLACE SOUNDBITE instances (“clones”) of the old region in all the
The Replace Soundbite command is similar to tracks are replaced as well.
Reload Soundbite but gives you more flexibility. It
REVEAL IN FINDER/SHOW IN EXPLORER
allows you to replace a soundbite with any audio
The Reveal In Finder/Show in Explorer command
file region—even an entirely different region from
shows you the location (in the Mac OS Finder or
another audio file. In addition to updating the
Windows Explorer) of the parent audio file for the
soundbite’s start and end pointers, Replace
currently selected soundbite or clippings. By
Soundbite also updates the name if the soundbite is
default, the keyboard shortcut for this command is
being replaced by a region with a different name.
Option/Alt-R.
Just like Reload Soundbite, Replace Soundbite
EDIT IN WAVEFORM EDITOR
replaces all instances of a soundbite in a Digital
Edit in Waveform Editor switches you directly into
Performer file. Here’s an example. Let’s say that you
Digital Performer’s Waveform Editor window, with
recorded a vocal soundbite, named it Yeah!, and are
Pencil tool editing of the waveform and other tasks.
using it as an effect in a mix. You have placed it
For complete information, see chapter 41,
fifteen or twenty times throughout the mix. During
“Waveform Editor” (page 475).
the course of the session, you decide that you
would like to replace all the Yeah!’s with a different USE EXTERNAL WAVEFORM EDITOR
soundbite that you recorded and named Hey! The Use External Waveform Editor command is a
Replace Soundbite makes substitutions like this checkable menu item in the Audio menu. When
easy. you first choose this command, it lets you choose a
third-party waveform editor, such as BIAS Peak™,
To replace a soundbite:
as your preferred waveform editor (instead of
1 Select the soundbite that you wish to replace. Digital Performer’s own built-in Waveform
Editor). In addition, the menu item becomes
The Replace Soundbite command operates on only checked to indicate that it has remembered your
one soundbite at a time. If you select more than one preferred external editor. Accordingly, whenever
in the Soundbites window, it replaces the highest you invoke the Edit in Waveform Editor command,
one in the list. If you select more than one Digital Performer automatically launches the
soundbite in the Event List or Sequence Editor, it third-party waveform editor and opens the audio
replaces only the earliest one. file with the region selected for editing.
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AUDI O M E NU
When the Use External Waveform Editor command
is unchecked, Digital Performer’s Waveform Editor
opens instead.
VOCALIGN
VocALign is an audio alignment tool from
SynchroArts that automatically synchronizes two
audio signals at the touch of a button. For complete
details, see chapter 80, “VocAlign” (page 891).
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A UD I O M EN U
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AUDI O M E NU
CHAPTER 47 Fades and Crossfades
603
CREATING A SINGLE FADE OR CROSSFADE To create a fade at the boundary of two soundbites
There are two ways to create a fade or crossfade: that are touching, hold down the Command/Ctrl
key while dragging one handle or the other:
■ Drag the fade/crossfade handles on a soundbite
■ Make a selection and apply a fade with the Fade
command (Audio menu).
Figure 47-2: Position the cursor over a fade or crossfade handle until Figure 47-4: Option drag to move just one side of the fade. The other
you see the fade/crossfade cursor shown above. Then just pull out a handle remains pinned to its original location.
fade of the desired length. Double-click the fade or crossfade to edit
its shape further.
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F ADE S AND C R O SSF ADE S
To edit multiple fades together in one operation, You can use your selection to define the length of
select the soundbites that contain the fades, and the crossfade, or you can create a fixed-length fade
then grab the fade handle of one of the selected that is different from your selection.
soundbites:
Splice point (boundary between
Before: touching soundbites)
Selection for
the crossfade
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F A DES A N D C R O S S FA D ES
TYPES OF CROSSFADES Crossfades use material beyond the splice
When you apply a crossfade, the selection you All three types of crossfade discussed in the
make relative to the splice point determines the previous section use “hidden” material in each
type of crossfade. If you make a selection with the region beyond the splice point. In the centered
splice point somewhere in the middle, you will crossfade shown below, the fade-out starts in ‘Bass
create a standard, centered crossfade as shown riff 1’ and extends into the beginning of ‘Bass riff 2’;
below in Figure 47-8. the portion of the fade-out to the right of the splice
point is actually calculated from material in Bass
riff ’s parent audio file — material that is currently
not visible.
Figure 47-11: The area beyond ‘Bass riff 1’ in its parent audio file is
used to calculate the fade-out curve of the crossfade. The same is also
true for the area preceding ‘Bass riff 2’ in its parent audio file.
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F ADE S AND C R O SSF ADE S
Fade types FADE CURVES
The fade dialog box offers three types of crossfades
and two types of fades:
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F A DES A N D C R O S S FA D ES
volume of the fade-in or fade-out constant —
either full volume or zero volume — for the entire
length of the fade.
When you choose independent S-shaped curves, FADES ARE ANCHORED TO THEIR SPLICE
In general, fades and crossfades are preserved
you can get as elaborate as you need.
during editing operations such as dragging,
shifting, compacting or setting the soundbite start
time. For example, if you trim the edge of a
soundbite, and it has a fade on it, the fade will
remain after the trim operation. If the audio data
within the range of the fade or crossfade changes, it
will be recomputed automatically.
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F ADE S AND C R O SSF ADE S
fades as you want in one operation. One way to do 6 If you would like to apply fades to all soundbite
this is to use the Shift key to select several splice edges (e.g. edges that are not touching another
points at one time before entering the Fades dialog. soundbite), check the Create new fade-ins or fade-
You can then apply the same fade to all of them, outs option. If not, leave it unchecked.
using your selections to define the length of each
fade. Or you can apply fixed-length fades. 7 Enter the length of the fade by entering times in
the before splice and after splice value boxes
Another way to apply multiple fades at one time is provided. Values are in milliseconds (100 = one
to make one large selection that contains any tenth of a second).
number of splice points and then apply fixed-
length fades to all of them in one operation. This 8 Click OK to generate the fades.
technique is especially useful when you’ve made
When you click OK, Digital Performer’s applies the
many detailed edits — perhaps dozens or even
fades. Use the Background Processing window to
hundreds — and you need to apply crossfades to all
monitor its progress. You can, of course, proceed
of them.
with other work when the fades are being
To apply fixed-length fades and/or crossfades to processed, if you like. Fades that are not calculated
many splice points in one operation: yet are displayed in gray; fades that are done appear
in the same color as the soundbite.
1 In the Sequence Editor, select the region that
contains the splice points you would like to fade REAPPLYING THE LAST FADE SETTINGS
and/or crossfade. For example, if you want to apply To apply another fade using the same settings you
fades and crossfades to all soundbite boundaries in last used, hold down the Option/Alt key while
the entire sequence, display all tracks in the choosing Fade from the audio menu.
Sequence Editor and Select All.
DELETING FADES
2 Choose Fade from the Audio menu to open the To delete a single fade, click it and choose Delete
Fades dialog. Fades from the Audio menu.
3 Choose Create fixed-length fades from the menu To delete all fades within a region, select the region
at the bottom of the window. and choose Delete Fades from the Audio menu.
4 If the region you selected contains existing To delete all fades in the entire sequence, use Select
fades, and you would like to replace them with new All in the Tracks window (or the Sequence Editor
fades, check the Update existing fades option. If you with all tracks showing) and choose Delete Fades
want to preserve existing fades, leave it unchecked. from the Audio menu.
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F A DES A N D C R O S S FA D ES
In either case, after you’ve made the changes you TRIMMING SOUNDBITES THAT HAVE A
would like in the Fades dialog, make sure that the FADE OR CROSSFADE
Update existing fades option is checked before If a soundbite edge has a fade or crossfade on it, you
clicking OK. have to delete the crossfade in order to change it.
This makes sense because as soon as you change it,
FADES THAT CANNOT BE FULLY the crossfade is no longer valid anyway (since the
COMPUTED splice point has changed). You can reapply the
If Digital Performer computes a fade or crossfade crossfade after you modify the soundbite edge.
and the level of the mixed audio in it exceeds unity
gain (0 dB), the fade appears bright red to alert you CLIPPING WHEN CROSSFADES ARE
to the fact that it is clipping. CALCULATED
If clipping occurs when Digital Performer
If, for some reason, a fade or crossfade doesn’t have calculates a crossfade, the crossfade is drawn in red
enough audio for Digital Performer to compute the instead of the soundbite’s color. In this case, you
complete fade, it appears bright blue. For example, will probably want to re-apply the crossfade,
you might draw a crossfade that is two seconds adjusting the curves. Try using the equal gain
long, but one of the soundbites involved may not curves (since it is impossible for clipping to occur
have a full extra second of audio in the parent audio when using equal gain).
file beyond the edge of the soundbite. In this case,
the crossfade appears bright blue to indicate that it
cannot be fully computed.
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F ADE S AND C R O SSF ADE S
CHAPTER 48 Takes and Comping
611
Rename Take INDICATION OF MULTIPLE TAKES
Rename Take (Figure 48-1) lets you rename the When a track contains multiple takes, a bullet (•) is
current take. The current take is the one with the displayed to the right of the take name.
check mark next to it in the top portion of the
menu.
Duplicate Take
Duplicate Take (Figure 48-1) creates an exact
duplicate of the current take, including all of the
data in the track. The current take is the one with
the check mark next to it in the top portion of the Figure 48-2: Indication of multiple takes
menu.
COMP TAKES
Delete Take Compositing (“comping”) is the process of building
Delete Take (Figure 48-1) gets rid of the current a composite take — comp take — from portions of
take. several regular takes. For example, you might
record five or six guitar overdubs as separate
Delete all except ‘current take’ regular takes and then take the best parts of each
Delete all except ‘current take’ (Figure 48-1) gets rid
one to build a comp take that plays smoothly and
of all takes except the current take.
seamlessly through the chosen portions from each
take. Comp takes are different from regular takes in
Turn Takes into Tracks
Turn Takes into Tracks (Figure 48-1) removes takes that they are built from portions of regular takes,
from the track and turns them into separate tracks. although they also operate in many ways just like
The Current Take sub-menu option is only regular takes. For example, they appear in the
available when there are two or more takes, and it Takes sub-menu side by side with regular takes,
operates on the current take. The All Takes option and you can record new material into them, just
removes each take and turns it into a separate track like a regular take. You can also use a comp take to
containing a single take. build other comp takes. But comp takes differ from
regular takes in that they remain connected to the
Absorb Selected Tracks component takes used to build them.
Absorb Selected Tracks (Figure 48-1) lets you collect
takes from other tracks into the track from which Creating a comp take
you choose this command. To do so, select the Choose Show Takes (Figure 48-3) to create a new
tracks you wish to “absorb”, then choose this comp take for the track (Comp 1 in Figure 48-3)
command from the take menu of the track you and also open a scrolling take grid that displays all
wish to absorb them into. The selected tracks are other takes in the track (Takes G, A, B and C in
deleted. The Current Takes sub-menu option only Figure 48-3).
absorbs the current take of the selected tracks,
When a comp take is first created, it contains a copy
whereas the All Takes option absorbs all takes from
of contents of the current take at the time the Show
the selected tracks.
Takes command is invoked. In the example shown
For audio tracks in the Sequence Editor, there are in Figure 48-3, Take 1 was the current take at the
some additional commands for take comping. See
“Comp takes” below.
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T AK E S AND C O M P I NG
time Show Takes was chosen, so its contents appear take grid (Figure 48-3) displays all takes for the
in the Comp 1 take, as indicated by the Take 1’s track in a scrolling, resizable grid. Shaded areas
shading in the take grid. (Figure 48-6 on page 615) indicate portions of each
take that are being used in the track’s current comp
If you want to start with an empty comp take, take (the comp take currently chosen in the takes
create a new empty regular take first (with the New menu).
Take command) and then choose Show Takes.
Resizing and scrolling the take grid
You can create as many comp takes as you wish. To The take grid can be resized with the resize handle
create a second, third, fourth, etc. comp take for a (Figure 48-4). If it is not opened all the way, use the
track, first choose a regular take from the Takes take grid scroll bar (Figure 48-4) to vertically scroll
sub-menu (instead of an existing comp take) and through all of the takes displayed in the grid.
then choose Show Takes.
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TA K ES A N D C O MP I N G
(explained below), the track settings no longer original current take is restored. However, if you
apply; instead, the parent track settings take effect did edit the comp take, it is saved and added to the
over the currently selected take or comp take. Takes sub-menu (Figure 48-5):
Switching takes when the take grid is open Viewing and modifying a comp take
If you switch the current take on the track while it is To view and modify the take tracks for a comp take,
showing takes, the take grid will remain open if you choose it from the Takes menu to make it the track’s
switch to another comp take. If you switch to a current take, and then choose Show Takes. The take
normal take, or choose New Take, the take grid will grid reappears and shows you via shading how the
close and the track will display the normal take. If comp take was originally constructed from its
you duplicate a comp take, the take grid will component takes (Figure 48-6).
remain open and display the duplicated comp take.
COMP TOOL
Hide takes Use the Comp tool to construct a comp
After you use the Show Takes command, its text in take from portions of its take tracks
the Take sub-menu changes to Hide Takes. (Figure 48-6). Use the Comp tool to create
vertical red dividers across all take tracks and then
Choosing Hide Takes hides the Take grid and its build the comp take by selecting different take
take tracks. If a new comp take was created when sections prescribed by the dividers. Only one take
you chose Show Takes, but you did not edit that track at a time can be chosen for any given region
comp take in any way, then the new comp take is between dividers. After you create dividers, use the
discarded when you choose Hide Takes and the
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T AK E S AND C O M P I NG
Comp tool to click the sections you wish to include When dragging a comp divider line, the snapping
in the comp take. Here is a summary of Comp tool behavior is the same as when edge editing:
techniques you can use to build comp takes: dragging is unconstrained by default. Snapping
will occur if it is enabled and you hold down the
To do this Do this
Command/Ctrl key while dragging.
To create a divider at the current Option click.
cursor location
Re-applying track takes after making changes
To add a take section between Click it. If you make changes to track takes used in a comp
dividers to the comp take
take, the comp take will not inherit those changes
To create a take section and add it to Drag over the desired take unless you click on those portions of the take grid
the comp take in one gesture track section.
with the Comp tool to “re-apply” them to the comp
To move a divider line Drag it left or right. take. Only those portions of the take grid that you
(See note below.)
click will be re-applied to the comp take. If you
To select a divider line Click it. It turns white.
made any changes or edits directly to the comp take
To delete a selected divider line Press the delete key. itself within the re-applied time range, they will be
lost and replaced by the re-applied material.
To nudge a selected divider line Press left/right arrow key.
Take tracks Comp take Take sections (shaded areas) Dividers Unused (unshaded)
selected for the comp track. (red lines) take sections
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TA K ES A N D C O MP I N G
Divide Comp commands
The Divide Comp sub-menu in the Takes menu
(Figure 48-7) provides several convenient
shortcuts for creating comp divider lines.
At wiper
The at Wiper command (Figure 48-7) creates a
divider line in the Take grid at the current playback
wiper time.
At selection boundaries
If the current selection is an insert point, the at
Selection Boundaries command (Figure 48-7) In cases like these, you can collect the related tracks
creates a single comp divider line in the Take grid at into a track group and use the “Show/Hide Takes”
that insert point. If the current selection is a time track group option to show and hide takes for all
range selection, this command creates two divider tracks in the group at the same time. Use the “Take
lines in the Take grid: one at the start of the comping” track group option if you also want to
selection range and one at the end of the selection apply comping operations to all tracks in the track
range. For example, you could use the Scrub tool in group simultaneously. That way, you can define
a take track to zero in on the desired time range comp regions and select takes in just one open take
selection that you want, then choose Divide Comp grid and have those choices take effect for all tracks
at Selection Boundaries to create a comp region. in the track group. (Obviously, this is desirable
only if each track in the track group has the same
At selected soundbite boundaries number of takes, and if the nth take on each track
The At Selected Soundbite Boundaries command corresponds to elements of the same nth
(Figure 48-7) creates a comp divider line at the performance.)
beginning and end of each selected soundbite.
TAKES AND KEY COMMANDS
Comping Multiple Tracks Simultaneously There are key bindings for the items in the Take
There are some cases where you might want to
menu, as well as additional commands like Next
simultaneously comp two or more grouped tracks.
Take and Previous Take. When invoked, these
For example, you might want to comp multi-
commands will affect all record-enabled tracks; if
tracked drums, or a bass/guitar track that you
there are none, they will affect the selected tracks.
recorded direct on one track and amped on
another.
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T AK E S AND C O M P I NG
CONDUCTOR TRACK TAKES
The Conductor track holds tempo changes, meter
changes, key changes and markers. However,
switching takes on the Conductor track only affects
tempo data. Meter changes, key changes, and
markers are not affected by takes. For example, if
you have a meter change at measure 3, as well as a
number of tempo change events, and you choose
New Take from the Conductor Track take menu,
the tempo events will disappear from the track (as
part of Take 1, which is being replaced by Take 2),
but the meter change at measure 3 will remain.
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T AK E S AND C O M P I NG
CHAPTER 49 Tempos and Audio
For information about a related feature, see There are a number of different commands,
chapter 50, “Beat Detection Engine” (page 625) discussed in this chapter, for modifying a
and chapter 79, “Scale Time” (page 889). Soundbite’s tempo map and adjusting the sequence
to match the soundbites or vice versa.
Soundbite Tempo Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619
Applying tempo maps to audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620 The next chapter, “Beat Detection Engine” on
Analyze Soundbite Tempo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621 page 625, covers the case where audio does not yet
Set Soundbite Tempo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621 have a tempo map. Digital Performer can analyze
Clear Soundbite Tempo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622 the audio for beats and extrapolate the audio’s
Halve/Double Soundbite Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622 tempo with a great deal of precision.
Copy Sequence Tempo to Soundbite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622
Find Tempo Factor Near Sequence Tempo. . . . . . . . . . 622 An example of a soundbite tempo map
Set Tempo From File Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622 For now let’s just consider the simplest case: a
Copy Sequence Tempo to Soundbite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622 soundbite with a fixed tempo. The most common
Adjust Soundbites to Sequence Tempo. . . . . . . . . . . . . 622 example of this case is a soundbite that was
Adjust Sequence To Soundbite Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623 recorded to a click with a fixed tempo. If Digital
Performer knows the tempo of a soundbite, it can
SOUNDBITE TEMPO MAPS compute the exact duration, in beats and ticks. If
In order to make time-scaling musically useful, you have configured the Soundbites window to
Digital Performer allows soundbites to have tempo show the “Duration (beat|ticks)” and “Tempo”
maps. This makes it very easy for you to columns, you will see this, as shown below in
manipulate audio along with MIDI without Figure 49-1. You can also view the tempos in the
worrying about the tempo, and change the tempo Waveform Editor as explained in “Viewing and
however and whenever you want. editing soundbite tempo maps” on page 634.
When you record audio, the new soundbite
“knows” about the tempo map in effect at the time
it was recorded, whether in manual tempo mode,
619
Getting audio & sequence tempos to match up
Soundbites with When the tempo map of audio doesn’t match the
tempo maps.
tempo map of the sequence, and you want to make
them line up with each other, you have two options:
information about a soundbite’s tempo map, if it has one: the TEMPO sequence
column, which shows the constant or average tempo, and the
QUARTER | TICKS column, which shows its duration in quarter notes
and ticks. You can show and hide these columns by double-clicking In the first case, you can adjust the sequence’s
one of the column titles. conductor track (or manual tempo setting) to fit
the soundbite; in the second, you can use Digital
Viewing soundbite tempo maps
In the Sequence Editor, Soundbites with tempo Signal Processing to time-stretch or compress the
maps are drawn with gray lines on them, soundbite to fit the conductor track (or manual
corresponding to the grid lines in the time ruler, as tempo setting). Best of all, you can do either of
shown below in Figure 49-2. these things with a single command!
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TEMPOS AND AUDIO
Selecting audio to apply tempo commands Make your audio selection (in any window) and
Most of the Audio Tempo commands work on choose Audio menu> Soundbite Tempo> Set
selected soundbites or selections within pop- Soundbite Tempo. The dialog shows the start and
edited soundbites. For time-ruler selections, they end times and length of the soundbite in real time
affect all soundbites that start within the selection. (you may toggle between min:sec and SMPTE
They can also be applied to selections in the time). You may edit the end time in measures,
Waveform Editor. beats, and ticks, or the duration in quarter notes
and ticks. For instance, if you know the soundbite
ANALYZE SOUNDBITE TEMPO is two measures long in 4/4 time, just enter 8|000 —
The Analyze Soundbite Tempo command (in the eight quarter notes exactly — into the duration
Soundbite Tempo sub-menu in the Audio menu) box. Digital Performer instantly calculates the
engages Digital Performer’s automatic tempo correct tempo. Alternatively, you may type in the
analysis features. This can be applied to any audio tempo in beats per minute.
that has been beat-analyzed by Digital Performer’s
Beat Detection Engine, which can extrapolate beat You may also use this command on a selection
and tempo information from audio files, if the within a pop-edited soundbite. This comes in
material is suitable for analysis. See “Manually handy if you do not know the length of the whole
applying beat and tempo detection” on page 627. soundbite, but it may be very easy to select two
measures, or four measures — especially with beat
SET SOUNDBITE TEMPO grid snapping turned on as described in “Using the
The Set Soundbite Tempo command (in the beat grid” on page 631.
Soundbite Tempo sub-menu in the Audio menu)
allows you to define a constant tempo for a
soundbite or a portion of a soundbite. This is
particularly useful with audio that was not
recorded to the click, or that was recorded from a
sample CD, for instance. You can also make a
selection within a soundbite while snapping to
beats (see “Using the beat grid” on page 631) and
quickly set the tempo based on the number of beats
you have selected — very quick and easy.
Figure 49-4: If you know the tempo of a portion of the soundbite, you
can select just that portion and use Set Soundbite Tempo to apply a
tempo.
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TEMPOS AND AUDIO
The Set Soundbite Tempo command also works on Manual tempo mode vs. conductor track
selections in the Soundbites window. Note that in If the sequence is in manual tempo (“Tempo
all cases, though, it only works on a single Slider”) mode, it is the value of the tempo slider
soundbite at a time. that is copied into the soundbites, not tempo
changes from the conductor track. This command
☛ This command has no effect on the audio data (as well as the ones described in the next two
itself; it only affects the tempo map stored with the sections) always pays attention to the tempo that is
soundbite. actually being used by the sequence, whether it is
the tempo slider, or the conductor track.
CLEAR SOUNDBITE TEMPO
The Clear Soundbite Tempo command (in the
Audio menu> Soundbite Tempo sub-menu)
removes the tempo maps from any selected
soundbites.
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TEMPOS AND AUDIO
to Don’t Time Scale will be left alone. Furthermore, ADJUST SEQUENCE TO SOUNDBITE TEMPO
any selected soundbites that match the sequence This command does the opposite of Adjust
tempo are left alone. Soundbites to Sequence Tempo. It copies the tempo
map from any selected soundbites into the
sequence. If you are in Conductor Track mode, this
modifies the conductor track. In Tempo Slider
mode, it sets the tempo slider to the average tempo
from the selected soundbites.
Background processing
As with the other DSP commands, this command
does its work in Background Processing. The new
unfinished soundbites will show up right away, and
in the Sequence Editor you can see that the grid
lines already line up properly with the sequence. Figure 49-7: In this example, a 114 bpm Drum Loop has been placed
in a new sequence set to 120 bpm as shown by the tempo indication
For more information about background (above). After selecting the soundbite and choosing Adjust Sequence
processing, see “Background Processing” on to Soundbite Tempo, the tempo slider now exactly matches the
tempo of the soundbite, as indicated by the time ruler grid lines,
page 865. which now match up (below).
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CHAPTER 50 Beat Detection Engine
625
Digital Performer’s beat detection features are If an audio file has an embedded tempo map, then
designed to be smoothly integrated into the overall it won’t require tempo analysis in order for you to
operation of the program. You can set up beat and make it conform to the tempo of your Digital
tempo analysis preferences and then take Performer project. Digital Performer simply uses
advantage of Digital Performer’s powerful the existing tempo map. However, if you wish to
rhythmic editing and tempo-based processing quantize the audio or perform other beat-related
during the course of your uninterrupted workflow. operations, you will still need to analyze it for beats
(even if it is a REX file or Apple Loop).
WHAT WORKS AND DOESN’T WORK
Digital Performer’s Beat Detection Engine and Rhythmic audio with no embedded tempo
Tempo Analyzer are highly developed information
technologies. However, they have their limits. If an Digital Performer’s Beat Detection Engine and
audio file has no rhythmic information in it Tempo Analyzer are intended for the middle
whatsoever, then clearly beats and tempos won’t be ground between the two extremes just discussed
found. Examples of such audio include: and work best on audio files that have the following
characteristics:
■ Ambient pads with smooth changes between
■ The audio file has no embedded tempo
chords
information already.
■ Percussion tracks with intermittent bursts of
playing, separated by long silences (like a crash ■ The audio material in the file is rhythmic in
cymbal track) nature.
■ The audio file represents a single instrument or
■ Non-musical sound effects
drum track.
■ Dialogue tracks
■ The audio material is not a full stereo mix.
These are extreme examples, but they serve to
illustrate one extreme: material that has no beats at The Beat Detection Engine is primarily designed
all — or any sense of musical pulse. for individual instrument parts that are rhythmic
in nature and have a relatively steady tempo. It can
Audio files with embedded beat and tempo often do a good job on complete mixes, but it is not
information fine-tuned for such material. However, you can
What’s the other extreme? There are many cases often get great results, even on complete mixes,
where audio files already have embedded tempo with a little bit of tweaking — far less work than
information. Below are a few examples: would be needed using other much more
painstaking techniques. For details, see “Editing
■ Audio recorded directly in Digital Performer
beats to improve tempo detection” on page 633.
(and played to a click or other tempo reference to
match DP’s beats and barlines) ENABLING PREEMPTIVE BEAT AND TEMPO
■ ACID WAVE files
DETECTION
If you plan to work with the many powerful and
■ REX (Recycle) files convenient beat- and tempo-related features
discussed in this chapter, it is strongly
■ Apple Loops
recommended that you enable preemptive
background beat detection and tempo analysis.
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BEAT DETECTION ENGINE
This avoids the inconvenience of applying the To manually initiate beat detection, open the
processing manually, each time you wish to apply a soundbite in the Waveform Editor, select all and
beat- or tempo-related operation to an audio file. then choose Find Beats In Selection from the Beats
Instead, you can freely manipulate the beats and menu. For details, see “Find Beats in Selection” on
tempos of your audio without needing to keep page 629.
track of what’s already been analyzed or not.
To manually apply tempo detection, select the
To enable preemptive analysis, choose Preferences soundbite (or parent audio file) in any window
from the Digital Performer menu (Mac OS) or Edit (including the Soundbite list) and choose Audio
menu (Windows) and click the Background menu> Soundbite Tempo> Analyze Soundbite
Processing list item. These preferences let you Tempo. You must first search for beats (as described
choose when to apply the processing. For example, above) before you can search for tempo.
you can enable analysis for new projects, while
excluding existing projects (created in earlier WHERE BEATS AND TEMPO MAPS ARE
versions of Digital Performer) where analysis may STORED
Beat information is stored with the Digital
not be needed. See “Automatic Beat and Tempo
Performer project and therefore does not transfer
Analysis settings for the project” on page 871 and
from one project to another.
“Beat Analysis Default” on page 871.
The audio file’s tempo map is stored with the audio
file itself. Therefore, if the audio file is imported
into another DP project, the tempo map is also
imported and can be used to make the audio
conform to the tempo map in the new project.
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ALIGNING BEAT-ANALYZED AUDIO TO THE Setting the meter for soundbite
TIME RULER The sync point determines the location of the
After a soundbite has beats, you can select it (or downbeat of measure 1 in the soundbite. To set the
make a time range selection within it) and choose meter for the soundbite, use the Time Signature
Audio menu> Set Sync Point at First Beat. This setting as explained in “Sound File Information”
places the soundbite’s sync point at the first beat on page 326. Each soundbite in the audio file can
within the selection. Then you can quantize the have its own unique sync point and meter.
whole soundbite (using the Soundbites or Notes
and Soundbites option in the Quantize window) to EDITING BEATS IN THE WAVEFORM EDITOR
place the first beat of the soundbite precisely on any To view and edit beats, open the soundbite in the
downbeat in your project. This is a great way to Waveform Editor and click the Beats tab, as shown
quickly align the beats in the soundbite to the rest in Figure 50-3. Beat editing allows you to make
of your music. If you then tempo-analyze the specific adjustments or corrections to individual
soundbite (as described later in this chapter), you beats, add them, delete them, and so forth. In turn,
can use the Audio menu> Adjust Soundbite to these adjustments can produce better results when
Sequence Tempo command to make it match the applying beat-based edits, such as quantizing,
sequence tempo for the entire duration of the groove extraction, etc.
soundbite.
Tempo
map
measure
ruler
Active
beat
Beat
Velocity
handle
Disabled
beat
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Beat editing BEATS MENU
Beats (Figure 50-3) appear as vertical lines at the The Beats menu offers several convenient features
beginning of transients (spikes) in the audio for working with soundbites.
waveform. Drag a beat left or right to adjust its
position, relative to the actual audio. Doing so does
not alter the audio; it merely adjusts Digital
Performer’s notion of where the beat is.
Beat velocity
In addition to placement, beats are also analyzed
for their strength, relative to the other beats around
them. The strength of the beat is represented by the
beat’s velocity handle (Figure 50-3), which can be
adjusted by dragging the handle vertically. Move Figure 50-5: The Beats menu.
up the slider to increase velocity; move it down to
lower velocity. Beat velocity translates into MIDI Find Beats in Selection
note-on velocity when extracting the audio’s The Find Beats in Selection command lets you
groove using the Create Groove command in the manually initiate beat detection. First, select any
Region menu. portion of the waveform. Beats are placed only
within the selection. This is especially convenient
Disabled beats when you need beats in only a small section of the
There may be times when you wish to disable a file, or if you need to update the beats within
beat. When a beat is disabled, its location is certain section while leaving the rest of the beats in
remembered, but it is ignored for all beat- and the file unchanged.
tempo-related operations. You can re-enable it at
any time by selecting it and choosing Toggle Active Find Beats in All Files
Beat in the Beats menu, as explained in the The Find Beats in All Files command is a
following sections. convenient shortcut for manually initiating beat
analysis in all audio files in a Digital Performer
To disable a beat, click it with the Mute tool in the project.
Tool palette.
Adjust Beat Sensitivity
Choose Adjust Beat Sensitivity to open a window
with a slider that lets you enable or disable beats
based on a strength threshold:
Figure 50-4: The Mute tool.
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Create Beat from Insertion Point
Click anywhere in the waveform with the I-Beam
tool to create an insertion point and choose Create
Beat from Insertion Point to insert a new beat.
Figure 50-6: Adjust Beat Sensitively. Update Velocities for Beats in Selection
There may be times when the current beat velocity
This window applies to the beats within the current settings don’t match the audio. For example, you
selection. You can make a selection before or after might have moved the velocity handles from their
you open this window. You can even make changes original position. Or you might have edited the
to the current selection with the window open. No audio waveform so that the beats have a new,
changes are made to beats until you click the Apply different strength. In cases like these, select the
button. beats and choose Update Velocities for Beats in
Selection to make them reflect the proper strength,
Move the slider towards the right to enable more
as determined by the waveform itself.
beats; move it to the left to enable fewer beats. click
Apply when you have the desired result. Delete Beat
Click a beat to make it active (Figure 50-3) and
Adjusting beat sensitivity can be useful in cases
choose Delete Beat to get rid of it. The beat is
where too many or too few beats were found by the
completely removed, rather than being merely
Beat Detection Engine. You can quickly disable or
disabled. To get it back, you can reanalyze beats on
enable a large number beats in one operation using
that portion of audio. Or you can create a new beat
this command.
at the same location as described in “Create Beat
The Adjust Beats Sensitivity command is also from Insertion Point” on page 630.
available in the Audio menu so that you can use it
Delete Beats in Selection
on soundbites in the Sequence Editor, as well as
The Delete Beats in Selection command gets rid of
audio being displayed in the Waveform Editor.
all beats within the current selection.
Adjust Beat Detection
Delete Disabled Beats in Selection
The Adjust Beat Detection command operates
The Delete Disabled Beats in Selection command
similarly to the Adjust Beat Sensitivity command
gets rid of all disabled beats within the current
described above, except that is uses different
selection.
criteria for enabling and disabling beats.
Essentially, it makes its determination based on Next/Previous Beat
how confident the Beat Detection analysis was in When a beat is active (Figure 50-3), use the Next
determining the existence of the beat. If you find Beat or Previous Beat commands to make the next
that the material you are working with generates a or previous beat active.
lot of “false positives” - too many beats where there
shouldn’t be any - try using this command and Set Selection to Active Beat
move the slider to the left to create fewer beats. Choose Set Selection to Active Beat to create a time
range selection in the waveform that begins at the
active beat and ends at the next beat.
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New Soundbite from Active Beat Beat Grid snapping works similarly to marker
Choose New Soundbite from Active Beat to create a snapping: when you drag close to a beat, it snaps.
soundbite that begins at the active beat and ends at But if you are not close to a beat, it won’t snap.
the next beat.
The Beat Grid can be enabled with the Snap to
Audition Active Beat Beats checkbox in the Snap Information window,
Choose Audition Active Beat to listen to the current and can be used in the Waveform Editor or the
active beat. What you hear is the portion of the Sequence Editor. In the Sequence Editor, you can
waveform that begins at the active beat and ends at extend the selection across multiple audio tracks.
the next beat. This feature can be assigned to any In this case, your actions snap to the beats in the
computer keyboard shortcut you wish in the track under the cursor, so move the cursor over the
Commands window track that contains the beat you wish to snap to.
Toggle Active Beat If the Beat Grid is currently turned on, hold down
Choose Toggle Active Beat to either enable or the Command/Ctrl key to temporarily turn it off.
disable the currently active beat.
You can enable the Edit Grid, the Beat Grid and
Toggle Beats in Selection marker snapping at the same time, if you wish. In
Choose Toggle Beats in Selection to either enable or this case, your actions will snap to all three.
disable all of the beats within the current selection.
QUANTIZING BEATS WITHIN SOUNDBITES
USING THE BEAT GRID Soundbites that have been beat-analyzed (and have
The Beat Grid snaps your selection and edit beats) can be quantized, without the need for
operations to the beats within the waveform. splitting them into smaller soundbites first.
Editing to the Beat Grid is different than editing to Instead, the beats within the soundbite are
the time ruler Edit Grid. With the Edit Grid, your quantized by many small time-stretching
actions snap to the specified beat resolution at operations between each beat. Audio quality is
regularly spaced intervals that are prescribed by preserved, and each beat is moved, just like MIDI
Digital Performer’s time ruler. But with the Beat notes, according to the settings in the Quantize
Grid, your actions snap to actual beats within the dialog.
waveform, as specified by the beat locations in the
waveform, even if they don’t match up with beats in In general, quantizing beats within soundbites will
the time ruler. produce best results when the soundbite has
already been tempo-analyzed (as described later in
Essentially, the Beat Grid allows you to edit to the this chapter) and has been adjusted to match the
audio data, instead of to the project’s time ruler. tempo of the sequence. Quantizing then fine-tunes
This is very powerful, especially when making beat placement with respect to the project’s time
edits that must remain faithful to the feel or ruler grid.
“groove” of the audio, as this would not be reflected
in the time ruler grid. Further, Digital Performer’s To quantize the beats within a soundbite:
Beat Detection Engine goes to great lengths to
place beats at exact transient onsets, usually down 1 Select the soundbite and choose Region menu>
to the sample. This makes beat editing extremely Quantize.
accurate.
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BEAT DETECTION ENGINE
2 From the What to quantize menu, choose Beats
within Soundbites (if you are quantizing audio
only) or Beats within Soundbites and Notes (if you
are quantizing both audio and MIDI notes). Before
After
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Previewing ■ Tighten the timing of several rhythm section
The real-time Preview button in the Quantize tracks (keys, bass, drum, rhythm guitar, etc.) by
window (Figure 50-7) only previews the quantize quantizing them with varying degrees of quantize
effect for MIDI data. It does not provide a real-time strength.
preview for beats within audio.
■ Take an existing audio recording with slight
and then apply it to other audio tracks and/or EDITING BEATS TO IMPROVE TEMPO
MIDI tracks. DETECTION
Understanding how the tempo analyzer chooses
■ Turn a loop with a straight feel into a shuffle feel,
tempos will allow you to guide its tempo detection.
using one of the MPC shuffles - or any other shuffle
Often, only one or two adjustments to the beats in
groove.
an audio file are needed in order for the tempo
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analyzer to compute the correct tempo throughout REANALYZING TEMPO AFTER EDITING
the file. By moving, enabling or disabling beats (as BEATS
discussed earlier in this chapter) and reanalyzing In all cases, you can freely experiment with beat
the file’s tempo, you can effect the decisions that the adjustments. Just reanalyze the tempo again. You
tempo analyzer will make. can reanalyze tempo as many times as you wish.
The tempo analyzer will only place tempo changes DOUBLING OR HALVING THE TEMPO MAP
directly on beats with the goal of choosing which Sometimes, audio material can be misleading
beats to align with measure boundaries. When it enough that the tempo analyzer chooses a tempo
chooses the wrong tempo, it has likely chosen a that is actually twice or half the actual tempo. For
beat near a barline but one that is slightly ahead of example, a very fast jungle/drum ‘n bass break beat
or behind the barline. This causes the resulting loop that is 170 BPM might be incorrectly detected
tempo at that location in the file to be incorrect. at 85 BPM. To quickly correct errors like these,
choose Audio menu> Soundbite Tempo> Double
In this case, you can try moving the offending beat Soundbite Tempo or Halve Soundbite Tempo.
to the correct position, and then reanalyzing the
file. ADDITIONAL WAYS TO ADJUST SOUNDBITE
TEMPO MAPS
Other common cases are melody lines or vocals The Soundbite Tempo sub-menu (Audio menu)
that are not precisely aligned with the barlines to provides several useful commands for further
which they were performed. For example, the adjusting soundbite tempo maps. See “Soundbite
singer might come in just a little early, before the tempo sub-menu” on page 638.
beat. These vocalizations can be louder than other
beats that would make better guides for the tempo
VIEWING AND EDITING SOUNDBITE TEMPO
MAPS
analyzer. Disabling these beats will often produce To view the tempo map in a soundbite, open the
more accurate tempos. soundbite in the Waveform Editor and click the
Tempos tab, as shown below.
Here’s another common case: often the rhythmic
elements of the music are represented by the
BPM ruler Tempo Tempo Tempo tab Tempo
loudest beats. If so, you can use Adjust Beat edit strip handle events
Sensitivity (“Adjust Beat Sensitivity” on page 629)
to disable quieter beats.
Figure 50-9: Viewing and editing an audio file’s tempo map in the
Waveform Editor via the Tempos tab.
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Waveform Editor measure|Beat ruler You can use the snap-to-grid and snap-to-beat
The Waveform Editor can display time rulers in any check boxes to constrain your tempo edits, if
of Digital Performer’s four time formats: measures/ desired. Snapping to beats can be particularly
beats, real time, SMPTE time code, and/or useful for quickly adjusting the tempo map to
samples. You can show and hide any combination match beats and tempo of the audio.
of these four rulers using the “Time Formats
window” on page 86. TEMPOS MENU
The Tempo mode menu in the Waveform Editor
Editing tempos directly in the tempo edit strip (Figure 50-10) is activated by clicking the Tempo
In the Waveform Editor’s Tempo tab, you can view, tab. This menu contains the same commands as
insert, modify, delete and otherwise manipulate found in the Audio menu> Soundbite Tempo sub-
the tempo map in the audio file currently being menu (see “Soundbite tempo sub-menu” on
viewed in the Waveform Editor. To go into Tempo page 638), with one additional command: the
mode, click the Tempo tab (Figure 50-9). Clear Tempos in Selection command. To use this
command, select a portion of the waveform.
Tempo Events Tempos within the selection are removed and
Tempo events are shown superimposed over the
anchor tempos are inserted, if necessary, at the
audio waveform. Their location is measured by the
boundaries of the selection to maintain the tempos
time line ruler above. Their vertical position
before and after the selection.
indicates the value of the tempo event, as measured
by the BPM (beats per minute) ruler on the left. Tempo menu
The exact tempo is shown on the tempo event.
To do this: Do this:
To move a tempo event Drag its handle. The tempo events
immediately preceding and following
the one you drag serve as anchor
Figure 50-10: The Tempo menu
points, constraining (“rubber-band-
ing”) the results between them.
EXEMPTIONS FOR PREEMPTIVE TEMPO
To move a tempo event Hold down the Control/Win key ANALYSIS
and adjust all subse- while dragging the tempo handle. The Some types of audio files are not analyzed for
quent tempo events tempo event immediately preceding
tempo by Digital Performer because they already
the one you drag serves as an anchor
point, but all subsequent events move contain tempo information, which Digital
with the one you are dragging. Performer uses instead. For details, see “Audio files
To insert a tempo event Click in the tempo edit strip with the
with embedded beat and tempo information” on
arrow cursor page 626.
To delete a tempo event Click its handle with the Mute tool.
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BEAT AND TEMPO COMMANDS IN THE Controlling the frequency of the splits
AUDIO MENU Move the slider to control how frequently the
The Audio menu has many powerful commands soundbite will be split up. Split points are added or
for managing the beats and tempo maps within removed from the operation based on their
soundbites. associated beat velocity. As you move the slider,
beat velocities fall either above or below the
NEW SOUNDBITES FROM BEATS threshold, to be included or excluded, respectively.
The New Soundbites from Beats command (Audio
menu > Audio Beats) lets you split up a soundbite Splitting audio across multiple tracks
into pieces at beat boundaries. This can be useful If you are splitting a single soundbite, or several
when making drastic tempo changes that would soundbites that are all in the same track, choose
not be suitable for time stretching beats within a Each Soundbite from Use Beats From menu.
soundbite. In addition, there may be other
circumstances where smaller split up regions can If you are splitting audio in multiple tracks across
be more useful than whole soundbites. the same time range, the Use Beats From menu
gives you two basic choices:
When you choose the New Soundbites from Beats
command, a window appears with a slider in it: What to choose from the
To do this Use Beats From menu
To split each track Choose Each Soundbite
independently
To split all tracks at the same Choose the track that you wish
locations, based on a guide to use as a guide track
track
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between the individual drum track slices as they ADJUST BEAT SENSITIVITY
are moved further from one another by the slower The Adjust Beat Sensitivity command (Audio
playback tempo. This technique is good because it menu) lets you control how many beats are enabled
minimizes audio time stretching artifacts. or disabled in a soundbite based on their velocity
However, the trade-off is that the gaps of silence threshold. This is the same operation as the
between the slices are audible and sound command by the same name in the Beats menu in
unnatural. The Smooth Audio Edits feature can be a the Waveform Editor. For details, see “Adjust Beat
huge help in this situation by filling the gaps with Sensitivity” on page 629. Digital Performer gives
room tone or other ambient noise that fills and you access to this command in the main Audio
completely masks the gaps between the slices. menu as well so you can easily apply it to
Numerous options are provided to produce the soundbites in the Sequence Editor.
best results, based on the audio material. For
details, see “Smooth Audio Edits” on page 640.
Figure 50-13: Using the ‘Each Soundbite’ setting versus using a guide track
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ADJUST BEAT DETECTION change your selection at any time before you click
The Adjust Beat Detection command (Audio the Copy button. Before you click Copy, you’ll see a
menu) lets you control how many beats are enabled preview of the beats that will be copied.
or disabled in a soundbite based on how confident
the Beat Detection Engine’s algorithm was in Choosing the source track and beat frequency
determining the beat’s existence. This is the same Choose the desired source track from the Copy
operation as the command by the same name in the Beats From menu, as demonstrated below in
Beats menu in the Waveform Editor. For details, see Figure 50-15. Move the slider to control the
“Adjust Beat Detection” on page 630. Digital frequency of the beats to be copied. Beats are added
Performer gives you access to this command in the or removed from the operation based on their
main Audio menu as well so you can easily apply it associated beat velocity. As you move the slider,
to soundbites in the Sequence Editor. beat velocities fall either above or below the
threshold, to be included or excluded, respectively.
COPY BEATS After you have the beat slider set as desired, click
In multitrack audio recording projects, it is often Apply.
useful to take the beats from a guide track and
apply them to other tracks so that their beats match SOUNDBITE TEMPO SUB-MENU
the guide track. You can then apply beat-based The Soundbite Tempo sub-menu (Audio menu)
edits or processing consistently across the tracks. provides several commands for managing
soundbite tempo maps. The following sections
For example, you might have a kick and snare track explain each command.
that represent the beat structure of your music
perfectly, and you might wish to apply it to a highly
syncopated conga track so that its beat-based edits
are more consistent and in line with the overall
music.
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HALVE SOUNDBITE TEMPO DOUBLE SOUNDBITE TEMPO
The Halve Soundbite Tempo command reduces the The Double Soundbite Tempo command raises the
tempos in the tempo map to half of their current tempos in the tempo map to double their current
value. For example, if the tempo is current value. For example, if the tempo is currently 60
170 BPM, this command will make it 85 BPM. The BPM, this command will make it 120 BPM. The
audio in the file does not change (no time audio in the file does not change (no time
stretching occurs); just the tempo map is changed. stretching occurs); just the tempo map is changed.
This command is useful if you wish to play back the This command is useful if you wish to play back the
soundbite at twice its original tempo. To do so, soundbite at half of its original tempo. To do so,
apply this command, and then use Audio menu> apply this command, and then use Audio menu>
Adjust Soundbite to Sequence Tempo. Adjust Soundbite to Sequence Tempo.
Figure 50-15: In this example, beats are being copied from the Acoustic Guitar track to the bass and drum tracks.
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FIND TEMPO FACTOR NEAR SEQUENCE using the New Soundbites from Beats command
TEMPO (Audio menu > Audio Beats). Gaps of silence
The Find Tempo Factor Near Sequence Tempo between soundbites can be audible and usually
command scales the soundbite’s tempo map to the sound unnatural. The Smooth Audio Edits feature
nearest multiple that is close to the sequence fills these gaps with “room tone” to mask them.
tempo. For example, if tempo analysis produces a
tempo that is double or half the actual tempo of the Room tone
audio, and you know that the soundbite’s actual Room tone is Digital Performer’s term for a small
tempo is very close to the sequence tempo, this portion of ambient sound from the original audio
command will multiply or divide the tempo map file (or possibly another audio file). Digital
by 1.5 (or 2, 3, 3.5, etc.) as needed to match the Performer can automatically search the parent
sequence tempo as closely as possible. audio file for a small portion of the waveform that
consists of noise floor: consistent, low-level
SET TEMPO FROM FILE NAME background noise that can fill silence between
Often, loops and other audio files contain their soundbites and crossfade seamlessly with the
tempo directly in the file name. For example, a loop beginning and end of each soundbite. Or you can
might be named Congas_142bpm.wav. In this case, manually specify a room tone audio file. In either
you can quickly set the tempo map of the loop to case, Digital Performer then fills the gaps between
142 BPM using the Set Tempo From File Name soundbites with the room tone “silence”, which
command. matches the noise floor in the soundbites enough
to provide a smooth, unnoticeable transition from
Specifically, this command searches the file name, one soundbite to the next.
starting from the beginning, for a number in the
range 60–250. The first number encountered in the At times, the gap to be filled may sit between
file name that’s in the accepted range will be soundbites that are from different recording
assigned as the soundbite tempo. If the file’s tempo sessions with completely different noise floor
appears in the file name, but is outside of this characteristics. If so, Digital Performer still tries to
range, use the Set Soundbite Tempo command make the transition as smooth as possible. To do
(page 621) to manually enter the tempo. so, it finds noise from each parent audio file and
creates a new soundbite to fill the gap that consists
SET SYNC POINT AT FIRST BEAT of a crossfade blend from one file’s noise to the
Choose Audio menu> Set Sync Point at First Beat to other file’s noise.
place the soundbite’s sync point to the first beat
within the current time range selection. Placing the
soundbite’s sync point at the first beat allows you to
quantize the placement of the soundbite on any
downbeat relative to the sequence time ruler. For
details, see “Aligning beat-analyzed audio to the
time ruler” on page 628.
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BEAT DETECTION ENGINE
To apply Smooth Audio Edits, make a time range floor), and then inserting room tone soundbites to
selection over the area that contains the gaps fill any remaining gaps. This last approach usually
between soundbites that you wish to fill. Then produces the most natural sounding and complete
choose Audio menu> Smooth Audio Edits. A results. To employ it, choose Edge Editing then
window appears (Figure 50-18) with the several Inserting Audio From File. If you wish to edge edit
options discussed below. only or insert room tone only, choose either Edge
Editing Only or Inserting Room Tone Audio From
Specifying what gaps to fill File.
To fill all gaps of silence, choose Replace Silence
with Room Tone. Specifying how room tone is generated
The final options in the Smooth Audio Edits dialog
To specify the size of the gaps to be filled, choose let you choose how room tone is generated. If you
Only Fill Gaps smaller than _ with Room Tone. want Digital Performer to automatically generate
room tone by searching for it near the soundbites
If you wish to automatically generate crossfades
in their parent audio file, choose Creating Room
between soundbites and the newly created room
Tone from Adjacent Audio. If you would like to
tone soundbites between them, check the Crossfade
create your own room tone audio file and use that
Edits check box.
instead, choose Use Room Tone Soundbite and click
the Choose button to specify the file.
Specifying how to fill gaps
The Find Room Tone By options let you decide how
SMOOTH AUDIO EDITS AGAIN
the gaps will be filled. There are essentially two
If you wish to apply the same smoothing settings as
basic techniques for doing so: edge edit (trim) the
were just used, hold down the Command/Ctrl key
edges of the existing soundbites to “uncover” room
and choose Audio menu> Smooth Audio Edits
tone that is just past the edge of the soundbite, or
Again. Doing so applies the same settings last used
insert new room tone soundbites. Or, you can do
by this command to the current selection, as a
both by trimming soundbites as far as possible
convenient shortcut.
until they run out of audio (or run into other
portions of the waveform that rise above the noise
Before
After
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BEAT DETECTION ENGINE
CHAPTER 51 System Exclusive
Digital Performer allows you to record, playback, for the most part a System Exclusive message is only
and edit MIDI System Exclusive (SysEx) messages. understood by the type of equipment that generated
Common types of System Exclusive messages it. As a result, recording a patch dump from one
include patch dumps, preset selections, editing synthesizer and sending it to another will generally
parameters, etc. Digital Performer can thus store not produce useful results. Digital Performer does
patches, samples, and other important information not respond to or interpret System Exclusive data;
from your MIDI equipment in system exclusive any analysis or editing of the body of the message is
form. Patches, edit parameters, and other special the user’s responsibility.
commands can be incorporated into musical
sequences, greatly expanding the resources of your Finally, the end of message byte, F7, marks the end
MIDI sound modules. of the System Exclusive data, and signals Digital
Performer to interpret subsequent information as
Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643 standard MIDI data.
Recording and playing SysEx messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 643
Viewing and editing SysEx data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644 As defined in the MIDI specification, a System
Editing data in the system exclusive window . . . . . . . 645 Exclusive message must begin and end with an F0
Inserting SysEx data in the event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646 and F7 byte, respectively. In addition, only
Editing SysEx data with the Edit Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646 hexadecimal values of 7F (127 in base ten) or less
Transmitting a SysEx message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646 are allowed. When you click the OK button after
Recording SysEx into the Editor Window . . . . . . . . . . . 647 inserting or editing the contents of a System
Recording SysEx into a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647 Exclusive event, Digital Performer will scroll to and
Hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648 highlight any bytes that violate the conditions just
Be Careful. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649 stated.
643
Because System Exclusive messages have no Insertion Replacement
channel assignment, they are sent to every MIDI Mode Mode Button
Button
device connected to a port. If you have several
devices of the same model or brand connected to
the same port they may all respond to a message
sent to or from just one of them. Conversely, some
manufacturers encode channel assignments into
the body of the System Exclusive message. Digital
Performer is unable to access or rechannelize such
an assignment.
working with System Exclusive data, try patching The window is divided into a top and bottom
the MIDI device directly to your MIDI interface to portion. The bottom portion displays the system
prevent interaction with other equipment. exclusive data contained in the event. The top
portion is used to type in and transmit short
Note that the Input Filter, found in Digital
system exclusive “request” messages, which can be
Performer’s Setup menu, defaults to System
sent to a synthesizer that requires a short system
Exclusive unchecked. Unless you explicitly check
exclusive bulk dump request message to initiate a
the box next to System Exclusive, you will be
bulk dump to be recorded into the lower portion of
unable to record System Exclusive messages.
the window.
VIEWING AND EDITING SYSEX DATA The System Exclusive data is displayed in
System Exclusive data can be viewed and edited in
hexadecimal (base 16) numbering. Each pair of
the Event List window for the track on which it is
hexadecimal digits, which include the numerals 0-
recorded. In an Event List, a System Exclusive
9 and the letters A-F, represents a byte of data. Each
message will consist of the System Exclusive
line contains eight pairs of digits. To the left of each
symbol and as much data as can fit on one line:
line of data is a two-digit hexadecimal number
indicating the position of the first byte of data in
that row. The first row starts at position 00, the next
at 08, the third at 10 (this equals 16 in
To see the entire message, Option/Alt-click or hexadecimal), and so forth. To the right of each
double-click on the System Exclusive event. A row of data is its translation into alphanumeric
window appears:
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SY ST E M E X C L USI V E
characters (using the ASCII standard). Most of the then highlights the next character. Use this mode if
time this translation will be garbled and useless, you are just changing a few bytes in a system
but patch names and other text in the System exclusive message.
Exclusive message may be visible.
The scroll bars let you scroll through long 1 Open the Event List window that contains the
messages. The Grow box in the lower right corner System Exclusive event.
lets you adjust the size of the window. When you
press the OK button, Digital Performer checks the 2 Double-click on the System Exclusive event.
changes you have made to the data and will scroll
to and highlight any byte that does not conform to The System Exclusive window appears.
the MIDI specification. After confirming your
3 Select the editing mode.
changes, Digital Performer closes the window.
Pressing the Cancel button closes the window
Click on the appropriate button. If just a few bytes
without making any changes to the data.
need to be edited, use Replacement mode.
Otherwise, use Insertion mode.
EDITING DATA IN THE SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE
WINDOW
4 Edit the data.
You can directly edit the hexadecimal data in the
System Exclusive window using the mouse and
In Insertion mode, delete the incorrect bytes and
computer keyboard. There are two basic editing
type in new data. In Replacement mode, click on
modes: Insertion mode and Replacement mode.
the first digit of data to be replaced and type in the
The editing mode is selected by clicking on the
new data. The old data is written over.
appropriate button at the top center of the window;
the currently selected mode is indicated with a 5 Press OK to confirm your changes and close the
darkened border. window, or Cancel to close the window without
making any changes to the data.
Insertion mode: This mode is similar to standard
computer text entry. To insert new values, click the If you press OK, Digital Performer will scroll to and
mouse to position the insertion point, and type in highlight any byte that does not conform to MIDI
new values. Use the delete key to delete previous specification requirements.
digits. You may edit only in the hexadecimal
portion of the display. Cutting, Copying, and Pasting
To Cut, Copy, or Paste a selection of hex data in
replacement mode:
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SYSTEM EXC L U S I V E
Click on the Insertion mode button at the center of
the window.
5 Press the Tab key to move to the data field. 2 Click between the F0 and F7 in the top portion
of the window.
The System Exclusive window appears.
3 Type in the system exclusive data.
6 Select Insertion mode.
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SY ST E M E X C L USI V E
4 Click Transmit. bulk dump request message, click the Transmit
button. If all is well, the system exclusive data will
RECORDING SYSEX INTO THE EDITOR appear in the lower portion of the window.
WINDOW
To record system exclusive into the system 9 Click OK to save the system exclusive data or
exclusive editor window: cancel to discard it.
1 Be sure that your MIDI hardware and cables are It is not necessary to enable system exclusive data
set up properly. in the Input Filter when recording data into the
system exclusive editor window.
Make sure there is a MIDI cable from the MIDI
OUT on the device you will be recording from to RECORDING SYSEX INTO A TRACK
the MIDI IN on your interface. To record a system exclusive message into a track:
2 If Multi Record is enabled (Studio menu), 1 Be sure that your MIDI hardware and cables are
uncheck (disable) it to avoid problems. set up properly.
3 Open an Event List window for a track and Make sure there is a MIDI cable from the MIDI
choose System Exclusive from the Insert menu. OUT on the device you will be recording from to
the MIDI IN on your interface.
4 Press the Insert button.
2 Choose Input Filter from the Setup menu in
A system exclusive event will appear.
Digital Performer and check the System Exclusive
option.
5 Type in the measure, beat and tick location for
the event, using the Tab key to move from one field
If the System Exclusive option is not checked,
to the next.
system exclusive data will be filtered on input and
will not be recorded.
6 Press tab one more time to open the System
Exclusive Editor window.
3 If Multi Record is enabled (Studio menu),
uncheck (disable) it to avoid problems.
The system exclusive editor window will appear.
4 Record-enable a track in the Tracks window.
7 If necessary, type in a bulk dump request
message in the top portion of the window.
5 Start recording.
This is only necessary if your synth requires it.
6 Send the system exclusive data from your MIDI
Many synths allow you to initiate the transfer by
device.
pressing a button on the synth itself.
To do so, press the button on the device—or
8 Initiate the system exclusive data transfer from
whatever is needed—to cause it to transmit the
your MIDI device.
desired system exclusive dump. If you have the
MIDI Monitor window open, you will see the
To do so, press the button on the device—or
whatever is needed—to cause it to transmit the
desired system exclusive dump. If you typed in a
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SYSTEM EXC L U S I V E
MIDI System Common light (labelled Co) turn Load command to quickly access them. To restore
black while the data is being received by Digital a patch or bank, load the desired sequence and play
Performer. it.
7 Wait a few seconds, longer if it is a large bulk You can paste System Exclusive dumps of sounds
dump, and then stop recording. and settings at the start of a sequence. This lets you
use patches or settings that can’t fit into your MIDI
8 Open the Event List to view the System devices’ preset storage, and ensures that the right
Exclusive event in the track. sounds are loaded for the sequence. Use the
standard Copy and Paste commands to place the
What you should see is something like this:
system exclusive events at the start of the sequence.
It is best to leave a measure or two of space after the
system exclusive messages and the start of the
music, to allow your equipment to process the data.
Use the comments fields in the Chunks and Tracks
windows to describe the system exclusive data
you’ve pasted into your sequence; system exclusive
messages are hard to identify from their
appearance.
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CHAPTER 52 Clippings
651
Here’s the difference: a Digital Performer clipping Additionally, folder aliases or shortcuts can be
window will be available regardless of the file you placed in any location where clipping folders are
have open. A project clipping window is specific to located. For example, you could create an alias to
the file you create it in; it will save and close with your Apple Loops folder (/Library/Audio/
the file. Startup clipping windows can hold Mac OS Apple Loops) in the global clippings folder. This
aliases or Windows shortcuts to other documents provides a way to treat any location on your hard
that will automatically launch when you open a drive as a clipping window, making its content
Digital Performer project. Startup clipping readily available within Digital Performer without
windows are project-specific, so you can launch duplicating the folder’s contents.
documents that pertain specifically to the project
in which you create them. Renaming a clipping window
To rename a clipping window under Mac OS,
Startup clipping windows are useful for opening right-click its name, go up one level in the path
CueMix files, Reason sessions or other documents menu, and change the name of its corresponding
that are related to your Digital Performer project. folder in the Mac OS Finder. On Windows, rename
the clipping directory, which can be found at one of
After you choose the type of clipping window you’d these locations (depending on the type of clipping
like to create, a new clipping window appears: window):
Project clippings:
(Path to Project)/Clippings/
Global clippings:
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CLIPPINGS
Deleting a clipping window To drag and drop a clipping, drag it by its icon (to
To delete a clipping window: the left of its name) and drop it into the desired
window. Or, you can click it first to select it and
1 Make it the active window. then click on it anywhere to grab it.
2 Choose Clippings > Delete Clipping Window When you drag and drop a clipping, you are
from the Project menu. actually making a copy of it; the original remains in
the clipping window.
Or you can trash or recycle the window’s
corresponding folder in the Finder or Explorer.
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CLIPPINGS
Plug-in effects clippings Deleting a clipping
You can select one or more plug-ins for a track in To delete a clipping, drag it to the trash, or select it
the Mixing Board (they must be instantiated on the and press the delete key.
same track) then turn them into a clipping (as
shown in Figure 67-32 on page 791) by either Renaming a clipping
dragging and dropping them into a clipping To rename a clipping, Option/Alt-click the name of
window (as explained in “Plug-ins as clippings” on a clipping.
page 790) or by choosing Edit menu> Copy to
Re-ordering clippings in the Clipping window
Clipping Window.
You can re-arrange items in the clipping window by
Saving sequences and songs as clippings grabbing their icon to the left of their name and
You can select a sequence or song in the Chunks dragging up or down in the list as desired.
window and turn it into a clipping by choosing Edit
Launching other documents from the clipping
menu> Copy to Clipping Window. window
Double clicking on files and folders in a clipping
Selecting clippings
window to open the folder or open a document in
To select a single clipping, click its name. To select
its native application.
several clippings, drag across their names, or shift
click each one. Dragging items in from the desktop
A clipping window can contain any item from your
Auditioning clippings
computer desktop.
To audition a clipping, double click the clipping. To
audition multiple clippings, select them as Dragging clipping files in from the desktop
described above and then double-click one of the Clippings files (located in one of Digital
highlighted clippings. Performer’s clipping folders) can be dragged from
the computer desktop to any window in Digital
If you are auditioning audio clippings and don’t
Performer that accepts clippings.
here anything, you may have soundbites whose
parent audio file has been deleted, or they might Alias/shortcut clippings
not match the current sample rate. Mac OS alias or Windows shortcut clippings work
just like the original file — with two exceptions:
In the case of MIDI data, you may not have a MIDI
rename and delete operate on the alias/shortcut
device connected properly. Digital Performer
and not on the original file. Otherwise, Digital
attempts to play MIDI clippings on the devices that
Performer handles the alias/shortcut just like the
they were originally assigned to when created.
original file.
Digital Performer tries to find a suitable device if
the original device is not available. Exporting a selection as a clipping file
To export the currently selected audio and/or
If auditioning from the clipping window is not MIDI data as a clipping, choose File menu > Export
working out, you can always drop the clipping into > Selection As Clipping File.
a track and set up the playback settings exactly the
way you want.
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CLIPPINGS
CHAPTER 53 Custom Consoles
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CUSTOM CONSOLE BASICS BUILDING A CUSTOM CONSOLE
Custom Console control items serve two functions. Custom Console controls are created and displayed
First, they monitor MIDI data being played from in custom console windows. You can create as
their target track or MIDI channel, animating in many custom console windows as you like. They
real time to reflect the data’s current value. For save, close, and open like other Digital Performer
example, let’s say you have a track containing a windows. They are saved with the file in which you
stream of controller #1 (mod wheel) data, and the create them, although the Load command (File
controllers increase in value over the span of two menu) can export them to other projects.
measures of music (in the range from zero to 127).
A control item assigned to monitor controller #1 in If you would like to create your own customized
the track will move as the track is played back, console, you can open a new, blank custom
reflecting the changes in the values of the console. To do so, choose New Console from Project
controller. menu > Consoles or any console’s window target
menu.
Secondly, control items generate new continuous
MIDI controller data in real time when you take Quick Reference
control of them, and send the data to either a MIDI A new, empty console window appears. It has a
device or track. When you take control of a control standard title bar with close, minimize, and zoom
item, the new data that it generates overrides the buttons, a window target menu, mini-menu and
data already in the track. grow box like a standard Digital Performer
window. Drag the title bar to move it. Click the
To demonstrate this, let’s return to the mod wheel close box to close it.
example above. If you play back the track and grab
the control item with the mouse half way through Window target menu
the stream of mod wheel data, you will take control Edit palette
of the track with the control item. The mod wheel
data remains in the track (assuming that recording Mini-menu
is not engaged), but it does not get played as long as
you are gripping the control item with the mouse. If
you release the control item, it will immediately Control
item area
begin monitoring the existing data in the track
again.
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C UST O M C O NSO L E S
Mini-menu: Use the “Edit Console” item under the Set to Zero: Sets the value of the highlighted
mini-menu to toggle Edit mode on or off. A variety control items to zero.
of other commands are also available; see
“Mini-menu Quick Reference”. Set to Null Point: Sets the value of a highlighted
master control item to its null point.
Edit palette: This appears when Edit mode is
enabled. To add control items to the console, drag Group: Opens the Grouping dialog box for the
them from the Edit palette to the control item area. highlighted control items. This command allows
you to assign control items to a group all at once
Control Items area: This is the area where you rather than one at a time.
create and position the knobs, sliders, buttons, etc.
Ungroup: Removes the highlighted control items
Mini-menu Quick Reference from their assigned group.
Edit Console: Toggles between two modes in the
console. When Edit Mode is on (the item is Control Assignment: Opens the Control
checked), console items can be moved, resized, Assignment dialog box for the currently selected
deleted, and otherwise graphically manipulated, control item in the console. This dialog contains all
and the edit palette appears. When Edit mode is of the settings for how the control item behaves.
off, the Edit palette is hidden and control items
cannot be moved; instead, sliders slide, knobs turn, Set Source: Lets you assign a remote control to one
buttons push, and so on. or more selected control items together at one time.
Set Console Name: Provides a dialog box in which Set Target: Lets you assign one or more control
you can change the name that displays in the title items to a destination together at one time.
bar of the console and in the Window menu.
Min(imum) Time and Value Change: Lets you
Duplicate: Makes a copy of selected control items. control the density of the controller data generated
by a control item by increasing or reducing the
Snap to Grid: Toggles whether or not control items minimum allowed time and value change between
snap to an invisible grid in the console when they controllers.
are moved or resized. When checked, Grid Snap is
on. When not checked, Grid Snap is off. Name item: Lets you type in a name for a currently
selected control item.
Set Grid Spacing: Determines the resolution of the
snap grid when snapping is turned on. The Delete Control: Removes the currently selected
resolution is measured in screen pixels, which are control items from the console.
approximately 72 dots per inch (dpi).
Delete Console: removes the console from the
Align controls: Lines up selected controls to one screen and removes its name from the Window
another in a configuration that you choose. For menu.
example, you can line up the centers of several
control items by selecting them and choosing this
command.
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Creating a slider, knob, or button 6 (Optional) Set the minimum and maximum
To create a control item: time change.
1 (Optional) Select the Snap to Grid menu item to These two options (on the left) control the density
turn the snap grid on or off. of the data that the control item generates. The
lower the values, the more dense the data. Higher
This causes the control item to snap to an invisible values thin out the data. Try to use as high a value
grid in the console window when you create it, as you can while still maintaining the musical effect
which can be useful for lining up multiple buttons you wish to achieve. If you use values that are too
and sliders. high, and the data is too thinly generated, it may
not sound good.
2 Drag the item you would like to insert from the
Edit palette to the Control Item area. 7 Choose the minimum and maximum values for
the control item.
3 When you release the mouse, the control
Assignment dialog box appears. These are the absolute lowest and highest values
that the control item can have. For controllers, the
maximum range is 0 to 127. For pitch bend, the
range is -8192 to +8191.
4 (Optional) Choose a source data type for the The control item appears in the console. Notice
control item. that it has a box around it. You can click the handle
in the lower left of the box to further reshape or
See “Making the source assignment” on page 660 resize the item.
for more information.
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Opening the Control Assignment window Sliders, knobs, and buttons in Digital Performer
The Control Assignment window is where you can control just about any type of MIDI data,
make all the settings for a control item. This including:
window automatically appears when you first
create the control item. You can revisit the window ■ Continuous controllers
at any time. To open the Control Assignment ■ Switch controllers (either as switch controllers or
window for a control item: as continuous controllers)
1 Put the Console window into Edit mode (with ■ System exclusive messages
the Edit Console mini-menu item highlighted as
■ Notes and velocities
shown in Figure 53-2 on page 656).
For velocities, the slider or knob modifies the
2 Double-click the control item. velocities of notes in the target track as they play.
As a shortcut, you can skip step 1 above and simply The Target is the place where the data will be sent
double-click right next to the control item (not by the slider, knob or button. The target can be:
directly on the control item itself).
■ A track
Making the target assignment
The target assignment is made in the Control ■ A MIDI device
Assignment dialog box when you first create the Target track
slider, knob or button as described in “Creating a When the target is a track, the data from the
slider, knob, or button” on page 658. The target can control item is sent to the track, which then records
be changed at any time in the Control Assignment and plays the data. In turn, the control item
window (see “Opening the Control Assignment monitors the material it recorded in the track,
window” above). animating as it does so. However, the control item
only records into that one track in that one
The target assignment consists of two things: the sequence; it cannot control another track in
type of MIDI data and the target, which is the place another sequence, unless you reassign it.
where the data will be sent. To access the target
settings, open the Control Assignment window for Target MIDI device
the control item as described in the previous When the target is a MIDI device, the data from the
section. control item is sent to the track in the current
sequence which is assigned to that device. This is
the most flexible of the target assignments because
it doesn’t matter what sequence is playing at the
time. As long as one of its tracks is assigned to the
device, the control item data will be recorded and
monitored in the track.
The target data type is the specific type of MIDI data Echo data from source to target
This option, when checked, causes the control item
that the control item will send and monitor. A
to pass source data directly to the target
control item only monitors one track and one data
destination, exactly as it was received. When
type at a time.
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CUSTOM CONSOLES
unchecked, the control item generates the target Source track
data type as specified by the settings below this Notice that the source can also be a track. Source
check box. data in the track then controls the slider. This
allows you to create interesting effects. For
Making the source assignment example, you can assign the source of a slider to be
The source assignment is made in the Control the velocities of notes in track 3. You can then
Assignment dialog box when you first create the assign the target to be controller number 7
slider, knob or button as described in “Creating a (volume) and assign it to the synth playing back
slider, knob, or button” on page 658. The source the notes in track three. When you play the track,
can be changed at any time in the Control the slider reads the velocities and sends out a
Assignment window (see “Opening the Control volume controllers to match the velocities, thus
Assignment window” on page 659). enhancing the volume change effect from the
velocities.
What is a source for the slider or knob? It is a device
other than the mouse which you can use to control Only follow source when selected
the slider or knob. Normally, you change the value When this option is checked, the control item will
of a slider or knob by dragging it with the mouse. only respond to source data with it is selected. (See
At times, however, it might be useful to move it “Selecting control items” on page 663.) When this
from an external controller, such as the modulation option is unchecked, the control item will follow
wheel or data entry slider on your MIDI keyboard source data whenever it is received by Digital
controller. To do so, set the Source assignment to Performer. This option is useful if you have several
match the incoming MIDI channel and data type control items with the same source that you would
for the controller you wish to use. like to be able to control one at a time, as needed.
The source assignment consists of two things: a Changing the source or target
type of MIDI data and the MIDI channel or track To change the source or target assignment, open
from which the data is being generated. the Control Assignment window for the control
item as explained in “Opening the Control
Assignment window” on page 659.
5 To use the button, disable Edit mode and click Labelling a slider, knob, or button
the increment (or decrement) button. Often you will want to label the sliders, knobs, and
buttons that you create. If you didn’t set the name
Adding a value box to a slider, knob, or button when you first created the control item, set it as
A value box displays the current value of the slider, follows:
knob, or button, and it will update continuously as
you move the slider or knob. 1 Click the border of the control item to select it.
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CUSTOM CONSOLES
Alternatively, you can Shift-click anywhere on the 2 The Control Assignment dialog box appears. Set
control item to select it. the Source and Target items as desired.
2 Choose “Name Item” from the mini-menu. See “Making the target assignment” on page 659
and “Making the source assignment” on page 660.
3 Type in the desired name.
3 Select the type of button you wish it to be.
4 Click OK to confirm your choice.
There are three types of buttons:
To add a label to the control item:
The label appears. ■ Single state button: sends a single message only.
2 If necessary, drag the label to the desired ■ Two-state button: toggles between two
position. messages, sending the first when it is pressed and
the second when it is released. For example, you
You can do so with grid snapping enabled or might want to create a temporary mute button that
disabled. mutes the track only while you are holding down
the button. If you choose this type of button, you
Changing a label
have two values to enter to the right of the option.
To change the text of a label:
■ On/off button: toggles between two messages,
1 Click the label to select it, or click the border of sending the first when it is pressed and the second
the control item. when it is pressed again, and so on. For example,
the button might toggle between a volume
2 Choose “Name Item” from the mini-menu. controller of zero and 127 to mute and unmute a
track. If you choose this type of button, you have
3 Type in the new name and click OK.
two values to enter to the right of the option.
☛ Note: as a shortcut, you can Option/Alt-click 4 If you want the button to act like a mute button,
the label. click the “M” next to off value button as shown
below.
Creating a button
Buttons send one MIDI message at a time. For When this setting is enabled, the button sends the
example, a button might send a patch change to a current value of its target controller type at the time
synth or a MIDI patcher. the button is unmuted, instead of sending a specific
maximum value. This makes a button assigned to
To create a button:
controller #7 (volume) act just like a real mute
1 Drag a button or text button from the Edit button by returning the track to the current volume
palette to the Control Item area. at the moment it is unmuted.
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C UST O M C O NSO L E S
3 Choose Cut or Copy from the Edit menu.
6 If desired, type in a name for the button. 1 Make sure “Edit Console” is enabled (via the
mini-menu).
If it is a text button, the name will be displayed
inside the button. 2 Select the items to be aligned.
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CUSTOM CONSOLES
Moving or removing control items CONTROLLING KNOBS AND SLIDERS
After you have selected control items as described The following sections explain how to control
in the previous section, you can drag them sliders and knobs.
anywhere in the console window. You can also
remove them from the console by hitting the delete Controlling a slider or knob with the mouse
key, by choosing Erase from the Edit menu, or by Try moving the slider with the following actions to
choosing Delete control in the console mini-menu. familiarize yourself with them.
Duplicating a control item Drag the handles to Click the slider value
To duplicate a control item: change the slider’s value and type a new value
smoothly.
2 Choose “Duplicate” from the Console Click the +/- Click anywhere on the Press the +/-
buttons to move bar to snap the slider to buttons to move the
mini-menu. the slider by one. that position. slider smoothly.
Changing the parameters of a control item To turn a knob, simply click on it and drag
To change the source, target, grouping, and other horizontally or vertically.
parameters for a control item, open the Control
Assignment dialog as described in “Opening the Controlling a knob or slider with a mod or pitch
Control Assignment window” on page 659. bend wheel
After you have made the source assignment as
Moving or resizing a control item described in “Making the source assignment” on
To move or resize a control item, you need to be in page 660, click the slider or knob name to highlight
edit mode. To enter edit mode, click “Edit Console” it and move the mod wheel. You will see the slider
under the mini-menu so that it becomes checked. respond as you move the wheel.
When you are in edit mode, you can only edit
control items. You cannot use them, i.e. you cannot ☛ If the “Only follow source when selected”
slide a slider, turn a knob, press a button, etc. To option is unchecked (in the Control Assignment
use the control items again, unhighlight the edit window for the knob or slider), it is not necessary
mode button. to select the control item. See “Only follow source
when selected” on page 660.
As a shortcut, you can enter edit mode temporarily
When a slider or knob is being controlled
by holding down the Command/Ctrl key (instead
externally, data from the external source is
of enabling “Edit Console”) as you click the control
exclusive to the slider; that is, the data is used solely
item. Doing so allows you to move it or resize it
to control the slider and will not be accidentally
without enabling “Edit Console” under the mini-
recorded into another track.
menu.
Remapping data on the fly
External control is a very powerful feature because
it allows you to reassign continuous data in real
time as you move the controller. For example, a
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C UST O M C O NSO L E S
volume slider that is being controlled by a mod is specially designed so that the data from the
wheel is actually receiving controller #1 data from control item will not erase data that already exists
the wheel and then converting it into controller #7 in the track. Instead, data generated by a knob,
data on–the–fly. slider, or button is merged with existing data. For
example, you can record some mod wheel data
Digital Performer also allows you to control sliders from the control item without erasing any of the
with several types of data that you might not notes in the track.
consider at first: notes, velocities, and aftertouch.
On the other hand, data from the control item
Moving a slider or knob during playback replaces any existing data of the same type. If a track
To move the slider during playback, simply press already contains mod wheel data from measure 1
the play button and move the slider with the mouse to measure 10, and you record briefly with the
or mod wheel. slider in measure 5, the new data recorded from the
slider will replace the existing mod wheel data in
Controlling a slider or knob with notes
measure 5.
MIDI notes are numbered from 0 to 127. C3 is note
number 60, for example. Note numbers With this in mind, sliders, knobs and buttons can
correspond exactly to controller numbers, so be recorded in one of the following ways:
pressing a note on your keyboard will set the slider
to its corresponding value. This is useful for ■ You can record a single “snapshot” of the current
creating sudden, precise changes in controller setting of all the sliders and buttons in a console. To
value rather than smooth changes. Keep in mind do so, set the Main Counter to the desired location,
while you do this that most keyboards do not have set up the console the way you wish, and then
127 keys and therefore will not allow you to span choose “Take Automation Snapshot” from the
the entire zero to 127 range of the slider. Region menu. You can also take a snap during
playback or while recording, using the Region
Controlling a slider or knob with velocity and menu or by pressing the keyboard shortcut
aftertouch
(Control/Win-’). For more information, see
Note velocities can also be used to control the
“Taking a Snapshot of a Console” on page 666.
slider, since they also span the range from zero to
127. The harder you strike a key, the higher (or ■ You can record during playback, with the slider
lower) the slider will go. This might be useful for or knob recording continuously, even when you are
setting up a slider to send a controller that, in turn, not moving the slider, so that it continually replaces
affects a synth in a certain way: as you strike the key its own data type in the track.
harder, the musical effect will become stronger (or
weaker). Preparing to record
There are two ways to record knob or slider data
The same applies to aftertouch data. The harder without modifying or erasing any existing data:
you press on the key, the higher (or lower) the
control item will go. ■ Record-enable the target track and place Digital
Performer in overdub record mode.
RECORDING A KNOB, SLIDER, OR BUTTON
OR
After a control item’s target and source parameters
have been set up, you can record data generated by
it into its target track. Recording with control items
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■ Leave all tracks unarmed for recording (to Summary
prevent accidental erasure of existing material) and Here are several situations and a description of
then make sure that the console window is the what control items will do in each case:
front-most window when you begin recording.
Digital Performer is not playing or recording:
When recording console controls, a track does not When the current location of the sequence is
have to be record-enabled — as long as the console changed with the Main Counter, all control items
window is the front-most window. When the jump to the value of their assigned parameter on
console window is active, Digital Performer allows their assigned track. They may then be moved; as
you to press the record button, even with no tracks they move they send out MIDI data of the assigned
armed for recording. data type on the channels of their assigned tracks.
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To take a snapshot of the current position of the ANIMATION DURING PLAYBACK
sliders, knobs, and buttons in a console: Unless the control item is being dragged, it
monitors its target track, animating during
1 Set the main counter to the desired location at playback to reflect MIDI data that it has recorded
which you wish to record the snapshot. into the track. In general, the control item always
reflects the current value of its target data type,
You can also take the snapshot during playback or
even when cueing the sequence to a different
recording.
playback location.
2 Set up the sliders, knobs and other control items
USING CONTROLLERS ABOVE 63
the way you would like them to be in the snapshot. Only controllers 0 to 63 are considered to be
“continuous” MIDI controllers — ones that can
3 Select the control items in the console that you
express any value between 0 and 127. Controllers
want to include in the snapshot.
64 to 120 are defined by the MIDI specification as
See “Selecting control items” on page 663. “switch” controllers — ones that are either on or
off. Controllers 121 to 127 are reserved for special
4 Choose “Take Automation Snapshot” from the purposes.
Region menu, or press its keyboard shortcut
(Control/Win-’). Some MIDI hardware, however, treats controllers
64 to 120 as continuous controllers. Digital
When you take a snapshot, each control item Performer’s control items can generate any
generates a MIDI event at that instant. The value of controller from 0 to 120 as continuous data,
the event is determined by the control item’s providing you with maximum flexibility with
position at the time the snapshot is taken. The MIDI devices that treat controllers 64 to 120 as
event is inserted into the control item’s target track. continuous controllers.
If you have taken the snapshot of many sliders,
knobs, etc., each item places its data into its own GROUPING CONTROL ITEMS
target track. Digital Performer’s custom consoles provide the
ability to group control items together and control
Editing a snapshot them from a master control item. Grouping allows
After data has been inserted into one or more you to control an entire bank of controls at the
tracks by taking a snapshot, the data can be edited same time from one control item. Up to 32 control
in the standard fashion in the tracks. For example, items can be assigned to a single group, and Digital
if you wanted to remove the snapshot, select the Performer allows up to 26 groups, each identified
data in the tracks window and delete it. by a letter from A to Z. Any control item can be a
master control item or a grouped control item.
Retaking a snapshot
You can retake a snapshot by first placing Digital In addition, a master control item that controls a
Performer’s playback head (the wiper) on the same group can, in turn, be a member of another group
tick at which the snapshot was first recorded, then controlled by another master. This allows you to
taking a new snapshot. create sub-groups of control items, and sub-groups
within sub-groups. There is no limit to the number
of layers you can create.
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CUSTOM CONSOLES
Master and slave control items the same direction as its master. Negative polarity
Each control item in the group can have its own, causes the control item to move in the opposite
customized relation to the group’s master control direction from its master.
item. Grouping provides three ways in which a
control item (slave) responds to its group master: Negative polarity is extremely useful for many
the grouped control item can match, offset, or scale musical effects, such as cross-fading or panning.
values received from the master. You can bring the volume of one track up at the
same time as you bring the volume of another track
When matching the master, the slave simply goes to down.
the same value as the master. For example, if the
master control item is set to 79, the slave goes to 79 Null points
as well. In the grouping offset and scaling examples above,
you may have noticed that an important part of
When offsetting the master, the slave can start at a how masters and slaves work is their initial values.
different value than the master. When the master In Digital Performer, the master’s initial value is
moves, the slave moves by the same amount, or by called the null point and the slave’s initial value is
a percentage of the amount. For example, let’s say called its reference value.
that the master is at 0, the slave is at 20, and the
slave is offsetting by 100%. If you move the master A master’s null point is the value of the master
to 50, the slave will move to 70. If the slave is slider on which changes to slaves are based. It is
offsetting by 50%, it will only move to 45, which is indicated on a slider as a bold hash mark behind
20 plus half of 50 (25). the slider bar.
When scaling the master, the slave can start at a The slave’s reference value is its value when the
different value than the master. When the master master is at its null point. Whenever you would like
moves, the slave moves by a percentage of the to see the reference value of a slave, move its master
distance that the master moves in its relation to the to its null point.
end of the control item. For example, lets say that
the master is at 0, the slave is at 64, and the slave is Null point
scaling by 100%. When the master moves to 64,
which is half way to the top, the slave moves to 96,
which is halfway of its distance to the top. If the
master goes to 96, which is 3/4ths of its distance to
the top, the slave goes to 112, which is 3/4ths of its
The slave responds to changes in the master slider’s
distance to the top. By the time the master has
value, which are measured from the master slider’s
reached 127, so has the slave.
null point, and it moves from its reference point
Slaves can be offset or scaled by a percentage based on those changes. As the master moves from
between 0 and 999%. its null point, the slave moves from its reference
value.
Polarity
In addition to matching, offsetting, and scaling, a
slave can react positively or negatively to its master.
Positive polarity causes the control item to move in
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Digital Performer’s null point is similar to the null
point on most recording studio mixing consoles: it
is a base value from which slaved sliders are
measured.
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4 Choose the Master option. Moving a master to its null point
To move a master to its null point, either drag the
5 Click OK. master’s handle to the bold hash mark, or highlight
the slider and choose Set to Null Point from the
Setting a master slider’s null point Console mini-menu.
To change the null point of a master slider:
Sending multiple MIDI messages at once with
1 Option/Alt-click anywhere on the slider. grouped buttons
You can group buttons to a master button to send
The null point, which is indicated by a bold hash various messages to various destinations all at
mark, will snap to the location, and you can drag it once. Just assign each button to the same group.
freely from there. Make sure each button is of the same type. Then
create a master button that is also the same type.
The null point can also be changed more precisely
When you press the master button, the slaved
as follows:
buttons will be pressed and released at the same
1 Select the master slider. time.
2 Choose Control Assignment from the console ☛ Please note: if you group buttons, the slaved
mini-menu. buttons do not animate when you click the master
button. They do, however, transmit data.
3 Make sure the Master radio button option is
selected. GENERATING SYSEX WITH A SLIDER OR
KNOB
4 Type in the desired null point in the box Digital Performer allows you to generate system
provided. exclusive data from a slider or knob. The slider
generates a continuous stream of messages, each
5 Click OK to confirm your choice or cancel to containing a range of bytes (up to four) that are
withdraw the command. changed incrementally by the slider or knob.
Digital Performer
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■ Whether or not the message contains a
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You are done! Click OK. The slider will now
generate the SysEx message. If the synth does not
respond, verify the checksum values.
To set the initial checksum value: In this scenario, you move the master slider. It
generates controller data at the same time that it is
1 Click the Use Checksum check box. controlling the SysEx slider, so that the SysEx slider
matches its movement. On playback, the SysEx
2 Select either the Straight sum or Sum to zero slider monitors the controller data and generates
option. the SysEx. Thus, the SysEx data never gets recorded
in the track; only the controller data does. But the
3 Type in the number of bytes for the checksum
controller data and SysEx data match because the
value.
were slaved when originally recorded. The end
result is that the SysEx slider animates and plays
4 Identify the first data byte that is checksummed.
back exactly as it was record.
To do so, type in the byte number next to the
Checksum button, or place the cursor at the first HINTS
Control items can serve many purposes. Some
byte of checksummed data (normally the first byte
suggestions are discussed below.
immediately after the SysEx header) and click the
Checksum button. Remapping continuous data
Control items can be used for remapping
Setting the bit formats
continuous controller data in real time. For
Select the appropriate bit format from the menu
example, you may have a synth module that
and select either LSB->MSB or MSB->LSB.
responds to controller #10 (MIDI Pan), but you
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C UST O M C O NSO L E S
may not have any keyboards that can send this control items while Digital Performer is playing
particular controller. A control item can solve this back, make sure their window is active. To activate
problem by remapping a controller that your the window, simply click anywhere on the window.
keyboard does send into controller #10. To do so,
assign the source of a control item to be a controller If the control items you want to watch are in
that your keyboard can transmit, such as controller different consoles, you may want to create another
#1 (mod wheel). Set the control item’s target to be single console that contains all of the control items
the Device or track that sends to the synth module. you wish to monitor during playback. You can then
Set the target data type to controller #10. Now, make it the active window, and all of the control
when you send controller #1 data from your items in it will animate as smoothly as possible. You
keyboard by moving the mod wheel, you will be will find that as long as the console is active, Digital
controlling the Pan settings on your synth module. Performer does a pretty good job of animating
control items accurately.
Control Items also offer a way to reassign
continuous data in real time instead of using the Another way to improve control item animation is
Reassign Continuous data command. For example, to close as many consoles as possible.
you may have a track of controller #3 continuous
Loading control Items and consoles from
data that you wish to change to controller #7. You
another project
can set up the source of a control item to be the Consoles from one Digital Performer project can
track containing controller #3. In turn, you can be imported into any other Digital Performer file
assign the target data type to be controller #7, and using the Load command (File menu). This means
assign the control item to send the data to a you can set up control items the way you like them
different target track. When you press record, the once, and they’ll be available for importing into
control item will read in the controller #3’s and any of your files.
generate controller #7’s, which in turn will be
recorded into the target track. The Consoles that you create in a file are
automatically saved as part of that file. The Load
Improving console animation dialog box, however, enables you to extract them
Digital Performer’s first priority is to keep up with
from an unopened file, then load them into the file
the flow of MIDI and audio data. If it encounters a
in which you are working.
great deal of data, it selectively ignores its graphic
display until the processor load decreases. This To load Consoles into an open file:
may affect the animation of control items, and they
may not move smoothly when lots of data is being 1 Choose Load from the File menu.
played—especially if there are many control items
on the screen. This is Digital Performer’s way of The standard open dialog box appears.
keeping up and does not necessarily mean that data
is being transmitted inaccurately. 2 Click the file containing the assignments you
wish to load, then click Open.
Digital Performer gives the currently active
window highest priority when animating control Alternatively, you can double-click the file name.
items. Therefore, whenever you want to watch Digital Performer’s Load dialog box appears,
displaying the file name at top.
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CUSTOM CONSOLES
3 Choose the Consoles option. Creating a mute button
To create a mute button, create a button as
4 Optional: If you wish to load any Chunks from described in the section “Creating a button” on
the selected file, choose the Load Chunks option. page 662. For the maximum value, click the
“unmute button” as shown in Figure 53-4 on
If you wish to load more than one Chunk, you can page 663.
drag to select contiguous Chunks and Shift-click to
select discontiguous Chunks. Deselecting this Automating a fader group with a master
option loads only the file’s Control Items. control
Master console controls can control their slaves
5 Click OK to confirm your choices or Cancel to while monitoring a target track. This means you
withdraw the Load command. can automate the movement of many slave controls
at once by recording only the data of their master
Clicking OK causes the selected file’s Consoles, as control. For example, you can automate a master
well as any selected Chunks, to be loaded into the fade-out at the end of a sequence by slaving
open file. The imported consoles appear in the multiple sliders (one for each track or device in
Window menu. your sequence) to a master slider and then
recording the master slider. When you play back
Sending note-ons and note-offs
the result, the master slider monitors the data you
When you program a button or slider to generate
recorded in its target track and simultaneously
notes as shown below by the “Send” menu, you
drives the volume sliders for all other tracks. To
have three possibilities:
accomplish this, make sure that the master slider
1. Send notes (both note-ons and note-offs) target assignment is a track (or a device which is
assigned to a track).
2. Send note-ons only
3. Send note-offs only
☛ Remember that the master slider’s track must
be play-enabled for this to work. (It can’t be
For option 1, leave both check boxes unchecked. In muted.) As a result, you might consider assigning
this case, the slider, knob, or button will send a the master slider’s track to a MIDI channel that you
note-on when you click it, and it will send a note off don’t use. Also, since the target data type for the
when you release it or move it to another note. master slider doesn’t matter (as long as it is some
type of continuous controller), you might consider
For options 2 and 3, click the appropriate check using a target data type for the master slider that is
box. In this case, the slider, knob, or button sends unlikely to affect anything else (like controller
only a note on or a note off when you click it or number 45).
move it.
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Part 6
Arranging
CHAPTER 54 Conductor Track
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A beat click event creates clicks on an even “Click Defaults” on page 236), where you can
subdivision of the current beat. They are identical choose Pattern for the click style and then type in
to the beat click that is part of a meter change event, different text codes and listen to the audition of the
except that they are independent of any meter click to hear what they create. The syntax is as
change events. For example, you could insert a follows:
meter change event that clicks every quarter note,
What you type What it means
but then insert a beat click event a few measures
1111/4 Four quarter notes
later that clicks every eighth note.
221111/8 Two quarter notes followed by four 8th notes
Changing the beat sub-division of the click in this
3 3 1 1 1 3 / 8d Two dotted eighths, three 16th notes, then
manner can be useful in a wide variety of
another dotted eighth
situations. For example, clicking on quarter note
downbeats might work at a medium tempo, but if
Somewhere in the string there is usually a number
the tempo then slows down due to a tempo change,
followed by a slash followed by a note type
then switching to eighth note clicks might work
indicator, such as the “1 / 4” in the first example,
better.
above. The note type indicator must be one of the
Beat click events allow you to program any click following:
pattern you wish by inserting a new beat click event
Indicator Note type
whenever you wish to change the click.
1 Whole note
example, you might create a countoff in which the 4t Quarter note triplet
last two clicks before the downbeat are silent. Or
4d Dotted quarter note
you may want to create a period of audible click
silence in which you then program visual elements 8 Eighth note
in the Conductor track (punches, flutters or 8t Eighth note triplet
streamers) during the silence in order to provide a
8d Dotted eighth note
visual timing reference.
16 16th note
Pattern click
16t 16th note triplet
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The number before the slash determines what Accenting a click
numeric value is associated with the given note To accent a click in a pattern click, highlight the
type indicator. So, “2 / 4” means “everywhere a 2 number you want to accent in the pattern code text
appears in this string, interpret that 2 as a quarter and type Command/Ctrl-B. That makes it bold
note.” If 2 means a quarter note, then 4 (twice as big and red. Bold and red clicks are accented, plain
as 2) means half note, and 1 (half as big as 2) means black ones are not. Select an accented click and
8th note. type Command/Ctrl-B again to remove the accent.
Often the slash will appear at the end of the string, Saving custom click patterns
but it can appear anywhere in the string. For When you access the click type menu on a click
example, the string “ 3 / 4 3 3 1 1 1 ” means that 3 change event, there are additional items at the
equals a quarter note, making the pattern three bottom of the menu that let you create and save
quarter notes followed by three eighth note triplets. click patterns by name using the Save Pattern menu
command (Figure 54-1). See “Saving a customized
If you don’t use the slash anywhere in the string, click” on page 236.
then the number 1 is assumed to mean an 8th note,
and all other numbers a multiple of 8th notes.
Therefore, the string “ 1 1 1 1 ”, with no slashes
anywhere, means four 8th notes and the string
“ 2 2 2 2 ”, with no slashes anywhere, means four
quarter notes.
OR
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Do so by double-clicking the Song name in the Meter changes and partial measures
Chunks window. Digital Performer lets you place a Meter change
event anywhere in a sequence or song. This allows
2 Choose Edit Conductor track from the Song a great deal of flexibility in laying out your music,
window mini-menu. but can produce unexpected results. For example,
it is possible to place a Meter change in the middle
The edit window for the song’s Conductor track of a measure, but this measure will be truncated at
will appear. the location you specify for the new meter. This
location becomes the downbeat of the first measure
3 Highlight the events you wish to edit.
in the new meter.
4 Select the desired command from the Edit
The following simple rule should help clarify what
window.
happens in such situations:
The Edit menu commands affect events in the
Conductor track in the same way as normal MIDI
☛ A Meter change event always starts a new
measure.
data. See chapter 42, “Selecting” (page 497) and
chapter 31,“Editing Basics” (page 289) for more on For example, if the Insert button in the Event List is
how to select regions and use these commands. used to place a meter at 3|1|240, when you press the
Return key to confirm the insertion, the meter
When a region is cut or copied from the Conductor change location will change to 3|1|000. This is
track, meter and tempo events representing the because a meter must begin a new measure, and all
current meter and tempo values are automatically measures begin at zero (000) ticks.
inserted at the beginning of the region in the
clipboard. This guarantees that the region will keep Here’s another example: if the Insert button is used
its original meter and tempo when pasted to place a 3/4 meter at the third beat of a 4/4
elsewhere in the sequence or song. These measure, the result is a two beat measure (still
automatically created meter and tempo change marked as 4/4!) followed by a whole 3/4 measure.
events may be edited normally after the region is Inserting the Meter change results in a partial
pasted back into the Conductor track. measure, that is, a measure lacking its full duration.
Note that editing meter changes can cause partial Such partial measures are not always useful, but
measures. See “Meter changes and partial they can be handy in lining up cues for film and
measures” on page 682. video work, since they let you start a measure
precisely at a SMPTE time by creating a meter
Using the View Filter with the Conductor track change at the right spot.
Use the View Filter to effectively edit events in the
Conductor track. The View Filter affects the Partial measures may also result from using the
Conductor track the same way as it does for regular Edit commands to Paste, Merge, or Repeat meter
tracks. See “View Filter” on page 292. changes in the middle of existing measures. Once
again, each new meter change event will begin a
The View Filter is important when editing the
new measure.
Conductor track because it is common to want to
edit just one element, e.g. tempo changes, without
affecting the other events in the track.
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You can help avoid partial measures by leaving the Looping and the Conductor track
Smart Selections command in the Edit menu The Conductor track cannot be looped. If you need
checked when you are editing the Conductor track. to repeat tempo or meter changes in a looped
region, use the Repeat command from the Edit
Correcting unwanted partial measures menu to make consecutive copies of the Conductor
It is important to remember that meter changes track over that region.
only affect the way data is displayed; they never
affect the MIDI data itself or the way it sounds When using the Memory Cycle feature to play a
when it is played back. If the meter map for a section repeatedly, meter and tempo changes in the
sequence or song becomes complex or confusing conductor track will play as usual. When doing so,
during editing, simply erase the meter changes and it is often useful to switch tempo control in the
re-enter them from the start of the region. See Control Panel to the Tempo slider. Doing so
“Erasing the meter map to start over” on page 697. temporarily disables tempo changes so that they
don’t complicate recording.
Another way to remove partial measures is to use
the Fix partial measures automatically preference.
See “Getting rid of partial measures” on page 698.
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CHAPTER 55 Change Tempo
keyboard controller
Only one of these sources can be chosen at a time.
Anchored Randomization Tempo Start and
When Tempo Control is set to the Conductor tempo options parameters end
track, you program all the tempo changes into the indicators locations
Conductor track. Collectively, these tempo Figure 55-1: C h a n g e Te m p o ( P r o j e c t m e n u > C o n d u c t o r
changes are called the tempo map, and they occur Track>Change Tempo).
automatically when you play the Chunk under Beat Value: Displays the note value on which the
Conductor track tempo control. tempo is based. Click on the desired note to choose
it. Click on the dot to make the beat value a dotted
Tempo maps can be programmed using the
duration (i.e. one and one half of the chosen note’s
Change Tempo command as described in this
duration).
chapter. Alternatively, you can create a tempo map
in real time by slaving Digital Performer to Tap Start and End locations: Displays the time range
tempo synchronization. See chapter 83, “Receive over which the tempo change will take effect. Click
Sync” (page 917). on the box and type in the desired values. Use the
Tab key to move from field to field.
Change Tempo quick reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 685
Change Tempo basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686 Anchored Tempo Indicators: Click on the anchor
Using Change Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687 icon to toggle a starting or ending tempo between
Viewing and editing tempo changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692 anchored and unanchored. Anchored tempos are
Tempo editing resolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692 automatically set to the current tempo in the
Changing tempo on-the-fly during playback . . . . . . . 692 region, preventing unwanted jumps in tempo.
685
Time Display Buttons: Click on the appropriate CHANGE TEMPO BASICS
radio button to select real or frame time for the The Change Tempo command (Project
tempo parameters. menu>Conductor Track>Change Tempo) is used
to create tempo changes. You can specify a static
Tempo Density Buttons: Click on the appropriate tempo change (i.e. a constant tempo) or a dynamic
radio button to choose between Coarse and Fine one (a smooth change) via a curve. A constant
tempo event densities. The Fine setting generates tempo contains no variation of the tempo for its
12 tempo events a beat; the Coarse setting duration; it is merely a change from one tempo to
generates far fewer events. another. A smooth change contains varying tempo
values. The way that these values change is
Tempo Curves: Click on the desired curve button specified by one of four curves. An accelerando, for
to select the type of tempo change desired. Each
example, is a smooth change with a linear curve in
curve has a set of parameters and options which
which the tempo gradually increases. When a
control the shape and range of the tempo change.
smooth change is specified with a curve, Digital
Performer approximates the smooth change with a
Tempo Parameters: The number and type of
large number of discrete tempo changes in quick
parameters depends on the Tempo Curve selected.
succession.
Parameters outlined by a box can be set by the user;
other parameters are computed and verified by
When you use Change Tempo, any existing tempo
Digital Performer as soon as you change any
data in the specified time range is erased and
parameter. Values that are incalculable or out of
replaced by the new data generated by the
range will highlight and cause the computer to
command.
beep (or the menu bar to flash). Press the Option
button to change the parameters that can be edited. Creating a tempo map
A tempo map is simply the complete set of
Randomize tempos: Check this box to randomize programmed tempo changes for an entire
tempos within a specified range, expressed as a sequence or song. These changes are displayed in
percent or as a number of beats per minute (bpm). the Conductor track.
Emphasis: Move the slider between -9 and +9 to ☛ The tempo changes for a sequence or song can
weight the randomization either lower or higher. only be edited in its Conductor track.
The Options Button: Click on this button to select To get a clear picture of the tempo map of a
which parameters are user-definable. sequence, view it in the Conductor Track Editor.
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CHANGE TEMPO
Tempo resolution to the current play-enabled Chunk. If an edit
Digital Performer’s tempo capabilities were window is active, the tempo change will apply to
designed to be very effective in film and video whatever sequence it belongs to.
applications. Tempo calculations are very accurate
resulting in very precise location abilities. Finding When you open the Change Tempo dialog, the
a frame time location will bring you to the exact name of the selected Chunk is displayed after the
measure time location consistently. Real time words “Change tempo of sequence (or song)” at the
locations of events and markers are completely top of the dialog box.
reliable and give an accurate representation of the
timing of the music. Selecting a tempo beat value
Tempos are measured in beats per minute. You can
This precision is possible because Digital select any beat value for the tempo from a sixteenth
Performer maintains a very high degree of internal note to a whole note. The beat value can be dotted.
tempo resolution, much greater than the two The number of beats per minute can be between 20
decimal places that you can enter. This resolution and 400. At very slow tempos, you may want to use
allows you to set the tempo for a region by smaller beat values such as an eighth note. At fast
specifying its length in real or frame time: Digital tempos, you may want to use larger values such as a
Performer will calculate the correct tempo to make half note. Your choice of beat value does not affect
the end of the region occur at the time you specify. the frequency of the Click. This is set separately
with the Change Meter command.
Switching between a tempo map and manual
tempo control When you type in a number of beats per minute in
When you set the tempo control to the Tempo Digital Performer (in the Metronome, in a tempo
Slider, the programmed tempo map is temporarily event in the Conductor Track, or in the Change
disabled by the current metronome slider tempo Tempo window), you can type in a timing
setting. When you switch back tempo control to resolution of up to a hundredth of a beat per
the Conductor track, the programmed tempo map minute (136.45, for example).
is re-enabled.
Viewing and typing in frame click tempos
USING CHANGE TEMPO If you write music for film, you might be
The Change Tempo command (Project accustomed to expressing tempos in frame-clicks
menu>Conductor Track>Change Tempo) lets you as well as beats per minute. In Digital Performer,
create smooth tempo changes in a defined region of you can type in tempos using either format. You
time. The start and end of the region are defined by can also display tempos throughout the program,
measure locations. With this command, you can including the Change Tempo dialog, in frame click
calculate a tempo for a region by giving a real time tempos (e.g. 12-6 or 13/4). For further information
length for it. about working with frame click tempos, see
“Displaying and typing in frame-click tempos” on
Choosing the sequence or song in which to page 195.
change tempo
If a Tracks window is active, the tempo change will Selecting a time display
apply to that sequence. If the Chunks window is You can choose whether to display start and end
active, the tempo change will apply to the times in real or frame time. This is very useful for
highlighted Chunk or, if no Chunk is highlighted, calculating timings in film and video work.
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CHANGE TEMPO
Setting the start and end points The anchoring option is used to make sure that
The measure time locations entered in the Start tempos just before and just after the region are
and End boxes in the Change Tempo dialog matched exactly. This insures that there are no
(Figure 55-1 on page 685) delineate the region in sudden jumps in tempo at the start or end of the
which the tempo change occurs. New tempo data region. It is best to anchor tempos when you want
will be inserted into this region according to your this continuous tempo effect; you cannot achieve
specifications. the same degree of accuracy when entering tempos
manually.
Using the fine and coarse options
The Fine and Coarse options determine the density Using tempo curves
of tempo change data generated. Selecting the Fine The tempo curve buttons specify the values for the
option causes tempo changes to be generated 12 individual tempo change events created by the
times per beat. This creates the smoothest changes Change Tempo dialog box. Rather than inserting
but generates lots of data, taking up memory and each tempo change manually, you can select a
possibly slowing down the display of real and curve and set a few parameters; Digital Performer
frame times in the Markers or Event List windows. will calculate the tempo changes necessary to
This option is best used over regions of only a few create the desired effect. The flat, straight line (the
measures. With the Coarse option, fewer tempo constant curve) generates just one tempo change at
changes per beat are generated. This is the best the beginning of the region. The other curves—
option to use in a large region. linear, logarithmic, exponential and polynomial—
generate a number of tempo changes which
In most situations, the tempo changes generated by approximate the shape of chosen curve. These
the Coarse option will sound completely smooth. curve types are described in detail below.
The rule of thumb here is to use the Coarse option
unless the tempo changes are not smooth enough: To select a curve, click its button. The currently
in this case, the Fine option can be used. selected curve is highlighted. When a curve is
selected, the associated parameter fields are
Anchoring the start and end tempos displayed in the lower section of the dialog box.
The Start and End tempo parameters have an
anchor icon next to them. When the anchor icon is The curves are all displayed as increasing values.
highlighted, the tempo is anchored. If the anchor However, if you specify an End tempo that is less
icon is unhighlighted, the tempo is not anchored. than the Start tempo, the tempo changes generated
will decrease over time according to the chosen
curve. In effect, this flips the curve upside down.
For example, if you wanted to program a ritard
(slowing down), you’d choose the linear curve and
To anchor or unanchor a tempo, click on the enter a lower ending value. This would “flip” the
anchor icon next to it. effect of the curve from up to down.
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CHANGE TEMPO
combined in several different ways for each curve. The linear curve
For example, the linear curve allows you to set The linear curve creates a smooth tempo change
different combinations of the Start tempo, End with no fluctuations in the specified region.
tempo and End time. After selecting a curve,
pressing the Options button cycles through the
various combinations of parameters possible for
that curve. Parameters that you can enter are in
Parameters:
boldface type and are enclosed in a box;
parameters that Digital Performer will compute Start Tempo: This is the tempo at the Start location
(and that you cannot enter) are in plain type of the curve in beats per minute. If you anchor this
without the box. value, it will be the same as the pre-existing tempo
at the Start location.
As soon as you change any parameter, Digital
Performer instantly calculates other parameters on End Tempo: This is the tempo at the End location of
the fly that are affected by your change. the curve in beats per minute. If you anchor this
value, it will be the same as the pre-existing tempo
Each curve displays its Start time parameter. This
at the End location.
value is not user-changeable; it is always computed
from the starting measure time location. It is End time: This is the time at which the End location
provided as a reference for viewing the length of occurs.
the region.
The logarithmic and exponential curves
The following paragraphs describe the effects of These two curves are similar: they both create a
each curve on the specified region and the smooth change in the specified region. The
parameter options for each. logarithmic curve changes tempo more rapidly at
the beginning of the region; the exponential curve
The constant curve
changes tempo more rapidly at the end.
The constant curve sets the region to a constant
tempo by inserting only one tempo change at the
beginning of the region.
Parameters:
Parameters:
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CHANGE TEMPO
End Tempo: This is the tempo at the End location of Start Tempo: This is the tempo at the Start location
the curve in beats per minute. If you anchor this of the curve in beats per minute. If you anchor this
value, it will be the same as the pre-existing tempo value, it will be the same as the pre-existing tempo
at the End location. at the Start location.
End time: This is the time at which the End location End Tempo: This is the tempo at the End location of
occurs. the curve in beats per minute. If you anchor this
value, it will be the same as the pre-existing tempo
Curvature: This is a value that controls the degree at the End location.
of curve in the smooth change (i.e. its non-
linearity). Enter a value between 1 and 99. Low Curvature: Allows values between 1 and 99. Low
curvature values flatten the curve and produce a curvature values flatten the curve; high values
more even rate of change. For example, a value of 1 round it. Values of 30 to 60 work particularly well
results in a near-linear change that is similar to the with this curve.
linear curve. High curvature values round out the
curve and result in more change at the beginning or Mid Beat: This is the measure time location at
end of the region depending on the button which the Mid Tempo value occurs. This is the
selected. For example, a value of 99 will cause much point at which the most rapid tempo change
of the tempo change to occur at either the occurs. This location can be any time between the
beginning (for the logarithmic curve) or the end Start and End times and allows you to control
(for the exponential curve). The higher the where most of the changing will occur.
curvature value, the more pronounced the curve
End time: This is the time at which the End location
shape.
occurs.
The polynomial curve
The polynomial curve creates a change in the The Randomize option
The Randomize option causes the tempo or
specified region which starts smoothly at the
tempos being generated by one of the selected
beginning of the region, changes most rapidly in
curves to be randomized within a range for the
the middle and ends smoothly. Note that the
entire region over which the tempo change is being
unique parameter Mid Beat is included with this
made. For example, if you are inserting a constant
curve, allowing you to control aspects of the
tempo of 120 bpm without randomization, the
middle of the curve.
result is a single tempo event at the beginning of the
region as shown below:
Parameters:
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CHANGE TEMPO
However, with the Randomize option checked and range either as a percentage or as a range of bpm. In
the range set to ±25 bpm, the result is a tempo map either case, each tempo event generated is placed
that constantly and randomly changes between 95 randomly within the range.
and 145 bpm:
Emphasis
This sub-option causes the tendency of the
randomization to be higher or lower within the
specified range. Thus, if you wish to randomize the
tempos within a certain range, but you wish them
to tend to be higher, use a positive emphasis; use a
negative emphasis if you wish them to tend to be
towards the lower end of the range. A value of zero
equals no emphasis, which causes the
randomization to occur evenly within the range.
Randomization can be used in conjunction with
any curve The effect of Density on randomization
Randomization option is a check box option, A Fine density setting causes tempo events to be
which means that it can be used in conjunction generated more frequently than a Course density
with any of the tempo curves: setting. Notice that these two settings have an effect
on the constant tempo curve, which normally only
produce a single tempo event.
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CHANGE TEMPO
VIEWING AND EDITING TEMPO CHANGES Note that smooth tempo changes require a large
Tempo change data is stored in the Conductor number of discrete tempo changes very close
track for the Chunk. Tempo changes look like— together. Also note that Digital Performer’s internal
and can be edited similarly to—continuous MIDI resolution of tempo events is much higher than
data (such as pitch bend or controller information) that displayed in the Event List windows. So, tempo
in the Conductor track editor windows. events that seem identical actually represent
different tempos with higher resolutions than can
Each tempo change has a time and a tempo value. be shown.
The tempo has two parts, the tempo value in beats
per minute and the beat value (e.g. 1/4 note, 1/8 TEMPO EDITING RESOLUTION
note, etc.) Tempos can be manually edited to a resolution of a
hundredth of a beat per minute. When you use the
Editing tempo changes can be done in the Tracks settings in the Change Tempo window, tempos are
window, Sequence Editor, Conductor track Event calculated to a much higher degree of accuracy.
List or Conductor Track Editor. You can apply all
the commands on the Edit menu to tempo CHANGING TEMPO ON-THE-FLY DURING
changes. Make sure that tempo changes are PLAYBACK
selected in the View Filter (Setup menu). You can use the Change Tempo command without
stopping playback.
692
CHANGE TEMPO
CHAPTER 56 Change Meter
693
Numerator process. If you change the meter after recording a
track or tracks, the measure|beat|tick locations of
the events may change.
If a sequence or song contains several meters, the When you open the Change Meter window
resulting configuration of meters is termed a meter (Project menu>Conductor Track>Change Meter),
map. This map is simply the complete set of the name of the sequence or song in which the
programmed meter changes for an entire meter insertion will be placed is displayed at the
sequence. These changes are displayed in the Event top of the Change Meter window.
List windows for each track in the sequence. The
meter changes for a given sequence or song can Entering the meter
Click in each box and type in the numbers. The
only be altered in its Conductor track.
numerator must be a value between 1 and 99. The
It is often useful to set up the meter map before denominator must be a standard note value: 1, 2, 4,
recording the music, this way the measure 8, 16, 32 or 64.
locations of the events you record will stay
consistent through the recording and editing
694
CHANGE METER
Specifying the From and To locations region operations work; events at the end time are
These locations specify the starting and ending not affected. If you choose the end of sequence
locations for the meter change. Click on the fields option, the meter change will continue to the end
and enter the desired measure|beat|tick values. If of the sequence, no matter how the sequence may
you have just entered a meter change, the From change.
location is automatically set to the previous To
location. Click on the end of sequence button to For example, assume a sequence is completely in 4/
change meter from the From location to the end of 4. Entering a change to 3/4 from measure 8 to
the sequence. measure 12 will place a 3/4 meter change in
measure 8, and a 4/4 meter change in measure 12.
Entering meters quickly one measure at a time The result is that measures 8 through 11 are now in
If you are going to be entering a series of meter 3/4, and measure 12 remains in 4/4.
changes quickly, choose the Next Measure option.
This option lets you press the enter key once for Realign music automatically
each measure. If you have several measures in a row This option allows you to maintain the metrical
in the same meter, just press the enter key once for structure of each measure by deleting some note
each measure. The “from” measure is automatically events and changing the durations of others. There
updated as you do so. This lets you enter meter is a sub-option, Adjust durations, which is
changes efficiently for an entire sequence by discussed below. The following assumes that the
quickly pressing the enter key repeatedly as many Adjust durations box is not checked. When you
times as necessary for measures with the same change the meter of a measure that contains note
meter. When you need to change meter, type in the events with this option on, beats are either added
new meter and press enter again as many times as or removed according to the new meter you
necessary for the new meter. Keep going as long as specify. If beats are added, rests are inserted for the
necessary. new beats. If beats are removed, any note event
occurring in the removed beat will be removed as
The metronome click well. The durations of note events that start before
Each meter change can have its own unique the deleted beats are preserved. For example,
metronome click setting. There are four choices for suppose you have the following two measure
a meter change metronome click: passage in 4/4 time:
Metronome click For more information
Default “Default for Meter” on page 238.
Adjust durations
The Adjust durations sub-option can only be used
when the Realign music automatically option is
selected. The Adjust durations sub-option alters
the durations of notes that begin before the
removed or added beats. The durations are altered Realigned using the Only Move Barlines option
to conform to the new measure boundaries. In the
example above, the original version in 4/4 has a
note lasting the whole second measure. With the
Adjust durations option on, the duration of this
note is altered such that the note will last for the
entire measure in the new meter:
Figure 56-5: Only move barlines option.
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CHANGE METER
VIEWING METER CHANGES to turn on (check) the Smart Selections command
The meter changes in a sequence can be viewed in in the Edit menu. Smart Selections helps to avoid
all editor windows. Meter changes can be edited partial measures.
only in the Conductor track; they cannot be
modified in the editor windows for MIDI and Erasing the meter map to start over
audio tracks. If you feel that your meter map has become too
complicated, has errors that you can’t easily detect,
Meters can be hidden from editor windows by or has somehow become excessively complex, you
turning off their display with the View Filter. can delete it and re-enter it correctly from the start.
Conversely, the entire meter map may be viewed
alone by turning off the display of all other types of To erase the current meter map:
events.
1 Open the Selection Information window.
EDITING METER CHANGES IN THE
CONDUCTOR TRACK 2 Choose Set to Chunk Bounds from the Set To
Meter changes can be edited directly in either edit menu.
window (Event List or MIDI Editing) for the
This loads the start and end times of the entire
Conductor track. See “Loops and Conductor Track
sequence in the Selection Bar.
data” on page 398 and “Editing in the Conductor
Track” on page 388 for details. 3 Select the Conductor track by clicking on it in
the Tracks Overview or Sequence Editor.
Using edit menu commands with meter
changes
4 Choose View Filter from the View menu.
You can apply any editing command to meters in
the Conductor track: they can be cut, copied, 5 Make sure the menu at the top of the window
pasted, spliced, etc., just like other events. You can says Global View Filter.
do so using all of the same techniques for editing
MIDI and audio events. You can even edit meter 6 Uncheck all check boxes except for meter
changes along with MIDI data in other tracks by changes.
selecting the Conductor track along with the other
tracks. Hold down the Option/Alt key and click on the
meter change check box. Now the Edit commands
☛ When cutting, copying, and pasting meter will only affect meter changes.
changes, it is strongly advised that you leave the Fix
partial measures automatically preference (Digital 7 Choose Erase from the Edit menu.
Performer menu) checked. This preference helps
avoid partial measures, which in most cases you do This gets rid of all the meter changes for the
not want to create with editing operations. sequence.
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CHANGE METER
Pasting into the conductor track rid of the partial measures by moving meter
Be careful when pasting into the Conductor track: changes as needed to do so. After the file opens, you
pasting replaces events of all types selected in the should check to see if your MIDI data still lines up
View Filter. This may be what you want. If, with all the barlines the way you want, and make
however, you are just rearranging meters and wish adjustments with the Change Meter and/or Shift
to leave the other data where it is, make sure to set features as desired. If you want to get rid of partial
the View Filter for meter changes only. measures in your files, leave this option turned on.
If you want to preserve partial measures in a file,
Inserting measures with a different meter uncheck this option before opening the file. Don’t
Here’s a method for inserting a number of new worry, however: Digital Performer presents an
measures with a different meter into your alert before it corrects partial measures so that you
sequence: can Revert to Saved if you decide not to do so.
1 Use the Insert Measures command to insert the
desired number of measures.
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CHANGE METER
CHAPTER 57 Change Key
699
window. Each key change affects the spelling of INSERTING KEY SIGNATURES
notes to just before the beginning of the next key To insert a key signature or add a key change, keep
change. Key changes only affect the display of note these guidelines in mind when using the Change
pitches; they do not change the actual MIDI data in Key window (Project menu>Conductor
your sequence. Track>Change Key).
If there is no key signature entered at the beginning Specifying the sequence or song to insert a key
of the sequence, the default key is C major (no change into
sharps or flats). If a Tracks window is active, the key insertion will
apply to that sequence. If the Chunks window is
It is possible to put key changes in the Conductor active, the key insertion will apply to the
track of a song, but they will have no effect on the highlighted Chunk or, if no Chunk is highlighted,
spellings of notes in sequences contained in the to the current play-enabled Chunk. If an edit
song. Only key changes in the Conductor track of window is active, the key insertion will apply to
the sequence will affect notes within that sequence. whatever sequence it belongs to.
TYPES OF KEY SIGNATURES When you open the Change Key window (Project
Key signatures in Digital Performer actually have menu>Conductor Track>Change Key), the name
two components: the standard key signature (up to of the sequence in which the key change will be
seven sharps or seven flats), and note-spelling placed is displayed at the top of the dialog box.
assignments for non-diatonic notes (notes not in
the basic scale of the key). A key has five non- Specifying the From and To locations
diatonic notes; Digital Performer allows you to These locations specify the starting and ending
decide how each of them will be spelled. In the key locations for the key change. Click on the fields and
of D, for instance, you can name the note that lies enter the desired measure|beat|tick values. If you
between B and C sharp either B sharp or C natural. have just entered a key change, the From location is
automatically set to the previous To location. Click
You can choose from three types of key signatures: on the end of sequence button to change key from
the From location to the end of the sequence.
■ Major: Any key from C sharp major (7 sharps) to
700
C HANG E K E Y
VIEWING AND EDITING KEY CHANGES Using the edit commands with key changes
The key changes in a sequence can be viewed in all You can apply the commands from the Edit menu
editor windows. Key changes can be edited only in to key changes in the Conductor track: key
the Conductor track; they cannot be modified in signatures can be cut, copied, pasted, spliced, etc.,
the editor windows for MIDI and audio tracks. just like other events. The region to edit in the
Conductor track may be selected by highlighting
Key changes can be hidden from editor windows events in its Event List window or clicking on the
by turning off their display with the View Filter. Conductor track to highlight it and specifying a
Conversely, the entire key change map may be region in the Selection Bar. Key change
viewed alone by turning off the display of all other information can be included in an edit operation
types of events. involving note and other MIDI events by including
the Conductor track along with the selected tracks.
In the Event List for the Conductor Track, the
location of a key change can be edited by altering
its starting time. The key change itself may be
modified by double-clicking it. The Change Key
dialog box appears in which you can enter the
modification (Figure 57-2 below). The box that
appears is slightly different than the one chosen
with the Change Key command: the Change
button is replaced by OK and Cancel buttons, and
the sequence name and From and To location fields
are missing. Otherwise, this box works exactly as
described above.
701
C HA N GE KEY
702
C HANG E K E Y
CHAPTER 58 Insert Measures
703
704
I NSE R T M E ASUR E S
CHAPTER 59 Adjust Beats
you’ve just imported an audio file into Digital 2 Choose Project menu>Conductor Track>Adjust
Performer — or you recorded it without listening Beats.
to Digital Performer’s metronome — and the audio
is completely out of sync with the sequence’s 3 Turn on Adjust Beats (check the box).
tempo, beats and barlines. In addition, it cannot be
accurately processed by the Beat Detection Engine 4 Adjust beats lets you adjust entire measures or
or tempo analysis features because of the nature of specific beats. In this example, we’ll start adjusting
the material. the first measure and then fine-tune the beats, so
for now, the Adjust menu is set to measures, and
How do you get Digital Performer’s measures and we’ll set the other options as shown below for now.
beats to line up with the audio?
705
5 Zoom the Sequence Editor so you can easily see 7 Since the audio does not have a constant tempo,
the beats in the waveform (you can even use the we now need to use the same technique to line up
Zoom tool in the time ruler). the beats in measure 1. First, we’ll switch the Adjust
pop-up menu in the Adjust Beats window to Beats
and choose the Move one beat at a time option.
Downbeat of measure 2
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ADJUST BEATS
The end result of this simple procedure is that the Grid lines for real-time aux rulers (real time,
audio sounds the same: it plays exactly as it did SMPTE or samples) are shown at intervals
originally. But now, the sequence has a rubato representing the primary unit of measurement
tempo map that was generated by your graphic being displayed in the ruler (such as one-second
adjustments — and its changing tempos will intervals, for example).
exactly match the changing tempos of the audio.
Adjust beats and snapping
Adjust Beats can snap to audio beats and MIDI
notes, if any, in the track you are dragging in. They
can also snap to markers.
Figure 59-6: Adjust Beats can now snap to audio beats as well as MIDI
notes.
707
ADJUST BEATS
708
ADJUST BEATS
CHAPTER 60 Record Beats
OVERVIEW
The Record Beats command (Project
menu>Conductor Track>Record Beats) allows
you to record music without listening to a
metronome click and then afterwards realign
Digital Performer’s internal beats and barlines with Figure 60-2: Mary Had a Little Lamb after using the Record Beats
command. Notice that the beats and barlines in the time ruler now
the music you recorded. match the downbeats in the music. Also note that the music plays
back exactly the same way as the original recording (as long as the
Record Beats example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709 Tempo Control in the Metronome is set to the Conductor track).
709
USING RECORD BEATS 5 Use the OK is first beat option.
To use Record Beats:
This option means that Digital Performer will
1 Record music into a track. place the first downbeat right at the current counter
location, which is 1|2|115, the location of the first
You can play as freely as you like. Pay no attention note in this example.
to Digital Performer’s Counter window. You can
even turn off the Metronome click. 6 Check the Shift data to option and type in the
measure and beat at which you want to place the
2 Open the Event List and make note of the time first downbeat.
of the first event.
For example, if the first note of music should be at
In the Mary Had a Little Lamb example above, the measure 1, beat 4, as a pickup note, type in
first note occurred at 1|2|132: measure 1, beat 4. Be sure that the location you
choose here is NOT before the sequence start.
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RECORD BEATS
time on the downbeats that you tapped. To change Digital Performer will begin playing back. Listen
the meter, refer to the “Handling odd meters” later carefully to the countoff or music and get ready for
in this chapter. your first tap. Digital Performer will not begin
recording beats until your first tap.
Listening to what you have done
To listen to the result of your tapping: 4 Begin tapping on the downbeat where you
would like to begin realigning beats.
1 Choose Conductor track from the tempo control
menu in the Control Panel. 5 If you are punching out, click Stop immediately
after your last tap.
Digital Performer will now play back according to
the new tempo map in the Conductor track. This prevents music after the punch-out time from
being realigned inadvertently. Digital Performer
2 Press the Play button. may take a moment to realign the beats.
The music will sound the same, and the HANDLING ODD METERS
metronome and Counter windows will line up with The Record Beats command realigns your original
the music as accurately as you tapped while Digital Performer into a default meter of 4/4 time.
Recording Beats. However, if you would like the music to be
expressed in an odd meter or in changing meters,
Using a countoff and the tap first beat option
you can do so by using the Change Meter
The Tap first beat option in the Record Beats dialog
command after using Record Beats.
box allows you to tap the first beat when you
recorded a countoff at the beginning of your For example, let’s say that you would like to bar
original performance, or a visual cue on film or your music in 6/8 time. After using Record Beats, it
video at which to start tapping. will be in 4/4 time. To convert it to 6/8, open the
Change Meter dialog box, type in 6/8 as the meter,
In this case, you have an aural or visual cue before
set the beat value to a dotted quarter note, choose
the first tap that allows you to prepare to hit the first
the measure range you wish to convert to 6/8, select
tap accurately.
the Only move barlines option, and click Change.
To use the Tap first beat option: This will re-bar the music in 6/8 time without
changing the playback of the music. See chapter 56,
1 Set the counter to a position several seconds “Change Meter” (page 693).
before the first tap.
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RECORD BEATS
HANDLING PICK UP BEATS WITH THE SHIFT Now, when you press Rewind back to the
DATA TO OPTION beginning of the sequence, the Counter window
The Shift data to option allows you to determine will read 0|1|000.
the placement of the first downbeat of the re-
recorded beats. The most important thing to After you have set up measure 0, you can set the
remember is this: do not choose a beat that occurs Shift data to option in the Record Beats dialog box
before the Chunk Start Time. For example, let’s say to measure 0, beat 3 to accommodate the two
that your music has two pickup beats and that you pickup beats in your music, and the first downbeat
would like the following downbeat to occur at will occur at 1|1|000.
1|1|000. Before you use Record Beats, create a
pickup measure from 0|1|000 to 1|1|000 to
accommodate the two pickup beats at 0|3|000 and
0|4|000.
1 Choose Set Chunk Start Time from the Sequence RECORDING BEATS WHILE SLAVED TO TAPE
menu in the Control Panel to open the Set Chunk Record Beats may also be used while Digital
Start dialog box. Performer is slaved SMPTE time code via Direct
Time Lock or MIDI Time Code. This allows you to
2 Set the Measure Start Time to 0.
freely record music while slaving Digital Performer
to film or video without being concerned with
If you need two measures of pickup, set the
Digital Performer’s metronome. After recording,
Measure start time to -1.
you can then line up the beats and barlines
afterwards with Record Beats.
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RECORD BEATS
■ Set up a countoff before the sequence start using 5 While the Record Beats dialog box is still open,
Digital Performer’s click so that you can easily record get ready to tap any note on your MIDI controller.
the first downbeat. To do so, enable Digital
Performer’s click and select Only during Countoff in 6 When you are ready, roll tape and immediately
the Click & Countoff Options dialog box. To set the click OK.
number of measures for the countoff, Option/Alt-
Right after the Record Beats dialog box disappears,
click the Countoff button in the Control Panel.
Digital Performer’s play button should turn black,
After you have made the above preparations, you indicating that it is slaved to tape. The Counter will
are ready to record beats while slaved to tape: be counting down negative measures before the
sequence start time.
1 Set Digital Performer in Slave to external sync
mode. 7 Listen for Digital Performer’s countoff and begin
tapping on the first downbeat of the sequence.
2 Rewind the tape to several seconds before the
Chunk start time. 8 Keep tapping along with the beats in your music
as accurately as you can.
3 Choose Project menu>Conductor
Track>Record Beats. 9 When you reach the end of the piece, click
Digital Performer’s Stop button.
The Record Beats dialog box will appear.
Digital Performer may take moment to realign the
4 Select the Tap first beat option, but don’t click beats and enter the newly generated tempo data in
OK yet. the Conductor track.
This option means that you will tap the first Before you listen to the results, be sure that the
downbeat (in addition to all subsequent beats). Tempo control is set to the Conductor track so that
the sequence will play back with the tempo changes
generated by the Record Beats command.
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RECORD BEATS
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RECORD BEATS
CHAPTER 61 Markers
715
MARKERS WINDOW QUICK REFERENCE Locked indicator: Indicates that the marker is
Position indicator: Displays the current location in locked to SMPTE frame time. Toggle from locked
the Chunk. Drag on the indicator to move it. Click to unlocked and back by clicking in the lock
anywhere in this area to move the indicator to a column next to the marker name. Drag vertically to
marker. Moving the indicator changes the current toggle multiple markers in a single gesture.
location in the Chunk.
NUM (locate number): Lets you assign a locate
Marker name: Click on a marker’s name to select it. number to each marker. When you invoke the Go
Option/Alt-click on the name to change it. Drag To Marker command (found in the Commands
over several names to select several markers. Use window in the Setup menu), you can type in a
Command/Ctrl-click to select or deselect several marker’s locate number and press return (or enter)
non-contiguous markers. to go to that Marker.
Search: Type in a marker name to search for it. Find Tempo settings: These settings (Find, Weight
and Hit Range before/after) allow you to configure
Marker location: Displays the marker locations in each marker for inclusion in Digital Performer’s
your choice of Digital Performer’s various time powerful tempo searching features (via the Find
formats, including SMPTE time code. Click on a Tempo mini-menu command). For complete
location to change it. Select the formats you wish to details, see chapter 62, “Find Tempo” (page 725).
see in the Time Formats window (Setup menu).
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MARKERS
MARKERS WINDOW MINI-MENU Include in Find Tempo Range: Puts a check mark
New Marker: Adds a new marker at the current in the Find column for all currently selected
location. Hold down the Option/Alt key while markers in the list.
choosing Add to add several markers at once.
Remove from Find Tempo Range: Clears the check
New Marker with Options: Adds a new marker at mark in the Find column for all currently selected
the current location, but first opens a dialog that markers in the list.
lets you first access the marker’s settings.
Set Hit Range: Lets you assign a hit range (in the
Record hits: Enables a special mode such that Hit Range column) for all currently selected
during playback, every time you hit a key on your markers in the list.
controller instrument, a marker will be added at
that location. Next/Prev follows Marker Nums: Check this menu
item to follow markers by locate number (instead
Lock Marker: Locks the highlighted markers to of their order in the sequence) when using the Next
real/frame time. A small lock icon appears by the Marker or Previous Marker command.
marker’s location to indicate that it is locked.
Renumber by Time: Sets locate numbers for the
Unlock Marker: Unlocks the highlighted markers. selected markers (or all markers when none are
currently selected) in ascending order from top to
Shift locked markers: Shifts all highlighted locked bottom in the Markers window.
markers by a time offset.
Renumber by Name: Scans the names of the
Show Streamers: Shows or hides the streamer selected markers (or all markers if none are
column in the Markers window. selected) and extracts the last number that appears
in each name to determine the marker’s locate
Toggle Streamer On/Off: Toggles the streamer for
number.
the currently selected markers in the list on or off.
This is the same as clicking the streamer’s icon in Delete: Deletes the highlighted markers.
the streamer column. When the icon is hidden, the
streamer is temporarily turned off. BASICS
The Markers window is used to display and
Set Marker/Streamer Options: Opens the marker/ manipulate markers. Each chunk listed in the
streamer options dialog for the currently selected Chunks window has its own set of markers. The
markers in the list. Window Target tab in the title bar of the Markers
window displays the sequence or song to which the
Generate Streamer Track For: Creates a new MIDI
markers belong. Each marker consists of a name
track with the MIDI data necessary to recreate the
and a time location it is associated with. Markers
current streamer settings for the hardware device
are listed in chronological order. You can display
that you choose from the sub-menu. The resulting
the location of a marker in any combination of
MIDI track can be exported as a Standard MIDI
measure time, real time, frame time and samples.
File for file transfer to other MIDI software.
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MARKERS
Measure location versus SMPTE location match the sequence being viewed in the Tracks
Normally a marker remains at the same measure window. This only happens when one Markers
location when you change the tempo of the window is open.
sequence. In this case, changes in tempo or
structure will affect the SMPTE frame location of You can manually switch the Markers window
the marker. However, when working with film or from one sequence to another by clicking the name
video, it is useful to assign a marker to a certain of the sequence in the Window Target tab as shown
event in the action (termed a “hit point”). Such below:
markers are intended to remain anchored to a
SMPTE frame location. Since the location of the
event in the film or video will not change, the
location of the marker must not change either, even
if you change the tempo of the music. Digital
Performer lets you ‘lock’ markers to a SMPTE
frame location. When you change tempos or make SCROLLING DURING PLAYBACK
edits, the SMPTE frame location of locked markers The Auto Scroll command in the View menu can
will not change and, instead, the measure location make the Markers window scroll during playback.
will change to reflect the new tempo or edit. In addition, the window will automatically open to
the current playback location of the sequence.
OPENING A MARKERS WINDOW
To open the Markers window, choose Markers CREATING NEW MARKERS
from the Project menu, or press Shift-K. To add a new marker, choose New Marker or New
Marker with Options from the Markers window
If the project contains multiple sequences and mini-menu, or press their keyboard shortcut
songs, each sequence and song has its own set of (assigned in the Commands window). The
markers, and the Markers window displays marker’s location will be the same as that showing
markers that belong to the currently play-enabled in the Counter. To add several markers at once,
sequence or song. In addition, the Window Target hold down the Option/Alt key while choosing New
tab displays the name of the chunk to which the Marker from the mini-menu. New Marker with
markers belong. Options lets you make marker settings (Figure 63-5
on page 735) while adding them.
SWITCHING BETWEEN SEQUENCES AND
SONGS CHANGING THE NAME OF A MARKER
The Markers window shows the markers for an To rename a marker, Option/Alt-click the marker
individual sequence or song. If you are working name. Use the Enter or the Down Arrow key to
with multiple sequences in a Digital Performer approve the entry and move to the next marker
project, you may often work with just one Tracks name, or the Up Arrow key to approve the entry
window and one Markers window open at a time. If and move to the previous marker name.
you switch the sequence being viewed in the Tracks
window (by clicking on the sequence name in the CHANGING A MARKER TIME LOCATION
Window Target menu), the Markers window To change the time location of a marker, click the
automatically switches to show the markers of the time location and type a new value. Use the Tab key
newly chosen sequence. The result is that the to move between time fields. You can use the Enter
markers being shown in the Markers window or Down Arrow key to approve the change and
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MARKERS
move to the time location of the next marker; use To move to the location of a marker, press on the
the Up Arrow key to approve the change and move position indicator and drag it to the marker you
to the time location of the previous marker. want. You can scroll the list up or down by dragging
the position indicator slightly past the top or
If you change the measure time of a marker, even a bottom of the marker list.
locked marker, the real and frame times will also
change. Changing the real or frame time of a You can also jump to markers using the Marker
marker will cause the measure time location to menu in the Tracks window or Control Panel. See
change. “The Marker menu” on page 153.
Since the markers are listed in chronological order, MARKER LOCATE NUMBERS
a marker may seem to vanish when you edit its The Markers window has a “NUM” (locate
location. In such cases, the marker has simply been number) column. This lets you assign a locate
moved out of the visible portion of the marker list. number to each marker.
the counter to the location of a marker. This lets Marker numbers are flexible and convenient
you move to a location by its name instead of time, because they are not tied to the marker’s order in
making it unnecessary for you to keep track of a the marker list. Instead, you can assign any locate
number of arbitrary measures and times. number to any marker you wish, regardless of their
order in the Markers window. By default, each new
marker that you add will receive the next highest
locate number for that sequence.
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MARKERS
For example, you could create marker 1 and There are also commands for Go to Previous
marker 2, but then add marker 3 between markers 1 Marker and Go to Next Marker. These commands
and 2. In doing so, marker 1 and 2 can maintain move the counter to the next or previous marker in
their original locate numbers, and marker 3 can be the sequence from the current counter location.
assigned a unique locate number (such as 3). This
saves you from having to relearn all of the locate If you enable the Next/Prev follows Marker Nums
points in your song, every time you add a marker mini-menu item, the Go to Previous Marker and Go
somewhere in the middle of the sequence. You have to Next Marker commands will follow markers by
complete control over where each locate number locate number (instead of their order in the
takes you in the sequence. sequence).
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MARKERS
To define a region using the Markers window: Markers can be of great help when building a song
or score because you can use the Song’s Markers
1 Select a group of markers such that the window to create a list of section markers, which
beginning and end marker of the group are at the will become Chunk placement columns in the
starting and end times of the region to be edited. Song window. Marker-generated columns are
particularly useful for placing Chunks at hit points,
If the marker with the start time you want for the
which can be created during playback using the
edit region and the marker with the end time for
Record Hits command.
the region are not adjacent, you must select all
markers in between. Click on the starting marker Merging markers in the Song window
and drag down until you reach the ending one. You’ll often find when you place a Chunk into a
song that it would be useful to see the Chunk’s
2 Choose Set to Selection Bounds from the Set To markers in the context of the whole song. The
menu in the Selection Information window. Merge Markers command in the Song window
mini-menu lets you do just that. Simply select all
You can now use one of the commands from the
the component Chunks whose markers you’d like
Edit or Region menus. You can also use this
to copy into the song, and choose Merge Markers.
procedure to transfer marker times to the Memory
All unlocked markers in the selected Chunks now
and Auto Record bars in the Control Panel.
exist in the Song, and are displayed in the Song’s
SELECTING WITH MARKERS marker strip and Markers window.
When you click a marker in a non-conductor track
Removing merged markers from a song
editor, it creates a time-range selection in that track
You can just as easily delete a Chunk’s markers
that extends to the next marker or end-of-
from a song. Select the Chunks whose markers
sequence, just like in the overview.
should be removed from the song and choose
MARKERS IN EDIT WINDOWS Delete Markers. Digital Performer compares the
Markers appear in the edit windows for each track song’s markers to those of the selected Chunks, and
in a sequence, where they can be renamed (by removes any that match up by both name and
Option/Alt-clicking) or relocated (by dragging). location. The markers in the Chunk are not
However, commands on the Edit menu may be affected. Keep in mind that after you merge
applied to markers only in the Conductor track markers of a Chunk into a song, dragging the
edit windows. Chunk to a different location will not move the
markers. Further, selecting the relocated Chunk
You can use the View Filter to determine whether and choosing Delete Markers will not have any
or not markers are displayed in Event List effect, as the markers in the song no longer match
windows. For more information about using the the markers in the Chunk.
View Filter, see “View Filter” on page 292.
EDITING MARKERS IN THE CONDUCTOR
MARKERS IN THE SONG WINDOW TRACK
Markers in a song are displayed in the Markers You may apply any of the Edit menu commands
Strip in the song window. Digital Performer (Cut, Copy, Paste, etc.) to markers only in the
automatically generates a column in the Song Conductor track for the Chunk. Select the
window for each marker. Conductor track in the Tracks Overview, or make a
selection in the Conductor Track in the Sequence
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MARKERS
Editor, and set the Start and End times in the The Preserve current frame time option, when
Selection Information window before invoking checked, lets you preserve the absolute frame
one of the Edit commands. See chapter 54, location of locked markers when changing the
“Conductor Track” (page 677) and chapter 31, SMPTE start time of the sequence. In other words,
“Editing Basics” (page 289) for more information. locked markers won’t move; they will remain
anchored to their SMPTE time code frame.
LOCKING AND UNLOCKING MARKERS
Markers can be connected to a SMPTE frame If the new SMPTE start time causes a locked
location such that they will retain that location if marker to shift before the beginning of the
the tempo is changed: they can be “locked” to the sequence, the marker will be placed at the
location. If the tempo is changed, the measure time beginning of the sequence. If you would rather get
location of the marker will change. rid of such markers altogether, check the Delete if
before start of chunk option.
When a marker is unlocked, it remains anchored to
a specific measure/beat/tick, and its SMPTE frame If you wish to leave locked markers in the same
location is flexible. position relative to the start of the sequence, use
the Preserve length of time from start of chunk
To toggle a single marker between locked and option.
unlocked states, click in the lock column next to
the marker’s name. To lock or unlock several
markers at once, select them and choose Lock or
Unlock from the Markers window mini-menu.
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MARKERS
If you are not working with time code, you will In addition to using markers to define the structure
probably not need to display real or frame time in and tempo of your score, you may want to add
the Markers window. markers for visual cues and hit points. The Record
Hits feature is especially suited for this. These
Film and video scoring markers should be locked since their time location
Markers make an excellent cue sheet for planning corresponds to a frame location. When locked, the
out or displaying the structure of your score. They measure time location of the marker will be
can show you the relationship between time updated if you change the tempo and meter. The
locations in the film and measure locations in the frame location will not change.
music. You can then use the Find Tempo window to
find the tempo that best lines up metrical beats of Markers can be an indispensable tool for triggering
the sequence with important visual events. This visual cues (streamers, punches and flutters). See
can all be done before recording a note of music. “Streamers, Punches and Flutters” on page 731.
724
MARKERS
CHAPTER 62 Find Tempo
The Find Tempo feature helps you find the tempo WHEN FIND TEMPO WORKS BEST
that best matches a list of locked markers (“hits”), Find Tempo works best at the beginning of the
with as many hits as possible falling on beats. scoring process, when you’ve got an EDL (Edit
Decision List) or hit list, before you’ve written any
When Find Tempo works best . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725 music (although you can certainly experiment with
Preparing markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726 it on existing material). If you do try it with existing
Opening Find Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726 material, it works better with music that is already a
Entering search parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726 constant tempo. Lots of existing tempo changes in
Processing the results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 727 the conductor track do not generally produce good
Browsing the tempo search results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 728 results.
Auditioning a specific tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729
Viewing the results of a specific tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729
Applying the tempo to your sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729
Copy and move locked markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729
Locking tracks before applying a new tempo. . . . . . . 729
Search Start
Chunk Selector
Tempo Range settings Search grid
Offset Max hits
Click on the column Toggles between ascending
titles to sort the or descending order.
results as desired.
725
PREPARING MARKERS assign a range to several markers at one time, select
Use the Markers window to prepare your markers them and use the Set Hit Range mini-menu
for effective tempo searches. Find Tempo only command.
searches on locked markers, so be sure to lock any
markers you wish to include in the search.
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FIND TEMPO
Tempo Range settings If you choose to search for tempos using a range of
The Tempo Range settings (Figure 62-1) let you offsets, every offset within the range is shown in the
choose the metric division (quarter note, eighth list of results, regardless of the number of hits and
note, etc.), the range of tempos in which you’d like misses it contains. This allows you to inspect the
to search, and the frequency of different tempos complete set of search results.
you’d like to try within that range.
Search button
The default frequency is 0.25 of a bpm, which The Find Tempo window automatically re-
means that every tempo, in quarter bpm calculates the tempo search results whenever a
increments, will be searched within the range you search parameter changes. But if you want to
specify. Smaller frequency values produce more manually force Digital Performer to re-calculate
resulting tempos and increase the chances of the tempo search results for some reason, click the
finding the most hits. But they also take longer. Search button (Figure 62-1).
Lower frequency produces fewer tempos and
shorter calculation times. Max Hits
The Max Hits (Figure 62-1) indicator is a static text
Note that the BPM (Beats Per Minute) note value readout that tells you how many searchable
for the tempo is independent of the resolution markers you have (the maximum possible number
setting for the search grid setting (shown in of hits). This is a convenient reference for
Figure 62-1 and explained in the next section). evaluating the number of hits and near hits. In this
example, if you get 10 hits, you’ll know that you got
Search Grid 10 out of 100. The Max Hits indicator counts only
The Search Grid note value menu (Figure 62-1) lets those markers that occur after the search start time.
you set the beat resolution grid on which you
would like to search for hits. Because this is PROCESSING THE RESULTS
separate from the tempo specification, you can As soon as you finish entering a new set of search
search, for example, for quarter note tempos but parameters, an animated processing symbol
evaluate hits according to the closest eighth note. appears in the upper right corner of the window to
indicate that tempos are currently being searched.
Offset Find Tempo always begins searching automatically,
The Offset settings (Figure 62-1) allow you to as soon as you enter new parameters, change the
specify how much of an offset (in frames) you wish existing parameters or even make changes to the
to consider from the chunk’s current SMPTE start locked markers in the sequence. But you can always
time, and how many different offsets to check. The initiate searching again by clicking the Search
offset settings shown in the example in Figure 62-1 button.
would check the results of every tempo with offsets
ranging between –3 and 3 frames. The Step setting Searching before the beginning of the
specifies how many offsets to check between the sequence
minimum and maximum frame numbers. The If you’ve chosen to include a locked marker in your
Step setting in this example will test offsets at search that occurs at or before the sequence start
intervals of one and one-half frames. Therefore, frame, offsets cannot be applied. As a result, you
the set of offsets that will be considered is { -3.0, will see a red warning message at the top of the
-1.5, 0, 1.5, 3.0 }.
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FIND TEMPO
Find Tempo dialog that warns you that a locked frequency of tempos you’ve chosen to try within
marker at or before the sequence start time that range (as explained earlier in “Entering search
prevents use of offsets. parameters” on page 726). Click the column title
and use the ascending or descending order triangle
BROWSING THE TEMPO SEARCH RESULTS (above the vertical scroll bar) to sort the list by
After a search is complete (when the processing tempo.
symbol disappears), all of the tempos you specified
(as prescribed by the tempo range) appear in the Offset
list, along with their Offset, total error, and their The Offset column (Figure 62-1) shows you the
hits/near/misses count. You can sort the list in offset (in frames and 80ths of a frame) that is
ascending or descending order by any one of these associated with the tempo for this search result. A
characteristics by simply clicking the title of the search result is the combination of a tempo and an
column. The list will immediately be resorted offset. If you apply a tempo, its offset (if non-zero)
according to the column title you click. Use the will be added to the current chunk start time.
triangle on the far right (as shown in Figure 62-1
on page 725) to toggle the list between ascending Negative offsets
or descending order. For the sake of comparison, Offsets can be either positive or negative, although
the sequence’s current tempo is also calculated and negative offsets are limited so they can never shift
included in the list. the chunk start time to a value that is less than zero.
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FIND TEMPO
conveniently compare these numbers with the total Weight
possible number of hits (Max Hits) displayed just This is the Marker weight as specified in the
above this column. If you click the heading of the Markers window. See “Preparing markers” on
Hits/Near/Miss column to sort the tempo results page 726.
list, it orders the results first by number of hits, and
secondly by number of near misses. Error
This is a bar graph representation of how far away
AUDITIONING A SPECIFIC TEMPO the marker is from the nearest beat.
If Audible Mode is on and a tempo in the list is
selected, the metronome will click at that tempo. Frames off
This column tells you how many frames the marker
You can turn Audible Mode on or off with the
is from the nearest beat.
speaker button in the Control Panel.
Hit
VIEWING THE RESULTS OF A SPECIFIC
TEMPO This column gives you a visual indication of how
To get a closer look at the results for a certain close the marker is to a hit (beat). Green is a good
tempo, click the tempo in the list to highlight it. hit (near the center of the marker’s hit range).
When you do, the list in the lower portion of the Yellow is a near miss; red is a complete miss.
window shows details about every marker for that
APPLYING THE TEMPO TO YOUR SEQUENCE
tempo, including the number of frames off it falls
The Apply button writes the currently selected
from a beat and the total amount of error for that
tempo to the sequence specified at the top of the
marker. In addition, the closeness of the hit is
Find Tempo window, starting at the Start Search
indicated by color in the Hit column as a general
location (Figure 62-1 on page 725).
reference. Green means a direct hit; yellow means it
is close, and red means there was no direct hit. COPY AND MOVE LOCKED MARKERS
The Copy and move locked markers option helps
The following sections provide a brief explanation
you if you are finding a tempo after you have
of each column in the Find window marker list.
written music. It creates an unlocked copy of each
Once again, you can sort the list by the values
locked marker so that when you apply your tempo,
displayed in each column by clicking the column
the unlocked markers shift with the music,
title.
allowing you to see where your music data has
Time moved after applying the tempo.
This is the location of the marker in
LOCKING TRACKS BEFORE APPLYING A
measures|beats|ticks (as entered in the Markers
NEW TEMPO
window). If you have data that you don’t want to move when
applying a tempo to a sequence, then lock that
Frame
track before applying the tempo.
This is the marker’s SMPTE frame location (as
entered in the Markers window).
Marker
This is the Marker name (as entered in the Markers
window).
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FIND TEMPO
CHAPTER 63 Streamers, Punches and Flutters
OVERVIEW STREAMERS
Streamers, flutters and punches are visual cues A streamer is a colored vertical bar that travels
superimposed on a film or video screen to assist across the screen from left to right. The time that it
composers, conductors, directors and producers in takes from its entrance on the left to its exit on the
writing, recording and producing music and right can be specified, and there are several
soundtracks for picture. industry standard durations. The streamer is
triggered such that it reaches the right-hand side of
Digital Performer can superimpose streamers, the screen at a visual hit, a point of interest in the
punches and flutters as follows: visual material chosen as a reference. The streamer
is usually then followed by a punch on the exact hit.
■ On Digital Performer’s Movie window viewed
731
video interface such as the HDX-SDI. Visual cues SETTING UP THE PROCUE 1M1 OR
are composited “on the fly” and combined with the CLICKSTREAMMACHINE
movie video. No pre-rendering is necessary. Add the ProCue 1m1 or ClickStreamMachine to
your MIDI device configuration (Setup menu >
To enable the display of streamers, flutters and Bundles > MIDI Devices tab) and make sure it is
punches on live video output, enable the Movie connected to your MIDI interface as demonstrated
Overlay option (Figure 63-3). For complete below for the 1m1:
information about the Movie window, see
chapter 29, “Movie Window” (page 275).
ClickStreamMachine www.clickstream- ClickStreamMa- Figure 63-1: Adding the ProCue 1m1 or ClickStreamMachine to your
MIDI device configuration.
machine.com chine
Make sure that the video deck or other video
SETTING UP THE VTP OR DTP source feeding the 1m1 or ClickStreamMachine is
For information about setting up the Video synchronized with Digital Performer. In the
Timepiece or Digital Timepiece to generate example below, a MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV is
streamers, consult the Digital Timepiece or Video being used to synchronize Digital Performer to the
Timepiece manual. Essentially, all you need to do is video deck via SMPTE time code from the video:
add it to your your MIDI device configuration
(Setup menu > Bundles > MIDI Devices tab) and
make sure its MIDI connections are working
properly.
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STREAMERS, PUNCHES AND FLUTTERS
Computer running Digital
Enable the check boxes for the types of visual
Performer events you would like to use, as well as the output
devices on which you would like to view them.
Checking the boxes in the left-hand column
activates the features for each type of visual event
globally in the program. The settings on the right-
hand side determine the default appearance for
USB connection bearing MIDI each type of visual event when it is first created,
time code and MMC transport
commands although in most cases you can customize each
individual event (to override these default settings)
as desired.
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STREAMERS, PUNCHES AND FLUTTERS
Default settings
In the right-hand column (Figure 63-3), choose
the default color, duration and size for marker
Click here
streamers, streamer events, punch events and to toggle
flutter events. This is the color, duration and size the
streamer
that will be used for each type of event, unless you on and off.
specify otherwise to override these default settings Figure 63-4: Marker streamers.
for an individual event, as explained later.
Marker streamer options
WORKING WITH MARKER STREAMERS Select one or more markers and choose Set
Choose Show Streamers from the Markers window Streamer Options from the Markers window mini-
mini-menu to show or hide the Streamers column. menu to open the Streamer Options:
To enable a streamer for a marker, choose the
desired duration from the streamer column next to
the marker. To temporarily disable the streamer at
any time, click the streamer icon in the left-hand
portion of the streamer column. You can also drag
across multiple streamer icons to toggle them, and
you can Option/Alt-click and Command/Ctrl-
click them in the same fashion as in the Lock
column.
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STREAMERS, PUNCHES AND FLUTTERS
needed to generate your marker streamers on
either a Digital Timepiece, Video Timepiece, a
ProCue 1m1, or a ClickStreamMachine. However,
you do not have to create this MIDI track in order
to make your marker streamers appear. Digital
Performer will automatically generate MIDI to
produce your marker streamers on the selected
outputs, whether or not a MIDI track has been
generated.
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STREAMERS, PUNCHES AND FLUTTERS
VISUAL CUE EVENTS IN THE CONDUCTOR EXPORTING VISUAL CUES
TRACK When running under Mac OS X 10.7 or later, Film
If you would like to create streamer events that are Scoring Events can be included when you Bounce
not associated with a marker, or if you would like to to Disk using QuickTime Movie Export
create independent punch or flutter events, you can (“Bouncing to a Movie” on page 907). They
insert them and edit them by hand in the become a permanent part of the exported movie
Conductor track. Double-click the event to access and can be played back via any QuickTime
its settings. For further information, see “Types of compatible video player, Windows Media Player, or
Conductor track events” on page 677. Digital Performer’s hardware video output
features, as described in “External video hardware
output” on page 279.
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STREAMERS, PUNCHES AND FLUTTERS
CHAPTER 64 Chunks Window
737
If Digital Performer receives a song select number Search: If you have a lot of chunks in the list, type
that is assigned to two or more chunks, Digital in the name of the one you are searching for.
Performer will cue the chunk that appears highest
in the list. For this reason, it is best to assign a The Chunks window mini-menu
unique Song Select number to each chunk. The Chunks window mini-menu contains the
following commands:
End time: Displays each chunk’s End time. In
automatic mode, End time is the downbeat of the New Sequence: Creates a new sequence. To create
measure following the last complete measure in the several sequences at once, press the Option/Alt key
chunk. When a chunk’s End time is in manual while choosing New Sequence.
mode, it is bold and can be edited to be any length.
New V-Rack: Creates a new V-Rack. To create
V-Racks do not have an end time because they hold
several V-Racks at once, press the Option/Alt key
no audio or MIDI data.
while choosing New V-Rack.
Name: Displays the name of the chunk. Click the
New Song: Adds a song to the chunk list. To create
name to select the chunk. Option/Alt-click the
several songs at once, press the Option/Alt key
name to change it. Double-click the name to open
while choosing New Song.
the Tracks, Song or Mixer window belonging to the
chunk. Duplicate Track Layout: Creates a new, empty
sequence with the same track layout as the selected
Because chunks can be imported into other files,
sequence. Select an existing sequence before
dragged without limit into Song windows, and
choosing this command.
duplicated easily, use the most descriptive chunk
name possible to avoid confusion. Duplicate Sequence: Creates an exact copy of the
currently selected sequence.
Comments: Displays as much as possible of your
comments for each chunk. View and edit the Open Chunks: Opens a Song window for each
comments by clicking them. highlighted song, a Tracks window for each
highlighted sequence, and a Mixing Board for each
Next/Previous Chunk buttons: If you have more
highlighted V-Rack.
than one sequence or song in the file, these buttons
skip to the next or previous one, much like the skip Auto/manual end time: Toggles the Auto/manual
buttons on a CD player. status of the selected chunks. Automatic mode
locks the chunk’s End time at the downbeat of the
Cue Chunks button: When highlighted, it
measure following the last complete measure in the
play-enables the next chunk in the chunks
chunk. Manual mode changes the time to boldface
list after the current playback chunk reaches its
and allows it to be edited.
End time and stops. To begin playback of the next
chunk, press the Play button, or a command for the Set Chunk Start: Establishes the start times of the
Play button. currently selected chunks in three of Digital
Performer’s time formats: measures, real time, and
Chain Chunks button: When highlighted,
SMPTE time. The start times are what you see in
starts playback of the next chunk in the list
the Counter when you rewind back to the
after the current chunk reaches its End time.
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C H UNK S W I NDO W
beginning of the chunk. This is the same window To deselect chunks when more than one are
that appears when you click the Start Time button highlighted, hold down the Command/Ctrl key and
in the main counter. click on the chunks you wish to deselect. They will
unhighlight.
Delete: Deletes the selected chunks. If you attempt
to delete a chunk that is part of a song in the open Creating new chunks
file, a dialog box appears, prompting you to To create a new, empty chunk, choose New
confirm your decision. Sequence, New Song or New V-Rack from the
Chunks window mini-menu. To add several at
CHUNKS WINDOW BASICS once, hold down the Option/Alt key while
The Chunks window lists the chunks in a file and choosing Add. You will be prompted for the
provides useful features to manage them, such as number of chunks to add.
adding, deleting, and other operations. In
addition, chunks can be dragged from the chunks To create a new chunk with the same track layout as
window into a Song window to build a song. For an existing Chunk, highlight the existing chunk
more information, see chapter 66, “Songs” and select Duplicate Track Layout from the Chunks
(page 753). Chunks can also be automatically cued window mini-menu. A new chunk will be added
to playback in the order in which they are listed in with the same name as the chunk you highlighted,
the Chunks window. For more information about appended by the word “copy”. It will have the same
cueing, see “Saving Memory and Auto Record track layout as the original: the number of tracks,
Times” on page 191. Chunks can also be cued the track names, and the track output assignment
remotely from your MIDI controller. For more will be identical to the original.
information, refer to chapter 8, “Commands”
(page 91). Duplicating existing chunks
Sometimes you may want to duplicate a chunk to
Opening the Chunks window experiment with changes or for some other reason.
To open the Chunks window, choose Chunks from To duplicate a chunk:
the Project menu. The Chunks window will appear,
displaying a list of all sequences and songs in the 1 Highlight the chunk name in the Chunks list.
open file.
2 Choose Duplicate Sequence from the Chunks
Selecting Chunks window mini-menu.
There are several methods of selecting chunks:
An exact copy of the sequence, including all the
To select a single chunk, click on its name. The name data in the tracks, will be placed at the end of the
will highlight. list in the Chunks window. Rename it immediately
so that you do not get the copy and the original
To select several adjacent chunks, click a chunk mixed up.
name and drag over the desired names. All chunks
dragged over will highlight. Loading Chunks from another file
Digital Performer’s Load command allows you to
To select several non-adjacent chunks, hold down quickly import Chunks into an open file from
the Command/Ctrl key and click on the names of another, unopened Digital Performer file.
the chunks you wish to select. They will highlight.
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C HU N KS W I N D O W
For step-by-step instructions to load Chunks, see At any time, you can take your music freely back
“Loading a sequence, song or V-Rack” on page 21. and forth from Sequence form to Song form with
these two commands to help you create your
Copying and pasting Chunks between projects music.
You can copy and paste the following items
between projects: To create a sequence Chunk from the Track
Overview window:
■ Entire sequences, songs and/or V-Racks that
have been selected in the Chunks window 1 Make any selection that you wish.
■ Song window selections (sequences and/or
2 Choose Copy Selection to New Sequence from
songs that have been selected in an Song window)
the Tracks window sequence menu.
When copying and pasting sequences and songs,
all soundbites and sequences used in them are also A dialog box appears.
copied and pasted into the destination project.
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C H UNK S W I NDO W
the name of each one as described in the Selecting Play-enabling by remote control
Chunks section above. You can Undo this Digital Performer also provides two different
command. methods of play-enabling chunks from a remote
device.
Choosing the current playback sequence or
song Chunk Selection commands
At any given time, one sequence or song is The first method is with the Chunk select
designated for playback, and it is the only one you Commands found in the Commands window,
can play and record into. Certain functions, such as where each Chunk is assigned a computer key
recording, are available only to the currently play- binding and MIDI event. You play-enable a Chunk
enabled sequence or song. For example, if a by pressing its corresponding computer key
sequence is play-enabled, its Tracks window has binding or sending its corresponding MIDI event
record-enable buttons by its tracks. If a song is from your MIDI keyboard (or controller). Please
play-enabled, one of its component sequences can refer to chapter 8, “Commands” (page 91) for more
be record-enabled. Only that sequence’s Tracks information.
window will have record-enable buttons.
Song Select messages
V-Racks, on the other hand, are always play- The second method is Chunk Select, which allows
enabled, making their tracks available at all times you to cue chunks for playback by sending a MIDI
to the currently play-enabled sequence or song. Song Select message from a MIDI controller. The
Chunks window column S# displays the Song
You may edit any sequence or song in the file at any Select number that, when received, will cue the
time regardless of whether it is play-enabled or not. corresponding chunk for playback. If a chunk has
no Song number assigned, the S# column displays
To play-enable a sequence or song:
a single dash (-).
■ Click the play-enable button to the left of its
Most hardware sequencers and some MIDI
name. It will turn blue. The play-enable buttons of
keyboard controllers can send and receive Song
the other sequences and songs will be gray.
Select messages. Simply send a Song Select message
OR as instructed in that module’s documentation. If
the open file contains a chunk assigned to the Song
■ Click the Next/Previous Chunk buttons as number in the message, that chunk will be play-
needed until the sequence or song’s name is enabled. If more than one chunk has the same Song
displayed in the Control Panel number assigned, the one highest in the chunks list
will be cued.
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C HU N KS W I N D O W
Opening chunks You can use the Enter or Down Arrow key to
Each sequence chunk can have its own Tracks approve the change and edit the next chunk name
window, and each song chunk has its own Song in the list. You can also use the Up Arrow key to
window. To see a chunk’s Tracks or Song window, approve the change and edit the previous chunk
click the chunk’s name to highlight it and choose name in the list.
Open Chunks from the Chunk window mini-menu.
Or just double-click the chunk name. Entering comments
To enter or modify comments for a chunk:
Rearranging the order of chunks
You may rearrange the Chunks in whatever order is 1 Click in the comments field to the right of the
most meaningful to you. To change the position of chunk name.
a Chunk in the Chunks list:
A box appears. If you’ve already entered a comment
1 Press the type icon of the Chunk you want to for the chunk, the entire comment appears
move. highlighted in the box.
The cursor changes into that chunk icon. 2 Enter or edit the comment.
2 Drag and drop the mouse to the position where 3 Click OK to confirm the changes you’ve made
you want the Chunk. and close the comments box, or click Cancel to
discard the changes.
Rearranging the order of the Chunks is a useful
organizational tool. In addition, it lets you Press the Down Arrow key or the Enter key to
determine the Chunks’ default cueing order when approve the changes you’ve made and move to the
using the Next/Previous Chunk, Cue Chunks, and comment for the next Chunk. The Up Arrow key
Chain Chunks buttons described later in this likewise moves to the comment for the previous
chapter. Chunk.
Changing the name of a chunk When entering or editing a comment, the Return
To change the name of a Chunk: key starts a new line of text instead of approving the
changes as usual in Digital Performer’s user
1 Option/Alt-click the name of the chunk. interface.
A small box will pop up. Auto versus manual end time
The Chunks window field End Time displays either
2 Type the chunk name in the box. the automatic, Digital Performer-generated ending
time of the Chunk, or a time that you have entered
3 Press the Return key or click outside the box to
manually. It’s important to understand how this
confirm the name or Command/Ctrl-period to
time affects your music.
cancel it.
Digital Performer offers two ways of playing
Chunks sequentially: by arranging Chunks
vertically and horizontally in the Song window,
and by Chunk Chaining using the Cue Chunks,
Chain Chunks, and Next/Previous Chunk buttons
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C H UNK S W I NDO W
in the Chunks window. The End time shown for In summary: regardless of auto/manual status, in
each Chunk in the Chunks window affects these the Song window the End time determines the
two types of chaining differently. Chunk’s ending column location but not its
playback length. During Chunk Chaining,
When a Chunk is in a Song window, the Chunks playback actually stops at the End time.
window End time does not affect the playback
length of the Chunk. Within a song, a Chunk will For more information about the Song window and
play every note it contains, regardless of its Chunks Chunk cueing, see chapter 66, “Songs” (page 753)
window End time. What it does affect is column and “Saving Memory and Auto Record Times” on
placement. Columns appear automatically at the page 191, respectively.
End time of each Chunk dragged into the Song
window. This makes it easy to place Chunks end to Building a song with chunks
end. To build a Song out of Chunks in the Chunks
window, drag their type icon into a Song Window.
For example, a Chunk whose last attack is at For complete information, please refer to the next
4|4|322 will have an automatic End time of 5|1|000. chapter, “Songs”.
When this Chunk is dragged into a Song window at
time 1|1|000, a column will appear at 5|1|000,
making it very easy for you to place the next Chunk
in a metrically logical location. If you prefer a five
measure phrase, just change the End time to
6|1|000. The end column will appear at 6|1|000,
even though the Chunk only plays through four
measures.
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C HU N KS W I N D O W
2 Set the start and end times in the Selection The information from Sequence A is pasted into
Information window to define the region you wish Sequence B at the measure location you chose.
to copy.
THE CHUNK CONTROL BUTTONS
To select the entire sequence, choose Set to Chunk The Next Chunk and Previous Chunk buttons
Bounds from the Set To menu. play-enable the next or previous Chunk (sequence
or song) listed in the Chunks window. The Cue
3 Highlight all the track names in Sequence A. Chunks button play-enables the next Chunk in the
list after the current Chunk plays to its end time
Either click and drag over them, or choose Select
and stops. The Chain Chunks button causes the
All from the Edit menu.
next Chunk in the list to automatically begin
playing when the current Chunk finishes playback.
4 Select Copy from the Edit menu.
Chaining using the Chunks window
As a short cut, press Command/Ctrl-C.
The Chunk cueing buttons in the Chunks window
5 Choose Sequence B from the Sequence menu. allow automatic and real-time cueing of Chunks,
and automatic playback of cued Chunks. The Cue
6 Cue the main counter to the measure at which Chunks, Chain Chunks, and Next Chunk, and
you want to paste the material into sequence B. Previous Chunk buttons let you play Chunks from
the Chunks window, moving up or down the list at
7 Select Paste from the Edit menu. your command.
Figure 64-4: When either the Cue Chunks or Chain Chunks button is activated, the end of the sequence is graphically depicted in all time rulers with the end
barline marker, which you can drag with Snap to Grid turned on or off. This is the point at which it will stop before the next sequence will be cued.
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C H UNK S W I NDO W
Chunk cueing does not yield seamless transitions The Cue Chunks button
between Chunks. Use them for cueing situations The Cue Chunks button, when highlighted, play-
where a pause between Chunks — either brief or enables the next chunk in the Chunks list after the
indefinite — is acceptable or preferred. current playback chunk reaches its end time and
stops.
For example, the Chunk Control buttons are
perfect for live performance. Before a set, you
could organize the Chunks list in the order you
wish for the set. Then, before you begin, you could
enable the Wait button. To begin the set, you simply Figure 64-5: The Cue Chunks button makes Digital Performer play-
enable the next sequence or song in the Chunks window when it
press play. When the first song ends, the next song reaches the end of the current one.
automatically cues up, and you can trigger it at
your leisure from your MIDI keyboard. Or, To begin playback of the next chunk, press the Play
without the Wait button, you can have Digital button, or a command for the Play button.
Performer go right into the next song without
The Chain Chunks button
waiting.
The Chain Chunks button, when highlighted,
starts playback of the next Chunk in the list after
It is also possible to cue and play Chunks remotely
the current playback Chunk reaches its End time.
from your MIDI controller. For more information,
This is a simple way of automatically chaining
see chapter 8, “Commands” (page 91).
Chunks in their Chunks list order.
When the Cue Chunks or Chain Chunks button is
enabled, the Stop time displayed in the Memory
Bar indicates the measure time at which the current
Chunk will stop playing and the next Chunk will be
cued. This time appears automatically when a Figure 64-6: The Chain Chunks button makes Digital Performer cue
up and start playing the next sequence or song in the Chunks
Chunk is cued; it corresponds to the Chunk’s End window when it reaches the end of the current one.
time in the Chunks window.
Chaining with this button does not yield seamless
You can edit the Memory Bar time by clicking it, transitions between Chunks. Use it for cueing
but this change lasts only until the next Chunk is situations where a brief pause between Chunks is
enabled. If you wish a different End time to appear acceptable or preferred. For seamless chaining,
in the Memory Bar automatically for a particular assemble Chunks in a Song window. For more
Chunk, edit the End time in the Chunks window. information, see chapter 66, “Songs” (page 753).
Simply click the Chunk name and choose Auto/
Viewing the Chunk End Time
manual end time from the Chunks window mini-
When the Cue Chunks or Chain Chunks button is
menu. The time becomes bold and editable.
highlighted, the end time of the sequence is
Remember that the End time only affects a sequence’s
graphically displayed as a final barline in the time
playback length when using the Chunk control
ruler of the Track Overview or any graphic editor.
buttons, not when the Chunk is played as part of a
song. The Next Chunk and Previous Chunk buttons
The Next/Previous Chunk buttons enable the next
or previous Chunk for playback. Clicking these
buttons is similar to pressing the skip buttons on a
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C HU N KS W I N D O W
typical audio compact disc player: Digital
Performer stops playback of the current Chunk
and starts playback of the next or previous Chunk.
Chaining Chunks in this manner does not yield
Figure 64-7: When you have multiple sequences in Digital Performer
seamless transitions between Chunks. To chain file, the Skip buttons work like the skip buttons on a CD player: the
Chunks seamlessly, chain them inside a song as play-enable the next or previous sequence or song in the project.
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CHAPTER 65 V-Racks
V-Racks™ (virtual racks) are similar to sequences, available to all other sequences in the project.
except that they have no time domain and they do
■ They provide all of the real-time processing
not hold track data or automation. The only types
capabilities of a regular sequence, including the
of tracks that you can add to them are Instrument
ability to host virtual instruments.
tracks, aux tracks and master faders. As such, they
are intended to be used as “effects” racks, a A virtual effects and instrument rack
centralized location for effects processing and When you add up all of the above characteristics,
virtual instruments. essentially what you have is a virtual effects and
instrument rack — hence the name V-Rack.
V-Racks can be created and managed in the
V-Racks are ideal in situations where you are using
Chunks window. See chapter 64, “Chunks
multiple sequences in a project, as the following
Window” (page 737).
examples illustrate.
V-Rack basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 747
Virtual instruments
Creating a V-Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
A very common situation is as follows: you have a
V-Rack quick reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
project with multiple sequences that are all playing
Working with a V-Rack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 748
the same virtual instrument. For example, you
V-RACK BASICS might be working on a TV commercial with several
V-Racks™ (virtual racks) are similar to regular sequences in the project: a :15 second version, a :30
sequences, but they are streamlined as follows: second version and a :60 second version. But they
are all playing essentially the same sounds loaded
■ They have no time domain. into MachFive. To work most efficiently, you can
create one instance of MachFive in a V-Rack, and
■ They do not hold track data or automation.
then access MachFive from any of the other
■ The only types of tracks that you can add are: sequences, just as if it were instantiated in each
Instrument tracks, aux tracks and master faders. sequence individually. By instantiating it only once
■ They do not have a Tracks Window, Sequence
in the V-Rack, you save memory and computer
Editor or any other type of edit window. The only processing resources. Samples and patches will not
window that can be opened to modify them is the need to reload when switching among sequences.
Mixing Board.
Mastering
■ They cannot be placed in a song. Another very common situation is this: you have
multiple sequences that you want to master using
V-Racks have several significant characteristics
the same mastering effects chain. To ensure
that makes them very useful:
consistency and to maximize efficiency, you can
add a master fader track to a V-Rack, apply the
■ They are always active, regardless of what
desired effects processing and then run the master
sequence or song is play-enabled.
output of each individual sequence into the master
747
fader in the V-Rack. Regardless of which sequence ■ Choose New V-Rack from the Chunks window
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V-RACKS
Figure 65-2: Accessing the V-Rack in the Mixing Board.
Edit that switches the Mixing Board between the 4 Choose the desired destination V-Rack from the
sequence and V-Rack that were last viewed in the resulting dialog.
Mixing Board. The default keyboard shortcut is
Command/Ctrl-Shift-V. The track disappears from the source sequence and
is moved to the destination V-Rack.
Adding tracks to a V-Rack
After you have opened the Mixing Board for the Deleting tracks from a V-Rack
V-Rack (and it is the active window or cell), you To delete tracks from a V-Rack, choose Delete
can then add aux tracks, instrument tracks and Track from the pop-up menu at the bottom of each
master faders to it using any of the standard channel strip in the Mixing Board.
techniques for adding tracks to a sequence. For
example, you could choose Project menu> Add
Track.
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V-RACKS
Displaying V-Racks alongside a sequence to help visually group the related tracks.
To display V-Racks alongside your sequence tracks Additionally, each sequence and V-Rack has a label
in the Mixing Board, use the “Show V-Racks” with its name above their associated tracks.
option in the Mixing Board mini-menu.
as
Figure 65-6: V-Rack tracks alongside sequence tracks in the Mixing Board
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V-RACKS
Master fader priority In this situation, you could add a master fader
Digital Performer now allows you to assign two or directly in the sequence, assign it to the same
more master faders to the same output pair. But outputs as the mastering V-Rack, but then place it
only one can be active at a time. Therefore, master above the V-Rack in the Chunks window list. When
fader priority is determined by their top-to- you then make it the play-enabled sequence, its
bottom order in Chunks window list and, within a master fader becomes the active (priority) master
V-Rack, their left-to-right order in the Mixing fader for the output pair. When you play-enable
Board. any of the other sequences, the V-Rack master
fader becomes active.
Master Fader tracks in sequences that are higher in
the chunk list take priority over Master Fader In essence, this setup provides a “default”
tracks farther down the list. mastering channel, while also allowing “override”
mastering channels as needed for individual
Similarly, within a given sequence or V-Rack, sequences.
Master Fader tracks that are higher in the track list
(or further to the left in a V-Rack Mixing Board)
take priority over ones farther down (or to the
right).
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V-RACKS
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V-RACKS
CHAPTER 66 Songs
Window Target
Time ruler
Marker strip
Selected chunk
Sequence chunk
Song chunk
753
The standard Edit commands (Cut, Copy, Paste, Copy Conductor Tracks: Copies the Conductor
Erase, and Undo) and dragging operations can be tracks of the selected Chunks into the song’s
used on Chunks in the Song window. Conductor track. In time regions where two or
more Chunks are selected, the information from
Marker Strip: Displays the Markers associated with the uppermost Chunk is used. Markers are not
the open song. Every marker in a song included in the copy; use the Merge markers
automatically produces a column at the same time command to copy Chunk markers into a song.
location in the Song window.
Edit Conductor Track: Opens a Graphic or Event
Time Ruler: Indicates the position of each Chunk List editing window of the song’s Conductor track.
in any combination of measure|beat|tick, real, and
SMPTE time formats. The Ruler is non-linear, Record-enable Conductor: Enables the Conductor
meaning the ruler markings denote Chunk Start track of the song for recording Tap Tempo
and End times rather than regular time units. information.
Choose which time formats are displayed using the
Song window mini-menu selections Measures, Real Insert Column: Produces a dialog box prompting
time, and Frames. for a measure, real, or SMPTE time at which to
insert a new column.
Song name: Displays the name of the song to which
the window belongs. The song name can be Set Record Sequence: Enables or disables the
changed by Option/Alt-clicking it in the Chunks selected sequence for recording within the song.
window. Only one sequence can be record-enabled at a
time. Choosing this item with more than one
Record-enabled Chunk: Displays a record-enable Chunk selected, or with a Song selected, produces
button in its handle, indicating that if the Song is a warning message.
play-enabled and the Record button is pressed, it
will begin to record data at its start time. Only Merge Markers: Merges the markers of all selected
sequence Chunks can be record-enabled. Chunks into the song’s marker list.
Column: Serves as a placement guide for Chunks. Delete Markers: Deletes from the song’s marker list
Columns appear automatically at the end of each any markers that are identical to markers in the
Chunk, and can be inserted manually by choosing selected Chunks.
Insert from the Song window mini-menu.
Merge Chunks to Sequence: Produces the Merge
Selected Chunk: Appears inverted to indicate that Chunks dialog box, which contains the following
it has been selected. Selected Chunks are subject to options:
Edit commands as well as several Song window
■ Copy all tracks creates a sequence containing all
mini-menu commands.
tracks of the selected Chunks, and places this new
The Song Window Mini-menu sequence in the Chunks window.
The Song window has the following mini-menu
items:
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■ Merge tracks with identical names creates a A dialog box appears, prompting you for a location
sequence containing all tracks in the selected in measure|beat|tick, real, or SMPTE time.
Chunks, merges any tracks with identical names,
and places this new sequence in the Chunks 2 Click the radio button next to the time format
window. you wish to use, and enter the time.
COLUMNS
When you place a Chunk in the Song window, its
Start and End times are marked with columns.
Columns serve as Chunk placement guides. A
column following a Chunk does not necessarily 3 Click OK to confirm your entry or Cancel to
mean that the Chunk will stop playing back at that cancel the Insert.
point.
If you click OK, the dialog box disappears and a
For example, Sequence-1 is four measures long and column appears at the time you specified. If you
has an End time of 5|1|000. Dragging it into a Song click Cancel, the dialog box disappears and the
window produces a column at the End time, and Song window is unchanged.
playback stops there as well.
4 Place a Chunk at the new column location.
Now let’s say that Sequence-1 contains ten
measures of music, but the End time has been Digital Performer automatically eliminates
manually set to 5|1|000. Dragging the sequence columns that do not have an associated Chunk or
into a Song window still produces a four measure marker. So, if you don’t place a Chunk at the new
Chunk and a column at 5|1|000, but the Chunk column you have just inserted, the column will
plays back all the way to measure ten. disappear when the grid redraws.
1 Choose Insert Column from the Song window A new, empty song is added to the Chunks list.
mini-menu.
2 If necessary, add other songs and sequences to
the Chunks list.
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For this example we’ll assume you have at least two
Chunks in addition to the song just added.
5 Continue dragging, Option/Alt-dragging, and Adjacent Chunks in the song play sequentially;
editing Chunks in the Song window to arrange stacked Chunks play simultaneously.
them as desired.
For another method of playing Chunks one after
Chunks that you place end to end will play the other, see “Saving Memory and Auto Record
sequentially; stacked Chunks will play simulta- Times” on page 191.
neously.
Scrolling During Playback
The Auto Scroll command in the View menu can
make the Song window scroll during playback. In
addition, the window will automatically open to
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the current playback location of the sequence. Dragging the Chunk to a different column changes
Please refer to “Auto scroll” on page 204 for more its playback start time. You can drag a Chunk from
information. one Song window to another, resulting in a copy in
each window.
Editing in the Song Window
After you’ve placed a few Chunks into a song, the Option/Alt-dragging, consistent with Digital
Song window offers powerful editing capabilities Performer’s graphic track editing, leaves a copy of
to help you arrange your music. These operations the Chunk at its original location.
can be done before or during playback.
Dragging and Option/Alt-dragging do not cause the
Select the Chunk by clicking it, or by dragging a Song window to scroll. If you need to place a
marquee around it. Chunk at a time location not displayed in the Song
window, Cut or Copy the Chunk, use the scroll bars
Open a Chunk’s Song or Tracks window by double- to move to the desired location, insert a column if
clicking its icon. necessary, and Paste.
The standard Edit commands (Cut, Copy, Paste, RECORDING MIDI INTO A SONG
Erase, and Undo) can all be used on Chunks Digital Performer lets you record both MIDI and
selected in a Song window, with the following tempo information into a song. MIDI information
results. can be recorded into any sequence Chunk
contained in the song, and tempo information can
Cut: Removes each selected Chunk from the Chunk
be recorded into the song’s Conductor track.
Grid and places a copy on the Clipboard.
To record MIDI information into a song’s
Copy: Places a copy of each selected Chunk on the
component sequence:
Clipboard.
1 In the Chunks window, play-enable the Song
Paste: Makes the cursor change to a mini-likeness of
into which you wish to record.
the chunk to be pasted. Click at the desired column
location in a Song window to complete the paste
operation.
Undo: Returns the Song window to its state prior to 2 Double-click the song’s name to open its Song
the last Edit or dragging operation. For example, window.
dragging a Chunk to a different column enables the
Undo command and updates it to Undo Drag. If the song’s window was already open, the window
Choosing Undo Drag returns the dragged Chunk activates.
to its original position.
3 In the Song window, click the sequence Chunk
into which you wish to record.
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The Chunk highlights; any Chunks that were Recording Tempo Information into a Song
selected are deselected. Digital Performer also lets you record tempo
information into a song. Say you’ve created a song
4 Choose Set Record Sequence from the Song in which you’d like to have several tempo changes,
window mini-menu. even rubato passages. Tap Tempo is the most
musical way to add these changes to your song —
The highlighted sequence now has a record-enable you don’t need to guess at the beats per minute, or
indicator in its handle. If you change your mind, even the measure numbers where the changes
choose Set Record Sequence again to disable the should occur.
Chunk.
Each Chunk has its own Conductor track,
containing the tempo, key, and meter information
for that Chunk. Instead of recording MIDI events,
the Conductor track records tempo information
5 Double-click the record-enabled Chunk. while slaved to Tap Tempo. Tap Tempo lets you
control the beat by simply playing a MIDI event
The Tracks window for the Chunk opens. Each like a metronome that Digital Performer follows
track has a record-enable button. and can record. If recorded, the information
becomes a tempo map that can be edited in the
6 Record-enable one of the sequence’s tracks by Conductor track and that Digital Performer will
clicking its record-enable button. follow during subsequent playbacks of the
sequence.
If you wish to record on several tracks, enable
(check) Multi Record (Studio menu). You can even record tempo information into the
song’s Conductor track while recording music into
7 Locate the point in the song at which you want one of the song’s component sequences.
to begin recording.
To record tempo information into a song’s
Use the motion controls in the transport controls Conductor track:
or set the Counter directly.
1 In the Chunks window, play-enable the Song
8 Click Record. into which you wish to record.
The song begins to playback. Digital Performer 2 Double-click the song’s name to open its Song
starts recording at the record-enabled Chunk’s window.
starting time or the Auto-Record In time and
continues indefinitely or until the Auto-Record Out If the song’s window was already open, the window
time. activates.
9 When you are finished, click Stop. 3 Choose Record Enable Conductor Track from the
Song window mini-menu.
To hear the recorded material, rewind as necessary
and click Play. The song’s Conductor track is now record-enabled;
this is indicated by a check mark in the mini-menu
next to Record Enable Conductor Track.
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4 Choose Receive Sync from the Setup menu. 10 Choose Slave to External Sync from the Setup
menu.
The Receive Sync settings appear.
11 Click Record and begin tapping the specified
5 Click the radio button next to Tap Tempo, then tap event at the desired tempo.
choose the port, MIDI channel, MIDI event, and
countoff beats you wish to use. The Play button remains grey until you have
tapped the specified number of countoff beats.
Choose an event/channel combination that you are Digital Performer starts recording at the record-
not using as a Command. Refer to the Commands enabled Chunk’s starting time and continues
chapter for information on Commands indefinitely or until the Auto-Record Out time,
assignments, and to the Receive Sync chapter for whichever is sooner.
specific information on Tap Tempo.
12 When you are finished, click Stop.
6 Optional: Click the sequence Chunk into which
you wish to record. To hear the recorded material, rewind as necessary
and click Play.
If you wish to record MIDI data while recording
tempo information, you must record-enable the EDIT MENU COMMANDS AND THE SONG
desired sequence within the song, and tracks WINDOW
within that sequence. The following Edit commands can be used in the
Song window: Cut, Copy, Paste, Erase, Select All
7 Choose Set Record Sequence from the Song and Undo. Other Edit commands such as Snip,
Window mini-menu. Splice and Repeat have no effect on Chunks in the
Song window.
The highlighted sequence now has a record-enable
indicator in its handle. If you change your mind, SONG WINDOW HINTS
choose Set Record Sequence again to disable the The Song window can be used to quickly create
Chunk. special effects. Try some of the suggestions here to
get started.
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The Insert Column dialog box appears, prompting Simply select all the component Chunks whose
you for the measure, real, or frame time at which a markers you’d like to copy into the song, and
column should be inserted. choose Merge Markers. All unlocked markers in the
selected Chunks now exist in the Song, and are
3 Enter a measure time about 50 ticks after the displayed in the Song’s marker strip and Markers
original Chunk’s starting time within the Song. window.
To create an echo that plays in rhythm with the You can just as easily delete a Chunk’s markers
original Chunk, use divisions of the beat (for from a song. Select the Chunks whose markers
example, a quarter note=480 ticks so try 60, 120, or should be removed from the song and choose
240). A column will appear in the Song window at Delete Markers. Digital Performer compares the
the time you specify. song’s markers to those of the selected Chunks, and
removes any that match up. The markers in the
4 While holding down the Option/Alt key on your
Chunk are not affected. Keep in mind that after you
computer keyboard, drag the Chunk to the new
merge markers of a Chunk into a song, dragging
column.
the Chunk to a different location will not move the
markers. Further, selecting the relocated Chunk
A copy of the Chunk remains at the original
and choosing Delete Markers will not have any
location.
effect, as the markers are no longer associated with
5 Play back the song to hear the result. the Chunk.
Experiment with different amounts of delay to Markers can be of great help when building a song
achieve the best effect. or score because Digital Performer automatically
generates a column in the Song window for each
Exporting a song to other music software marker. You can use the Song’s Markers window to
programs create a list of section markers, which will become
Song Chunks cannot be directly converted to other Chunk placement columns in the Song window.
file formats, but you can use the Merge Chunks to Marker-generated columns are particularly useful
sequence command in the Song window mini- for placing Chunks at hit points, which can be
menu to convert the song into a sequence. The created during playback using the Record Hits
resulting sequence can be converted to any command found in the Markers window mini-
alternative file format available in the Save As menu for each Chunk.
command dialog box. See “Exporting a project” on
page 19. Chunking and Synchronization
Chunking (arranging Chunks in the Song window)
Managing Markers in a Song is the ideal method of playing multiple Chunks
Every Chunk has its own markers. (See “Markers” while slaved to external sync. Firstly, Chunking
on page 715 for an introduction to markers.) allows seamless transitions between Chunks
Markers serve many functions, from simple within a song. What’s more, these Chunks can be
references to auto-locators. You’ll often find when edited independently even after they have been
you place a Chunk into a song that it would be dragged into a song.
useful to see the Chunk’s markers in the context of
the whole song. The Merge Markers command in
the Song window mini-menu lets you do just that.
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Secondly, rather than having a different Start time SMPTE time location. For information about how
and tempo map for each Chunk within a song, the to set the start time, see “Setting the start time” on
song itself has one Start time and one Conductor page 181.
track to govern all component Chunks. In fact,
when placing Chunks into a song you could use Set If the component Chunk contains tempo changes,
Chunk Start, found in the Chunks window mini- you can use the Copy Conductor tracks mini-menu
menu, to change each Chunk’s start time to command to copy all of its tempo changes into the
correspond with its playback location in the song. song’s Conductor track, making every SMPTE hit
The Chunk’s SMPTE start times will shift point of a component Chunk match its SMPTE
accordingly, matching those in the Song window time in the song that contains it.
Time Ruler. If a Chunk contains tempo changes,
Auto Versus Manual End Time
you can use the Copy Conductor tracks mini-menu
The Chunks window field End time displays either
command to make every SMPTE time of a
the automatic, Digital Performer-generated ending
component Chunk match those of the song that
time of the Chunk, or a time that you have entered
contains it.
manually. It’s important to understand how this
Finally, film scoring applications benefit greatly time affects your music.
from the Song window. Using the Record Hits
Digital Performer offers two ways of playing
feature in the Markers window, you can create a
Chunks sequentially: by arranging Chunks
series of SMPTE hit points associated with a song.
vertically and horizontally in the Song window,
Each hit point becomes a marker. Because Digital
and by Chunk Chaining using the Cue Chunks,
Performer inserts a column in the Song window for
Chain Chunks, and Next/Previous Chunk buttons
each Marker, you automatically have a Chunk
in the Chunks window. The End time shown for
placement guide at each hit point in the song.
each Chunk in the Chunks window affects these
Matching chunk start times with their location two types of chaining differently.
in a song
When Chunks are placed in a song, the song itself When a Chunk is in a Song window, the Chunks
has one Start time and one Conductor track to window End time does not affect the playback
govern all component Chunks. When placing length of the Chunk. Within a song, a Chunk will
Chunks into a song, you may want to change each play every note it contains, regardless of its Chunks
component Chunk’s start time to match its window End time. What it does affect is column
playback location in the song. Then, the SMPTE placement. Columns appear automatically at the
start time of the component Chunk will be the End time of each Chunk dragged into the Song
same as its SMPTE location with respect to the window. This makes it easy to place Chunks end to
song. end.
To match a component Chunk’s SMPTE start time For example, a Chunk whose last attack is at
with the song that contains it, look at the column 4|4|322 will have an automatic End time of 5|1|000.
where the Chunk starts in the Song window and When this Chunk is dragged into a Song window at
make a note of the SMPTE time of the column. time 1|1|000, a column will appear at 5|1|000,
Then, set the Chunk’s start time to be the same making it very easy for you to place the next Chunk
in a metrically logical location. If you prefer a five
measure phrase, just change the End time to
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6|1|000. The end column will appear at 6|1|000, that normally would last through the End time will
even though the Chunk only plays through four be cut off. You can avoid this by setting a Chunk’s
measures. End time to be later, thereby building sustain into
the Chunk’s play length.
Again, remember that the Chunk End time does
not affect playback in the Song window, only the In summary: regardless of auto/manual status, in
column placement. the Song window the End time determines the
Chunk’s ending column location but not its
When using the Chunk controls in the Chunks playback length. During Chunk Chaining,
window, you’ll find that each Chunk’s End time playback actually stops at the End time.
does affect its playback length. For example,
clicking Play with the Chain Chunks button Aux tracks in songs
enabled causes playback of one Chunk after Aux tracks are always active in songs. For details,
another, each Chunk playing until the Counter see “Using Aux tracks and Songs” on page 143.
reaches that Chunk’s End time. Phrases, even notes
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Part 7
Mixing
CHAPTER 67 Mixing Board
OVERVIEW
Digital Performer’s Mixing Board window
provides a powerful integrated mixing
environment for MIDI and audio tracks. It also
provides access to real-time effects processing and
virtual instrument plug-ins.
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MIXING BOARD QUICK REFERENCE
Track
Selector Audio effects processors MIDI effects processors
Insert Settings
menu
Track Insert
Section
Audio track
sends
EQ
Dynamics
Solo/mute/rec;
input
Automation
Pan
Faders and
level meters
Track I/O
Track name /
assignments
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Track Selector: Click or drag over the names of the dynamics, reverbs, delays, and any 3rd-party plug-
tracks in this list to show or hide them in the ins you currently have installed in your system. You
Mixing Board. Option/Alt-click to hide all except can change the number of inserts per track with the
the track you click; Command/Ctrl-click to show Set Number of Inserts mini-menu item.
all except the track you click.
MIDI effects processors: MIDI effects processors
Show/Hide Track Selector: Shows and hides the list are non-destructive, real-time output processors
of tracks at the left side of the window. that affect the track’s playback. The choices include
Shift, Quantize, Transpose, Change velocity, Echo
V-Rack Edit: Toggles the Mixing Board between and many others. These effects only affect playback
the currently play-enabled sequence and the last and can be changed or turned off (bypassed) at any
viewed V-Rack. Option/Alt-clicking this button time. They do not modify the original data in the
toggles the “Show V-Racks” mini-menu option. track.
Snapshot button: Takes a snapshot of the current Audio effects processors: These are real-time,
mix automation settings of your choice for the non-destructive audio processing inserts that can
tracks and time range you specify. The snapshot be applied to audio tracks.
operation inserts mix automation events in each
included track at the current main counter Audio track sends: Allow you to bus the track’s
location. This can be done while Digital Performer signal, either pre- or post-fader, to other tracks.
is stopped or playing back.
EQ and Dynamics: Provide visual feedback and
Mix Mode menu: Lets you create and manage quick-access control of each track’s EQ and
multiple mixes for a sequence. A mix consists of all dynamics plug-ins.
of the volume pan and effects automation data in
all tracks. You can duplicate a current mix and then Solo/Mute/Rec/Input: These buttons perform
modify it, or start from scratch by creating a new, standard solo, mute, record and input monitor
blank mix. Volume and pan automation data for enable functions. “Glide” horizontally across these
the current mix is recorded into tracks as usual buttons with the mouse to quickly toggle several
with the Mixing Board controls, or with the other tracks at once.
continuous controller features in Digital
Performer. After you’ve created more than one mix,
Automation: Enables playback and recording of
automation data and sets the automation mode.
you can instantly switch between mixes by
For more information, see chapter 68, “Mix
choosing them from this menu.
Automation” (page 793).
Insert Settings menu: Save, recall, and manage
Pan: For MIDI tracks, the pan knob generates
chains of inserts.
standard MIDI pan controller data (controller
Track Insert Section: Displays real-time #10). Typically, this controls the panning of the
processing inserts for MIDI and audio tracks. MIDI track across the main stereo outputs of the
Choose the desired effect from the insert. MIDI MIDI instrument, although this depends entirely
track inserts consist of MIDI processing effects on the instrument. For audio tracks, the pan knob
such as the transposer and Change velocity. Audio pans an audio track across its pair of outputs, as
inserts consist of plug-in effects, such as EQ, assigned in the Tracks window. For example, if a
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MIXING BOARD
track is assigned to outputs 3 and 4, pan hard left MIXING BOARD MINI-MENU
sends the track to output 3; pan hard right sends it Mixer section show/hide: This section of the mini-
to 4. Double-click the pan knob to go to pan center. menu displays checkable menu items that show
If pan automation data has been recorded, knobs and hide each section of the console. Checked
animate during playback (when the Automation items are visible. Unchecked items are hidden.
play button is enabled). Hold down the Option/Alt key to hide all sections
except the one you choose; use the Command/Ctrl
Faders: Control volume for each MIDI and audio key to show all sections except the one you choose.
track by generating MIDI and audio volume If the Auto Resize command is checked, the
events, which can be recorded into the track for console window will automatically resize itself
automation. If automation data has been recorded, when sections are shown or hidden. You can use
faders animate during playback (when the these options to customize your mixing board and
Automation play button is enabled). If the fader save screen real-estate.
cap is missing, it means that the audio track has
been disabled. See “Enable/disable” on page 135. ☛ By default, sends are not shown. If you would
like to use sends in your project, be sure to check
Level Meters: The level meters display the audio ‘Sends’ in the mini menu.
output level for each audio track. For MIDI tracks,
the level meters indicate MIDI note-on velocities. Auto Resize: When checked, this menu item causes
the Mixing Board window to resize itself when
Track I/O: These menus give you direct access to sections or tracks are shown or hidden.
each track’s input and output assignments.
Instrument tracks and master faders don’t have Use Narrow View: When checked, this menu item
inputs. MIDI tracks only have an input assignment reduces the mixer channels horizontally, enabling
when the project is in Multi Record mode. you to display more channels in the same space.
Track name and assignment: Double-click the V-Rack Edit: Toggles the Mixing Board between
track name to open the editor for the track. Drag it the currently play-enabled sequence and the last
left or right to move the track in Mixing Board. viewed V-Rack. This is the same as pressing the
V-Rack button in the lower left corner of the
Tracks: Each strip in the Mixing Board represents a Mixing Board. See chapter 65, “V-Racks”
MIDI, audio, instrument, aux or master fader track (page 747).
in the currently play-enabled sequence. Show or
hide them as desired using the Show/Hide Track Show V-Racks: Toggles the display of V-Rack
Selector (described above). Drag the track strip tracks alongside your sequence tracks. See
name horizontally to re-order them. chapter 65, “V-Racks” (page 747).
Window Target: Change which sequence or V-Rack Enable Mouse Wheel for Sliders and Knobs: When
you’re viewing in the Mixing Board window, or enabled, the mouse scroll wheel can be used to
create a new V-Rack. adjust the volume fader, pan knob, and other
sliders and knobs; when disabled, the mouse scroll
wheel only scrolls the Mixing Board window.
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MIXING BOARD
Set Number of Effect Inserts: Lets you determine Attach MIDI Controller: Lets you connect a mixing
the number of insert slots per channel. Up to 20 board fader or knob to an external MIDI
insert slots can be specified. controller, such as a mod wheel. This includes send
level knobs, send pan and send mute buttons.
Automatically Add Inserts: When checked, the
Mixing Board adds another row of inserts Clear MIDI Controller: Removes the connection to
automatically when you fill the last (bottom-most) an external controller from the knob or fader that
insert slot. you select with the cursor.
Set Number of Sends: Lets you determine the Set Default Surround Panners: Enables you to set
number of sends per channel. Up to 20 sends can which kind of surround panner plug-in is used by
be specified. default when a surround channel is created.
Load Board Layout: Rearranges the window with Enable Surround Panner Joystick: When checked,
the mixing board layout that you choose from the this menu item enables control of surround
sub-menu. A layout consists of which tracks and panners via a standard USB joystick.
sections are currently showing in the window.
There are several preset layouts, such as Show Configure Surround Panner Joystick: Allows you
Everything, which shows all tracks and sections. to map the controls of a USB joystick to mixing
You can also load a layout that you have previously functions such as volume, track selection and
created with the Save Board Layout command. A surround panning.
shortcut for this command is to option-click the
Min Time and Value Change: Allows you to set the
Window Target tab of the Mixing Board window.
minimum amount of time between volume and
Save Board Layout: Saves the tracks and mixer pan events that the mixing board controls will
sections currently being shown in the window as a generate when you move them. Also lets you
customized board layout, which you can name, choose the minimum value change. Raising these
save, and recall at later time using the Load Board values can prevent unnecessarily high data density.
Layout command described above. But raising them too high can result in zipper
noise, or audible “stepping” during smooth
Delete Board Layout: Discards the customized changes.
board layout that you choose.
MIXING BOARD WINDOW BASICS
Lock Layout to Track Order: Causes the left-to- The Mixing Board is a track-based mixing console
right order of tracks in the Mixing Board to match for all MIDI and audio tracks. It has one strip for
the top-to-bottom order of tracks in the Tracks each track in the sequence.
window and Sequence Editor. When it is
unchecked, tracks in the Mixing Board can be Opening the Mixing Board
ordered independently. To open the Mixing Board, choose the Mixing
Board command from the Project menu. If you
New Track Group: Lets you create a track group of have tracks selected at the time, the mixing board
any kind. will appear with only those tracks showing. If you
have multiple sequences in the file, it chooses the
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MIXING BOARD
sequence to open by the front-most window on the
screen, or alternatively, by which sequence is
currently play-enabled.
Showing and hiding sections 3 Choose Save Board Layout from the mini-menu.
Use the section names at the top of the Mixing
4 Type in a name for the layout and click OK.
Board window mini-menu to show and hide
console sections, such as the Inserts section. Switching board layouts
Checked items are visible. Unchecked items are There are several ways to change board layouts:
hidden. This allows you to optimize the console
appearance for your screen size. Hold down the ■ Choose the layout you want from the Load Board
Option/Alt key to hide all sections except the one Layout mini-menu command
you choose; use the Command/Ctrl key to show all
■ Option/Alt-click the Mixing Board’s Window
sections except the one you choose. If the Auto
Target tab and choose the layout you want from the
Resize command is checked, the console window
menu
will automatically resize itself when sections are
shown or hidden.
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MIXING BOARD
TRACK STRIPS
Each MIDI and audio track strip has the sections
shown below in Figure 67-4 on page 772.
Inserts
An insert is a real-time effect that is non-
destructively applied to the data in the track on
playback. MIDI tracks can be processed with MIDI
Figure 67-3: Saving and loading customized board layouts. plug-ins (such as the transposer and velocity
compressor) and audio tracks can be processed
Renaming board layouts with audio plug-ins. Virtual instrument plug-ins
To rename a board layout, choose the Rename can also be inserted on the top-most insert of
Board Layout sub-menu item from the Load Board instrument tracks (see chapter 16, “Instrument
Layout mini-menu command. Tracks” (page 139)).
Manually resizing the Mixing Board window Each insert slot in the track can hold one effect. To
You may notice that the Mixing Board window
choose the desired effect plug-in for the insert, see
automatically resizes itself when you add or remove
“Choosing a plug-in for an insert” on page 773.
tracks, show or hide sections, or switch board
layouts. This is because the Auto Resize mini-menu Up to 20 inserts can be simultaneously applied to
command is checked. If you would prefer to resize an individual track, depending on how many
the window manually using the grow box in the inserts are configured with the Set number of inserts
lower right corner, uncheck Auto Resize. mini-menu option. When you choose the desired
effect plug-in for the insert slot, the Effects window
Switching sequences
opens to display the selected processor’s
To quickly switch the sequence you are looking at
parameters. See chapter 71, “Effects Window”
in the Mixing Board window, click the window’s
(page 833) for more information.
Window Target tab and choose the desired
sequence from the menu. The tracks shown in the The signal for a track passes through the inserts
Mixing Board will also change when you change from top to bottom. Accordingly, inserts are
the play-enabled sequence. labelled A, B, C, etc. from top to bottom. Similar to
hardware mixing consoles, the order in which
Switching between sequences and V-Racks
effects are applied makes a difference, so keep this
To switch to a V-Rack, click the V-Rack Edit button
in mind when employing multiple inserts. Insert
in the lower left corner of the Mixing Board
settings apply globally to the entire track and are
window or choose V-Rack Edit from the mini-
remembered until you change them.
menu to toggle the Mixing Board between the
currently play-enabled sequence and the last Configuring the number of insert slots (audio
viewed V-Rack. tracks only)
If you find yourself running out of insert slots, you
Alternatively, click the window’s Window Target can add insert slots with the Set Number of Effect
tab and choose the desired V-Rack from the menu. Inserts command located in the mini menu of the
See chapter 65, “V-Racks” (page 747). Mixing Board. You can configure up to 20 inserts
per channel.
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MIXING BOARD
MIDI Track Strip Audio Track Strip
Inserts Inserts
Sends
Inserts
EQ
pre/post fader
effects line
Dynamics
Automation controls
Automation controls
Clip indicators
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MIXING BOARD
Choosing a plug-in for an insert
For MIDI tracks, insert slots are menus. Simply
choose the desired MIDI plug-in from the menu.
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MIXING BOARD
Folders and categories Save As Menu Category
The left-hand list provides organized folders and When choosing plug-ins in the Mixing Board
categories for your effects plug-ins. Factory- inserts, as a shortcut, you can right-click an insert
supplied folders include Categories, Manufac- to access a menu of the category you have
turers, and Formats. Use the plus (+), minus (-) designated as the Menu Category. To do, right-click
and folder buttons above the list to create your the desired category and choose Save As Menu
own. Or right-click anywhere in the list. User- Category (Figure 67-7).
created categories can be dragged into user-created
folders. Folder can also be dragged into other Insert Settings presets
folders to create hierarchical organization. Chains of inserts can be saved and recalled with the
Insert Settings menu found at the top of the Inserts
section in the Mixing Board and Channel Strip. A
variety of factory presets are included, and you can
edit, save, and recall your own presets.
You can also right-click in the right-hand list to These presets affect only the inserts; other track
access several shortcuts (Figure 67-8). settings, such as the fader or pan knob, are not
affected.
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MIXING BOARD
Restore Last Insert Settings: reloads the preset that are already loaded on that track will not be
which was most recently loaded. removed; if necessary, existing inserts will be
moved to lower slots to allow room for the new
Open Insert Settings Folder: opens a Finder or inserts.
Explorer window revealing the insert settings files.
There, you can rename, copy, delete, and move
your files.
Common folder
Presets for each track type (MIDI, Audio, Aux, and
so on) are saved in separate folders. However, if you
would like a preset to appear in the Insert Settings
menu for all types of tracks that use audio effects
plug-ins (Audio, Aux, Instrument, and Master
Fader), save the preset in the Common folder. Figure 67-10: Loading an Insert Settings preset in a insert slot will
Common presets appear at the bottom of the Insert move existing inserts if necessary.
Settings menu on audio tracks.
Insert Settings presets when adding instrument
tracks
Insert Settings are clippings
Insert Settings presets are also available when
Insert Settings preset files are actually clipping files,
adding an instrument track via Project menu > Add
so they can be used with all of the usual clippings
Track > Instrument Track or Project menu > Add
operations. The insert settings files are located in:
Track > Add Instruments.
Platform Path
Sends (audio tracks only)
Mac OS X /Library/Application Support/MOTU/Digital
Performer/Insert Settings Presets The Mixing Board provides up to 20 sends per
track. (See “Configuring the number of sends” on
Windows C:\User\AppData\Local\MOTU\Digital Per-
former\Insert Settings Presets\ page 777.) A send can be routed to a physical
output in your system or to any virtual bus that you
For more information on Clippings, see chapter 52, configure in the Bundles window.
“Clippings” (page 651).
Bypass toggle
Option/Alt-click the Insert Settings menu to toggle
Bypass of all inserts on that track at once.
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MIXING BOARD
Each send has the following controls: Send level
Use the Send level knob (Figure 67-11) to control
Send Unity gain dot. the amount of signal going to the send destination.
level Mute The range is from -∞ to +6.02dB. Option–double-
Pre-fader click the send level knob to set the send level to
unity gain (0 dB), as indicated by the blue dot at the
Mono send 2 o’clock position.
Send assignment
Stereo panner When you turn the send level knob, Digital
Stereo send Performer displays the send amount (in dB) in a
pop-up box, as demonstrated below:
Surround panner
Multi-channel send
Send panners
If you have assigned a send to a stereo destination,
a stereo panner appears, as shown in Figure 67-11,
to control send panning. As a shortcut, double-
click the panner to return to pan center.
Send From Channel Figure 67-15: The ‘Send From Channel’ sub-menu for stereo send
destinations.
For stereo or multi-channel tracks (or tracks whose
signal has been split into stereo or other multi- For surround destinations, the Send From Channel
channel format by insert plug-ins), the Send From menu lets you feed either the multi-channel source
Channel menu item (Figure 67-12) lets you choose signal or an individual component channel to the
how the source signal is fed to the send. surround send destination:
Figure 67-16: The ‘Send From Channel’ sub-menu for surround send
destinations.
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MIXING BOARD
Selecting a plug-in The controls in the EQ section work similarly when
To select a plug-in for the EQ or Dynamics section using MasterWorks EQ or ParaEQ. For more
when the section is empty, you can choose the information on each plug-in, see “MasterWorks
desired plug-in from the bottom portion of the EQ” on page 40 and “ParaEQ” on page 64 in the
Select Insert/Default menu. You can also DP Plug-in Guide.
instantiate the default (checked) plug-in by
pressing the Effect toggle button or by double- Dynamics Controls
clicking the graph. The controls shown in the Dynamics section vary
according to the plug-in you have chosen.
as
button
Default section
EQ Controls
The EQ controls display the settings for the EQ Figure 67-22: Dynamics controls for MasterWorks compressor
band chosen under the Band Selection menu. For more information, see “MasterWorks
as
Compressor” on page 37 in the DP Plug-in Guide.
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MIXING BOARD
MasterWorks Gate Graphs
The EQ and Dynamics graphs provide a visual
as
Figure 67-25: Dynamics controls for MasterWorks Limiter Solo / Mute buttons
Solo and Mute buttons perform standard soloing
For more information, see “MasterWorks Limiter” and muting functions for each track. In fact, they
on page 54 in the DP Plug-in Guide. correspond directly to the soloing and muting
features throughout DP. For example, if you mute a
track in the Mixing Board, its play-enable button
becomes disabled in the Tracks window.
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MIXING BOARD
When soloing and muting, the volume fader Button shortcuts
background color changes to indicate the playback The table below describes several shortcuts for the
state of the track as follows: Solo, Mute, and automation play buttons:
Yellow Track cannot play because at To unsolo or unmute all tracks Option/Alt-click the track’s
least one other track is soloed except the one you click solo or mute button
Figure 67-27: Gliding across the Solo, Mute, and automation play buttons. You can combine gliding with
the Command/Ctrl and Option/Alt key modifiers as described in the table above.
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MIXING BOARD
Stereo panning be set at 6.02 dB above unity gain. This range is
The following chart demonstrates the results of provided throughout the program, wherever audio
stereo panning. In general, center the knob for full volume data values are displayed.
separation of the stereo signal.
The background color of volume faders changes
Stereo pan knob position Left signal Right signal depending on the solo and mute state of the track.
See “Solo / Mute buttons” on page 780 for details.
Click anywhere on
the bar to snap the
slider to that
position.
Drag the handles to
change the slider’s
value smoothly.
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MIXING BOARD
command in the Mixing Board window mini- Other ways to monitor input and output levels
menu as described later in this chapter in “Remote In addition to the level meters in the Audio
control” on page 788. Monitor (Figure 22-5 on page 214), long throw
input and output metering is available in the Meter
Using a control surface Bridge (“Meter Bridge” on page 827). The Meter
There are a number of products designed to Bridge provides audio track monitoring only,
function as dedicated physical control surfaces for whereas the Mixing Board provides both MIDI
Digital Performer — see chapter A, “Control and audio track monitoring.
Surfaces” (page 953).
Track name
Level meters Track names appear here, with an ellipsis for long
For MIDI tracks, the level meters indicate MIDI names, if necessary. You can drag a name
note-on velocities only (the fader indicates horizontally to reposition its channel strip in the
controller #7 MIDI volume). Mixing Board window. Option/Alt-clicking on a
name allows you to rename the track from the
For audio tracks, the level meters display the audio
Mixing Board.
output level in dB for the track as determined by
the volume automation data in the track. The Level You can open a track’s edit window from the
Range mini-menu command in the Audio Monitor Mixing Board by double-clicking the track name.
window controls the dynamic range displayed in Use the same modifier keys as you do in the Track
the Mixing Board level meters. For details, see List to open the various types of edit windows for
“Adjusting the level meter range” on page 246. For each track (as determined by the MIDI Editor
even more detailed metering, you can use the Trim preferences – see “Default Edit Windows” on
plug-in (“Trim” on page 88 in the DP Plug-in page 79).
Guide), or third-party metering products such as
SpectraFoo from Metric Halo. Input/Output/Bus Assignment menu
The menu below the track name lets you make the
On stereo or surround audio tracks or tracks that following assignments for the track:
have been made stereo or surround by the
application of a stereo or surround (or mono-to- For MIDI tracks, this menu includes a MIDI
stereo, mono-to-surround, or stereo-to-surround) output device assignment, and a MIDI input
effects plug-in, the level meter displays the signal device assignment (which is grayed out unless
with true stereo or surround meters. Multi Record is turned on in the Studio menu).
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MIXING BOARD
You can also remove a track entirely using the Audio and MIDI tracks Instrument track
Delete Track menu item.
INSTRUMENT TRACKS
Instrument tracks (Figure 67-30) appear in the
Mixing Board, just like audio tracks and MIDI
tracks. However, instrument tracks have a special
instrument insert, shaded in yellow, at the top of
the insert section:
Figure 67-30: An instrument track in the Mixing Board.
784
MIXING BOARD
For consistency during the mixing process, it is volume and pan initialization globally for all MIDI
best to enable event chasing for MIDI controllers. tracks, or disable it specifically for individual
To do so, choose the Event Chasing command from tracks.
the Setup menu and make sure that these items are
checked. To defeat volume and pan initialization globally for
all MIDI tracks, turn off MIDI volume and pan in
Setting initial levels with the Mixing Board the Event Chasing window (Setup menu).
Regardless of whether you plan to automate your
mixing directly in Digital Performer or externally To defeat volume and pan initialization for a few
using an automated mixing console or other individual tracks (while preserving it for others):
hardware automation system, it is always best to set
■ Be sure that MIDI volume and pan chasing is
initial mix automation settings in all of your tracks.
This ensures consistency in your mix, gives Digital turned on globally (in the Event Chasing window)
Performer an initial setting to chase to, and gives ■ Use the Automation Setup window (Setup
you a basis for any changes made later in each menu) to defeat MIDI volume and pan for the
track. Digital Performer’s snapshot feature is a desired individual MIDI tracks. (For details about
powerful and convenient way to create initial this window, see “Automation setup for each track”
values. Snapshots can include any mix automation on page 795.) In this case, volume and pan
parameters, including volume, pan, plug-in controllers will not be sent, regardless of whether
parameters, mutes, solos, etc. See “Snapshot automation playback is enabled for the track or
automation” on page 806. not.
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MIXING BOARD
location. Just make sure the main counter is exactly ■ Surround mixing
at 1|1|000 (or wherever your initial settings are
■ Automation
located).
■ Bussing
MIXING IN REAL TIME
Mix automation is control data that changes the ■ Audio track sends
behavior of the effects and mixing board over time. ■ Aux tracks
Automation data can be recorded, edited and
■ Master faders
played back using the sophisticated set of tools that
Digital Performer provides. Automation data can ■ Real time effects plug-ins
be used to control volume, pan, sends and most
effects parameters. For complete information on Surround mixing
automation, see chapter 68, “Mix Automation” For complete details, see chapter 69, “Mixing in
(page 793). Surround” (page 813).
■ Mixing
786
MIXING BOARD
The impact of mixing and bussing on MOTU monitoring button and no record-enable button. If
Audio System resources the Aux track has stereo inputs, it will only display
The MOTU Audio System relies on the main CPU stereo effects plug-ins in the effects insert menus. If
in your computer for all of its processing. Mixing the track has mono inputs, it will only display
and bussing require a certain amount of CPU mono or mono-to-stereo plug-ins in the insert
power; the more you mix, split, route, and merge menus. The same principle holds true for surround
tracks using input, output and bus assignments in tracks. Aux tracks are primarily intended as a
the Tracks window and Mixing Board, the more routing mechanism. Aux tracks allow you to route
CPU power you’ll use up. You can keep an eye on audio from any source to any destination. For
how much by viewing the Audio Performance further information, see chapter 17, “Aux Tracks
window as shown in Figure 4-6 on page 34 in the and Master Fader Tracks” (page 143).
DP Getting Started Guide. Each time you make a
connection, split a signal, or merge two or more MASTER FADERS
signals together in Digital Performer’s virtual In the Mixing Board, the only way master faders
mixing environment, you’ll use a tiny bit more differ from other types of audio tracks is that they
CPU power. However, the amount of bandwidth do not have a pan knob or surround panner. In
taken up by such a connection is relatively small their place, master faders have built in fold-down
compared to the amounts required by MOTU menu. When working in stereo or surround, the
Audio System effects plug-ins—even low-overhead fold-down menu allows you to ‘fold down’ your
ones like the EQ plug-ins. You won’t need to be very mix to stereo or mono if you need to generate a
concerned about CPU power for basic mixing and mono or stereo mix or to check for mono/stereo
routing. But you will need to be a lot more compatibility. Note that you can apply plug-ins to
conscious of your CPU resources as soon as you the inserts of a master fader to apply the plug-in
start using effects plug-ins. effect to your entire mix (or all tracks being sub-
mixed to that master fader). For additional
Multi-processor support information about master faders, see chapter 17,
When operating Digital Performer with the “Aux Tracks and Master Fader Tracks” (page 143).
MOTU Audio System on a multi-processor or
multi-core computer, you can take full advantage TRACK GROUPS
of distributed processing. A dual-processor or Digital Performer allows you to create an unlimited
dual-core computer, for example, effectively number of track groups. Tracks can be linked for
doubles the amount of processing available for mixing, editing, both, or for a customized set of
mixing and plug-in processing (over its single- operations that you specify. Tracks can be a
CPU or single-core counterpart). If you have a member of more than one group. Groups can also
multi-processor/core computer, Digital Performer be “nested” within each other.
takes full advantage of the multiple processors/
cores. For information about track groups, refer to “Track
Groups” on page 165.
AUX TRACKS
In the Mixing Board, Aux tracks look just like disk
tracks, with effects inserts, sends, solo, mute, etc.
The only difference is that aux tracks have no input
787
MIXING BOARD
REMOTE CONTROL detach it from the controller. Type Return or Enter
You can control any of the faders or pan knobs in to confirm the detachment or Command/Ctrl-
the Mixing Board from any external source that period (.) to cancel.
can generate MIDI controller data, such as a mod
wheel on your controller keyboard or a fader on a Attaching a MIDI controller to sends or send
control surface that generates MIDI data. pan
To attach a MIDI controller to a send knob or send
Attaching a MIDI controller to faders and pan pan knob in the Mixing Board, use the Learn
knobs Controller command. See “Attaching a MIDI
Use the Attach MIDI Controller command to set up controller to plug-in parameters” on page 848.
external control of faders and pan knobs as follows:
Setting the punch-out delay
1 Choose Attach MIDI Controller. When you record a fader or knob via remote
control, it punches in and out in much the same
The cursor changes to a plus sign. fashion as when you grab it with the mouse. To
punch in, the fader or knob waits to receive an
2 Click the fader or pan knob you wish to control event from its external controller. When it does, it
externally. punches in. Punch out, however, is done
automatically by Digital Performer and is
A red box appears around the control indicating
determined by the amount of time after the last
that Digital Performer is waiting for an incoming
event was received from the controller. Since
MIDI controller event.
controllers send data with different degrees of
3 Transmit the data from your MIDI Controller sensitivity, you may find that punch out occurs too
and the box flashes green. frequently. To avoid stuttering the punch out, you
can lengthen the delay before Digital Performer
Only MIDI continuous controller data can be used; punches out with the Auto Punch-Out Delay
pitch bend, note-ons, etc. cannot. command in the Automation Setup window (Setup
menu).
4 (Optional) Click another fader or pan knob, or
use the arrow keys to move the flashing box around
to attach other controls in a similar fashion.
788
MIXING BOARD
tactile control of Digital Performer’s mixing Patch thru effects work even when playback is
environment, as well as many other features, such stopped
as transport control, editing, and much more. For Plug-in effects can be applied to a live input signal,
more information, see Appendix A, “Control even when playback is stopped.
Surfaces” page (953).
Audio monitoring settings
WORKING WITH EFFECTS PLUG-INS When monitoring live audio through MAS effects,
be sure to enable Monitor record-enabled tracks
How effects settings apply to a track through effects in the Input Monitoring Mode
Effects settings apply globally to the entire track. To window which is accessed from the Configure
apply an effect to just a portion of a track, you can Audio System (Setup menu). For details, see “Audio
use bypass automation to disable, enable and then input monitoring” on page 219.
disable again the effect. Or you can apply the effect
‘constructively’ using one of the following
procedures. Make a time range selection in the
track and then do one of the following:
789
MIXING BOARD
“Mixing in Surround” (page 813). If a mono audio To do this Do this
track is assigned to a stereo bundle, it is panned To change to a dif- Click the right-hand side of the insert
ferent plug-in on the with the chooser cursor to open the
across the bundle’s output pair. If you assign mono same insert plug-in chooser.
plug-in, the track remains mono. However, as soon
as you choose a mono-to-stereo plug-in, the track’s To open the Double-click the left side of the insert
output becomes stereo. In addition, all plug-ins on plug-in’s window with the hand cursor.
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MIXING BOARD
WORKING WITH MULTIPLE MIXES
The Mixing Board window has a very powerful
Several plug-ins
stored as a group in feature called the Mix Mode menu, which is
a single clipping.
located in the lower left-hand corner of the window
as shown below. This feature allows you to create an
Figure 67-32: Storing plug-in settings in a Clipping window. You can
store individual plug-ins or store several plug-ins together as a single unlimited number of independent mixes in a
clipping. sequence.
NARROW VIEW IN THE MIXING BOARD
The Mixing Board also has a “narrow” view that
displays more tracks at one time, as shown to the
right in Figure 67-33. This feature is a checkable
item called Use Narrow View in the Mixing Board
mini-menu. Everything works the same way in
narrow view as it does in the normal view, with the
following exception: the mute buttons and pre-
fader buttons for sends are transformed into a
checkable item in each send menu.
What is a mix?
A mix consists of all of the volume, pan and other
mix settings and automation data in all tracks in
the sequence, as well as all of the current effects
insert assignments and their settings. The Mix
In narrow mode, Mode menu allows you to create, save, and recall
the mute buttons any number of mixes. Each mix can be completely
and pre-fader
buttons for sends different than the others. You can also create
are transformed
into checkable alternative mixes that are slightly different from
items in each send each other by starting with the Duplicate Mix
menu.
command. You can even copy and paste data
between mixes by simply switching between them.
791
MIXING BOARD
When Mix Mode is on, however, mix settings and current mix (that is, the current volume and pan in
mix automation data “belong” to the current mix. If all tracks, as well as the current effects insert
you switch takes, the mix settings and automation assignments in the Mixing Board).
data in the track remain behind as part of the
current mix. If, however, you switch to a different Renaming or deleting a mix
mix, the current mix automation data goes along To rename or delete a mix, choose it by name from
with the mix, temporarily disappearing from all the Mix Mode menu and then choose either
tracks. (You can restore the data, of course, simply Rename Mix or Delete Mix from the same menu.
by reselecting the Mix from the Mix Mode menu.)
Recalling a mix
Mixes include initial track settings To recall a mix, just choose it by name from the Mix
Each mix includes the following initial track Mode menu Figure 67-34 on page 791.
settings, regardless of whether there is currently
Copying and pasting data between mixes
any automation data in the track:
You can easily copy and paste data between mixes
■ Track volume by switching between them (as described in
“Recalling a mix” above). Copy data from the
■ Pan desired tracks in one mix, recall a different mix,
■ Send levels and paste into the same or different tracks in the
second mix.
■ Send mute states
■ Track automation mode
■ Track play-enable/disable state
By including these track attributes to each saved
mixdown, the Mix Mode menu provides complete
independence among separate mixes, even if they
don’t have any automation data in them. For
example, you could simply set initial volume and
pan settings for each track, create a mix, duplicate
it, adjust the faders and then switch back and forth
between the two mixes. You can then freely switch
between them, comparing the fader settings,
without the need to insert or render any
automation data. In general, you will find it very
easy to create and use multiple mixdowns because
they include initial track settings.
793
MIDI volume and pan automation Audio mix automation
Digital Performer automates MIDI track volume Digital Performer provides continuous break-
and pan using MIDI controller data (#7 for volume point automation for all audio mixing parameters,
and #10 for pan) to create sudden or smooth including volume, pan, and plug-in parameters.
volume changes, crossfade effects and panning Audio mix automation data can be inserted,
effects in MIDI tracks. MIDI volume controllers generated, drawn and reshaped. Unlike MIDI
have a range from zero to 127. Unlike note-on events, which create discrete changes in MIDI
velocities, which only affect the initial volume of volume, audio automation events actually calculate
the note, volume controllers affect volume at any a smooth, sample-accurate ramp from one event to
time while a note is playing. Controllers can be the next. This effect is often referred to as “ramp”
inserted, generated, drawn, reshaped, recorded automation because graphically, audio volume
and otherwise handled using the Mixing Board, events produce lines that ramp from one event to
Sequence Editor and MIDI Editor features the next, as shown below in Figure 68-2. Several
described in the rest of this chapter. volume events can be used together to create
volume curves, as demonstrated by the bottom
track.
Pitch automation
For complete details on Digital Performer’s real-
Figure 68-1: MIDI volume controllers. This smooth volume curve is
shown in both the MIDI Editor and the Event List.
time pitch automation layer, see chapter 78,
“Transposing Audio” (page 877).
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MIX AUTOMATION
MIX AUTOMATION SETUP To temporarily disable automation altogether,
The Automation Setup window (Setup menu) uncheck the Enable Automation check box. Doing
provides dynamic control over automation, from a so disables the playback or recording of all
global level to the most detailed level in specific automation data (including volume and pan),
tracks. The Automation Setup window stays open although the data in each track remains unchanged
so that you can easily access its features as you (Figure 68-5), ready for reactivation. To re-enable
work. automation, check the Global Automation check
box.
Enabled Disabled
Figure 68-5: When you disable automation data, it appears as a
dashed line in the Sequence Editor.
795
MIX AUTOMATION
Automation record mode
The mode menu lets you choose one of the different
ways to record automation data into the track. You
can change the mode at any time from the
Automation Setup window, the track’s channel
strip in the Mixing Board or the track settings in
the Sequence Editor. For details, see “Automation
modes” on page 798.
796
MIX AUTOMATION
‘Save as Default for Audio/MIDI tracks’ button In the Mixing Board, the same Option/Alt-click
If you’d like to apply the automation types you’ve and Command/Ctrl-click conventions apply to the
specified in the list to new tracks automatically automation play-enable buttons as for track play-
when you add them, click the Save as Default for enables. You can also ‘glide’ over the automation
Audio/MIDI Tracks button. There is a separate play-enable and record-enable buttons to quickly
default state for MIDI and audio tracks. The button toggle a series of adjacent tracks.
changes its wording (audio vs. MIDI) depending
on what type of track is currently being displayed. The ‘Auto’ menu (automation menu)
As shown in Figure 68-7, the automation menu in
AUTOMATION SETTINGS IN OTHER the Sequence Editor contains the same basic
WINDOWS automation mode settings as the Mixing Board and
The Mixing Board displays several track-based Automation Setup window. In addition, the ‘Auto’
automation settings directly in the channel strip for menu changes color to further indicate the current
each track, just above the pan pot. These settings automation record and playback settings as
match the corresponding track settings in the follows:
Automation Setup window, the Sequence Editor,
the Tracks window and the Effects window, as ‘Auto’ menu color What it means
shown in Figure 68-7. If you change them in one Clear Automation playback and recording
are both disabled.
location, they’ll change in the others as well.
Green Automation playback is enabled.
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MIX AUTOMATION
but you don’t want to record your moves as you’re The automation modes are summarized below:
doing so. You can use the Automation Setup
Automation When it When it
window to temporarily disable plug-in automation mode punches in punches out
— or even just the EQ control you are adjusting — Overwrite As soon as Never
while you experiment. playback begins (When playback
stops)*
Here’s another case where you might want to Touch As soon as you As soon as you
grab the fader or release the fader or
temporarily disable automation: when you need to knob knob
do A/B comparisons with and without it. For
Latch As soon as you Never
example, you might want to listen to a passage grab the fader or (when playback
knob stops)*
without the automation you’ve programmed for it,
and then listen to it again with the automation re- Trim Touch ----- Same as Touch ------
enabled. Trim Latch ----- Same as Latch ------
AUTOMATION MODES Range Touch -- See “The Range modes” on page 801--
Digital Performer’s automation modes provide Range Latch -- See “The Range modes” on page 801--
different ways to record automation. For example,
Range Trim Touch -- See “The Range modes” on page 801--
Overwrite mode starts recording immediately
when playback begins, overwriting any existing Range Trim Latch -- See “The Range modes” on page 801--
automation in the track. Touch mode, on the other
hand, waits for you to grab a knob or fader before it *In Overwrite or Latch modes, there are actually
begins recording. two ways you can punch out of recording on the fly:
Each track in the Mixing Board can be ■ Disable automation recording (using any
independently assigned to one of the modes. The available method for disabling it)
automation mode menu for each track is located
just above the fader as shown below. OR
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MIX AUTOMATION
fader will remain where you leave it until playback Overwrite mode
stops. The next time playback begins, the fader will As shown by the table above, Overwrite mode is
then return to tracking any existing automated special because it overwrites all of the parameters
volume levels in the track. Since the track is not currently being automated in the track. In a sense,
record-enabled, no automation data would be this a way of ‘wiping over’ them all at once with the
written in either case. settings that you choose before you begin playback.
Automation Overwrite
mode or scale? Data that’s affected
Overwrite Overwrites All parameters currently
being automated in the track
(except those that you’ve After
temporarily disabled).
Figure 68-9: Overwrite mode ‘wipes over’ all currently enabled
automation data in the track. The current data is replaced by data
Touch Overwrites Only the parameter that reflects the current knob, fader or other control setting for each
currently being adjusted.
parameter. So be sure to set every control you are overwriting to the
desired setting before overwriting.
Latch Overwrites Only the parameter
currently being adjusted.
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MIX AUTOMATION
Selective overwriting Touch and Latch modes
You can selectively overwrite automation data With the Touch, Latch, Trim Touch and Trim Latch
while preserving other data by temporarily modes, only the parameter you are adjusting is
disabling certain effects parameters in the track overwritten (or scaled, in the case of the two trim
beforehand. The disabled parameters will not be modes). In addition, recording only takes place
overwritten, as shown below in Figure 68-10. when you adjust the knob, fader or other control
item for the parameter. These modes are the safest
because you won’t accidentally overwrite existing
automation data; they’ll only record when you
deliberately adjust a control. Just be careful not to
record adjustments during playback that are not
meant to be inserted. See “Reasons to disable
automation” on page 797.
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MIX AUTOMATION
In Figure 68-12 below, the volume curve is being Range Latch and Range Touch
scaled up by 8 dB using Trim Touch mode. With the Range Latch and Range Touch modes, the
value of the automation data within the defined
time range will become constant according to the
setting of the control. Therefore, these modes are
useful for adjusting automation data that is already
flat, or for leveling a data curve that you wish to
flatten.
page 358.
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MIX AUTOMATION
Plug-ins currently
assigned to the track.
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MIX AUTOMATION
Ramps
Single
events
Stair-step
Figure 68-16: Choose any form of automation data from the Active Figure 68-17: The three kinds of automation data: ramps, stair-steps,
Layer menu to display all automation data that currently exists in the and single events. Click on a single event to access a menu of settings.
track, superimposed over the waveform. To ‘activate’ (make bold) a
particular data parameter, choose it from the Active Layer menu or Sample-accurate ramps
click one of its control points.
Digital Performer’s ramp automation produces a
The three types of plug-in automation data smooth change from one control point to the next.
Plug-ins have a wide variety of controls that fall Ramps are calculated with sample-accurate, 32-bit
into three general types of data: floating point processing. Sample-accurate
processing ensures that the ramp will be perfectly
Automation
type What it does Examples smooth, with no zipper noise or other unwanted
Ramp Produces a smooth • Volume
artifacts.
change between • Pan
control points. • Send level
• Mix gain Stair steps
Stair-step automation produces a sudden change at
Stair-step Produces sudden • LFO phase
changes among several • Mute/unmute each control point. Stair-step automation is used
possible states. • Bypass/unbypass for plug-in parameters that by nature don’t call for
Single event Changes the setting of • LFO waveform type smooth changes but instead provide discrete
a parameter that has (sine, sawtooth, etc.)
only a few settings or • Note values for beat- changes among several various states. A good
non-numeric settings based effects. example is the LFO phase controls in Sonic
Modulator, which provide eight phase settings in
All three types of automation are displayed 45-degree increments. Stair steps are also used for
together in the Sequence Editor as shown below in parameters that would be too “expensive” from a
Figure 68-17. DSP bandwidth standpoint for calculating ramps.
A good example of this is LFO rate.
Discrete events
Discrete events are used for any parameter that
consists of two or more non-numeric settings (or
just a few numeric ones). A good example is the
waveform for an LFO: it could be a sine wave,
square wave, sawtooth, triangle, etc. Depending on
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MIX AUTOMATION
the number of possible settings for the event, Working with automation control points
Digital Performer displays the event either as a Here’s a summary of techniques for inserting and
single automation event box, as shown in editing automation control points in the Sequence
Figure 68-17, or as a stair-step event, with the Editor, including a new techniques for selecting
possible values for the event shown in the ruler. and dragging multiple control points at one time:
To delete an event Click it to select it and press delete. To insert a ramp Activate the desired data type. Then
click anywhere on the line as many
times as needed to create two or more
To change its setting Press on its menu triangle and choose control points, positioning the con-
the desired setting from the menu as trol points as needed to make the
shown in Figure 68-17. ramp.
To move an event Drag it. To insert a curve Activate the desired data type. Select
Pencil tool and the desired waveform
shape from the Tool palette and
insert. For more information see
One important thing to realize about discrete “Inserting continuous data in Points
or Bars mode” on page 381.
parameter boxes is that they don’t display their
current value continuously throughout the track To remove Click it to select it and press delete.
a control point
the way that ramps and stair steps do. To determine
the current setting for a discrete parameter, you To remove a curve Select the control points (as
(multiple control points) described below) and press the delete
need to scroll backwards in the track to find the last key.
discrete event of the type you’re concerned with,
To select a curve Activate it and then drag horizontally
and then look at its setting there. (multiple control points) over its control points.
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MIX AUTOMATION
INSERT AND CLEAR MUTE AUTOMATION TEMPO LOCKED, BEAT-BASED
The Insert Mute Automation and Clear Mute AUTOMATION
Automation commands in the Region menu allow Some plug-ins allow you to lock certain
you to quickly apply and clear mute automation on parameters, such as an LFO, to the tempo of your
a region by region basis in any editor window or sequence. This allows the effect to stay in sync with
the Tracks window. Just make a selection, such as the beat of your music.
an individual soundbite or any time range selection
For details on tempo-locking effects included with
over any combination of MIDI and/or audio
Digital Performer, see “Tempo lock” on page 6 in
tracks, and then choose of these two commands
the DP Plug-in Guide. For details on tempo-locking
from the Region menu to mute or unmute the
third-party effects, refer to their documentation.
selection.
SNAPSHOT AUTOMATION
Before: An automation snapshot is the process of inserting
automation data for multiple mix parameters in
one step at a particular location — or over a
specified time range. For example, you might want
to set initial values at the very beginning the project
(e.g. bar 1) for all mix parameters you’ll be
automating. Or, you might like to reset all values
for an entire section of a mix, regardless of the
automation data currently there. Digital Performer
After: lets you take a snapshot at a particular point in time
or apply it to any time range of your choice. You
also have complete control over which parameters
to include in a snapshot. Snapshot automation can
be applied from the Mixing Board, Sequence
Editor, Effects window or other windows. Different
default settings can be stored for taking snapshots
from these different windows.
Figure 68-18: Muting a region with the Insert Mute Automation
command. Note that two mute automation events are inserted at Taking a snapshot
the beginning of the region to produce the proper stair-step effect.
To take a snapshot:
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MIX AUTOMATION
Doing so opens the Automation Snapshot dialog ■ by making a time range selection
shown below in Figure 68-19:
The options in the Time Range menu (shown below
in Figure 68-20) determine which method to use.
Digital Performer then applies the snapshot by
placing automation control points (or MIDI
controller events) at the start and end of the time
range (to maintain the existing automation levels
beyond the time range).
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MIX AUTOMATION
From Counter to Next/Previous Change (Flat or options, all tracks currently highlighted in the
Ramp) track selector list are included in the snapshot, even
This option applies the snapshot to the range of if they are not currently visible in the window itself.
time from the current counter location to the next
or previous automation control point (or MIDI
controller). It does so independently for each
parameter being included in the snapshot. The Flat
option produces a constant parameter value
throughout the time range being affected by the
snapshot; the Ramp option produces a standard
automation ramp from the control point inserted
at the wiper location to the next or previous control
point for each automation parameter. Note that the
Figure 68-21: Specifying the tracks to be included in the snapshot.
Ramp option only applies to ramp-style data types,
such as volume and pan. See “‘Morphing’ between Specifying data types
presets” on page 809 for an interesting way to use The Data Types menu in the Automation Snapshot
this option. dialog gives you several convenient ways
(Figure 68-22 below) for determining which types
From Previous Change to Next Change of automation data to write to each track with the
Use this option to apply the snapshot to the entire snapshot operation.
range of time between two existing snapshots (or
any other arrangement of consecutive automation
control points). Just place the playback wiper (or
counter location) anywhere between them. Use this
option to quickly adjust an existing snapshot by
placing the wiper anywhere just to the right of it,
rather than tediously attempting to place the wiper
directly at the location of existing automation data.
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MIX AUTOMATION
Current Data Types in Edit Window 2 Position the playback wiper (or main counter)
This option inserts automation data being at the location in the mix you wish to capture.
displayed in the Sequence Editor window. More Doing so causes all automation-enabled knobs,
specifically, the snapshot only writes automation faders and other settings in the Mixing Board to
data that is currently ‘active’ (as demonstrated in update to their correct values at that point in the
Figure 68-16 on page 804) for each included audio mix.
track. Notice that only one data type can be active
at a time. This option is good for quickly inserting 3 Back in the Automation Setup window, globally
snapshots for the data you are currently viewing in disable all automation by unchecking the global
the Sequence Editor. For example, if you are automation check box. Doing so ‘freezes’ all knob
currently displaying volume automation in all and fader settings in the Mixing Board, so that they
audio tracks (volume automation is the active data will not move when you change the current
type for all tracks), use this option to quickly insert playback location.
a volume-only snapshot.
4 Scroll to the location in the mix at which you’d
Data Types Visible in Mixing Board like to apply the Mixing Board’s current
This option inserts automation data for all automation settings.
automatable controls currently visible in the
Mixing Board window. For example, if the Inserts 5 In the Automation Setup window, check the
section is currently hidden, no insert level or pan global automation check box to re-enable
data will be inserted by the snapshot. If you wish to automation globally.
use this option, be sure to use the Mixing Board
window mini-menu to show/hide each section as
☛ At this point, make absolutely sure that the
current playback location does not change.
desired before taking the snapshot.
Otherwise, the current settings in the Mixing
Data types for Current Effect in Effects Window Board will be lost.
This option inserts automation data for all
6 Take an automation snapshot as usual.
automatable parameters of the plug-in currently
being shown in the Effects window. This is a great ‘Morphing’ between presets
way to automate plug-in presets (by inserting them The Ramp option in the Automation Snapshot
as snapshots). Also see “‘Morphing’ between Time Range menu (Figure 68-20 on page 807) is a
presets” on page 809. great way to “morph” from one plug-in preset to
another as follows:
Using snapshots to capture automation and
apply it elsewhere 1 Position the playback wiper (or main counter).
You can use Digital Performer’s snapshot feature to
capture automation settings from one part of your 2 Choose a plug-in preset.
mix and apply them somewhere else. To do so:
3 Take a snapshot of the plug-in parameters.
1 In the Automation Setup window (Setup menu),
enable all automation types you wish to include in 4 Move the playback wiper forward to the next
the operation. location at which you’d like to insert a preset.
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MIX AUTOMATION
6 Take a snapshot of the plug-in parameters using Snapshot command in the Region menu when the
the From Counter to Previous Change (Ramp) Time Sequence Editor, Mixing Board or Effects window
Range option. is not the front-most active window, the settings
you see in the Automation Snapshot dialog
7 Repeat as desired. (Figure 68-19 on page 807) will be remembered
independently from the settings for those three
Alternatively, you could start with the final preset
windows.
in the series you are inserting and work backwards
with the From Counter to Next Change (Ramp) A shortcut for taking snapshots
Time Range option. To take a snapshot from within a window with
same settings last used for that window, press
Snapshot settings are remembered Command–Control–single quote ( ’ ). Alterna-
You can take a snapshot from within the following
tively, you can hold down the Command/Ctrl key
windows (when the window is the front-most,
while choosing Take Automation Snapshot from the
active window):
Region menu. Doing so changes the menu
command into Take Automation Snapshot Again.
■ Sequence Editor
■ Mixing Board Making the transition to an automated mix
When you first begin working on a Digital
■ Effects window Performer project, there is no existing automation
■ Other (Tracks window, other edit windows, etc.) data in each track until you record it, insert it by
hand or insert it via a snapshot. Beforehand, your
Digital Performer remembers the snapshot settings
mix simply consists of the current fader, knob and
you last used in each context. For example, you
insert settings in the Mixing Board. If you record or
might only include visible mix parameters when
insert an automation control point for the first time
taking a snapshot in the Sequence Editor, but
in an audio track, somewhere in the middle of the
include only plug-in parameters when taking a
sequence, Digital Performer automatically extends
snapshot from the Effects window. In addition, you
a line from the control point back to the beginning
might like to always include all mix parameters
of the sequence to maintain the initial setting for
when taking a snapshot from the Mixing Board.
that parameter in the mixing board. As a result, you
You can specify snapshot settings for each window
get what you would expect: the initial setting you
the first time you take a snapshot from within the
had made in the mixing board (before
window. Digital Performer then remembers the
automation), followed by the automation data you
settings and will use them the next time you take a
recorded or inserted.
snapshot from the window.
The above behavior does not apply to MIDI tracks.
To reinforce this concept visually, the Automation
When you insert MIDI controllers for volume, pan
Snapshot window (Figure 68-19 on page 807)
or other mix-related parameters, Digital Performer
opens directly on top of the window from which it
does not automatically insert an initial value for
is being invoked.
them at the beginning of the sequence. Doing so is
up to you.
Digital Performer also stores a generic set of
snapshot settings for all other windows. As a result,
if you take a snapshot with the Take Automation
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MIX AUTOMATION
Before you begin to automate the mix, you might instead, you would like soloing and auditioning to
want to insert initial values for all mix parameters reflect the track’s current mute automation,
you’ll be automating so that you have a convenient uncheck this option.
reference point to start from. This step is not
necessary, but it you might find it helpful to have Auto return ramp length
initial values before you begin automating, At the end of an automation record pass, when you
especially for MIDI tracks. You can always go back punch out by either releasing the fader or stopping
and change the initial values at any time, either by recording altogether, Digital Performer
tweaking them individually in the edit window of automatically inserts a return ramp at the punch-
your choice or by retaking the snapshot at the out point. This ramp produces a smooth transition
beginning of the sequence. from the level you were at when you punched out
and the existing data in the track at the punch out
AUTOMATION PREFERENCES point. The Auto return ramp length preference
The Automation Setup window offers several determines the length of this ramp. For further
preferences. details and an example, see “Return ramps” on
page 802 and Figure 68-12 on page 801.
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MIX AUTOMATION
moves. Higher settings produce fewer control
points that result in courser tracking of your
moves.
CONTROL SURFACES
A number of work surfaces serve as sophisticated,
integrated control surfaces for Digital Performer’s
automated mixing environment. For details, see
chapter A, “Control Surfaces” (page 953).
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MIX AUTOMATION
CHAPTER 69 Mixing in Surround
Surround formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816 Figure 69-1 shows all supported surround output
Creating a multichannel submix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816 assignments, from mono to 10.2.
Surround tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817
Fold down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818 To create a new surround bundle, click the add
Panner plug-ins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 819 button at the bottom of the window. The surround
ArcPanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822 format of the bundle can be changed by using the
N Panner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822 pull down menu next to the bundle name. Double-
TriPan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 823 click or Option/Alt-click the name to rename the
Auralizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 824 bundle.
Other surround plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 825
813
Conforming to channel layout standards ■ n-Panner - panning using a square X/Y
814
MIXING IN SURROUND
Surround panner movement can be automated 3 For each Digital Performer mixing function on
along with volume and effects parameters. Editing the left, choose the desired joystick control from
surround panner automation differs from stereo the menu to its right. This menu will show all of the
panners because you have two degrees of freedom USB joystick devices connected to your computer.
to edit: the X and Y position.
Most likely you’ll want to map the primary joystick
movement to control of the surround panner.
Digital Performer provides additional functions to
map to the controls such as track selection and
volume control. If your joystick has a ‘hat’ switch, it
is a good idea to map track selection to this
CONTROLLING A SURROUND PANNER controller. This allows you to jump from channel to
WITH A JOYSTICK
channel without leaving the joystick.
If you would prefer to control surround panning
with a physical controller, Digital Performer 4 After your joystick is configured, hit OK and
provides support for any computer USB joystick. now you can use the joystick for mixing.
815
MIXING IN SURROUND
SURROUND FORMATS formats, although sharing the six channel speaker
placement, differ in their filtering and encoding
Stereo Panner
procedures.
Sends
Each send in a mixing board channel strip is
configurable to use any channel of a surround
signal, or the entire surround signal. The send’s
Send from Channel sub-menu determines which
channel of the multichannel signal will be the
Just like stereo tracks, audio files recorded or
source of the send, or if the entire signal will be
bounced into a surround track can be interleaved
sent.
or deinterleaved. When using interleaved, all
channels are stored in one file. When using deinter-
leaved, the files are automatically labeled with the
appropriate filename descriptors. The type of
Sub-menu deter-
surround track is appended as well as individual mines source of send
channel descriptions. from multichannel
signal.
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MIXING IN SURROUND
master fader is completely n-channels to n- For stereo folddown, left channels are mixed to the
channels so only effects that support n-n left channel of the stereo mix, right channels are
processing are available. mixed to the right channel of the stereo mix and
LFE and center channels are sent equally to the left
Multichannel master faders display a single meter and right channels.
to indicate output activity. The meter represents an
average of all channels. For individual meter For mono folddown, all channels are summed to
activity, open the faders mode panner window for both the left and right channels.
the master fader or use a Trim or MasterWorks
Limiter on the master fader insert. With Folddown enabled, the main left/right
outputs of the multichannel bundle assumes the
Calibration role of folddown output.
After you have set up a master fader, it is a good
idea to calibrate your mixing environment with the If you want to monitor a folded down mix on a
calibration plug-in and save the result as a preset. system with only stereo output such as the
You should always monitor your mix through the computer’s built-in audio, do the following:
Calibration plug-in, but remember to bypass or
disable the plug-in when you write your final mix. 1 Make sure you have an output bundle for your
stereo output.
N-Channel effects
Most stereo to stereo effects in Digital Performer
also function as n to n-channel effects. Usually n-
to-n effects are used on master faders or surround
tracks where the entire signal path of the fader is
multichannel. Mono or stereo to n-channel can
also use n-channel effects under the following
circumstances:
effect such as the delay to n-channel plug-in 2 Create a surround bus and a stereo bus with the
Bundles window. Make sure the stereo bus shares
■ when inserted below the pre/post fader line on a
the same output bus assignment as the left/right
channel that is assigned to a surround bundle
channels of the surround bundle.
FOLD DOWN
Fold down enables you to take a multichannel mix
and fold it down to mono or stereo. This is useful if
you want to want to generate a stereo mix of your
surround project, if you simply wish to edit a
surround project and do not have access to a full
surround monitoring system, or if you would like
to preview what your mix will sound like in a
theater with only two speakers.
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MIXING IN SURROUND
3 Select all the audio tracks and master fader in Direct assignments are also helpful for organizing
the project and use the Track Assignments music and sound effects stems (submixes) when
command (Studio menu) to reassign their outputs mixing for film.
to the surround bus you just created.
PANNER PLUG-INS
Digital Performer ships with four panner plug-ins:
Auralizer, n-Panner, TriPan and ArcPanner. With
the exception of the special Auralizer plug-in, there
are some general concepts that apply to all panners.
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MIXING IN SURROUND
Mirror: Two pucks are provided that represent Mono: The left and right signals are summed to a
each side of the stereo signal. Moving a puck results mono signal before panning.
in the same movement to be mirrored by the
virtual puck the other side of the stereo image. Filters
Movement towards the center reduces the stereo All panner plug-ins assigned to bundles with LFE
image of a track until the center point line after support (‘.1’ or ‘.2’ bundles) are equipped with in-
which the stereo image is swapped. line filters. These filters allow you to maximize the
headroom of your mix bus by filtering out signals
that will not be used. If you are using an LFE in
your mix, you can use the pre panner high pass
filter (HPF) to filter frequencies below 120Hz.
Likewise, for the LFE channel, you can filter out
signals that occur over 120Hz by using the pre-LFE
low pass filter (LPF)
Figure 69-3: TriPan using Mirror mode Technically, the LFE channel should only contain
Asymmetric: Two virtual pucks are provided. Two frequencies 120Hz and below. Inside of Digital
pucks represent the left and right sides of the stereo Performer, the LFE channel is full frequency
signal and a center (red) puck is the ‘control point’. bandwidth and you have the choice of using the in-
Stereo image is widest in the center position and line filters built into every panner or filtering the
gradually decreases as signal is panned left or right LFE channel on output. If you would like to filter
of center. Extreme left or right placement results in the subwoofer output only, set the pre-pan high
the left and right input signals summing. pass filter to 20Hz.
Meter Pane
Each panner has an additional section which
displays post panner level meters for each channel.
You can access the meter pane by clicking the
disclosure triangle in the upper right corner of the
panner. Here you find meter activity for each
Virtual control puck
channel, LFE Trim and solo and mute for each
channel. “Solo” in joystick mode overrides the
joystick position and hard assigns the input to the
soloed output.
LFE Trim: The LFE trim control is located in the If the signal is already a multichannel signal before
meter pane. This control acts like a send knob for it reaches the panner (as is the case when using a
directing signals to the LFE output. If you wish to multi channel plug-in like the surround delay plug-
increase the low end presence of a track, adjust the in) your panner is automatically set to faders mode
LFE control until the desired ‘thump’ is achieved. and can not be switched to joystick mode.
821
MIXING IN SURROUND
ARCPANNER N PANNER
puck
puck
panning energy
distribution
focus control
822
MIXING IN SURROUND
TRIPAN Divergence
By default, TriPan divergence controls are 100%
front position puck
divergent. When fully divergent, a signal panned
hard to a single speaker will only come out of that
front/rear position specific speaker. Lowering the divergence allows
you to blur the placement of the signal, thus
bleeding the signal in to the other speakers for
Divergence field broader coverage.
823
MIXING IN SURROUND
out audio. Three-knob panning allows you to Position
perform the same operation through the center, The combination of angle and distance determine
but only involve the front left and rear right the relationship of the source signal to the listening
speakers. Of course, TriPan allows you to automate position. Positioning in Auralizer works the same
switching of two knob to three knob mode at any way as other panner plug-ins. Simply drag the puck
time. to position the sound.
Room design
Positioning graphic display
graphic display
824
MIXING IN SURROUND
Room: Allows you to design the characteristics that shift depends on the rate at which the distance
define the space the audio is traveling in. changes. The effect will be more pronounced as the
speed increases. This cue is affected by Emphasis.
Absorption: Determines the reflective properties
of the room walls. Higher values are deader (more Head delay: There is a small delay based on the
absorptive). Lower values are a more live (harder distance between your left and right ears. This cue
surfaces) is important for sounds localized to the left or right
of the listening position.
Emphasis: Sometimes it may be necessary to
reduce the effects of position cues to be usable in a Head shadow: Enables high frequency damping
musical context. The Emphasis parameter allows based on position. If a sound is located on the left
you to lessen the physical rules of Auralizer if side of your head, the high frequency response of
necessary. the right side of your head is slightly dampened.
Size: Average distance between walls in meters. Distance attenuation: Enables the inverse square
law. When a sound source is farther away, the
Volume: Determines the total volume of room in overall volume is lower. This cue is affected by
meters cubed. Emphasis.
825
MIXING IN SURROUND
826
MIXING IN SURROUND
CHAPTER 70 Meter Bridge
The Meter Bridge window (Figure 70-1) displays Opening the Meter Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .828
level meters for all inputs, outputs, busses, tracks Showing and hiding meters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .828
and bundles. With a single click, you can Linear and wrap-around layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .828
independently show or hide available hardware Meter width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .828
inputs, available hardware outputs, busses, Meter scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .828
bundles, virtual instruments and tracks as desired. Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .828
The Meter Bridge provides long-throw, scalable Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .829
meters with extremely fast, smooth and accurate Busses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .829
ballistics. Two different layouts are provided. Bundles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .829
Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .829
Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .829
Clipping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .829
Show/hide
buttons
Meter
scale
827
OPENING THE METER BRIDGE METER SCALE
To open the Meter Bridge, click its button in the Use the Scale control along the left side of the Meter
Consolidated Window, or choose it from the Bridge window (Figure 70-3) to control the range
Studio menu. of the meters. Drag the top and bottom of the blue
range indicator to set the meter range as desired, as
SHOWING AND HIDING METERS shown below:
Click the Show/Hide buttons (Figure 70-1) to
display or hide the various types of audio paths. Meter range
Option/Alt-click a button to display it and hide all
others. Command/Ctrl-click to hide it and display
all others.
828
METER BRIDGE
OUTPUTS TRACKS
The Outputs section displays all available hardware The Tracks section displays an output level meter
outputs provided by the audio hardware drivers for each audio track in the currently play-enabled
currently selected in the Configure Hardware sequence. This meter is governed by the input
Driver window (see Figure 4-1 on page 25 and monitor state of the track and generally matches
“Configuring the hardware driver” on page 25 in the behavior of the track’s level meter in the Mixing
the DP Getting Started Guide). They show any Board. For example, if you wish to monitor an
signal that is reaching the hardware driver (which audio track’s input in the Meter Bridge, enable
is then presumably passing on the signal to the input monitoring for the track.
actual hardware itself).
CLIPPING
BUSSES Meter Bridge level meters turn red for a few
The Busses section displays all busses currently seconds after clipping occurs to alert you that the
available in the Digital Performer mix engine. The signal has recently clipped. After a few seconds,
number of busses shown is governed by the bus they return to green. If they remain red for longer
setting in the Configure Studio Settings window than a few seconds, this means that clipping is
(see Figure 4-4 and “Configure Studio Settings” on repeatedly occurring.
page 31 in the DP Getting Started Guide). Busses
are organized into banks of eight busses each. Retain clip
If the Retain Clip setting in the Audio Monitor
BUNDLES (“Retain clip” on page 247) is enabled, then the red
The Bundles section displays all output bundles, as clip indicator at the top of each level meter will
created in the Outputs tab of the Bundles window remain illuminated for a few seconds after clipping
(see Figure 13-1 on page 117 and chapter 13, occurs.
“Bundles” (page 117)of this guide).
Clearing the clipping indicators
INSTRUMENTS Click an indicator to clear it. Double-click it to
Enabling the Instrument button (Figure 70-1 on clear all indicators, or choose Clear All Clipping
page 827) displays meters for the outputs that are Indicators from the Studio menu.
mapped to your Instrument Bundles (multiple
outs). The main output of your instruments are
only viewable via the Tracks button.
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METER BRIDGE
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METER BRIDGE
Part 8
Processing
CHAPTER 71 Effects Window
Learn Controller
Snapshot button An audio effect plug-in
833
Window Target menu: This menu is used to change Effect-specific controls: Controls for the specific
the sequence or V-Rack that the Effects window is plug-in are displayed here. These will be different,
showing. The name of the selected sequence or depending on the selected plug-in.
V-Rack is displayed.
Effects window mini-menu
Track menu: This menu is used to change the track that The Effects window mini-menu contains the
the Effects window is showing. The name and track following commands:
type icon of the selected track is displayed.
Floating: When checked, this menu item causes the
Insert menu: This menu is used to change the insert window to stay in front of all other windows.
that the Effects window is showing. The name of the
selected insert is displayed. Float Effects by Default: When checked, plug-in
windows are set to float when they are first opened.
When the Insert menu is open, all inserts for the This is the same setting as the global preference
track are shown, with each occupied insert also (“Plug-in windows float above other windows by
including the name of plug-in loaded in that insert. default” on page 846).
Plug-in chooser/menu: The Plug-in chooser/menu V-Rack Edit: Use the V-Rack Edit command to
is used to change the plug-in for the selected insert. toggle between the current sequence and the last
The name of the selected plug-in is displayed. viewed V-Rack. You can also use its default key
binding, Command/Ctrl-Shift-V.
Bypass: Temporarily disables the plug-in.
834
E F F E C T S W I NDO W
OPENING AND CLOSING THE EFFECTS ■ With the Window menu > Close command
WINDOW
Hold Shift and Option while closing an Effect
Opening the Effects window window in any of those ways to close all open Effect
There are several ways to open the effects window: windows.
■ Choose Effects from the Project menu (or press BYPASSING AN EFFECT
Shift-F) An effect can be bypassed by clicking the Bypass
■ In the Mixing Board, choose an effect from any button in the Effect window. As a shortcut, you can
insert menu, or double-click an insert that already bypass an effect directly in the Mixing Board by
has an effect Option/Alt-clicking the effect insert with the finger
cursor.
■ For virtual instruments, double-click the track
(Command/Ctrl-W)
835
EF FEC TS W I N D O W
Where presets are stored Use the Show Presets in Finder/Explorer mini-menu
Plug-in ‘factory’ presets are stored with the plug-in command to go to the folder where user presets are
itself, so they are always available in any Digital stored for a plug-in. There, you can rename,
Performer project. duplicate, delete, etc. your preset files.
Changing a preset
Figure 71-3: Effects presets are located in the Effects window Preset To change an existing preset:
menu. The menu only displays presets for the type of effect currently
displayed in the Effects window. This example shows the eVerb plug-
in and eVerb effects presets in the menu. 1 Choose the preset.
User presets are stored in separate folders for each 2 Modify it as desired.
plug-in, with each preset saved as a separate file.
See “Saving plug-in settings as a user preset” below. 3 Choose Save Preset from the Presets.
Saving plug-in settings as a user preset 4 Save it with the same name. An alert dialog will
To save the current plug-in settings as a preset, confirm that you wish to change the existing preset.
choose Save Settings from the Preset menu and
type in the desired name. You can save the settings Accessing user presets in other projects
anywhere you wish on disk, but if you would like Because user presets are stored independently from
them to appear in the User Presets sub-menu, save Digital Performer documents or the Digital
them in the plug-in’s presets folder. For example, Performer application itself, they automatically
presets for the Chorus plug-in would be stored appear in projects other than the one in which you
here: created the preset. You can also drag and drop them
from their folder into any project at any time.
Mac OS X /Library/Audio/Presets/Digital Performer/Chorus
Storing and recalling presets as clippings
Windows User\Documents\MAS Presets\MOTU\Chorus
You can save and recall presets—and even groups
of presets—as clippings. For details, see “Drag &
If it is saved in this location, the new preset appears drop plug-ins” on page 790.
in the User Presets sub-menu.
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E F F E C T S W I NDO W
Next/Previous Preset If you now choose Compare, it becomes checked,
You can quickly cycle through the available presets and the original preset settings are restored. In
by: addition, your modified settings are stored by the
Compare feature, ready for recall.
■ Click the Next Preset/Previous Preset buttons
(Figure 71-1 on page 833) If you choose the Compare menu item again, it
becomes unchecked, and your modified preset is
■ Choosing Next Preset/Previous Preset from the
restored. You can then freely switch back and forth
Preset menu
between the original preset (checked) and the
■ Using the Next Preset/Previous Preset key modified preset (unchecked).
commands (Shift-Control/Win-equal and Shift-
Control/Win-minus) Here is a summary of the compare feature:
When you first call up a preset from the Effects EDITING EFFECTS
window Presets menu (either a factory preset or a The controls provided for the effect itself depend
user preset you created), the Compare menu item on the plug-in. Refer to the documentation
is grayed to indicate that the preset is currently included with the plug-in for information on how
unmodified. to edit the plug-in. For information on automation
plug-ins, see chapter 68, “Mix Automation”
As soon as you modify a plug-in parameter, the (page 793).
Compare menu item becomes ungrayed, indicating
that the preset has been modified.
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EF FEC TS W I N D O W
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E F F E C T S W I NDO W
CHAPTER 72 Audio Effects Processing
839
Digital Performer seamlessly manages transitions
between pre-generated audio and live audio as
needed (such as when you record a virtual
instrument live). In addition, virtual instruments
are always available for preview activities, such as
editing notes in the MIDI Graphic Editor or using a
VI’s on-screen keyboard.
startup disk/library/audio/plug-ins/MAS
Figure 72-2: When you apply a plug-in as a n offline operation from MAS plug-ins in Mac OS X
the Audio menu Plug-ins sub-menu, use the controls at the bottom of
the window to preview the effect before applying it. For Mac OS X, the user library directory refers to
the user who is currently logged in to Mac OS X.
When you click the Preview button, the currently
selected region loops continuously until you click Depending on how they were installed, plug-ins for
the Stop button (or click anywhere outside the Digital Performer are placed in one of the two
effect window). Parameter adjustments can be locations shown above. If plug-ins are installed into
heard in real time as you change them. A preroll the user library directory, they are installed for the
and postroll amount can be added to the beginning user who is currently logged in to Mac OS X at the
and end of the currently selected region for time of installation.
previewing purposes.
Organizing MAS plug-ins in Mac OS X
These previewing features can also be used for You can organize the plug-ins across the system
VSTs and Audio Units being applied as region and user library directory locations as you prefer,
operations. with the following rules in mind:
WORKING WITH MAS PLUG-INS ■ Plug-ins are bound to log-in access. For
Digital Performer can host MOTU Audio System example, plug-ins that are placed in a user
(MAS) plug-ins. The MAS specification is a plug-in directory are available only when that user is
standard developed by MOTU that has been
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A UD I O EFFEC TS P R O C ES S I N G
logged in. This allows you to maintain different sets *If you are running the 32-bit version of DP on a
of Digital Performer plug-ins in multi-user 64-bit Windows system, the root of the path is:
environments. C:\Program Files (x86).
■ Never duplicate a plug-in across the system and For Mac OS X, the user library directory refers to
user directories (although you could duplicate a the user who is currently logged in to Mac OS X. If
plug-in across multiple user directories, since only AU plug-ins are installed into the user library
one user directory is active at a time). directory, they are installed for the user who is
■ You can organize plug-ins into folders, as currently logged in to Mac OS X at the time of
explained in the next section. installation.
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AUDI O E F F E C T S P R O C E SSI NG
session. Skipped plug-ins can be examined later, These settings allow you inspect, enable, disable
the next time you launch Digital Performer or in and otherwise manage the audio plug-ins installed
the Plug-in Manager (see below). in your system.
ORGANIZING PLUG-INS
Digital Performer’s plug-in chooser provides
flexible and convenient plug-in organization and
browsing. For details, see “Choosing a plug-in for ☛ The plug-in preferences only apply to
an insert” on page 773. operation under the MOTU Audio System; when
Digital Performer is operating under MIDI Only
AUDIO PLUG-IN PREFERENCES mode, the plug-ins list display will be empty.
To access Digital Performer’s audio plug-in
preferences (Figure 72-3), go to Preferences in the
Digital Performer menu (Mac OS) or Edit menu
(Windows) and click Audio Plug-ins in the list.
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A UD I O EFFEC TS P R O C ES S I N G
Plug-ins list ■ Duplicate: Multiple versions of the plug-in exist;
All MAS, VST and Audio Unit plug-ins installed in for example, both a VST and MAS version exist.
your system and available to Digital Performer will The MAS version is loaded.
be listed in this preference pane, with the plug-in
■ Non-primary: Indicates that the plug-in is not
format shown to the right of each plug-in. Use the
the primary format chosen in the preferences
search field to quickly locate a particular plug-in.
(Figure 72-3). See “Primary external plug-in
Each plug-in has a checkbox next to it. When the format (Mac only)” on page 845.
box is checked, the plug-in is enabled; when If you wish to reexamine a plug-in or plug-ins,
unchecked, the plug-in is disabled. Disabled select the desired plug-ins and press the Reexamine
plug-ins will not be loaded and will not appear in button.
your audio plug-in lists in the Mixing Board or
Audio menu > Apply Plug-in sub-menu (or in the Plug-ins with multiple versions (formats)
case of instrument plug-ins, under the Project Some plug-ins are supplied (and installed into your
menu > Add Track > Instrument Track sub-menu). system) in several plug-in formats. For example,
you might see both a VST and AU (or MAS)
You can also enable or disable multiple plug-ins version of the same plug-in in the list. By default,
simultaneously by selecting them and using the one of the formats is enabled and the other is
Enable and Disable buttons. Shift-click in the disabled and labeled either Duplicate or Non-
plug-in list to select a range of plug-ins, or primary. You can manually switch formats by
Command/Ctrl-click to select non-contiguous unchecking and checking the boxes next to each
plug-ins. plug-in as needed.
Examining VSTs and Audio Units ☛ DP allows both AU and VST versions of the
As explained earlier in “Plug-in examination” on same plug-in to be activated at the same time.
page 842, VSTs and Audio Units will be While this may be useful in some circumstances, it
automatically examined the first time Digital may make it hard to tell which format you are
Performer is launched after they are installed. The using. In the case of some plug-ins, activating both
result of the examination is listed next to each plug- formats can cause problems with their operation.
in. The possible results are: To avoid confusion or operational issues, only
enable one format or the other.
■ Passed: The plug-in passed examination and is
available for use. Plug-in sets
■ Failed: The plug-in did not pass examination
Plug-in sets (Figure 72-4) are custom collections of
and will not be loaded. enabled audio plug-ins. Loading a plug-in set will
enable only a specific subset of your plug-ins.
■ Skipped: Examination of the plug-in was
skipped and will be automatically reexamined the To choose a plug-in set, select it from the plug-in
next time the MOTU Audio System is restarted. set menu. The chosen plug-in set will be displayed,
but its plug-ins will not be loaded until you restart
the MOTU Audio System.
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AUDI O E F F E C T S P R O C E SSI NG
The Enable All, Disable All or Safe plug-in sets
cannot be modified. If you attempt to enable or
disable any plug-ins while one of them is selected,
you will be prompted to create a new set. You can
then edit the new plug-in set just as you would any
other.
Enable All
When you choose the Enable All plug-in set Selecting a plug-in set at startup
(Figure 72-4), all plug-ins (except ones that did not Hold the Option/Alt key while launching Digital
pass examination) are enabled. This is the default Performer to bring up a dialog which allows you to
plug-in set. choose the plug-in set which will be loaded:
Disable All
When you choose the Disable All plug-in set
(Figure 72-4), all plug-ins (except for Digital
Performer’s included surround panner plug-ins)
will be disabled.
Safe
When you choose the Safe plug-in set
Ramp event density
(Figure 72-4), only the plug-ins which are included
The Ramp event density option (Figure 72-3) sets
with Digital Performer are enabled; all other
the default density when writing ramp automation
plug-ins will be disabled.
for plug-ins.
Creating and deleting plug-in sets
Primary external plug-in format (Mac only)
To create a new plug-in set, click the New button,
The Primary external plug-in format option is for
enter a name, and click OK. To delete a plug-in set,
Mac OS X only and determines the format of the
choose it from the plug-in set menu and click the
plug-ins that DP will examine and enable by
Delete button. When Enable All, Disable All or Safe
default. Choose Audio Units if you have a large
is chosen, the Delete button will be grayed out as
number of existing DP projects that use AUs, and
these plug-in sets cannot be deleted.
you don’t need to transfer DP projects to and from
Editing plug-in sets Windows systems. Choose VST to increase the
To edit a plug-in set, choose it from the plug-in set cross-platform compatibility of your projects. This
menu, then enable or disable the desired plug-ins. setting can be changed at any time.
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A UD I O EFFEC TS P R O C ES S I N G
Plug-in windows float above other windows by
default
When checked, the Plug-in windows float above
other windows by default preference causes newly
opened plug-in windows to appear in front of all
other windows. This allows you to work in other
DP windows without plug-in windows
disappearing behind them. This preference only
Figure 72-5: The ‘CPU’ meter in the Audio Performance window
affects new plug-in windows when they are first shows you how much of your computer processing power is being
opened. Once a plug-in window is open, it can float used by the MOTU Audio System and the real-time effects plug-ins
that are currently active. If any of the meters reach yellow, you should
or not, as determined by its Floating mini-menu consider reducing the number of plug-ins you are using.
setting (see “Effects window mini-menu” on
The Audio Performance window can be opened by
page 834).
choosing Audio Performance from the Studio
USING EFFECT PRESETS menu.
Many audio effect plug-ins provide factory presets,
For tips on conserving the processing resources of
and you can also save and recall your own presets.
your computer, see “Optimizing performance” on
This works in the same way as it does with MIDI
page 30 and “More ways to enhance performance”
effects and virtual instruments. See “Saving,
on page 33 in the DP Getting Started Guide.
loading, and editing presets” on page 835.
MONITORING EFFECT PERFORMANCE
BUSING, MASTER FADERS & AUX TRACKS
The Effect Performance window (Studio menu)
The MOTU Audio System provides a flexible
monitors the processing load of all currently
virtual mixing environment. You can take
instantiated virtual instruments and effects
advantage of features like the internal audio buses
plug-ins (Figure 72-6). It can help you identify and
to apply effects as needed and even conserve your
manage plug-ins that impose high processing
computer’s processing power by busing multiple
demands on your computer.
tracks to the same effect insert. You can also apply
effects to aux tracks and master faders as pre or
post fader effects. For details, see chapter 67,
“Mixing Board” (page 765) for more ideas about
how to work with real time audio effects within
Digital Performer’s virtual mixing environment.
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AUDI O E F F E C T S P R O C E SSI NG
load indicator shown as a colored line. The color of
the line depends on which DP theme you are using
(shown in yellow in Figure 72-6). The Time of Max
column displays the sequence timeline location
where this maximum peak occurred, which can
help identify sections of the sequence that are
particularly demanding from a CPU standpoint,
especially for virtual instruments. Use the Clear
Max mini-menu command to clear all max peak
indicators and the Time of Max column.
PG/RT
The PG/RT column (Figure 72-6) shows whether
the plug-in is running in real time (RT) or pre-gen
(PG) mode. If you hover the cursor over the RT
indicator for a plug-in, you’ll see a tool tip that
explains why the plug-in is running in real time. If
a real-time (RT ) plug-in displays exceptionally
high performance load, try running it in pre-gen
(PG) mode.
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A UD I O EFFEC TS P R O C ES S I N G
The Time of Max column is not available in PLUG-IN AUTOMATION
Coalesced mode because each line in the Effect Plug-ins can be automated in real time. For
Performance list may represent multiple instances complete information, see chapter 68, “Mix
of plug-ins which have maximum CPU peaks at Automation” (page 793).
different times.
848
AUDI O E F F E C T S P R O C E SSI NG
2 Click the desired plug-in parameter.
This process creates a MIDI Custom Console with Figure 72-9: The side chain input in a MAS plug-in (Dynamics).
a value box object in it that establishes the For some plug-ins, the side chain input menu
connection between the external MIDI controller appears in the Effects window:
and the plug-in parameter. You can further inspect
and adjust how the parameter responds to the
controller by double-clicking the value box object
in the console, which opens the Control
Assignment window (Figure 53-3 on page 658).
TEMPO-LOCKED EFFECTS
Many plug-ins allow you to lock certain Figure 72-10: The side chain input in the Effects window.
parameters, like their LFOs, to the tempo of your
To use the side chain input, choose an audio input
sequence. This allows the effect to stay in sync with
or bus from the menu and then route a signal to the
the beat of your music, even if there are tempo
bus from any source you want in Digital
changes.
Performer’s mixing environment (a track, a live
For details on tempo-locking effects included with aux input, etc.). Several included plug-ins have side
Digital Performer, see “Tempo lock” on page 6 in chain inputs, including Dynamics, Ring
the DP Plug-in Guide. For details on tempo-locking Modulator, and Multimode Filter. Refer to
third-party effects, refer to their documentation. chapter 1, “Audio Effects Plug-ins” (page 5) in the
DP Plug-ins Guide.
CHANNEL CONFIGURATIONS
Digital Performer allows you to configure your MULTIPLE AUDIO OUTPUTS
system with a combination of mono, stereo and Some effects plug-ins provide multiple audio
surround signal paths. For more details, see outputs. You can access them in the Instruments tab
“Channel configurations” on page 6 in the DP in the Bundles window, just as with virtual
Plug-in Guide. instruments. For details, see “Multiple audio
outputs” on page 142.
SIDE CHAIN INPUTS
A side chain input allows you to route any audio MAKING A REAL-TIME PLUG-IN EFFECT
PERMANENT
directly into the plug-in itself to control a
All real-time plug-ins that appear in the Mixing
parameter with the side chain input signal. It
Board window effects inserts also appear in the
appears in a plug-in window as a menu that shows
Audio menu > Plug-ins sub-menu. To apply them,
a list of Digital Performer’s virtual busses. For
you can select audio in any window you prefer.
many MAS plug-ins, the menu appears within the
plug-in itself:
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A UD I O EFFEC TS P R O C ES S I N G
DIGITAL PERFORMER PLUG-INS ■ Flanger
For details on the following plug-ins included with
■ Hardware Insert
Digital Performer, see chapter 1, “Audio Effects
Plug-ins” (page 5) in the DP Plug-ins Guide (Help ■ Hi-Top Booster
menu).
■ Intelligent Noise Gate
■ ACE-30 ■ Invert Phase
■ Analog Chorus ■ Live Room B
■ Analog Delay ■ Live Room G
■ Analog Flanger ■ Live Stage
■ Analog Phaser ■ MasterWorks Compressor
■ AutoPan ■ MasterWorks EQ
■ Bass Manager ■ MasterWorks FET-76
■ Buffy ■ MasterWorks Gate
■ Calibration ■ MasterWorks Leveler
■ Chorus ■ MasterWorks Limiter
■ Clear Pebble ■ MegaSynth
■ Custom ’59 ■ MicroB
■ D Plus ■ MicroG
■ DC Notch ■ MS Decoder
■ De-Esser ■ MultiFuzz
■ Delay ■ Multimode Filter
■ Delta Fuzz ■ MX4
■ Diamond Drive ■ ParaEQ
■ Dynamic Equalizer ■ Pattern Gate
■ Dynamics ■ Phaser
■ Dyna Squash ■ Plate
■ Echo ■ PreAmp-1
■ Ensemble Chorus ■ Precision Delay
■ eVerb ■ ProVerb
■ FET-76 ■ Quan Jr
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AUDI O E F F E C T S P R O C E SSI NG
■ Reverb
■ Reverse
■ Ring Modulator
■ RXT
■ SMPTE-Z
■ Soloist
■ Sonic Modulator
■ Spatial Maximizer
■ Springamabob
■ Subkick
■ Tremolo
■ Trigger
■ Trim
■ Tube Wailer
■ Tuner
■ Über Tube
■ Wah Pedal
■ Bassline
■ PolySynth
■ Nanosampler
■ Modulo
■ Model 12
■ MX4
■ Proton
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A UD I O EFFEC TS P R O C ES S I N G
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AUDI O E F F E C T S P R O C E SSI NG
CHAPTER 73 MIDI Effects Processing
853
material can be sent to a different output
This diagonal line repre-
sents no compression or assignment. Furthermore, a transpose effect is
expansion
hooked into the Echo’s feedback loop, allowing you
Ratio handle to transpose on each repetition.
Threshold/gain handle
The Arpeggiator watches what notes are sounding
Current settings
(being held) and then arpeggiates them (plays
0 to 127 grid them one at a time). The Arpeggiator gives you
complete control over the rhythm and order in
which the notes are played back. In addition, each
Figure 73-2: The Change velocity effects processor. Drag the handles arpeggiated note can be sent to a different output
to change the Threshold, Ratio and Gain settings. assignment.
DEFLAM Rhythmic patterns
The DeFlam MIDI effects plug-in is a non- Both the Echo and Arpeggiator effects are built
destructive version of the DeFlam region operation around a flexible rhythmic architecture. In the
found under the Region menu (page 567). Echo effect the Rhythm section determines how
each event will be delayed. In the Arpeggiator it
DeFlam looks for groups of note that are very close
determines the rhythm that will be used for each
together. When such a group is found, the average
arpeggiated note. Rhythms can be set up using one
attack time of the group of notes is computed. All
of three modes: Grid, Custom and Raw Ticks.
notes in the group are moved such that their attack
times are aligned exactly to the average time. Grid: You will notice that the Grid mode settings
are almost identical to the Quantize effects grid
The group of notes that is deflammed is
settings. They function in a similar fashion. You
determined by the tick value you specify. This
can set up rhythms consisting of any metric
creates a “window” of effectiveness. Groups of
subdivision. You can “swing” the grid, and you can
notes within that window will be deflammed.
offset the entire grid by an arbitrary number of
For more information, see “DeFlam” on page 567. ticks. (For more info, see the section on the
Quantize effect.) Rather than a check box for
“Tuplets”, there is a popup menu. This menu lets
you turn off the tuplet feature, turn it on (select
Tuplet) or put the grid into “poly rhythm” mode
(select Poly). The “Off ” and “Tuplet” settings are
Figure 73-3: The DeFlam effects processor.
identical in effect to checking or un-checking the
ECHO AND ARPEGGIATOR Tuplet box in the Quantize effect. The Poly mode
The Echo effect is similar to a traditional digital combines both sides of the tuplet expression (you
delay. It remembers material played in, then repeats will notice that the words “in the time of ” change to
it later on. There are some interesting differences, “against”) to create a standard rhythmic
though. You are not restricted to simple fixed interference pattern. For example if you pick Poly
delays. In fact the “rhythmic pattern” used by the and choose 3 against 2 (eighth notes) you will hear
Echo for regenerating the material is completely both a straight eighth note pulse and a “3 in the
customizable. Additionally, each repetition of the
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M I DI E F F E C T S P R O C E SSI NG
time of 2” pulse. Try different values to create Echo Settings
interesting textures (5 against 3 is an interesting Here is a brief explanation of each setting for the
one). Echo effect:
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MI DI EFFEC TS P R O C ES S I N G
go to SC7 channel 1, and the fourth will go to SC7 can use arbitrary Custom Maps, any sort of
channel 2. There are many ways to use this feature. transpose is possible. For example, you could have
Here are a few examples. your echos cascade up, while remaining in key. Or
have each repetition of the echo jump to any
Create true echos including controller data. arbitrary pitch. (Twisted!) Watch out for the
Normally, controllers and pitch bend are not Harmonize option, though. It can really chew
echoed. This is because overlapping streams of through your polyphony in a hurry; it is best used
controller data almost always lead to unpleasant only with short delays. See “Transpose” on
results. (Try overdubbing some pitch bend on top page 860 for more info.
of itself in cycle record mode for an example of
this.) “Cycle through device group assignments”, Arpeggiator Settings
however, lets you send each instance of the echo to Here is a brief explanation of each setting for the
a different MIDI channel, circumventing this Arpeggiator:
problem. To use the echo in this way, set up a MIDI
device group containing the same number of
assignments (on the same device) as number of
repeats. (For example, if you wanted a 4-repeat
echo, you could make a MIDI device group on your
SC7 on channels 1, 2, 3 and 4.) Each assignment
should have the same patch set as its default. (You
can create panning echo effects by setting the pan
differently on each channel in the group. To do this,
add a track assigned to each channel in the group
(SC7 1, SC7 2, etc.), open the Mixing Board, show
only those tracks, set the pan knobs appropriately,
rewind to measure 1 and take a snapshot.) In this
way, each echo goes to a different channel, and
none of the controller information collides with
previous data.
Figure 73-5: The Arpeggiator effects processor.
Create weird rhythmic and “cannon” effects by
setting things up the same way as above, but then Duration: This sets the length of each arpeggiated
give each device in the group a different patch. You note as a percentage of time until the next note.
can have a Sax echo your piano line or a murky 100% makes each note last until the next note
voice echo your synth lead. Adding percussion begins. 1% makes each note very short. Try using
assignments creates interesting rhythmic accents to sustain pedal for legato effects.
your echos. Experiment!
Range: This lets you arpeggiate across a specified
Feedback Transpose: Each time the echo processor number of extra octaves. You can choose Normal
regenerates a note event, it passes it through the (no additional octaves) or +1, +2, or +3 octaves.
Feedback Transpose effect. (If the Transpose Effect
Cycle through device group assignments: This is
is set to “unity transpose”, i.e. C3 to C3, it has no
similar to the Echo effect setting, but it has no affect
affect.) You can use this to create all sorts of
over controllers. The Arpeggiator always sends all
cascading note effects. Since the Transpose effect
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M I DI E F F E C T S P R O C E SSI NG
controllers to all output assignments in the MIDI Spiral In: Starting at the outside edges alternately
device group. When this option is checked, each walks into the center. Note order 1,6,2,5,3,4.
arpeggiated note will be sent to a different output
assign. You can create all sorts of interesting effects Spiral Out: Starting in the middle, alternately walks
with this. The tricks with panning mentioned in to the edges. Note order 4,3,5,2,6,1.
the Echo section also apply here. Try a MIDI device
Spiral In and Out, Spiral Out and In You get the
group with several slightly different guitar patches
idea.
for a “League of Crafty Guitarists” in a box. Try a
group consisting of several different horn patches,
Random: Randomly picks the note order.
or percussion instruments. Great fun.
As Played: This option takes into account the order
Melodic Pattern: This setting determines the order
in which you play the notes of a chord and plays
in which the held notes are played back. There are
them back in the same order as played. The pattern
several built-in patterns. You can also define your
is repeated for each additional octave (if any)
own custom patterns.
specified by the Range option.
Built-in patterns: In each of the following Chord Play: This option plays notes as repeated
examples, assume a 6 note chord, with each note
chords instead of arpeggios.
numbered 1 to 6, 1 being the lowest and 6 being the
highest. Custom Melodic Patterns: When custom is
selected, the window expands to show controls
Up: plays the notes in order, starting with the
similar to those for creating and picking Custom
lowest, and moving to the highest. Note order:
Rhythmic Patterns. To create a Custom Melodic
1,2,3,4,5,6.
Pattern, select some notes in a single track, enter a
name, and press “Learn”. The Arpeggiator analyzes
Down: Plays the notes in order, starting with the
the selected note data and remembers the order
highest and moving to the lowest. Note order:
that the pitches are in. This order is then applied to
6,5,4,3,2,1.
the notes that you hold down. Note that the built in
Up - Down: First plays Up, then plays Down: Note patterns work well no matter how many notes you
order 1,2,3,4,5,6,6,5,4,3,2,1 are holding down. This is not as true of Custom
Melodic Patterns. Custom patterns work best if you
Down - Up: First plays Down, then plays Up: Note play the same number of notes as were in the
order 6,5,4,3,2,1,1,2,3,4,5,6 learned pattern. (Note: There currently is no way to
edit or retrieve the patterns after-the-fact, so you
Staircase Up: Walks up the notes in a zig-zag should save your source notes somewhere so you
pattern: Note order 1,3,2,4,3,5,4,6 can tweak and relearn later on.) You can use
Custom Melodic Patterns to mimic all sorts of
Staircase Down: Walks down the notes in a zig-zag
finger picking, and even strumming styles.
pattern: Note order 6,4,5,3,4,2,3,1.
Repeat bottom/top note: These check boxes only
Staircase Up - Down, Staircase Down - Up: Same
apply to the following melodic patterns: Up-Down,
idea as Up - Down and Down - Up.
Down-Up, Staircase Up-Down, Staircase
Down-Up, Spiral In and Out, and Spiral Out and
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MI DI EFFEC TS P R O C ES S I N G
In. Therefore, these new check boxes are grayed out example, set the Arpeggiator to a straight eighth
unless one of these patterns is chosen in the note grid an the Echo to Tuplets, 3 in the time of 2
Melodic Pattern menu. [quarter note]. Now, set the Echo effect to 2
repeats, and transpose up an octave (C3 to C4)
Double strike notes at __% velocity: This option with the Feedback Transpose section.
causes each note to be played twice. The
on-velocity of the second note can be specified The Arpeggiator effect uses the velocities of the
from 0-200% of the first note’s velocity. notes that you played in its arpeggiation. This can
be used to great effect. Play a clump of notes with a
Hold Notes: This option causes notes to be held medium velocity, then strike a new note with force.
even after you release them. They remain held (and The new note will stand out in the arpeggiation in
will continue to arpeggiate) until you release all an interesting fashion. If desired, add a Change
notes and play a new note. velocity effect after it to keep the velocities in a
normalized range.
Applying the echo and arpeggiator effects as
Region menu commands
GROOVE QUANTIZE
Both the Echo and Arpeggiator effects are available
Groove Quantize is a real-time version of the
as MIDI effects plug-ins in the Region menu, which
Groove Quantize region operation found under
allows you to render the effect permanently to a
the Region menu. For more information, see
track. This is great for editing the effect further. For
“Groove Quantize” on page 556.
details, see “MIDI Effects Plug-ins” on page 578.
INVERT PITCH
The Invert pitch processor allows you to specify an
axis point around which your MIDI note data will
be inverted. For example, if C3 is specified as the Figure 73-9: The Quantize effects processor.
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MI DI EFFEC TS P R O C ES S I N G
REASSIGN CONTINUOUS DATA can be adjusted and even turned off (bypassed) at
This real-time effect is very similar to the Region any time. For details on Shift, see “Shift” on
menu command with the same name (page 582), page 535.
except that it modifies only MIDI continuous data
(but not audio volume, audio pan or audio plug-in
automation).
TRANSPOSE
Choose the type of transposition you would like:
either by a single interval or using a custom
transpose map you have created with Transpose
command in the Region menu (page 542). With
interval transposition, enter any interval you like in
the value boxes provided by editing the pitch text
box (type, drag up/down, or use MIDI entry). The
specific pitches do not matter: the interval between
them determines the degree of transposition. For
example, to transpose an octave up or down,
choose C4 or C2, respectively.
Figure 73-10: The Reassign Continuous Data MIDI plug-in, which can
generate RPN and NRPN data. The Harmonize option causes the newly
transposed data to be combined with the original
REMOVE DUPLICATES
data, so that they both play simultaneously.
Remove Duplicates is a real-time plug-in that
eliminates duplicate notes on the fly. This is useful
for situations when quantization creates a ‘chord’
consisting of the exact MIDI note. Placing Remove
Duplicates in line after Quantize helps eliminate
this problem.
TIME SHIFT
The Time Shift effects processor is identical to the
Shift command in the Edit menu, except, of course,
that it has no permanent effect on the data in the
track. Since it only affects data upon playback, it
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CHAPTER 74 Audio File Conversion
200 kHz
■ sample format: 16-bit integer, 24-bit integer, or
861
To sample rate convert some audio, select one or Note that if a file’s sample format is 32-bit floating
more soundbites in the Soundbites window and point, when converting the file format to Sound
choose Convert Audio File from the Soundbites Designer II the resulting file’s sample format will be
window mini-menu. The Audio File Conversion converted to 24-bit integer (32-bit floating point is
dialog appears. not supported with Sound Designer II files).
Changing the recognized sample rate for an CONVERTING THE INTERLEAVE FORMAT
audio file Interleaved audio uses one file for all channels,
When checked, the Only change the file’s recognized whereas deinterleaved uses one file for each
sample rate but do not process the file’s audio option channel. In the Interleave Format section of the
changes the sample rate attribute for the audio file, Audio File Conversion window, you can convert
but it does not actually process or otherwise alter the interleave format of your audio files between
the audio data in the file. Use this command in interleaved and deinterleaved.
situations where the sample rate being reported by
the file (as listed in Digital Performer’s Soundbites CONVERTING ENTIRE AUDIO FILES
window, or the info window in other audio When you choose a soundbite for conversion, you
applications) erroneously does not match the can choose between converting only the soundbite
actual sample rate of the audio contained in the file. itself (the portion of the audio file that falls within
the soundbite) or the entire parent audio file. If you
CONVERTING THE SAMPLE FORMAT will need to use other parts of a audio file (edge
The Convert Sample Format section of the Audio editing the converted soundbites, for example),
File Conversion, as shown below in Figure 74-1, you should choose to convert the whole file.
allows you to change the sample format of an audio
file or soundbite. You can change to 16 bit integer, SOUNDBITE REPLACEMENT OPTIONS
24 bit integer, or 32 bit floating point. Like Digital In Digital Performer, sample rate and sample
Performer’s other file-based “constructive” DSP format conversion is a “constructive” editing
processes, sample format conversion can occur in process, which means that it always generates new
the background. audio files and preserves the original ones. Several
options are provided to specify what to do with the
Dither old audio, and how to replace existing soundbites.
Digital Performer incorporates dither when
converting to a lower bit depth— rather than If the Replace soundbites and Convert entire audio
truncating the extra bits — to ensure the file options are chosen, you may also enable the
smoothest possible conversion. Move the original file to the trash option.
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AUDIO FILE CONVERSION
CHAPTER 75 Time-stretching and pitch-shifting
Performer’s Digital Signal Processing (DSP) tasks: audio that was recorded at a fixed tempo
■ Change audio that was recorded with a tempo
ZTX™ audio processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 863
map to play back at a constant tempo, or with a new
Selecting audio for processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 863
tempo map
Editing MIDI and audio together. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864
Constructive editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864 ■ Easily make the sequence play at the tempo of
operation
ZTX™ AUDIO PROCESSING
Digital Performer’s ZTX™ time-stretching and ■ Quantize or groove-quantize audio and MIDI in
863
■ Selections within a pop-edited soundbite in the entire piece of music up a whole step, you can select
Sequence Editor. all tracks, MIDI and audio, and choose Transpose
from the Region menu.
■ Soundbites selected in the Soundbites window.
You are not limited to thinking about your edits CONSTRUCTIVE EDITING
one soundbite at a time. If you want to transpose a All of Digital Performer’s DSP functions are
whole track, or even your entire sequence, it’s no “constructive” edits. Digital Performer never
problem. On the other hand, if you just want to modifies your original audio files. When you
correct the pitch in a small section of a soundbite, transpose, time-scale, spectral-shift, or tempo-
make a pop-edit selection. If a soundbite appears adjust an audio selection, Digital Performer creates
in many different places in several tracks or even new audio files to hold the new audio data (except
several sequences, and you want it transposed or when using the Transpose window’s “Transpose
time-scaled in all those instances, just select it in audio by adjusting pitch automation” option – see
the Soundbites window and make the edit there. “Audio transpose options” on page 543). This
means you can always go back to the original if
All of Digital Performer’s DSP commands make need be; it’s always your decision, if you want to
sure they don’t create any more new audio files than delete original source material.
they need to. If you transpose a selection that
includes the same soundbite 10 times, Digital In order to help you work faster, Digital Performer
Performer only transposes the soundbite once, and doesn’t waste your time with dialog boxes asking
replaces all 10 occurrences with the new soundbite. you where you want to put the new files, and what
Or if you have selected several soundbites that you want to call them. Audio files are automatically
come from neighboring or overlapping parts of the created in the same folder as the original, with a
same audio file, they are all processed together, and name that indicates which soundbite or audio file it
only a single new audio file is created. is based on. If you want to rename or move the file,
you can feel free to do so at your leisure.
On the other hand, if you are applying a rubato
tempo map to 40 repetitions of a drum loop, AUDIO QUALITY IS PRESERVED
Digital Performer is perfectly happy to create how Digital Performer keeps track of where a soundbite
ever many new soundbites are necessary – whether came from. For example, if you time-stretch a
it’s 2, 10, or 40 – as a result of a single command. soundbite, creating a new audio file at the new
tempo, Digital Performer remembers its original
EDITING MIDI AND AUDIO TOGETHER soundbite. If you then time-stretch the already
As a digital audio sequencer, Digital Performer is stretched soundbite, instead of just stretching the
designed to give you a seamless, integrated already-stretched soundbite again, Digital
environment in which to create music using both Performer refers back to the original soundbite to
digital audio and MIDI data. Accordingly, most of create the very latest version. The same is true for
Digital Performer’s DSP operations can be applied pitch-shifting. This allows you to freely time-
to MIDI data in the same operation, so that you do stretch and pitch-shift audio consecutively as many
not necessarily need to be concerned with the type times as you like without worry about artifacts that
of data being edited, and so that you do not have to may arise due to multiple time-stretch or pitch-
do two separate operations to achieve a single shift operations applied to the same audio. The
effect. For example, if you want to transpose your results will always be the same as if you time-
stretched or pitch-shifted the original soundbite.
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TIME-STRETCHING AND PITCH-SHIFTING
The link between soundbites and their original
source soundbites can be viewed in the Soundbites
window. For details, see “Viewing soundbite
sources hierarchically with ‘By Folder’ view” on
page 38.
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TIME-STRETCHING AND PITCH-SHIFTING
The Background Processing window If you use the same audio file in multiple projects,
The Background Processing window shows the you should be aware that Digital Performer knows
status of tasks being completed by background not to create multiple analyses for the same audio
processing. You can see the queue of tasks waiting file.
to be done. For more information, see chapter 76,
“Background Processing” (page 869). Digital Performer attempts to delete the analysis
file when you delete a audio file. However, if you
Audio file analysis delete audio files in the Finder or Explorer, rather
Before pitch-shifting or time-scaling a soundbite, than with the Delete command in the Soundbites
Digital Performer needs to perform a sophisticated window, Digital Performer has no way of knowing
analysis of the audio data. The actual pitch-shifting this. In this case, you will probably want to delete
or time-scaling is relatively fast, but the analysis the analysis file yourself. Since Digital Performer
can take a while. Therefore, Digital Performer saves can always reanalyze an audio file, there is no harm
the results of the analysis in an analysis file, so that in throwing out an analysis file, except that you
any given audio file only needs to be analyzed once. may need to wait for the audio file to be analyzed
Analysis files are created automatically, and are again later.
kept in a folder called “Analysis Files” in the project
folder. ZTX PREFERENCES
In Preferences > Audio Options (Figure 6-23 on
Automatic background analysis page 81), the Pitch and Time Stretch Options let you
By default, Digital Performer will analyze audio choose the quality of the ZTX processing, which in
only when needed. However, analysis can be set to turn impacts your computer’s CPU performance
automatically analyze any audio files used by your during playback (for real-time processing) or the
project that have not been analyzed yet. This time it takes to complete the processing (for offline
analysis goes on in the background, so it does not tasks). Generally speaking, higher quality settings
interfere with your work. By the time you need to take more time and more CPU load.
pitch-shift or time-scale a soundbite, it will
probably already be analyzed, so the processing Separate settings can be made for new projects and
will take a fraction of the time. the current project you have open.
In the Background Processing preferences, you Default Transpose Mode for New Soundbites
have the option of turning on automatic analysis, The Default Transpose Mode for New Soundbites
which may be desirable if you do a lot of pitch shift menu (Figure 6-23 on page 81) determines which
and/or time-stretching. See “Background pitch shift mode will be assigned to new soundbites
processing preferences” on page 870 for details. when they are first created.
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TIME-STRETCHING AND PITCH-SHIFTING
have a fairly dramatic impact on the CPU load of ■ Generally speaking, processing gets more
your computer. If you find that making pitch edits intensive as you go down the list from Efficient to
causes your computer to have difficulty during Detailed.
playback, try choosing a lower quality setting
■ The categories (Efficient, Solo, Standard and
(Better or Good). This setting pertains only to pitch
Detailed) are meant to serve as general guidelines:
layer edits and has no effect on the quality of time-
Efficient for fast processing, Solo for monophonic
stretching edits.
audio material, Standard for normal quality and
Offline Processing Detailed for higher quality, CPU-intensive
The Offline Processing setting controls the ZTX processing. Results, however, can vary significantly
time stretching and pitch shifting quality level for depending on the audio material. Don’t hesitate to
new audio files created by offline audio processing experiment. For example, the Standard setting may
operations such as Time Scaling, Tempo produce better results than Detailed on a certain
Adjustments, Spectral Effects and Transpose polyphonic audio clip.
(when creating new soundbites). In other words, ■ Due to their intensive CPU processing
any time new audio is written to disk as a result of requirements, the Detailed settings (Figure 75-2)
time stretching or pitch shifting, this settings are only available for file-based processing, as
controls the quality of the operation. Higher explained earlier in “Offline Processing”.
quality settings increase the amount of time the
operation takes. Other factors that impact how ■ Best mode may not always produce the best
long it takes include the length of audio selected results, depending on the audio material. If you are
and the CPU power of your computer. not fully satisfied with the quality of the results you
are getting when applying pitch-shifting or time-
ZTX quality settings stretching in a particular case, undo and try again
The ZTX quality settings (Figure 75-2) appear at with Good or Better, which may produce better
the bottom of the pitch mode menu (Figure 78-1 results. You can change the settings on the fly at any
on page 877). They also appear in the ZTX quality time.
menus in the Audio Options preferences
■ Technically speaking, Solo mode employs
(Figure 6-23 on page 81).
maximum ZTX time localization, Standard mode
employs equal time and frequency localization,
and Detailed mode employs maximum frequency
localization. Efficient mode employs variable time
and frequency localization, depending on the
material, which can sometimes produce the best
results (in addition to being the most CPU
efficient).
Available for offline processing only
SOUNDBITE PREFERENCES
Figure 75-2: ZTX quality settings. As shown in Figure 34-23 on page 327, the popup
menus in the Sound File Information window
Here are a few things to note about the ZTX quality
show the Transpose preference and the Time
settings shown in Figure 75-2:
Compress/Expand preference for the selected
soundbite or soundbites. For complete
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TIME-STRETCHING AND PITCH-SHIFTING
information about setting these preferences, see
“Soundbite preferences for transposing and time-
stretching” on page 327.
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TIME-STRETCHING AND PITCH-SHIFTING
CHAPTER 76 Background Processing
OVERVIEW
This chapter explains what background processing
is, how to control it with the Background
Progress
Processing preferences, and, finally, how to set it up bar
the way you like and then forget about it.
Queued tasks
Tasks waiting to be processed are displayed in
lavender.
Cancelling tasks
The cancel task buttons (Figure 76-1 on page 869)
allow you to cancel the execution of a background
task.
Analyze audio files for DSP as soon as possible
vs. Wait until analysis is needed
Running stopped tasks Digital Performer can be set to “preemptively”
If a task was stopped due to an error, you can click
analyze all audio files for which there are
it in the Background Processing list to select it and
soundbites in the Soundbites window. This option
choose Run Stopped Task Again from the mini-
is off by default. If you intend to do a lot of pitch
menu to restart the task.
shifting and time stretching, you may want to
consider switching to “Analyze audio files for DSP
BACKGROUND PROCESSING AND UNDO/
REDO as soon as possible.”
The Undo/Redo command works as usual with
background processing: if you do something that Mute soundbites under construction vs. Play
the old, unprocessed soundbites
initiates background processing, you can undo and
By default, Digital Performer will not play any
redo it as much as you like.
audio for a soundbite that is still under
construction by Background Processing. In
BACKGROUND PROCESSING PREFERENCES
general, this is preferable, since the old audio is
Digital Performer’s background processing
likely in the wrong key or at the wrong tempo to be
features are fine-tuned for your computer’s
played with the rest of the sequence. However, if
advanced real-time thread priority management
you would prefer to hear the old, unprocessed
features. Therefore, background processing tasks
audio, you can choose the appropriate button.
never have an impact on Digital Performer’s overall
performance. You may, however, still wish to fine
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B AC K G R O UND P R O C E SSI NG
Open and close Background Processing work unless you manually request analysis first
window automatically (see “Manually applying beat and tempo
This preference is off by default. If enabled, Digital detection” on page 627). Then you’ll have to wait
Performer will open the Background Processing for background processing to both analyze and
window whenever there are tasks to be done, and then process the audio. In general, analysis takes
close it automatically when there are no tasks. If much longer than processing, so you are better off
you would rather keep the window closed all the letting Digital Performer analyze the audio ahead
time, or open all the time, you may want to leave of time by enabling these options. Then, beat and
this feature disabled. tempo processing goes much more quickly
(because the analysis is already complete).
Automatic Beat and Tempo Analysis settings
for the project
Beat Analysis Default
Beat analysis allows you to take advantage of
This preference lets you choose when preemptive
Digital Performer’s beat detection related features,
beat analysis of your audio files occurs, especially
such as quantizing audio, applying grooves to
in regards to old (existing) projects and new
audio, and extracting grooves from audio, to name
projects that you create in the latest version of
just a few. Tempo analysis lets you take advantage of
Digital Performer. In essence, this preference
Digital Performer’s many tempo-related features,
determines the state of the Automatically analyze
such as the ability to automatically conform
beats in this project option (described in the
imported loops and other audio to the tempo of
previous section) when you open a project or
your project. For complete details on these
create a new project.
features, see chapter 50, “Beat Detection Engine”
(page 625). If you never want to analyze audio for beats and
tempo in either new or existing projects, choose
There are two check box options for enabling
the first option: Never look for beats in audio files
preemptive beat and tempo analysis:
automatically.
■ Automatically analyze beats in this project
If you don’t want beat and tempo analysis for old
■ Automatically analyze the tempo of audio that has (existing projects), but you plan to use these
no tempo features for new projects that you create in the
current version of Digital Performer, use the
In general, if you plan to use Digital Performer’s
second option: Only look for beats automatically in
beat and tempo related features for audio, you
newly created projects.
should enable both of these options. Even if you
don’t plan to use these features, leaving these If you would like beat and tempo analysis in all
options turned on is a good idea because your projects, new and old, choose the third option:
audio will be ready to go, if you later decide to take Always look for beats automatically in any project
advantage of beat and tempo related features. The that is opened. When you enable this option, beat
background processing involved will not affect detection and tempo analysis begins as soon as you
your other work in Digital Performer. open existing projects created in earlier versions of
Digital Performer.
If you turn off these options, then preemptive beat
and tempo analysis does not occur. The result is
that some beat- and tempo-related features won’t
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BA C KGR O U N D P R O C ES S I N G
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B AC K G R O UND P R O C E SSI NG
CHAPTER 77 Spectral Effects
873
you are saying “ee,” or “oo,” or “ah,” et cetera. These ANY PITCHED AUDIO CAN BE USED
formants are what determine the vowel or Spectral shifting works best on pitched sounds.
consonant sound that is perceived. (Note that the spoken voice falls within this
category.) Our explanation this far has dealt with
As you can see, the voice is very much like an voice only, but the concept carries through to other
analog synthesizer. The vocal cords are a sawtooth sounds. Many sounds are formed by applying
oscillator, whose output is fed through a series of resonances to a pitched source. For example, the
filters. The words you are speaking determine the strings and fretting of a guitar determine the pitch,
resonant frequencies of those filters, i.e., the but the shape of the body gives it its resonances.
formants. You can use Spectral Effects to change the tone of a
guitar recording without transposing it.
WHAT DOES SPECTRAL EFFECTS DO?
The Spectral Effects command lets you change the SPECTRAL EFFECTS DIALOG CONTROLS
pitch of a sound and its formants independently. As shown in Figure 77-1 on page 873, the Spectral
Changing the pitch and the formants by the same Effects window has a 3-D controller that lets you
amount is identical to Standard pitch shifting. see at one glance the effect you are applying to all
Changing just the pitch is identical to formant- three parameters: pitch, formants, and tempo. The
corrected pitch-shifting. Changing both by position of the ball within the space provided
different amounts produces results that are, to say shows the current setting. You can drag it up and
the least, even more interesting. down to change the pitch, left and right to change
formants (left is lower), and front and back to
GENDER-BENDING change the tempo (front is slower). There are also
For example, if you leave pitch and tempo alone,
boxes showing the current settings, and you may
and only change the formants by a half-step or two,
type in new values (or drag vertically in the text
you can make a soprano sound more like an alto, or
box to change them).
make an adult have a more child-like voice. More
dramatically, lower the pitch by an octave and the SPECTRAL EFFECTS PRESETS
formants by a third or a fourth, and a female voice The controls are useful for fine-tuning an effect, or
sounds remarkably like a male voice. This can be a trying something brand new, but in general you
very useful effect for creating a chorus of different will probably want to use the presets. The preset
sounding voices. menu has a number of built-in “factory” presets,
with fairly descriptive names. Just choose one from
SPECIAL EFFECTS SUCH AS the menu, and it will set the controls. You will
“CHIPMUNKING”
probably want to try out some of these presets first
The Spectral Effects command also allows you to
to get a feeling for how the controls work.
get more carried away. If you shift the formants up
an octave without changing the pitch or the tempo,
If you come up with a new setting you’d like to use
you get the famous “chipmunk” effect, without
again, you may save it as a new preset. Just type in a
having to sing an octave lower! Obviously this isn’t
name for it, and hit Save. If you want to delete a
something you want to do all the time, but it’s there
preset, select it from the menu, and then hit Delete.
if you need it.
Presets are saved in your Preferences file.
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SPECTRAL EFFECTS
APPLYING SPECTRAL EFFECTS TO AUDIO
Like Transpose and Scale Time, the Spectral Effects
command works with all the different ways of
selecting audio as summarized in “Selecting audio
for processing” on page 863. Unlike these other
commands, however, Spectral Effects is an Audio-
only command; it has no effect on selected MIDI
data. Also, unlike the other commands, it is not
affected by the settings of the DSP preferences in
the Soundbites window. Spectral Effects always
processes all selected soundbites.
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SPECTRAL EFFECTS
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SPECTRAL EFFECTS
CHAPTER 78 Transposing Audio
■ ZTX Formant-Corrected
ZTX quality setting
■ ZTX Standard
■ PureDSP Solo Vocal
Figure 78-1: Choosing the pitch-shifting mode for a soundbite.
■ No Pitch Shift
The Pitch shifting mode is chosen in a menu on the ZTX Formant-Corrected
soundbite title bar (Figure 78-1) or in the Sound Formant-corrected pitch shifting preserves the
File Information pane (Figure 34-23 on page 327). original character of the sound by separately
Each soundbite can be assigned its own mode. You transposing the pitch and formants (resonant
can also access this menu by right-clicking on the frequencies) by different amounts. This type of
soundbite. To assign multiple soundbites to the pitch shifting avoids the classic “sampler” effect.
same setting at one time, select them and then do For example, vocals transposed up will not get the
one of the following: “chipmunk” effect or, when transposed down, the
“Darth Vader” effect. Instead, the quality remains
■ press option/alt while accessing the pitch-shift the same and just sounds higher or lower. The
mode menu (Figure 78-1) on one of the selected advantage of formant-corrected shifting is that
bites, or results are more true to the original audio’s tone or
timbre.
■ press option/alt while right-clicking one of the
selected bites (in any edit layer). ZTX formant-corrected pitch shifting works well
Alternately, select them in the Soundbite list or on just about any material, including polyphonic
Sequence Editor and change their setting in the material, such as keyboard tracks, and even full
Sound File Info pane (Figure 34-23 on page 327). mixes.
877
ZTX Standard A wide variety of pitch-related operations can be
Standard pitch-shifting transposes pitch and performed on audio data, from simple pitch
formants by the same amount, producing the correction using the Pencil tool, to individual note
classic “sampler” effect described above. It can be transposition, to wholesale transposing of an entire
applied as desired to any audio material. track from one mode or key to another using the
Transpose command. The success of these
PureDSP Solo Vocal operations depends highly on the nature of the
Digital Performer’s PureDSP Solo Vocal formant- audio material itself.
corrected pitch shifting (carried forward from
earlier versions of Digital Performer) often works Pitch automation can be applied to mono, stereo
exceptionally well on solo vocal material. If you are and even surround audio files, and it can be applied
transposing or pitch-correcting solo vocals, try to any pitched audio material, including the spoken
this mode (instead of ZTX Formant-Corrected) to human voice.
see if it produces the best results.
Pitch analysis
☛ Pure DSP Solo Vocal does not work on Pitch automation is based on ZTX processing
polyphonic material. Use one of the ZTX modes (page 863). Therefore, if you plan to use pitch
instead for polyphonic material. automation and you’ve disabled preemptive file
analysis, you will find it more convenient to re-
When tuning monophonic audio, you may find
enable background file analysis. To do so, choose
that PureDSP Solo Vocal often works better than
Preferences from the Digital Performer menu (Mac
ZTX, especially when fine-tuning vocals.
OS) or Edit menu (Windows) and click the
No Pitch Shift Background Processing item in the list. See
Us the No Pitch Shift setting for any audio that you “Background processing preferences” on page 870.
would never want to pitch-shift. For example, you
Latency compensation
would likely not want to transpose audio in dialog
Pitch automation requires Digital Performer’s
tracks, sound effects tracks or percussion tracks.
latency compensation features, so be sure that the
This setting ensures that you won’t accidentally
Automatic Plug-in Latency Compensation option is
transpose the audio (when making multi-track
enabled in the Setup menu> Configure Audio
time range selections, for example).
System> Configure Studio Settings dialog. See
ZTX quality setting “Automatic plug-in latency (delay) compensation”
For information about the ZTX quality setting on page 32 in the DP Getting Started Guide.
(Figure 78-1 on page 877), see “ZTX Preferences”
Pitch automation note range
on page 866 and “ZTX quality setting” on
Pitch automation edits are limited to the note range
page 878.
C0 through C6.
PITCH AUTOMATION Pitch edits are bound to soundbites
Digital Performer allows you to manipulate the
Even though they look just like volume, pan and
pitch of audio material in the form of pitch
other track-based automation data types, pitch
automation data that can be edited directly in the
automation edits are bound to the specific
track where the audio resides. Like volume and
soundbite on which you perform the edit. This
pan, pitch automation is applied non-destructively
means that if you then move the soundbite, the
to track output in real-time during playback.
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TRANSPOSING AUDIO
pitch edits move with it. In addition, all instances Viewing pitch automation
of the soundbite in the project are affected. To access pitch automation, choose Pitch from the
Conversely, you can create harmonies from the Sequence Editor track layer menu (Figure 78-2).
same source audio by creating different soundbites You can also view pitch automation in the
from the same parent audio file region. Each Waveform Editor by clicking the Pitch tab as
separate soundbite can have unique pitch edits. explained in “The Waveform Editor tabs” on
page 480 and shown in Figure 41-3 on page 480.
Pitch adjustments are non-destructive This chapter uses the Sequence Editor for its
Any adjustments that you make to the pitch of examples, but pitch automation in the Waveform
audio are non-destructive and non-constructive. In Editor works similarly to the way it works in the
other words, the original audio data is not Sequence Editor.
modified in any way, nor is any new audio data
generated on disk. Instead, pitch modifications are The pitch layer represents the pitch of the audio in
rendered in real-time by Digital Performer’s two forms, superimposed on top of the waveform:
processing engine. Therefore, they can be quickly 1) as a blue line (the pitch curve) and 2) as bars or
applied, modified and removed, even during pitch segments. Both are measured by the pitch
playback. In fact, you might find it most useful to ruler along the left edge of the track. You can
keep playback going — and even loop sections — expand the vertical size of the track, zoom the
when you are editing pitch, as you will enjoy the vertical resolution and scroll the vertical position
benefit of instant feedback as you work. Pitch of the pitch layer information, all independently of
adjustments can, however, be permanently applied the waveform display. This allows you, for example,
to audio by merging the soundbite or (unlike other
forms of automation) exporting the soundbite.
Active
track layer
menu
Pitch layer
mode
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TRANSPOSING AUDIO
to position the pitch information above or below Absolute mode. The scissor tool responds to grid
the actual waveform, rather than directly on top of snapping, if enabled. When dragged vertically,
it. pitch bars snap to the chromatic scale in the pitch
ruler. For fine-tuned adjustments, hold down
Absolute vs. relative pitch editing command/ctrl to override pitch snapping while
There are two modes for editing pitch: Absolute and dragging vertically.
Relative, chosen from the Pitch layer mode menu
(Figure 78-2). These two modes do not change
how the audio plays back, just how it is viewed and
edited.
Absolute
Absolute mode displays pitches as directly editable
bars in a piano roll style edit layer with a vertical, Figure 78-4: Use the scissor tool to create and drag pitch segments.
multi-octave pitch ruler along left edge of the track
Relative mode can be used for monophonic
lane (as shown in Figure 78-2). This mode is best
material, but it also works well for full mixes and
for tuning monophonic audio (i.e. solo vocals, solo
polyphonic audio, which cannot be represented
instruments, etc.)
with single pitch bars.
Relative
Editing in Relative mode simply allows pitch to be The pitch curve
The blue pitch curve (Figure 78-2) represents the
offset by some amount. The pitch ruler keyboard
original pitch. If you modify the pitch curve in any
shows interval offsets, mirrored above and below a
way, the modified portions of the curve are
center (root) line, rather than absolute pitches
displayed in red. You can select and edit the pitch
from top to bottom (Figure 78-3). The root pitch in
curve directly using the Arrow tool and the Pencil
the pitch ruler is indicated by the track color.
tool, as follows:
Pitch ruler keyboard with To do this to the pitch curve Do this
mirrored intervals
To redraw the pitch curve Set the Pencil/Reshape curve
menu in the Tool palette to Free
and drag over the pitch curve
with the Pencil tool.
To get rid of any red portions Select the curve and hit delete,
(modifications) or choose Audio menu> Audio
Pitch Correction> Clear Pitch.
To anchor the pitch curve on Add control points on either Original Scaled up scaled down
either side of a control point side of it at the locations where
when you drag it you want to anchor the curve.
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TRANSPOSING AUDIO
modify the pitch of the audio in a wide variety of any. To set the pitch mode for a track or soundbite,
ways, from micro-tonal tuning adjustments to select it (in either the Sequence Editor or the
wholesale transposition and key changes. You can Waveform Editor) and then choose Audio menu>
even copy and paste pitch segments into a MIDI Audio Pitch Correction, and then choose the
track to create MIDI notes that match the source desired sub-menu command:
audio.
After
After
To move the Drag one of the Figure 78-12: Gray (unpitched) segments.
boundary adjacent segment
between two edges with the Before Gray segments are displayed to indicate that there
segments Arrow tool (using
the trim cursor is signal present in the audio, but that the signal has
shown below)
After no detectable pitch. Gray segments cannot be
modified (since there is no pitch information to
transpose).
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TRANSPOSING AUDIO
Dangling segments Modifying pitch using pitch segments
A dangling segment is a portion of a segment for After the pitch segments accurately reflect the
which there is no pitch curve. This is most often the notes in the audio, as explained in the previous
result of unpitched material that is not yet split into sections, you can use the pitch segments to
its own gray segment. In the example below, the transpose the audio as follows:
dangling segment on the left has been split into a
To do this Do this
gray segment using the Scissor and Trim tools.
To transpose a note Drag its pitch segment verti-
There may be situations, however, where dangling chromatically cally. The note snaps to the root
segments are preferred, such as when you convert pitches in the pitch ruler, but
also maintains its relative posi-
pitch segments into MIDI notes (“Converting tion to the root pitch (if its a lit-
tle sharp or flat).
audio pitch to MIDI data” on page 886).
To correct the pitch slightly or Command/Ctrl-drag the pitch
perform other micro-tonal segment vertically.
adjustments
To drag multiple pitch seg- Select them first and then drag
Figure 78-13: A dangling segment that has been converted to an ments them.
unpitched gray segment via segment editing.
To return a pitch segment to its Select it and hit delete, or
Reverting to the default pitch segmentation original pitch choose Audio menu> Audio
Pitch Correction> Clear Pitch.
If you edit the pitch segments and then decide you
want to start over, select the soundbite and choose
Audio menu> Audio Pitch Correction> Set Pitch When you modify pitch segments, the pitch curve
Mode for Selected Bites> and then choose either reflects those changes. In fact, the pitch segments
vocals or instruments. Doing so recomputes the are essentially “note-bound” handles for the pitch
pitch segments and restores them to their original curve itself, so when you edit the segments, you are
state, before any modifications. really editing the pitch curve. The segments merely
provide a musical way to manipulate the curve,
including smooth pitch transitions between notes
when transposing individual notes.
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TRANSPOSING AUDIO
section) — or just select the audio itself — and
Before choose Region menu> Transpose. Make sure the
Transpose audio check box is checked, and the
Transpose audio by adjusting pitch automation
option is chosen, as demonstrated in Figure 78-15
below:
After
Quantizing pitch
If you would like to “center” one or more pitch
segments, so that they are tuned exactly to their Figure 78-15: Check the ‘Transpose audio’ check box to transpose
relative root pitch (to fix any notes that are a little audio data.
sharp or flat), select their pitch segments and You can then choose any form of transposition
choose Audio menu> Audio Pitch Correction> option you wish, including Interval, Diatonic, Key/
Quantize Pitch. Doing so centers each pitch Scale and even Custom Map. This is a very powerful
segment with its corresponding root pitch (or feature because it gives you the same level of
relative interval) in the pitch ruler. In general, you complete control when transposing audio as you
achieve best results from this operation if you first do when transposing MIDI data. Keep in mind,
edit pitch segments with the Mute and Scissor however, that the success of audio transposition
tools, as explained in “Editing pitch segments” on operations like this, as with all pitch-shifting,
page 883. depends on the size of the intervals involved and
the nature of the audio material being transposed.
Setting the pitch reference
Some types of audio material transpose better than
By default, pitch editing is based on the standard “A
others.
440” tuning reference, where the A above middle C
is 440 Hz. However, you can adjust this tuning Another important factor for successful
reference as desired in the Data Display preferences transposition is the accuracy with which the pitch
(Figure 6-8 on page 71). See “Audio pitch segments in the pitch layer of the track represent
automation reference” on page 72. the actual notes in the audio, as explained in the
previous sections. So before using the Transpose
USING THE TRANSPOSE COMMAND
command to transpose audio, it is a good idea to
You can use Digital Performer’s standard
spend some time reviewing the pitch segments for
Transpose command (Region menu) to apply a
accuracy.
wide variety of transpose operations on the pitch
segments and the audio data they represent. Select
the pitch segments you wish to transpose (using
any of the techniques discussed in the previous
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TRANSPOSING AUDIO
In the example above (Figure 78-15), audio is automation takes up just as much computer
being transposed from one key and mode (C processing resources as when it is unbypassed
minor) to an entirely different key and mode (D (playing).
Phrygian).
When pitch automation is bypassed via the Don’t
TRANSPOSING AUDIO AND MIDI Pitch Shift soundbite setting, the pitch data is
TOGETHER completely ignored, therefore conserving your
When using the Transpose command computer’s processing resources.
(Figure 78-15), you can of course select both audio
and MIDI tracks together to transpose them in one CONVERTING AUDIO PITCH TO MIDI DATA
operation. Just be sure to check both the MIDI and Pitch segments (Figure 78-2) can be copied and
audio check boxes as shown in Figure 78-15. pasted into MIDI tracks, essentially allowing you
to convert the pitch information in the audio into
TEMPORARILY DISABLING PITCH MIDI data. This powerful feature can be used for a
MODIFICATIONS wide variety of applications. For example, you
Any modifications you make to the pitch of audio
could layer a vocal part with MIDI parts, or sing a
in the Pitch Layer of an audio track can be
melody and then convert it to MIDI data for
temporarily disabled using the techniques
further development. The possibilities are endless.
described below. When you disable pitch
modification in this way, all pitch edits are fully The accuracy of the MIDI transcription is entirely
preserved, and you can re-enable them at any time: dependent on the accuracy with which the pitch
segments represent the notes in the audio. The
To do this Do this
more accurately the pitch segments represent the
To temporarily disable all Click the ‘P’ button at the bot-
pitch modifications in the tom of the track’s pitch ruler in actual audio, the more accurate the MIDI
entire track the Sequence Editor. You can
also use DP’s Option/Alt-click transcription.
and Command/Ctrl-click
shortcuts. Or choose Pitch
Bypass from the track settings Preparing for MIDI pitch transcription
menu. Pitch segments are copied and pasted as is, so if you
have made any modifications to the pitch segments
— or changes to the pitch curve that are reflected
by the pitch segments — the changes will be
carried over into the MIDI track.
To temporarily disable a spe- In the Sound File Info window,
cific soundbite’s pitch modifi- set the soundbite’s Transpose
cations attribute to Don’t Pitch Shift. For best results, try these preparations on the pitch
segments before you copy and paste them:
When pitch edits are disabled, you cannot edit the
track pitch layer information. ■ Quantize pitch (Audio menu> Audio Pitch
Correction> Quantize Pitch) to ensure that each
When pitch automation is bypassed using the ‘P’ note is centered on its root pitch.
button, the data is still processed in real-time so
■ Make sure there is a one-to-one correspondence
that you can immediately hear the results when you
between each pitch segment and each note that you
unbypass. In this case, the bypassed pitch
hear in the audio.
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TRANSPOSING AUDIO
■ Review the timing of the pitch segments — 4 Click the name of the MIDI track you wish to
where they start and end — to accurately reflect the paste into to create a time range selection in the
full duration of each note. destination track that matches the current
selection start time (which now matches the start
These preparations will help a lot, but it is
time of the first pitch segment you copied).
important that you realize that the resulting MIDI
notes will not match the pitch segments exactly. See 5 Choose Paste from the Edit menu.
“What you see is not what you’ll necessarily get”
below. What you see is not what you’ll necessarily get
When you copy pitch segments and paste them
Copying and pasting pitch segments into a MIDI track, the resulting MIDI notes will
After making the preparations listed above, copy likely not exactly match the original pitch
and paste pitch segments as follows. This segments. This is because Digital Performer
procedure assumes that you want the resulting interprets the pitch segments with respect to the
MIDI notes to play in time with the original audio, waveform to create a MIDI performance that
so you will be pasting the MIDI data at the location matches the audio as closely as possible.
where the first pitch segment begins:
To further refine the timing of the resulting MIDI
1 Select the pitch segments with the Arrow tool notes, try quantizing them. Best results are often
(lasso cursor). achieved by quantizing both attacks and releases of
the MIDI notes.
2 Choose Copy from the Edit menu.
FORMANT-CORRECTED VS. STANDARD
3 To paste the resulting MIDI notes so that they PITCH SHIFTING
play in time with the original audio, leave the pitch In the Sound File Information window
segments selected and choose Set to Selection (Figure 34-22 on page 326), each soundbite can be
Bounds from the Selection Information window’s configured for either formant-corrected pitch
Set To menu as shown below in Figure 78-16. shifting or standard pitch shifting (Figure 34-23 on
page 327). This setting affects real-time pitch
automation. If you wish to preserve the original
character of the sound, such as for harmonizing or
pitch correction, use the (default) formant-
corrected setting. For special pitch effects,
experiment with standard pitch shifting. For
further information about these modes, see
“Soundbite preferences for transposing and time-
stretching” on page 327.
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TRANSPOSING AUDIO
Try experimenting with different settings here for
best results. You can change the settings on the fly
at any time.
BACKGROUND PROCESSING
As soon as you OK the Transpose dialog, the
selected soundbites (or pieces of soundbites, for a
time-ruler selection) are replaced with new
soundbites, which are analyzed and processed in
the background as described in “Background
Processing” on page 865.
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TRANSPOSING AUDIO
CHAPTER 79 Scale Time
889
890
SCALE TIME
CHAPTER 80 VocAlign
Original audio
Guide file
Conformed audio
891
Using the guide and dub energy patterns, VocAlign Set Dub, Align and Spot Audio
automatically generates a best-fit alignment path, The Set Dub, Align and Spot Audio command
and “micro-edits” the waveform of the dub or allows you to quickly align dub files to the current
replacement audio so it’s energy modulations guide file in a very simple two-step process:
matches those of the original signal. When
VocAlign is finished, it will replace the dub file with 1. Set Guide File
the newly aligned audio in exactly the same place in 2. Set Dub, Align and Spot Audio
Digital Performer.
The Set Dub, Align and Spot Audio command also
If you plan to use VocAlign extensively on your allows you to quickly align multiple dub files to the
project, you may want to consider adding keyboard current guide file with one easy keyboard shortcut
shortcuts with the Commands window (see per dub file. According to Synchro Arts, the
chapter 8, “Commands” (page 91)). If you would company that developed VocAlign, this is the
like more information concerning the deeper tightest integration currently available for
operations of VocAlign, consult the VocAlign VocAlign in any host workstation product on the
manual. market. This new command, as well as all of the
VocAlign sub-menu commands, work with both
VocAlign Pro and VocAlign Project.
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VOCALIGN
Part 9
Mastering
CHAPTER 81 Bounce To Disk
895
PREVIEWING BOUNCE TO DISK SETTINGS
After making the necessary output settings (if After you’ve made the preparations already
needed), bouncing to disk is a simple two step discussed, select the tracks you wish to bounce,
process: select any portion of one or more audio and choose the Bounce to Disk command from the
tracks and then choose Bounce to Disk from the File menu. The Bounce to Disk dialog appears
File menu. The results of the bounce will sound (Figure 81-1) with the following options.
exactly the same as what you selected, including
volume/pan automation, mute/solo settings, real
time MAS, VST and AU effects, EQ and any other
real time processing that is applied to the selected
tracks. Basically, what you hear when you play the
sequence back is what you will get in the resulting
mixdown.
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BOUNCE TO DISK
For details about bouncing to a QuickTime movie material does not. If this is the case, undo the
(on Mac OS X), see “Bouncing to a Movie” on bounce operation, adjust the levels of the source
page 907. tracks and bounce again.
Stereo
The Stereo option (Figure 81-3) creates a stereo file.
If you’ve chosen a multi-channel bundle as the
source, it will be folded down to stereo.
Same as Source
The Same as Source option (Figure 81-3) creates a
file with the same channelization as the Source
Figure 81-2: The Bounce to Disk File Format menu.
bundle (see “Source” below). The resulting file can
Channels be interleaved or deinterleaved, depending on the
The Channels menu (Figure 81-1) lets you choose format chosen.
the channel format for the bounced material with
Sample Format
four choices (Figure 81-3):
The Sample Format menu (Figure 81-1) lets you
choose the bit depth for the bounced audio
(Figure 81-4):
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BOUNCE TO DISK
Supported fixed bit depths include 8, 16 or 24 bit Import
integer. You can also choose 32 bit Floating Point, if The Import menu (Figure 81-1) lets you choose
the format you’ve chosen (Figure 81-2) supports what to do with the audio files generated by the
this resolution. If not, this menu choice is grayed bounce operation. If you choose Do not import, the
out. file will be created on the hard drive but it will not
be imported into Digital Performer. Otherwise,
Choose Project Default to use the current project you can import the audio file into the Soundbites
sample format. If you choose 8 bits (a sample window or into the current sequence as a new
format not supported by Digital Performer for audio track. If you have chosen a format not
playback), the Import option below will force you supported by Digital Performer, you will not be
to choose the Do not import setting. allowed to choose either of these import options.
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BOUNCE TO DISK
When you eventually click OK to initiate the below) and the audio export dialog (Figure 2-6 on
bounce operation, all settings in the Bounce to page 31). To use an export preset, simply choose it
Disk window are saved, including the destination from the menu when bouncing or exporting. These
folder. In addition, the current time range selection presets are saved as a preference, so they are not
in the current Digital Performer project is also project-specific. They are global to all projects.
saved with the settings (unless the Select All before
running Saved Bounce option is enabled — see
below). This means that saved bounce settings are
bound to specific material in a specific project.
They are not general in nature. This is very
powerful, as it allows for the many time-saving
features described in the following sections. See
“The Bounce Settings menu” on page 908.
Figure 81-6: Saving an audio export preset. Figure 81-8: Editing audio export presets.
899
BOUNCE TO DISK
Destination BOUNCING TO DISK
The destination (Figure 81-1) displays the disk After you’ve made the settings discussed so far in
location for the resulting audio files created by the this chapter, click OK to begin the bounce. Digital
bounce operation. Click the Choose button to Performer displays a progress window that shows
change it. the progress of the bounce operation.
Overwrite Existing Files Processing occurs faster than real time in most
Normally when you Bounce to Disk, Digital situations and there is therefore no playback
Performer generates a new file name — one that during bouncing. The speed of the processing,
does not conflict with existing files on your disk. however, not only depends on how fast your
However, if you check the Overwrite Existing Files computer is, it also depends on how many tracks
option (Figure 81-1), then Digital Performer will you have selected for bouncing. If what you have
overwrite any file (or set of files for split stereo and selected can be played by your computer, then
split surround files) of the same name. processing during bouncing will probably occur
faster than real time. If you have selected more
This option can be especially useful in the final tracks than you can play at one time, then
stages of mastering an audio CD. Suppose you have processing speed may not necessarily occur faster
several sequences that go into making a CD, where than real time.
each sequence represents one CD track. You can
then create a separate DP project that is the “CD
master” project, which includes the final bounce of
each component track sequence (CD track). With
the Overwrite Existing Files option unchecked, you
would need to re-create the “CD master” project
each time you performed a bounce on any of the
component track sequences, since the bounce Figure 81-9: The progress window for the Bounce command.
results would go into new (different) files.
BOUNCING TO MP3
However, if Overwrite Existing Files is checked, the
As shown in the menus in Figure 81-2 on page 897
existing files are overwritten, and the CD master
and Figure 2-6 on page 31, Digital Performer can
project file references will therefore remain in tact,
export audio to the MP3 audio file format, either
as they will still point to the latest exported data
using the Bounce to Disk command or the Export
with the same name (and file path).
Selected Soundbites command in the Soundbites
If the “Import” option on page 898 is currently set window mini-menu.
to Add to sequence or Add to soundbites window,
MP3 export options
then the OverWrite Existing Files option is grayed To bounce or export an MP3, choose the L.A.M.E.
out. audio export: MP3 format, as shown in Figure 81-2
and Figure 2-6 on page 31. When you choose this
For more details on bouncing to CD, see
format, you will see the following MP3 export
“Bouncing to a CD or disk image (Mac only)” on
options:
page 902.
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BOUNCE TO DISK
match the source material sample rate automati-
cally. The sample rate is the number of times per
second that the music waveforms are captured
digitally. The higher the sample rate, the higher the
quality and the larger the file size. Be sure to choose
a sample rate that is no higher than the rate used to
originally store the music, or you’ll waste disk
space and streaming bandwidth. CD quality, for
example, is 44.1 kHz, so choosing a higher rate
when you’re encoding from a CD is unnecessary.
Figure 81-10: The MP3 export options.
Encoding mode: This option lets you specify the
If you don’t have any specific needs or bit rate (number of bits per second). This is an
requirements for your MP3 file, the default settings important setting because it has a high degree of
in the MP3 export options window will give you impact on both the file size and quality of the
very good results. If you have specific needs, the sound. The four choices are summarized below:
export options give you the following choices:
Encoding mode What it does Explanation
Channels: The choices here are Mono, Stereo or Variable Bit Rate Varies the bit rate In general, you’ll get
(VBR) Standard as needed, depend- the best results with
Auto. This option lets you force the MP3 to be ing on the material. this option (the best
sound and the small-
either Mono or Stereo. If you want the MP3 to est file).
automatically match the channel format (mono or
Variable Bit Rate Same as above, The results will still be
stereo) of the source material, use the Auto setting. (VBR) Fast except that the good, but perhaps not
encoding process quite as good as the
Mono files are about half the size of stereo files. will be faster. standard VBR above.
Mono is appropriate if you don’t have stereo
Average Bit Rate The bit rate is still Use this encoding
speakers or if your audio files are monaural. If variable, but the method if you need to
encoder restricts restrict the file size or
you’ll be listening to your MP3 files using your the overall average overall bandwidth.
bit rate of the entire
stereo system, choose Stereo or Auto. file to the specific
value you specify in
the Bit Rate menu.
Stereo mode: The two choices here are Normal and
Joint Stereo. In Normal mode, your MP3 files Constant Bit Rate Forces the same bit This gives you the
rate throughout the most control over the
contain one track for the right stereo channel and file, regardless of file size and streaming
the material. bandwidth.
one track for the left. In many cases, the two
channels contain related information. In Joint
Stereo mode, one channel carries the information VBR (variable bit rate) quality: This option
that is identical on both channels, and the other appears if you’ve chosen one of the two VBR
channel carries the unique information. At bit rates encoding modes above. If so, this option lets you
of 128 kbps and below, this can improve the sound control the quality of VBR encoding on a scale
quality of your converted audio. Generally, Joint from 10 (good) to 100 (best).
Stereo mode is the best choice.
Bit Rate: This option appears if you’ve chosen
Output Sample Rate: The choices here are Auto, either the average or constant bit rate encoding
and a list of specific bit rates. The best choice is modes above. If so, this option lets you specify the
usually the Auto setting, which makes the MP3 desired bit rate in kilo bits per second (kbps). The
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BOUNCE TO DISK
range is from 16 kbps (lowest quality but smallest 4 Choose Edit menu> Select All and then choose
file size) to 320 kbps (best quality but largest file Region menu> Set Gap Between Soundbites to set
size). For internet distribution of reasonably high- the desired gap between the soundbites. (Note that
quality music, 128-160 kbps are common bit rates. this command does not place a gap in front of the
very first audio file at the beginning of the
Filter frequencies below 10 hz: Humans can’t hear sequence.)
frequencies below 10 hertz (cycles per second). But
these inaudible frequencies can unnecessarily This procedure produces a typical CD with
increase the file size and adversely affect quality, so individual tracks and a gap between them. You’ll
you’ll get better results when these frequencies are learn more about positioning track start times,
filtered out. applying crossfades, if desired, and other
additional CD mastering techniques later in this
BOUNCING TO A CD OR DISK IMAGE (MAC chapter.
ONLY)
The Bounce to Disk window lets you bounce If you are likely to continue making changes to the
directly to an audio CD (or and audio CD disk material on the CD as you refine it, be sure to
image) in one convenient operation. This feature enable the Overwrite Existing Files option
can be used to burn a quick reference CD for one (Figure 81-1) when bouncing each song to disk.
track or to master a complex, full-length CD with This will maintain the link between the bounced
many tracks. song files and the master CD project you’ve
created. For a further explanation, see “Overwrite
Preparing material for a multi-track CD
Existing Files” on page 900.
If you are creating a CD with just one track —
perhaps as a quick reference disc to play in the car The bounce and burn procedure
— then all you need to do is select the material you To bounce and burn an audio CD:
wish to “bounce and burn”.
1 Make sure the tracks you wish to include are
If you are going to create a CD with multiple tracks, assigned to the same output bundle.
however, you may want to assemble them together
into a separate DP project that serves as your “CD 2 Make a selection over all the material you wish
master” project. This project can be very simple: to include on the CD.
one stereo track, with the desired gap between each
track. Here is a suggested quick way to assemble a 3 Choose File menu> Bounce to Disk.
CD master sequence:
4 Choose Burn Audio CD from the Format menu:
1 Bounce each song to disk to create a master
stereo mix for each song.
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BOUNCE TO DISK
Figure 81-13: The audio CD disk image is bounced first.
Figure 81-12: When you choose Burn Audio CD or Audio CD Disk Image from the Bounce to Disk window Format menu (Figure 81-11)
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BOUNCE TO DISK
CD track info panels Soundbites and Markers
When you first choose the Burn Audio CD option In Soundbites and Markers mode (Figure 81-11), a
(Figure 81-11), you will see shaded areas in the CD track start will be placed at each soundbite and
Tracks Overview or Sequence Editor (behind the marker encountered in the selection, as long as the
Bounce to Disk window), as shown in soundbites are not connected to the previous
Figure 81-12. These shaded areas indicate the gaps soundbite with a cross fade.
between tracks. You will also see a CD track info
panel at the beginning of each track (Figure 81-12) Suppose you have two or more soundbites that you
to visually indicate where the track boundaries will have faded into one another, but you want them to
occur on the audio CD. Each info panel displays show up as separate tracks. Simply add a marker
the CD track’s name, pre-gap, start time and where you want the new CD track to begin, and
duration. select Soundbites and Markers mode.
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Streamer options. In the dialog that appears, choose The redbook CD specification calls for an
Custom pre-gap for CD burn and enter the pre-gap automatic pre- gap of 2 seconds at the beginning of
amount (as minutes:seconds: hundredths of a all audio CDs. This pre-gap is automatically
second). inserted when you burn the CD, so your sequence
should simply begin at time zero (measure 1),
unless you want additional pre-gap.
CD Text
Although the original audio CD specification did
not allow for the inclusion of track names or other
information in the data on the disk, a mechanism
known as CD Text has been developed over the
years. It allows for the embedding of some text data
on the CD, most notably track names.
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be burned by Digital Performer using the Burn CD 3 Click Burn.
from Disk Image menu item in the Bounce Settings
menu. 4 When the burn finishes, you will have an audio
CD. However, the disc is not closed so it is still
Image files have the extension acdi (Audio CD possible to add further disk images to it.
Image). Double clicking an acdi file in the Finder or
Explorer will launch Digital Performer and present 5 Launch Disk Utility (found in /Applications/
the burn dialog. Utilities).
“Enhanced” CDs 6 Choose File menu > New > Disk Image from
You can use Digital Performer’s CD burning Folder.
features in combination with Mac OS X’s Disk
Utility to create an Enhanced CD: a hybrid audio 7 Select the folder containing the data you wish to
CD and data disc. Insert it into a CD player and it burn to the CD and click Image.
plays your sequence as an audio CD. Insert it into a
8 Specify where the image file will be saved on
Mac and it mounts on the desktop as a data CD
your hard drive and choose a name for it. Make
volume with a backup copy of your DP project data
sure the Image Format menu is set to “compressed”.
files.
Click Save.
The audio portion of the CD must be burned first
9 The image file (ending in .dmg) will be created
by Digital Performer, followed by the data portion
on your hard drive. This may take some time, as the
by Disk Utility.
data must be copied into the image file.
1 Choose File menu > Bounce To Disk and choose
10 After the .dmg file is created, it will appear in the
the desired settings for your CD burn. Click OK to
list along the left of the window. Select it and
begin the bounce.
choose Images menu > Burn.
2 When the bounce finishes and you are
11 In the Burn Settings dialog, uncheck Leave disc
prompted to insert a CD and configure the burn
appendable.
options, expand the dialog to show all settings and
then check the Leave disc appendable box. 12 Press the Burn button and insert the CD you
burned with Digital Performer.
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BOUNCING TO A MOVIE 7 Choose the appropriate output bundle from the
You can bounce an audio output bundle (mono, Source menu, and specify a destination folder as
stereo or any surround format), together with usual.
video, to a movie file. This allows you to export a
complete movie from Digital Performer in one easy 8 If you wish to replace the existing movie, check
operation, complete with a sound track that you’ve the Overwrite Existing Files option.
created in Digital Performer. To do so:
9 Click OK.
1 Open a project that has a sequence with a movie.
10 Mac only: The QuickTime export options
2 Assign the audio tracks you wish to include in appear. If you are running Mac OS X 10.7 or later,
the movie to the same audio output bundle. It can set Include film scoring events track as desired.
be any channel format, from mono to 10.2
11 Click OK.
surround.
Mac only: Exported audio tracks are encoded as
3 Turn on any streamers, punches and flutters that
Apple AAC in the sample rate of the Digital
you wish to include in the exported movie. See
Performer project. Apple’s AAC encoder only
chapter 63, “Streamers, Punches and Flutters”
supports sample rates up to 48 kHz, so Digital
(page 731) for details.
Performer will downsample, if necessary, during
4 Select the audio tracks over the range you wish the bounce operation.
to bounce in the usual fashion.
Video black
5 Choose File menu> Bounce to Disk. If the audio starts before the source video begins or
extends past where the source video ends, Digital
6 Choose QuickTime Export: Movie (Mac) or Performer appends the movie with video black so
Windows Video Exporter: H.264 MP4 (Windows) that the resulting movie matches the length of the
from the Format menu. audio.
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BOUNCE TO DISK
THE BOUNCE SETTINGS MENU tracks together in one operation, while you get
After you have saved one or more bounce settings, coffee. You could even let a lengthy multi-bounce
you can use the commands in the Bounce Settings operation run overnight, if necessary.
sub-menu (File menu):
The Multi Bounce window can also batch process
saved bounce settings from multiple DP projects.
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Multi bounce summary report
When a multi bounce operation is completed, a
summary window reports the success of each
bounce operation, or errors, if any.
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Figure 81-22: Editing saved bounce settings.
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CHAPTER 82 Mastering
911
MOTU Audio System effects. One way to do this is REAL-TIME BOUNCE TO DISK
to raise the buffer settings for your audio system. Let’s say you have a fairly complex project with
1024 is a good setting at which to mix. MIDI tracks submixed externally and their
combined audio signal entering Digital Performer
Higher buffer settings free up more processing via an aux track. You may also have some external
power for mixing at the expense of increased input virtual instruments (like Propellerhead’s Reason)
monitoring latency. This may or may not be an coming into some aux tracks as well. If your mix
issue for you, depending on how go about mixing sounds good at this point, you can perform a real
and mastering your project. In many cases, input time bounce to disk as follows:
monitoring latency only comes into play at the
beginning of a recording project when you are first 1 Reassign the outputs of all your audio and aux
laying down tracks. While monitoring live input tracks to an unused stereo bus. You may have to
during recording, you can reduce the buffer size to create one if one does not exist. It might help to use
eliminate monitoring delay and afterwards raise it an audio bundle and give it a name such as ‘my mix
again for increased processing power during bus’.
mixing and mastering.
2 Create a new stereo audio track and set the input
While mastering, however, your mix may include of the audio track to the newly created bus (‘my
real-time elements (software synths or MIDI mix bus’). You may also set the output of your
triggered effects, for example) that require that you audio track to your original monitor outs so you
maintain low buffer settings. In this case, you need can monitor the progress.
to do the best you can to balance your system
resources with the demands of these real-time 3 One final touch: rename the new audio track
elements of your mix. ‘final mix’. When Digital Performer writes the new
file to disk, the file will assume the track name.
If your project contains only audio and MIDI
assigned to virtual instruments (e.g. no real-time If you open up the Audio Monitor and hit play in
input from aux tracks from external sources), then the transport, you should see level representing
you are ready to bounce your project to disk. If your mix on your mix bus. Now you can rewind to
your project contains any external real-time the beginning, and record the entire mix.
sources (MIDI tracks assigned to hardware MIDI
External virtual instrument compensation
Instruments, external processing, virtual
If you are using a virtual instrument that runs as a
instruments, etc.) you have two strategies for
stand-alone application alongside Digital
finishing your mix:
Performer (like Propellerhead’s Reason), you may
■ Real-time bounce to disk wish to compensate for latency by pushing the
MIDI tracks assigned to that instrument ahead in
■ Rendering time. This can easily be accomplished with the
These techniques are discussed in the next few non-destructive Time Shift MIDI plug-in. If your
sections. virtual instrument MIDI track has data starting at
1|1|000, you can shift your entire project later by
one measure to avoid having the first note of that
track disappear.
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M AST E R I NG
For virtual instrument plug-ins, Digital Performer patchbay, it allows you to keep all your digital gear
provides automatic latency compensation. wired directly into Digital Performer. This means
you can record the output of a sound module
External effects compensation without disconnecting the analog outputs.
Externally processed tracks can also benefit from
latency compensation. For example, you may If you use multiple MIDI modules, chances are
decide to send a drum submix out to a vintage good that you are already using a mixer to sum the
compressor and feed the result back into Digital outputs of these devices. You can render the entire
Performer’s mixing board. If the input buffers are MIDI submix by recording the output of the mixer.
set at 256 samples, for example, you can used the Another method is to use an alternative set of
Shift command (Edit menu) to advance your drum outputs or busses to avoid re-patching the outputs
tracks by 256 samples. of your mixer.
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MASTERING
If you feed a Digital Performer disk track to an Be sure the Add to soundbites window option is
external signal processor and then feed the enabled. Name your mix something memorable,
processor output back into Digital Performer as a such as ‘final mix’.
live input, you can precisely compensate for the
delay. See “External effects compensation” on DELIVERY
page 913. Digital Performer supports a variety of native file
formats: interleaved and deinterleaved Broadcast
Rendering MIDI triggered effects WAVE and AIFF files at 16-bit, 24-bit, or 32-bit
In a bounce to disk operation, MIDI elements are floating point. When you need to export your mix
ignored because bouncing is not a real time out of Digital Performer, open the Soundbites
process. If you used MIDI triggering of effects in window, select your ‘final mix’ file and choose
Digital Performer, such as with MasterWorks Gate Export Selected Soundbites from the mini-menu.
or Multimode Filter, you will need to capture the You can export the mix in all of Digital Performer’s
real time output of that effect. Create a new audio supported formats and more.
track and set the output of the original track to a
bus assigned to the input of the new track. Lower Create an MP3 file
the hardware buffer setting and record the result. Use Digital Performer’s Bounce feature or the
Be sure to mute the original track before you Export Selected Soundbites feature mentioned
bounce to disk. above to export directly to MP3 file format.
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M AST E R I NG
Part 10
Synchronization
CHAPTER 83 Receive Sync
917
hours, minutes, seconds and divisions of the Performer to devices using these MIDI messages,
second in digital form. It can be recorded on tape use the MIDI Beat Clock mode in the Receive Sync
or film and read by a special device to convert it to settings window.
MIDI.
Tap Tempo
Since SMPTE has no intrinsic tempo information, Tap Tempo is Digital Performer’s real-time tempo
the sequencer or device converting SMPTE to control facility. This form of synchronization slaves
MIDI must generate its own tempo. Digital Digital Performer to a ‘tap’ entered from your MIDI
Performer’s flexible tempo map and frame time controller. Digital Performer receives a MIDI event
display make it ideal for work with SMPTE time for each tap and computes a tempo based on the
code. Because of its accuracy and wide-spread current meter, the click value, and each event’s
acceptance, SMPTE is the most powerful of the distance in time from the previous event. Any
time code formats. tempo information in the sequence is ignored
while Digital Performer is slaved to Tap Tempo. Tap
Depending on your converter, you can use the Tempo supports both recording and playback, so
MIDI Beat Clock or MIDI Time Code modes. your tap can conduct or be recorded into any
MIDI Time Code is the easiest and most accurate sequence, empty or finished. When you record in
mode. MIDI Time Code allows the use of Digital Tap Tempo, each tap becomes a tempo event in the
Performer’s tempo maps, and is far superior to the Conductor Track. Even if you have a minimal
MIDI Beat Clocks mode. MIDI setup, you have everything you need to use
Tap Tempo synchronization.
In addition, MOTU Audio interfaces can slave
directly to SMPTE timecode – consult your MOTU USING RECEIVE SYNC
Audio interface user guide. The following sections explain the Receive Sync
settings (opened from the Setup menu).
MIDI beat clocks
MIDI Beat Clocks are produced by most MIDI CHOOSING A SMPTE FRAME FORMAT
compatible drum machines and sequencers, and If you are slaving to any sync type that involves
by some synthesizers (particularly those with SMPTE time code, or if the work you are doing in
built-in sequencers). Digital Performer requires that you reference
SMPTE time code, be sure to choose the correct
MIDI beat clocks are transmitted 24 times a beat. If SMPTE frame format at the top of the Receive Sync
the master device changes tempo, the MIDI beat settings window as shown below in Figure 83-1.
clocks slow down or speed up accordingly; any This setting is the same setting as the Frame Rate
slave device will follow this tempo change. Most selection in the Setup menu.
devices that generate MIDI beat clocks also send
Start, Stop, and Continue messages; slave devices will All standard SMPTE frame rates are provided:
start playback, pause, rewind, or play from the 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97 drop, 29.97 non-drop, and 30
current location according to the combination of fps. There are also some nonstandard frame rates
these messages received. In addition, many devices available (see “Nonstandard frame rates” on
send Song Position Pointer data. These messages set page 86 for details).
the current location for playback, much like setting
the Counter in Digital Performer. To sync Digital
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Figure 83-1: Choosing a SMPTE time code frame format.
919
REC EI V E S Y N C
SAMPLE-ACCURATE SYNC Digital audio I/O is required
]
920
R E C E I V E S Y N C
MTC (MIDI TIME CODE)
Figure 83-6: Slaving to SMPTE time code. As you can see, there are no
extra options for SMPTE timecode sync.
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REC EI V E S Y N C
After Digital Performer is locked to the master, Implementations of MIDI have evolved over the
there is no need to use Digital Performer’s main years. As a result, not all devices transmit and send
transport controls unless you wish to record. MIDI clock signals in the same way. Digital
Digital Performer will start, stop and locate under Performer provides several options for maximum
control of the master. Also upon lockup, if Click is synchronization compatibility with your master
enabled, Digital Performer will click in the meter device:
specified at 1|1|000 or will default to 4/4.
24 clocks per metronome click/
You can put Digital Performer into play or record 24 clocks per quarter note
either before or after you start rolling tape. In either Some manufacturers make devices which send 24
case, Digital Performer will lock up quickly. clock signals per beat (one click of the device’s
metronome) instead of the standard 24 clocks per
Using MTC sync mode quarter note. This method is very useful when
After you have chosen MTC mode, slave Digital there are meters which do not use the quarter note
Performer as explained in “Tap Tempo” on as the beat unit: 3/8, 5/16, etc. In 6/8, for example,
page 923. there might be a metronome click every three
eighth notes; in 4/1, the metronome would click
MIDI BEAT CLOCKS once every whole note. If you were using a less
common meter such as 5/32 or 3/16 + 4/16, using
the quarter note as the timing base would not be
very useful. Instead, use the 24 clocks per
metronome click option.
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R E C E I V E S Y N C
Since manufacturers rarely explain this aspect in accelerandos, ritards, and rubato passages; Digital
their documentation, you may not know if your Performer will follow precisely. More importantly,
device behaves this way. The best way to find out is you can record your tap into the Conductor Track
to experiment: set the metronome to the slowest for use in subsequent playback and recording.
possible tempo, play both devices (with Digital
Performer as slave) and listen for discrepancies in Tap Tempo can be used during virtually any stage
attacks and beat alignment. The difference of 1/ in the creation of a sequence. For example, if you
24th of a beat is very audible at a slow tempo. If have acoustic music on tape, two completed tracks
Digital Performer seems slightly behind the master in Digital Performer, and three more Digital
device, try checking this option. Performer tracks to record, you can ‘teach’ the two
existing tracks to follow the prerecorded music.
Default beat clock settings Your remaining tracks will be recorded into a
The default settings reflect the most commonly sequence that has all of the temporal nuances of the
used MIDI standards. It is best to set them this way prerecorded music.
before choosing to alter them:
Preparing for Tap Tempo
■ 24 clocks per quarter note The following are general points to consider when
preparing to use Tap Tempo sync.
■ start on any clock: unchecked
■ first clock is time 1: unchecked Establish a meter
When slaving to Tap Tempo, Digital Performer
Using MIDI Beat Clocks mode must know how many of your taps to group as one
After you have made the MIDI Beat Clock settings measure. Before recording or playing back a
as needed, slave Digital Performer as explained in passage in Tap Tempo mode, make sure you’ve
“Tap Tempo” on page 923. entered the correct meter using the Change Meter
command (Project menu>Conductor
TAP TEMPO Track>Change Meter).
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REC EI V E S Y N C
MIDI event and channel that won’t be needed in Countoff beats
the musical passage. For example, let’s say you’re Specify the number of times you wish to tap as a
tapping C3 on a controller keyboard, transmitting countoff. The default number of sync countoff
on channel 1. The result? Any other C3’s transmitted beats is four, but the countoff can be any number
on the same channel will not be recorded. Again, between 1 and 127. If you enter a number outside
this is only true for C3’s transmitted on channel 1. this range, the computer will beep when you click
C3’s transmitted on other channels will be the OK button and the number will be highlighted.
recorded normally. If this happens, click on the highlighted value and
enter a new one.
Note that although pitch bend and controller
events are acceptable as tap sources, the most Using Tap Tempo mode
common controls for sending them (wheels, After you have made the Tap Tempo settings as
joysticks) make reproduction of a single, specific needed, follow the steps explained in “Using Tap
value difficult. For example, to define your tap you Tempo” on page 925.
enter a pitch bend value of 392 using a pitch bend
wheel. To slave Digital Performer, you’ll need to SLAVING TO EXTERNAL SYNC
After you have chosen one of the desired sync
generate values of 392 or higher — you send a 392
modes already discussed in this chapter, slave
value by going precisely to it, but also by going past
Digital Performer to an external source as follows
it. That much is easy, but remember that Digital
(refer to the next section for Tap Tempo):
Performer will treat only the events with 392 values
as taps. All other values sent by your mod wheel
1 Select Slave to External Sync from the Setup
will be recorded and interpreted as normal pitch
menu.
bend events. This makes bend and controller
events less practical tap choices than events with This puts Digital Performer into slave mode,
precise triggers or more limited values, such as a waiting for sync information from an external
note or a Controller #64 (sustain pedal) event. device.
MIDI beat input data 2 Click on the Play or Record button in the main
Source transport controls.
Choose the MIDI device you will be tapping from
in the menu provided. The Play button will flash on and off, meaning that
Digital Performer is waiting for sync information
Event to start.
Specify the MIDI event you wish to use as a tap. Tab
to the Event box or click in it, then enter a MIDI 3 To start Digital Performer, start the external
event from any MIDI controller connected to the device.
specified port (play a note, tap a sustain pedal,
etc.). The event appears, highlighted; click on the When Digital Performer is locked and playing, the
highlighted event if you wish to change it. You can Play button will turn blue. When locked, Digital
use any standard MIDI event as a tap source. Performer will follow, start, stop and rewind under
control of the master.
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R E C E I V E S Y N C
Clicking on the Stop button will both stop Digital 5 If you will be tapping along with a prerecorded
Performer and remove it from the master’s control. passage, start playback of the recording.
This can be done at any time. To return to normal
operation, turn off Slave to External Sync by Ideally, the prerecorded music will have a sufficient
reselecting it from the Studio menu. countoff so that you can tap the number of countoff
beats specified in the Receive Sync settings
USING TAP TEMPO window.
To use Tap Tempo mode:
6 Begin ‘tapping’ the MIDI event that you
1 Choose Slave to External Sync from the Setup designated in the Receive Sync settings window.
menu.
Digital Performer will listen for the specified
This puts Digital Performer in slave mode; it is now number of countoff beats to predetermine the
waiting for sync information from an external tempo for the beginning of playback or recording.
source. When Digital Performer has received the countoff,
playback or recording will begin.
2 If you wish to record the tap into your sequence,
record-enable the Conductor Track. Your tap will 7 Tap the desired tempo and tempo changes.
be stored as tempo change events in the Conductor
Track and used in subsequent playback and Make your tap as expressive and dynamic as you
recording. Existing tempo changes will be wish; Digital Performer will follow. The Counter
replaced. Other Conductor Track information will display will update as you tap.
be unaffected.
8 To end recording or playback, press the Stop
3 If you wish to record music into your sequence, button in the main transport controls.
record-enable the desired tracks.
Don’t be alarmed if the computer pauses after you
If you wish to record the tapped tempo and music stop recording. Digital Performer is calculating
simultaneously, or record music onto more than precise tempo changes from the taps you just
one track, choose Multi Record from the Studio recorded.
menu. Specify the record device for each track that
is record-enabled. The Conductor Track will 9 Take Digital Performer out of slave mode by
record from the device specified in the Receive choosing Slave to External Sync from the Setup
Sync settings window. menu.
4 Press the Play or Record button in the main 10 If you recorded your tap, you can hear the
transport controls. results by rewinding the sequence, making sure the
metronome under Conductor Track tempo
The Play button will flash, meaning that Digital control, and pressing Play.
Performer is waiting to receive sync information.
Overdub mode will not function on the Conductor Your sequence will play back using the tempo that
Track; that is, recording in either normal or you tapped. If you are not satisfied with the results,
you can use the Undo Record command in the Edit
overdub mode will erase any existing tempo
events. menu and then repeat the above process. You can
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REC EI V E S Y N C
make adjustments by rerecording certain sections To continue the example, let the mod wheel spring
and by editing individual tempo changes in one of back to its zero location. The Event box will show
the Conductor Track’s edit windows. Off or 0 as the tap value.
Tapping to prerecorded music on tape So far, our examples of using Tap Tempo have
You can use Tap Tempo to record a tempo map involved tapping a MIDI instrument to ‘teach’
while Digital Performer is slaved to tape—or, more Digital Performer the temporal details of a
accurately, referenced to external time code. You sequence. When you tap, you simply send a MIDI
can record a tempo map that matches the music on event and Digital Performer does the rest. This
tape, allowing you to perfectly synchronize your means you can use any MIDI sequencer to load its
sequence to the prerecorded music. This process is own tempo map into Digital Performer — just
explained in detail in “Using Tap Tempo while program the sequencer to play a song’s worth of
slaved to external sync” on page 927. quarter notes while Digital Performer is slaved to
Tap Tempo sync.
Hints for using Tap Tempo
Here are some ways to use Tap Tempo. Yet another way of sending Digital Performer a tap
is to use a device that converts an audio click into a
Recording music simultaneously MIDI event. A click or other regular, amplified
If you plan to record music simultaneously with
signal (a click track on tape, a miked rim shot, etc.)
your tap, choose a tap event that doesn’t require use
can be fed into such a device and converted into
of your hands. Controller #64, sustain, is usually
MIDI events from which Digital Performer can
triggered by a foot pedal and is a good choice for a
generate a tempo map.
tap because it has only two values: On or Off.
Punching in a tempo
Further, Digital Performer will let you use either AutoRecord can be used with Tap Tempo to ‘punch
value for your tap. in’ tempo changes for a section while preserving
the tempi outside that section. Enter the Punch In
Using alternative tap values and sources
You can set the tap as an Off value for a particular and Out times in the Auto-Record bar, found in the
note or controller: Control Panel, click on the Auto-Record button,
then follow the applicable steps above. (Don’t be
1 In the Receive Sync settings window with Tap alarmed if both the Play and Record buttons go
Tempo chosen, Tab to the Event box. grey at first; the Play button is waiting for sync
information, and the Record button is waiting for
2 Depress the note or controller, leaving it the Counter to reach the punch In location.)
depressed.
Remember also that slaving Digital Performer to
For example, push a modulation wheel away from Tap Tempo disables the sequence’s existing tempo
its ‘zero’ location. The controller number and its map. So when you start playback in Auto-Record
value will appear in the box, highlighted. mode, even though Digital Performer will only
record taps from the In location to just before the
3 Without releasing the note or pedal, click on the Out location, you will have to tap throughout the
highlighted Event value. pass. Give yourself the most accurate temporal
‘context’ — the tempi before and after the punch-in
4 Release the note or pedal.
passage — as is possible, so that the recorded
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section will fit smoothly into the rest of the If possible, set up two full measures of countoff on the
sequence. As always, you can fine-tune all tempo tape before the first downbeat of music. This will be
change events in the Conductor Track. extremely helpful to your accuracy when tapping
the first downbeat, which is the most important
USING TAP TEMPO WHILE SLAVED TO downbeat because all subsequent taps—the entire
EXTERNAL SYNC tempo map—will be referenced to its exact
You can use Tap Tempo to record a tempo map
location.
while Digital Performer is slaved to tape—or, more
accurately, referenced to external time code. You Setting up Tap Tempo
can record a tempo map that matches the music on After you have made these preparations, you are
tape, allowing you to synchronize your sequence to ready to begin. To Tap Tempo to prerecorded music
the prerecorded music. on tape:
This process can be performed in a more precise 1 Open the Receive Sync settings (Setup menu).
fashion if you have an audio click track recorded on
the tape and a click-to-MIDI converter such as a
MOTU MIDI Express XT.
Preparation
The following are general points to consider before
tapping tempo to prerecorded music:
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REC EI V E S Y N C
When you roll the tape, you can get ready during Remember that synchronization later on will only
the first measure of countoff, tap along for the be as accurate as the accuracy with which you tap
second measure, and hit the downbeat right on the in this procedure.
money. If you don’t have an countoff on the tape,
you will have to develop a system that works best 7 To end recording, press the Stop button in the
for you. You might try just one countoff beat. main transport controls.
5 Check the External time code option. Don’t be alarmed if the computer pauses for a while
after you stop recording. Digital Performer is
Digital Performer will now reference your taps to calculating precise tempo changes from the taps
incoming timecode. you just recorded.
6 Select the Capture start time option. Listening to what you have done
Now that you have recorded the tempo map, try
This option makes Digital Performer remember slaving Digital Performer to the tape using your
the exact SMPTE frame of your first tap (excluding usual method of synchronization, such as Direct
the countoff beats) so the sequence will start at the Time Lock or MIDI Time Code, in the Receive
correct SMPTE time. Sync window. Also, make sure that the Metronome
is under Conductor track tempo control. You will
The procedure now be able to playback, rewind, or fast forward
Now you are ready to go:
anywhere in the song on tape, and your Digital
Performer sequence will exactly reproduce your
1 Record-enable the Conductor Track.
tapping performance with respect to the music on
2 Choose Slave to External Sync (Setup menu). tape. If you tapped accurately, Digital Performer
will play along accurately. If you are not satisfied
3 Press the Record button. with your tapping performance, just try again.
4 Get ready to tap, and roll the tape. RECORDING WITH A MULTITRACK ANALOG
TAPE RECORDER
5 Listen for the countoff, and ‘tap’ along with it Let’s look at an example that illustrates how you
such that the first downbeat of the sequence might go about recording a Digital Performer
corresponds to the first downbeat of music on tape. project with a multitrack analog tape recorder.
Digital Performer automatically remembers the You are recording a five-minute song in the studio.
exact SMPTE time of your tap on the first You’ve preproduced the drum and synthesizer
downbeat of the sequence and saves it as the Chunk track with Digital Performer. Now you want to
start time. When you later slave the sequence to record guitar and vocal tracks onto tape using live
tape, Digital Performer will automatically start the players. You plan to use a synchronization code
sequence at the correct SMPTE time. conversion box (a converter) to translate audio
synchronization code recorded on tape into MIDI
6 Tap along with the music as accurately as timing data. Let’s assume that you are using a
possible. SMPTE-to-MIDI converter such as the MOTU
MIDI Express XT.
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R E C E I V E S Y N C
Synchronizing with SMPTE Set the frame rate correctly in Digital Performer in
The first thing you should do when you get to the the Receive Sync settings window. Choose the
studio is to “stripe” (i.e. record) one track of your correct frame rate; use 30 frames per second unless
multi-track tape with an audio sync signal. For this you have a specific reason to use another format.
example, let’s assume you are using SMPTE time
code. Start striping the tape at time 0:59:00:00. We Enable Slave to External Sync in the Setup menu.
recommend that you use 30 frames per second, non- Press the play button in the transport; it will begin
drop-frame code, unless you have a specific reason to flash. At this point, Digital Performer should be
to use one of the other frame rates. Continue for at slaved to the tape. Display frame time in the
least 7 minutes; you should always have at least a counter, and roll the tape from before the time
minute of time code on the tape prior to the start of code. Make sure Digital Performer starts, stops,
your song, and you should record plenty of extra and follows the tape when you wind through the
time code at the end in case you decide to lengthen tape.
the song at some point. Many people stripe the
whole reel straight out of the box with one For overdubbing, you need to provide your players
continuous time code track. Striping may take with a reference mix of the song. You can have
some time; get it started first thing upon arriving at Digital Performer sync live to the tape and send the
the studio, so that it will be finished by the time you players a cue mix. Or, you might find it easier to
get everything else set up for recording. just place a scratch mix on one or two of the tracks
of the multi-track. That way, you won’t have to
Now, set up Digital Performer to play in sync with worry about Digital Performer while recording. If
the multi-track. Feed the time code from the tape your session is spread out over several dates,
into your SMPTE to MIDI converter. Connect the putting a scratch mix on the tape will save you
converter to the computer; some converters having to set up your computer and synthesizers
connect directly, others have a MIDI Out which every time.
must go to the MIDI In of an interface connected to
the computer. If you have a MIDI Express XT, no When you get to the final mix, you have two
additional connections are necessary beyond the choices. You can mix from Digital Performer
normal connection to the computer. playing slaved to the tape. This provides better
sound quality, as the synthesizers are first recorded
Use a converter that supports MIDI Time Code on the master tape. On the other hand, you may
and set the appropriate mode on the converter (to wish to record each synthesizer part on a separate
lock to SMPTE). Choose Receive Sync from the track of the multi-track. This has several benefits.
Setup menu. Choose the correct port (Sync to Since the tracks are recorded one at a time, each
port:) and MTC. Close the Receive Sync track can use all of your synths to create a sound.
preferences window. Blending several synthesizers together often
creates a more full-bodied sound. Also, if you have
Let’s start the song at time 1:00:00:00 on the tape limited outboard effects gear, you can record each
(this is a minute after the start of the time code). track with effects, allowing you to reuse what
Change the Chunk Start Time to 1:00:00:00 + 0 equipment you have.
time code bits for the frame time. Set the other
values as you wish. OK the dialog box. When recording a single part to tape, we
recommend you turn off the play-enable buttons in
the tracks window for all tracks except the one you
929
REC EI V E S Y N C
are recording. When you do this, Digital Performer Performer sequence’s Conductor track. You can
completely ignores the other tracks, letting it even record the tempo map while Digital
concentrate all of the computer’s processing power Performer’s time base is referenced to SMPTE time
on playing one part. If you use the Solo button code, allowing you to accurately synchronize a
instead, Digital Performer will scan the other parts Digital Performer sequence to prerecorded music.
while playing. If you have dense, complicated
music, or lots of continuous data, this may cause Before attempting to convert the click track into a
the computer to become bogged down during tempo map, make sure that the MIDI Express XT is
playback. successfully converting the audio click into MIDI
data and transmitting the data to Digital Performer
When recording each part separately, you can slide and the computer.
individual parts slightly ahead or behind to
compensate for delays in your synthesizers, or the Verifying incoming MIDI clicks with the MIDI
specific sounds. For example, string parts often monitor
To verify incoming MIDI clicks from the MIDI
need to be attacked ahead of the beat in order to
Express XT:
sound on the beat.
1 Make sure that an audio cable is plugged into the
With sampling synthesizers, you may find that
Pedal A jack on the rear panel of the MIDI
some sounds have as much as 100 milliseconds of
Express XT.
“dead air” at the beginning of the sample, which
results in that much delay between turning the note 2 Use the ClockWorks utility to configure the
on and hearing any sound. Pedal A jack for click-to-MIDI conversion.
To slide a part, just adjust the start time relative to 3 Roll the click track on tape.
the start time the other parts were recorded with.
For example, if you did have a sample with 100 As the click is being received by the MIDI
milliseconds of dead air at the start, you could set Express XT and converted to MIDI, the
the start time to 0:59:59:27 + 0 time code bits. COMPUTER OUT LED should begin to blink,
That’s 3 frames ahead of the other parts, and at 30 indicating that the MIDI Express XT is sending the
frames per second, 3 frames is 1/10th of a second, MIDI click event to the computer and Digital
or 100 milliseconds. Your sample’s audible attack Performer.
times will now be aligned with those of the other
parts. 4 Open Digital Performer’s MIDI Monitor
window.
It’s best to slide parts by ear — just keep trying
different start times until the part seems most lined 5 A channel light will flash if the MIDI click is
up. being successfully received by Digital Performer.
CONVERTING A CLICK TRACK INTO A If none of the channel lights flash, check your
TEMPO MAP connections and try again.
With a click-to-MIDI converter, such as MOTU’s
MIDI Express XT you can convert an audio click
track into a MIDI event. This allows you to convert
the click track into a tempo map in a Digital
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R E C E I V E S Y N C
Setting up Tap Tempo ■ have selected the External time code and Capture
The next step is to set up Tap Tempo for external start time options in the Receive Sync settings
sync. See “Using Tap Tempo while slaved to window
external sync” on page 927.
☛ Please note: if you want to be able to
Checking Tap Tempo synchronize the sequence to the click track via
Before recording anything, check to make sure SMPTE, it is absolutely necessary that Digital
Digital Performer will follow the MIDI clicks sent Performer is receiving both the MIDI click and
by the MIDI Express XT. MTC when you record the tempo map.
1 Choose Slave to external sync from the Setup To record the tempo map:
menu.
1 Record-enable the Conductor track in the
2 Press the Play button. Tracks window.
3 Roll the tape. 2 Press the Record button in the main transport
controls.
After a few measures or so of countoff click, the
sequence will begin to play back, following the 3 Roll the tape.
clicks on tape. If not, check the MIDI Monitor
If you chose the Capture start time option and are
window to make sure Digital Performer is
referenced to time code, Digital Performer will
receiving the MIDI click. Also check the Tap
remember the exact SMPTE frame of the tap that is
Tempo options in the Receive Sync settings
the first downbeat and automatically remember to
window.
start the sequence at that SMPTE frame when you
4 Stop the tape and rewind it to the beginning of lock the sequence to SMPTE afterwards.
the cue.
4 When you are finished recording, stop the tape.
You are now ready to record the tempo map.
Digital Performer may take a few moments to
Recording the Tempo Map process the new tempo data.
If you will be synchronizing the sequence
You now have a new tempo map the matches the
containing the new tempo map to the click track
click track on tape.
using SMPTE time code, make sure that you:
Locking the recorded tempo map to tape
■ already have SMPTE time code recorded on one
If you recorded the tempo map referenced to time
track and the click recorded on another
code, you can now lock the sequence to tape. Just
■ already have Digital Performer and the MIDI choose the MTC option in the Receive Sync
Express XT set up for SMPTE synchronization settings window, make sure the Metronome is
such that when you roll the tape, Digital Performer is under Conductor track tempo control, and roll the
receiving both the MIDI click and MIDI Time Code tape. The Capture start time option automatically
at the same time sets the Chunk SMPTE start time, so the first
downbeat of the sequence should occur at exactly
the first click downbeat (not including countoff
beats, of course).
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REC EI V E S Y N C
SLAVING TO VITC Setting a countoff before sequence start while
VITC (Vertical Interval Time Code) is SMPTE time slaved to tape
code that is recorded directly in the video signal, If you are working in a studio situation where you
freeing up both audio tracks and allowing lockup need a countoff before the beginning of the
to be maintained while freeze-framing or frame- sequence while slaved to tape, here is how you can
advancing the video. To slave to VITC, you need a set up the Digital Performer’s countoff feature:
VITC synchronizer, such as a MOTU Digital
1 Choose an option in the Click preferences that
Timepiece.
will enable the click during Digital Performer’s
SYNCHRONIZATION HINTS countoff.
When locking to external SMPTE synchroni-
For example, choose the Always Click or Only
zation, you can shift parts forward and backward
during countoff option.
in time to compensate for the numerous time
delays in a complex system (each device used in a
2 Set the number of measures you would like for
MIDI path introduces at least 2 milliseconds of
the Countoff.
delay) or to adjust for envelope delays in certain
synthesizer patches (such as strings or any other Do so by Option/Alt-clicking the Countoff button
slow-attack patch). and typing in the number of measures.
When recording in external sync, the Record 3 Make sure that the Click is enabled.
button is turned off every time the master device
stops or rewinds. This is a safety precaution, to The Click item on the Studio menu must be
prevent accidental erasure of previously recorded checked.
data. To record in external sync, start the master
device, wait for Digital Performer to lock up, and If you now rewind well before the sequence start
then press the record button. time and roll the tape, Digital Performer, as it
counts down, will begin the countoff at the
Many digital effects devices, like reverbs, delays, appropriate number of measures before the
equalizers, and even mixers, allow MIDI control. downbeat of the first measure.
By using Digital Performer with a time code
converter to sync to your multi-track tape recorder,
you can automate effects changes and other aspects
of mixing accurately and flexibly. Read cue points
from Digital Performer’s counter, or use the Record
Hits feature in the Markers window to find
locations to insert patch changes and controller
information to control your MIDI devices. Alter-
natively, use the sliders, switches and pedals of your
controller keyboard or MIDI mixer to record your
mix in real time, then use Digital Performer’s
editing features to correct any problems.
932
R E C E I V E S Y N C
CHAPTER 84 Audio Sync
OVERVIEW
Digital Performer has a complete range of synchro-
nization capabilities, from sample-accurate sync to
tap tempo sync. However, the accuracy with which
you can synchronize audio tracks in Digital
Performer to external devices depends on the
audio hardware you are using with Digital
Performer. Can the audio hardware continuously
resolve to an external time base such as word clock?
Does it support sample accurate sync? In regards to
synchronization, audio hardware falls into the
general categories shown below. These three
synchronization scenarios are discussed in this
chapter.
Frame-accurate Digital Performer’s audio MOTU 24I/O Digital Performer: Yes Usually a quarter
engine resolves to word clock MIDI Time Code of a SMPTE frame
while Digital Performer slaves to or better.
MIDI Time Code, both pro- Audio: word clock
vided by a word clock/SMPTE
synchronizer
Unresolved Digital Performer slaves to computer built- Digital Performer: No Drifts over time—
MIDI Time Code, but the audio in audio MIDI Time Code the longer play-
engine runs on its own under its back continues,
own internal clock. Audio: none the further audio
may drift.
933
SAMPLE-ACCURATE SYNC of the ADAT chain and make the software settings
Figure 84-1 below shows how to set up sample- shown below. If you have a MIDI Timepiece AV or
accurate synchronization with ADATs via a MOTU other MMC-compatible synchronizer, you can set
828mkII and a sample-accurate synchronizer such it up as the master of the ADAT sync chain and
as a MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV. The basic setup, then use Digital Performer’s MIDI Machine
as well as the software settings, are similar for the Control features to give you control over
MOTU 2408mk3/PCI-424 card or other sample- everything from Digital Performer’s transport
accurate audio hardware. Connect the MOTU controls.
828mkII (or 2408mk3’s PCI-424 card) to the end
In Digital Performer,
choose the Sample-
accurate option in the
Receive Sync settings
(Setup menu).
ADATs
ADAT Digital Performer automatically scans the DTP or MTP AV
Sync In sync cables for ADATs, and they appear in the MIDI Machine Control
window. Just make sure you have the DTP or MTP AV in
Sync Out your MIDI device configuration (Setup menu > Bundles >
MIDI Devices tab).
Sync In
Sync Out etc. Turn on MIDI Machine Control by checking the Enable MMC
button.This brings all the tape decks connected to the MTP
AV on-line.
Sync In
Sync Out
FireWire
Sync In
Figure 84-1: Sample-accurate sync between one or more ADATs and Digital
Performer via the MOTU 828mkII.
934
AUDI O SY NC
FRAME-ACCURATE SYNC Frame-accurate sync to blackburst
With frame-accurate sync, synchronization is If you are working with video, you need hardware
handled as shown below in Figure 84-2. The that can convert video blackburst (a master video
master clock source drives both Digital Performer timing source)—referred to as house sync—into
and the audio hardware independently, and the word clock. The word clock is then passed onto the
two stay in sync with each other because they are digital audio hardware.
resolved to the same timing source. This form of
synchronization requires a synchronizer that can The MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV synchronizer
generate both MIDI Time Code (MTC) and word serves as an excellent, affordable, dependable
clock, such as a MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV. example of such a device: it has a video input that
allows it to resolve to blackburst, while at the same
time synchronizing Digital Performer and your
word-clock-equipped audio hardware. Figure 84-3
Master Clock below shows how a system like this can be
configured with a MOTU 24I/O analog audio
interface. In this scenario, slave Digital Performer
to SMPTE time code as explained in “MTC (MIDI
Time Code)” on page 921. Slave the audio interface
Audio Clock MIDI Clock
to its word clock input.
Figure 84-2: Frame-accurate sync.
Blackburst
MIDI Audio
playback engine playback engine
Figure 84-3: Frame-accurate audio sync using video house sync and word clock.
935
A UD I O S Y N C
Frame-accurate sync to SMPTE time code SYNC AND THE COMPUTER’S BUILT-IN
If you use SMPTE time code as a master sync AUDIO
source (such as LTC recorded on an analog multi- Digital Performer can play audio tracks via the
track tape machine), you can use a MOTU MIDI computer’s built-in audio hardware while Digital
Timepiece AV™ to convert the SMPTE time code Performer is slaved to external time code. Setup is
into word clock and MIDI Time Code. Figure 84-4 done in the usual way as described in “MTC (MIDI
below shows how a system like this is can be Time Code)” on page 921.
configured with a MOTU HD192 analog audio
interface. In this scenario, slave Digital Performer However, because the computer’s built-in audio
to SMPTE time code as explained in “MTC (MIDI hardware has no way of continuously resolving to
Time Code)” on page 921. Slave the audio interface an external source, Digital Performer has no way to
to its word clock input. continuously resolve audio tracks to external time
code — or the MIDI tracks they are playing along
with. MIDI and audio tracks will always start
exactly at the correct position when external time
code is first received. But after playing for a while,
audio tracks may drift out of sync with MIDI
tracks.
MIDI Audio
playback engine playback engine
936
AUDI O SY NC
MIDI tracks, on the other hand, will always remain In most situations, you will probably be able to play
continuously resolved to the incoming time code. for at least several minutes without noticeable drift.
The discrepancy between MIDI and audio tracks is However, if you are using Digital Performer in a
caused by the fact that the audio tracks, after they professional situation, we strongly recommend
begin, resolve to the computer’s internal timing that you invest in a hardware-based digital audio
hardware, not external time code. So, in essence, recording system that can be properly and
there are two independent clock sources: external continuously resolved to time code as described
time code and the computer’s internal clock. MIDI earlier in this chapter.
is slaving to the external time code and audio is
slaving to the computer. The inevitable result of AUDIO SYSTEM CLOCK
two clocks running independently of each other is If the audio hardware you are using with Digital
that they will drift, no matter how accurate they Performer doesn’t support multiple clock sources,
are. Practically speaking, the issue is: how long will the Audio System Clock menu item (Setup menu)
it take for them to noticeably drift apart? will be grayed out. If your audio hardware does
support multiple clock sources, they appear in the
When using the computer’s built-in audio, the time Audio System Clock sub-menu. The current clock
it takes for MIDI and audio tracks to noticeably source is checked; to change it, choose another
drift apart depends on the accuracy of the time clock source. Be sure to choose the correct clock
code that Digital Performer is slaving to. If you source for the situation in which you are running
have an extremely accurate time code source, such Digital Performer. See your Digital Performer
as a time code generator or other crystal clock- manual for details. Using the proper clock source
based time code source, you might be able to play will prevent clicks, pops, and other undesirable
MIDI and audio for minutes at a time with no artifacts during digital transfers. It will also ensure
noticeable drift. If, however, the time code being that your digital audio is properly resolved with
received is not accurate (such as time code from an external clock sources, such as SMPTE time code
analog tape deck with its varispeed control or word clock.
adjusted several percent high or low), you might
hear drift after only a few measures.
937
A UD I O S Y N C
938
AUDI O SY NC
CHAPTER 85 Transmit Sync
You may use Digital Performer as a master of some On Mac OS X, the other “device” doesn’t
devices while Digital Performer itself is slaved to necessarily have to be hardware: it could be other
another device. This is especially useful when Core MIDI-compatible software running at the
slaving Digital Performer to SMPTE time code; same time as Digital Performer.
Digital Performer (slaved to the tape) can generate
tempos for other sequencers slaved to Digital To slave a device to Digital Performer via MIDI
Performer. Time Code, choose Transmit Sync from the Setup
menu, and choose it as a destination for MTC from
MIDI Time Code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 939 the menu.
MIDI Beat Clocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 940
Turn off Transmit Sync when you don’t need it . . . . . 941
940
T R ANSM I T SY NC
You can choose more than one USB interface in the mode useful when slaving Digital Performer to
menu by clicking on the menu as many times as SMPTE using one of the time lock modes. Digital
needed. Choose the port again from the menu to Performer will generate MIDI beat clocks
turn off beat clock transmission (and uncheck the according to its tempo map in sync with the
port in the menu). If no USB interface is selected, SMPTE code, so you can slave a sequencer, drum
Digital Performer will not generate or echo MIDI machine or device that doesn’t support SMPTE
beat clocks. through Digital Performer.
Echo received sync vs. Generate MIDI beat 24 clocks per metronome click/24 clocks per
clocks quarter note
Digital Performer can transmit beat clock Some MIDI devices expect 24 clock signals per
information in two ways: it can simply pass on (or beat (one click of the device’s metronome) instead
echo) any beat clock messages it receives, or it can of the standard 24 clocks per quarter note. This
generate new beat clocks based upon its own method is very useful when there are meters which
tempo map and controls. These options are do not use the quarter note as the beat unit: 3/8, 5/
described below: 16, etc. In 6/8, for example, there might be a
metronome click every three eighth notes; in 4/1,
Echo received sync the metronome would click once every whole note.
This option echoes beat clocks that are received by If you were using a less common meter such as 5/32
Digital Performer from some other source. No or 3/16 + 4/16, using the quarter note as the timing
processing is performed. The reception port must base is not very useful. Instead, use this option to
be selected in the Receive Sync settings window, make the metronome click value the timing base.
and Digital Performer must be in External Sync
mode for beat clocks to be echoed. Beat clocks are First clock is time 1
echoed to the ports selected in the Transmit Sync When this option is checked, Digital Performer
settings window. There is less delay between interprets the first MIDI clock signal it sends as the
reception and re-transmission using this mode second timing clock of the sequence, 1/24th of a
than if Generate MIDI beat clocks is selected. beat after the beginning. Recently manufactured
devices expect to receive the first clock signal (time
Use this mode if you wish to slave Digital 0) after the start command for the sequence. Some
Performer and another device to a master that earlier devices assume the start command to be the
generates MIDI beat clocks. However, for best first clock signal; the first clock signal would thus
results, you should use a MIDI thru box and be 1/24th of a beat after the beginning. If you are
connect both Digital Performer and the other slave using one of these older devices, you should check
directly to the master. Echoing sync through this option.
Digital Performer results in a small delay.
TURN OFF TRANSMIT SYNC WHEN YOU
Generate MIDI beat clocks DON’T NEED IT
Digital Performer generates MIDI beat clocks in If you are not slaving external devices to Digital
tandem with the other MIDI information being Performer, set both of the Transmit Sync settings
played back. Use this mode when Digital window menus to None to improve performance.
Performer is the master. You may also find this
941
TRANSMIT SYNC
942
T R ANSM I T SY NC
CHAPTER 86 MIDI Machine Control
disk recording systems Some MMC devices can generate SMPTE time
code in the form of MIDI Time Code (MTC).
■ Any other MMC-compatible device (Some MMC devices support other forms of MIDI
Digital Performer serves as a computer-based front timing information as well, including standard
end for MMC devices, causing them to play, stop, MIDI beat clocks.) Other devices generate SMPTE
rewind, and otherwise follow Digital Performer’s time code in the form of longitudinal time code
control panel functions. In addition, you can (LTC), an audio signal that must be converted to
record-enable tracks on a MMC device remotely MIDI Time Code by way of a SMPTE-to-MIDI
from within Digital Performer (for MMC devices converter such as the MIDI Express XT. These two
that support this capability). hardware setups are shown below. Other devices
generate Sample-accurate time code (for example
☛ As you begin working with Digital Performer the Alesis ADAT™). See “Sample-accurate sync”
and your MMC gear, keep the following in mind. on page 934.
Digital Performer provides features that are
supported by most MMC devices. However, not all
MMC devices support every feature explained
here. In addition, there can be slight variations in
the way each device handles MMC that cause it to
behave differently than described. Try to
familiarize yourself as much as possible with the
943
IN OUT
MMC Device
USB cable OUT IN
MIDI cables
Micro express USB interface
Figure 86-1: If the MMC device can generate MIDI Time Code (MTC), the MIDI
connections shown here are all that are necessary. Be sure the MIDI interface
internally routes the MTC to the computer.
Audio cable
Figure 86-2: If the MMC device generates SMPTE Time Code, connect its time
code output to a SMPTE-to-MIDI converter like the Micro express USB as shown
here, which converts it to MTC. Route the resulting MTC to the computer.
IN OUT
MMC Master Device
OUT IN
USB cable OUT
Micro express USB interface
OUT
IN MMC Device
944
M I DI M AC HI NE C O NT R O L
Connecting multiple MMC devices 7 If you are creating the device for the first time,
If you have more than one piece of MMC gear, set the rest of the device information as needed.
decide which one will be the time code master.
Hook up the master device as shown in either 8 Click OK.
Figure 86-1 or Figure 86-2 (whichever is required
by the device), and then feed the time code from 9 Make sure that both the MIDI IN and MIDI
the master device to the other MMC devices in OUT ports of the MMC device are connected to
your setup. Doing so establishes one time code the MIDI interface.
source, which keeps all devices (and Digital
The presence of a MMC device in the MIDI
Performer) in sync with one another. Connect the
configuration activates the MMC features in
remaining devices to your MIDI interface as shown
Digital Performer.
in Figure 86-3.
SETTING UP A MOTU MTP AV OR DIGITAL
Open-loop versus closed-loop systems TIMEPIECE
The hardware setups shown in Figure 86-1 and The MOTU MIDI Timepiece AV and Digital
Figure 86-2 support open-loop MMC configura- Timepiece universal synchronizer have ADAT sync
tions. Digital Performer does not currently support out ports on them. This allows them to serve as an
closed-loop MMC communication. Closed-loop MMC master of an ADAT sync chain (a series of
communication is not necessary for accurate ADATs or ADAT-compatible devices that are
synchronization between Digital Performer and chained together via their ADAT sync ports). The
MMC hardware. Digital Timepiece provides this feature for Tascam
DA-88 sync as well. For details about how to set up
SETTING UP DIGITAL PERFORMER
the hardware, consult the MIDI Timepiece AV or
Setting up Digital Performer for MMC is simple.
Digital Timepiece manuals.
All you need to do is create a MMC device in your
MIDI device configuration.
If Digital Performer sees a MIDI Timepiece AV or
Digital Timepiece in your MIDI configuration, it
1 Choose Setup menu > Bundles.
automatically scans the ADAT and Tascam sync
2 Click the MIDI Devices tab. ports for any connected ADAT- and Tascam-
compatible devices. Any devices that are found are
3 If the MMC device does not yet exist in the list, then displayed in Digital Performer’s MMC
use the Add button to create it. window automatically. This means that you do not
need to create a separate device in the MIDI
4 Double-click the device to edit its properties, or Devices tab (in the Bundles window) for each
click it once to select it and click the Edit button. device connected to the Digital Timepiece or MIDI
Timepiece AV. Instead, just make sure that the
5 Make sure that “MIDI Machine Control” option
Digital Timepiece (or AV) is included in your MIDI
is checked, as well as the “ MIDI Time Code”
configuration. Then, in Digital Performer, the
properties in both the Transmit and Receive
Digital Timepiece (or AV) appears as a single panel
sections.
in the list of MMC devices. The Digital Timepiece
(or AV) panel then displays each connected ADAT
6 Make sure that the SysEx Device ID setting
or Tascam device, along with record-enable
correctly matches the setting in the device itself.
buttons for each track.
945
MIDI MACHINE CONTROL
ACTIVATING MMC IN DIGITAL PERFORMER The Record mode
Each MMC device that you have defined in your There are three Record mode options: Safe,
MIDI configuration appears in Digital Performer’s Rehearse, and Record.
MIDI Machine Control window, which can be
opened from the Studio menu. ■ Safe: no recording can occur in any MMC device
■ Rehearse: this mode depends on the MMC
The MMC master button device. Usually, it causes the device to act as if it is
recording, punching in, punching out, etc. but no
recording actually occurs.
☛ Make sure that your deck supports rehearse
mode before attempting to use this record feature.
If it doesn’t, rehearse mode may actually record.
On-line
button
■ Record: allows recording on the currently
947
MIDI MACHINE CONTROL
Ejecting a tape Setting Digital Performer’s Receive Sync
The Eject mini-menu command ejects the tape options
from the currently selected MIDI Machine Control While controlling external MMC devices, Digital
device in the list. To select a device, click its name. Performer actually slaves to time code generated by
The device must be on line and the master MIDI the MMC hardware to remain synchronized with
Machine Control button must be active for this to the hardware during playback and recording, as
work. explained in Figure 86-4.
Keyboard shortcuts for record-enabling tracks Digital Performer governs the transport control
Option/Alt-click a track to record-enable it and at functions, and the MMC device serves as the
the same time turn off all other record-enabled master timing source to keep them synchronized.
tracks. Command/Ctrl-click a track to turn it off
and record-enable all others. As a result, when you activate MMC control in
Digital Performer, Digital Performer is
Selecting a MMC device in the MMC window automatically placed in Slave to external sync
To select a device, click anywhere in its pane. mode, in which Digital Performer slaves to external
time code. To successfully slave Digital Performer
Digital Timepiece option to the time code, make sure that the settings in
There is a mini-menu command in the MIDI Digital Performer’s Receive Sync command in the
Machine Control window called DTP Adat force- Setup menu match the time code being generated
detect. If your Digital Timepiece is connected by the MMC master device. For complete
directly to an ADAT-sync compatible audio information on the Receive Sync settings window,
interface, such as an 828mkII or PCI-424 system, see chapter 83, “Receive Sync” (page 917).
check this mini-menu item. If your Digital
Timepiece is connected to one or more ADATs,
uncheck it.
Figure 86-4: When Digital Performer controls the transport functions of MMC hardware, Digital Performer
simultaneously slaves to time code from the MMC hardware.
948
M I DI M AC HI NE C O NT R O L
cue. As a result, Digital Performer will stop and
wait at times when the MMC device is cueing to a
new location. The longer the cue time, the longer
the wait will be. After the MMC device has finished
cueing, Digital Performer will resume at the same
time as the MMC device.
Setting Digital Performer’s SMPTE start time ■ Typing a time into the Main Counter
(offset)
■ Using fast-forward and rewind cueing buttons
Because MMC control involves SMPTE synchroni-
below the main transports
zation, be sure to set Digital Performer’s SMPTE
start time (SMPTE offset) to a value that is ■ Clicking a marker in the Markers window
appropriate for the time code being generated by
■ Double-clicking in any time ruler
the MMC device. To set the start time, choose Set
Chunk Start Time from the sequence menu in the ■ Memory bar features such as Auto-Stop, Auto-
Control Panel, or select Set Chunk Start from the Rewind, Memory Cycle
Chunks window mini-menu. For more
■ Dragging the scrolling wiper
information, see “Setting the start time” on
page 181. All of these functions behave normally, except for
the waiting period mentioned above.
Using Digital Performer’s transports to control
MMC devices Recording into Digital Performer while using
After you activate MMC and set up each device as MMC
described in the previous sections, Digital After you have set up MMC in Digital Performer as
Performer will shuttle the transport controls on described in this chapter, you can record MIDI
each on-line MMC device in sync with Digital data into Digital Performer in the usual fashion (as
Performer’s own control panel. For example, when described in chapter 22, “Recording”). Record-
you press play, stop, and rewind in Digital enable a MIDI track in Digital Performer’s Track
Performer’s main control panel, each MMC device List, press record, and play your controller. All of
will do the same. Digital Performer’s MIDI recording features work
normally, including Multi Record, Auto punch-in,
All of Digital Performer’s transport control etc. Since Digital Performer is slaved to the external
functions are supported. For example, if you use MMC device, there may be an occasional wait
Memory Cycle to loop over a time range, the MMC during cueing.
device will follow. Keep in mind, however, that
Digital Performer’s transport functions are
virtually instantaneous, whereas MMC hardware
devices are mechanical devices that take time to
949
MIDI MACHINE CONTROL
Using Digital Performer to record a track on a 5 If you are going to loop a section with Memory
MMC device Cycle as described in the previous step, and you
To record to a track on a MMC device: would like to record each pass on a new track to
preserve each take, check the Auto Record Advance
1 Make sure that the device you wish to record on
box in the MIDI Machine Control window.
is online in the MIDI Machine Control window.
For details, see “Auto Record Advance” on
If not, click the Offline button to bring it on line.
page 946. Make sure that Auto-record and Memory
2 Choose either Record or Rehearse from the Cycle are enabled. Also, make sure that the record
menu in the MIDI Machine Control window. mode in the MIDI Machine Control window is set
to Record. Auto Record Advances doesn’t work in
For details about Rehearse mode, see “The Record Rehearse or Safe mode.
mode” on page 946.
6 If you would like to set punch-in and punch-out
3 Record-enable one or more tracks on the device points, click Digital Performer’s Auto-Record
by clicking the appropriate track buttons in the button below the main transports, and set the
MIDI Machine Control window. punch-in and out times in the Memory bar.
☛ Note: some devices do not support remote You can even set punch locations while looping a
record-enabling. If so, record-enable the track section with Memory Cycle. The punch location
directly on the device. can be set independently from the loop points. If
you want, you can set the in and out times on the fly
Until you actually begin recording, the record- by clicking the In and Out buttons in the Memory
enable button flashes. When you begin recording, bar during playback. For more information, see
it becomes solid. “Auto-Record button” on page 188.
Memory
Cycle
950
M I DI M AC HI NE C O NT R O L
Part 11
Appendices
APPENDIX A Control Surfaces
953
the right. You must have a separate device in the different units. This might be useful in some
MIDI device tab (Bundles window) that situations, but potentially confusing if you’re not
corresponds to each hardware unit. Some products aware of what’s going on.
provide a connection via USB (instead of standard
MIDI cables). Refer to the control surface’s CUEMIX CONSOLE CONTROL SURFACE
documentation for details. If you use your control surface to control your
MOTU audio interface no-latency CueMix
monitoring (via the CueMix Console software),
then uncheck the Listen to control surfaces in
background option (Figure 86-7). This causes
Digital Performer to relinquish the control surface
when Digital Performer goes to the background
and you switch to CueMix Console to
independently tweak your CueMix monitor mix
from the control surface. Otherwise, with this
option left enabled (checked), changes you make in
CueMix Console (via the control surface) would
also be made to your Digital Performer Mixing
Board mix. Or, conversely, if your Digital
Performer project has mix automation, that
automation would be applied to your CueMix
when CueMix is in the foreground. By unchecking
Figure 86-7: Multiple control surfaces.
this option, the control surface is kept completely
WORKING WITH MULTIPLE CONTROL independent from the background application and
SURFACES correctly controls just the current foreground
The Mackie Control is an example of a control application.
surface driver that supports multiple units. In the
example shown in Figure 86-7, the driver is If you don’t use your control surface to control your
configured for one base unit (Mackie Control) and CueMix monitoring, then leave the The Listen to
two expander units (Expander XT), all residing control surfaces in background option checked
within the same “Mackie Control” driver box. This (enabled). This allows you to control your Digital
causes them to operate as a single unit: tracks and Performer mix, even when Digital Performer is in
track banks will scroll seamlessly across all units. the background.
The HUI driver does not support multiple units, so EMULATED DEVICES
you need to set up separate driver boxes for each Some devices emulate one of the control surface
HUI as shown in Figure 86-7.The only difference is protocols supported by Digital Performer. For
that they don’t scroll their channels as one unit. But example, the Behringer BCF2000 emulates the
in all other respects, you can easily work with Mackie Control and Mackie HUI protocols. Digital
multiple independent units, even products from Performer treats this devices just as if it was a real
different manufacturers. But pay attention to what Mackie Control or HUI. For details on how to
you’re doing: you need to manage which tracks are operate devices such as these, consult their
being controlled by each device. It is actually documentation.
possible to control the same tracks from two
954
APPENDIX A: CONTROL SURFACES
WORKING WITH AN OPEN SOUND
CONTROL (OSC) DEVICE
Digital Performer supports the Open Sound
Control (OSC) protocol via a control surface plug-
in. OSC is used in a variety of software and
hardware devices, such as the DP Control App for
iOS devices, Max MSP, Pure Data, CSound,
TouchOSC, Monome 40h, and more. For
information on the OSC protocol, please see
www.opensoundcontrol.org.
955
APPENDIX A: CONTROL SURFACES
956
APPENDIX A: CONTROL SURFACES
APPENDIX B Troubleshooting and Support
957
Simplify your setup question. If an audible problem does not
One of the most common causes of problems is a correspond to anything in the Event List, its cause
conflict with other software in the system. Run is likely to be something external to Digital
Digital Performer by itself, with no other plug-ins Performer: the computer, interface, cables,
or virtual instruments, and see if the problem you instruments, or other equipment.
are having still happens.
If Digital Performer starts correctly, but you are
Check the ‘Read Me First’ unable to record (or play) any MIDI data
It’s human nature to blow right past the Read Me Double-check your cable connections and MIDI
First, but you’ll probably be glad you took the time. instrument settings. Check your MIDI device
If you experience problems with Digital Performer, configuration (Setup menu > Bundles > MIDI
check the Read Me notes that ship with the current Devices tab) and the connections to the computer.
version you are using. Often only A/B tests will reveal the source of the
problem. It may be necessary to switch your MIDI
If you cannot open a particular file cables, and if possible, to try using a different MIDI
First try opening other existing files, or a new file, interface or MIDI instrument for input/output.
to be sure Digital Performer is working at all. If a The easiest way to test if MIDI data is actually
file is opened and seems damaged, will not let you getting to Digital Performer is to open the MIDI
save changes, etc., you still may be able to save Monitor window. Make sure that any recording
some or all of its musical information by using the channel assignments in the Tracks window and
Clipboard to copy the tracks and paste them into Input Filter correspond to the MIDI channels set in
another file. the controlling keyboard or device.
958
APPENDIX B: TROUBLESHOOTING AND SUPPORT
your computer, and make sure that the audio If you get such an error message, try optimizing the
recording card is seated properly in its slot. Make hard disk with defragmentation software. You can
sure you have the correct versions of the drivers. also try adjusting the buffer size of the MOTU
Audio System as described below.
If you record and get nothing
If you record but don’t get anything, the track you Adjusting buffer sizes to avoid playback error
are recording on may be set to the wrong channel. messages
Set it to another channel and try again. Sometimes adjusting the size of the MOTU Audio
System disk buffers can help. For details, see
If you don’t hear sound “Configure Studio Settings” on page 31 in the DP
If you don’t hear sound, check the following things: Getting Started Guide.
■ Make sure the volume is turned up on the audio If you experience a crash or other interruption
hardware units. while playing or recording
When Digital Performer begins recording or
■ Make sure you have cables connected to the playback, it allocates a large amount of the free
correct plugs on inputs and outputs for the audio space on your audio hard disk to the current take
recording hardware files in the Audio Monitor. If audio recording (or
■ Try setting the volume in the Mixing Board. See
playback with at least one track record-enabled) is
chapter 67, “Mixing Board” (page 765) for details. ever interrupted at this point due to a power failure
or system error, this free space will remain
■ If you don’t hear sound while recording, make
allocated to the interrupted takefiles. When this
sure the Audio Patch Thru is on. happens, The next time Digital Performer is
If you see an error message after playback or launched, it displays the Rescued Takefiles dialog.
recording
Digital Performer keeps close track of whether or This dialog shows partially recorded takefiles and
not it had any trouble processing the audio data allows you to recover or delete these files. You can
during the last record or playback pass. If click the takefile to audition it and determine
conditions prevent Digital Performer from whether there is useful audio data in it. In most
successfully handling all of the digital audio cases, you should choose to delete the files. If you
information, it presents an error message letting believe that important audio data exists in the files,
you know how many errors occurred. These errors use the Recover button to move the file into the
can be due to conditions such as these: Trash. You can then drag the file out of the Trash
and then use Digital Performer’s Waveform Editor
■ Highly fragmented audio files on the hard disk to extract the important audio data from the file.
■ A hard disk with an access time that is too slow You should choose to either recover or delete these
files. Otherwise, they will needlessly take up hard
■ Other background software interruptions disk space.
Other third party software
☛
■
Before auditioning soundbites in this window,
If you are running under the MOTU Audio System, turn down the volume of your sound system or
you may also get an error message if available RAM headphones, as the results can sometimes be
is tight. random noise at full volume (0 dB).
959
APPENDIX B: TROUBLESHOOTING AND SUPPORT
If you suddenly have very little hard disk space free If you decide to contact technical support, please
See the previous section regarding the rescue of have your Digital Performer manual at hand, and
takefiles after a crash or other interruption during be prepared to provide the following information
playback and recording. to help us solve your problem as quickly as
possible:
If the screen redisplay gets jerky
During playback, Digital Performer does its best to ■ The serial number of the program. This is
update items on the computer screen, such as the printed on the cardboard page at the front of the
Counter and scrolling windows. However, audio User Guide. (If you purchased Digital Performer as
recording, playback and effects processing can an upgrade, your manual won’t have this
place a high demand on the computing power of cardboard page. Instead, MOTU will have notified
the machine, and Digital Performer makes you separately of your serial number.) Be sure to
playback a higher priority than refreshing the retain this page in the manual for your reference.
screen display. Therefore, you may find at times You must be able to supply this number to receive
that the counter will stop and start during playback technical support.
or recording. This effect is minimized on faster
computers. ■ The version of Digital Performer you are
working with. This is displayed briefly in the start-
If you run out of disk space up screen when Digital Performer is started; it is
If you run out of hard disk space, compact existing also available through the About Digital Performer
audio files and delete unused audio files. For command in the Digital Performer menu from
details, see “Compacting audio files” on page 48. within Digital Performer.
■ A brief explanation of the problem, including
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
We are happy to provide customer support to our the exact sequence of actions which cause it, and
registered users. If you haven’t already done so, the contents of any error messages which appear on
please take a moment to visit motu.com/ the screen. It is often very helpful to have brief
registration (or complete and mail the Competitive written notes to refer to.
Upgrade envelope if you purchased the Digital ■ The pages in the manual which refer to the parts
Performer Competitive Upgrade). Then you’ll be of the program which you are having trouble with.
properly registered for technical support.
■ The version of the system software.
Registered users who are unable, with their dealer’s We’re not able to solve every problem immediately,
help, to solve problems they are encountering with but a quick call to us may yield a suggestion for a
Digital Performer may contact our technical problem which you might otherwise spend hours
support department in one of the following ways: trying to track down.
960
APPENDIX B: TROUBLESHOOTING AND SUPPORT
Performer. If you have features or ideas you would
like to see implemented in our music software, we’d
like to hear from you. Please visit motu.com/other/
feedback/suggestions, or write to the Digital
Performer Development Team, MOTU Inc., 1280
Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138.
961
APPENDIX B: TROUBLESHOOTING AND SUPPORT
962
APPENDIX B: TROUBLESHOOTING AND SUPPORT
APPENDIX C Menus reference
OVERVIEW
This chapter provides a list of all Digital Performer
main menu commands and the page in this User
Guide (or the Getting Started guide) where you can
find more information.
963
DIGITAL PERFORMER MENU (MAC ONLY)
Menu item Sub-menu Notes More information
964
AP P E NDI X C : M E NUS R E F E R E NC E
FILE MENU
Menu item Sub-menu Notes More information
965
A P P EN D I X C : M EN U S R EFER EN CE
EDIT MENU
Menu item Sub-menu Notes More information
966
AP P E NDI X C : M E NUS R E F E R E NC E
Heal Separation page 536
Split page 537
Split Audio page 537
Split at Counter page 537
Trim page 538
Trim Audio page 538
Trim End page 538
Trim Start page 538
Show Clipboard page 539
Search New Search… page 513
Search Again page 518
Next Search Result page 518
Previous Search Result page 518
Edit Saved Search Settings… page 519
list of saved searches page 519
Select All page 539
Select All in Range page 539
Deselect All page 539
Smart Selections page 540
Preferences… Windows only page 67
967
A P P EN D I X C : M EN U S R EFER EN CE
VIEW MENU
Menu item Sub-menu Notes More information
968
AP P E NDI X C : M E NUS R E F E R E NC E
Aux page 291
Instrument page 291
Master Fader page 291
Track Layouts Save Track Layout As… page 291
Edit Track Layouts… page 291
Show Only the Active Edit Type page 291
Show Only Selected Types page 291
(Quick Filter)
Show All Lanes with Data page 291
Show/Hide Lanes page 291
Grid Edit Lines page 291
Edit Lines While Snapping page 291
Marker Lines page 291
Beat Lines page 291
Colors Edit Track Color Schemes… page 75
Track Color Preferences… page 73
Assign Track Colors… page 77
Set Continuous Data Color… page 380
Clear Continuous Data Color page 380
Reset Continuous Data Color to page 380
Default
list of color schemes page 75
Auto Scroll… page 204
969
A P P EN D I X C : M EN U S R EFER EN CE
REGION MENU
Menu item Sub-menu Notes More information
970
AP P E NDI X C : M E NUS R E F E R E NC E
AUDIO MENU
Menu item Sub-menu Notes More information
971
A P P EN D I X C : M EN U S R EFER EN CE
Copy Beats… page 638
Set Guide, Align and Spot Audio Mac only page 891
Set Dub, Align and Spot Audio Mac only page 892
972
AP P E NDI X C : M E NUS R E F E R E NC E
PROJECT MENU
Menu item Sub-menu Notes More information
Multiple MIDI Tracks… Hold down Option/Shift key to see this command page 158
Multiple Mono Audio Tracks… Hold down Option/Shift key to see this command page 158
Multiple Stereo Audio Tracks… Hold down Option/Shift key to see this command page 158
973
A P P EN D I X C : M EN U S R EFER EN CE
Move Selected Tracks to V-Rack… page 749
list of sequences -
Soundbites page 33
list of consoles -
974
AP P E NDI X C : M E NUS R E F E R E NC E
STUDIO MENU
Menu item Sub-menu Notes More information
975
A P P EN D I X C : M EN U S R EFER EN CE
SETUP MENU
Menu item Sub-menu Notes More information
Commands page 91
Input Filter… page 211
Event Chasing… page 202
Automation Setup… page 795
Legend… page 308
Time Formats page 86
Frame Rate 23.976 fps page 86
24 fps page 86
25 fps page 86
29.97 fps Drop page 86
29.97 fps Non-Drop page 86
30 fps Non-Drop page 86
Use Nonstandard Frame Rate… page 86
Receive Sync… page 917
Transmit Sync… page 939
Slave to External Sync page 924
Open Audio MIDI Setup… Mac only page 20 (Getting
Started Guide)
Interapplication MIDI… Mac only page 18 (Getting
Started Guide)
Control Surface Setup… page 953
Audio System MOTU Audio System page 23 (Getting
Started Guide)
MIDI Only page 23 (Getting
Started Guide)
Configure Audio System Configure Hardware Driver… page 25 (Getting
Started Guide)
Configure Studio Settings… page 31 (Getting
Started Guide)
Input Monitoring Mode… page 221
Fine-tune Audio page 33 (Getting
I/O Timing… Started Guide)
Audio System Clock list of clock sources for selected page 27 (Getting
hardware driver Started Guide)
976
AP P E NDI X C : M E NUS R E F E R E NC E
WINDOW MENU
Menu item Sub-menu Notes More information
Enter Fullscreen
Close Mac only page 64 (Getting
Started Guide)
Close All Windows Mac only page 65 (Getting
Started Guide)
Close All Edit Windows page 65 (Getting
Started Guide)
Close All Effect Windows page 65 (Getting
Started Guide)
Bring All to Front page 64 (Getting
Started Guide)
Push Window to Back Mac only page 64 (Getting
Started Guide)
Next Edit Window Mac only page 64 (Getting
Started Guide)
Previous Edit Window Mac only page 64 (Getting
Started Guide)
Show/Hide Left Sidebar page 100
Show/Hide Right Sidebar page 100
Set Focus to Next Cell page 102
Set Focus to Previous Cell page 102
Close Cell page 102
Pop Out of Consolidated page 102
Window
Pop Into Consolidated page 102
Window
Window Sets Save Window Set… page 105
Edit Window Sets… page 105
list of window sets page 105
list of open windows page 64 (Getting
Started Guide)
977
A P P EN D I X C : M EN U S R EFER EN CE
HELP MENU
Menu item Sub-menu Notes More information
978
AP P E NDI X C : M E NUS R E F E R E NC E
979
980
Index
Index
10.2 (TMH) 816
1176 compressor plug-in (see FET-76 in
the DP Plug-ins Guide)
16-bit 68, 230, 898
24-bit 68, 230, 898
Always Show All Notes 407
Analog Chorus (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Analog Delay (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Analog Flanger (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Analog Phaser (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Audio file defaults 68
Audio File locations 68
Audio files
Audio Monitor 243
compacting 43
32-bit 68, 230, 898 Analysis Files Folder 16 creation of 222
5.1 (Dolby Digital and DTS) 816 Analyze Soundbite Tempo 621, 627 deleting 42–43, 47
6.1 (Dolby EX) 816 Anchoring tempos 685, 688 editing basics 298
7.1 (SDDS) 816 Any Port 919 exporting 31, 34
8-bit 898 Apple Loops 29 folder 47
Apply Plug-in sub-menu 595, 840 how recorded 222
A
AAF interchange 51–53
Arc Panner 822
Arpeggiator effect 854
importing 29
managing 47–50
exporting 27, 52–53 Arrangement Palette 432, 464 moving 47
importing 25, 51–52 Arranging a score 460 record file (takefile) 243
About Digital Performer Articulation 574 region editing 289
Version number 960 As Played 857 renaming 47
Absorb Selected Tracks options 612 Ask before closing preference 69 scrubbing 356
Accelerando 687–691, 923 Ask when upgrading commands 94 stereo 39
Accidentals 447 Assign Target 659 Audio Loop settings 328
acdi disk image file extension 906 Assign Track Colors 77 Audio menu 591–601
ACE-30 (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Attach MIDI Controller command 769, Adjust Beat Detection 638
Acid files 788 Adjust Beat Sensitivity 595, 637
importing 29, 31 Attack times Adjust Sequence To Soundbite
Action menu (Search window) 512 Shift 536 Tempo command 623
Active sensing 242 AU (see Audio Units) Adjust Soundbites to Sequence
Activity Meters 150, 155 Audible Mode 300 Tempo command 622
ADAT Sync Event List window 300–301 Analyze Soundbite Tempo 621
sample-accurate 934 MIDI Editor 376 Apply Plug-in sub-menu 595, 840
ADAT™ 943 scrubbing Movies with 277 Audio Beats sub-menu 595
Add chunk selection commands automat- scrubbing with 206 Audio Pitch Correction 595
ically 93 Soundbites window 40 Bite Volume and Gain 594
Add instrument track 139 speaker icon 301, 301 Bounce Settings 908
Add Instruments command 139 System Exclusive 301 Bounce to Disk 895–910
Add new sequences option (Final Cut Pro Audio Clear Sync Point 597
import) 60 (see also Soundbites) Copy Beats 595, 638
Add Pitch Range 413 Beats sub-menu 595 Copy Sequence Tempo to Soundbite
Add Selection to Group 169 CD burning 902 622
Add Similar Tracks 115 CD Disk Image option 905 Delete Fades 593
Add Track 114, 125, 133, 158, 222, 223 click 234 Dither 592
Add Unassigned Instrument 140 converting on import 44 Duplicate Soundbite 597
Adding measures 534, 698 export presets 31, 899 Edit in Waveform Editor 600
Adjust Beat Detection 630, 638 exporting 31, 34 Fade 593, 603
Adjust Beat Sensitivity 595, 629, 637 importing 28 Fade In/Out 594
Adjust Beats 705 menu (see Audio menu) Freeze Selected Tracks 137, 593
Adjust Bite Volume +/- 0.5dB 594 MIDI Setup 934 Merge Soundbites 593
Adjust durations 693, 696 Device properties 945 New Soundbites from Beats 595, 636
Adjust Pitch Segmentation 595, 882 how it provides playback de- Normalize 594
Adjust Sequence To Soundbite Tempo vices 127 Reload Soundbite 597–600
command 623 Monitor 243–247 Replace Soundbite 600
Adjust Soundbites to Sequence Tempo Patch Thru 219, 247 Reveal In Finder 600
command 622 Pitch Correction 495 Set Soundbite Tempo 621
Advanced Authoring Format (see AAF in- Pitch Correction sub-menu 595 Set Sync Point 597
terchange) plug-ins preferences 843 Set Sync Point at First Beat 597
AIFF files 68 preferences 81 Show in Explorer 600
exporting 31 region (see Soundbites) Smooth Audio Edits 594, 640
importing 29 track Soundbite Layering 596
Alesis ADAT™ 943 freezing 137, 593 Soundbite Tempo 595
Align controls 657 playback 133–138 Spectral Effects 594, 873
All Selections command 499 troubleshooting 958–960 Split 537
All Takes sub-menu option 612 Audio data Strip Silence 592–593
Allow Measure Selection 433 how it is recorded 222 Time Stamps 596
Always click option 235 selecting 355 time stamps 357
981
I N D EX
Use External Waveform Editor 600 Auto (patch thru) 219 Backstep button 253, 259, 260
VocALign sub-menu commands Auto button 192–193 Backup copies of files 17, 957
601, 891 in Mixing Board window 781 Bank select 394
Audio MIDI Setup Auto Channelize 217 Barlines 464
Open Audio MIDI Setup 127 Auto Punch Out Delay command 666, 788 Base 244
Audio Monitor Auto Record 175, 224–225 Base CD Tracks On menu 904
available record time (rec time) 244 Advance option 947 Base file names on input names 244
Base file names on input names 244 Punch Guard 226 Base file names on track names 244, 245
Base file names on track names 244, Auto Resize (Mixing Board) 768 Base settings on current selection option
245 Auto Resize command 769 512
checking hard disk space 215 Auto Rewind (see Auto-Rewind) Bass Manager (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
clip indicator 246 Auto Scroll 204, 204–206 Bassline instrument plug-in (see DP Plug-
Custom take names 244, 245 Continuous Scroll 205 ins Guide)
Level Range 244 disable 206 Beat Analysis Default 871
mini-menu 244 MIDI Editor 388 Beat button 253, 260
naming takefiles 245 Paging 205 Beat click 679
Patch Thru 219 Tracks window 162 defined 233
Retain Clip 244 Auto/Manual end time 738, 742–743, 745, Beat clocks (see MIDI beat clocks)
Scroll to Record Enabled Inputs 244 761–762 Beat Detection Engine 625
setting up for recording 214 Auto-Detect Video Mode 280, 282 disable/enable beats
Take Folder 244 Automated mixing 784, 793 Beat division (in Groove Quantize) 561
Takefiles 243 Automatic Beat and Tempo Analysis 871 Beat Grid 333, 631
Audio Monitor window 244 Automatic Conversions 34, 44, 77 Beat value 195
Audio Options preferences 81 preferences 77 Counter window 183
Audio Patch Thru 219 Automatic Conversions Settings 34 meters 693
Audio Performance window Automatic Plug-in Latency Compensation tempo 685, 687
MAS 787, 846 840 Beats per minute 195
Audio Pitch Correction menu 881, 882, Automatic tempo mode 685 Beats within Soundbites
885 Automatically Add Inserts 769 Waveform Editor 494
Audio System Automatically analyze beats in this project Beats within soundbites 551
configuring 871 BIAS Peak (waveform editor) 600
MOTU Audio System 213 Automatically analyze the tempo of audio Bite
MIDI Only 125 that has no tempo 871 Gain 328, 594
MOTU Audio System 213 Automation 334 Volume Bypass 328
Audio System Clock 937 modes 798 Bite volume 362
Audio track Show Lanes 359 Bite Volume and Gain
bouncing 137 snapshot 806 Waveform Editor 495
channel assignment 213 volume and pan data 334 Blend (patch thru) 219
creating 133 Automation Setup window 795, 811 Bounce Again
explained 133 AutoPan (see DP Plug-ins Guide) saving settings for 898
max you can hear at once 137 Auto-Record 178, 188–189, 191–192 Bounce Settings 908
muting & unmuting 201 Bar 175, 191, 192 Bounce to Disk 895–910
record channel 215 Button 175 Bounce Settings menu 908
record-enabling 214 loading remembered times 506 in real time 912
Audio Units 842 Tap Tempo 926 movies 907
duplicate 844 Auto-Rewind 177, 184, 191–192 MP3 format 900
examining 844 button 175 QuickTime movies 282
multiple outputs 142, 849 Autosave preference 70 Sample Format 897
passed/failed/skipped 844 Auto-Step button 253, 258 saving settings 899
presets 836 Auto-Stop button 175, 184, 191–192 saving settings for Bounce Again
virtual instruments 139–142, 784 Aux tracks 143–144, 787 898
AudioDesk applying effects to 846 track bouncing 137
exporting projects to 27, 28 using inside of songs 143 bpm 193
importing projects from 25 Auxiliary Counters 184 Break Phrases After ____ Ticks option 161
sync settings 934 Auxiliary Time rulers 338, 368, 370, 406 Broadcast WAVE 29, 68
Audition Active Beat 631 Available rec time 244 Organization Code 68
Audition Active Loop 491 Average Bit Rate 901 Unique Source Identifier 68
Audition Active Soundbite 489 Avid Xpress Brush tool (see Rhythm Brush tool)
Audition Click option 236 exporting to 51 Buffy (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Audition Selection 202, 301, 487, 498, 896 Built-in audio
Auditioning 300
importing audio 28
B
Background processing 869–871
input monitoring 219
Bundles window 117
Auralizer 824 preferences 870 importing/export bundles 119
982
I N D E X
instruments tab 121, 142 Channels 109–112 Clear all clipping indicators 247, 783, 829
MIDI Devices tab 122 activity 241 Clear Arrangement 433
surround bundles 813 playback 109–112, 113, 200, 213 Clear Bite Gain 594
Burn Audio CD option 902 recording 211, 216, 223–224 Clear Bite Volume 594
Burn CD from Disk Image 906 Tap Tempo 923–924 Clear Continuous Data Color 380
Bus Chase Graphical Edits 278 Clear default patch 151
applying audio effects to 846 Chase Numeric Edits 278 Clear Keyboard button 576
defined 786 Chord Play 857 Clear Loops 588
viewing level in Audio Monitor 244 Chord symbols 448–450 Clear MIDI Controller
Byte 643 Enter Chord Symbol command 448, command 769
457 Clear Movie 278
C
Calibration plug-in (see DP Plug-ins
Event List 449
hiding 449
Clear Mute Automation 351, 589, 806
Clear Pebble (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Guide) preferences 449 Clear Pitch 595, 880, 884
Capture Real Time MIDI Effects com- QuickScribe Editor Chord Symbols Control Points 595
mand 588 options 431 Clear Pitch Control Points 881
Capture start time 928 suffixes 449 Clear Sync Point 597
Cascade overlapping markers option 441 transposing 449 Clear Tempos in Selection 635
CD Chords 301 Click 233–237
burning 902, 914 Chorus plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide) accented 233, 236
importing 30 Chunk Audio click 234
Chaining Add chunk selection commands au- beat click 679
Chunks 738, 744–746, 753–762 tomatically 93 change event 678
sequences and songs 738, 744–746, Control Buttons 738, 744 Defaults 236
753–762 Controls 738, 744 MIDI click 235
Change Continuous Data 582 loading 21–??, 739 pattern click 679
Change Duration 572–574 merging to sequence 754–755, 760 sound 233
plug-in 853 naming 738, 742 tacet 679
Change Key 678, 699–701 play-enabling 737, 738, 741, 744– value 233, 678, 693, 694, 695
custom key signatures 700 746 Tap Tempo 923
QuickScribe Editor 451 size in Song window 753 Visual Punches 235
Change Meter 678, 693–698, 711 skipping 744–745, 745–746 volume 236
Adjust durations 693, 696 synchronization 760–761 Click preferences 234
denominator 693 Chunks window 737–744 audition click 236
meter maps 683, 694 Auto/Manual end time 738, 742– gate 235
numerator 693 743, 745, 761–762 No accent 236
Only move barlines 693, 696 Chunk Control Buttons 738, 744 pitch 235
partial measures 683 comments 648, 738, 742 velocity 235
QuickScribe Editor 451 copying 739 Click with Each Step 259
Realign music automatically 693, Tracks between Sequences Clicks per frame (display) 71, 195, 678,
695–696 743–744 687
Change Selected Notes to Automatic Du- current playback Chunk 737, 741 ClickStreamMachine 732
rations 447 Delete 739, 740–741 Click-to-MIDI converter 927
Change Selected Notes to Manual Dura- Duplicate Track Layout 738, 739 Clipboard 539, 539
tions 447 End time 738, 740, 742–743 Show/Hide Clipboard 539
Change Tempo 678, 685–692 loading Chunks 739 Clipping
Anchor indicators 685, 688 loading Chunks into 21–?? avoiding 246
beat value 685, 687 mini-menu 738–739 indicator in Audio Monitor 246
curves 688–690 naming 738, 742 indicators in Mixing Board 783
density 686, 688 New 739 Clippings 651–654
mid-beat 690 New Sequence 738 plug-in presets 836
Options 686, 691 New Song 738 Cloning 347
QuickScribe Editor 451 New V-Rack 738 Close All Effect Windows command 835
Change Velocity 568–572, 782 Open Chunks 738, 742 Close Cell 97
compress 569 opening 739 Closed-loop (MIDI Machine Control) 945
expand 569 play-enabling 737, 738, 741, 744– Cntrl column in Tracks window 157
limiting velocities 569 746 Coalesced 847
Step Record 264 printing 22 Color schemes 75
Channel rearranging Chunks 742 Colors 73
audio 133–138 selecting 739 Assign Track Colors 77
Audio Monitor 243 Set Chunk Start 738 Clear Continuous Data Color 380
takefile 243 song select message 737–738, 741 color scheme 75
Channel Strip window 324 type icon 737, 742, 743 Edit Track Color Schemes 75
983
I N D EX
Preferences 73 Set Focus to Next/Previous Cell 97 Control points 358
Reset Continuous Data Color To Show/Hide Left/Right Sidebar 97 deleting 362
Default 380 Constant Bit Rate 901 dragging 361
Set Continuous Data Color 380 Constrain to scale 546–547 inserting a curve 361
waveforms 74 Cont. Data Icons 379 Control Surface Setup 953
Column setup Continuous data 578–580 Controller chasing 202, 204
Soundbites window 34 audio pan and volume 397 Controllers
Columns 754, 755 Change Continuous Data 582 see Continuous Data
Columns Setup 34, 477 Insert Continuous Data 580–581 Convert
Commands preferences 369, 407 file format 861
Tap to Enter Tempo 193, 194 Reassign Continuous Data 582–583 interleaved format 861
Commands window 91 Remapping in real time w/sliders sample format 861
Comments 672–673 sample rate 861
Chunks window 648, 738, 742 Ruler 378 Convert Audio File command 34, 861
Conductor Track 677 setting initial values in tracks 203 Converters 918, 928
Tracks Window 114, 150, 648 Continuous Data command 536 Copy 530
Comp takes 612–616 Continuous Scroll 205 Chunks in the Song window 757
Comp tool 316, 614 Control Assignment 657 text between DP and other programs
Compact 34, 43, 48–50 Control Panel 173–184 539
Compact disc Audible mode button 176 Tracks between Sequences 743–744
burning 902 Auto Record 175 Copy all tracks option 754
Compact disc (see CD) Auto Scroll button 176 Copy Beats 595, 638
Compact Project 50 Auto-Record 178, 188–189, 191– Copy Conductor Tracks 754, 761
Compare 837 192 Copy selection to new sequence 740
Compare Import Source To (Final Cut Pro Auto-Rewind 175, 184, 191–192 Copy Sequence Tempo to Soundbite com-
import) 61 Auto-Stop button 175, 184, 191–192 mand 622
Composite tracks 137 Buffer Size 176 Copy to Clipping Window 530
Conductor Track 148, 157, 677–683 Click button 176 plug-in effects 790
click change 678 Clock Mode 176 Copy to New Sequence 740
Copy Conductor Tracks 754, 761 Countoff 175, 237 Tracks window 152
Delete Markers 754, 760 Current Beat 175 Counter 179–184
Edit commands 681–682 Current Meter 175 display 180
Edit Conductor Track 754 Current Tempo 175 during countoff 237
flutter events 681 Frame rate 176 formats 85
Graphic Editor 388–389 keypad controls 197 Go To 151
key changes 678 Link Playback to Memory button Playback dashes 180
looping 683 175 Round on Entry 180
Markers 678 Link Selection to Memory 175 screen update 183–184
meter changes 678 Main Counter Display 174 Scroll To 308
partial measures 682–683 Marker menu 175 time format menu 174
meter maps 683, 694 Memory Bar 175, 184–185, 191 Counter window 183
punch events 681 Memory Cycle 175, 184 auxiliary 184
Record-enable Conductor 754, Memory-shuttle 184–185, 191–192 frame time 86, 181–182
758–759 Overdub 190, 226–227 Looping 249
recording 925 Overdub record button 175 measure time 85, 181–182
tempo changes 678 Pause button 177–178 real time 85, 181–182
tempo maps 685, 686–687, 758–759 Play button 177 Set Chunk Start 181–182
tempo mode 193 Pre/Post Roll 176 Set Display 184
View Filter 697–698 Record button 178, 188–189 Countoff 237
Configure Audio System Remote Controls for 197 beats 927
Input Monitoring Mode 221 Rewind button 177 indefinite 190, 237
Configure Hardware Driver 70 Sample Format 176 length 239
Configure Studio Settings 70 Sample Rate 176 movie window 237
Configure Surround Panner Joystick 769 Set Countoff 237 n measures 239
Consoles 655–674 Slave to External Sync button 175 only when recording 239
deleting 657 Solo Mode button 176 preferences 238
loading from another file 673 Stop button 177, 178 While slaved to tape 932
Consolidate Rests 433, 465 Sub Counter Display 174 Create Beat from Insertion Point 630
Consolidated Window 95–104 Tempo Control menu 176 Create fixed-length fades option 609
Close Cell 97 Tempo Slider 175, 193 Create Groove command 561
Pop Out of/Into Consolidated Win- time format menu 174 Create new crossfades option 609
dow 97 transport controls 174 Create new fade-ins/outs options 609
preferences 98 Wait button 175 Create New Folder 34
984
I N D E X
Create Scale 549–550 Chunks window 739, 740–741 Hide 433, 462
Create Tracks 115 Markers 721, 754, 760 Move 433, 464
Crescendos 568, 571 Markers window 717 Pop Out 433, 463
Crossfades 603, 794 Pattern command (click) 236 Don't move locked markers 696, 722
Crosshair selection 498 Soundbites window 34, 42, 477 Don’t Pitch Shift 886
Cubase Tracks window 115 Dot boxes 253, 256
grooves 564 Delete Beat 630 Double strike notes 858
Cue Mix™ 221 Delete Beats in Selection 630 DP Control App 955
Cue sheet 715, 724 Delete Board Layout command 769 Dragging & dropping soundbites 43, 348
Cueing 177 Delete Disabled Beats in Selection 630 Drop frame
Chunks 738, 741, 744–746 Delete Fades command 593 29.97 918
sequences 738, 741, 744–746 Delete if before start of chunk option 722 Drum Editor 403–422
songs 738, 741, 744–746 Delete Mix command 792 Drum kit presets 413
using the counter 179 Delete Track Folders 165 Grid resolution 405
CueLine ProCue 1m1 732 Delete Track Group 169 Median strip 405
Current Take sub-menu option 612 Delete Tracks 115 mini-menu 407–408
Cursor Coordinates 333 Delta Fuzz (see DP Plug-ins Guide) note events 406
Cursor Information 320 Denominator 693 Note grid 406
Waveform Amplitude 480 Density Threshold 160 Time ruler 406
Cursor Selection Mode 80, 498, 500, 503 Deselect All 539 Drum kit presets 413
Curvature 570–571, 688–690 Destructive waveform editing 475 Drum machine
editing in Edit windows 313 Device Patch Thru 218
Curves Default Patch 149 short note durations 574
Change Tempo 688–690 group 127, 128 transposing 549
Change Velocity 570–571 Patch 129–130, 157 DTP Adat force-detect 948
Edit windows 313 Diamond Drive (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Duplicate
Insert Continuous data 580 Diatonic transposition 545–546 Chunk 739
Custom ’59 (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Digital Performer Sequence 738
Custom consoles 655–674 as master sync device 939–941 Track Layout 738, 739
deleting 657 as MIDI merger 217 Duplicate Mix command 792
Custom Maps list 543 Clipping Window 651 Duplicate Soundbite 597
Custom Scale button 549–550 Cycle-record 228 Duplicate Take 612
Custom take names 244, 245 opening files created in earlier ver- Duplicate Tracks 115
Custom transpose map 547–548 sions 25 Duplicates, Remove 860
Customer support 960 project 15–24 Duration 372, 375, 393
Customizing sync settings 934 adjusting short durations 574
key signatures 700 version number 960 Change Duration 572–574
New file 20–21 Digital Performer menu Change Duration plug-in 853
Cut 757 Quit 23 changing individual note 400–401
Cycle (see Memory Cycle) Digital Timepiece 934 drum machines 574
Cycle through device group assignments flutters 733 editing
856 MMC option for ADATs 948 Notation Editor 427
Cycle to Next Tool 310 streamers 732 Scale Time 585
Cycle-recording 184, 227 Digital video (see Movie Window) soundbites 36
Diminuendo 568, 571 Step Record 254
D
D Plus (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Direct Echo 216
Direct hardware playthrough option 221
DV video playback offset 279, 280, 282
Dyna Squash (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
D+ (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Direct line outs 120 Dynamic Equalizer (see DP Plug-ins
Data Display Preferences 71 Disks Guide)
rectified waveform display 72 errors 24 Dynamic Phrase Parsing option 160
DC Notch plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide) keeping enough free space 957 Dynamics 778
Decrescendos 568, 571 Display menu 453 audio 794
De-Esser (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Display Resolution 425–426, 434–435 Dynamics (Mixing Board) 778
Default Author 68 Display-only notes 432, 466 Dynamics Palette 432
Default Copyright 68 Distortion (See Clipping) Dynamics plug-in 778
Default patch 129, 149, 157 Dither command 592 Dynamics plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Default Tranpose Mode for New Sound- Divide Comp At Selected Soundbite
bites 866
DeFlam 555, 567–568
Boundaries 616
Divide Comp at Selection Boundaries 616
E
EBU 68
Delay compensation 840 Divide Comp at Wiper 616 Echo
pitch automation 878 Do not import option (Bounce to Disk) applying to your playing 217
Delay plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide) 898 creating echo effect
Delete Do to Selected Measures Song window 759–760
985
I N D EX
MIDI echo 216–218 Search 511 User Presets 836
synchronization 218, 941 Search Again 518 Eject command 948
Echo data from source to target 659 Select All 539–540 Emphasis 587
Echo effect 854 Shift 535 Humanize 567
Echo plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide) attack times 536 quantizing 555
Edge Edit Copy 335, 353 Show/Hide Clipboard 539 tempos 691
Edit Smart Selections 540 velocities 571
Audio Export Formats 34, 910 Snip 534 Enable Mouse Wheel for Sliders and
Bounce Again Settings 909 Song window 754, 757, 759 Knobs 768
grid 333 Splice 534 Enable Surround Panner Joystick 769
Resolution 333 At Original Time 535 Encoding mode 901
Saved Times 191 At Original Time Multiple 535 End time 755
scales button 543 At Wiper 535 Auto/Manual 742–743, 745, 761–
Edit Bar At Wiper Multiple 535 762
looping 252 Multiple 535 Chunks window 738, 740, 742–743
Edit commands Split 537 Endings 464
Clipboard 539, 539 Split at Counter 537 Ensemble Chorus (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Edit Conductor Track 754 Split Audio 537 Enter Chord Symbol 448, 457
Edit windows 298 Trim 538 EQ 833
Event List window 399–400, 499 Trim Audio 538 EQ (Mixing Board) 778
Markers 721 Trim End 538 Equal Gain fade 607
selecting region 371, 374–375 Trim Start 538 Equal power fade 607
Song window 754, 757, 759 Undo 523 Erase 532
Edit Conductor Track 754 Undo History 289, 524 Song window 757
Edit Console 657 Edit resolution box 297–298, 317–319 Error messages 957, 958
Edit in Waveform Editor 45, 600 Edit System Margins 431 audio playback/recording 959
Edit Layer menu 340 Edit Window Sets command 105 Errors
Edit menu 523–540 Edit windows 159–160 disk 24
Continuous Data 536 editing 297–298 file 24, 957, 958
Copy 530, 757 opening from Tracks Window 159– fonts 456
Copy to Clipping Window 530 160 system 957, 960
Cursor Selection Mode 80, 500, 503 selecting events Event & Phrase Selections Only command
Cut 530, 757 Note grid 297 498
Deselect All 539 Shift key 297 Event Chasing 202–204
Erase 532 Editing forward chasing CCs 203
Heal Separation 536 Chunks 739, 740–741, 742–743, importance for automated mixing
Merge 533 743–744 784
At Original Time 534 during playback 24, 177, 200, 289 Event Information 321
At Original Time Multiple 534 Edit Conductor Track 754 Event List window 391–402
At Wiper 534 Markers 678, 718–719, 721, 721–722 Audible Mode 300–301
At Wiper Multiple 534 MIDI events 399–401, 499 Conductor track 398, 677
Multiple 533 selecting 446 editing 399–401, 499
Repeat 533 selecting data for editing 497 Insert 399
Repeat Multiple 534 System Exclusive 395, 399, 644–646 Insertion cursor 399
Repeat Together 534 tracks 159, 163, 501, 504, 743–744 key changes 398
Together 533 EDL (creating with Find Tempo) 725 loops 250–252, 398
Paste 530–531 Effect performance window 846 Markers 398, 721
At Original Time 532 Effects meters 398
At Original Time Multiple 532 accessing 773 note events 393
At Wiper 532 freezing 137, 593 opening from Sequence Editor 337
At Wiper Multiple 532 Next/Previous Preset 837 opening from Tracks Window 159–
Multiple 531 side chain input 849 160
Repeat 532 window 840 patch change 394
Repeat Multiple 532 Effects window 833 printing 22
Paste Multiple 531 and Patch Thru 217 ReInsert 392
Perform New Search 513 applying effects 789 selecting a region 399
Redo 523 closing 835 System Exclusive 395, 646
Redo Next compare presets 837 tempo changes 398
Select Branch 523 copying & pasting parameters 789 View Filter 292, 294
Repeat 532–533 opening 835 Events
Conductor track 683 plug-ins 839 Event List window 393–398
Event List window 400 Presets menu 835 MIDI Editor 365
versus looping 249, 533 quick reference 833 selecting 499–501
986
I N D E X
Tap Tempo 923–924 errors 24, 957, 958 Frame-click tempo display 71, 195, 678,
Events may match any settings option 514 loading 687
Events must match all settings option 514 Chunks 21–??, 739 Freeze Selected Tracks 137, 593
eVerb plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide) opening new file 17
Expand loops and capture effects option
27
Revert to Saved 19
Save As 17–18
G
Gain (in velocity compressor) 853
Expand loops option 588 Save As MIDI File 25–27, 157 Gate
Expansion board setup 123 Save As Template 20–21 Click preferences 235
Export directly to Final Cut Pro option 59 Film Cues Only 436, 469 Generate Streamer Track for 717, 735
Export Final Cut Pro XML 57 Film Cues View 468 Generate VTP Streamers option 717
Export key bindings 93 Film Scoring Events 276, 733 Global View Filter 292
Export Selected Soundbites 31, 34, 477, Film/video Go To 151
914 hit points 715, 721, 723, 724 Counter 151
Export to XML file option 59 Markers 715–724 Marker 719, 720
Exporting partial measures 682–683 Tracks window 151
audio export presets 31, 899 Song window 760–761 Grand staff
bundles 119 synchronization 722–723, 760–761, bracket 438
Final Cut Pro XML 57–64 917–918, 929–930 Graphic Editor
movies 907 tempo maps 686–687, 760–761 Conductor Track 388–389
MP3 files 31, 900 Filter frequencies below 10 Hz 902 Median strip
MusicXML notation file 471 Filter Selected Continuous Data 369, 407 Conductor Track 388–389
POLAR session 272 Filters Grid
project 25 Input Filter 211 Chunk Grid 753
QuickTime movies 282 Patch Thru 218 Continuous data 376–387
search results as text 520 System Exclusive 644 Drum Editor Note Grid 406
selection as MIDI file 27 Quick-Filter 379 MIDI Editor Note Grid 367, 371–
Extend releases to closest attack 573–574 View Filter 373–381, 388, 697–698 381
External time code option 928 Conductor Track 682 offset 552–553
Extracting grooves 561 Markers 723 Quantize 550, 552–553
Extracting parts 577 meter changes 697–698 Step Record 261–263
MIDI controllers 293 Groove Editor 563
F
Factory presets (plug-ins) 836
Final Cut Pro XML 57–64
comparing 61–63
Groove Quantize 556–564
applying a groove 557
Fade command 593 export 57, 58 creating a groove 561
Fade In/Out commands 594 import 57, 59–63 deleting,moving,duplicating 558
Faders volume and pan information 64 Groove folder 559
temporarily removing from group Find (see Search command) grooves defined 556
169 Find Beats in All Files 629 renaming a groove 558
Fades command 603 Find Beats In Selection 627, 629 Grouping (see Track Groups)
FCP XML(see Final Cut Pro XML) Find Tempo Grouping Custom Console sliders 667–
FET-76 plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide) command 725 670
Fewer Choices button 560 for Locked Markers 717, 726
File Format 68
conversion 861
FireWire
video playback 279, 281
H
Half solo mode 201–202
File menu video playback offset 279, 280, 282 Handshake 648
Compact Project 50 Fix partial measures automatically 79, 698 Hard disk
Exit 23 Flanger (see DP Plug-ins Guide) access time 231, 959
Export Final Cut Pro XML 57 Float Effects by Default 834 checking available space 215
Export MusicXML notation file 471 Floating 834 compacting audio files 48–50
Import Audio 34 Flush Undo commands 529 deleting audio files 47–48
Import Final Cut Pro 7 XML 57 Flutters 276, 681, 731 fragmentation 231, 959
Load 21–??, 739 Digital Timepiece 733 managing audio files 47–50
New 16, 21 Video Time Piece 733 running out of space 960
Open 17 Fold down (surround) 818 spreading audio over several drives
Open Recent 17 Folders 47
Page Setup 22 soundbites (see Soundbites win- Hardware Insert (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Print 22 dow) Harmonic transposition 546
Revert to Saved 19 tracks (see Track folders) Harmonies
Save 17 Fonts creating 546
Save a Copy As 18 installing in text menu 456 Harmonizing 543
Save As 17–18 Frame click metronome values 195 HD Express
Save As Template 20–21 Frame Rate 918 video playback 279
Files 24 Frame time 86, 181–182 HD Express video playback 279
987
I N D EX
HDX-SDI Input from MMC devices option 211 Keyboard durations diagram 263
video playback 279 Input monitoring 134, 135, 154, 155, 219, Keyboard note entry (computer) 130
HDX-SDI video playback 279 339 Keyboard parts, splitting into right/left
Heal Separation 536 Input Monitoring Mode 221 hand 575, 577–578
Hexadecimal 643, 644–645 Input Only (patch thru) 219 Keypad 179
Hide Clipboard 539 Input Quantize 211–212 controls 263
Hide Lanes 359 Inputs (IN) 243 Keypad controls 197
Hide markers when showing _ or more Insert
bars per line 441
Hide measures in sequential bars 463
Event List window 399
inserting multiple events
L
Lasso selection 498
Hide Other Tracks When Opening to Se- Event List window 402 Latch mode 798
lection 80 notation editing 426–427 Latency compensation 840
Hide Selected Pitches 407 Song window 755 pitch automation 878
High-density track segment 160 Insert Column 754, 755, 759 Layering soundbites 596
Hit points 715, 723, 724 Insert Continuous Data 580–581, 803 LCRS (Dolby Surround) 816
Hit range before/after 726 Insert Loop 588 Lead line
Hi-Top Booster (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Insert Measures 703 enhancing 577
Hold Notes 858 Insert Mute Automation 351, 806 extracting 577
Humanize 565–567 Insert Mute Automation command 589 Learn Controller 788
existing tempos 587 Insert/Reshape Curve 312 Learn controller 833, 834, 848
tempos 690–691 Inserting measures 534, 698 Legato 573–574
Insertion cursor 399 Legend 308
II-Beam tool 311 Inserts 771
choosing an effect 835
Length in Time 328
Level meters 155, 243
Ignore Mistakes 438 Inspectors (see Information windows) adjusting range 246
Ignore new commands 94 Instant 557 Mixing Board window 783
Import Audio command 34, 477 Instant Preview 557 setting input level 247
Import directly from Final Cut Pro option Instrument plug-ins 139–142 Level Range 244
60 freezing 137, 593 Level Range mini-menu command 783
Import Final Cut Pro 7 XML 57 mixing board 784 Link Memory to Selection 188
Import from XML File option 60 playing from computer keyboard Link Playback to Memory 187
Import key bindings 93 130 Link sub-option 739
Import Movie Audio 278 Instruments tab (Bundles window) 121, Linking 739
Import option (Bounce to Disk) 898 142 Listen to control surfaces in background
Importing Intelligent Noise Gate (see DP Plug-ins 954
Acid files 29, 31 Guide) Live performance
AIFF files 29 Interface cueing Chunks 741, 744–746
Apple Loops 29 echo options with Patch Thru 218 linking Chunks 739
audio (entire file) 29 Interleaved Format 68 Live Room B (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
audio (Soundbites) 28–31, 34, 477 conversion 861 Live Room G (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
bundles 119 Interval transposition 545 Live Stage (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
CD audio 30 Invert Phase (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Load 739
Final Cut Pro XML 57–64 Invert Pitch 583–584 Chunks 21–??
MP3 files 29 iOS 955 Consoles 673
REX files 30 iPhone OS (see iOS) Soundbites 29
Sound Designer II files 29 Load Board Layout command 769
WAVE files 29
Importing audio 28
JJoystick surround panning 815 Local control 396
Locate menu 148, 175
Include Audio option (Final Cut Pro Im- Lock 716, 722
port) 60
Include in Find Tempo Range 717, 726
K
Key changes 678, 699–701
Lock Layout to Track Order command
769
Include video option 60 Conductor track 678–701 Lock Marker 717
Include video track option 59 custom key signatures 700 Lock to Transport 278
Information Bar Edit windows 701 Locked tracks 340
Edit grid 317 editing 701 Locking markers 716, 717, 722
Edit resolution box 297–298 Event List window 398, 701 Logic Pro
preferences 329 Graphic Editor 388–389 exporting to 51
Information windows 317–330 MIDI Editor 339 Loop Indicator 150
Input Filter 211 Sequence Editor 339 Loop recording (see Cycle-recording)
Input from MMC devices option Key/scale transposing 546–547 Loop tool 314
211 Keyboard controller 216 Loop Tune setting 328
Patch Thru 218 changing values from 375–376, 383, Loop Type setting 328
System Exclusive 644 401 Loops 249–252
988
I N D E X
changing end points graphically 363 Find Tempo 725 Measure numbers 431
compared to Memory Cycle 249 Generate Streamer Track for 717, display options 441
Conductor Track 683 735 Measure range
conflicting 250 Generate VTP Streamers 717 Change Key 695, 699, 700
deleting graphically 363 Graphic Editor 388–389 Change Meter 693, 695
duplicating 363 hit points 715, 723 selecting 321–323, 399, 400
editing hit range before/after 726 Measure spacing 431, 432, 442
Event List window 252 locating with 719 Measure time 85
MIDI Editor 371 Lock 716, 722 MIDI Editor 370
editing during playback 252 Lock Marker 717 Median strip 367, 386–387, 405
end time 249 Make Arrangement Markers 433 Conductor Track 388–389
Event Chasing 204 Marker well in Tracks window 149 MegaSynth (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
graphic editing of 358 Merge Markers 760 Melodic Pattern 857
indicator 159, 250 mini-menu 717 Melody
inserting 250–251, 371 naming 716, 718 enhancing 577
inserting during playback 252 New 718 extracting 577
inserting graphically 363 New Marker 717 Memory Bar 184–185, 191
meter changes 683 New Marker with Options 717, 718 loading Remembered Times 506
nested 250 Notation Editing window 721 Memory Cycle 184
recording (see Cycle-recording) NUM (locate number) 716, 719 compared to loops 249
repetitions 249 opening Markers window 718 loop points 148
start time 249 position indicator 716, 719 repeat barlines 185
Tracks window indicators 154 printing 22 selecting the region 187
versus Repeat 533 QuickScribe Editor marker options setting end points 185, 189
viewing 431 when applying a groove 557
Event List window 252 Record hits 717, 723 Memory Cycle button 175
Low-density track segment 160 selecting 720 Memory-shuttle 184–185, 191–192
Lyrics 457–460 Set Marker/Streamer Options 717 Merge 533
arranged score 459 setting Counter location 719 At Original Time 534
hiding 459 Shift locked markers 717, 722 At Original Time Multiple 534
preferences 460 Show Streamers 717 At Wiper 534
QuickScribe Editor lyrics options snapping to 338 At Wiper Multiple 534
431 Song window 754, 754, 760–761 Multiple 533
streamers 733 Repeat 533
M
Mac keyboard shortcuts 197
time display 716
Toggle Streamer On/Off 717
Repeat Multiple 534
Repeat Together 534
Magnifying glass tool (see Zoom tool) Tracks window 148 Together command 533
Make Arrangement Markers 433 Unlock 717, 722 Merge Chunks to Sequence 754–755, 760
Manual button 192–193 weight 726 Merge Markers 754, 760
Manual end time 738, 742–743, 745, 761– MAS plug-ins 841 Merge new commands 94
762 Master faders 787 Merge new commands and save the old
Manual tempo mode 685 applying effects to 846 ones 94
Margins 442 priority with V-Racks 751 Merge Soundbites 229, 593
Marker menu 175 tracks 144 Merge Together 533
Marker strip Master sliders 667–670 Merge Tracks with identical names option
MIDI Editor 367, 371 Master track selector 307 755
Sequence Editor 333, 338 Mastering 911 Meter
Song window 754, 760–761 MasterWorks Compressor 778 display 195
Markers 715–724 (see also DP Plug-ins Guide) Meter Bridge 827
changing font in notation window MasterWorks EQ 778 Meter changes 678, 693–698
441 MasterWorks EQ plug-in Conductor Track 678
changing location 389, 718–719, 722 (see also DP Plug-ins Guide) editing 697
Conductor Track 388–389, 678, MasterWorks FET-76 Event List window 398, 697
721–722 (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Graphic Editor 388–389
creating in Tracks window 149 MasterWorks FET-76 778 inserting measures 698
Delete Markers 754, 760 MasterWorks Gate 778 looping 683
Deleting 717, 721 (see also DP Plug-ins Guide) MIDI Editor 339
deleting in Tracks Overview window MasterWorks Leveler 778 partial measures 682–683
148 (see also DP Plug-ins Guide) Sequence Editor 339
displaying in QuickScribe window MasterWorks Limiter 778 View Filter 697–698
440 (see also DP Plug-ins Guide) Meter color 73
Edit windows 721 Matching sliders 668 Meter maps 683, 694
Event List window 398, 721 Measure button 253, 260 Metronome (see Click)
989
I N D EX
MicroB (see DP Plug-ins Guide) MIDI click 235 Min Time and Value Range command 802
Mid-beat 690 MIDI Device Groups 128 Min(imum) Time and Value Change 657
MIDI MIDI Device Properties 123 Mini-menu
Activity meters 155 MIDI Editor 365–389 Audio Monitor 247
arpeggiator 854 Audible Mode 376 Chunks window 738–739
beat clocks (see MIDI beat clocks) Auxiliary Time rulers 368, 370 Drum Editor 407–408
channels 109, 112, 155 Continuous data Markers 717
activity 241 grid 376–387 MIDI Editor 369
playback 109–112, 113, 200, Ruler 376, 378 Mixing Board window 768
213 editing 387 Notation Editor 425
recording 112, 155, 223–224 Loops 371 Sequence Editor 335
Tap Tempo 923–924 Marker strip 367, 371 Song window 754–755
click 234 Median strip 367, 386–387 Step Record window 254
controllers 578–580 Move handles 372, 386 Mini-menus
Audible Mode 301 meter/key changes 339 Audio Monitor 244
controlling volume 571–572 MIDI Edit 369, 374, 375–376, 383 Movie Window 278
Event List window 394, 394– mini-menu 369 Soundbites window 34
395, 401, 402 Mute tool Mix automation 793
Input Filter 211 note events 368, 372–376, 380–381 taking a snapshot 806
Tap Tempo 924, 926 Note grid 367, 371–376 Mix Mode
View Filter 293, 294 Pitch ruler 367, 373, 387 pop-up menu 766
data stream 202 listening to 373 Mix mode 791
Device Groups 128 selecting all notes of one pitch Mixdowns (see Mix mode)
Device Properties 123 375 Mixing 765–792
Devices tab (Bundles window) 122 Quick-Filter 379 Mixing Board 778
echo 216–218 Record Beats example 709 Enable Mouse Wheel for Sliders and
echo options with Patch Thru 218 selecting events Knobs 768
Edit 369, 374, 375–376, 383, 407 Note grid 374–375 EQ 778
Effects plug-ins 578 Time ruler 368, 370–371 Mixing Board window 765–792
events 321 View Filter 388 audio plug-ins 839
Event List window 393–398 zooming 373 auto buttons 781
file export from selection 27 MIDI Editor Preferences 369, 407 automated mixing 784
files MIDI Effects Plug-ins 578 grouping (see Track Groups)
exporting 25, 157 MIDI Express XT inserts 771
Keys 130 SMPTE sync with 921 level meters 783
Learn 833, 834, 848 MIDI Keys 130 mute buttons 780
mapper 217 MIDI Machine Control 943–950 opening 769
merger 217 Auto Record pan knobs 781
Monitor window 241–242 Advance option 947 quick reference 766
note entry from computer keyboard DTP Adat force-detect option 948 renaming board layouts 771
130 MIDI Monitor window 241–242, 958 re-ordering tracks 770
Patch Thru 216–218 MIDI Mute tool saving custom layouts 770
Auto Channelize 217 MIDI Only 125 showing/hiding sections 768, 770
Direct Echo 216 MIDI Panic 207 showing/hiding tracks 770
MIDI merge 217 MIDI processing solo buttons 780
ports 123 arpeggiator 854 surround panner dish 814
rechannelizer 217 as region operations 578 surround tracks 817
Set Sequence Tempo from MIDI change duration 853 switching board layouts 770
588 echo 854 switching sequences 771
Song Position pointer 241, 918 quantize 859 track strip described 771
Song Select 737–738, 741 Reassign Continuous Data 860 volume faders 782
System Reset 241 time shift 860 MMC (see MIDI Machine Control)
thru 216–218 transposer 860 Mode changes
Time Code 917–918 velocity compressor 853 Event List window 395–396
Track Annotations command 151, MIDI Solo & Patch Thru MIDI Editor 386
157 preferences 82 Model 12
tracks MIDI Time Code 918, 939 using for the MIDI click 235
creating 125 transmitting from Digital Performer Model 12 instrument plug-in (see DP
transmission rate 580 939 Plug-ins Guide)
MIDI beat clocks 241, 918, 922–925, 939 MIDI Timepiece AV 712, 934, 935 Modes
converted from SMPTE 922 SMPTE sync with 921 transposing 546
start/ stop clocks 918, 922, 941 Min Time and Value Change command Module 216, 217
transmitting 939–941 769 Modulo instrument plug-in (see DP Plug-
990
I N D E X
ins Guide) 275, 278 New Marker with Options 717, 718
Monitor record-enabled tracks through video hardware playback 279 New Markers have a Streamer 733
effects option 221 Video output 279 New Mix command 792
Monitoring Video output playback offset 279, New Saved Time 191
button 134, 135, 154, 155, 339 280, 282 New Saved Time for This Chunk 191
problems 143 Movie window New search command 512
Mono (no attenuation) 897 Movie Overlay option 732 New Sequence 738, 739
Mono (with 3.5 dB attenuation) 897 MP support (see Multi-processor support) New Song 738, 739, 755
Mono key pressure 579 MP3 914 New Soundbite Folder 34, 477
Mono mode 395 bounce to disk 900 New Soundbite from Active Beat 631
Mono Sum 777 file export 31 New Soundbites from Beats 595, 636
More Choices button 558 importing files 29 New Take 611
MOTU MS Decoder (see DP Plug-ins Guide) New Track Folder 165
Digital Timepiece 934 MTC (see MIDI Time Code) New Track Folder from Selected Tracks
MIDI Timepiece AV 934 Multi Bounce 908 165
video hardware playback 279 Multi mode 396 New Track Group 166, 169
MOTU Audio System Multi Record 126, 223–224 New Track Group command 166, 769
Audio Performance window 846 Tap Tempo 925 New V-Rack 738, 739
Configuring 213 Multi-channel audio (editing) 482 Next Time Format 88
configuring 213 MultiFuzz (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Next/Prev follows Marker Nums 717
input monitoring 219 Multimode Filter plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Next/Previous Preset 837
Mouse techniques 297 Guide) No accent option 236
dragging in Song window 757 Multi-processor support 787 No External Video Output 279
Move handle Multirecord is always on for audio tracks No pitch shift 878
Chunks window 737, 742, 743 82 Non-destructive editing 347
Median strip 372, 386 Multi-track audio recording 928–930 explained 299
Track Window 150, 154 MusicXML export 471 Normal noteheads 448
Move releases to closest attack 573 Mute automation 386 Normal QuickScribe 436, 469
Move Selected Tracks to V-Rack 749 Mute tool 314, 351, 368, 376 Normalize command 594
Move to Original Time Stamp 596 deleting soundbite tempo map Notation (see QuickScribe Editor)
Move to User Time Stamp 596 events 635 Notation Editor 70, 423–428
Movie track 277, 364 disabling beats 629 editing 428
Movie Window 275–282 edit pitch segments 883 inserting notes 426–427
Audio Output 279 Muting mini-menu 425
bouncing to disk 282, 907 audio tracks 201 Note events
Chase Graphical Edits 278 mute buttons in mixing board 780 doubling 577
Chase Numeric Edits 278 MW Compressor (see MasterWorks Com- Drum Editor 406
Clear Movie 278 pressor) Event List window 393
controls 277 MW EQ (see MasterWorks EQ) mapping to single pitch 548–549
during countoff 237 MW FET-76 (see MasterWorksFET-76 in MIDI Editor 368, 372–376, 380–381
exporting 282, 907 DP Plug-ins GuideEQ) QuickScribe Editor 443
FireWire output 281 MW Gate (see MasterWorks Gate) randomizing 565–567
FireWire video playback 281 MW Leveler (see MasterWorks Leveler) setting preference for the display of
flutters 276, 681, 731 MW Limiter (see MasterWorks Limiter) 71
Import Movie Audio 278 MX4 (see separate MX4 Guide) Note grid
improving performance 279 MX4 instrument plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Drum Editor 406
Lock to Transport 278 Guide) MIDI Editor 367, 371–376
mini-menu 278 MXF 51 Step Record 261–263
Movie Floats On Top 279 Notehead size 448
multiple 275
No External Video Output 279
N
Naming
n-Panner 822
NRPN 860
Open Movie window 278 Chunks 738 Nudge Amount 333
opening Files 17 Nudging 319
opening & closing 275 Markers 716, 718 in the MIDI Editor 375
punches 276, 681, 731 Song window 754 in the Tracks Overview 162
Reveal Movie in Finder 278 Tracks 112, 148 Sequence Editor 333
scrubbing with the slider 206 Nanosampler instrument plug-in (see DP Null Point 668–669, 670
Set Movie 278 Plug-ins Guide) Null Point, Set to 657
Set Movie Start Time 278 New 21 Numerator 693
Show Movie in Explorer 278 New Audio File 34, 477 Numeric Base 93, 719, 720
Size 278 New Audio File from Selection 34, 477
streamers 276, 680, 731
Use Same Movie for All Sequences
New Device Group 127
New Marker 717, 718
O
Octave range
991
I N D EX
transposing 548 Palette 443 Phrase Detail option 161
Octave Up/Down buttons 424, 426 Panic 207 Phrase Setup 160
Odd Meters 711 Panning 781 phrases
Off velocities 568–569, 576 audio 397 auditioning 301
Event List window 393 curve, removing 362 Piano parts
MIDI Editor 373, 378, 380–381 curves, inserting 361 splitting into right/left hand 575,
Offline Processing setting 867 curves, reshaping 361 577–578
Offset cut, copy, paste 362 Pick-up
grouped sliders 668 deleting and event (point) 362 beats 712
SMPTE disabling automation temporarily measures 182–183, 712
bit 182 362 Pitch
Chunk start time 181–182, graphic editing of 334, 358 automation 878
756, 929 surround 814 Automation Playback setting 866
Offset grid option 552–553 ParaEQ 778 Click preferences 235
Offset option (Step Record) 254 (see also DP Plug-ins Guide) transposing 878
OK is first beat option 710 Parametric EQ (see ParaEQ) Pitch bend 579
OMF interchange 51–53 Partial measures 682–683 determining value range 402
exporting 27, 52–53 Partial solo mode 201–202 Event List window 393
import via drag & drop 25 Parts per quarter note 85 MIDI Editor 376, 378, 379
importing 25, 51–52 Paste 530–531 Pitch Bypass 341, 886
OMFI (see OMF interchange) At Original Time 532 Pitch Display 71
Omni mode 395 At Original Time Multiple 532 Pitch Fraction setting 328
On any MIDI activity option 83 At Wiper 532 Pitch ruler 367, 373, 387
On velocities 568–569, 576 At Wiper Multiple 532 listening to 373
Event List window 393 Conductor track 681–682 Pitch segments 881
MIDI Editor 373, 378, 380–381 Event List window 400 Pitch-shifting 863–867
One new track option 575 measure relative pasting 507, 531 Pixel offsets 438
One track option 575 Multiple 531 Plate plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Only during countoff option 235 Repeat 532 Play button 177
Only follow source when selected 660 Repeat Multiple 532 Playback 113, 199–206
Only move barlines 696 Smart Selections 507, 531 audio 133–138
Only when recording option 235 Song window 757 channels 113, 200, 213
Onset 566 Paste Multiple 531 chasing during 202–204
Open Audio MIDI Setup command 127 Patch change Chunk 741
Open Chunks 738, 742 Event List window 394 controller chasing 202–204
Open Edit Windows command 151 Patch chasing 202–204 features active during 177, 200
Open Final Cut Pro project option 59 Patch Lists 129–130, 157 locating with mouse 162, 370
Open Media Framework Interchange (see expansion boards 123 scrubbing 206
OMF interchange) printing 22 selecting a device 126
Open Movie window 278 Patch Thru sequence 741
Open one editor for each track 80 applying MIDI effects 789 song 741, 756
Open Recent sub-menu 17 Audio (Audio Monitor) 219 System Exclusive 643–644
Open Selected Ending Bracket 433 in Background option 218 track play assignment 126
Open Sound Control (see OSC) Input Filter 218 Playback dashes 180
Open-loop (MIDI Machine Control) 945 MIDI interfaces 218 Playback-only notes 432, 466
Options 686, 691 Song Window 218 Play-Enable button 113, 148, 199, 199, 201
Original time 36 timing information 218 Chunks window 737, 741
Original Time Stamp 328, 357, 596 Pattern click 679 Play-enabling chunks 737
OSC 955 Pattern Gate (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Playlists
DP Control App 955 Pattern tool (see Rhythm Brush) building in an event list 400
Programming Guide 955 Patterns building in Sequence Editor 349
Output column 126 see Memory Cycle Plug-in management 843
Overdub 190, 226–227 see the Song window Plug-ins 839
Overwrite Existing Files option 900 Pause button 177–178 (see also DP Plug-ins Guide)
Overwrite mode 798 Peak accessing 773
Overwrite Mode changes to Touch after waveform editor 600 Audio Units (see Audio Units)VST
pass 811 Pencil tool 312 plug-ins
Perform New Search command 513 delay compensation 840
P
Page numbers 455
Performance meter 847
Performer files
effects presets 835
floating windows preference 846
Page Setup 22 opening 25 freezing 137, 593
Page size 442 PG/RT column 847 instruments 139–142, 784
Paging 205 Phaser plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide) latency compensation 840
992
I N D E X
Learn controller 833, 834, 848 MIDI Solo & Patch Thru 82 Project File Format and Default File For-
management 843 pitch display 71 mat 68
MAS 841 Project File Format and Default File Project folder 16
MIDI effects 578 Format 68 Project menu
MIDI Learn 833, 834, 848 Punch Guard 82, 866, 887 Add Instruments 139
performance 846 Receive Sync 918 Add Similar Tracks 115
preferences 843 rectified waveform display 72 Add Track 114, 125, 133, 158, 222,
ramp event density 845 Region Commands 541 223
surround panners 819 Shortcuts 70 Adjust Beats 705
virtual instruments 139–142, 784 Soundbite List 35 Change Key 678, 699–701
VST (see VST plug-ins) Startup options 24 Change Meter 678, 693–698
Pointer Coordinates (see Cursor Informa- Streamers, Punches & Flutters 276, Change Tempo 678, 685–692
tion) 733 Chunks 737–746
Pointer tool 311 Themes 72 Clippings 651–654
POLAR time display 88 Consoles 655–674
Export Options 273 Tool palette 80 Create Tracks 115
POLAR window 265–274 Tools 80 Delete Tracks 115
Undo history 528 Track Columns Setup 153 Drum Editor 403–422
Polarity 668 Tracks Overview 81 Duplicate Tracks 115
Poly key pressure 579 Transmit Sync 939 Effects 140, 839
Event List window 394 Transport 82 Event List 391–402
Poly mode 395 transport 190 Insert Measures 703
PolySynth instrument plug-in (see DP Undo Pruning 528 Markers 715–724
Plug-ins Guide) Waveform Editor 495 MIDI Editor 365–389
Pop Out of/Into Consolidated Window 97 Preferences & Settings command 67 Mixing Board 765–792
Ports (MIDI) 123 Pre-generation (pre-gen) 840 Modify Track Groups 165, 787
Post-fader sends 776 Preroll Movie 275
Postroll file-based plug-in previewing 841 New Track Group 166
file-based plug-in previewing 841 Link Playback to Memory option Project Notes 22
Link Playback to Memory option 187, 323 QuickScribe Editor 429–473
187, 323 MIDI Machine Control window 946 Record Beats 709–713
PPQ resolution 88 Preserve current frame time option 722 Sequence Editor 331–364
PreAmp-1 plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Preserve length of time from start of chunk Soundbites 33–45
Guide) option 722 Suspend Track Grouping 168
Precision Delay (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Preserve realtime performance option 536 Track folders 165
Predelay Presets Track Groups 165, 166, 787
Reverb 851 drum kits 413 Tracks window 147–164
Pre-fader sends 776 effects 835 Ungroup Tracks 166
Preferences 67, 77 Preview check box 542 Project Notes 22
Ask before closing 69 Primary external plug-in format 845 Propellerhead Reason
Audio file defaults 68 Print Individual Parts 431 multiple outputs 142, 849
Audio Options 81 Printing 22–23, 429 Propellerhead Software 283
audio plug-ins 843 instrument parts 470 Proton instrument plug-in (see DP Plug-
Auto Scroll 204 keyboard part 471 ins Guide)
Autosave 70 list windows 22 ProVerb (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Background Processing 870 margins 442 Pruning preferences 528
Chord Symbols 449 page size 442 Punch Guard 226
Click 234 score 471 preferences 82, 866, 887
Click Defaults 236 title page 437 Punches 276, 681, 731
Colors 73 Pro Tools Punches in sync with click 239
Consolidated Window 98 exporting projects to 51 Punch-In
Continuous Data 78 importing AAF file 25 Punch Guard 226
Control Panel 71 importing OMF file 25 recording with sliders 666
Countoff 238 sync points 358 Punch-In (see Auto Record) 175
Cursor Selection Mode 498 Time stamps 597 PureDSP solo vocal 878
data display 71 ProCue 1m1 732
Edit Windows 79
Film Scoring Events 276, 733
Program change (see Patch change)
Project 15
Q
Quan Jr. plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Fix partial measures automatically creating new 16 Quantize 550–556
79, 698 exporting 25 Attacks 551–552
Information Bar 329 opening 17 beats within soundbites 551
Lyrics 460 saving 17 Don't change duration option 552
MIDI Editing 80 Project Clipping Window 651 Durations 551–552
993
I N D EX
for notation 434 scrubbing with the wiper 206 in a song 757–758
freely played music 709 Segno 465 in external sync 229
grid 550, 552–553 Set Score Length 431 Input Filter 211
Input 211–212 Show Alternate Bar Menus 432 Multi Record 213–224
non-destructive (without changing Show Arranged Score 432 Tap Tempo 925
actual data) 859 Show Film Cues 468 Overdub 226–227
Offset grid option 552–553 Show Film Tools 432 Punch Guard 226
Releases 551–552 Show Lyrics 432, 459 quantizing on input 211–212
Sensitivity option 553–554 Show Tools 432 real-time 213–224
Strength 554 Split Selected Normal Notes 432 record channel 215
Swing 553 Switch Staff 432 Record channels 211, 223–224
tuplets 552 Text 453 Record-Enable button 126, 135,
Quantize (MIDI effects processor) 859 Tool palette 443 150, 155, 213
Quantize Pitch 595, 885 Track Options 431 Set Record sequence 754, 757–758
Question mark icon (on move handle) 35 track splitting 438 Sliders 665–666
Quick-Filter 379 QuickTime Export 907 step recording 229, 253–264
QuickScribe QuickTime video (see Movie Window) stereo 222
Exporting as MusicXML notation Quitting Digital Performer 23 surround 223
file 471 System Exclusive 643–644, 647–648
QuickScribe Editor 70, 253, 429–473
Allow Measure Selection 433
R
Ramp event density 845
Tap Tempo 925, 926
time available 244
Arrangement 460 Random Pitch Map 566–567 Undoing 178
Arrangement palette 432, 464 Randomize Recording on option (Step Record win-
Barlines 464 quantizing 555 dow) 253
Change Meter/Key/Tempo 451 tempos 587–588, 690–691 Recover Takefiles dialog 959
chord symbols 448–450 velocities 571 Rectified waveform display 72
Chord Symbols options 431 Range Latch mode 798, 801 Recycle
Clear Arrangement 433 Range Selections Only 498 importing files 29
Consolidate Rests 433, 465 Range Touch mode 798, 801 Red outline (soundbites) 347
date 455 Range Trim Latch mode 798 Redo 523
displaying markers 440 Range Trim Touch mode 798 Redo Next/Select Branch 523
Display-only notes 432, 466 Ratio (in velocity compressor) 853 Redo/Undo
Do to Selected Measures Real time 85 Edit windows 298
Hide 433, 462 building a song 755 Song window 757
Move 433, 464 editing 24, 177, 200, 289 Refresh command 520
Pop Out 433, 463 Realign music automatically 695–696 Region (of audio - see Soundbites)
dragging notes 446 Reason 283 Region Commands
Dynamics palette 432 multiple outputs 142, 849 preferences 541
Edit System Margins 431 Reassign Continuous Data 582–583, 860 Region menu 541–589
Endings 464 Receive Sync 917–932 Audition Selection 202, 301, 487,
Film Cues Only 436, 469 MIDI Machine Control 948 498, 896
Ignore mistakes 438 preferences 918 Capture Real Time MIDI Effects
inserting notes 443 Recent Files pop-up menu 558 command 588
Lyrics options 431 Record Beats 709–713 Change Continuous Data 582
Make Arrangement Markers 433 Record hits 717, 723 Change Duration 572–574
margins 442 Record time (Audio Monitor) 244 Change Velocity 568–572
Marker options 431 Record while still-framed 230, 919 compressing 569
markers 440 Record With Overdub Off 227 limiting 569
Measure numbers 431 Record With Overdub On 227 limiting velocities 569
measure numbers 441 Record-enable Conductor 754, 758–759 Clear Loops 588
Measure spacing 431, 432 Recording 178, 188–189, 191–192, 209– Clear Mute Automation 589
Normal QuickScribe 436, 469 229 Create Groove 561
Open Selected Ending Bracket 433 audio 213–231 DeFlam 555, 567–568
opening, opening multiple 433 audio with MIDI 224 editing on audio 290
Options 436 Auto-Record 175, 178, 188–189, Groove Quantize 557
page numbers 455 191–192 Humanize 565–567
page size 442 Bar 178, 188–189, 191–192 Insert Continuous Data 580–581
Pixel offsets 438 button 178, 188–189, 191–192 Insert Loop 588
Playback-only notes 432, 466 Tap Tempo 926 Insert Mute Automation 589
Print Individual Parts 431 Chunk 741 Invert Pitch 583–584
QuickScribe+Film Cues 436, 469 Conductor Track 925 MIDI Effects Plug-ins 578
Repeat barlines 464 hits 717, 723 Quantize 550–556
Score Options 431, 437 in a sequence 741, 754, 757–758 Reassign Continuous Data 582–583
994
I N D E X
Retrograde 584 Retrograde 584 Scaling
Reverse Time 584 Event List window 400 Sliders 668
Scale Tempo 586–588 Reveal In Finder 348, 600 Scissors tool 315, 368, 883
Scale Time 585–586 Reveal Movie in Finder 278 Score Length 431, 442
Set Gap Between Soundbites 589 Reverb 833 Score Options 431, 437
Set Sequence Tempo from MIDI Reverb (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Screen updating 183–184, 960
588 Reverb plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Scroll To 308
Smart Quantize 564–565 Reverse plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Counter 151, 308
Split Notes 575–578 Reverse Time 584 edit windows 308
Take Automation Snapshot 589 Revert to Saved 19 Scroll to Record Enabled Inputs 244, 247
Transpose 542–550 Rewinding 177, 184–185, 191–192 Scrolling (see Auto Scroll)
windows that stay open 541 Markers 716, 719 Scrub tool 314, 368
Region selection ReWire 283–285 Scrubbing 206, 356
MIDI Editor 371, 374–375 multiple outputs 142, 849 with Movie window slider 277
Tracks window 501 REX files SD2 (see Sound Designer II)
using Markers 720–721 importing 29, 30 SDII (see Sound Designer II)
with the Tracks window 163–504 Rhythm Brush 313 Seamless chaining 745, 745, 746, 753–762
Registration Rhythm Brush tool 407, 419–421 Search 38
card 960 Ring Modulator (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Search Again command 518
number 960 Ritard 688, 923 Search command 511–521
Rehearse mode 946 Roll tool 316 Search in all sequences option 513
ReInsert Round on Entry 180 Search Results window 520
Event List window 392 RPN 860 Segments 160–161
Releases Rubato 923 Segno 465
Extend Releases to Closest Attack Run last Bounce Again 908 Select All 539–540
573–574 Run Stopped Task Again 870 Select All in Range 539
Move Releases to Closest Attack 573 RXT (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Select Branch 523
Quantize 551–552 Select Notes 576
Reload 45, 597, 597–600
Remap MIDI Devices 129
S
Safe option in MMC window 946
Select unused soundbites 34
Selecting 446, 497
Remember Times 506, 720–721 Sample all notes of a single pitch 375
Remote Controls format conversion 861, 862 Chunks 739, 753, 757
cueing with 741 Pitch setting 328 crosshair 498
Cycle-record control 228 rate conversion 29, 861 events 499–501
Enter Counter options 322 Sample Format 68, 230, 897 Notation Editing window 446
Play-enabling chunks 745 Sample Format Conversion 862 Notation Editor 427
Play-enabling with 741 Sample rate Note grid 297, 368, 374–375,
printing 22 column in Soundbites window 36 406
Remove Duplicates 860 Sample Rate Conversion 861 lasso 498
Remove from Find Tempo Range 717, 726 Sample-accurate Markers 720
Remove from list 34, 42–43, 50, 477 editing 299 Notation window 446
Remove Tracks from Group 169 sync 917, 934 Search command 511
Rename Samples 86 Select subset of current selection op-
Pattern command (click) 236 Save 17 tion 514
Rename Mix command 792 Board Layout command 769 time range 501–506
Rename Take 612 Pattern command (click) 236 Tracks 159, 163, 501–504
Renumber by Name 717 Settings as Audio Export Format 31, Selecting a region
Renumber by Time 717, 720 899 all notes of a single pitch 375
Repeat 532–533 Settings for Bounce Again option Markers 720–721
Conductor track 683 898, 899 MIDI Editor 371, 374–375
Event List window 400 Window Set 105 Song window 753, 757
versus looping 249, 533 Save a Copy As 18 Tracks window 163–504
Repeat barlines 185, 464 Save As 17–18 Selection Bar 720–721
Repeat bottom/top note 857 Menu CategoryMenu Category 774 Selection color 73
Replace 45, 600 MIDI File 25–27, 157 Selection Information 321–323
Replace sequences option (Final Cut Pro Template 20 Sends 775
import) 60 Save Settings command 835 assigning 776
Reset Continuous Data Color To Default Save Transpose maps 544 configuring number of 777
380 Saved Patterns sub-menu (click) 236 level 776
Reshape Mode menu 313 Scale Expression 595, 881 mono sum 777
Reshape tool 312 Scale Tempo command 586–588 muting 776
Resolution 85 Scale Time 585–586 panning 776
Retain Clip 215, 244, 247 Scale/key transposing 546–547 pre/post fader 776
995
I N D EX
remote control via MIDI controller Set Selection to Active Beat 630 Shift data to option 710
782 Set Sequence Tempo from MIDI 588 Shift locked markers 717, 722
Send From Channel 777 Set Soundbite Tempo command 621 Shortcuts window 70
Sensitivity 553–554 Set Source 657 preferences 70
Separate tracks by pitch option 575 Set Sync Point 597 Show
Sequence Set Sync Point at First Beat 597, 628 Active Layer Only 335, 341
creating a new sequence 152 Set Take Folder 244 Alternate Bar Menus 432
defined 109 Set Target 657 Arranged Score 432
deleting 152 Set Temporary Group Type to Custom beat grid lines 79
duplicating 152 Type 169 Clipboard 539
renaming 152 Set Temporary Group Type to Edit 169 current DP Sequence option 59
Sequence controls 744–746 Set Temporary Group Type to Edit & Mix edit grid lines 79
Sequence Editor 331–364 169 Film Cues 432, 468
Auxiliary Time rulers 338 Set Temporary Group Type to Mix 169 in Tool Palette 81
editing 355 Set to Lyrics 432
Information Bar 337, 370, 408, 425, Null Point 657 marker grid lines 79, 338
443, 479 Zero 657 Notes When Scrolling Offscreen 80
loops 358 Set Track Pitch Mode 595, 882 Pitches for All Notes 407
Marker strip 371 Set User Time Stamp from Sequence 596 Streamers 734
marker strip 338 Set Zoom Setting 296 Times 335
meter/key changes 339 Setup menu Tools 432
mini-menu 335 Audio Performance 846 Show Frame Time 88
mix automation data 358 Audio System Show in Explorer 348, 600
moving soundbites vertically 349 MIDI Only 125 Show Lanes 359
moving tracks 336 MOTU Audio System 213 Show Lyrics 459
pop-editing soundbites 356 Auto Scroll 204 Show Measure Time 88
quick reference 332 Automation Setup 795, 811 Show Movie in Explorer 278
replacing a soundbite 349 Colors 73–77 Show Presets in Finder 542
Time ruler 338 Assign Track Colors 77 Show Presets in Finder/Explorer 836
track display 333 Clear Continuous Data Color Show Realtime Time 88
track folders 337 380 Show Sample Time 88
View Mode 342 Color schemes 75 Show Streamers 717
viewing initial track settings 785 Edit Track Color Schemes 75 Show Times 356
Sequence pop-up menu (in Tracks win- Reset Continuous Data Color Show/Hide
dow) 148 To Default 380 Clipboard 539
Serial number 960 Set Continuous Data Color Show/Hide Left/Right Sidebar 97
Session (see project) 380 Show/hide takes 612
Set Bite Gain 594 Track Color Preferences 73 Side chain input 849
Set Chunk Start 181–182, 712, 761, 929 Commands 91 Skins (see Themes)
Chunks window 738 Configure Audio System Skip buttons 744–745, 745–746
preserving locked markers 722 Audio System Clock 937 Skip Master Fader tracks 136
Set Console Name 657 Input Monitoring Mode 221 Slave sliders 667–669
Set Continuous Data Color 380 MOTU Audio System 213 Slave to External Sync 924, 929
Set Countoff 237 Control Surface Setup 953 Record Beats 712–713
Set Default Surround Panners 769 Event Chasing 202 Tap Tempo 927–928
Set Display 183, 184 Frame Rate sub-menu 918 Slide tool 316
Set Focus to Next/Previous Cell 97 Input Filter 211 Sliders 655–674
Set Gap Between Soundbites 589 Patch Thru 218 loading from another file 673
Set Grid Spacing 657 System Exclusive 644 Slip tool 316
Set Hit Range 717 Open Audio MIDI Setup 127 Small noteheads 448
Set Marker/Streamer Options 717 Preferences 24, 67 Smart Quantize 564–565
Set Movie 278 Data display 71 Smart Selections 318, 506–509, 531, 540
Set Movie Start Time 278 Pitch display 71 helping with editing conductor track
Set Nudge Amount 319 time display 88 683
Set Number of Effect Inserts 769 Receive Sync 917–932 helping with meter editing 697
Set Number of Sends 769 Time Formats 86 how it affects pasting 507, 531
Set number of tracks command 947 Transmit Sync 939–941 SMF (see Standard MIDI File)
Set Pitch Mode View Filter 292–295 Smooth Audio Edits 594, 640
for Selected Bites 595, 882, 884 Shade Noes using Velocity 80 Smooth Audio Edits Again 594, 640
for Track and Selected Bites 595, 882 Shift 535 SMPTE 85, 917–918, 928–930
Sequence Editor settings menu 341 attack times 536 29.97 drop & non-drop 918
Set Record sequence 754, 757–758 non-destructive (without changing bit offset 182
Set Score Length 431, 442 actual data) 860 bits per frame 182
996
I N D E X
converters 918, 928 name 754 inserting in Event List 397
Drop frame 918 names 753 layering 596
Frame Rate 918 New Song 738 loading 29
frame time display 85, 183, 370 opening 738, 742, 756 looping 188
MIDI beat clocks 922 Patch Thru 218 managing 39–43
multi-track audio recording 928– playing a song 756 moving 349
930 Record-enable Conductor 754, moving multiple 349
offset 182, 184 758–759 moving vertically in Sequence Edi-
Set Chunk Start 181–182, 761 recording into a sequence 754, 757– tor 349
Slave to External Sync 929 758 name 35, 397
sliding synchronized parts 930 selecting 757 naming 40, 401
start time 761, 949 Set Record sequence 754, 757–758 playback 133–138
tape striping 929 song defined 109 playing with Audible mode 40
SMPTE-Z (see DP Plug-ins Guide) song description 109 pop-editing 356
Snap Information 317–320 Sonic Modulator (see DP Plug-ins Guide) question mark icon 40
Snap to Beat 319 Sort by file name 40 red outline 347
Snap to Grid 317 Sort by name region editing 289
Snap to Markers 319, 333, 338 Soundbites 40 Reloading 597–600
Snapshot Sort by size 40 removing from list 42–43
to set initial levels with 785 Sound Designer II files 68 renaming in Sequence Editor 349
Snapshot automation 806 exporting interleaved 31, 34 Replacing 600
Snapshot button 767 importing 29 replacing 401
Snip 534 Sound effects replacing in Sequence Editor 349
Event List window 400 stutter 350 scrubbing 356
Solo & Play Phrase override mute automa- Sound file defaults (see Audio file defaults) selecting 355
tion 811 Sound File Information 326–329 selecting regions of 289
Solo button Sound module 217 selecting unused 41–42
exemption 113, 150, 339, 344, 783 Soundbite Sequence Editor 334
in Mixing Board 780 Tempo Set Gap Between Soundbites 589
Solo exemption 113, 150, 339, 344, 783 Analyze Soundbite Tempo snapping to grid while moving 349
Solo front-most edit window 202 627 snapping to next/previous 349
Solo Playback option (Step Record) 254 Tempo sub-menu 595 Sort by file name 40
Soloing tracks 201–202 Soundbite List Sort by name 40
exemption 113, 150, 339, 344, 783 preferences 35 Sort by size 40
partial solo mode 201–202 Soundbites 33–45, 396, 597–600 stutter effect 350
Soloist (see DP Plug-ins Guide) "throwing" 349 tempo 619
Song Change 241, 394 ‘X’ icon 41 tempo commands 595
Song Position pointer 241, 918 applying Region operations 290 that can’t be played 41
Song Select 737–738, 741 Automatic Conversions 44 time stamping 596
Song window 753–762 beat enable/disable trimming 352
chasing 204 Bite Volume 328 Soundbites window
Chunk Grid 753 compacting 43 Audible Mode 40
Chunk size 753 converting ones that can’t play 29 folders 37–38
Columns 754, 755 copying while dragging 350 renaming audio files 47
Copy all tracks option 754 creating 39 waveform editor 475
Copy Conductor Tracks 754, 761 deleting 42 Spatial Maximizer (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
creating a song 755–756 dragging & dropping in event list Speaker button 300
Delete Markers 721, 754, 760 400 Speaker icon (See Audible Mode)
dragging in 757 dragging and dropping 43 Spectral Effects 594, 873
echo effect with 759–760 dragging and dropping in Sequence Spectrogram display 342
Edit commands 754, 757 Editor 348 Spiral In/Out 857
Edit Conductor Track 754 Duplicating 597 Splice 534
End times 755, 761–762 duplicating end to end 350 At Original Time 535
event chasing 204 duration 397 At Original Time Multiple 535
Insert Column 754, 755 edge editing 352 At Wiper 535
Markers 754, 754, 755, 760–761 editing basics 298 At Wiper Multiple 535
matching chunk times 761 Editing with MIDI 299 Multiple 535
Merge Chunks to Sequence 754– exporting 31, 34 Splice Multiple 535
755, 760 extending a selection 506 Split 537
Merge Markers 754, 760 gain 328, 594 Split At Counter 537
Merge Tracks with identical Names icon for lost soundbites 40 Split Audio 537
755 in audio tracks 298 Split Notes 575–578
mini-menu 754–755 inserting in Edit window 348 Split Selected Normal Notes 432, 467
997
I N D EX
Spot Erase 228 Background Processing 869 converted from SMPTE 922
Springamabob (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Bundles 117 start/ stop clocks 918, 922, 941
Staccato 574 Clear all clipping indicators 247, transmitting 939–941
Staff names 783, 829 MIDI Monitor window 241–242
changing font in notation view 437 Click 233, 234 multi-track audio recording 928–
Staff system value 233, 678, 693, 694, 695 930
bracket 438 volume 236 Record Beats 712–713
spacing 437 Click Preferences 234 recording in external sync 229
Staircase Up/Down 857 Control Panel 173–197 sample-accurate 917, 934
Stand-alone streamer 733 Counter 183 Slave to External Sync 924, 925, 929
Standard beat clocks (see MIDI beat Cursor Information 320 SMPTE 917–918, 928–930
clocks) Event Information 321 Song window 760–761
Standard MIDI files Input Quantize 211–212 Tap Tempo slaved to tape 927–928
exporting 25, 157 Meter Bridge 827 Tempo Slider 196
exporting from selection 27 MIDI Device Groups 128 VITC 932
opening 25 MIDI interface System
Startup Clipping Window 651 echo options with Patch Thru troubleshooting 957
Startup options 24 218 System common MIDI data 241
Step button 253, 258–259 Patch Thru 218 System errors 957, 960
Step Duration buttons 253 MIDI Keys 130 System Exclusive 643–649
Step Record 229, 253–264 MIDI Machine Control 943–950 Audible Mode 301
Auto Step 253, 258 MIDI Monitor 241–242 editing
Backstep button 253, 259, 260 MIDI Patch Thru 216–218 Event List window 395, 399,
Beat button 253, 260 Multi Record 126 646
Click with Each Step 259 POLAR 265–274 MIDI Editor 386
dot boxes 253, 256 Remap MIDI Devices 129 SysEx editing window 645–
duration 254 Selection Information 321–323 646
keyboard diagram 263 Shortcuts 70 generating with slider 670–672
manual stepping 259, 264 Slave to External Sync 924, 925, 929 handshake 648
Measure button 253, 260 Snap Information 317–320 Input Filter 644
Mini-menu 254 Sound File Information 326–329 inserting in the Event List 646
Offset Option 254 Step Record 229, 253–264 insertion mode 645, 646
selecting durations 256, 261–263 Stop Sounding MIDI Notes 207 playback 643–644
Solo Playback option 254 Tools 309 recording 643–644, 647–648
Step button 253, 258–259 Track Assignments 127, 136 replacement mode 645–646
Step Duration buttons 253 Track Selector 325–326 viewing
Tick box 253 Subkick (see DP Plug-ins Guide) Event List window 395
tick box 256 Surround 813–825 System real time MIDI data 241
Transport Lock button 253 bundles 813 System Reset 241
tuplet box 253, 256 file editing 482
Stereo
creating a stereo track 133
fold down 818
joystick panning 815
T
Tacet click 679
recording 222 mixing 813–825 Take Automation Snapshot Again 810
soundbites 39 panner plug-ins 819 Take Automation Snapshot command
Stereo audio files panning 814 589
converting 29 recording 223 Take Folder 244
Stop button 177, 184 tracks 817 Takefiles
Stop Sounding MIDI Notes 207 Suspend Track Grouping 168, 169 Audio Monitor 243
Straighten Swing 438 Sustain pedal 395 changing location before recording
Streamers 276, 680, 731 Tap Tempo 926 245
Generate Streamer Track for 717, Swing Quantize 553 checking current location 246
735 Switch Staff 432, 448 checking location 215
Set Marker/Streamer Options 717 Switches are Cont. Data 78 definition 243
stand-alone 733 Sync folder 244
Toggle Streamer On/Off 717 (see also Synchronization) naming 244, 245
Strength 554 Sync points 357, 597 relocating 243
Strip Silence 592–593 setting 628 removing unwanted 43
Striping SMPTE 929 Sync Recorded MIDI to Patch Thru 218 renaming 47, 243, 245
Studio menu Sync to Port menu 919 selecting in Audio Monitor 243
Audio Monitor 243–247 Synchronization Takes 149, 611–617
Audio Patch Thru 219 basic types 918 Absorb Selected Tracks options 612
Audio Performance Chunks in Song window 760–761 Comp tool 614
MAS 787 MIDI beat clocks 241, 918 Delete all except current take com-
998
I N D E X
mand 612 Anchoring tempos 685, 688 Show Measure Time 88
Delete Take command 612 beat value 685, 687 Show Realtime Time 88
Divide Comp 616 Change Tempo 678, 685–692 Show Sample Time 88
At Selected Soundbite Bound- display preferences 71, 195, 678, 687 Time Formats window 86
aries 616 editing 692 Time ruler 148, 333
at Selection Boundaries 616 Event List window 398, 678 Drum Editor 406
at Wiper 616 Graphic Editor 389 MIDI Editor 368, 370–371
Duplicate Take command 612 modifying during playback 681 locating playback 370
hide takes 612 recording into a song 758–759 Sequence Editor 338
New Take command 611 resolution 195, 687 Song window 754, 755
Rename Take command 612 Tempo Controls 192–194 Tracks window 160
show takes 612 Tempo Slider 175, 193, 196 locating playback 162
Turn Takes into Tracks option 612 Remote Control 193–194 Time stamps 357, 596
while cycle recording 185 resolution 195, 687 Move to Original Time Stamp 596
Tap first beat 711 Temporarily Group Selection 169 Move to User Time Stamp 596
Tap Pad 193 Temporarily Group Visible Tracks 169 Original Time Stamp 596
Tap Tempo 918, 923–927 Temporarily Toggle Track Grouping 169 Set User Time Stamp from Sequence
channel 923–924 Tempos 596
click value 923 and audio 619 Show Times 356
Conductor Track 925, 926–927 Text 453 User Time Stamp 596
countoff 924 box Timecode bits 182
event 923–924 defined 453 Timecode track option 947
recording 758–759, 925 copy between DP and other pro- Time-stretching 863, 867
recording music 925 grams 539 Timing clocks (see MIDI beat clocks)
slaved to tape 927–928 pasting into QuickScribe from other Timing resolution
tap source 924 programs 456 beats per minute 195, 687
tempo maps 685, 758–759, 926 typing and editing 456 frames 182
Tap to Enter Tempo command 193, 194 Text menu ticks 85
Target track 659 display 453 Title page 437
Technical support 960 Themes 72 Toggle Active Beat 631
Template files 20–21 preferences 72 Toggle Beats in Selection 631
Tempo Thin Continuous Data 580 Toggle Bite Volume Bypass 594
Anchor indicators 685, 688 Threshold (in velocity compressor) 853 Toggle Streamer On/Off 717
automatic mode 685 Tick box 253, 256 Tool palette 309, 332, 366
basics 195 Ticks 85 Drum Editor 404, 406
beat value 195 per quarter note 88 MIDI Editor 368, 381
Change Tempo 685–692 Time preferences 80
curves 688–690 anchored text 454 QuickScribe Editor 430, 443
density 686, 688 compress/expand preference 327 Sequence Editor 334, 359, 360, 629
display preferences 71, 195, 678, 687 Display 88 Studio menu 309
editing conductor track during play- display 180 Waveform Editor 476
back 681 Drum Editor 406 Tools
frame-click display 71, 195, 678, 687 Event List window 392 Comp tool 316, 614
humanize 587–588 format menu 174 Cycle to Next Tool 310
in a Song 758–759 formats 85 I-beam tool 311
manual mode 685 frame time 85, 181–182, 392, 754 Insert/Reshape Curve 312
maps 685, 686–687, 926 measure|beat|tick time 85, 392, 754 Loop tool 314
audio files 634 MIDI Editor 368, 370–371 Mute tool 314, 368, 376
marking 438 of Max column 847 palette 309
mid-beat 690 range selecting 501–506 Pencil tool 312
randomize 587–588 real time 85, 392, 754 Pointer tool 311
randomizing 690–691 Sequence Editor 338 preferences 80
recording 925 Shift (MIDI effects processor) 860 Reshape Mode menu 313
resolution 195, 687 Signature setting (soundbite info Reshape tool 312
scaling 586–588 pane) 328, 628 Rhythm Brush tool 313, 419–421
searching for (Find Tempo) 725 specification 85 Roll tool 316
Set Sequence Tempo from MIDI step time 209, 229, 253–264 Scissors tool 315
588 Time Formats 85, 88 Scrub tool 314
setting 195 Frame time 86 Slide tool 316
synchronization 923–927 Measure time 85 Slip tool 316
Tap Pad 193 Next Time Format 88 Trim tool 315
Tap to Enter Tempo 193, 194 Real time 85 Zoom tool 314
Tempo changes 678, 685–692 Samples 86 Touch mode 798
999
I N D EX
Track 111, 165 Tracks Overview 148, 160–164 Transfer In SoundBites setting 328
color 73 colors 73 Transmit Sync 939–941
Columns Setup command 150, 153 controlling phrasing 160 echoing sync 941
display 333 preferences 81, 155 generate sync 941
enable/disable 135, 156 scrubbing with the wiper 206 generating MIDI beat clocks 940
folders (see Track folders) Tracks window 147–164 generating MIDI Time Code 939
locked 340 adding audio track 133 preferences 939
name underlined 340 adding tracks 158 Transport
options 431 Auto Scroll 162 preferences 82, 190
selector list 306 blocks, controlling phrasing 160 Transport controls 174
Track Assignments command 127, 136 colors 73 Transport Lock button
Track Color 73 comments 114, 150 Step Record 253
Track folders 165 Conductor Track 148, 677–683 Waveform Editor 476
contents overview 161 Copy to New Sequence 152 Transpose 542–550
Delete Track Folders 165 copying Tracks between Sequences audio 878, 885
in the Sequence Editor 337 743–744 audio by adjusting pitch automation
in the track selector 306 creating a new sequence 152 543, 885
New Track Folder 165 customizing 164 audio by creating new soundbites
New Track Folder from Selected Default Patch 149 543
Tracks 165 deleting 115 audio preference 327
Track Group Enable 169 Device Patch 129–130, 157 chord symbols 449
Track Groups 165, 787 ellipsis in play assignment 127 key/scale transposing 546–547
Add Selection to Group 169 enable/disable track 135, 156 Map 544–545
Delete Track Group 169 folders 165 MIDI effects processor 860
Modify Track Groups 166 Go To 151 non-destructive (without changing
New Track Group 166, 169, 769 hiding columns 153 actual data) 860
Remove Tracks from Group 169 Locate menu 148 poly pressure option 543
Set Temporary Group Type to Cus- Lock toggle 150 portamento controller option 543
tom Type 169 Loop Indicator 150, 159, 250 saving maps 544
Set Temporary Group Type to Edit Markers 148 Tremolo plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
169 Move handle 150, 154 Trigger plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Set Temporary Group Type to Edit naming 112, 148 Triggering MIDI notes 130
& Mix 169 opening 151 Trim 538
Set Temporary Group Type to Mix opening a new Tracks window 152, Trim Audio 538
169 738, 742 Trim End/Trim Start 538
Suspend Track Grouping 168, 169 opening in Song window 753 Trim Latch mode 798
Temporarily Group Selection 169 partial soloing 201–202 Trim plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
Temporarily Group Visible Tracks pasting 743–744 Trim tool 315
169 playback channels 109–112, 200, Trim Touch mode 798
temporarily overriding 169 213 Trimming soundbites 352
Temporarily Toggle Track Group- playback devices 113 TriPan 823
ing 169 Play-Enable button 113, 148, 201 Triplets
Track Group Enable 169 printing Track List 22 notating 435
Track Groups window 166 Record-Enable button 135, 150, Quantize 552
Ungroup Tracks 166, 169 155, 213, 223 Step Record 256
Track Inspector window 323 recording channels 109–112, 211, Troubleshooting 957–961
Track Selector 325, 326, 333 223–224 audio 958–960
Tracks 147 renaming a track 149 disk errors 957
(see also Audio tracks) re-ordering columns 154 error messages 957, 960
annotations 151, 157 Scroll To Counter 151 file errors 957, 958
color 73 scrubbing with the wiper 206 fonts 456
creating a MIDI track 125 selecting 159, 163, 501–504 input monitoring delays 220
enable/disable 135, 156 selecting a region 321–323 MIDI Monitor window 241–242
folders (see Track folders) sequence pop-up menu 148 monitoring problems 143
freezing 137, 593 soloing 201 system errors 957, 960
grouping (see Track Groups) surround tracks 817 Tube Wailer plug-in (see DP Plug-ins
instrument tracks 139–142 switching sequences 151 Guide)
naming 149 Takes 149, 611 Tune request 241, 395
splitting in QuickScribe Editor 438 Time Ruler 148, 160 Tuner plug-in (see DP Plug-ins Guide)
surround tracks 817 Tracks Overview preferences 151 Tuplet box 253, 256
types of tracks 111 View Filter 163–164 Tuplets
virtual instrument tracks 139–142, Wiper 148 notating 435
784 Transcription 709 Quantize 552
1000
I N D E X
Step Record 253, 256 randomizing 571 Wait button 175, 190
Turn Takes into Tracks 612 Velocity compressor (MIDI effects proces- indefinite countoff 190
Type icon 737, 742 sor) 853 preferences 82, 190
Type of click 234 Version numbers Warning streamer
Typing MIDI note entry 130 Digital Performer 960 at end of countoff 239
Vertical Interval time code (see VITC) before countoff 239
U
Über Tube plug-in (see DP Plug-ins
Video
FireWire video playback 281
WAVE files 68
importing 29
Guide) hardware playback 279 Wave64 68
Unassigned (instrument track) 140 Video Output command 279 Waveform Amplitude 480
Unconsolidate Rests 433, 465 Video Output playback offset 279, 280, Waveform Editor 475
Undo 523 282 preferences 477, 495
Undo History 289, 524 Video Time Piece 732 tempo menu 635
preferences 528 flutters 733 tempos tab 635
Undo/Redo 530, 542 Video Window (See Movie Window) Transport Lock button 476
Edit windows 298 View by menu (Soundbites window) 37 Undo history 528
Record 178 View Filter 292–295, 373–381, 388, 958 Waveform Amplitude 480
Song window 757 Conductor Track 682 Waveforms
Ungroup Tracks 169 Event List 294 colors 74
Ungroup Tracks command 166 Markers 723 explained 346
Unique Source Identifier 68 meter changes 697–698 What to quantize 550, 551
Unlock 722 MIDI controllers 293–294 When a note
Unlock Marker 717 Tracks window 163–164 is played 83
Unlocking markers 717, 722 with Sequence Editor 363 or controller is played 83
Unmuting View menu 290–292 Window menu
audio tracks 201 View Mode 342 Close All Effect Windows 835
Update existing fades option 609, 610 Virtual instruments 139–142, 784 Close Cell 97
Update Velocities for Beats in Selection freezing 137, 593 Edit Window Sets 105
630 playing from computer keyboard Pop Out of/Into Consolidated Win-
Upgrading command bindings 94 130 dow 97
Urei metronome click 234 Visual Save Window Set 105
Use custom track colors 73 click 235 Set Focus to Next/Previous Cell 97
Use External Waveform Editor 45, 600 countoff 239 Show/Hide Left/Right Sidebar 97
Use Learned Duration 421 punches 235 Window Sets 105
Use Learned Velocity 421 Visual punches 234 Window Sets 105
Use Memory As Pattern Endpoints 421 VITC 932 capturing/saving 105
Use Narrow view 768 VocALign sub-menu commands 601, 891 choosing 105
Use Same Movie for All Sequences 275, Volume editing 105
278 audio 397 Windows Video Exporter 907
Use Soundbite Color Bar 74 Click 236 Wiper
User interface creating volume changes 571–572 scrubbing with 206
themes 72 curve, removing 362 Tracks window 148
User Presets 836 curves, inserting 361 zooming 206
User time (see User timestamp) curves, reshaping 361 Word clock sync 935
User Time Stamp 328, 596 cut, copy, paste 362 Write XML version 58
deleting an event (point) 362
V disabling automation temporarily
362
X
X icon (on soundbite move handle) 35
V4HD
video playback 279 faders 782 X tool (see Mute tool)
V4HD video playback 279 generating volume curves 803 XML (see Final Cut Pro XML)
Variable Bit Rate (VBR) Fast 901 graphic editing of 334, 358 XMPT (see Solo exemption)
Variable Bit Rate (VBR) Standard 901 V-Rack Edit 834
VBR (variable bit rate) quality 901
Velocities
V-Racks 747–751
defined 109
Z
Zero, Set to 657
Change Velocity 568–572 in Chunks window 109 Zoom 339, 359
Click preferences 235 instrument plug-ins 141 back/forward 296
compressing 569, 853 loading 21 Edit windows 295–297
expanding 569 V-Rack Edit command 767, 768 in/out 296
limiting 569 VU meter 243 MIDI Editor 387
Off Velocities 373, 378, 380–381, mini-menu shortcuts 295, 369, 407
393, 568–569, 576 W
Wah Pedal plug-in (see DP Plug-ins
Notation Editor 428
On Velocities 373, 378, 380–381, Pitch ruler 373
393, 568–569, 576 Guide) playback wiper 206
1001
I N D EX
Sequence Editor 334
settings 296
shortcuts 314
to selection 296
tool 296, 314
Tracks window 162–163
ZTX
formant-corrected 877
Pitch and Time Stretch Options 82
preferences 82
standard 878
technology explained 863
1002
I N D E X