Tutorial: Song Mode
12-15
Part 7: Learning More About Song Mode
Factory ROM Songs
The PC3LE includes a number of pre-recorded songs stored in the factory ROM. Investigate
these songs to see the possibilities of Song mode. Feel free to edit or add to any of these songs in
order to learn more about song mode. You can save the demo songs you’ve experimented with
under new ID numbers so that you can compare between your version and the original. Also, if
you replace a factory ROM song, you can revert to the original song by deleting the song using
the Object soft button in Master Mode (see the Master Mode chapter.)
Quantizing
Quantizing is a method of adjusting the timing of notes recorded into a sequence. It can be used
to adjust note timing in order to fix mistakes in a performance, or to make notes adhere to a
strict timing grid as a stylistic choice (as in much modern electronic music.) Quantized notes
have technically perfect timing but tend to sound less like a human performance. Quantization
can be applied automatically to each track as it is recorded, or it can be applied after recording to
only specific selections. For details see the Song mode chapter: The MISC Page, Quant
parameter, and Song mode chapter: Song Editor: Track Functions, Quantize.
Creating Loops With The Big Time Page
On the Big Time page you can set the sequencer to loop a selection of bars. Set the Loop
parameter to Loop, and set a time for the Time In and Time Out parameters. Now, pressing
Play/Pause on the front panel will cause your selection to play repeatedly and seamlessly. You
will most commonly want to set your Time In and Time Out points to equal an even number of
bars such as 2, 4, 8, etc. Recording into a looped section of bars is a common technique for
recording sequence based music. For example, with a drum program selected for a track, you
could record a drum part by playing one drum sound each time through a 2 bar loop, until the
entire 2 bar drum “beat” sounds complete. Next, you could turn off the Loop parameter and
duplicate your drum beat several times to create the drum track for a longer song (see below for
details on duplicating bars.) Keep in mind that you can loop any length of a song, and record
into a loop with multiple layers of instruments on different tracks. This is also a common
method for recording sequence based music, in which you created each section of your song
from looped sequences, and then arrange the loops into the desired order for your song’s
structure. Afterwards you can make variations to each section if you want the song to have less
of a “looped” sound.
Song Editing And Structure With Track Functions
In song mode you can easily copy part of a sequence to another time in the song, or from one
track to another. You can also copy a section of all tracks at once in order to duplicate or
structure entire sections of your song, such as verse and chorus sections. You can also choose
groups of notes to erase, or entire bars of time to delete. There are many basic and advanced
editing functions available. For details see the Song mode chapter: Song Editor: Track Functions.
Program Changes
If your song requires more than 16 instrument parts, one method of achieving this is with
program changes. For example, let’s say you’ve used all 16 tracks but desire a new instrument
for the next section of the song. If there is a track whose instrument is not needed in the new
section, this track’s program could change to a new instrument sound for the section, and then
change back to the original instrument sound after the section. To do this, simply press Record
and Play/Pause and then change the Prog parameter on the Song mode MAIN page to the new
program at the desired time. This can be done most precisely if you know the ID# of the program you wish
To Next Page
Loading...
