If you are new to sequencing, I'm going to give you a brief introduction to help you familiarize yourself with the sequencing environment. Look at the window below. There you can see:
  1. Control Panel: this is where your play / record / rewind / fast forward etc. controls are. You will also see other setting that will help in the recording process.
  2. Pop Out Control Windows: these are where you will set other controlls such as tempo, frame rates, audio settings and shortcuts to some of the edit windows. To make these windows appear click the small triangle to the upper right corner of the Main Counter window.
  3. The Movie Window: where the movie plays. An 'active' window will always be on top, so in this case the Track List window is active. Make any window active simply by clicking on it. To make the movie window appear go to the Project menu and select Movie (or SHORTCUT KEY: Shift V). You will then be asked to locate the Quicktime File. For more details go to the: import movie section of the website.
  4. Track List: these will let you make various settings, do multiple takes, define patches etc. for each individual track. You can also activate tracks here for recording.
  5. Edit Windows: the lower window is the Mixer window where you can add dynamics, auxiliary inputs and effects to each track. To change between edit windows press the edit window buttons on top of the each edit window. You can swap between Tracks, Sequence, Drum, MID, notation and other windows. Event edit windows will open when you double click on an event in the Track window.


The Control Panel

Song Position: is a slider that indicates your position in the piece of music. You can also navigate along the piece by dragging laft or right, much the same as you would control a piece in iTunes.
Return To Start / Stop / Play / Pause / Rewind: Pretty much the same as the conrols on any recording device. When pushing Stop, if the 'Auto Rewind' button in selected, the piece will automatically return to the Start Marker. There are shortcuts to these controls too on the number keypad:
  • Return To Start - 1
  • Stop - 0
  • Play - Enter
  • Pause - 2
  • Record - 3
  • Fast Rewind - 4
  • Slow Rewind - 5
  • Slow Forward - 6
  • Fast Forward - +

Meter: You can change the meter by going to Project / Modify Conductor Track / Change Meter
Beat Value: You can change this by clicking on it.
Tempo: There are several ways to control the tempo. As it is here you canchange the tempo simply by clicking on it and entering the new value.
Main and Secondary Counters: You can follow the music either by Measure Number (as show here), Real Time (H:M:S:1/00ths), Frames and Samples. To change these click the small icon to the right of the window.
Chunk Commands: These are used if you create the music in 'Chunks' instead of one continuous piece.
Auto Rewind: With this selected anytime you press stop it the piece will set to the time indicated by the Selection START position. SHORTCUT KEY: 7 (on the number pad)
Auto Stop: With this selected the music will stop when you reach the Stop point indicated in the Stop Window. SHORTCUT KEY: 9 (on the number pad)
Loop Selection: With this activated the piece loops the points indicated in the Start & Stop windows. SHOTCUT KEY: - (on the number pad)
Selection In/Out: This is where you can select where the piece loops when cycling a section, set the position where the song piece returns when you press the stop key or the Record In / Out points.
Overdub Record: Withthis selected you can do multiple passes on a section of a track. Whatever exists on that track will not be erased as you record over the top. Unselected will be the same as a fresh new recording pass and will erase whatever is pre-recorded on the Record Enabled Track. SHORTCUT KEY: * (on the number pad)
Record In / Out: With this selected you can set the In and Out points of a recording.
Click On/Off: This will give you a metronome while you play / record and countoff. If you want to change the settings, including accented first notes, double click this icon and the Click preferences will appear. SHORTCUT KEY: CLEAR (on the number pad)
Countoff: This indicates if you want a meausred 'pre-roll'. Again, double click to set the preferences. SHORTCUT KEY: = (on the number pad)
File Names: When you save your piece or sequence, the name will appear here.
Input Record: With this selected, the sequencer is set to record and is waiting for a midi signal to start recording. As soon as you start playing it will record. SHORTCUT KEY: / (on the number pad)
Slave To External Synch: Select this if your sequencer is being controlled by another device, such as ProTools or another computer. Double Click to change the settings. SHORTCUT KEY: APPLE KEY and 7


If you have any questions about your sequencing environment please don't hesitate to get in touch and we'll try to point you in the right direction.



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