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Now for a very cool bonus feature that is part of Digital Performer 5 - and no doubt other sequencers will follow if they haven't already. It's called MIDI Keys.
What Is 'MIDI Keys'?
Lets say you're on a deadline and you have to make a flight to a meeting with the director. You have your laptop with DP5 installed and some files you've been working on. All of a sudden just after the captain turns off the seatbelt light, you get struck with a wonderful tune in your mind that you think could work and you'd love to show the director. You start up the laptop while singing the tune over and over in your mind so that you don't forget it (or jot it down on the paper towel that your drink was served on) but now you have to input the notes into your sequencer. Unfortunately, you don't have your studio on board and certainly no room to set up a piano keyboard. It would take hours to type in all the notes by hand... if only you could have a keyboard there! Don't worry - you do... right there on your laptop!
If you go to the Studio menu you can select 'MIDI Keys' (or SHORTCUT KEY: APPLE SHIFT K) and this window will open:
This window effectively changes your computer's keyboard into a piano keyboard. You can see in the window how each letter corresponds to the musical key. You can also move up or down the keyboard for different pitches by pressing the
'=' or '-' signs. Velocity is controlled with the lowest row of letters and pitch bend controlled by the '1' and '2' keys. The keyboard can be played with single notes and chords!
Well done to the guys at MOTU for coming up with this one!!!
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