• Author / Uploaded
• 2014johnh

Citation preview

ChordPulse Manual 17JUL2014, edited by PEARSCH, IAeSR. v1.0

FastSearch ®: copy phrase into CNTRL-F Arpeggio, Arrangement points, Chord inversions, Clear Loop, default inversion, Deleting chords, Delete Page From Sequence, Edit menu, File menu, Hot keys, Insert Page Into Sequence, Loop From This Bar, Moving and copying chords, Options menu, Play menu, refrain, Repeat All, Repeat Off, Repeat Page, slash chord, Splitting chords, Selecting chords, semitones, Sound mix, Transposing chords, Voice Leading

1

ChordPulse Manual Contents

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Installation

0

Installation

| Previous | Next

Music styles and tempos Key shift and transpose Sound mix Working with chords Chord types Slash chords Chord inversions Chord pages Loops and repeat mode Arrangement points File menu Edit menu Play menu Options menu Hot keys

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ChordPulse Lite (freeware); ChordPulse Player (freeware); ChordPulse (full version) Before you install, please make sure that you are logged on as Administrator or as a user with Administrator privileges. The installation wizard will guide you through the process. Updating & upgrading You can update/upgrade to a newer version by simply installing the new release over the old one. Uninstall Select Uninstall from the Start menu folder of ChordPulse. System requirements -

Windows XP/Vista/7 operating system 1 GHz or faster processor 1024x768 or higher resolution monitor Sound card 64 MB of free RAM

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1

Music styles and tempos

Changing music style To change the music style, simply click on "Style" or the name of the actual style below "Style". A menu appears where you can select a new style.

2

ChordPulse Manual The tempo will change to the new style's tempo automatically. If you want to keep the actual tempo while switching between styles, activate "Lock Tempo".

By default, when you change the music style, the volume levels of the accompaniment (drums, bass, chords) will be fixed at their current values. If you want the volume levels to be set to their default values when changing styles, deactivate "Lock volume levels". Changing tempo You have several options to adjust the tempo. First of all, you can use the " Tempo" slider:

For fine adjustments you can use the + and - buttons on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can click the + and - buttons next to the "Tempo" slider. This way you can increase or decrease the tempo by 1 BPM (beats per minute). In addition, you may click on "Tempo" or the BPM value displayed below it (on the black display) and select from a menu of several BPM values. Reset tempo

You can revert to the style's default tempo anytime by clicking on the button next to the "Tempo" slider. The yellow light on the button indicates that the tempo is set to default.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2

Key shift and transpose

Click on "Key" or the "#"/"b" symbol displayed below "Key" to change the key of your song/session by -5, -4, -3, ..., +4, +5, +6 semitones. A small box pops up where you can select the semitone shift:

3

ChordPulse Manual

You can switch back to the original key at any time by clicking on " 0". You can also choose whether you want to use sharp or flat notes here. Transpose Independently of "Key Shift", you can transpose the whole session, the actual page, or selected chords. Choose "Transpose..." from the "Edit" menu to open the Transpose dialog:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3

Sound mix

You can adjust the global volume of ChordPulse using the " Master" slider. The sound levels of the drums, bass and chord sections of the accompaniment can be controlled independently:

4

ChordPulse Manual

Use these volume controls to adjust the sound mix to your tastes, or to turn down tracks completely, thereby creating space for your "live" instrument. For example, turn down "Chords" and you get a drum machine with bass. Turn down "Drums" and you get a bass and chords only accompaniment, so you can practice as a drummer. Or simply use the default volume mix and sing along with the full accompaniment.

Mute sound

To mute the sound of ChordPulse, click on the Alternatively, press “M” on your keyboard.

button to the left of the "Master" slider.

Reset sound mix You can reset the sound mix (i.e. the sound levels of drums, bass, and chords) anytime by clicking on the button next to the "Chords" slider. The yellow light on the button indicates that the sound mix is reset.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4

Working with chords

Adding chords Move the mouse to the empty area on the right of the last chord. A " +" symbol will appear. Click on it to add a new chord to the chord progression:

To insert a chord before an existing chord, right-click on the chord and select " Insert" from the menu.

5

ChordPulse Manual Playing from a chord Position the mouse over the bottom-left corner of a chord. A play symbol will appear. Click on it to start playing from that chord.

Resizing chords To change the length of a chord drag the right edge of the chord to the desired position. The small vertical lines below the chords indicate the bar lines. In the example below, the first chord lasts for 2 bars, the second for 1.5 bars, the third for 0.5 bar:

Splitting chords Right-click on a chord and select "Split" from the menu to split it into two. Selecting chords Click a chord to select it, click it again to deselect it. Hold down [ CNTRL] and click on multiple chords to select them simultaneously. To select a block of chords, hold down [ Shift] and click on the first and last chord. Deleting chords Right-click on a chord and select " Delete" from the menu to delete it. Alternatively, select the chord (left-click) and press [Delete] on the keyboard. Moving and copying chords Selected chords can be moved by simply dragging them with the mouse. Hold down [ Ctrl & C] to copy the selection instead of moving it. Alternatively, you can use the cut/copy/paste commands of the chord menu ( right-click on a chord) or the standard Ctrl+X/Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V hot keys.

6

ChordPulse Manual Transposing chords To transpose a chord or group of chords, first define your selection. Then, right-click on any of the selected chords and choose "Transpose" from the menu.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5

Chord types

Double-click on the chord you want to change. The chord edit box will open:

Click on a musical note to set the chord root. Click on the " maj","m","+", etc. buttons to change the chord type. You can choose from the following types:

maj

major

7

half-diminished seventh

m

minor

o7

diminished seventh

+

augmented

6

major sixth

o

diminished

m6

minor sixth

M7

major seventh

sus

suspended fourth

7

dominant seventh

2

major second

m7

minor seventh

m2

minor second

+7

augmented seventh

sus2

suspended second

7

If the chord edit box is open, a single click on a chord is enough to select it for editing. To mode, simply click on an empty area.

quit edit

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6

Slash chords

Double-click on a chord to open the chord edit box. Click the The musical note buttons will be split:

button to define a slash chord.

Clicking on a musical note sets the chord root, clicking on the area below sets the bass note. In the above example, the slash chord G/F is selected. A second click on the same bass note selector raises the bass by an octave (indicated by an arrow):

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7 Use the

Chord inversions buttons in the

chord edit box to shift a chord by one inversion up or down.

The chord inversion is relative to a default inversion selected automatically and individually for each chord by ChordPulse in order to reduce distances in pitch between different chords, thereby providing

smoother transitions from chord to chord. Note that the bass note is not affected by the chord inversion function (e.g. moving the chord C,E,G one inversion up to E,G,C does not change the bass note to E). The bass can be set independently with the

button (see slash chords).

BACKGROUND INFORMATION - VOICE LEADING: Voice leading is the movement of the musical notes from one chord to the next. In a more general way, voice leading is the relationship between the pitches of simultaneously moving voices, tones or parts in a musical composition. Voice leading can follow "the law of the shortest way" when chord notes move as few semitones as possible (smooth voice leading). Example: When a C major chord in the root position (C,E,G) is followed by an inverted Em chord (B,E,G), the middle and high notes remain the same while the lowest note changes by one semitone only, resulting in a very smooth voice leading. Find more information about voice leading on Wikipedia.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8

Chord pages

Chord progressions can be structured on chord pages. 36 unique chord pages are available, identified by a symbol from A to Z and from 0 to 9. For example, you can place the chords for the verse of a song on page V, and then set the chords of the refrain on page R, and the bridge on page B, etc. This way, you can conveniently structure and restructure your chord progressions. For instance, V V R V R B R R defines a typical song structure. The maximum length of a chord page is 16 bars. If this is not enough, simply use more pages (e.g. page V and W for a verse that is 32 bars long).

Navigation When there are several pages, simply click on a page to view or play it. Press [Space] to start playing from that page. Press [Space] again to stop. Press [Home] to start playing from the first page.

Sequencing pages Move the mouse to the empty area on the right of the last page. A " +" symbol will appear. Click on it to add a new page to the page sequence:

To insert a page before an existing page, right-click on the page and select " Insert Page Into Sequence" from the menu. To delete a page, right-click on it and choose "Delete Page From Sequence" from the menu. To change a page in the sequence, double-click on it to bring up a small box where you can select a different page:

There is an alternative way to define a page sequence. Select "Edit Page Sequence As Text" from the "Edit" menu. A window opens where you can define the sequence using your keyboard:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9

Loops and repeat mode

Repeat mode There are three repeat modes: "Repeat All" plays the session repeatedly, "Repeat Page" plays the actual page repeatedly, and "Repeat Off" plays the session once. You can set the repeat mode either by selecting the appropriate item in the "Play" menu or by clicking on the Repeat switch on the display:

Alternatively, press [R] on the keyboard to select the repeat mode.

Custom loop region Independently of the repeat mode, you can define a custom loop region. Click on the bar (below the chords) where you want the loop to start and move the mouse, holding down the left button, to the bar where you want the loop to end. Alternatively, right-click the bar where you want the loop to start and select "Loop From This Bar", then go to the bar where you want the loop to end, right-click, and select "Loop To This Bar" from the menu.

Activate/deactivate loop

Right-click on the yellow line representing the loop region or on the bar area (below the chords) anywhere and select "Activate Loop"/"Deactivate Loop" from the menu. Alternatively, press [ L] on the keyboard to activate/deactivate the loop.

Clear

Loop

Right-click on the yellow line representing the loop region or on the bar area (below the chords) anywhere and select "Clear Loop" from the menu. Alternatively, press [ C] on the keyboard to clear the loop.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10

Arrangement points

You can add a music arrangement point at any beat in your music in order to customize your accompaniment. For example, you can start with a chords-only backing, then switch on the bass four bars later, and finally add the drums yet another four bars later.

Arrangement points can be used to define song breaks and endings. ChordPulse lets you control 'Drums', 'Bass', and 'Chords' independently to provide many options for your music. In addition, you can use two or more arrangement points for a given song break or ending and enjoy even more variety. An arrangement point is effective until the next arrangement point or the end of the chord page, whichever comes first. This also means that each chord page starts with the default music arrangement.

Adding Arrangement Points Move your mouse a few pixels above the top of the chords at the desired beat:

Left-click on the

symbol to add an arrangement point and open the editor:

Alternatively, right-click on the from the following menu:

symbol to add an Arrangement Point by choosing a preset

Editing arrangement points You can select different modes and audible parts of 'Drums', 'Bass' and ' Chords' independently to define various music arrangements.

The 'Drums' section consists of four parts: [k]: kick drum, [s]: snare drum, [h]: hi-hat, [+]: other percussion The 'Chords' section consists of three layers (a,b,c). The actual musical content of these layers varies with the music style. Typically, layer ' a' is a sustained sound (e.g. organ, strings, or synthesizer pad), layer 'b' is a rhythmic/percussive component, and layer ' c' is an additional decorative item (e.g. a guitar arpeggio). You can refine the music arrangement by adjusting the volume levels of individual parts/layers by using the Session Mixer (open it from the 'Play' menu or press [M] on the keyboard).

Arrangement Point menu

To access this menu, do one of the following: - click the icon in the Arrangement [top-bar] Point Editor - right-click the diamond shape [above the chord] representing an arrangement point - right-click in an empty space in the Arrangement Point Editor

Using this menu you can cut, copy, paste, or delete music Arrangement Points and select from several arrangement presets.

Example: adding a song ending You can define a song ending in a few clicks: 1. Select 'Repeat Off' by clicking on the repeat mode sensor:

2. Add an arrangement point at the start of the last bar of your song: right-click the symbol above the chord at the desired position and select 'Drum Break + Sustain Bass & Chords' from the menu:

You may also experiment with the following: -

changing the inversion of the last sustained chord (e.g. one inversion up) using two or more bars instead of one moving the Arrangement Point back or forward by one or more beats adding a short fade out effect

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11

File menu

“New” Initializes the workspace. “Open”... Opens a file dialog where you can locate and open saved session files. ChordPulse session files have the extension "cps".

“Recent files”... Here you can find a list of the most recently used 20 files so you can quickly and conveniently access your sessions. “Save” This saves changes made to the session since you last saved. “Save As”... Use this command to save the actual session to a new file. “Save As MIDI File”... Saves the music to a standard MIDI file (format 0 or 1). This function ignores master volume, mute, tuning, and loops.

“Save Chords As Text”... Saves the chords of the actual session to a text file:

“Session Notes”... You may add notes about the actual session here. It will be stored in the session file. “Session Links”... You may store up to 5 links to files or web pages in your ChordPulse session:

If a link is specified, a "Link" sensor will appear above the session name:

This sensor lets you open the file or web page with a single click. “Global Notes”... Store your general notes and reminders in this place. “Exit”

Exits the application.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12

Edit menu

“Undo” Click this to undo the last performed action (or use the hot key: Ctrl+Z). “Redo” Click this to redo the last undone action (or use the hot key: Ctrl+Y). “History”... The history window shows your last performed actions with the most recent at the bottom. Click on any action to go to that point in one step.

“Preset Chord Progressions”... This window contains a selection of chord progressions for easy access. Most of them are commonly used in different styles of music, while others are just useful examples or building blocks for further experimentation. Select a chord progression and click on "Replace Page" (or simply double-click on a progression) to overwrite the actual chord page (previous chords will be deleted).

Click on "Add To Page" to add the selected chord progression to the actual chord page (without deleting previous chords).

“Transpose”... This opens the Transpose dialog where you can transpose selected chords, the actual chord page, or the whole session.

“Clear Page” Deletes all chords on the actual chord page. “Cut/Copy/Paste Chords” Use these commands to cut/copy/paste selected chords. “Delete Chords” Deletes selected chords. “Select All Chords On Page” Selects all chords on the actual chord page. “Edit Page Sequence As Text”... You can quickly define a sequence of chord pages by editing a string of characters. For example, you type in VVRVRBRR, press [Enter], and you have defined a sequence of 8 chord pages with verse ( V), refrain (R), and bridge (B) pages in the given order.

“Clear Page Sequence” Use this command to delete the chord page sequence. This does not affect the content of chord pages (all chords on all pages will be left unchanged).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

13

Play menu

“Play From Actual Page” Plays the session/song from the actual chord page. “Play From Start” Plays the session/song from the beginning (first chord on first page). “Play From Loop Start” Plays the session/song from the start of the custom loop region (if any). “Stop” Stops playing. [Use the space bar for faster response.] “Repeat All” Plays the session repeatedly. “Repeat Page” Plays the actual chord page repeatedly. “Repeat Off” Plays the session once. “Fade Out”... Set an optional fade out time for your song:

“Mixer”... Make fine adjustments to volume levels in your session. Optionally, store your settings as a custom mix for the actual music style.

In the 'Drums' section, you can control the loudness of kick drum, snare drum, hi-hat, extra percussion, ride cymbal, crash cymbal, and fx (splash and china) cymbals. Note that these sliders (blue labels) are actually controlling MIDI note velocities and not volume levels. The 'Chords' section consists of three layers ( a,b,c). The actual musical content of these layers varies with the music style. Typically, layer ' a' is a sustained sound (e.g. organ, strings, or synthesizer pad), layer ' b' is a rhythmic/percussive component, and layer ' c' is an additional decorative item (e.g. a guitar arpeggio).

Use the three respectively.

buttons to reset all sliders for 'Drums', 'Bass', and 'Chords',

“Music style's custom mix”

Click on the

button to store your mix as the actual music style's custom mix. Later,

you can load that remixed music style from within any session by clicking on the next to the name of the music style, for example:

icon

“Accompaniment”... This gives you access to some accompaniment options for the session level:

“Auto cymbal” Defines how often the crash cymbal will be hit automatically. By default, the frequency is determined by the actual music style's default value. You can overwrite this value and specify a custom one.

“Restart music style on page change” If activated (default), the accompaniment pattern will be restarted when a chord page switches to the next one in the page sequence. “Repeat music style segment in loops” If enabled, the accompaniment pattern will be synchronized to the song position whenever a loop restarts (similarly to a CD player). If disabled (default), the accompaniment pattern will loop independently (i.e. it will play its full length pattern regardless of the length of the loop). This way it is possible, for example, to define a short progression (e.g. two chords in two bars) and have an 8-bar accompaniment pattern playing its full length without restarting after the first two bars every time.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

14

Options menu

“Precount”... Set the MODE, SOUND, DELAY, and LOUDNESS of precount:

“Reference Tones”... Tune your instrument using this function. Select pitch, octave and repetition rate. Alternatively, tune ChordPulse to your instrument by changing the frequency of the A440 reference.

“Visual Transpose”... You can set a visual transpose for the chords and musical notes you see in ChordPulse. This will not affect the actual pitch at which the music plays. Visual transpose is useful for transposing instrument players (like saxophone, trumpet, clarinet, etc.) and also for guitar players using a capo.

Please note that visual transpose applies to: -

chords (as seen on the main display) chord editor "Save Chords As Text..." function (in File menu) "Note-Octave Matrix" visualization "Chord & Bass Notes" visualization

but it does not apply to:

- "Piano Keyboard" visualization (The piano keyboard will always show what a piano player would play.) If you activate visual transpose (change it from the default C to any other musical note), then each time ChordPulse starts you will see a reminder for three seconds. “Show Musical Notes” Visualizes the musical notes that are currently being played by the backing band. You can select from the following visualization modes: -

Piano Keyboard Wide Piano Keyboard Note-Octave Matrix Chord & Bass Notes

In "Note-Octave Matrix" mode, the musical notes are shown in a grid. The vertical position indicates the octave of the note. “Show Actual & Total Time” Shows/hides the actual play position and total length of the session. “Show Bars” Shows/hides bar lines below chords. “Show Bar Numbers” Shows/hides bar numbers next to the 1st, 5th, 9th, etc. bar lines. “More”... Select this to display more options:

“Midi output device”

Select a General Midi compatible midi output device to be controlled by ChordPulse. If there are more devices available, select the one that sounds best in your opinion. “Midi channels used” Select the midi channels ChordPulse uses to communicate with your midi device. One channel is used for drums (always midi channel 9) and six additional channels are used by different instruments of the accompaniment. “Warning before deleting an unsaved session” If “on” a warning is displayed before opening a session, starting a new session or leaving the application with an unsaved session. “Flat notes by default in new session” Selects flat notes to be used by default in new sessions. Otherwise sharp notes will be selected. “Automatically close "Style" / "Tempo" / "Key shift" selector” If this is enabled, the "Style" / "Tempo" / "Key shift" selector closes automatically after clicking on its buttons (e.g. selecting a music style). Otherwise, the selector stays open after the first mouse click, so you can try different settings conveniently (e.g. search for music styles). “Model – White” Select “white” version of ChordPulse. “Model – Wide” Select wide version of ChordPulse. “Model - Key shift buttons” Show key shift buttons (reset/+/- key shift controls) in main window. “Display text color” Select a color for the text used on the main black display. “Chord colors” Select a coloring method for the chords: "Match text": all chords have the same color: "Display text color" "Alternating": chord colors match "Display text color", but every 2nd chord is darker "Spectrum": chords are colored based on their bass notes "Pastel spectrum": a less saturated version of "Spectrum" “Color gradient for slash chords”

If this option is enabled, the bottom part of a slash chord will be colored based on the bass note, the top part will be colored based on the chord root note, with a smooth gradient between the two colors. If disabled, the chord will have a single color based on the bass note. “Chord & page look” Select a style for the chord and page sensors. “Chord cursor”

Show/hide the chord cursor below the chords. The chord cursor shows which chord is actually being played. In pulse mode, the cursor pulsates with a frequency based on the current BPM.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

15

Hot keys

You can use the following hot keys for added convenience when working with ChordPulse:

Action

Hot key

Play/Stop from actual page

Space

Play from START

Home

Play from LOOP START

Enter

Stop/Play

Space

Tempo +/-

+/-

Key shift +/-

Up/Down arrows

Select repeat mode

R

Activate/deactivate LOOP

L

Clear LOOP

C

Select precount mode

P [Set the MODE, SOUND, DELAY, and LOUDNESS]

Show mixer

M

Show session notes

N

Show/hide reference tones

T

[You may add notes about the actual session here]

Mute

U

Undo

Ctrl+Z

Redo

Ctrl+Y

History

H

Cut chords

Ctrl+X

Copy chords

Ctrl+C

Paste chords

Ctrl+V

Select all chords on page

Ctrl+A

Delete selected chords

Del

Close active window

Esc

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------