Drummer:
drummer |
The Drummer can contain any number of 'voices'. A drummer voice is a slot in to which you can load a single Apple Loop.
Using voices the Drummer is able to play any number of Apple Loops simultaneously.
song | beat | input |
The song beat input is used to indicate to the Drummer the current position of the song when the Metronome is running - as a consequence you have to connect the 'song beat output' of the Metronome to this input for loop playback to work correctly.
running | input |
The running input is used to indicate to the Drummer that the Metronome is running - as a consequence you have to connect the 'running output' of the Metronome to this input for loop playback to work correctly.
left | audio | output |
The left audio output is used to send the left channel of audio from the Drummer to downstream Agents.
right | audio | output |
The right audio output is used to send the right channel of audio from the Drummer to downstream Agents.
Drummer voice:
A Drummer voice is a slot within the Drummer in to which you can load a single Apple Loop. Using voices the the Drummer is able to play any number of Apple Loops simultaneously.
The volume parameter allows each Drummer voice to be made softer or louder and obtain a cohesive mix off all the Drummer voices when they're playing together.
Drummer loop:
A Drummer loop refers to the internal representation of an Apple Loop within the Drummer Agent (as opposed to a reference to a particular Apple Loop).
Chop:
Each Drummer voice has a parameter called 'chop', which sets the steepness of a fade-out at the end of each slice of audio in an Apple loop, to make percussive loops sound better when stretched out. A voice with a chop value of 0 doesn't fade out after each slice, and a value of 100 fades out very quickly making the loop sound very 'choppy' or gated. When creating a new Drummer voice the default chop value is 10.
The chop parameter only applies when the loop on the voice is played back at a slower tempo than than the one it was defined for. It is used to change the way the loop slices cross fade, stretching them to be longer and helping loops that are being played back slower than the intended tempo to sound smoother. When loops play at a higher tempo than their defined value, the chop parameter doesn't apply.
first |
The 'first' verb is used to pick the first Drummer loop from your loop database as the loop within the current voice.
next |
The 'next' verb is used to switch the loop within the current voice to the next loop in your loop database.
choose |
The 'choose' verb is used to select the currently selected loop in the EigenBrowser for inclusion within the current voice.
play |
The 'play' verb is used to play a specific voice.
name | ify |
The 'name ify' verb is used to give a drum loop a Belcanto name.
toggle | play |
The 'toggle play' verb is used to toggle the playback of a specific voice.
add |
The 'add' verb is used within the Drummer loop browse view in the EigenBrowser to add the currently selected loop to a new Drummer voice (which is dynamically created).
remove |
The 'remove' verb is used to delete a particular Drummer voice.
select |
The 'select' verb is used to select the 'current voice' (i.e. the voice that verbs such as 'first', 'next' etc. apply to.)
scan |
The 'scan' verb is used to scan for new loops added to your loop database.
Before using the commands below, make sure you have the Drummer in the conversation using:
drummer | listen |
To play a specifc Drummer voice:
X | play |
where X is the voice number.
To stop a specific voice:
X | un | play |
where X is the voice number.
To play all Drummer voices:
play |
To stop all Drummer voices:
un | play |
Set the volume of a specific Drummer voice by saying:
voice | X | volume | to | Y | set |
where X is the voice number and Y is the volume (any number between 0 and 120).
To choose a new apple loop for a voice, first bring up the list of apple loops in the EigenBrowser (the EigenBrowser will need to be opened first for this to work):
eigenbrowser | hey |
drummer | loop | browse |
Choose which voice you would like to select a loop for:
voice | X | select |
where X is the voice number. Once you have chosen the voice you can either use the Eigenharp's scroll keys or the computer mouse to pick an apple loop from the list.
To choose the next apple loop in the loop database say:
next |
To choose the first apple loop in the list say:
first |
It is also possible to give apple loops belcanto names, this is particularly useful if you wish to load the apple loop in to a Drummer voice using a talker. To name a loop you need both the Eigenbrowser and the Drummer in your conversation:
drummer | listen |
eigenbrowser | listen |
Take a look at the list of apple loops in the browser, to the left of each loop there is a number, this is the loop's selection number. To name an apple loop say:
selection | X | to | Y | name | ify |
where X is the loop's selection number, and Y is the desired belcanto name. The belcanto name can incorporate any words from the belcanto dictionary, you can also make up your own belcanto word; if you are using the language keys simply play in your new word, if you are using the eigencommander type ! followed by your new sequence, for example - 'selection to !1234 name ify', or 'selection to !8888 name ify'.
To choose an apple loop using its belcanto, first select the voice you wish to use:
voice | X | select |
where X is the voice number. Then say:
X | choose |
where X is the loop's belcanto name.
If you want to create a new voice for the Drummer, first browse the drum loops, then once you have found a drum loop you wish to create a voice for, use the command:
X | add |
where X is the loop's selection number in the eigenbrowser. This will create a new voice with your chosen apple loop loaded in to it.
To remove a specific Drummer voice use the command:
X | remove |
where X is the voice number.
remove |
on its own will delete the currently selected Drummer voice.
To set a Drummer voice's chop value:
voice | X | chop | to | Y | set |
where X is the voice number and Y is the chop value (between 0 and 100).