![]()
For more information, please visit: www.geneffects.com |
![]() |
The Settings Panel
Drum SelectionMuSingMIDI has a pre-determined set of MIDI drums it uses on MIDI channel 10. You may select which of these you want to possibly incorporated into your beats by checking or un-checking the box next to the name of the particular drum.
TempoWhen "BPM" is selected the number in the text input box represents the Beats Per Minute at which the created rhythms will play. By default BPM is selected and set to 120.When "Samples" is selected the number in the text input box represents the number of samples long that the produced beat will be. This number will, in general, be much larger than if BPM were selected. For example, to produce beats that are one second long put 44100 in the text input field. The number 44100 dictates one second because that is the number of samples in one second of CD quality sound. Time SignatureOften songs have varying time signatures. Most contemporary Western (as in Western Hemisphere) music is set in 4/4 timing. That means when you count to a song you find yourself repeating every four beats - "one, two, three, four, one, two three, four,É". With a waltz the time signature is 3/4, meaning that when you count to a waltz you find yourself repeating every three beats - "one, two, three, one, two, three". Blues typically has a six count before it repeats. Set the time signature to whatever you like. When training a beat on a loaded loop it is often good to choose the same time signature as the loop, but on the other hand choosing a differing time signature can produce interesting effects.Mutation ItemsPatterns - These are the actual rhythmic patterns of the beats. Selecting this to be mutated allows for the rhythmic patterns to be changed.Instruments - These are the sounds of the drums. Selecting this to be mutated allows the drum samples assigned to different channels to be changed. Mutes - Mutes determine if a channel plays or not. Allowing mutes to be evolved changes the thickness of a beat. If mutes are activated it makes a more minimalistic sound, and a more dense sound if they are deactivated. Levels - Levels control the volume of each instrument. Selecting this to be mutated means that some children beats may sound as if certain instruments are louder or softer than those of their parents. Velocities - It is useful to think of velocities as being how hard a drum is hit. In a rhythm performed by a living drummer, a drum is never hit with the same strength twice. This creates interesting nuances and can be used to evoke very powerful effects. A trick is to set Patterns and Velocities to be the only Mutation Item selected after a nice sounding beat has been evolved. This can create drum fills or different drum parts for a song with a good degree of continuity. The SlidersMu - This governs the mutation rate. Setting this slider to the bottom means that all children beats will sound just like their parent, there will be no change. Setting this slider at the top means that all children beats will sound strikingly different from the parent. Since the principle is that we want our children beats to contain basic properties of the parent but to also contain unique characteristics, the mutation rate is set by default to 25%.Dens - This governs the density of a beat. The density is the probability that a drum will be hit at any given time. When this slider is set at the bottom you are given very sparse beats; when set near the top the resulting beats are very dense but often not very interesting. A good medium between low and high density is required as pleasing rhythms are governed just as much by what is not played as by what is. The default is set to 50%. An interesting effect can be achieved with this slider: Evolve a beat that you like then set "Patterns" to be the only mutation item selected under Mutation Items box. Set the Density slider to the bottom and begin evolving the beat. What happens is that increasingly sparse beats are produced with every generation. If these beats are saved and played in sequence it sounds as if the drummer is fading out, but not in the typical volume sense. Playback RepeatsThis setting governs the number of times that a beat is repeated in playback. The default is set to "2" so that you get a sense of what a beat is like repeated
|