Turtle Beach Deluxe manual Recording Tracks, Using Jammin’ Keys to create background tracks

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Using Jammin’ Keys to create background tracks

With Jammin Keys (explained in the next section) you can quickly build background tracks for composing your own songs in different styles. By importing these background tracks into Recording Station, you can then add more instrument tracks to create a complete song.

Downloading MIDI songs from the Web

The Internet is an exciting resource for thousands of MIDI files that you can download and import into Recording Station. There are hundreds of Web sites devoted exclusively to MIDI songs that you can download for free. Most of them are in General MIDI format, meaning that they will translate directly from the Internet to Recording Station, with the instruments separated into different channels so that you can manipulate individual sounds, volumes and panning. Some of these songs include lyrics which Recording Station will display so you can sing along with the music and record your voice!

As of this writing, here are a few sites to get you started. Follow instructions on each site for properly downloading MIDI files to your computer. It’s an easy process, and the files are small, so they won’t take long to download:

www.midifarm.com- large selection of files and links to other sites

www.classicalarchives.com – a handsome and easy-to-navigate classical music MIDI site

www.aitech.ac.jp/~ckelly/SMF.html – this site bills itself as “The Most Complete & Best-Maintained List of Sites With MIDI Files", with well over 30,000 links to MIDI music sites.

Recording your own songs

Once you have performed the following exercises, you’ll be ready to try your hand at recording a song in Recording Station from the ground up. You can record all of the MIDI instruments from your MIDI keyboard, including drums, bass, guitars, strings, etc.. You can then add vocals, acoustic guitar or other real instruments using your microphone if you wish. Or just record your own piano for a living record of your playing progress.

Recording Tracks

Recording Station is based on the concept of “Tracks”—a term used in recording studios to identify particular voices or instruments in a song. For example, when you listen to a popular tune on the radio you might hear some drums, electric bass, guitar, and vocals. When this music was recorded, each of these parts was recorded on a different track. This way, each part can be independently modified without affecting the other instruments. This saves time and reduces the chances of errors when recording. Recording Station uses the principle of multi-track recording by combining MIDI instruments and digital audio on separate tracks that you can control.

In Recording Station, tracks 1 – 10 correspond to MIDI channels. This lets you record up to 10 MIDI instruments (one per track) in addition to two digital audio tracks (for voice and acoustic instruments). Note that track 10 is a special track only used to record MIDI drum sounds.

The Recording Station mixing panel organizes an array of controls in columns—numbered 1 through 10 to correspond with MIDI channels 1 through 10. To the right of these MIDI Tracks are two more columns for digital audio tracks. Each column’s knobs, dials, and readouts control just that specific track, so, for example, pushing up the volume slider in the third column will only increase the volume of track 3.

Here’s what you need to know when making a recording:

ƒEach track is controlled by the buttons and sliders in its column. Any and all changes made in that one column will affect only that single track’s playback and recording.

ƒUse tracks 1 through 9 for melodic parts only. You can choose a different instrument for each track. There are 128 different instruments to choose from for each of these tracks. As you click the forward and backward arrows, you’ll see the list of General MIDI instruments scroll in the display window.

ƒTrack 10 is always reserved for the drums and works a little differently. We’ll discuss this a bit later.

To record on a melodic track (1- 9):

1.Make sure that you are at the beginning of the song. If the position indicators do not read 00:00, click on the rewind button.

2.Check the tempo setting and make any changes you need. Note that if you haven’t yet recorded any digital audio you can set a slower tempo to make it easier to play. Later you can change to a faster tempo for the final performance.

3.Click on the Record Mode button for the desired track. The red indicator will light up to show it is active.

Teach Me Piano Deluxe

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Contents Teach Me Piano Deluxe Teach Me Piano Deluxe Program Overview IntroductionWelcome Progress Report shows you how you’re doing … Music Games test your music skills… Online help is always available… Helpful Tips…Getting Started To install the softwarePlease register your software with us What you’ll need to run the programsChecking your Midi keyboard connection Setting-Up Your Midi KeyboardKeyboard Shortcut Keys Piano Room ScreenLessons Keyboard LessonsEnter and Sign In, Please Preparing to PlayTo sign in as a new user To run Keyboard Lessons after you’ve signedAs a New User Keyboard Lessons’ Contents ScreenInformation Screen Adjusting the Volume in Keyboard LessonsKeyboard Lessons Screens Practicing Rhythm Getting the Beats Right Video ScreenTrainer Screen Practicing Pitch Getting the Notes Right Performance ScreenPracticing Rhythm & Pitch Getting Beats and Notes Right To perform a piecePerformance Options Using Note Names and Finger NumbersTo practice an area from the Evaluation Screen Evaluation ScreenSelecting a Range Progress Screen Chapter Review ScreenBase and Extended Level Synthesizers Changing the Setup in the Keyboard LessonsOrganizing Songs in the Songbook SongbookImporting a Midi Song into the Song Book When Importing Midi FilesDeleting a Song from the Songbook To import a songFrom the Performance Screen you can Track-split OptionTo use the Track Split option To print a song Printing a SongMusician’s Reference Keyboard Tour Understanding Midi and Synthesis Recording Station Using Recording Station’s sample Midi filesWhat You Can Do With Recording Station Working with songs you’ve learned in Music LessonsRecording Tracks Using Jammin’ Keys to create background tracksDownloading Midi songs from the Web Recording your own songsRecording Drums on Track Recording Digital Audio TracksLoading a File from Jammin’ Keys Saving and Loading Recording SessionsMidi Track Controls Transport Controls and Displays Lyrics, Exit, Setup, and HelpTempo and Key Signature Controls Exercise 2 Record Piano and Vocals on America The Beautiful Recording Station ExercisesExercise 1 Load, play, and modify a Blues song Teach Me Piano Deluxe Improvise over the virtual band, with different instruments Jammin’ KeysWhat You Can Do With Jammin’ Keys Keyboard Zones Exit, Setup and HelpAccompaniment Zone Auto Riffs ZoneImprovising Zone Jam GridRed and Green Lights To turn on Auto JamSelecting a Lead Instrument Changing Instrument SoundsSelecting Effects Pad Sounds Fills, Breaks, and Intro/End Styles and VariationsFills BreaksTempo and Key Signature MixerTo start or end a jam session with the Intro/End button To change the key signature or tempoRecording, Saving and Loading Jam Sessions Transport DisplayTransport Controls To record a session in Jammin’ KeysTo load a previously recorded Jam Session To save a recorded jam sessionExercise 2 Import a jam into Recording Station Jammin’ Keys ExercisesExercise 1 Play a rock jam Teach Me Piano Deluxe Overview of Music Games Music GamesCheck your Sound Card and Connections Troubleshooting TipsSound Check Midi Thru Setting Troubleshooting Midi problemsMidi Input Test Midi Output TestDigital Audio and the Windows Temp file Troubleshooting Digital Audio ProblemsChecking Digital Recording and Playback
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