Roland EM-55 Value Kbd Velo, Performance functions, Keyboard Velocity, Pitch Bend and Modulation

EM-55 Owner’s Manual

11. Performance functions

Keyboard Velocity

The EM-55 is velocity sensitive, which means that the volume and brightness of the Upper 1/2 and Lower notes depend on the force/speed with which you strike the keys.

All acoustic instruments (piano, violin, flute, drums, etc.) are velocity sensitive. The harder you play, the louder and brighter the resulting notes will be, which creates a perfectly natural effect. (That explains why the KEYBOARD VELOCITY function is on every time you power on the EM-55.)

If the EM-55 is your first musical instrument ever, you may feel distracted by the volume and timbre variations of the notes you play in the Upper section.

(1)Press and hold the [FUNCTION] button, while pressing the BANK/NUMBER [1] button.

FUNCTION

1

This selects the “KbdVelo” function:

VALUE Kbd Velo

(2)Use the [TEMPO/DATA] dial to select one of the available options:

Off: The EM-55 does not respond to changes in playing dynamics. All notes you play will have the same volume and timbre (tone colour).

Low: Choose this setting if only significant differences in playing dynamics should pro- duce noticeable changes.

Med: This setting corresponds to standard velocity sensitivity, i.e. the most natural response.

Hig: Choose this setting for maximum expression. Though you will have to hit the keys harder than usual to play loud and bright notes, this setting allows for precise control of the volume/timbre (even though it may require some training).

(3)Press [SONG], [STYLE], [TONES], [USER PROGRAM], or [MUSIC ASSISTANT] to

leave this page.

Note: Quite a few Tones use “velocity switching”. This means that your striking force sometimes selects a different sound. So only switch off this parameter if doing so makes you feel more com- fortable.

Note: Keyboard Velocity applies to all parts you can

play yourself (the “Keyboard parts”): Upper 1/2, Lower, M.Bass (page 43), and M.Drums (page 18).

ENGLISH

Pitch Bend and Modulation

The BENDER/MODULATION lever to the left of the EM-55’s keyboard can be used to add two kinds of effects to the Keyboard part notes. You can even use these effects simultaneously if you like.

(1)Press the lever towards the rear of the EM-55 to add a vibrato effect (“wobble”) to the notes you are playing.

	MODULATION
Lowers the	Raises the
pitch	pitch

(2)Turn the lever to the left to temporarily lower the pitch of the notes you are play- ing. Turn it to the right to raise the pitch of your notes.

(3)In either case, you can release the lever if

you no longer need the effect.

Note: If desired, you can change the Pitch Bend interval. See “PB Range (Pitch Bend Range)” (p. 43).

BENDER

The Modulation axis can also be used for switching between the slow and fast Rotary speeds (if the “Rotary” effect is assigned to the M-FX).

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