Kurzweil ExpressionMate, User Manual

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Global Functions
User Rhythms
85
An ExpressionMate Rhythm has a Beat Value parameter, Number
of Steps parameter, and up to 16 steps, each consisting of a
Length and a Duration.
The Beat Value speciÞes how many clocks constitute a beat.
Possible values are 1 - 96. The standard value of 24 displays as
"1/4" and other "round" values display as other musically
meaningful time values including dotted durations and triplet
(T) durations. Odd clock values, like 15, are displayed as "15Clk".
The Number of Steps speciÞes how many of the following steps
constitute a rhythm cycle. From 1 to 16 may be speciÞed. Set this
Þrst before editing the steps because steps beyond the speciÞed
number are hidden by the editor.
When you select a step for editing, the screen shows 4 things
about the step:
1. The step number, "Stp XX"
2. The cumulative total beats from step 1 up to and including this
step, "Tot=xx.xx"
3. The length of this step in beats, "X.XX".
4. The duration of notes started by this step, also in beats, "X.XX".
Length speciÞes how long before the next step starts. Duration
speciÞes how long notes begun when this step starts will sound
and can be either shorter or longer the length of the step.
Both length and duration are stored as a number of clocks, from 1
to 96. The length and duration display is in terms of beats to
reduce the amount of mental arithmetic one must do. Thus if the
Beat Value is 24 and a step's length is 12, then that step's length
will be displayed as 0.50.
The "Tot=XX.XX" display lets you know how many beats have
been "accounted for" up through this step. If you want 4 beats per
rhythm cycle for example and you've speciÞed 8 steps, then the
"Tot=" Þeld should show "4.00" when the 8th step is displaying
for the rhythm's timing to be correct. Nothing enforces this rule
however so it is easy to get some very whacky sounding
rhythms.
Note that the Beat Value DOES NOT inßuence the sound in any
way. If you change it, you will not hear an effect. All the Beat
Value does is to help display the length and duration of steps in a
more meaningful way. So if you want to make a given rhythm go