79
SONG RECORDING
The PortaTone features powerful and easy-to-use song recording features that
let you record your keyboard performances — using up to six separate tracks —
and create your own complete, fully orchestrated compositions. Up to three
User songs can be recorded and saved. There are two record modes: Realtime
and Step.
Realtime recording
is similar to using a tape
recorder; whatever you play on the keyboard is
recorded in real time as you play it. Also, when
you record subsequent parts to other tracks, you
can hear the previously recorded parts as you
record new ones.
Step recording
allows you to enter notes indi-
vidually. As such, it is very similar to writing
down the notes on a sheet of music paper; each
note is entered one at a time.
Each method has its own advantages and uses.
Step recording is excellent for precision and for
entering notes whose placement, rhythmic
value, and velocity are fixed or consistent —
such as individual drum parts in a rhythm pat-
tern, or single notes in a syncopated bass part.
It also gives you precise control in recording fast
or complex passages that would be difficult or
impossible to record in real time. Realtime
recording on the other hand, is best for captur-
ing the natural “feel” of a performance, since it
allows you to record as you are playing and
simultaneously hear what you are recording.
Which method you use depends partly on the
type of music you wish to create and partly on
your own personal preference. You can even
use both methods in tandem. For example, you
could record a basic song guide to track 1 with
Realtime, then use Step to record your “preci-
sion” parts to other tracks (and perhaps even re-
record track 1, once all the other parts are in
place). Or you could program basic riffs and
patterns with Step first, then use Realtime to add
melodies and embellishments.
Keep in mind that all recording operations “replace” the data.
In other words, if you record to a track that already has
recorded data, all previous data in the track will be erased and
replaced by the newly recorded data.
004
001 116
MEASURE
TEMPO
RealTime
RECORD
004
001 116
MEASURE
TEMPO
Step
RECORD
OTS User
1
RECORD
001 116
TEMPO
EZ
1
RECORD
001 116
TEMPO
STYLE
STYLE
STYLE
STYLE
Each press of the RECORD button cycles
through the four Record modes — Realtime,
Step, OTS, and EZ Chord — before exiting
back to normal operation. (The OTS and EZ
Chord modes are unrelated to Song record-
ing; they are described on pages 72 and 68,
respectively.)
