Viscount Maestro – Grande - Sinfonia
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The START / STOP button runs and stops the accompaniment; alternatively, the
SYNC START and SYNC STOP buttons allow to run or stop the accompaniment,
respectively when you press and release the notes played on the keyboard; this can be
useful, for instance, to start the accompaniment simultaneously with the first chord of a
song.
The song beginning and ending can be enriched by some introduction and
conclusion measures, activating the INTRO and ENDING options respectively, by
pressing the related button; if you prefer, you can choose the IN and OUT fading modes
to begin and end up the accompaniment with a volume progression.
4.3. THE METRONOME
The central frame on the left part of the screen, reproducing a traditional
mechanical metronome, displays the current metronome value, ranging from 30 to 240
beats per minute; this value affects the execution of the automatic accompaniment, as
well as the play back of the MIDI tracks read from the floppy disk.
The metronome setting, in terms of beats per minute (BPM), can be done by
using the rotative encoder to change the value shown on the screen, or by pressing four
consecutive times, with the desired speed, the TAP TEMPO button; the button LED will
light up showing you the acquisition phase, then it will turn off when the instrument has
computed and displayed the new value for the metronome.
Each accompaniment style has a related metronome speed, which is set
automatically when selecting the style; however, if the automatic accompaniment is
enabled and you are switching from one style to another, the current metronome speed
is maintained. Finally, when playing a song with the recorder (see Chapter 7), the
metronome will follow the settings read from the MIDI track.
4.4. THE CHORDS RECOGNITION
The chords recognition may work on all the keyboard, or only on the 2ND split,
depending on the current PROG.SPLIT status; the recognition technique used is a
complete one, as it is able to recognize every chord of three or four notes, in any turn-
up. The recognized chord is shown on the upper right corner of the screen (CHORD
TYPE), using the standard abbreviations of the musical notation. The automatic
accompaniment is able to follow the recognized harmony, even after having released
the chord: the HOLD button activates this function (button LED on).
Instead of using the automatic recognition, you may set the harmony by an
alternative technique commonly used by musicians, especially in the USA. This is
possible using the ONE FINGER key, through which the chords recognition works in the
following way: the lowest note in the recognition zone is chosen as the fundamental
tone, and the chord type depends on the number of pressed keys, as shown below.
