All Metronome Types/Free Taster
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Controls Common to Many Windows
Bounce Metronome
Bounce Metronome Free Taster main window - see F1 Help window for QUICK START...
This tip is shown when you hover the mouse over the main window title bar or background. For help for individual controls hover the mouse over the control.
Choose your metronomes from the droplist in the main window, depending on your interests. Currently set to the Free Taster Metronome.
The Free Taster boiunce metronome is completely free, for anyone to use.
Bounce Metronome Free Taster
Basic metronome with preset time signatures, and subdivisions.
You may need to use the RESET METRONOME button first if if you have come here from one of the other metronomes. This is the main window - when you close it, Bounce Metronome will exit.
Quick start
1. Select a time signature with a click on one of the preset buttons.
2. Set the tempo using the tempo dial. Or tap at desired tempo with BACKSPACE.
3. Use the STOP sound or PLAY sound button to stop and start the sound. Or use the RETURN KEY to stop or start the metronome.
4. To hear each beat split up into smaller subdivisions, use the appropriate button . Or to just hear the main beat, set the number of subdivisions to 1.
If you choose four subdivisions you will see an extra check box "Also 2" appear - this lets you emphasize two subdivisions as well (e.g. eighth notes as well as sixteenth notes).
The bounces start and stop automatically with the sound. Click the button: STOP Bounce or START Bounce to stop and start the bouncing balls on their own - e.g. to stop the bounces with the sound still running, or start the bounces without sound for a silent metronome.
To choose which device on your computer to use to play the notes, use Choose OUT DEVICES and PARTS to play for each device (Ctrl + 41) in the Play drop menu.
Other Visuals
To see the bouncing balls in a larger window use Metronome Bouncing Ball (Ctrl + 219). You can get to this quickly with the magnifying glass icon at top right of the bouncing balls display in the main window - or choose Bounce >> 2D Bounce - larger window from the Bounce drop menu.
For the 3D animations with bouncing ball, drum stick or conductor's baton style visuals use 3D Bouncing Balls, Drum stick or Conductor's baton (Ctrl + 224)
To resize the tempo dial and bouncing balls separately you can split the main window into several different windows. To do this, go to SPLIT MAIN WINDOW in the Options drop menu.
Try out the many ways to display the bouncing balls in the drop lists in the bouncing balls windows.
To adjust colours go to Colours (Ctrl + 7) in the Visuals drop menu.
For PRO features such as swing, polyrhythms etc, choose another metronome from the drop list at the top of the main window.
Keyboard Shortcuts
To set the tempo to the tempo of your taps, tap with the BACKSPACE key. To stop or start the metronome press the RETURN key. This works almost anywhere in Bounce Metronome. It gives an easy and quick way to adjust the tempo or stop and start the metronome at any time, e.g. while practicing with a musical instrument (since the BACKSPACE and RETURN keys are large and easy to find on the keyboard).
The BACKSPACE key is normally used to erase text. But you seldom need to use it in Bounce Metronome Pro and can use the Delete Key as an alternative in the few situations where it is needed. To use BACKSPACE as a tempo tap even when editing text, go to Tempo Dial - Preferences (Ctrl + 223) and select "enable BACKSPACE tempo tap even when you edit text in Bounce Metronome". (Keyboard shortcut CONTROL + BACKSPACE to switch the backspace tempo tap on or off even for text fields).
You can also silence or enable individual parts with the number keys. Just press 1 to silence or enable part 1, 2 to silence or enable part 2 and so on. Obviously this interferes with normal use of the number keys so it is normally disabled whenever you work with text fields in Bounce Metronome.
To switch this feature on even when you use text fields, use SHIFT + SPACE. Then when finished, use SHIFT + SPACE again to switch this feature off.
There are many other keyboard shortcuts which you'll find as you use Bounce Metronome.
Adjusting your rhythm
You can change the timing for any beat, skip beats, change the instrument to play or show / hide the bouncing balls for any of the parts.
Adjust individual beats
To change the timing or volume of any beat, go to Beats volumes and times (Ctrl + 76).
Adjust individual beats in the bouncing balls display
Or to adjust directly in the bouncing balls display, e.g. in the main window, switch on ADJUST BEAT TIMES in Bounce Options (Ctrl + 220).
Then, in the bouncing balls display you need to see the individual beats as BLOCKS at the bottom of the bouncing balls display. If they are hidden, show them with a click on the grey half circle to the left of the display.
Then LEFT CLICK and drag on the BLOCKS on the line between the beat and the next beat to adjust its timing.
To skip an individual beat, LEFT CLICK on its diamond in the bouncing ball display. It will change to a grayed out ellipse to indicate that the beat is skipped. To adjust accent RIGHT CLICK on the beat.
Change Parts
Your rhythm is made up of several parts. Usually there is one part to play the bar beat, then other parts play the main beat, and any subdivisions.
To see a list of all the parts and adjust the instruments, volumes, and individual bouncing ball colours, go to Show All Parts (Ctrl + 9). To adjust the stereo pan position of any instrument go to Stereo Pan (Ctrl + 50)
Change any of the parts in the bouncing balls display
You need to show the controls to adjust the parts - so if necessary click on the grey ellipse to the left.
Then use the diamonds, circles and rectangles to the left of the individual parts to hide any of the bouncing balls, change the instrument for a part, or silence any of the parts.
Use the triangles to the right to change the number of beats for any part, or increase or decrease the number of parts.
To find out what any of these controls does, just hover the mouse over it to bring up its tool tip.
You can use the controls in 3D Bouncing Balls, Drum stick or Conductor's baton (Ctrl + 224) similarly.
Tunes for your rhythms, and the harmonic metronome
You can also explore these as separate metronomes using the main window drop list - the separate metronomes require the BM Pro unlock key or test drive but the tunes can also be used with the Basic metronome without the Pro unlock key.
To see these options, go to Show All Parts (Ctrl + 9) and switch on Add melodic instruments, tunes & harmonic metronome,
You will then see options to make a new fractal tune in Show All Parts (Ctrl + 9). You can also make a metronome based on the harmonic series using Harmonics Metronome (Ctrl + 229).
The non melodic instruments in Non Melodic Percussion (Ctrl + 21) either don't have a clear pitch, or always play at the same pitch. So to play melody lines or to try out the harmonic metronome you need the melodic instruments, which get added to the Instr. drop menu. You can use Instruments (Ctrl + 8) - the standard midi instruments on your soundcard or synth. Or you can use Modify Wave Shape Instruments Menu (Ctrl + 196) - new instruments designed for Bounce Metronome.
You may also like to try the melodic instruments for normal rhythms in place of the non melodic percussion instruments. If you want to keep the rhythm and the selection of instruments but switch off the harmonic metronomes and the fractal tunes, use the Reset to no tune button in Show All Parts (Ctrl + 9).
To raise or lower the pitch of the fractal tune, rhythm or harmonic metronome use Pitch of 1/1 of Scale (Ctrl + 10).
In the Basic version of the metronome
The Basic version adds a time signature field which lets you enter odd time signatures. Also any number of subdivisions. This requires the Basic unlock key.
In the Pro version of the metronome
The Pro version adds many more rhythm capabilities.
To find them choose Bounce Metronome Pro from the drop list in the main window. Or choose one of the other metronomes depending on your interests.
All the metronomes except the Bounce Metronome Basic require the PRO unlock key.
Select METRONOME TYPE from drop list (drop list)
Choose YOUR BOUNCE METRONOME type from the drop list depending on your interests...
The main window will change depending on which metronome you choose from the drop list, and then you can check the help for the main window for that metronome (hover mouse over main window title bar and see the F1 help for the main window for the metronome).
Here is a quick summary of what each one does:
Bounce Metronome Basic
Basic metronome for any time signature (including any odd time signature), and any number of subdivisions.
Also has the gradually changing tempo feature (though with fewer options for it than the Pro metronome).
Bounce Metronome Pro
All the features of the PRO metronome acessible within one window. If you want to focus on one particular feature then try one of the more specialised metronomes.
Swing Metronome
Use this to practise swing or to use lilt for a more lively rhythm.
Drum & Dance Metronome
For drum rhythms such as paradiddle, and dance rhythms mixing quarter notes, eighth notes and so on. You can select from a drop list of rhythms or enter a new rhythm.
Polyrhythm Metronome
Use this to practise polyrhythms (cross rhythms) such as 2 beats to a measure with 3 simultaneously, or 3 with 4, 3 with 5 etc.
Additive Metronome
to practise additive rhythms such as 2 + 3 (i.e. 5/4 divided into two beats followed by 3 beats) or 3 + 2 + 3 etc.
Rhythm cycle Metronome
Here you can make a cycle of rhythms and polyrhythms one after another. Useful for long additive rhythms with many rhythms one after another - or a cycle that combines ordinary rhythms with polyrhythms.
Fractional Rhythms Metronome
Fractional rhythms here are ones with either a fractional (e.g. 2.2) or irrational (e.g. golden ratio or PI) number of beats to the measure. The beats drift in and out of phase with the measure line.
Tap out a rhythm
Use this to tap out a rhythm and then play the bouncing balls metronome to follow the rhythm of your taps.
Harmonic Metronome
Here the idea is that each number of beats per measure is assigned a pitch, so e.g. 7 beats to the measure corresponds to the seventh harmonic, 5 beats to the measure corresponds to the fifth and so on.
The results sound harmoniously together as they use pitches from the harmonic series.
This idea is related to the Lambdoma arrangement of pitches, and to Theremin's Rhythmicon. Originally suggested by Barbara Hero and may be of interest for music therapy.
Harmonic Rhythm Cycle Metronome
Play a cycle of rhythms or polyrhythms one after another with the pitches following the harmonic series.
Fractional Harmonic Metronome
Here the idea is that you can use fractional or irrational rhythms e.g. involving the golden ratio or PI and combine that with the idea of using pitches corresponding to the number of beats to the measure.
So PI / 4 will be played using two pitches at a ratio of PI to 4 to each other.
The golden ratio rhythms are particularly interesting here because the golden ratio rhythm is in a sense the most polyrhythmic possible rhythm (ratio of beats most hard to approximate using a rational number). Similarly the golden ratio pitch interval is the most inharmonic possible pitch interval. It's a pleasant interval actually on most instruments - some inharmonic pitch intervals are very pleasant sounding (the ones that are often hard on the ear are e.g. detuned fifths, close to a very pure interval such as a fifth, octave or fourth,but obviously not hitting it).
So this combination gives the most polyrhythmic possible rhythm combined with the most inharmonic possible interval.
A Version of Theremin's Rhythmicon
Lets you play a version of Theremin's Rhythmicon using the number keys on your PC keyboard and the first six keys of the first row of letter keys e.g. q w e r t y as the keys of your instrument.
Theremin's Rhythmicon is an instrument with sixteen keys. Each key silences or plays a rhythm with a different number of notes to the measure, starting from 1 for the first key, 2 for second key all the way down to 16 for the last key. Each key also plays a different note of the harmonic series.
see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythmicon
Fractal Tune Metronome
Play the rhythms using fractal tunes. This is just a taste of what can be done in this way. It may give some idea of what your rhythm will sound like melodically. It also introduces you to the fractal tunes you can make with Fractal Tune Smithy.
Note - at present Bounce Metronome Pro is at version 3.2. but FTS is still at 3.0. Bounce Metronome Pro has many capabilities not in FTS such as the skipped beats for instance. So most of the tunes you make here can't be played in Tune Smithy itself until the release of version 3.0 hopefully some time in summer or autumn 2009.
Car - Tunes Metronome
Show a ball bouncing on the lyrics as for the Song Car Tunes in early movies.
This metronome is left out of the drop list of metronomes for blind users at present. Perhaps there is something one could do here without the bouncing ball graphics - i.e. to display the words of the lyric in time to the rhythm, perhaps arranged so that the screen reader reads out each word just before it is sung - but I'm not sure at present how useful it would be or how exactly one would do it.
All the other metronomes are accessible to blind users.
Hide graphics (button)
Hide Graphics - use this button if you are blind or prefer keyboard to mouse
/ Show volume as a number (button) (Alt + /)
Change between the volume as text box, or as a graphic...
Click to change from volume as a text box to volume as graphic, and back again.
1 --- 4 (button) (Alt + 1)
Just the measure beat - a steady tick on one instrument...
Can be used for the measure beat for very fast tunes and rhythms, or if you just want a steady tick like a conventional metronome.
2 --- 4 (button) (Alt + 2)
Duple time, two beats to a measure, examples include polkas, marches...
Also used for fast 6/8
3 --- 4 (button) (Alt + 3)
Waltzes and minuets are examples of 3/4....
Also used for fast 9/8
4 --- 4 (button) (Alt + 4)
4/4 "Common time" examples: lullabies, nursery rhymes, reels, very common...
Also used for fast 12/8
6 --- 8 (button) (Alt + 6)
Examples include many songs such as Greensleeves, and jigs...
The jigs are normally played with swing - scroll down to find out more.
This is in compound time
This is in compound time (time signature with a multiple of 3 beats to the measure, and counting in eighth notes or shorter), so you count the eighth notes in threes as dotted quarter notes.
This will show TWO BOUNCING BALLS. One will beat the eighth notes at six beats to the measure. The other will beat the two dotted quarter notes that make up a measure of 6/8, at two beats to a measure.
For fast 6/8 the ball that bounces for the eighth notes may be too fast to follow by eye. If so, you may find it helpful to hide it. You can do that using the show / hide diamond in the display to the left of each part.
If you split the eighth notes then another bouncing ball will be shown for the subdivisions, again you can hide that if necessary.
Jigs are normally played with swing
Jigs are normally swung with a lengthened first note and much shorter second note. To do that, switch on Lilt or Swing and then set the level of swing, e.g. to medium swing.
See Jigs: Trickier than you probably think
http://www.rogermillington.com/siamsa/brosteve/tricky.html
There are different ways to play swung triplets. For a discussion thread see:
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/12135/comments
9 --- 8 (button) (Alt + 9)
Compound triple time, Examples include triple ("slip") jigs...
This is in compound time (time signature with a multiple of 3 beats to the measure), so the beat unit is a dotted quarter note (three eighth notes) instead of a quarter note.
Slip jigs are in this time signature:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slip_jig
This will show TWO BOUNCING BALLS. One will beat the eighth notesat nine beats to the measure. The other will beat three beats to a measure for the dotted quarter notes characteristic of compound time.
If you split the eighth notes then another bouncing ball will be shown for the subdivisions.
For fast 9/8 the ball that bounces for the eighth notes may be too fast to follow, and you may find it helpful to hide it. You can do that using the show / hide diamond in the display to the left of each part.
12 --- 8 (button) (Alt + 8)
Like 4/4 but each beat is divided into three eighth notes - examples include the slow movement from Beethoven's Pastoral symphony...
This is in compound time (time signature with a multiple of 3 beats to the measure, and counting in eighth notes or shorter), so you count the eighth notes in threes as dotted quarter notes.
For example see movement 2 of Beethoven's Symphony 6, the Pastoral:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._6_%28Beethoven%29
Listen here:
http://www.musopen.com/music.php?type=piece&id=111
This will show TWO BOUNCING BALLS. One will beat the eighth notes at twelve beats to the measure. The other will beat four beats to a measure for the dotted quarter notes characteristic of compound time.
If you split the eighth notes then another bouncing ball will be shown for the subdivisions.
For fast 12/8 the ball that bounces for the eighth notes may be too fast to follow, and you may find it helpful to hide it. You can do that using the show / hide diamond in the display to the left of each part.
Beats per measure - first time signature
Enter the number of beats in the measure such as 3, 4, 5, 6 etc...
This is the top number of the time signature e.g. the 3 in 3/4, also called the "denumerator".
You can find this control in the main window for some of the metronomes, in 3D Bouncing Balls, Drum stick or Conductor's baton (Ctrl + 224) and Combine Rhythms (Ctrl + 217). Note, Combine Rhythms (Ctrl + 217) isn't available in the Basic metronome.
Other ways to vary the number of beat in the bar
You can adjust the number of beats in each part by hand using the controls in the bouncing balls windows or using Beats volumes and times (Ctrl + 76) or Beats - Set beat times and volumes individually (Ctrl + 31).
The time signatures method is often better though, as it lets you change to other time signatures quickly, and vary the number of subdivisions of each beat easily, just with a single adjustment.
Extra check boxes
For some time signatures check boxes appear in Combine Rhythms (Ctrl + 217) to let you emphasize some of the beats in the measure.
NOTE these check boxes don't appear for the Polyrhythm Metronome or the Basic Metronome.
Compound time
This is for time signatures such as 6/8, 9/8, 12/8 etc
You'll see a check box to beat compound time. In this rhythm the eighth notes are played in groups of three, so every third beat is emphasized.
You see this option If the number on top is a multiple of 3 and the number on the bottom is 8 or any other number higher than 4.
Beat quarter notes
For time signatures such as as 8/8, 12/8, 16/8 etc you can switch on an option to beat quarter notes.
You see this option when the number on the top (denumerator) is a multiple of 4 and the number on the bottom is 8 or a higher multiple of 4.
Fractional numbers of beats to a measure
You can also have fractional values here e.g. 3.1 or even an irrational number like PI. You can enter a number like PI as 3.14159 (as many places as you like - up to 14 decimal places will be used to make the rhythm). Or in the case of PI you can use formulae - just enter it as PI.
With fractional numbers of beats to a measure, the beat will drift with respect to the measure lines - if unsure what that means, just try it out to see what happens.
You can use any formula here. Some simple examples include PI, G (golden ratio), E (natural logarithm of 1), R(2) (for square root of 2), ...
For details of formulae you can use for these fractional beats, see the help for {{w81}
Type of beat - first time signature
Type of beat - quarter note, eighth note etc...
This number shows the type of beat. So it's 2 for half notes, 4 for quarter notes, 8 for eighth notes, 16 for sixteenth notes.
It's the bottom number (denominator) of the time signature e.g the 4 in 3/4.
This text field is in the main window for some of the metronomes and in Combine Rhythms (Ctrl + 217). Note, Combine Rhythms (Ctrl + 217) isn't available in the Basic metronome.
Time signatures such as 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8 are often played with a slight emphasis on every third beat - this is known as compound time. You would count them as e.g. ONE two three FOUR five six, or 1 la li 2 la li (other syllables and mnemonics also used).
So, to do this automatically, there's a "Compound time" check box in Combine Rhythms (Ctrl + 217). You can switch it on / off in the Pro metronome. In the Basic metronome the assumption is that you'll not want to change this setting but if you do then just change to the Pro metronome in order to change it, then go back again to Basic.
Extra settings in Combine Rhythms (Ctrl + 217) (pro metronome)
For time signatures played one after another or all at once, this number changes how they dovetail together
When the measures follow one after another, then 3/8 will be played with beats half the time (so twice as fast) compared with e.g. 3/4
So for example
4/4 + 3/8 one after the other
will play 11/8 as measures of 4/4 with four beats to the measure alternating with measures of 3/8 with three beats to the measure - the beats in the 3/8 here are eighth notes so are played at twice the tempo of the beats of the 4/4.
The same thing applies with polyrhythms played all at once - except there the convention I use is that if all the polyrhythms are /4, e.g. 5/4, and 4/4, then the measure beats are synchronised so 5/4 will play 5 beats for every 4 beats of 4/4. If you mix them, then e.g. 4/4 mixed with 5/8 then the 5/8 is played twice as fast (so giving two 5/8 measures, or 10 beats to the 4/4 measure)
To achieve a rhythm like this you need to be sure to select the check box "Vary these rhythms according to the beat type, e.g. /8 has two beats for every /4 beat."
With some time signatures you get check boxes to emphasize every so many beats in
If you have just the one time signature, the only difference this makes is that with some of the sizes of note you will get an extra check box in Combine Rhythms (Ctrl + 217) that lets you emphasize some of the beats.
For instance in 6/8 then every third beat can be emphasized in compound time, and in 16/8 then every fourth beat can be emphasized to beat the quarter notes. For details see the tool tip for the top number in the time signature.
Irrational meters
You can edit this by hand e.g. to make "Irrational" meters like 4/7 etc - this can make a difference if you use the option to vary the polyrhythm (or additive rhythm) by the time signature denominator.
Just edit the number after the / to be what you want e.g.
/ 7.
You can also make it a fractional value e.g. 3.5.
You can even make it a truly irrational number like PI which you can enter as PI.
For details of formulae you can use see the help for Calculator (Ctrl + 81)
Reset This Metronome (button)
Resets rhythm and anything that changes its sound...
This resets the options such as tempo, timing, instruments, controllers etc, that change the sound of the rhythm.
Leaves visual options as they are e.g. whether to show as conducting patterns, bounce inside ovals, colours, textures etc.
Custom Reset
You can make a custom reset using File >> Save As RESET METRONOME for this view.
Reset nearly all settings
If you want to do a reset to get nearly all the settings back to the way Bounce Metronome was when you first installed it, then File | Reset Nearly Everything will probably do the trick.
Reset settings for a particular window
You can also reset the settings for any window in Bounce Metronome.
To do that click on the O (Organise Windows) icon in the window and in Organise windows (Ctrl + 51) you will find options to reset the settings for the window
Tempo
Enter Tempo in Beats per Minute (like heart rates)- including decimal values or fractional BPM - or optionally as time for note in seconds...
Vary this to play the rhythm faster or slower.
You can use decimals, or ratios like 53/2 or any formula e.g. 3*21 or whatever.
If you want to enter the time for the note instead there's an option to do this in Tempo Dial - Preferences (Ctrl + 223)
Click and drag to adjust the number
You can also adjust the number here with click and drag. Click on the number and then with the mouse button held down, drag the mouse cursor up out of the text box to increase the number. Drag downwards to decrease the number. If there's a decimal point then you can adjust the numbers either side of the point in the same way, and you can also use Ctrl, Shift or Alt + click / drag to adjust by larger amounts. If it's a formula e.g. 3*21 you can use Ctrl +click to adjust the two numbers independently.
The keyboard shortcut to adjust the number in the same way is Page up or Page down.
Tempo in BPM
This normally shows the tempo as beats per minute (BPM) - like heart rates. So for instance 60 is 60 beats a minute, i.e. one beat per second. For more about BPM see the tool tip help for the tempo dial Tempo Dial (Ctrl + 222).
You can show the tempo for any part in the rhythm.
You can see the tempi for all the parts in the rhythm in the bouncing all display in the main Bounce Metronome window and in Metronome Bouncing Ball (Ctrl + 219), also as a text field in the More version of Tempo Dial - Preferences (Ctrl + 223).
You can see the tempo as a tempo dial in the main window or in Metronome Bouncing Ball (Ctrl + 219).
About the Parts and the Tempi for Parts
Many of the rhythms use several tempi at once. All the tempi are listed at the top of the bouncing ball display.
Example: with the preset 6/8 rhythm, you will see three tempi, for the measure beats, the two beats to a measure (for the centre beat) - and the six beats to a measure.
You can select the part to show on the tempo dial in Tempo Dial - Preferences (Ctrl + 223). Or left or right click on the part number at top left of the dial as a quick way to skip to the next or previous part, also the tempo part is synchronised with the selected part in Beats volumes and times (Ctrl + 76) or Beats As Text (Ctrl + 77).
When you set the tempo for any of the parts, the tempi for all the other parts will be updated to match. E.g. if you set the eighth note tempo to 120 BPM for a 6/7 rhythm, the tempo for the dotted quarter notes automatically updates to 40 BPM (a third of the tempo because the individual notes are three times longer).
Tempi
Tempo in Beats per Minute - Set tempo on dial - OR : TAP AT DESIRED TEMPO with BACKSPACE key - or use LEFT, RIGHT, UP or DOWN ARROWS to adjust tempo...
The tempo is measured in beats per minute, like heart rate. For more about this scroll down to read about What do the numbers mean?
3D Bouncing Balls, Drum stick or Conductor's baton (Ctrl + 224)
Show in 3D as drum sticks, conductor's batons, or bouncing balls...
For options for the 3D visuals, see 3D Bouncing Ball Visuals (Ctrl + 226)
Browse Help... (button)
Overview, with links and background material, shows in your web browser...
Most of the help is in the tool tip help (such as this tip). The overview is for anything that doesn't fit there - such as introduction to ideas of rhythm, how to stay in time, polyrhythms etc.
Beats volumes and times (Ctrl + 76)
Here you can adjust the times and volumes of individual beats with click and drag...
The window shows the beats for one of the parts in the rhythm. To show the beats for another part, enter the part number in the text at the top of the window.
The Pro version of this window has many more features including Swing and Lilt.
Bounce Options (Ctrl + 220)
Includes: option to DELAY BOUNCES TO SYNC. WITH SOUND - also configure MOUSE BUTTONS for the bouncing balls e.g. to adjust beat times - and other options for the bouncing balls.
Measure beat ball (check box)
Display a bouncing ball for measure beat parts (parts with one beat to the measure)
BouncingBall
Shows balls bouncing in time with the rhythm, and various controls you can use to adjust the rhythm...
Quick start for the Bouncing Balls controls
LEFT CLICK ON THE GRAY SEMICIRCLES to Show / hide the blocks and the parts adjustments.
LEFT or RIGHT CLICK on BLOCKS to ADJUST INDIVIDUAL BEATS, e.g. to skip beats, accent beats, or change volumes. Hover the mouse over a beat for more information.
You can also LEFT CLICK on the main display to restart the measure. This only works if the balls are bouncing silently. When the sound is playing the bouncing balls always synchronise with the sound.
You see this tip when you hover the mouse over the bouncing balls themselves. hover the mouse over the title measure of Metronome Bouncing Ball (Ctrl + 219) for background information.
More Details
The gray semi-circles to left and right can be used to show the beats for each part as blocks below the bouncing balls - and to show controls you can use to adjust the individual parts in the rhythm.
Each row of shaded blocks shows one of the parts. For instance 6/8 has three parts. One of the parts plays the six beats to a measure (as eighth notes). Another part plays two beats to the measure, so that you can hear the middle beat clearly. Another part plays the measure beat.
Each row is the same colour hue as its bouncing ball, though lighter in shade. In each row, the blocks show the individual beats in the rhythm, and the size of each block shows the duration of the beat. The blocks are all done with the first beat of the measure to the left, and last beat to the right (and shown reversed when the balls bounce from right to left).
If you have the display set up so that all the balls bounce together then the balls for each part bounce on the divisions between the beats. However you may have the balls bouncing in opposite directions for polyrhythms like 3 with 4 / 4. If you have a setup like that and also beats varying in size, then the balls may not bounce on the divisions between beats for all the parts.
How to use the blocks to adjust the rhythm
You can LEFT CLICK on a beat to SKIP it, or to adjust the timing of individual beats. You can RIGHT CLICK to ACCENT it, and MIDDLE CLICK or SHIFT + CLICK to adjust the volumes. For more details hover the mouse over the blocks.
Tap out rhythm
You can RIGHT CLICK on any of the parts, to tap out an entire new rhythm. The last click ends the measure so for instance to tap out a measure with four beats, tap four times for your rhythm, then add a fifth tap for the start of the next measure.
Right click on the part you want to adjust the rhythm for - as the rhythm is used for the currently highlighted part.
Another way to tap out an entire rhythm is to use the SPACE BAR on your keyboard. Again, right click on the desired part first to choose the part to set the rhythm for.
Then use Ctrl + SPACE to switch on the SPACE BAR RHYTHM TAPS. Then tap out the rhythm. Use CTRL + SPACE to switch the taps off again when finished
How to play your rhythm back at speed
To play your rhythm at the speed you tapped it, set the beats tempo in the main window to 60 beats per minute. Set it faster than that, or slower. if you want it speeded up or slowed down.
Parts adjustments
You can ue the diamonds, circles and rectangles to the left of the bouncing ball display to hide any of the bouncing balls, change the instrument for a part, or silence any of the parts.
You can use the triangles to the right to vary the number of beats in each part or the number of parts.
To find out what one of those controls does - just hover the mouse over it.
How the blocks work for scripted additive rhythms
These rhythms show up as separate measures along the bottom of the window, one after another, with only one of them highlighted.
With these rhythms, you can click to select one of the measures of the rhythm - this lets you change between the sections of the script manually.
These rhythms are made automatically by Bounce Metronome by creating a script for Tune Script (Ctrl + 171). Because the rhythm is scripted, you can't adjust the beat timings by hand for these rhythms, at least not permanently. If you do adjust the individual beats (for instance using Beats volumes and times (Ctrl + 76)) then the next time that measure is played the script will just set the beats back to the way they were before.
However you can play these rhythms with swing.
You can also make your own scripted rhythms with skipped beats or using any of the other features of Bounce Metronome using Tune Script (Ctrl + 171) - explore auto script in that window.
For instance, one way to do it, if you switch on auto script and then play the rhythm slowly until the script highlight reaches the measure you want to adjust, you can then adjust the beats using Beats volumes and times (Ctrl + 76) as normal and your changes will be added into the script at that point.
Press RETURN key to stop or start PLAY (editable)
Most of the features of the BASIC metronome are HIDDEN. To SHOW them buy the software or start a new test drive.
Features hidden include odd time signatures, any number of subdivisions and many other features.
Why not buy the software :-)
It is easy to buy Bounce Metronome and the prices are less than you might expect. Also there are discounts for low income, education, and you can get a coupon to adjust prices depending on your country's average wages - e.g. for India the discount is 95% off the price.
To find out more see http://www.bouncemetronome.com/buy-faq.htm
Or start a new test drive
You can start the test drive at any time. If you have already taken it for a test drive and want a new one, just contact support@bouncemetronome.com.
New test drive or try out features without a test drive
You can still try out the features without a test drive. To do that change to any of the Pro metronomes. You will get a time out every 30 seconds there. But after you set up your rhythm, if you change back to the basic metronome you can play it endlessly.
Or to get a new test drive, to test it out properly, best thing is to contact me
support@bouncemetronome.com
You also get a new test drive automatically every time the version number of the software changes
go SILENT briefly (check box)
Switches the sound off for a few measures at a time - this can help you learn to develop your inner sense of rhythm - you can set the number of measures to play or go silent in Go SILENT Briefly (Ctrl + 260).
The idea is it helps you to play at a steady tempo without a metronome.
You enter the numbers of measures to play and to be silent for in Go SILENT Briefly (Ctrl + 260). You can also hide the bouncing balls independently of the sound.
You can set it to go silent at different places in each of the parts as well - for details see the help for the text area "Enter number of measures to play, then number to be silent for, alternating".
Motivation
The idea here is that you continue to play when the sound stops. Then when the sound comes back again, aim to be exactly in time with the metronome, or as close as you can get to it.
You can try this either with or without the bouncing ball visuals as an extra cue to help you stay in time through the silence.
Play in the Pocket
When you practise with the metronome it helps to play exactly in time with the beat, so you "bury the click". That makes sure you are exactly in tempo with the metronome.
Then when the metronome comes on again, are you still in time with it?
Are you so exactly in time that you "bury the beat" right away on the first click after the silence?
You can then try longer and longer silences and see if you are still in the pocket at the end.
Stereo Pan (Ctrl + 50)
Set stereo pan positions for each part for a more immersive experience...
You can use this to place individual instruments in different locations to get a more immersive experience. To take one example, in the traditional seating arrangement for a string quartet the first violin is to far left. Then from left to right you have the second violin, viola, and 'cello in that order with 'cello at far right.
Auto (check box)
With Stereo Pan, you hear the notes played spread out in space. Switch this on if you want to set the stereo pan automatically. Configured in Stereo Pan (Ctrl + 50)...
You can auto pan by part, by position in seed, by position in scale, and various other options.
Auto pan is configured in Stereo Pan (Ctrl + 50).
You can also set the stereo pan positions for each part manually as well, again in Stereo Pan (Ctrl + 50).
1 subdivisions (button)
Just play the beats without subdivisions (1 subdivision)
2 subdivisions (button)
Split each beat into two subdivisions e.g. split quarter note into eighth notes, or eighth notes into sixteenth notes
3 subdivisions (button)
Split each beat into three subdivisions - e.g. split each beat into three eighth notes for 12/8, 6/8, 9/8 etc
4 subdivisions (button)
Split each beat into four subdivisions e.g. split quarter note into sixteenth notes, or eighth notes into thirtysecond notes...
With this option you will see an extra check box "Also 2". Select that to get an extra part that plays 2 subdivisions of the original beat as well.
You can use it to help you practice e.g. eighth notes and sixteenth notes as well as the original quarter notes.
Beats subdivisions - first time signature
How many subdivisions to play for each beat of the time signature...
Example, set this to 2 to play two subdivisions for each beat.
Example, 4/4 with the subdivisions set to 2 then the first part plays the quarter notes, and then another part plays eighth notes
Fractions and decimal values also possible here. One example of use of that features - if you set this to a number just above or below a whole number, say for example, set it to 2.001, then over time, the subdivisions will gradually move in and out of phase with the main beat.
You can set which instruments play each part and the volume for each part etc. in Show All Parts (Ctrl + 9)
How to set subdivisions for all the rhythms in polyrhythms or rhythm cycles
The main window lets you set the number of subdivisions of the first rhythm only. But if you go to Combine Rhythms (Ctrl + 217) then you can also set the numbers of subdivisions independently for all the other rhythms in the cycle or polyrhythm.
More about the Fractional subdivisions (rarely used feature)
You can make this number fractional. For instance, you can set it to 3.1 or a ratio like 11/10, even an irrational number like PI which you can enter as a decimal 3.14159 or as the word PI, or a number defined using a formula.
This lets the subdivisions drift with respect to the main beat - if you aren't quite sure what this means, just try it out to see what happens.
It's an unusual effect but may be of interest on occasion. For instance try playing a tune along with a rhythm with drifting subdivisions - it is quite hard and may help one deal with distractions while playing.
Or for that matter try and see if you can play both the main beat and the drifting subdivisions simultaneously along with the metronome (e.g. on drums or keyboard).
For details of formulae you can use see the help for {{w81} - you can use those formulae for the numbers here and in most text areas in Bounce Metronome.
Subdivisionns of quarter notes (spin) (Alt + N)
Increase or decrease number of subdivisions for time signature
Conducting Patterns
Choose the conducting patterns to use - the first option follows the standard conducting paterns from Brock McElheran's book...
The left to right option is useful especially for the polymeters and the polyrhythms with polyrhythmic measure beats - it's similar to the bounce left to right but the balls don't need to bounce in synchrony with each other.
The up beat up option is for fun and not a standard pattern - conductors do raise the baton high on the up beat - but normally the up beat starts at the moment when you begin the upward movement - not at the end of the upward motion of the baton (the end of the upward motion is a less precise moment of time, because the baton slows down and so is moving slowly at that point). See below for details.
The custom option let's you configure your own patterns - which you can do in Conducting Patterns (Ctrl + 247)
The patterns used here
The bounce patterns used here are the ones recommended by Brock McElheran - see:
McElheran, Brock. "Conducting Technique for Beginners and Professionals ", 1989, New York and Oxford, OUP
In all conducting patterns, you raise the baton high after the start of the last beat of the measure. This is called the up-beat. Then it is dropped vertically to emphasize the first beat of the measure, called the down beat. So you raise the baton high BEFORE the first (or down) beat.
This helps you to see where you are in the measure and to anticipate the first beat before it happens.
The invisible horizontal plane for the conductor
This style of conducting uses an "invisible horizontal plane" as recommended by Brock McElheran. He recommends it because it makes it easier for performers to anticipate the moment of the beat (particularly if seated to one side of the conductor).
So with this style of conducting, you play the note at the moment when the baton bounces off the "invisible horizontal plane", and all the beats are conducted bouncing off the same horizontal plane.
Other conducting patterns
As for the particular pattern - e.g. 3 4 1 2 for 4/4, different conductors may use slightly different bounce patterns.
An alternative for 4/4 is 3 1 4 2 i.e. the conductor's baton bounces over the position of the down beat twice, from 2 to 3 and then back again from 3 to 4. You can set your own custom patterns in Conducting Patterns (Ctrl + 247).
Also an alternative to the horizontal plane is to have the bounces at different heights. So for instance, in 9/8 the first three beats might be on one level, then the other groups of beats are conducted at successively higher levels instead of all on the same horizontal plane.
I haven't implemented this as a feature in Bounce Metronome yet. It could be done if there was enough interest.
Another idea which perhaps I might do some day is to add an option to record the actual conducting movements of a conductor and play those back in Bounce Metronome. See http://robertinventor.com/bmwiki/Bounce_Metronome_Pro_Wish_List#Get_Conducting_Pattern_from_a_Movie
Up Beat Up - not the way conductors do it
The last option Up Beat Up is just for fun. Normally conductors do raise the baton for the up beat, it's true. But normally the "ictus" - the moment the up beat starts - is considered to be the moment when the baton starts to go up rather than the moment when it reaches the top.
See e.g.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79Pk-33R2HM
for the position of the ictus in e.g. 3/4
But for this "Up Beat Up" option - just for fun - the up beat STARTS when the baton reaches the UP position.
It is almost impossible to show a distinct moment of time visually at the end of the upward movement of the baton if you conduct by hand because the hand naturally slows down as it goes up.
To show an "ictus" at the top of the up-beat you would have to make a bouncing flick downwards instead of upwards, which is an unnatural thing to do (it's the opposite to the way gravity works).
It is just here for fun :-)
Also because some people think this is how you conduct, so by including it as an example and explaining that that's not how it isn't done, helps to make that clear.
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Controls Common to Many Windows
