Window 61

=  Midi Output Channels for Parts and Polyphony =

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Set which midi out channels to play for each part...

You have sixteen midi channels to share out between the parts. On some devices however, the same instruments can share channels, so that you can have a flute and oboe say playing at once in the same channel, while with others you need to share the channels out between all the parts in play.

Notes at (12) equal tempered intervals with each other can all be played on the same channel. However in other tunings, unless you use tuning tables, often notes for the same part will need to be played on different channels.

How many you need to set aside for each part depends on the scale and the level of polyphony. For instance, quartertone music can be played on just two channels with the normal level of polyphony in Midi, one channel for the ordinary notes and another for the same notes a quarter tone sharp (or flat).

You can play notes in a pentatonic scale, whatever the tuning, with at most five channels without any extra limitations on polyphony. Also any octave repeating twelve note scale can be played on twelve channels with no extra polyphony limitations.

You can manage with less channels if you have less polyphony. If you have at most eight note polyphony say, then you may need only eight channels - that means polyphony involving eight separate scale degrees in octave repeating scales, as notes an octave apart can be played on the same channel. It is often good to have spare channels or so in addition to requirements, however because if you go right up to the limit of the number of channels and then change the chord, you can get pitch bend artefacts with the resonances of notes that continue to sound when they are switched off - or else they get abruptly stopped by an all sound off if you have that option selected. In that case sixteen channels would be safer for eight note chords and eight channels for four note chords - i.e. four notes ignoring any voices at octave intervals with each other.

Part
Select the part you want to highlight

What is a part?

In a program without instant pitch bend retuning, this window would just show the midi out channels. However when you use pitch bends to change the tuning of the scale, it is the software that deals with the midi out channels rather than the user. The user doesn't work at that level at all (normally).

This is why: To play a chord, e.g. a justly tuned major chord 1/1 5/4 3/2, using midi pitch bends, the only way to tune it correctly is to play the notes on different output channels - for instance the 1/1 may be played on channel 1, the 5/4 on channel 2 and the 3/2 on channel 3. That's because in midi, (normally anyway) the pitch bend is set for a channel as a whole. The software does this channel swapping automatically - the notes change channel frequently to let them be retuned correctly and smoothly. So it is normal for the notes of a single chord or melodic phrase to be spread out over several midi channels. This sort of thing is something software can be programmed to keep track of in a routine (though complicated) fashion, but is mind boggling for a user of the software.

So as a user of the software, you need something else to work with rather than Midi out channels, and that's where the Parts come in. You just set up a part much as you would do for a channel in twelve equal type Midi work. You set it up with a midi instrument, controllers, pan position etc. You don't need to worry about the techy details of which midi out channels to send all the pitch bends and other messages to. FTS keeps track of all those details for you. The software will send the notes on whatever channel is appropriate, depending on its records of which notes have been sent on them previously - and it will also set the pitch bends accordingly for each channel, and also send any controllers and other messages to the correct channels as well.

However, if you are interested to see where the notes did get relayed to, just show the Out | More | Notes Currently Playing (Ctrl + 47) window and you will see them all listed there, with the pitch bends in cents for each channel.

You will find that notes that need the same pitch bend often share channels, for instance all the 5/4s may play on one channel, or notes a quarter tone sharp or flat or whatever may all get played on the same channel - as long as they have the same requirements in terms of other controllers such as pan position etc.

To make sure that FTS does the channel mapping optimally for your current out device(s), run the Out Devices Capabilities Wizard in the Out menu.

Set which channels you want notes to play on for every part
Shows which instruments play which parts.

To change the instrument for a part, use the PARTS window. Then highlight the part to change, and select a new instrument from the Instruments menu, the Wave shape player, non melodic percussion, or the custom voices.

You can highlight more than one part - click on the first part in the Parts window (Ctrl + 9), and then drag with the mouse to seelct more than one part. Or use Shift + click on the last part or Ctrl + click to add just one part to the highlight.

Then you will be able to change the instrument for all the highlighted parts at once. If you hold the SHIFT key down when you select an instrument, then you can select it, and the instruments that follow it in the menu into all the highlighted parts in the parts window - that's useful if you want to try out several instruments at once.

You can select non melodic percussion into any part. The non melodic percussion needs to be played on a General Midi synth or sound card - most sound cards are GM, but many specialist musicians synths are not. The non melodic percussion notes all get played on the Midi output channel 10 (normally).

You can select melodic instruments into part 10 as well, they will be relayed to other channels instead of channel 10 for a GM synth.

When you play notes from Midi IN, you would expect notes sent to FTS from channel 10 to play non melodic percussion. That's what happens if you have In | Options | Select Parts by Input Channel - then FTS will treat all notes from channel 10 as non melodic percussion instrument selections.

You can customise the way FTS deals with non melodic percussion using In | Options | Opts (Ctrl + 92) and Out | Options | Device Capabilities (Ctrl + 106).

A quick way to set up your Midi Out settings appropriately for your current midi Out device is to run the Out | Out Device Capabilities wizard.

Evenly
Divides the channels evenly amongst the parts...

This is useful if your device can only play one instrument at once in each part.

Chan = part
Assigns each part to the same numbered channel

All for all
Let all the parts play on all the channels...

This is appropriate if your device can play several instruments at once on the same channel, e.g. an oboe and a flute both playing simultaneously.

Even if your device can't do that however, you can still use this option. Just go to Out | Options | Sound card / synth type & Voice Options (Ctrl + 106) and switch off "Multiple simultaneous voices per channel".

You can test your device by running Out | Soundcard / Synth wizard

Parts for Devices...
Set which parts from the Parts window to play on which out devices

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Since the help for Tune Smithy is currently a bit out of date and needs to be redone completely for the new 3.0 release, then you may find the on-line page for some of the newer tasks particularly useful.

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Or F2 - Reset / save / open for individual windows, right click for cat. list...

Shows the Organise windows window - which you can use to reset all the parameters for the current window - or save them all, or open previously saved parameters for just this window. Also has a drop list of all the windows and their shortcuts.

You can also right click on this icon as a quick way to get the floating drop menu of all the Tune Smithy windows organised by category

Other Dialog Star
Tip of the day - For All category - right click for neighbouring windows...

Left click for a tip of the day in this category.

Right click to see a menu of neighbouring windows.

The neighbours are the ones you most often move to after this one or within a minute of this one, arranged by popularity.

So as you continue to use FTS, it will learn your habits, and the neighbouring windows listed here, should be the ones you most often visit after this one.

Midi Out Dialog Star
Tip of the day - Midi Relaying category - right click for neighbouring windows...

Left click for a tip of the day in this category.

Right click to see a menu of neighbouring windows.

The neighbours are the ones you most often move to after this one or within a minute of this one, arranged by popularity.

So as you continue to use FTS, it will learn your habits, and the neighbouring windows listed here, should be the ones you most often visit after this one.