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How to use COMPO
Keypad layout is as below:
In color, this is something like:
- Shift: switch between functions for a single key
- Load: load a song
- Instr: change instrument for a track
- Save: save current song
- Add bar: add a bar at cursor location
- Delete bar: delete the bar at cursor location
- Transpose -: transpose track down 1/2 tone
- Transpose +: transpose track up 1/2 tone
- Tap tempo: press twice to set a new tempo to song, according to time between keypress
- Tempo -: decrease current tempo of 10%
- Tempo +: increase current tempo of 10%
- (shift) Tempo reset: set tempo back to its original value (used to reset tempo -/+)
- Metronome: metronome on/off
- Copy
- Cut
- Fixed velocity: set velocity of all notes to 64 (ie. mid-velocity)
- (shift) Quantify: change quantifying value from (EIGHTH, SIXTEENTH, THIRTY-SECOND, FREE-TIMING, QUARTER)
- Paste: erase bars before pasting new bars
- (shift) Paste with overdub: do not erase bars; perform overdub when pasting new bars
- Color: apply new pad color to selected bars (useful to isolate chorus from verse)
- Rec: record song on/off; cursor changes to red (rec on), back to green (rec off). Record only works when song is playing
- Play: play song, starting at the cursor location
- Track selection is the top row: press button to select track; press again to mute track; press again to solo the track; press again to go back to normal. Note that the first track (top left pad) is DRUM track.
- Page selection is the right column: press to select a "page" of 64 bars, per track. Song is 8 tracks, then 8 pages * 64 bars per page = 512 bars per track.
- Bar selection is the main pad: cursor is green is normal mode (REC off), red when REC is enabled. Pressing any pad will position the cursor to that bar. Pressing and holding allows to select multiple bars, for copy/cut/paste functions.
- Pressing load on the keypad changes the bar UI: existing songs displayed in green, and pressing a pad loads the corresponding song.
- It is possible to load an empty song (non-lit pad), in which case your current song is cleared, and you start with a blank/empty song.
- Pressing save on the keypad changes the bar UI: existing songs displayed in red, and pressing a pad saves the corresponding song. If you press a pad with a song already saved to it, this song will be replaced (overwritten) with the new one.
- Once song is loaded/saved, you are brought back to song/bar mode.
- Pressing load or save a second time, without selecting any song, brings you back to song/bar mode.
Song are saved in JSON format (.json), as well as MIDI file format (.mid) for later import to a DAW. They are named after the pad number, in hexadecimal (00 to 3F). They are stored in /home/pi/compo/save folder.
There are 128 instruments in "GM" General Midi standard; therefore instrument selection requires 2 UI pages ie. 2 keypress of instr key on the keypad.
- Pressing instr on the keypad once displays instruments from 1 to 64 for the active track (yellow display). Current instrument's pad is brighter than the others. Press a pad to select corresponding instrument. You can hear how the instrument sounds by pressing keys on the midi keyboard.
- Pressing instr on the keypad a second time displays instruments from 65 to 128 for the active track (orange display). Current instrument's pad is brighter than the others. Press a pad to select corresponding instrument. You can hear how the instrument sounds by pressing keys on the midi keyboard.
- Pressing instr on the keypad a third time brings you back to song/bar mode.