Tue Jul 14, 2020 8:45 am
I'm not sure if this is quite the right place to post this. I think there's a form as well - but I can't find the details of that right now.
I'm exploring with automation. I'm very new to this. However, it seems needlessly difficult. It may not be easy in other tools, such as Logic or Reaper, but it is nevertheless easier in those tools.
In particular it should be possible to do at least global automation in real time.
As I type this I was listening to Beethoven's Violin Sonata No 5, and trying to adjust the tempo. I can vary the tempo in the global automation editor - in real time - but I want to get the trajectory of the variations into that automation editor. As far as I can see, the automation editor doesn't follow the music. I should be able to fix points to modify the tempo dynamically, and also see where the points are in relation to the bars in the original track (in the Song Editor). I know that the numbering of the Song Editor and the Global Automation editor may be different, but they should actually be the same as I've aligned them.
I need to get control of this. I've established that I can do tempo variations, but I need to get the trajectory for the control recorded, so that it could be tweaked - if necessary - later.
A bit of an update. I've got better control of this, but it's still not good enough.
I found that if I set the magnification factor on the global automation track I can see more bars. However the Beethoven piece has 248 bars without repeats, and if the repeats were unrolled it would have many more. As I "play" the piece I can see the cursor move over the instrument track, but there is no corresponding movement over the automation track. Thus it's not possible to know exactly where the changes should take place.
This has perhaps been though out as an "offline" process, but it would be much better to do it dynamically. This should also be capable of handling very long pieces of music - say at least 1000 bars, though I think that some might actually be even longer than that - with repeats.
Another, but not quite directly related aspect of this is the way the cursor moves along the music track. It moves left to right, and then when it gets to the end of the displayed track it jumps back to the left, and the next section of music is loaded in. This isn't always helpful, as it's not possible to see what's coming along in advance. This doesn't always help with trying to anticipate the automation just before it's needed. It would be helpful if the music/midi tracks could be moved under the cursor, or the wrap around at least had a few bars of look ahead.
A sophistication which I don't expect in LMMS, but which I think is now in Logic, is that it's possible to see a music score moving under the cursor in that package - something which musicians would find helpful.
I'm making more progress - things are getting better - but some things in the package could be improved to make things much easier.
I'm exploring with automation. I'm very new to this. However, it seems needlessly difficult. It may not be easy in other tools, such as Logic or Reaper, but it is nevertheless easier in those tools.
In particular it should be possible to do at least global automation in real time.
As I type this I was listening to Beethoven's Violin Sonata No 5, and trying to adjust the tempo. I can vary the tempo in the global automation editor - in real time - but I want to get the trajectory of the variations into that automation editor. As far as I can see, the automation editor doesn't follow the music. I should be able to fix points to modify the tempo dynamically, and also see where the points are in relation to the bars in the original track (in the Song Editor). I know that the numbering of the Song Editor and the Global Automation editor may be different, but they should actually be the same as I've aligned them.
I need to get control of this. I've established that I can do tempo variations, but I need to get the trajectory for the control recorded, so that it could be tweaked - if necessary - later.
A bit of an update. I've got better control of this, but it's still not good enough.
I found that if I set the magnification factor on the global automation track I can see more bars. However the Beethoven piece has 248 bars without repeats, and if the repeats were unrolled it would have many more. As I "play" the piece I can see the cursor move over the instrument track, but there is no corresponding movement over the automation track. Thus it's not possible to know exactly where the changes should take place.
This has perhaps been though out as an "offline" process, but it would be much better to do it dynamically. This should also be capable of handling very long pieces of music - say at least 1000 bars, though I think that some might actually be even longer than that - with repeats.
Another, but not quite directly related aspect of this is the way the cursor moves along the music track. It moves left to right, and then when it gets to the end of the displayed track it jumps back to the left, and the next section of music is loaded in. This isn't always helpful, as it's not possible to see what's coming along in advance. This doesn't always help with trying to anticipate the automation just before it's needed. It would be helpful if the music/midi tracks could be moved under the cursor, or the wrap around at least had a few bars of look ahead.
A sophistication which I don't expect in LMMS, but which I think is now in Logic, is that it's possible to see a music score moving under the cursor in that package - something which musicians would find helpful.
I'm making more progress - things are getting better - but some things in the package could be improved to make things much easier.