root/trunk/data/doc/manual.docbook @ 1011

Revision 1011, 82.0 KB (checked in by gabriel@…, 4 years ago)

I figured out how to add translator notes to the PO files.

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1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
2<!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC '-//OASIS//DTD DocBook V4.0//EN'
3               'http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.0/docbookx.dtd'>
4<book id="Hydrogen-manual" lang="en">
5
6<bookinfo>
7        <title>Hydrogen Manual</title>
8        <authorgroup>
9                <author>
10                        <firstname>Antonio</firstname>
11                        <surname>Piraino</surname>
12                </author>
13                <author>
14                        <firstname>Alessandro</firstname>
15                        <surname>Cominu</surname>
16                </author>
17        </authorgroup>
18
19        <date>22/may/2005</date>
20
21        <abstract>
22                <para>
23                        Hydrogen is a software synthesizer which can be used alone, emulating a drum machine based on patterns, or via an external MIDI keyboard/sequencer software. Hydrogen compiles on Linux/x86 and Mac OS X, although the latter is still experimental, so ask in the developers mailing list for further details.
24                </para>
25        </abstract>
26</bookinfo>
27
28<!--
29###################
30# PRIMO CAPITOLO  #
31###################
32-->
33
34<chapter id="chap.introduction">
35        <title>Introduction</title>
36
37        <section id="sect.download">
38                <title>Download</title>
39                <para>
40                        The latest stable version of hydrogen is available as a tarball at
41                        <ulink url="http://www.hydrogen-music.org/?p=download">http://www.hydrogen-music.org</ulink>.
42                </para>
43                <para>
44                        It is possible to download the latest source files directly from our subversion server with:
45               
46                        <screen><prompt>$</prompt> <command>svn co http://svn.assembla.com/svn/hydrogen/trunk</command></screen>
47                       
48                        A certain release can be fetched with:
49                         <screen><prompt>$</prompt> <command>svn co http://svn.assembla.com/svn/hydrogen/tags/0.9.3</command></screen>                                     
50                </para>
51               
52                <para>
53                        Compiling Hydrogen depends on the following libraries:
54                        <itemizedlist mark="opencircle">
55                                <listitem>
56                                        <para>qt (>= 4.0) at <ulink url="http://www.trolltech.com"/></para>
57                                </listitem>
58                                <listitem>
59                                        <para>libsndfile at <ulink url="http://www.mega-nerd.com/libsndfile/"/></para>
60                                </listitem>
61
62                                <listitem>
63                                        <para>ALSA (>= 1.x) at <ulink url="http://www.alsa-project.com"/> (only if you wish to use ALSA as audio driver)</para>
64                                </listitem>
65                                <listitem>
66                                        <para>Jack Audio Connection Kit (>= 0.80) at <ulink url="http://jackaudio.org/"/> (only if you wish to use Jack as audio driver)</para>
67                                </listitem>
68                                 <listitem>
69                                        <para>PortAudio at <ulink url="http://www.portaudio.com"/> (only if you wish to use PortAudio as audio driver)</para>
70                                </listitem>
71                                 <listitem>
72                                        <para>Flac at <ulink url="http://flac.sf.net"/> (only if you wish to use flac samples)</para>
73                                </listitem>
74                                 <listitem>
75                                        <para>ladspa at <ulink url="http://ladspa.org"/> (only if you wish to use ladspa effects)</para>
76                                </listitem>
77                                 <listitem>
78                                        <para>liblrdf at <ulink url="http://liblrdf.sf.net"/> (only if you wish to use lrdf to categorise effects)</para>
79                                </listitem>
80                                 <listitem>
81                                        <para>lash at <ulink url="http://lash.nongnu.org"/> (only if you wish to use lash)</para>
82                                </listitem>
83                        </itemizedlist>
84                        Please install them with your distribution's package manager. If you're running a debian-based system,
85                        you can install the libraries with:
86                        <screen>
87        <prompt>$</prompt> <command>apt-get install libqt4-dev g++ libasound2-dev \
88        libjack-dev liblrdf0-dev libflac++-dev libtar-dev libsndfile1-dev \
89        liblash-dev libportaudio-dev libportmidi-dev </command></screen>
90        </para>
91        </section>
92
93        <section id="sect.compilation">
94                <title>Build</title>
95                <para>
96                            Decompress the tarball or go to the directory where the subversion copy was checked out:
97                    <screen>
98        <prompt>$</prompt> <command>cd hydrogen-*</command>
99        <prompt>$</prompt> <command>scons</command>
100        <prompt>$</prompt> <command>su -c "scons install"</command>
101                    </screen>
102                </para>
103
104                <para>
105                    Before compiling, check for additional options with:
106                    <screen>
107        <prompt>$</prompt> <command>scons --help</command>
108                    </screen>
109                   
110                    If you want to use features which are not enabled by default (for instance PortAudio), you can enable them with:
111                    <screen>
112        <prompt>$</prompt> <command>scons portaudio=1</command>
113                    </screen>
114                   
115                    Namely, if you get some error while running Hydrogen and you want to report it remember to configure hydrogen with:
116                    <screen>
117        <prompt>$</prompt> <command>scons debug=1</command>
118                    </screen>
119                   
120                    To clean up compiled code:
121                    <screen>
122        <prompt>$</prompt> <command>scons -c</command>
123                    </screen>
124                </para>
125        </section>
126
127<!-- prokoudine ?
128        <section id="sect.basics">
129                <title>[TODO] BASICS</title>
130                <para>
131                explain and develop basics about the technology behind software of this kind
132                </para>
133        </section>
134-->
135
136        <!--
137       
138        mauser: In my opionon those driver informations are unnecessary here, moved to audio tab
139       
140       
141        <section id="sect.config_audio_driver">
142                <title>Audio driver configuration</title>
143                <para>
144                        It's very important to choose the proper audio driver for our system, since
145                        the choice may influence quite much general performances. The choice is between
146                        Oss audio driver, ALSA, PortAudio, CoreAudio and Jack audio driver.
147                </para>
148               
149                <section id="sect.driver.jack">
150                        <title>Jack audio driver</title>
151                        <para>
152                        The Jack driver is a professional audio server which permits very low lag and exchanges with other
153                        audio software. <emphasis>We strongly recommend using this driver to have the best out of Hydrogen</emphasis>.
154                        JACK server will start automatically if not already running.
155                        </para>
156                </section>
157               
158                <section id="sect.driver.alsa">
159                        <title>ALSA audio driver</title>
160                        <para>
161                        the widely adopted Linux standard audio drivers
162                        </para>
163                </section>
164               
165                <section id="sect.driver.oss">
166                        <title>OSS audio driver</title>
167                        <para>
168                        The Oss audio driver uses /dev/dsp and it's based on the OSS interface which is
169                        supported by the vast majority of sound cards available for linux; this said,
170                        the use of this audio driver blocks /dev/dsp until Hydrogen is closed i.e. unusable
171                        by any other software. Use it as last resource.
172                        </para>
173                </section>
174               
175                <section id="sect.driver.portaudio">
176                        <title>PortAudio audio driver</title>
177                        <para>
178                         an open-source multiplatform audio driver
179                        </para>
180                </section>
181               
182                <section id="sect.driver.coreaudio">
183                        <title>CoreAudio audio driver</title>
184                        <para>
185                         a driver for Mac OS X (experimental)
186                        </para>
187                </section>
188        </section>
189        -->
190       
191       
192        <section id="sect.preferences">
193                <title>Audio preferences</title>
194                <para>
195                    First of all you should make shure that the audio engine is configured properly.
196                    The preferences dialog can be accessed via the tools menu (tools -> preferences).
197                </para>
198               
199
200               
201                <section id="sect.preferences.audio_tab">
202                        <title>The Audio System tab</title>
203                       
204                        <para>From the "Audio System" tab (<xref linkend="fig.preferences.audio_tab"/>) it is possible to modify the audio driver being used (OSS, Jack, ALSA, PortAudio) with its buffer and sampling rate (unless using JACK, in this case the audio driver configuration should happen before starting the JACK server).
205                        </para>
206                        <para>
207                        We can set some features of Hydrogen like "Enable track outputs" useful if you want to add effects to a single instrument with jack-rack. "Connect to Default Output Pair" connects the output to the default ports: uncheck this if you want to connect JACK output to other ports without disconnecting them first
208                        </para>
209                        <para>
210                        Keep also an eye on the value of "Polyphony": depending on your CPU you may want to change the max simultaneous notes in order to prevent hydrogen from overunning the audio driver.
211                        </para>
212               
213               
214                       
215                        <figure id="fig.preferences.audio_tab">
216                        <title>The Audio System Tab</title>
217                        <mediaobject>
218                            <imageobject>
219                                    <imagedata fileref="img/PreferencesAudioSystem.png" format="PNG"/>
220                            </imageobject>
221                        </mediaobject>
222                        </figure>
223                       
224                        <para>
225                            The following drivers are available:
226                        </para>
227                       
228                        <itemizedlist>
229
230                        <listitem>
231                            <para>
232                            <emphasis role="bold">jackd</emphasis>: The Jack driver is a professional audio server which permits very low lag and exchanges with other
233                            audio software. <emphasis>We strongly recommend using this driver to have the best out of Hydrogen</emphasis>.
234                            JACK server will start automatically if not already running.
235                            </para>
236                        </listitem>
237               
238                        <listitem>
239                            <para>
240                            <emphasis role="bold">ALSA</emphasis>:
241                            the widely adopted Linux standard audio drivers
242                            </para>
243                        </listitem>
244                       
245                        <listitem>
246                            <para>
247                            <emphasis role="bold">OSS</emphasis>:
248                            The Oss audio driver uses /dev/dsp and it's based on the OSS interface which is
249                            supported by the vast majority of sound cards available for linux; this said,
250                            the use of this audio driver blocks /dev/dsp until Hydrogen is closed i.e. unusable
251                            by any other software. Use it as last resort.
252                            </para>
253                        </listitem>
254               
255                        <listitem>
256                            <para>
257                            <emphasis role="bold">PortAudio</emphasis>:
258                            an open-source multiplatform audio driver
259                            </para>
260                        </listitem>
261
262                        <listitem>
263                            <para>
264                            <emphasis role="bold">CoreAudio</emphasis>:
265                            a driver for Mac OS X (experimental)
266                            </para>
267                        </listitem>
268                    </itemizedlist>
269                </section>
270               
271                <section id="sect.preferences.midi_tab">
272                        <title>The Midi System tab</title>
273                        <para>
274                        The "Midi System" tab (<xref linkend="fig.preferences.midi_tab"/>) concerns the MIDI input. You can choose the MIDI driver and input, setup channels, binding actions to MIDI events.
275                        </para>
276                       
277                        <figure id="fig.preferences.midi_tab">
278                        <title>The MIDI System Tab</title>
279                        <mediaobject>
280                            <imageobject>
281                                    <imagedata fileref="img/PreferencesMidiSystem.png" format="PNG"/>
282                            </imageobject>
283                        </mediaobject>
284                        </figure>
285                </section>
286               
287                <section id="sect.preferences.appearance_tab">
288                    <title>The Appearance tab</title>
289                    <para>
290                    The "Appearance" tab (<xref linkend="fig.preferences.appearance_tab"/>) let's you to modify Hydrogen and QT graphical properties.
291                    </para>
292                   
293                    <figure id="fig.preferences.appearance_tab">
294                    <title>The Appearance Tab</title>
295                    <mediaobject>
296                        <imageobject>
297                                <imagedata fileref="img/PreferencesAppearance.png" format="PNG"/>
298                        </imageobject>
299                    </mediaobject>
300                    </figure>
301                </section>
302               
303               
304                <section id="sect.preferences.audio_engine_tab">
305                    <title>The Audio Engine tab</title>
306                    <para>
307                    The audio engine info is a window with various stats about Hydrogen and the audio driver. In case JACK is used, buffer and sampling rate should be set before starting Hydrogen (JACK automatically starts when an application tries to connect).
308                    </para>
309                   
310                    <figure id="fig.preferences.audio_engine_tab">
311                    <title>The Audio Engine Info Window</title>
312                    <mediaobject>
313                        <imageobject>
314                                <imagedata fileref="img/AudioEngineInfoDialog.png" format="PNG"/>
315                        </imageobject>
316                    </mediaobject>
317                    </figure>
318                </section>
319        </section>
320</chapter>
321
322<!--
323####################
324# SECONDO CAPITOLO #
325####################
326-->
327
328<chapter id="chap.using_hydrogen">
329        <title>Using Hydrogen</title>
330       
331        <section id="sect.file_types">
332            <title>Used Filetypes</title>
333            <para>Before working with Hydrogen, please familiarize with these filetypes:</para>
334            <itemizedlist>
335                    <listitem>
336                        <para><emphasis role="bold">*.h2pattern</emphasis>: XML file describing a single pattern. Patterns are group of beats and are managed in the pattern editor.</para>
337                    </listitem>
338                    <listitem>
339                        <para><emphasis role="bold">*.h2song</emphasis>: XML file describing the whole song (or sequence). Songs are group of patterns with their properties and are manager using the song editor</para>
340                    </listitem>
341                    <listitem>
342                        <para><emphasis role="bold">*.h2playlist</emphasis>: XML file describing a playlist.A Playlist is a (ordered) group of songs.</para>
343                    </listitem>
344                    <listitem>
345                        <para><emphasis role="bold">*.h2drumkit</emphasis>: a compressed and archived folder containing all sound samples composing a drumkit and a description XML file. Drumkits are basically group of sound samples.</para>
346                    </listitem>
347            </itemizedlist>
348        </section>
349       
350        <section id="sect.main_menu">
351            <title>Main menu</title>
352            <para><emphasis role="bold">Projects</emphasis>: this menu offers file related functions.</para>
353            <itemizedlist>
354
355                            <listitem><para><emphasis>New</emphasis> - Create a new song</para></listitem>
356                            <listitem><para><emphasis>Show Info</emphasis> - Set general properties of the song such as name, author, license and generic notes</para></listitem>
357                            <listitem><para><emphasis>Open</emphasis> - Open a song</para></listitem>
358                            <listitem><para><emphasis>Open Demo</emphasis> - Open a demo song (demo songs are stored in <emphasis>$INSTALLPATH/share/hydrogen/data/demo_songs</emphasis>)</para></listitem>
359                            <listitem><para><emphasis>Open recent</emphasis> - Open a menu showing last used songs</para></listitem>
360                            <listitem><para><emphasis>Save</emphasis> - Save changes to current song</para></listitem>
361                            <listitem><para><emphasis>Save as</emphasis> - Save current song specifying a name (default path: <emphasis>$HOME/.hydrogen/data/songs)</emphasis></para></listitem>
362                            <listitem><para><emphasis>Open pattern</emphasis> - Open a saved pattern belonging to the current drumkit</para></listitem>
363                            <listitem><para><emphasis>Export pattern as</emphasis> - Saves a pattern. It will be stored in <emphasis>$HOME/.hydrogen/data/patterns/drumkit_name</emphasis></para></listitem>
364                            <listitem><para><emphasis>Export MIDI file</emphasis> - Export current song in MIDI format</para></listitem>
365                            <listitem><para><emphasis>Export song</emphasis> - Export current song in WAV format</para></listitem>
366                            <listitem><para><emphasis>Quit</emphasis> - Quit Hydrogen</para></listitem>
367            </itemizedlist>
368           
369           
370               
371        <para><emphasis role="bold">Instruments</emphasis>: this menu offers instruments and drumkit (sound libraries) functions.</para>
372            <itemizedlist>
373                        <listitem><para><emphasis>Add instrument</emphasis> - Add a new instrument to your current drumkit</para></listitem>
374                        <listitem><para><emphasis>Clear all</emphasis> - Delete all instruments from the current drumkit</para></listitem>
375                        <listitem><para><emphasis>Save library</emphasis> - Saves all instruments settings (and their sound samples) in <emphasis>$HOME/.hydrogen/data/library_name</emphasis></para></listitem>
376                        <listitem><para><emphasis>Export library</emphasis> - Compress all instruments samples and settings in a drumkit in <emphasis>$HOME/.hydrogen/data/library_name</emphasis></para></listitem>
377                        <listitem><para><emphasis>Import library</emphasis> - Imports another drumkit from the local filesystem or download it from a remote location through an XML feed. The XML file that should be provided is <emphasis role="bold">NOT</emphasis> RSS compliant (see <ulink url="http://www.hydrogen-music.org/feeds/drumkit_list.php" >Hydrogen website</ulink> for an example). To load another drumkit in your current working session of Hydrogen, read <xref linkend="sect.sound_library"/>.</para></listitem>
378            </itemizedlist>
379       
380       
381            <para><emphasis role="bold">Tools</emphasis>: opens the mixer, the playlist editor, the instrument rack and the general preferences window.</para>
382            <itemizedlist>
383                    <listitem><para><emphasis>Playlist editor</emphasis> - A tool to manage playlists.</para></listitem>
384                    <listitem><para><emphasis>Mixer</emphasis> - Open the mixer window.</para></listitem>
385                    <listitem><para><emphasis>Instrument rack</emphasis> - Open the instrument rack panel.</para></listitem>
386                    <listitem><para><emphasis>Preferences</emphasis> - Open the main preferences window. Read <xref linkend="sect.preferences"/> on how to configure Hydrogen.</para></listitem>
387            </itemizedlist>
388       
389       
390            <para><emphasis role="bold">Debug</emphasis>: tools mainly for debugging and monitoring Hydrogen (only available when compiled with debug support).</para>
391            <itemizedlist>
392                    <listitem><para><emphasis>Show audio engine info - </emphasis>Open a monitor with various <link linkend="sect.preferences.audio_engine_tab">stats</link></para></listitem>
393                    <listitem><para><emphasis>debug action - </emphasis> Insert debug commands.</para></listitem>
394                    <listitem><para><emphasis>Print Objects - </emphasis>Print on stdout current objects map.</para></listitem>
395            </itemizedlist>
396   
397   
398            <para><emphasis role="bold">Info</emphasis></para>
399            <itemizedlist>
400                    <listitem><para><emphasis>User manual - </emphasis>Open a window with this manual :)</para></listitem>
401                    <listitem><para><emphasis>About - </emphasis>The usual window with licence information, acknowledgements, etc.</para></listitem>
402            </itemizedlist>
403
404       
405       
406       
407       
408        </section>
409       
410        <section id="sect.main_toolbar">
411                <title>The main toolbar</title>
412                <para>Before analyzing the two main frames of Hydrogen, let's take a quick look at the main toolbar and its components:</para>
413               
414                <itemizedlist>
415                    <listitem><para>Pilot the song using the start, stop, pause, etc. buttons</para></listitem>
416                    <listitem><para>Choose between "pattern" or "song" mode: in "pattern" mode only the currently selected pattern will play, while in "song" mode all patterns inserted will be played.</para></listitem>
417                    <listitem><para>An advanced tap tempo function: choose note length and how many notes to wait before recalculating BPM, then click the comma key repeatedly until the 'R' letter will appear and the BPM will be updated.  (see <xref linkend="sect.tap_tempo"/>)</para></listitem>
418                    <listitem><para>Manually set BPM</para></listitem>
419                    <listitem><para>Manage JACK transport</para></listitem>
420                    <listitem><para>Open the mixer and the instrument rack panels</para></listitem>
421                </itemizedlist>
422       
423       
424                <figure id="fig.main_toolbar">
425                <title>The Main Toolbar</title>
426                <mediaobject>
427                        <imageobject>
428                               
429                                <imagedata fileref="img/MainToolbar.png" format="PNG"/>
430                               
431                        </imageobject>
432                </mediaobject>
433                </figure>
434
435                <itemizedlist mark="opencircle">
436                        <listitem><para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
437                                <imagedata fileref="img/background_Control.png" format="PNG"/>
438                        </imageobject></inlinemediaobject>
439                                </para><para>Main controls to start <emphasis role="bold">[Hotkey = Spacebar]</emphasis>, stop, fast forward, rewind, loop a song or a pattern.</para>
440                        </listitem>
441                       
442                        <listitem><para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
443                                <imagedata fileref="img/background_Mode.png" format="PNG"/>
444                        </imageobject></inlinemediaobject></para><para>Set Pattern/Song Mode.</para></listitem>
445       
446                        <listitem><para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
447                                <imagedata fileref="img/background_BPM.png" format="PNG"/>
448                        </imageobject></inlinemediaobject></para><para>Set speed of playing (range: 30-400 bpm) <emphasis role="bold">[Hotkey = mouse wheel]</emphasis> and button to enable/disable metronome</para></listitem>
449
450                        <listitem><para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
451                                <imagedata fileref="img/cpuload.png" format="PNG"/>
452                        </imageobject></inlinemediaobject></para><para>Shows CPU load.</para></listitem>
453
454                        <listitem><para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
455                                <imagedata fileref="img/midi_in.png" format="PNG"/>
456                        </imageobject></inlinemediaobject></para><para>Shows MIDI events.</para></listitem>
457
458                        <listitem><para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
459                                <imagedata fileref="img/jack_transport.png" format="PNG"/>
460                        </imageobject></inlinemediaobject></para><para>Click to enable Jack transport: Hydrogen will work as 'slave' with another 'master' program (e.g. Ardour). This applet is only available if Jack Audio Driver is selected.</para></listitem>
461                </itemizedlist>
462
463        <para>Other useful keybindings (not customizable for the moment):</para>
464               
465        <itemizedlist mark="opencircle">
466                <listitem>
467                        <para>
468                        <emphasis role="bold">[CTRL + O]</emphasis> = Open File
469                        </para>
470                </listitem>
471                <listitem>
472                        <para>
473                        <emphasis role="bold">[CTRL + S]</emphasis> = Save File
474                        </para>
475                </listitem>
476                <listitem>
477                        <para>
478                        <emphasis role="bold">[Backspace]</emphasis> = Restart song or pattern from the beginning
479                        </para>
480                </listitem>
481                </itemizedlist>
482
483                <section id="sect.tap_tempo">
484                        <title>Tap Tempo and BeatCounter</title>
485
486                        <para>It is possible to change tempo at any time using
487                        the tap-tempo and BeatCounter features of Hydrogen.  You
488                        can change these while playing or while the song is
489                        stopped.  To change the tempo, hit
490                        the <keycap>,</keycap> (comma) key in tempo for the
491                        number of beats in the measure.  After the correct
492                        number of beats are met, the tempo will change to the
493                        average tempo that you tapped in.  If you continue to
494                        tap, these new taps will become a part of a rolling
495                        average.  If you tap accidentally, or if you wait too
496                        long between taps, the tap tempo counter will start
497                        over.</para>
498
499                        <para>The Tap Tempo is a part of the BeatCounter, which
500                        is essentially a Tap Tempo on steroids.  By default the
501                        BeatCounter display is not visible.  To see the
502                        BeatCounter widget click the upright button
503                        (<guilabel>BC</guilabel>) between Song/Pattern mode
504                        selector and the BPM-widget.  Or, it can be shown by
505                        pressing the comma key (<keycap>,</keycap>).</para>
506
507                        <para>The tempo that you tap will be considered even
508                        beats of the beat type.  The beat type can be set to 1/8
509                        (for eight-note beats), 1/4 (for quarter-note beats),
510                        1/2 (for half-note beats), and 1/1 (for whole-note
511                        beats).  To change the beat type use the left arrow
512                        buttons.  To change the number of beats that are
513                        counted, use the right arrow button.  You can set from 2
514                        to 16 beats.  (I.e. if you set the beat to 6, you will
515                        have to tap 6 times before the new tempo is computed and
516                        set.)  When the display shows an <guilabel>R</guilabel>,
517                        it means that the BeatCounter is ready to start from 0.
518                        Every time you tap with the comma key, it will show the
519                        number of taps that you have entered (1, 2,
520                        3...).</para>
521
522                        <para>The button in the bottom right-hand controls the
523                        auto-start feature, and it toggles
524                        between <guilabel>S</guilabel>
525                        and <guilabel>P</guilabel>.  When it
526                        shows <guilabel>P</guilabel> for
527                        (<emphasis>Play</emphasis>), the song will set the new
528                        tempo and automatically start to play after you tap the
529                        right number of beats (if it's not already playing, of
530                        course).  This way, if you have the BeatCounter set up
531                        for 4/4, you can tap 1-2-3-4, and start playing on the
532                        next beat.  When it shows <guilabel>S</guilabel>
533                        (for <emphasis>Set BPM</emphasis>), the auto-start is
534                        disabled.</para>
535
536                        <para>For example: Suppose you have a live band,
537                        Hydrogen, and a softsynth that is controlled by
538                        Seq24)... and you want them all to start at the same
539                        time.  Set the beat type to 1/4 and the number of beats
540                        to 4.  Enable auto-start (button
541                        shows <guilabel>P</guilabel>).  Count off the band
542                        1-2-3-4 (while tapping the comma key) &mdash; and
543                        everyone starts on 1.</para>
544
545                        <para>Another example: Same situation, but the song
546                        doesn't require Hydrogen or synths until some point
547                        later.  During that time, a human (e.g. guitar player)
548                        will be setting the tempo.  On the measure before
549                        Hydrogen is supposed to play, tap the comma key 1-2-3-4
550                        with the beat... and you're in on the next beat (at the
551                        right tempo).</para>
552
553                        <para>If you are using the JACK Transport, the
554                        BeatCounter continues to work.  If another program is
555                        the JACK Transport Master, Hydrogen will respond to
556                        tempo change events from that application.  Note that in
557                        this situation, Hydrogen is supposed to be
558                        a <emphasis>slave</emphasis>, so some of the BeatCounter
559                        features will be disabled or will not work properly.  If
560                        Hydrogen is the JACK Transport Master, tempo changes
561                        from Hydrogen will be reflected in those programs (if
562                        they support it).</para>
563
564                        <para>Some of the settings to adjust the BeatCounter's
565                        latency compensation, and they are located on the
566                        <guilabel>General</guilabel> tab of the Preferences
567                        Dialog (
568
569                        <menuchoice>
570                                <guimenu>Tools</guimenu>
571                                <guimenuitem>Preferences</guimenuitem>
572                        </menuchoice>
573
574                        ). Here there are two spinboxes:</para>
575
576                        <itemizedlist>
577                                <listitem><para><emphasis role="bold"><guilabel>Beat
578                                counter drift compensation in
579                                1/10ms</guilabel></emphasis> &mdash; adjust to
580                                compensate for latency between the keyboard and
581                                the program.</para></listitem>
582
583                                <listitem><para><emphasis role="bold"><guilabel>Beat
584                                counter start offset in ms</guilabel></emphasis>
585                                &mdash; adjust the time between the
586                                BeatCounter's last input stroke and when the
587                                song starts playing (if auto-start is
588                                activated).</para></listitem>
589                        </itemizedlist>
590
591                        <para>Note that these can be set to positive (+) or
592                        negative (-) values.  In order to find useful values for
593                        these, you will need to take some time to play with it.
594                        Also, you may want different values depending on the
595                        speed of your hardware, audio devices, drivers, etc.
596                        Using the BeatCounter effectively requires
597                        practice.</para>
598
599                </section>
600
601        </section>
602       
603        <section id="sect.song_editor">
604                <title>Song Editor</title>
605
606                <para>
607                The "Song Editor" (<xref linkend="fig.song_editor"/>) gives an overview of the whole timeline of the song (e.g. intro, verse, bridge, chorus and so on); each blue coloured square on this panel is a complete bar as shown in the underlying "Pattern Editor" panel. Here we have complete freedom to add, remove or move patterns in any order we prefer. We can also copy and paste patterns: use left mouse button to highlight an area and drag it around. Dragging with CTRL key pressed copies the patterns.
608                </para>
609
610                <para>
611                The Song Editor comes with 7 buttons:
612                </para>
613                <para>
614                        <inlinemediaobject>
615                                <imageobject>
616                                        <imagedata fileref="img/bg_topPanel.png" format="PNG"/>
617                                </imageobject>
618                        </inlinemediaobject>
619                </para>
620
621<itemizedlist mark="opencircle">
622
623                <listitem>
624                <para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
625                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_clear_off.png" format="PNG"/>
626                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject> Completely delete all patterns (asks for confirmation!).
627                </para>
628                </listitem>
629
630                <listitem>
631                <para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
632                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_new_on.png" format="PNG" />
633                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject> Create a new pattern (and asks for a name).
634                </para>
635                </listitem>
636
637                <listitem>
638                <para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
639                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_updown.png" format="PNG" />
640                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject> Move currently selected pattern up or down.
641                </para>
642                </listitem>
643
644
645
646                <listitem>
647                <para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
648                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_select.png" format="PNG"/>
649                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject> Enable selecting patterns for copy &amp; paste (Select Mode).
650                </para>
651                </listitem>
652
653                <listitem>
654                <para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
655                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_draw.png" format="PNG"/>
656                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject> Enable Draw Mode.
657                </para>
658                </listitem>
659               
660                <listitem>
661                <para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
662                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_pattern_mode.png" format="PNG"/>
663                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject> Switch from "Single pattern mode" to "Stacked pattern mode" and back..
664                </para>
665                </listitem>
666</itemizedlist>
667 
668        <para>
669        Under these buttons there is a list of patterns created and when they will played (each square == 1 bar). Click
670        on an squarebox to add or cancel the pattern. Clicking on right mouse button over the name of a pattern will bring up a menu to change name of the pattern or to allow copying/deleting it. Patterns with very same name are not allowed.
671        </para>
672
673        <figure id="fig.song_editor">
674        <title>The Song Editor</title>
675        <mediaobject>
676                <imageobject>
677                        <imagedata fileref="img/SongEditor.png" format="PNG" />
678                </imageobject>
679        </mediaobject>
680        </figure>
681
682        </section>
683
684        <section id="sect.pattern_editor">
685                <title>Pattern Editor</title>
686                <para>
687                The "Pattern Editor" frame (<xref linkend="fig.pattern_editor"/>) lets us create or modify the pattern (bar) which is being played, or add/remove notes and tune intensity as well. On the higher-left side you find a pair of LCD screens: the first one lets you choose the size of a pattern while the second represents the current grid resolution (4 through 64).
688               
689                Selecting an instrument which has at least one note in the pattern will show a few vertical bars (one per note) on the lowest part of this frame. Those frame shows the so called "note properties". This are special properties which can be set for every
690                single note. Hydrogen knows of 3 Properties: Velocity, Pan and Lead/Lag. Lead and Lag allows a slight note lead or lag in respect of the actual beat. The range is ca. 5 ticks which equals around ca. 10 ms at a tempo of 120bpm.
691                </para>
692
693                <para>
694                The button
695                <inlinemediaobject>
696                        <imageobject>
697                                <imagedata fileref="img/btn_hear_on.png" format="PNG" />
698                        </imageobject>
699                </inlinemediaobject>
700
701                (hear new notes) will play the sample as it's been added to the pattern. Finally you can move an instrument up and down in the sequence with the buttons
702               
703                <inlinemediaobject>
704                        <imageobject>
705                                <imagedata fileref="img/btn_updown.png" format="PNG" />
706                        </imageobject>
707                </inlinemediaobject>
708
709. A useful <quote>Quantize</quote> feature is available activating
710       
711                <inlinemediaobject>
712                        <imageobject>
713                                <imagedata fileref="img/btn_quant_off.png" format="PNG"/>
714                        </imageobject>
715                </inlinemediaobject>
716       
717        . This way the beats inserted will automatically respect the grid resolution currently applied.
718                </para>
719
720                <figure id="fig.pattern_editor">
721                  <title>The Pattern Editor</title>
722                        <mediaobject>
723                                <imageobject>
724                                        <imagedata fileref="img/PatternEditor.png" format="PNG" />
725                                </imageobject>
726                        </mediaobject>
727                </figure>
728
729                <para>
730                Rememeber this constraint concerning the grid: if you are working with a resolution of 16 you can't go back to 8 and remove a 16th note; on the other hand if you are working with a resolution of 8 and you try to insert a note in the middle of two bars (looking for a 16 bars precision), notes will be placed in the previous or in the following 8th bar.
731This contraint can be removed if you disable the whole grid resolution (choose "off" from the grid resolution LCD control). Now you'll be able to place notes wherever you prefer.
732                </para>
733               
734                <para>
735                Each instrument has its own set of features accessible right-clicking with your mouse on it;  <quote><emphasis role="bold">Fill/Clear notes</emphasis></quote> fills or deletes every note of that instrument in the current pattern (remember that filling a pattern is always relative to the grid resolution set) and finally <quote><emphasis role="bold">Randomize velocity</emphasis></quote> automatically apply a pseudo-random velocity to each note of that instrument in the pattern. The more velocity you set on the instrument, the more hydrogen will hit <quote>hard</quote> on that instrument when played.
736                </para>
737           
738                <para>
739                    The small green and red squares beside the instrument name are the <quote><emphasis role="bold">mute</emphasis></quote> and <quote><emphasis role="bold">solo</emphasis></quote> buttons.
740                </para>
741               
742                <informalfigure id="ifig.pattern_editor_instrument">
743                <mediaobject>
744                        <imageobject>
745                                <imagedata fileref="img/PatternEditorInstr.png" format="PNG" />
746                        </imageobject>
747                </mediaobject>
748                </informalfigure>
749
750                <para>Also, you can set new beats clicking on
751               
752                <inlinemediaobject>
753                        <imageobject>
754                                <imagedata fileref="img/btn_record_over.png" format="PNG"/>
755                        </imageobject>
756                </inlinemediaobject>
757               
758                which enables direct input by MIDI events or by keyboard according to the following map key=instrument:</para>
759               
760                <para><emphasis>Note that the name of the instrument depends on the drumkit loaded. This list refers to the GMKit loaded by default. The position of the instrument, however, is the same.</emphasis></para>
761               
762                <itemizedlist>
763                <listitem><para>Z = Kick</para></listitem>
764                <listitem><para>X = Snare Jazz</para></listitem>
765                <listitem><para>C = Snare Rock</para></listitem>
766                <listitem><para>V = Tom Low</para></listitem>
767                <listitem><para>B = Tom Mid</para></listitem>           
768                <listitem><para>N = Tom Hi</para></listitem>
769                <listitem><para>M = Cowbell</para></listitem>           
770                <listitem><para>Q = Ride Jazz</para></listitem>
771                <listitem><para>W = Ride Rock</para></listitem>         
772                <listitem><para>E = Instrument No. 17 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>
773                <listitem><para>R = Instrument No. 18 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>               
774                <listitem><para>T = Instrument No. 20 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>
775                <listitem><para>Y = Instrument No. 22 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>               
776                <listitem><para>U = Instrument No. 24 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>
777                <listitem><para>S = Stick</para></listitem>             
778                <listitem><para>D = Hand Clap</para></listitem>
779                <listitem><para>G = Closed HH</para></listitem>         
780                <listitem><para>H = Pedal HH</para></listitem>
781                <listitem><para>J = Open HH</para></listitem>           
782                <listitem><para>2 = Crash</para></listitem>
783                <listitem><para>3 = Crash Jazz</para></listitem>               
784                <listitem><para>5 = Instrument No. 19 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>
785                <listitem><para>6 = Instrument No. 21 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>               
786                <listitem><para>7 = Instrument No. 23 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>
787                </itemizedlist>
788
789       
790        <para>Here's a quick reference of the above bindings for your convenience. See <xref linkend="chap.create_song"/> for a basic walkthrough of how the pattern editor works.</para>
791       
792        <informalfigure id="ifig.letters_keyboard">
793        <mediaobject>
794                <imageobject>
795                        <imagedata fileref="img/tastiera.png" format="PNG" />
796                </imageobject>
797        </mediaobject>
798        </informalfigure>
799       
800        </section>
801
802        <section id="sect.mixer">
803                <title>Mixer</title>
804               
805                <figure id="fig.mixer">
806                <title>The Mixer</title>
807                <mediaobject>
808                        <imageobject>
809                                <imagedata fileref="img/Mixer.png" format="PNG" />
810                        </imageobject>
811                </mediaobject>
812                </figure>
813
814<para>The Mixer frame (<xref linkend="fig.mixer"/>) is useful for tuning a global or single volume of the current drumkit. It shows the current peak (click on
815
816        <inlinemediaobject>
817                <imageobject>
818                        <imagedata fileref="img/showPeaks_on.png" format="PNG" />
819                </imageobject>
820        </inlinemediaobject>   
821
822         to disable, useful on old CPUs) and let you set the maximum peak allowed (tune with the fader knob of the instrument), lets you modify attributes like pan, play solo
823       
824        <inlinemediaobject>
825                <imageobject>
826                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_solo_on.png" format="PNG" />
827                </imageobject>
828        </inlinemediaobject>
829       
830        , mute
831       
832        <inlinemediaobject>
833                <imageobject>
834                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_mute_on.png" format="PNG" />
835                </imageobject>
836        </inlinemediaobject>
837       
838        or test play only that instrument
839
840        <inlinemediaobject>
841                <imageobject>
842                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_play_on_mixer.png" format="PNG" />
843                </imageobject>
844        </inlinemediaobject>
845
846        ; selecting in the Pattern Editor an instrument causes a blue LED to light on (near the play button). Near the global volume knob, you can set 3 global effect such a swing (shifts a few notes back or forward not randomly), timing (modify timings of the notes) and humanize effect (random velocity editing).
847        </para>
848
849        <para>
850                In addition to all this you can set up to 4 special LADSPA effects for each instrument switching the
851               
852        <inlinemediaobject>
853                <imageobject>
854                        <imagedata fileref="img/showFX_on.png" format="PNG" />
855                </imageobject>
856        </inlinemediaobject>
857       
858        button. See next section for a detailed overview.
859       
860        <informalfigure id="ifig.mixer_fx">
861                <mediaobject>
862                        <imageobject>
863                                <imagedata fileref="img/MixerFX.png" format="PNG" />
864                        </imageobject>
865                </mediaobject> 
866        </informalfigure>
867
868        </para>
869
870        </section>
871
872        <section id="sect.sound_library">
873          <title>Sound Library (Drumkit Manager)</title>
874
875          <para>The Sound Library saves you time in managing your drum kits,
876          favorite patterns, and favorite songs.  When making new songs and drum
877          kits, the Sound Library makes it easier for you to reuse and mix the
878          instruments and patterns from other kits and songs.</para>
879
880          <section id="sect.systemdrumkits">
881            <title>System Drumkits</title>
882
883            <para>This lists the drumkits that were installed by your system
884            administrator.  It was determined by the compile-time prefix.  On
885            Unix-like operating systems, this is
886            usually <filename role="directory">/usr/share/hydrogen/data/drumkits</filename>,
887            or
888            possibly <filename role="directory">/usr/local/share/hydrogen/data/drumkits</filename>.
889            These kits are available to all users on the system, and users are
890            usually not able to add to them.</para>
891
892            <para>To load a drumkit from here, right-click the drumkit and
893            select <guimenuitem>Load</guimenuitem>.  This will replace your
894            current drumkit with the one that you selected.  To load a single
895            instrument from that kit, left-click the <guibutton>plus</guibutton>
896            to the left of the drumkit's name to show all the instruments.  With
897            your left mouse button, click and drag the instrument into your
898            current kit.  The instrument will be added to the drumkit that you
899            currently have loaded.</para>
900          </section>
901
902          <section id="sect.userdrumkits">
903            <title>User Drumkits</title>
904
905            <para>These are your own drum kits that you can manage yourself.
906            They are usually stored
907            in <filename role="directory">$HOME/.hydrogen/data/drumkits</filename>.
908            When you are creating a new drumkit, you can save it here by
909            selecting <menuchoice><guimenu>Instruments</guimenu><guimenuitem>Save
910            library</guimenuitem></menuchoice>.</para>
911
912
913            <para>Loading drumkits and instruments to use is the same as for the
914            System Drumkits (see <xref linkend="sect.systemdrumkits"/>).</para>
915
916          </section>
917          <section id="sect.sl.patterns">
918            <title>Patterns in the Sound Library</title>
919
920            <para>Before you save your favorite patterns to the sound library,
921            be sure to edit it's properties by right-clicking and
922            selecting <guimenuitem>Properties</guimenuitem>.  There, you can
923            give the pattern a title and a category.  You can use one of the
924            categories already provided, or create your own categories by simply
925            typing in a category name.  The category name is important, because
926            the patterns will be filed by category in the Sound Library.</para>
927
928            <para>You can save your favorite patterns in the sound library by
929            right clicking the title of the pattern in the song editor, and
930            selecting <guimenuitem>Save Pattern</guimenuitem>.  It will appear
931            in the Sound Library underneath <guilabel>Patterns</guilabel> and
932            the category that you assigned to the pattern.</para>
933
934          </section>
935          <section id="sect.sl.songs">
936            <title>Songs in the Sound Library</title>
937
938            <para>To save songs in the Sound Library, put them in your data
939            directory underneath the <filename role="directory">songs</filename>
940            folder
941            (usually <filename role="directory">$HOME/data/songs</filename>.  To
942            remove them, remove the file from that folder.</para>
943          </section>
944
945        </section>
946        <section id="sect.instrument_editing">
947                <title>Drumkits and Instrument Editing</title>
948
949                <para>Creating a new drumkit with Hydrogen is done with the
950                Instrument Editor.  Using the instrument editor you can load
951                samples, set envelope parameters, set the gain, and a few other
952                advanced features like mute groups, low-pass resonance filter,
953                and pitch randomization.</para>
954
955                <para>Instead of creating your own drumkit, you can also use or
956                download existing drumkits using
957                the <xref linkend="sect.sound_library"/>.</para>
958
959                <!-- Need to add an explaination of what the instrument list
960                     and instrument editor are. -->
961
962        <section id="sect.instrument_editing.concepts">
963                <title>Concepts</title>
964
965                <para>
966                  The synthesizer in Hydrogen is a sample-based synthesizer.  A
967                  sample is a piece of pre-recorded audio (usually between .1
968                  sec and 3 sec).  To play a note, the sample is simply played
969                  back at the right time.  There's a few concepts and terms that
970                  you should understand when you are putting together a drumkit.
971                  (See <xref linkend="glossary"/> for more
972                  detailed explanations.)
973                </para>
974
975                <variablelist>
976                  <title>Sampling Synthesizer Terms</title>
977                  <varlistentry>
978                    <term>Sample</term><listitem><para>A short recording of a
979                    sound, typically between .1 and 3.0 seconds
980                    long.</para></listitem>
981                  </varlistentry>
982                  <varlistentry>
983                    <term>Gain</term><listitem><para>Volume
984                    adjustment.</para></listitem>
985                  </varlistentry>
986                  <varlistentry>
987                    <term>Velocity</term><listitem><para>How hard you hit a
988                    note.</para></listitem>
989                  </varlistentry>
990                  <varlistentry>
991                    <term>ADSR Envelope Generator</term><listitem><para>An
992                    Attack/Decay/Sustain/Release envelope generator.  After you
993                    trigger a note, Hydrogen
994                    will <emphasis>attack</emphasis> the note by
995                    increasing its volume from 0 to the full velocity of the
996                    note.  After reaching full velocity, it
997                    will <emphasis>decay</emphasis> the note by
998                    lowering the volume until it reaches
999                    the <emphasis>sustain</emphasis> level.  When
1000                    the note is <emphasis>released</emphasis>,
1001                    Hydrogen reduces the volume from the sustain level back down
1002                    to 0.</para></listitem>
1003                  </varlistentry>
1004                  <varlistentry>
1005                    <term>Attack</term><listitem><para>The amount
1006                    of <emphasis role="bold">time</emphasis> to go from 0 to
1007                    full velocity.</para></listitem>
1008                  </varlistentry>
1009                  <varlistentry>
1010                    <term>Decay</term><listitem><para>The amount
1011                    of <emphasis role="bold">time</emphasis> to go from full
1012                    velocity to the sustain volume.</para></listitem>
1013                  </varlistentry>
1014                  <varlistentry>
1015                    <term>Sustain</term><listitem><para>The <emphasis role="bold">level</emphasis>
1016                    (how loud) to hold the note between the sustain and the
1017                    release.  It is a percentage of the velocity.  It does not
1018                    depend on time.</para></listitem>
1019                  </varlistentry>
1020                  <varlistentry>
1021                    <term>Release</term><listitem><para>The amount
1022                    of <emphasis role="bold">time</emphasis> to go from the
1023                    sustain volume back down to 0.</para></listitem>
1024                  </varlistentry>
1025                </variablelist>
1026
1027                <para>
1028                  Typical samples that are used in Hydrogen are: the sound of a
1029                  single drum hit, the sound of a single cymbal hit, the sound
1030                  of a single cowbell hit.  Whenever you put a note in the
1031                  pattern (or play a note using MIDI), Hydrogen will play
1032                  whatever sound you have loaded.  So, to put together a drum
1033                  kit you need to gather short recordings of the bass drum, each
1034                  tom, each cymbal, the high hat open, the high hat closed, the
1035                  snare drum (snare on), the snare drum (snare off), rim shots,
1036                  etc.
1037                </para>
1038
1039                <para>
1040                  However, there are no rules about what a sample can be.  It's
1041                  not uncommon to use Hydrogen to trigger non-drum sounds like:
1042                  audio clips of people talking, a clip from a song, sound
1043                  effects, audio clips from movies, and famous people speaking.
1044                  Be creative!
1045                </para>
1046
1047        </section>
1048        <section id="sect.instrument_editing.new_kit">
1049                <title>Creating a New Drumkit</title>
1050
1051                <para>To start a brand new drum kit, select
1052                  <menuchoice>
1053                    <guimenu>Instruments</guimenu>
1054                    <guimenuitem>Clear All</guimenuitem>
1055                  </menuchoice>.
1056                  This will give you a bank of 32 blank instruments.  To delete
1057                  instruments, right-click on on each instrument and select
1058                  <guimenuitem>Delete Instrument</guimenuitem>.  To add
1059                  more instruments, select
1060                  <menuchoice>
1061                    <guimenu>Instruments</guimenu>
1062                    <guimenuitem>Add instrument</guimenuitem>
1063                  </menuchoice>.
1064                </para>
1065
1066                <para>Select an instrument to start editing it.  This
1067                is done by left-clicking on the name of the instrument in the
1068                instrument list (at the left).  You will notice that the name of
1069                the instrument in the Instrument Editor matches the one that you
1070                clicked.</para>
1071
1072                <para>After you have your drum kit working the way you
1073                want, select
1074                  <menuchoice>
1075                    <guimenuitem>Instruments</guimenuitem>
1076                    <guimenuitem>Save library</guimenuitem>
1077                  </menuchoice>.  It will ask you for the name of the
1078                  kit to save.  If you wish
1079                  to <emphasis>overwrite</emphasis> an existing kit,
1080                  you will need to type in the same name as the kit
1081                  that you want to replace.</para>
1082
1083                <para>Drumkits are automatically stored in
1084                the <filename class="directory">data</filename>
1085                directory
1086                (i.e. <filename class="directory">$HOME/data/drumkits</filename>).</para>
1087
1088                <para>To export a drumkit (for sharing with others),
1089                it must first be loaded into your Sound Library.
1090                Then, select
1091                  <menuchoice>
1092                    <guimenuitem>Instruments</guimenuitem>
1093                    <guimenuitem>Export library</guimenuitem>
1094                  </menuchoice>
1095                from the menu.  Select the drum kit that you wish to
1096                export, and give it a file name to save it to.</para>
1097
1098        </section>
1099        <section id="sect.instrument_editing.new_instrument">
1100                <title>Creating an Instrument and Layers</title>
1101
1102                <para>For each instrument in a drum kit, you can load
1103                several samples and set different synthesizer
1104                parameters.  This section will step you through how to
1105                create a new instrument and load the samples.</para>
1106
1107                <para>To begin creating an instrument, select
1108                  <menuchoice>
1109                    <guimenu>Instruments</guimenu>
1110                    <guimenuitem>Add instrument</guimenuitem>
1111                  </menuchoice>.  This will give you a blank
1112                  instrument to start from.</para>
1113
1114                <para>Now, you need two samples.  Any .WAV or .FLAC file will
1115                do.  Hydrogen provides several in
1116                the <filename class="directory">data/drumkits</filename>
1117                directory.</para>
1118
1119                <para>In the instrument editor, click
1120                on <guibutton>Layers</guibutton>.  You can layer several samples
1121                into the instrument.  Which one is played depends on the
1122                velocity of the incoming note.  Click <guibutton>Load
1123                Layer</guibutton> and point the <guimenu>Audio File
1124                Browser</guimenu> to your sample.  Note that the <guimenu>Audio
1125                File Browser</guimenu> will allow you to preview the sample
1126                before you load it.  It will also allow you to load more than
1127                one sample at a time.  But for now, only load one.</para>
1128
1129                <para>After you load the sample, you'll see that there
1130                is now a <guilabel>1</guilabel> at the top, and the
1131                topmost rectangle has turned light blue.  To load a
1132                second sample, click the slot just below it, and then
1133                click <guibutton>Load Layer</guibutton> to bring in
1134                another sample.</para>
1135
1136                <para>After bringing in both samples, you'll probably
1137                notice that only the <emphasis>first</emphasis> sample
1138                is being played whenever you trigger the instrument.
1139                This is because you need to set
1140                the <emphasis>velocity</emphasis> ranges for the
1141                layers.  Move your mouse to the sides of the light
1142                blue rectangles and you see that you get a left-right
1143                drag cursor.  Now drag the sample to the left or right
1144                (like a curtain).  You will now see Layer 2
1145                appear.</para>
1146
1147                <para>The velocity setting for the layer is 0-velocity
1148                on the left, and full velocity on the right.  Set up
1149                Layer 1 to sound for soft notes, and Layer 2 to sound
1150                for hard notes.  (I.e. Layer 1 on the left and Layer 2
1151                on the right.)</para>
1152
1153                <para>Now, in the pattern area, set up a simple
1154                pattern that plays this instrument.  Adjust the
1155                velocity settings on each note so that you can get the
1156                different samples to sound.  Now set the pattern to
1157                loop and notice how your different samples are getting
1158                triggered.  (To learn about editing a pattern,
1159                see <xref linkend="sect.pattern_editor"/>)</para>
1160
1161                <para>For each layer, you can set
1162                the <guibutton>Gain</guibutton> and
1163                the <guibutton>Pitch</guibutton>.  The pitch also has
1164                a <guibutton>Fine</guibutton> adjustment.</para>
1165
1166                <para>Use the <guibutton>Gain</guibutton> adjustment
1167                to control how loud the sample will play.  This is
1168                necessary because it's extremely difficult to get a
1169                set of samples that all sound at about the same
1170                volume.  By adjusting here, the samples that were
1171                recorded too quietly can be turned up to match your
1172                loud samples (that had to be turned down).</para>
1173
1174                <warning>
1175                  <para>It is very easy to set
1176                  the <guibutton>Gain</guibutton> too high, causing
1177                  your sample to clip.  Remember to test the gain with
1178                  full-velocity notes.  If you clip your signal here,
1179                  it will only get worse as Hydrogen processes
1180                  it.</para>
1181                </warning>
1182
1183                <para>The pitch of the sample can be modified with the
1184                pitch controls.  The <guibutton>Pitch</guibutton> knob
1185                adjust the pitch in musical half-steps.  (So, -12 is
1186                down 1 octave).  The pitch on the right adjusts the
1187                pitch &plusmn;50 cents.  (One half-step is 100
1188                cents.)</para>
1189
1190                <note>
1191                  <para>The pitch is adjusted by playing the sample
1192                  back faster or slower.  This is called the Dopplar
1193                  Effect.  So, if you have a 1-second sample that you
1194                  turn down -12 (1 octave), you sample will only last
1195                  for .5-seconds.</para>
1196                </note>
1197        </section>
1198        <section id="sect.instrument_editing.parameters">
1199                <title>Instrument Parameters</title>
1200
1201                <para>In the instrument editor, click on
1202                the <guibutton>General</guibutton> button.  Here you
1203                can adjust several parameters that are for the whole
1204                instrument (not for each layer).  The parameters that
1205                you can adjust are:</para>
1206
1207                <itemizedlist>
1208                  <listitem>
1209                    <para><emphasis role="bold">Envelope
1210                    parameters</emphasis>: <guibutton>Attack</guibutton>, <guibutton>Decay</guibutton>,
1211                    <guibutton>Sustain</guibutton>, <guibutton>Release</guibutton>.  (See
1212                    <xref linkend="def.envelopegenerator"/>)</para>
1213                  </listitem>
1214                  <listitem>
1215                    <para><emphasis role="bold"><guibutton>Gain</guibutton></emphasis>:
1216                    The overall volume of the instrument.</para>
1217                  </listitem>
1218                  <listitem>
1219                    <para><emphasis role="bold"><guibutton>Mute
1220                    Group</guibutton></emphasis>: Which mute group
1221                    this instrument is a member of (see
1222                    <xref linkend="def.mutegroup"/>).</para>
1223                  </listitem>
1224                  <listitem>
1225                    <para><emphasis role="bold">Filter
1226                    Parameters</emphasis>: <guibutton>Byp</guibutton>ass, <guibutton>Cutoff</guibutton>,
1227                      <guibutton>Resonance</guibutton>.</para>
1228                  </listitem>
1229                  <listitem>
1230                    <para><emphasis role="bold"><guibutton>Random
1231                    Pitch</guibutton></emphasis></para>
1232                  </listitem>
1233                </itemizedlist>
1234
1235                <para>It's important that you
1236                understand <xref linkend="sect.instrument_editing.concepts"/>
1237                in order to continue on.</para>
1238
1239                <section id="sect.instrument_editing.envelope_parameters">
1240                  <title>Envelope Parameters</title>
1241
1242                  <para>When the instrument is triggered, its volume
1243                  is run through an ADSR Envelope.  The parameters
1244                  operate as follows:</para>
1245
1246                  <itemizedlist>
1247                    <listitem>
1248                      <para><emphasis role="bold">Attack</emphasis>
1249                      &mdash; the amount of <emphasis>time</emphasis>
1250                      that the volume of the sample goes from 0 to the
1251                      full velocity of the note.  If the value is 0,
1252                      the sample will play immediately at full
1253                      velocity.  If the value is 1.0, the sample
1254                      volume will use the maximum time available for
1255                      the attack paramater.
1256                        <footnote id="fn.adsrtimes">
1257                          <para>The attack, decay, and release parameters are
1258                          all set by the number of <emphasis>audio
1259                          samples</emphasis>.  This means that the time changes
1260                          depending on the sample rate of your sound card.  The
1261                          max time for each of them is 100,000 audio samples
1262                          (typ. 2.27 sec at 44.1 kHz).</para>
1263                        </footnote>
1264                      </para>
1265                    </listitem>
1266                    <listitem>
1267                      <para><emphasis role="bold">Decay</emphasis>
1268                      &mdash; the amount of <emphasis>time</emphasis>
1269                      for the volume of the sample to go from full
1270                      velocity down to the sustain volume.  If the
1271                      value is 0, the sample will immediately skip
1272                      from the attack volume to the sustain volume.
1273                      If the value is 1.0, the sample volume will use
1274                      the maximum time available for the decay
1275                      parameter.<footnoteref linkend="fn.adsrtimes"/></para>
1276                    </listitem>
1277                    <listitem>
1278                      <para><emphasis role="bold">Sustain</emphasis>
1279                      &mdash; the <emphasis>volume</emphasis> to play
1280                      the note after the decay phase is over, and
1281                      until the note is released.  If set to 0, the
1282                      note will be silent.  If set to 1.0, the note
1283                      will play at full velocity.</para>
1284                    </listitem>
1285                    <listitem>
1286                      <para><emphasis role="bold">Release</emphasis> &mdash;
1287                      the <emphasis>time</emphasis> to fade out the note from
1288                      the sustain volume back down to 0 (silent).  If set to 0,
1289                      the note will fade out in the minimum amount of time
1290                      (about 5 ms).  If set to 1, it will fade out for
1291                      the maximum time
1292                      available.<footnoteref linkend="fn.adsrtimes"/></para>
1293                    </listitem>
1294                  </itemizedlist>
1295
1296                  <para>If the sample is shorter than the times that
1297                  you specify, the sample will end, regardless of
1298                  which phase of the ADSR it is in.  If the note is
1299                  sustained, it does <emphasis>not</emphasis> draw out
1300                  the note while you are holding it.  It only holds
1301                  the gain (volume) parameter during that time.</para>
1302
1303                </section>
1304
1305                <section id="sect.instrument_editing.gain_and_mute_group">
1306                  <title>Gain and Mute Group</title>
1307
1308                  <para>The gain sets the overall volume for the
1309                  sample.  This gain is applied after the gain that
1310                  you set for the layer, and before the gain that is
1311                  set for the mixer.  If the Gain is 0, the instrument
1312                  will be silent.  If the gain is 1.0 the volume of
1313                  the samples will not be adjusted (i.e. 0 dB).  If
1314                  the gain is set higher, the samples will be
1315                  amplified.</para>
1316
1317                  <warning>
1318                    <para>It is very easy to set
1319                      the <guibutton>Gain</guibutton> too high, causing
1320                      your sample to clip.  Remember to test the gain with
1321                      full-velocity notes.  If you clip your signal here,
1322                      it will only get worse as Hydrogen processes
1323                      it.</para>
1324                  </warning>
1325
1326                  <para>Hydrogen provides more mute groups than you
1327                  know what to do with (over 256).  A mute group is a
1328                  grouping of instruments that are mutually exclusive
1329                  &mdash; only one instrument may be playing at any
1330                  time.  If one is playing and another instrument in
1331                  the group is triggered, it will immediately silence
1332                  (mute) and start playing the other instrument.  This
1333                  is useful, especially, for instruments like hi-hats
1334                  where the open sound and the closed sound are
1335                  different instruments.</para>
1336
1337                  <para>If the mute group is set
1338                  to <guilabel>Off</guilabel>, then the instrument is
1339                  not part of any mute grouping.  If the mute group is
1340                  set to any number, then that is the group that the
1341                  instrument is a part of.  To set other instruments
1342                  into the same grouping, set their mute group
1343                  parameter to the same number.  (For example, to
1344                  group all the high-hat instruments, you can set all
1345                  their mute group parameters to 1.  To have a snare
1346                  drum mute group, set their mute group parameters to
1347                  2.)</para>
1348
1349                </section>
1350
1351                <section id="sect.instrument_editing.filter_and_random_pitch">
1352                  <title>Filter and Random Pitch</title>
1353
1354                  <para>The filter is a low-pass resonance filter.  If you don't
1355                  wish to use is, click the <guibutton>BYP</guibutton>ass button
1356                  so that it's red.  If it's not red, then the filter is active.
1357                  The cutoff parameter adjusts the cutoff frequency for the
1358                  filter.  The resonance parameter adjusts how much to resonate
1359                  the cutoff frequency.  If the resonance is set to 0, then the
1360                  filter is just a simple low-pass filter.</para>
1361
1362                  <note>
1363                    <para>The cutoff frequency of the filter varies with the
1364                    sample rate of your audio card.  The range of the knob (0 to
1365                    1.0) is optimized for a 48,000 kHz sample rate.</para>
1366                    <!-- NOTE:  I tried to reverse engineer the LPRF in the
1367                         sampler to calculate what the cutoff frequency is.
1368                         I think it's *something* kind of like this:
1369
1370                         f = cutoff * samplerate / 2
1371
1372                            - OR MAYBE -
1373
1374                         f = sqrt(cutoff) * samplerate / 2   (or / 4)
1375
1376                         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-pass_filter                         
1377                         -gabriel
1378                         -->
1379                  </note>
1380
1381                  <para>The random pitch paramater allows you to randomly vary
1382                  the pitch of the sample every time it is triggered.  The value
1383                  is set between 0 and 1.0.  The pitch change is fairly small:
1384                  &plusmn;2 half-steps &times; value.  Using this sparingly can
1385                  help your sequences to sound more like a real drummer.</para>
1386               
1387                </section>
1388        </section>
1389        <section id="sect.instrument_editing.tips">
1390                <title>Tips on Editing Instruments</title>
1391
1392                <para>With all of the different parameters available to tweak,
1393                it can be difficult to set up something that sounds nice when
1394                you're done.  Here's a few tips on setting up an
1395                instrument:</para>
1396
1397                <para><emphasis role="bold">Turn down the gain.</emphasis> Every
1398                time you have a gain knob (i.e. an amplifier), this is called
1399                a <emphasis>gain stage</emphasis>.  With every gain stage you
1400                have, it's easy to overdrive your signal &mdash; which means the
1401                signal gets distorted by clipping.  In addition, if you have two
1402                samples that, by themselves, peg your meters &mdash; what do you
1403                think happens when you combine them?  That's right, you
1404                overdrive the signal again.</para>
1405
1406                <para>If things sound bad and distorted, start by turning down
1407                the gain setting on the layer... especially if it's larger than
1408                1.0.  Then turn down the instrument gain.  Then any gain on a
1409                LADSPA effect.  Then the fader on the mixer.  Then the master
1410                output fader.</para>
1411
1412                <para><emphasis role="bold">Test samples at full
1413                velocity.</emphasis> Your sample will be played louder if the
1414                velocity is higher.  So, if you set everything to sound nice and
1415                full with velocity at 0.7, what will happen when you get a full
1416                velocity of 1.0?  (<emphasis>Hint: clipping.</emphasis>)</para>
1417
1418                <para><emphasis role="bold">Try to use samples that are -6 dB
1419                max.</emphasis> Visually, this means samples that peak at only
1420                1/2 of full scale.  Otherwise, turn your layer gain to about
1421                .5.</para>
1422
1423                <para><emphasis role="bold">Remove all DC offsets from the
1424                sample.</emphasis> In a sample editor, there is usually a line
1425                down the center of your sample's waveform.  This is the
1426                zero-line.  The beginning of your sample should be on this line.
1427                The end of your sample should also be on this line.  However, if
1428                your signal is a little above or a little below this line, you
1429                will hear a click at the beginning and the end of your sample
1430                whenever it is played.  If your sample editor doesn't provide
1431                any tools to fix a DC Offset problem, you can eliminate the
1432                noise by putting a slight fade-in/out at the ends of your
1433                sample.</para>
1434
1435                <para><emphasis role="bold">The ADSR will not be longer than
1436                your sample.</emphasis> If you have a short sample, it doesn't
1437                matter how long you set the attack and delay &mdash; the sample
1438                will stop playing at the end.</para>
1439
1440                <para><emphasis role="bold">Things change with the sample
1441                rate.</emphasis> If you have a really nice setup with all your
1442                parameters painstakenly
1443                tweaked... things <emphasis>will</emphasis> change if you change
1444                the sample rate of your audio card.  Many of Hydrogens internal
1445                settings and parameters are done based on how many samples go
1446                by, and not on how many seconds go by.  The sort of things that
1447                change are: anything time-base (like attack and release) and
1448                anything frequency based (like the cutoff frequency).</para>
1449
1450        </section>
1451        </section>
1452
1453        <section id="sect.ladspa">
1454                <title>LADSPA plugins</title>
1455                <para>Hydrogen can also add effects to sounds using any LADSPA plugin library. You need to have installed the LADSPA sources (available from <ulink url="http://www.ladspa.org"/>) and while this will give a rough idea of how it works you should really have a taste of the real thing installing one or more plugin libraries, it's as simple as a <command>scons &amp;&amp; scons install</command>.  Here are a few places to download plugin libraries:</para>
1456
1457        <itemizedlist>
1458        <listitem><para>SWH-Plugins available at <ulink url="http://plugin.org.uk"/>. Note that before compiling these plugins you need the FFTW tarball from <ulink url="http://www.fftw.org"/>.</para></listitem>
1459       
1460        <listitem><para>CMT available at <ulink url="http://www.ladspa.org"/>.</para></listitem>
1461       
1462        <listitem><para>TAP available at <ulink url="http://tap-plugins.sf.net"/>.</para></listitem>
1463       
1464        </itemizedlist>
1465
1466        <warning>
1467          <title>Plugins Kill</title>
1468          <para>A LADSPA plugin is compiled, executable code.  It is
1469          capable of hanging, crashing, freezing, screaching,
1470          overflowing buffers, and even phoning home.  If you start
1471          having issues with Hydrogen, disable your plugins and see if
1472          things improve.  Some plugins are not designed for real-time
1473          use, and some are just plain better than others.</para>
1474        </warning>
1475       
1476        <para>Once you have installed a few plugins open a song you'd like add an effect to and select an instrument that has a few beats in the pattern. In the Mixer click on
1477       
1478        <inlinemediaobject>
1479                <imageobject>
1480                        <imagedata fileref="img/showFX_on.png" format="PNG" />
1481                </imageobject>
1482        </inlinemediaobject>
1483       
1484        and select one of the four available effect line Click on the Edit button (
1485       
1486        <inlinemediaobject>
1487                <imageobject>
1488                        <imagedata fileref="img/edit_off.png" format="PNG" />
1489                </imageobject>
1490        </inlinemediaobject>
1491       
1492        ), than on <quote>Select the FX</quote>: this will bring up another window (<xref linkend="fig.select_effect"/>) that lets you choose an effect amongst those installed, they are alphabetically sorted and categorized. Once you're done, adjust the level from the mixer and start playing. Each round knob in the FX part controls the level of its effect.
1493       
1494        <inlinemediaobject>
1495                <imageobject>
1496                        <imagedata fileref="img/MixerFXKnob.png" format="PNG"/>
1497                </imageobject>
1498        </inlinemediaobject>
1499       
1500        If you want to quickly enable/disable the effect click the Bypass (
1501       
1502        <inlinemediaobject>
1503                        <imageobject>
1504                                <imagedata fileref="img/bypass_over.png" format="PNG" />
1505                        </imageobject>
1506                </inlinemediaobject>)
1507               
1508               
1509                button.</para>
1510
1511
1512                <figure id="fig.select_effect">
1513                <title>Select an Effect</title>
1514                <mediaobject>
1515                        <imageobject>
1516                                <imagedata fileref="img/MixerFXSelect.png" format="PNG" />
1517                        </imageobject>
1518                </mediaobject>
1519                </figure>
1520       
1521        </section>
1522
1523</chapter>
1524
1525<!--
1526##################
1527# CAPITOLO TERZO #
1528#################
1529-->
1530
1531<chapter id="chap.create_song">
1532        <title>A new song</title>
1533        <section id="sect.song_vs_pattern">
1534                <title>"Song" mode and "Pattern" mode</title>
1535                <para>
1536                        This is just a quick-and-dirty walkthrough to Hydrogen. Refer to the tutorial for a more detailed overview.
1537                </para>
1538               
1539                <para>
1540                        Hydrogen has 2 main modes: "Pattern" mode and "Song" mode (refer to <xref linkend="sect.main_toolbar"/> for the buttons to activate). When "Pattern" mode is activated the current pattern is continously repeated, so to help changing it until we don't like it, while "Song" mode repeats only the current pattern: this is useful when putting together the patterns, to create the whole structure for the song.
1541                </para>
1542        </section>
1543
1544        <section id="sect.create_pattern">
1545                <title>A new pattern</title>
1546                <para>
1547                We'll start from an empty song with an empty pattern, as created by default: "pattern" mode should be selected now. It is also possible to change name of the pattern. Now let's click on the <quote>Play</quote> button and while the pattern is playing let's add notes in the grid of the Song Editor (<xref linkend="fig.pattern_editor.2"/>) simply left_mouse_clicking on it: adjust grid resolution and BPM speed if needed. Rememeber some constraints of the grid: if you are working with a resolution of 16 you can't go back to 8 and remove a 16th note; same thing happens if you are working with a resolution of 8 and you try to insert a note in the middle of two bars (looking for a 16 bars precision): they will be placed on the previous or on the following 8th bar (unless you choose <quote>off</quote> from the Grid Resolution LCD, in this case you're free to place notes wherever you prefer). <emphasis role="bold">Be sure to select the correct pattern in the Song Editor before adding notes in the Pattern Editor!</emphasis>
1548                </para>
1549
1550                <figure id="fig.pattern_editor.2">
1551                <title>The Pattern Editor</title>
1552                <mediaobject>
1553                        <imageobject>
1554                                <imagedata fileref="img/PatternEditor.png" format="PNG" />
1555                        </imageobject>
1556                </mediaobject>
1557                </figure>
1558        </section>
1559
1560        <section id="sect.create_sequence">
1561                <title>A new sequence</title>
1562                <para>
1563                Once patterns are created (<xref linkend="fig.insert_notes"/>), we can copy/paste/delete them simply dragging with the mouse (activate the select mode for the Song Editor and keep pressed left mouse button to select those you want to move or copy).
1564                </para>
1565
1566                <figure id="fig.insert_notes">
1567                <title>Inserting Notes in a Pattern</title>
1568                <mediaobject>
1569                        <imageobject>
1570                                <imagedata fileref="img/SongEditor.png" format="PNG" />
1571                        </imageobject>
1572                                </mediaobject>
1573                </figure>
1574
1575        </section>
1576       
1577        <section id="sect.create_song.adjust_mixer">
1578                <title>Adjust from the mixer</title>
1579                <para>
1580                Of course we can always use the mixer window, either when creating or playing patterns.
1581                </para>
1582               
1583                <para>
1584                The Mixer frame (<xref linkend="fig.mixer.2"/>) is made of 32 independent tracks, each of these is binded to an
1585instrument, plus a "Master Output" line to adjust general output volume and a "FX" button to set effects. Every line features 3 buttons (
1586       
1587                <inlinemediaobject>
1588                        <imageobject>
1589                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_play_on_mixer.png" format="PNG" />
1590                        </imageobject>
1591                </inlinemediaobject>
1592               
1593                <inlinemediaobject>
1594                        <imageobject>
1595                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_solo_on.png" format="PNG" />
1596                        </imageobject>
1597                </inlinemediaobject>
1598               
1599                <inlinemediaobject>
1600                        <imageobject>
1601                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_mute_on.png" format="PNG" />
1602                        </imageobject>
1603                </inlinemediaobject>
1604               
1605                ), pan adjust (
1606               
1607                <inlinemediaobject>
1608                        <imageobject>
1609                        <imagedata fileref="img/MixerPan.png" format="PNG" />
1610                        </imageobject>
1611                </inlinemediaobject>
1612               
1613                ), current maximum peak, volume fader and name of the track. Clicking on
1614               
1615                <inlinemediaobject>
1616                        <imageobject>
1617                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_solo_on.png" format="PNG" />
1618                        </imageobject>
1619                </inlinemediaobject>
1620               
1621                will play the selected instrument, cutting the others. The "Mute"
1622button
1623               
1624                <inlinemediaobject>
1625                        <imageobject>
1626                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_mute_on.png" format="PNG" />
1627                        </imageobject>
1628                </inlinemediaobject>
1629
1630                , simply mute <emphasis>that</emphasis> instrument. The maximun peak indicates the maximun volume reached
1631from the instrument; the peak must be in a range of 0.0 and 1.0 (in <xref linkend="fig.mixer.2"/> you can see a few volumes too loud), otherwise it will get distorted producing a weird sound (especially with OSS audio driver), in this case it's better to set volume down; keep an eye on each vu-meter.
1632                </para>
1633               
1634                <figure id="fig.mixer.2">
1635                <title>The Mixer</title>
1636                <mediaobject>
1637                        <imageobject>
1638                                <imagedata fileref="img/Mixer.png" format="PNG" />
1639                        </imageobject>
1640                </mediaobject>
1641                </figure>
1642        </section>
1643</chapter>
1644<glossary id="glossary">
1645  <title>Glossary</title>
1646
1647  <para>This is a glossary of general terms encountered when using Hydrogen,
1648  synthesizers, drums, or samplers.  The definitions in the text are simplified,
1649  but the definitions here are more general and have more explanation.  For
1650  example, the text of the manual would have you believe that an ADSR is the
1651  only kind of envelope generator, and could only ever control the volume.
1652  While it's simple for new users, it's not quite right.</para>
1653
1654  <!--  ...  -->
1655
1656  <!--   A   -->
1657
1658  <glossentry id="def.adsr">
1659    <glossterm>ADSR</glossterm>
1660    <glossdef>
1661      <para>A type of envelope generator that allows you to control the
1662      <link linkend="def.attack">Attack</link>,
1663      <link linkend="def.decay">Decay</link>,
1664      <link linkend="def.sustain">Sustain</link>, and
1665      <link linkend="def.release">Release</link> parameters.
1666      Generally, the
1667      parameters are proportional to
1668      the <link linkend="def.velocity">velocity</link>.</para>
1669
1670      <para>In Hydrogen, the ADSR envelope generator only controls the volume
1671      (attenuation).</para>
1672
1673      <para>Read more about this in the Wikipedia
1674      Article <ulink url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADSR_envelope">ADSR
1675      Envelope</ulink></para>
1676
1677      <glossseealso otherterm="def.envelopegenerator"/>
1678      <glossseealso otherterm="def.attack"/>
1679      <glossseealso otherterm="def.decay"/>
1680      <glossseealso otherterm="def.sustain"/>
1681      <glossseealso otherterm="def.release"/>
1682    </glossdef>
1683  </glossentry>
1684
1685  <glossentry id="def.attack">
1686    <glossterm>Attack</glossterm>
1687    <glossdef>
1688      <para>This is the first phase of an ADSR envelope, and is the amount
1689      of <emphasis>time</emphasis> to turn the parameter up from
1690      0 to full velocity after triggering the note.</para>
1691
1692      <glossseealso otherterm="def.adsr"/>
1693    </glossdef>
1694  </glossentry>
1695
1696  <glossentry id="def.attenuation">
1697    <glossterm>Attenuation</glossterm>
1698    <glossdef>
1699      <para>In filters and mixers, this the amount that a signal is reduced
1700      (volume).</para>
1701
1702      <glossseealso otherterm="def.rolloff"/>
1703    </glossdef>
1704  </glossentry>
1705
1706  <!--   B   -->
1707
1708  <glossentry id="def.bandpassfilter">
1709    <glossterm>Band-Pass Filter</glossterm>
1710    <glossdef>
1711      <para>A filter that preserves a cetertain band of frequencies, and
1712      attenuates (silences) all others.  This is often done by combining a
1713      high-pass and a low-pass filter.</para>
1714
1715      <glossseealso otherterm="def.filter"/>
1716      <glossseealso otherterm="def.highpassfilter"/>
1717      <glossseealso otherterm="def.lowpassfilter"/>
1718    </glossdef>
1719  </glossentry>
1720
1721  <!--   C   -->
1722
1723  <glossentry id="def.clipping">
1724    <glossterm>Clipping</glossterm>
1725    <glossdef>
1726      <para>A phenomenon that happens to a signal when the signal is
1727      too large for whatever is receiving it.  The peaks of the signal
1728      (which are normally smooth curves) get cut off straight at the
1729      max volume (clipped).  This distorts the sound and is usually
1730      undesirable.</para>
1731
1732      <para>An example of clipping is when you play music louder than
1733      your speaker can handle.  Parts of the music sound harsh and
1734      fuzzy.</para>
1735    </glossdef>
1736  </glossentry>
1737
1738  <glossentry id="def.cutoff">
1739    <glossterm>Cutoff Frequency</glossterm>
1740    <glossdef>
1741      <para>On high-pass and low-pass filters, this is the frequency that
1742      divides between those that pass, and those that are attenuated (silenced).
1743      In a high-pass resonance filter, or a low-pass resonance filter, the
1744      cutoff is also the frequency zone that gets boosted.</para>
1745
1746      <para>For example, if you have a low-pass filter and you set the cutoff
1747      frequency high (i.e. 20kHz)... the filter will not affect the sound.  All
1748      the audible frequencies will pass through undisturbed.  As you lower the
1749      cutoff frequency to something like 40 Hz (the low string on a bass
1750      guitar), it sounds like someone is putting a blanket over the speaker.
1751      The higher frequencies are being attenuated above 30 Hz.</para>
1752
1753      <glossseealso otherterm="def.filter"/>
1754      <glossseealso otherterm="def.highpassfilter"/>
1755      <glossseealso otherterm="def.lowpassfilter"/>
1756      <glossseealso otherterm="def.resonancefilter"/>
1757    </glossdef>
1758  </glossentry>
1759
1760  <!--   D   -->
1761
1762  <glossentry id="def.decay">
1763    <glossterm>Decay</glossterm>
1764    <glossdef>
1765      <para>After reaching full velocity from the attack, this is the amount
1766      of <emphasis>time</emphasis> to turn the parameter down
1767      from full velocity to the sustain level.</para>
1768
1769      <glossseealso otherterm="def.adsr"/>
1770    </glossdef>
1771  </glossentry>
1772
1773  <!--   E   -->
1774
1775  <glossentry id="def.envelopegenerator">
1776    <glossterm>Envelope Generator</glossterm>
1777    <glossdef>
1778      <para>A way to control (change) a parameter over time as a response to
1779      triggering, holding, and releasing a note.</para>
1780
1781      <!-- TRANSLATORS: This is a witty English expression that means, "Did I
1782           just say something really complicated, and you quit paying attention?
1783           I'll try it again a little more informally." -->
1784      <para>Did your eyes just glaze over? Let's try again:</para>
1785
1786      <para>Imagine that you're playing a note on the keyboard and you have your
1787      other hand on a knob (volume, filter cutoff, etc.).  As you play the note,
1788      you twist the knob (often up, then down... or down, then up).  You do the
1789      same thing on each note.  That's what an envelope generator does.  See
1790      also <link linkend="def.adsr">ADSR</link></para>
1791    </glossdef>
1792  </glossentry>
1793
1794  <!--   F   -->
1795
1796  <glossentry id="def.fader">
1797    <glossterm>Fader</glossterm>
1798    <glossdef>
1799      <para>A slider control used to adjust the attenuation (volume) in a mixer.
1800      Faders always have an "audio" taper, which means that the attenuation
1801      amount changes on an exponential scale.</para>
1802    </glossdef>
1803  </glossentry>
1804
1805  <glossentry id="def.filter">
1806    <glossterm>Filter</glossterm>
1807    <glossdef>
1808      <para>A device that changes a sound by attenuating specific frequencies.
1809      A tone knob is an example of a simple, low-pass filter.</para>
1810
1811      <glossseealso otherterm="def.bandpassfilter"/>
1812      <glossseealso otherterm="def.highpassfilter"/>
1813      <glossseealso otherterm="def.lowpassfilter"/>
1814      <glossseealso otherterm="def.resonancefilter"/>
1815    </glossdef>
1816  </glossentry>
1817
1818  <!--   G   -->
1819
1820  <glossentry id="def.gain">
1821    <glossterm>Gain</glossterm>
1822    <glossdef>
1823      <para>In an amplifier, this adjust how much (or how little) a signal is
1824      amplified (volume).  A higher gain value is a louder signal.</para>
1825    </glossdef>
1826  </glossentry>
1827
1828  <!--   H   -->
1829
1830  <glossentry id="def.highpassfilter">
1831    <glossterm>High-Pass Filter</glossterm>
1832    <glossdef>
1833      <para>A filter that attenuates (silences) low frequencies, but allows high
1834      frequencies to pass through.</para>
1835
1836      <glossseealso otherterm="def.filter"/>
1837      <glossseealso otherterm="def.cutoff"/>
1838    </glossdef>
1839  </glossentry>
1840
1841  <!--   I   -->
1842
1843  <glossentry id="def.instrument">
1844    <glossterm>Instrument</glossterm>
1845    <glossdef>
1846      <para>In Hydrogen, an instrument is a single noise-maker (like a bass drum
1847      kick, or a tom).</para>
1848    </glossdef>
1849  </glossentry>
1850  <!--   J   -->
1851
1852  <!--   K   -->
1853
1854  <!--   L   -->
1855
1856  <glossentry id="def.layer">
1857    <glossterm>Layer</glossterm>
1858    <glossdef>
1859      <para>In an instrument you can load several different samples
1860      (each one called a <emphasis role="bold">layer</emphasis>), and
1861      have a different sample play depending on the velocity of the
1862      note.  Only one sample at a time will play.</para>
1863
1864      <para>Suppose you have a sample of a floor tom being struck
1865      softly.  If you simply play the sample louder &mdash; it
1866      will <emphasis>not</emphasis> sound the same as a
1867      real tom that has been struck very hard.  If you wish to mimic
1868      this in your instrument, you can load one sample for soft
1869      playing, and a different sample for loud playing.</para>
1870
1871      <glossseealso otherterm="def.instrument"/>
1872    </glossdef>
1873  </glossentry>
1874
1875  <glossentry id="def.lowpassfilter">
1876    <glossterm>Low-Pass Filter</glossterm>
1877    <glossdef>
1878      <para>A filter that attenuates (silences) high frequences, but allows low
1879      frequencies to pass through.</para>
1880
1881      <glossseealso otherterm="def.filter"/>
1882      <glossseealso otherterm="def.cutoff"/>
1883    </glossdef>
1884  </glossentry>
1885
1886  <!--   M   -->
1887
1888  <glossentry id="def.mute">
1889    <glossterm>Mute</glossterm>
1890    <glossdef>
1891      <para>To make no noise.  A setting on an instrument that prevents any
1892      audio output.</para>
1893    </glossdef>
1894  </glossentry>
1895
1896  <glossentry id="def.mutegroup">
1897    <glossterm>Mute Group</glossterm>
1898    <glossdef>
1899      <para>A group of instruments (samples) that should mute (stop playing)
1900      immediately after another instrument in the group is triggered.</para>
1901
1902      <para>This is typically used in hi-hats, where there's a different
1903      instrument (sample) for when the hi-hat is open or closed.  With a real
1904      hi-hat, the sound of the open hi-hat will stop as soon as you close it.
1905      However, if you use two samples &mdash; the open sound will continue even
1906      after you have triggered the closed sound.  By placing both instruments in
1907      the same mute group (group #1, for example)... triggering closed sound
1908      will immediately stop the open sound (and vice versa).</para>
1909    </glossdef>
1910  </glossentry>
1911
1912  <!--   N   -->
1913
1914  <!--   O   -->
1915
1916  <glossentry id="def.octave">
1917    <glossterm>Octave</glossterm>
1918    <glossdef>
1919      <para>A span of frequencies where the top-most frequency is exactly twice
1920      the frequency of the bottom frequency.</para>
1921
1922      <para>For example, the range 20 Hz to 40 Hz is an octave.  So is 120 Hz to
1923      240 Hz, and 575 Hz to 1150 Hz.  While the frequency differences are very
1924      different (20 Hz, 120 Hz, and 575 Hz, respectively), to the human ear
1925      they <emphasis>sound</emphasis> like the same
1926      distance.</para>
1927    </glossdef>
1928  </glossentry>
1929
1930  <!--   P   -->
1931
1932  <!--   Q   -->
1933
1934  <!--   R   -->
1935
1936  <glossentry id="def.release">
1937    <glossterm>Release</glossterm>
1938    <glossdef>
1939      <para>After the note is released, this is the amount
1940      of <emphasis>time</emphasis> to reduce the parameter from
1941      the sustain level to 0.</para>
1942
1943      <glossseealso otherterm="def.adsr"/>
1944    </glossdef>
1945  </glossentry>
1946
1947  <glossentry id="def.resonance">
1948    <glossterm>Resonance</glossterm>
1949    <glossdef>
1950      <para>When referring to a resonance filter, this is the parameter that
1951      determines how much of a boost (gain) to give the frequencies at the
1952      cutoff.</para>
1953
1954      <glossseealso otherterm="def.resonancefilter"/>
1955    </glossdef>
1956  </glossentry>
1957
1958  <glossentry id="def.resonancefilter">
1959    <glossterm>Resonance Filter</glossterm>
1960    <glossdef>
1961      <para>A filter that gives a large boost to a very narrow range of
1962      frequencies.  Typically it will be part of a high-pass or a low-pass
1963      filter, where the boosted frequencies are centered on the cut-off
1964      frequency.</para>
1965
1966      <glossseealso otherterm="def.filter"/>
1967      <glossseealso otherterm="def.cutoff"/>
1968      <glossseealso otherterm="def.resonance"/>
1969    </glossdef>
1970  </glossentry>
1971
1972  <glossentry id="def.rolloff">
1973    <glossterm>Roll-off</glossterm>
1974    <glossdef>
1975      <para>This is the amount that frequencies are attenuated (suppressed) as
1976      the frequency changes (typically measured in dB/octave).</para>
1977
1978      <para>For example, in a low-pass filter the frequences below the cutoff
1979      frequency are not attenuated (they pass-through with the same volume).
1980      Same with the cutoff frequency.  As you go above the cutoff frequency, the
1981      frequencies that are near the cutoff frequency are not attenuated very
1982      much at all.  However, the frequencies that are much higher than the
1983      cutoff are attenuated (suppressed) a lot.  This is usually approximated by
1984      a straight line (on a log scale) and measured in in dB of attenuation per
1985      octave of frequency.</para>
1986
1987      <glossseealso otherterm="def.attenuation"/>
1988      <glossseealso otherterm="def.filter"/>
1989    </glossdef>
1990  </glossentry>
1991
1992  <!--   S   -->
1993
1994  <glossentry id="def.sample">
1995    <glossterm>Sample</glossterm>
1996    <glossdef>
1997      <para>A short recording of a sound, typically between .1 and 3.0 seconds
1998      long.</para>
1999    </glossdef>
2000  </glossentry>
2001
2002  <glossentry id="def.sustain">
2003    <glossterm>Sustain</glossterm>
2004    <glossdef>
2005      <para>The <emphasis>level</emphasis> to hold the parameter
2006      after finishing the decay time.  This level will be maintained until the
2007      not is released.</para>
2008      <glossseealso otherterm="def.adsr"/>
2009    </glossdef>
2010  </glossentry>
2011
2012  <!--   T   -->
2013
2014  <!--   U   -->
2015
2016  <!--   V   -->
2017
2018  <glossentry id="def.velocity">
2019    <glossterm>Velocity</glossterm>
2020    <glossdef>
2021      <para>How hard you hit a note.</para>
2022
2023      <para>MIDI devices are required to send this information along with the
2024      note.  Synthesizers use this information to adjust several parameters on
2025      the sample (typically the volume).  In Hydrogen, it is only used to adjust
2026      how loud the sample is played back.</para>
2027    </glossdef>
2028  </glossentry>
2029
2030  <!--   W   -->
2031
2032  <!--   X   -->
2033
2034  <!--   Y   -->
2035
2036  <!--   Z   -->
2037
2038</glossary>
2039</book>
2040       
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