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1<!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook V4.0//EN">
2
3<book id="Hydrogen-manual" lang="en">
4
5<bookinfo>
6        <title>Hydrogen Manual</title>
7        <authorgroup>
8                <author>
9                        <firstname>Antonio</firstname>
10                        <surname>Piraino</surname>
11                </author>
12                <author>
13                        <firstname>Alessandro</firstname>
14                        <surname>Cominu</surname>
15                </author>
16        </authorgroup>
17
18        <date>22/may/2005</date>
19
20        <abstract>
21                <para>
22                        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.
23                </para>
24        </abstract>
25</bookinfo>
26
27<!--
28###################
29# PRIMO CAPITOLO  #
30###################
31-->
32
33<chapter id="introduction">
34        <title>Introduction</title>
35
36        <sect1 id="download">
37                <title>Download</title>
38                <para>
39                        The latest stable version of hydrogen is available as a tarball at
40                        <ulink url="http://www.hydrogen-music.org/?p=download">http://www.hydrogen-music.org</ulink>.
41                </para>
42                <para>
43                        It is possible to download the latest source files directly from our subversion server with:
44               
45                        <screen><prompt>bash$</prompt> <command>svn co http://svn.assembla.com/svn/hydrogen/trunk</command></screen>
46                       
47                        A certain release can be fetched with:
48                         <screen><prompt>bash$</prompt> <command>svn co http://svn.assembla.com/svn/hydrogen/tags/0.9.3</command></screen>                                     
49                </para>
50               
51                <para>
52                        Compiling Hydrogen depends on the following libraries:
53                        <itemizedlist mark='opencircle'>
54                                <listitem>
55                                        <para>qt (>= 4.0) at <ulink url='http://www.trolltech.com'>http://www.trolltech.com</ulink></para>
56                                </listitem>
57                                <listitem>
58                                        <para>libsndfile at <ulink url='http://www.mega-nerd.com/libsndfile/'>http://www.mega-nerd.com/libsndfile/</ulink></para>
59                                </listitem>
60
61                                <listitem>
62                                        <para>ALSA (>= 1.x) at <ulink url='http://www.alsa-project.com'>http://www.alsa-project.com</ulink> (only if you wish to use ALSA as audio driver)</para>
63                                </listitem>
64                                <listitem>
65                                        <para>Jack Audio Connection Kit (>= 0.80) at <ulink url='http://jackit.sourceforge.net'>http://jackit.sourceforge.net</ulink> (only if you wish to use Jack as audio driver)</para>
66                                </listitem>
67                                 <listitem>
68                                        <para>PortAudio at <ulink url='http://www.portaudio.com'>http://www.portaudio.com</ulink> (only if you wish to use PortAudio as audio driver)</para>
69                                </listitem>
70                                 <listitem>
71                                        <para>Flac at <ulink url='http://flac.sf.net'>http://flac.sf.net</ulink> (only if you wish to use flac samples)</para>
72                                </listitem>
73                                 <listitem>
74                                        <para>ladspa at <ulink url='http://ladspa.org'>http://ladspa.org</ulink> (only if you wish to use ladspa effects)</para>
75                                </listitem>
76                                 <listitem>
77                                        <para>liblrdf at <ulink url='http://liblrdf.sf.net'>http://liblrdf.sf.net</ulink> (only if you wish to use lrdf to categorise effects)</para>
78                                </listitem>
79                                 <listitem>
80                                        <para>lash at <ulink url='http://lash.nongnu.org'>http://lash.nongnu.org</ulink> (only if you wish to use lash)</para>
81                                </listitem>
82                        </itemizedlist>
83                        Please install them with your distribution's package manager. If you're running a debian-based system,
84                        you can install the libraries with:
85                        <screen><prompt>bash$</prompt><command> apt-get install libqt4-dev g++ libasound2-dev libjack-dev liblrdf0-dev libflac++-dev libtar-dev libsndfile1-dev
86                        \ liblash-dev libportaudio-dev libportmidi-dev </command></screen>
87                </para>
88        </sect1>
89
90        <sect1 id="compilazione">
91                <title>Build</title>
92                <para>
93                            Decompress the tarball or go to the directory where the subversion copy was checked out:
94                    <screen>
95                    <prompt>$</prompt> <command>cd hydrogen-*</command>
96                    <prompt>$</prompt> <command>scons</command>
97                    <prompt>$</prompt> <command>su -c "scons install"</command>
98                    </screen>
99                </para>
100
101                <para>
102                    Before compiling, check for additional options with:
103                    <screen>
104                        <prompt>$</prompt><command>scons --help</command>
105                    </screen>
106                   
107                    If you want to use features which are not enabled by default (for instance PortAudio), you can enable them with:
108                    <screen>
109                        <prompt>$</prompt><command>scons portaudio=1</command>
110                    </screen>
111                   
112                    Namely, if you get some error while running Hydrogen and you want to report it remember to configure hydrogen with:
113                    <screen>
114                        <prompt>$</prompt><command>scons debug=1</command>
115                    </screen>
116                   
117                    To clean up compiled code:
118                    <screen>
119                        <prompt>$</prompt><command>scons -c</command>
120                    </screen>
121                </para>
122        </sect1>
123
124<!-- prokoudine ?
125        <sect1 id='basics'>
126                <title>[TODO] BASICS</title>
127                <para>
128                explain and develop basics about the technology behind software of this kind
129                </para>
130        </sect1>
131-->
132
133        <sect1 id="configurazioneAudioDriver">
134                <title>Audio driver configuration</title>
135                <para>
136                        It's very important to choose the proper audio driver for our system, since
137                        the choice may influence quite much general performances. The choice is between
138                        Oss audio driver, ALSA and Jack audio driver.
139                </para>
140               
141                <sect2 id="jackDriver">
142                        <title>Jack audio driver</title>
143                        <para>
144                        The Jack driver is a professional audio server which permits very low lag and exchanges with other
145                        audio software. <emphasis>We strongly recommend using this driver to have the best out of Hydrogen</emphasis>.
146                        JACK server will start automatically if not already running.
147                        </para>
148                </sect2>
149               
150                <sect2 id="alsaDriver">
151                        <title>ALSA audio driver</title>
152                        <para>
153                        the widely adopted Linux standard audio drivers
154                        </para>
155                </sect2>
156               
157                <sect2 id="ossDriver">
158                        <title>OSS audio driver</title>
159                        <para>
160                        The Oss audio driver uses /dev/dsp and it's based on the OSS interface which is
161                        supported by the vast majority of sound cards available for linux; this said,
162                        the use of this audio driver blocks /dev/dsp until Hydrogen is closed i.e. unusable
163                        by any other software. Use it as last resource.
164                        </para>
165                </sect2>
166               
167                <sect2 id="portaudioDriver">
168                        <title>PortAudio audio driver</title>
169                        <para>
170                         an open-source multiplatform audio driver
171                        </para>
172                </sect2>
173               
174                <sect2 id="coreaudioDriver">
175                        <title>CoreAudio audio driver</title>
176                        <para>
177                         a driver for Mac OS X (experimental)
178                        </para>
179                </sect2>
180        </sect1>
181</chapter>
182
183<!--
184####################
185# SECONDO CAPITOLO #
186####################
187-->
188
189<chapter id="GUI">
190        <title>GUI</title>
191       
192        <sect1 id="main">
193                <title>The main toolbar</title>
194                <para>Before analyzing the two main frames of Hydrogen, let's take a quick look at the main toolbar:</para>
195
196        <mediaobject>
197                <imageobject>
198                        <imagedata fileref="img/MainToolbar.png" format="png">
199                </imageobject>
200        </mediaobject>
201
202        <itemizedlist mark="opencircle">
203                <listitem><para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
204                        <imagedata fileref="img/background_Control.png" format="png">
205                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject>
206                        </para><para>Main controls to start <emphasis role="bold">[Hotkey = Spacebar]</emphasis>, stop, fast forward, rewind, loop a song or a pattern.</para>
207                </listitem>
208               
209                <listitem><para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
210                        <imagedata fileref="img/background_Mode.png" format="png">
211                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject></para><para>Set Pattern/Song Mode.</para></listitem>
212 
213                <listitem><para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
214                        <imagedata fileref="img/background_BPM.png" format="png">
215                </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>
216
217                <listitem><para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
218                        <imagedata fileref="img/cpuload.png" format="png">
219                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject></para><para>Shows CPU load.</para></listitem>
220
221                <listitem><para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
222                        <imagedata fileref="img/midi_in.png" format="png">
223                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject></para><para>Shows MIDI events.</para></listitem>
224
225                <listitem><para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
226                        <imagedata fileref="img/jack_transport.png" format="png">
227                </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>
228        </itemizedlist>
229
230        <para>Other useful keybindings (not customizable for the moment):</para>
231               
232        <itemizedlist mark='opencircle'>
233                <listitem>
234                        <para>
235                        <emphasis role="bold">[CTRL + O]</emphasis> = Open File
236                        </para>
237                </listitem>
238                <listitem>
239                        <para>
240                        <emphasis role="bold">[CTRL + S]</emphasis> = Save File
241                        </para>
242                </listitem>
243                <listitem>
244                        <para>
245                        <emphasis role="bold">[Backspace]</emphasis> = Restart song or pattern from the beginning
246                        </para>
247                </listitem>
248                </itemizedlist>
249
250        </sect1>
251       
252        <sect1 id="songEditor">
253                <title>Song Editor</title>
254
255                <para>
256                The frame "Song Editor" (Fig. 1) shows the song we are creating; each blue coloured square appearing on this frame means a complete bar as shown in the Pattern Editor, which gathers the different parts of the song (e.g. intro, verse, bridge, chorus and so on). 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.
257                </para>
258
259<para>
260The Song Editor comes with 5 buttons:
261</para>
262<para>
263        <inlinemediaobject>
264                <imageobject>
265                        <imagedata fileref="img/bg_topPanel.png" format="png">
266                </imageobject>
267        </inlinemediaobject>
268</para>
269
270<itemizedlist mark='opencircle'>
271                <listitem>
272                <para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
273                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_new_on.png" format="png">
274                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject> Create a new pattern (and asks for a name).
275                </para>
276                </listitem>
277
278                <listitem>
279                <para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
280                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_updown.png" format="png">
281                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject> Move currently selected pattern up or down.
282                </para>
283                </listitem>
284
285                <listitem>
286                <para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
287                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_clear_off.png" format="png">
288                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject> Completely delete all patterns (asks for confirmation!).
289                </para>
290                </listitem>
291
292                <listitem>
293                <para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
294                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_select_off.png" format="png">
295                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject> Enable selecting patterns for copy & paste.
296                </para>
297                </listitem>
298
299                <listitem>
300                <para><inlinemediaobject><imageobject>
301                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_select_off.png" format="png">
302                </imageobject></inlinemediaobject> Enable add/remove patterns.
303                </para>
304                </listitem>
305</itemizedlist>
306 
307        <para>
308        Under these buttons there is a list of patterns created and when they will played (each square == 1 bar). Click
309        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.
310        </para>
311
312        <mediaobject>
313                <imageobject>
314                        <imagedata fileref="img/SongEditor.png" format="png">
315                </imageobject>
316                <caption>
317                        <para>
318                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 1</emphasis> The Song Editor
319                        </para>
320                </caption>
321        </mediaobject>
322
323        </sect1>
324
325        <sect1 id="patternEditor">
326                <title>Pattern Editor</title>
327                <para>
328                The "Pattern Editor" frame (Fig. 2) let 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 a pattern to play between those created while the second represents the current grid resolution (4 through 64) and the 'three beats' bars (4T, 8T, 16T and 32T) plus a menu marked "size" which will let you visualize play only a part of the complete bar. 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 to allow tuning 'hard' or 'soft' beat. The button
329
330                <inlinemediaobject>
331                        <imageobject>
332                                <imagedata fileref="img/btn_hear_on.png" format="png">
333                        </imageobject>
334                </inlinemediaobject>
335
336                (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
337               
338                <inlinemediaobject>
339                        <imageobject>
340                                <imagedata fileref="img/btn_updown.png" format="png">
341                        </imageobject>
342                </inlinemediaobject>
343
344. A useful <quote>Quantize</quote> feature is available activating
345       
346                <inlinemediaobject>
347                        <imageobject>
348                                <imagedata fileref="img/btn_quant_over.png" format="png">
349                        </imageobject>
350                </inlinemediaobject>
351       
352        . This way the beats inserted will automatically respect the grid resolution currently applied.
353                </para>
354
355                        <mediaobject>
356                                <imageobject>
357                                        <imagedata fileref="img/PatternEditor.png" format="png">
358                                </imageobject>
359                <caption>
360                        <para>
361                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 2</emphasis> The Pattern Editor
362                        </para>
363                </caption>
364                               
365                        </mediaobject>
366
367                <para>
368                Each instrument has its own set of features accessible right-clicking with your mouse on it; <quote><emphasis role="bold">Mute</emphasis></quote>, <quote><emphasis role="bold">Solo</emphasis></quote> are self-explaining while <quote><emphasis role="bold">Lock</emphasis></quote> locks the instrument belonging to a drumkit on that pattern even if you change drumkit: this way you can easily mess up more drumkits together and create your own! <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.
369                </para>
370
371                <mediaobject>
372                        <imageobject>
373                                <imagedata fileref="img/PatternEditorInstr.png" format="png">
374                        </imageobject>
375                </mediaobject>
376
377                <para>Also, you can set new beats clicking on
378               
379                <inlinemediaobject>
380                        <imageobject>
381                                <imagedata fileref="img/btn_record_off.png" format="png">
382                        </imageobject>
383                </inlinemediaobject>
384               
385                which enables direct input by MIDI events or by keyboard according to the following map key=instrument:</para>
386               
387                <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>
388               
389                <itemizedlist>
390                <listitem><para>Z = Kick</para></listitem>
391                <listitem><para>X = Snare Jazz</para></listitem>
392                <listitem><para>C = Snare Rock</para></listitem>
393                <listitem><para>V = Tom Low</para></listitem>
394                <listitem><para>B = Tom Mid</para></listitem>           
395                <listitem><para>N = Tom Hi</para></listitem>
396                <listitem><para>M = Cowbell</para></listitem>           
397                <listitem><para>Q = Ride Jazz</para></listitem>
398                <listitem><para>W = Ride Rock</para></listitem>         
399                <listitem><para>E = Instrument No. 17 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>
400                <listitem><para>R = Instrument No. 18 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>               
401                <listitem><para>T = Instrument No. 20 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>
402                <listitem><para>Y = Instrument No. 22 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>               
403                <listitem><para>U = Instrument No. 24 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>
404                <listitem><para>S = Stick</para></listitem>             
405                <listitem><para>D = Hand Clap</para></listitem>
406                <listitem><para>G = Closed HH</para></listitem>         
407                <listitem><para>H = Pedal HH</para></listitem>
408                <listitem><para>J = Open HH</para></listitem>           
409                <listitem><para>2 = Crash</para></listitem>
410                <listitem><para>3 = Crash Jazz</para></listitem>               
411                <listitem><para>5 = Instrument No. 19 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>
412                <listitem><para>6 = Instrument No. 21 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>               
413                <listitem><para>7 = Instrument No. 23 (currently not assigned)</para></listitem>
414                </itemizedlist>
415
416       
417        <para>Here's a quick reference of the above bindings for your convenience. See <link linkend='creazioneSong'>Chapter 3</link> for a basic walkthrough of how the pattern editor works.</para>
418       
419        <mediaobject>
420                <imageobject>
421                        <imagedata fileref="img/tastiera.png" format="png">
422                </imageobject>
423        </mediaobject>
424       
425        </sect1>
426
427        <sect1 id="mixer">
428                <title>Mixer</title>
429               
430                <mediaobject>
431                        <imageobject>
432                                <imagedata fileref="img/Mixer.png" format="png">
433                        </imageobject>
434                <caption>
435                        <para>
436                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 3</emphasis> The Mixer
437                        </para>
438                </caption>
439                </mediaobject>
440
441<para>The Mixer frame (Fig. 3) is useful for tuning a global or single volume of the current drumkit. It shows the current peak (click on
442
443        <inlinemediaobject>
444                <imageobject>
445                        <imagedata fileref="img/showPeaks_on.png" format="png">
446                </imageobject>
447        </inlinemediaobject>   
448
449         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 
450       
451        <inlinemediaobject>
452                <imageobject>
453                        <imagedata fileref="img/MixerPan.png" format="png">
454                </imageobject>
455        </inlinemediaobject>   
456                       
457        , play solo
458       
459        <inlinemediaobject>
460                <imageobject>
461                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_solo_on.png" format="png">
462                </imageobject>
463        </inlinemediaobject>
464       
465        , mute
466       
467        <inlinemediaobject>
468                <imageobject>
469                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_mute_on.png" format="png">
470                </imageobject>
471        </inlinemediaobject>
472       
473        or test play only that instrument
474
475        <inlinemediaobject>
476                <imageobject>
477                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_play_on_mixer.png" format="png">
478                </imageobject>
479        </inlinemediaobject>
480
481        ; 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).
482        </para>
483
484        <para>
485                Double clicking over the name of an instrument in the Mixer frame will bring up a doubled face tool to modify many properties of that instrument.
486        </para>
487       
488        <para>
489        <inlinemediaobject>
490                <imageobject>
491                        <imagedata fileref="img/instr_ed1.png" format="png">
492                </imageobject>
493        </inlinemediaobject>
494               
495        <inlinemediaobject>
496                <imageobject>
497                        <imagedata fileref="img/instr_ed0.png" format="png">
498                </imageobject>
499        </inlinemediaobject>
500        </para>
501       
502        <para>
503                The first tab ('Instrument') lets you fine tune the instrument: you can adjust Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release, Cutoff and Resonance (both of which can be excluded) or even add a random pitch.
504        </para>
505
506        <para>
507                The second tab ('Layer') can add WAV/AU/AIFF/FLAC samples up to 16 layers to the instrument according to the level of its velocity and tune pitch and gain.
508        </para>
509               
510       
511        <para>
512                In addition to all this you can set up to 4 special LADSPA effects for each instrument switching the
513               
514        <inlinemediaobject>
515                <imageobject>
516                        <imagedata fileref="img/showFX_on.png" format="png">
517                </imageobject>
518        </inlinemediaobject>
519       
520        button. See next section for a detailed overview.
521       
522                <mediaobject>
523                        <imageobject>
524                                <imagedata fileref="img/MixerFX.png" format="png">
525                        </imageobject>
526                </mediaobject> 
527       
528        </para>
529
530        </sect1>
531
532        <sect1 id="ladspa">
533                <title>LADSPA plugins</title>
534                <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"><citetitle>http://www.ladspa.org</citetitle></ulink>) 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 of these libraries, it's as simple as a "make && make install":</para>
535
536        <itemizedlist>
537        <listitem><para>SWH-Plugins available at <ulink url="http://plugin.org.uk"><citetitle>http://plugin.org.uk</citetitle></ulink>. Note that before compiling these plugins you need the FFTW tarball from <ulink url="http://www.fftw.org"><citetitle>http://www.fftw.org</citetitle></ulink>.</para></listitem>
538       
539        <listitem><para>CMT available at <ulink url="http://www.ladspa.org"><citetitle>http://www.ladspa.org</citetitle></ulink>.</para></listitem>
540       
541        <listitem><para>TAP available at <ulink url="http://tap-plugins.sf.net"><citetitle>http://tap-plugins.sf.net</citetitle></ulink>.</para></listitem>
542       
543        </itemizedlist>
544       
545        <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
546       
547        <inlinemediaobject>
548                <imageobject>
549                        <imagedata fileref="img/showFX_on.png" format="png">
550                </imageobject>
551        </inlinemediaobject>
552       
553        and select one of the four available effect line Click on the Edit button (
554       
555        <inlinemediaobject>
556                <imageobject>
557                        <imagedata fileref="img/edit_off.png" format="png">
558                </imageobject>
559        </inlinemediaobject>
560       
561        ), than on <quote>Select the FX</quote>: this will bring up another window (Fig. 3) 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. If you want to quickly enable/disable the effect click the Bypass (
562       
563        <inlinemediaobject>
564                        <imageobject>
565                                <imagedata fileref="img/bypass_over.png" format="png">
566                        </imageobject>
567                </inlinemediaobject>)
568               
569               
570                button.</para>
571
572
573                <mediaobject>
574                        <imageobject>
575                                <imagedata fileref="img/MixerFXSelect.png" format="png">
576                        </imageobject>
577                <caption>
578                        <para>
579                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 3</emphasis> Select an effect.
580                        </para>
581                </caption>
582                </mediaobject>
583       
584        </sect1>
585
586        <sect1 id="menu">
587                <title>Menu</title>
588        <para>
589        From the pull-down menus it's worth noticing: File-->'Save as' to save the current song in .h2song format, File-->Export to export it in WAV/MID format, File-->
590
591
592                <link linkend="prefs">Preferences</link>, Window-->
593               
594                <link linkend="audioengine">Audio Engine Info</link> and Window-->
595
596                <link linkend="drumkit">Drumkit manager</link>.
597
598        </para>
599
600        <sect2 id="prefs">
601                <title>Preferences</title>
602                <para>
603                From the "Audio System" tab (Fig. 4) it is possible to modify the audio driver being used (OSS, Jack, ALSA, PortAudio) with its buffer and sampling rate. We can also set some features of Hydrogen like <quote>Enable track outputs</quote> useful if you want to add effects to a single instrument with jack-rack; <quote>Connect to Default Output Pair</quote> simply connects ALSA output to the default ports: uncheck this if you want to connect jack output to other ports without disconnecting them first. Keep an eye also on the value of "Polyphony": depending on your CPU you may want to change the max simultaneous notes in order to prevent hydrogen from xrun. Clicking on the "Midi System" tab (Fig. 5) will select a menu to enable a MIDI device, a specific channel or all of them, while clicking on "Appearance" tab (Fig. 6) let's you to modify font size, type of frame (Child or Top Level) and speed of mixer's peaks falloff and QT style of the windows.
604                </para>
605                        <mediaobject>
606                                <imageobject>
607                                        <imagedata fileref="img/PreferencesAudioSystem.png" format="png">
608                                </imageobject>
609                <caption>
610                        <para>
611                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 4</emphasis> The Audio System tab
612                        </para>
613                </caption>
614
615                        </mediaobject>
616
617                        <mediaobject>
618                                <imageobject>
619                                        <imagedata fileref="img/PreferencesMidiSystem.png" format="png">
620                                </imageobject>
621                <caption>
622                        <para>
623                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 5</emphasis> The MIDI System tab
624                        </para>
625                </caption>
626                               
627                        </mediaobject>
628
629                        <mediaobject>
630                                <imageobject>
631                                        <imagedata fileref="img/PreferencesAppearance.png" format="png">
632                                </imageobject>
633                <caption>
634                        <para>
635                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 6</emphasis> The Appeareance tab
636                        </para>
637                </caption>
638                        </mediaobject>
639               
640        </sect2>
641
642        <sect2 id="audioengine">
643                <title>Audio engine info</title>
644                <para>
645                This tab (Fig. 7) will bring up a window with general infos about Hydrogen and audio driver. Buffer and sampling rate of Jack audio driver are customizable when the server is started from the shell.
646                </para>
647                       
648                <mediaobject>
649                        <imageobject>
650                                <imagedata fileref="img/AudioEngineInfoDialog.png" format="png">
651                        </imageobject>
652                <caption>
653                        <para>
654                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 7</emphasis> The Audio Engine Info window. Better check that cpu-meter on old systems and crowded /proc dir ;)
655                        </para>
656                </caption>
657                </mediaobject>
658        </sect2>
659       
660       
661        <sect2 id="drumkit">
662                <title>Drumkit manager</title>
663        <para>
664               
665                The drumkit manager shows all the options concerning drumkits, i.e. groups of sounds (WAV or FLAC) to be binded with every track available so to obtain a proper "groove" according to the situation (disco music, rock, hip hop, etc.). To let you have a rough idea of a good example of use of these drumkits, it is advisable to play the associated .h2song sample song.
666        </para>
667
668        <para>
669        From the first screen (Fig. 8) we can load/delete the drumkit, with a short description. Here (Fig. 9) we can save some infos about the current drumkit and from here (Fig. 10) we can import a drumkit (.h2drumkit) (Fig. 11) or export it (Fig. 12).
670        </para>
671               
672                        <mediaobject>
673                                <imageobject>
674                                        <imagedata fileref="img/DrumkitLoad.png" format="png">
675                                </imageobject>
676                <caption>
677                        <para>
678                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 8</emphasis> Load drumkit. Choose from those installed.
679                        </para>
680                </caption>
681
682                        </mediaobject>
683
684                        <mediaobject>
685                                <imageobject>
686                                        <imagedata fileref="img/DrumkitSave.png" format="png">
687                                </imageobject>
688                <caption>
689                        <para>
690                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 9</emphasis> Save drumkit.
691                        </para>
692                </caption>
693                        </mediaobject>
694
695                        <mediaobject>
696                                <imageobject>
697                                        <imagedata fileref="img/DrumkitImport.png" format="png">
698                                </imageobject>
699                <caption>
700                        <para>
701                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 10</emphasis> Import drumkit.
702                        </para>
703                </caption>
704                        </mediaobject>
705
706                        <mediaobject>
707                                <imageobject>
708                                        <imagedata fileref="img/DrumkitExport.png" format="png">
709                                </imageobject>
710                <caption>
711                        <para>
712                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 11</emphasis> Export drumkit.
713                        </para>
714                </caption>
715                        </mediaobject>
716
717        </sect2>
718</sect1>
719
720</chapter>
721
722<!--
723##################
724# CAPITOLO TERZO #
725#################
726-->
727
728<chapter id="creazioneSong">
729        <title>A new song</title>
730        <sect1 id="SongVSpattern">
731                <title>"Song" mode and "Pattern" mode</title>
732                <para>
733                        This is just a quick-and-dirty walkthrough to Hydrogen. Refer to the tutorial for a more detailed overview.
734                </para>
735               
736                <para>
737                        Hydrogen has 2 main modes: "Pattern" mode and "Song" mode (refer to <link linkend="main">this section</link> 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.
738                </para>
739        </sect1>
740
741        <sect1 id="creazionePattern">
742                <title>A new pattern</title>
743                <para>
744                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 (Fig. 12) 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>
745                </para>
746
747                <mediaobject>
748                        <imageobject>
749                                <imagedata fileref="img/PatternEditor.png" format="png">
750                        </imageobject>
751                <caption>
752                        <para>
753                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 12</emphasis> The Pattern Editor
754                        </para>
755                </caption>
756                </mediaobject>
757        </sect1>
758
759        <sect1 id="creazioneSequenza">
760                <title>A new sequence</title>
761                <para>
762                Once patterns are created (Fig. 13), 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).
763                </para>
764
765                <mediaobject>
766                        <imageobject>
767                                <imagedata fileref="img/SongEditor.png" format="png">
768                        </imageobject>
769                <caption>
770                        <para>
771                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 13</emphasis> Inserting notes in a pattern
772                        </para>
773                </caption>
774                                </mediaobject>
775
776        </sect1>
777       
778        <sect1 id="operazioniMixer">
779                <title>Adjust from the mixer</title>
780                <para>
781                Of course we can always use the mixer window, either when creating or playing patterns.
782                </para>
783               
784                <para>
785                The Mixer frame (Fig. 14) is made of 32 independent tracks, each of these is binded to an
786instrument, plus a "Master Output" line to adjust general output volume and a "FX" button to set effects. Every line features 3 buttons (
787       
788                <inlinemediaobject>
789                        <imageobject>
790                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_play_on_mixer.png" format="png">
791                        </imageobject>
792                </inlinemediaobject>
793               
794                <inlinemediaobject>
795                        <imageobject>
796                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_solo_on.png" format="png">
797                        </imageobject>
798                </inlinemediaobject>
799               
800                <inlinemediaobject>
801                        <imageobject>
802                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_mute_on.png" format="png">
803                        </imageobject>
804                </inlinemediaobject>
805               
806                ), pan adjust (
807               
808                <inlinemediaobject>
809                        <imageobject>
810                        <imagedata fileref="img/MixerPan.png" format="png">
811                        </imageobject>
812                </inlinemediaobject>
813               
814                ), current maximum peak, volume fader and name of the track. Clicking on
815               
816                <inlinemediaobject>
817                        <imageobject>
818                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_solo_on.png" format="png">
819                        </imageobject>
820                </inlinemediaobject>
821               
822                will play the selected instrument, cutting the others. The "Mute"
823button
824               
825                <inlinemediaobject>
826                        <imageobject>
827                        <imagedata fileref="img/btn_mute_on.png" format="png">
828                        </imageobject>
829                </inlinemediaobject>
830
831                , simply mute <emphasis>that</emphasis> instrument. The maximun peak indicates the maximun volume reached
832from the instrument; the peak must be in a range of 0.0 and 1.0 (in Fig. 14 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.
833                </para>
834               
835                <mediaobject>
836                        <imageobject>
837                                <imagedata fileref="img/Mixer.png" format="png">
838                        </imageobject>
839                <caption>
840                        <para>
841                        <emphasis role="bold">Fig. 14</emphasis> The mixer
842                        </para>
843                </caption>
844                </mediaobject>
845        </sect1>
846</chapter>
847</book>
848       
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