Linux MultiMedia Studio User Manual

8/11/2019 Linux MultiMedia Studio User Manual

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/linux-multimedia-studio-user-manual 1/161





Contents

Contents....................................................................................................................................................... 3

About this Manual........................................................................................................................................ 9

How to use this manual.......................................................................................................................................9

Disclaimer............................................................................................................................................................9

Version Number...................................................................................................................................................9

What's new............................................................................................................................................................ 9

Copyrights............................................................................................................................................................9

Acknowledgments..............................................................................................................................................!

"eedback...........................................................................................................................................................!

Basic Concepts..........................................................................................................................................11

"undamental #erms...........................................................................................................................................

Controls in $%%& interace...............................................................................................................................(

Automation o controls......................................................................................................................................... )

Applications o Automation Cur*es...................................................................................................................... +

Automation using $", controllers ...................................................................................................................... +

Introduction to LMMS................................................................................................................................19

"eatures.............................................................................................................................................................9

Comparison with a sound-recording studio.......................................................................................................!

How $%%& works.............................................................................................................................................."unctional /arts o $%%&.................................................................................................................................0

A look around $%%&.........................................................................................................................................(

Windows in $%%&.............................................................................................................................................1

2etting a eel o $%%& with a demo song.........................................................................................................1

LMMS Main Window..................................................................................................................................29

%ain %enu 3ar...................................................................................................................................................9

/ro4ect %enu....................................................................................................................................................... 9

5dit %enu ........................................................................................................................................................... 0!

#ools %enu.......................................................................................................................................................... 0!Help %enu........................................................................................................................................................... 0!

#ool 3ar..............................................................................................................................................................0!

"ile Controls........................................................................................................................................................ 0

Window Controls ................................................................................................................................................ 0

#empo Control..................................................................................................................................................... 0

#ime &ignature Controls...................................................................................................................................... 0

Volume and /itch Controls.................................................................................................................................. 0

Wa*e and C/6 6sage Display............................................................................................................................ 0

#he &ide 3ar.....................................................................................................................................................0

#he 7nstrument /lugins #ab................................................................................................................................. 00

#he %y /ro4ects #ab............................................................................................................................................ 00

#he %y &amples #ab........................................................................................................................................... 0(

#he %y /resets #ab............................................................................................................................................. 0(

#he %y Home #ab............................................................................................................................................... 0(



LMMS User Manual Contents !

#he %y Computer #ab......................................................................................................................................... 01

"he Son# $ditor.........................................................................................................................................3%

#he &ong 5ditor window....................................................................................................................................08

Working with tracks in &ong 5ditor....................................................................................................................09

#he structure o a typical track............................................................................................................................. 09

Working with an element................................................................................................................................ (

Working with 7nstrument tracks............................................................................................................................ ((

6sing the instrument track to play an audio track with pitch-shit...................................................................(1

Working with sample tracks................................................................................................................................. ()

Working with 3eat3assline tracks....................................................................................................................... (+

Working with automation tracks........................................................................................................................... (8

#he Conte:t menus in &ong 5ditor...................................................................................................................... (9

Conte:t menu or 7nstrument track element....................................................................................................(9

Conte:t menu or 3eat track element.............................................................................................................1!

Conte:t menu or &ample track element........................................................................................................1

Conte:t menu or Automation track element...................................................................................................1

"he &iano 'oll $ditor................................................................................................................................ (3

#he /iano ;oll 5ditor 7nterace..........................................................................................................................10

5diting #oolbar buttons........................................................................................................................................ 1)

Clipboard toolbar buttons.................................................................................................................................... 1+

Note $ength ........................................................................................................................................................ 18

Note pane............................................................................................................................................................ 18

Note Volume........................................................................................................................................................ 18

Note /anning ...................................................................................................................................................... 19

Composing in the /iano ;oll 5ditor...................................................................................................................19

Writing Notes with mouse.................................................................................................................................... 19

Creating notes with keyboard ............................................................................................................................. )!

"he Beat)Bassline $ditor........................................................................................................................ *1

#he 3eat<3assline 5ditor window.....................................................................................................................)

How 3eat<3assline 5ditor works......................................................................................................................... )

Creating 3eats..................................................................................................................................................... )0

5diting 3eats....................................................................................................................................................... )(

Changing the *olume o beats........................................................................................................................ )(

Changing the pitch o dierent beats..............................................................................................................)(

Creating and 5diting a bassline........................................................................................................................... )1

How the 33 5ditor works with the &ong 5ditor....................................................................................................))6sing Automation in the 3eat<3assline 5ditor....................................................................................................)+

#he process low or composing a rhythm...........................................................................................................)8

/hilosophies o pattern-design ........................................................................................................................... )9

Which approach is best= ............................................................................................................................... +!

#he timeline in 33 5ditor...................................................................................................................................+!

Adding &teps to #imeline..................................................................................................................................... +!

5ect o #ime &ignature on 33 5ditor's #imeline................................................................................................. +

#he Conte:t %enu in /attern #rack..................................................................................................................... +

#he Conte:t %enu in Automation #rack............................................................................................................... +0

"he +, Mi-er.............................................................................................................................................. %(#he channel structure........................................................................................................................................+)

#he 5ects Chain pane.....................................................................................................................................++

"he Instruent Window............................................................................................................................%9

7nstrument &ound controls &ection....................................................................................................................8!



LMMS User Manual Contents (

#he 5NV$", tab ............................................................................................................................................... 8!

#he "unc tab ...................................................................................................................................................... 80

Chords ........................................................................................................................................................... 80

Arpeggios ...................................................................................................................................................... 8(

#he "> tab .......................................................................................................................................................... 8(

#he %7D7 tab ....................................................................................................................................................... 8)

#he /iano ?eys section.....................................................................................................................................8)

"he Autoation $ditor............................................................................................................................../9

#he Automation 5ditor Window.........................................................................................................................89

%ore about the Automation 2raph....................................................................................................................9

"he Controller 'ac0...................................................................................................................................93

Controllers- 2eneral..........................................................................................................................................90

Adding a Controller.............................................................................................................................................. 90

Deleting a Controller............................................................................................................................................ 90

Attaching a Controller to #arget control............................................................................................................... 90

Changing the settings o a Controller..................................................................................................................90

Naming the Controllers........................................................................................................................................ 9(

5diting or ;emo*ing a Controller......................................................................................................................... 9(

#he $", Controllers..........................................................................................................................................9(

$", Controller &ettings....................................................................................................................................... 9(

Applying the $", Controller................................................................................................................................ 91

#he /eak Controller...........................................................................................................................................91

Applying the /eak Controller............................................................................................................................... 9)

"he &roect otes $ditor...........................................................................................................................9%

#ypical uses o /ro4ect Notes............................................................................................................................9+

$ditin# and Coposin# Son#s.................................................................................................................99

5diting an e:isting song.....................................................................................................................................99

5:perimenting with the &ong 5ditor.....................................................................................................................99

5:perimenting with the 3eat<3assline 5ditor....................................................................................................!!

5:perimenting with the ">-%i:er.......................................................................................................................!!

Composing a song rom score sheet...............................................................................................................!

/reparing........................................................................................................................................................... !

Creating the %elody.......................................................................................................................................... !0

Adding ;hythm.................................................................................................................................................. !(

Adding Automation............................................................................................................................................ !1

Applying song-global automation................................................................................................................. !1

Applying Automation #rack........................................................................................................................... !1

"urther e:perimentation.................................................................................................................................... !)

6sing multiple instruments........................................................................................................................... !)

%iscellaneous changes................................................................................................................................ !)

5:porting the &ong..........................................................................................................................................!+

Suar.................................................................................................................................................. 149

Appendices............................................................................................................................................... 111

A. &lu#ins.................................................................................................................................................1137nstrument /lugins...........................................................................................................................................(

Audio"ile/rocessor............................................................................................................................................ 1

3it7n*ader........................................................................................................................................................... +

?icker................................................................................................................................................................. 8

$30!................................................................................................................................................................ 9



LMMS User Manual Contents *

%allets............................................................................................................................................................... !

,rganic..............................................................................................................................................................

"ree3oy.............................................................................................................................................................

/at%an.............................................................................................................................................................. 0

&" /layer......................................................................................................................................................... (

&7D ................................................................................................................................................................... 1

#he #riple ,scillator plugin................................................................................................................................ )

Ve&#ige............................................................................................................................................................. 8

Vibed................................................................................................................................................................. 9

@ynAdd&ub">................................................................................................................................................... 0

5ect /lugins...................................................................................................................................................0

3ass 3ooster .................................................................................................................................................... 0

/eak Controller ................................................................................................................................................. 0

&pectrum Analyer ........................................................................................................................................... 00

&tereo 5nhancer ............................................................................................................................................... 00

&tereophonic %atri: .......................................................................................................................................... 00

B. 5eboard shortcuts ........................................................................................................................... 13(%ain Window Banywhere in $%%& ................................................................................................................01

7nstrument /lugins ..........................................................................................................................................0)

All editors that include a time line ...................................................................................................................0)

3eat<3assline 5ditor ......................................................................................................................................0)

/iano ;oll 5ditor .............................................................................................................................................0)

&ong 5ditor .....................................................................................................................................................0+

Automation 5ditor ...........................................................................................................................................08

/ro4ect Notes ..................................................................................................................................................09

"ile 3rowser Bin &ide 3ar ...............................................................................................................................09

C. $ditin# the Autoation Cur6e............................................................................................................1!1

7. Wor0in# with saples........................................................................................................................ 1!3

&ample 6sed as a %elody 7nstrument ............................................................................................................(0

/reparing the sample........................................................................................................................................ (0

Creating an instrument with the sample............................................................................................................(0

/laying the instrument....................................................................................................................................... ((

&ample 6sed as a /ercussion 7nstrument......................................................................................................((

/reparing the sample........................................................................................................................................ ((

Creating the percussion instrument rom the sample........................................................................................((

/laying the percussion...................................................................................................................................... ((

$. Addin# Special $88ects........................................................................................................................1!(

5ects Created With an Automation Cur*e.....................................................................................................(1

5ects Created with Controllers......................................................................................................................()

&ide-chaining the #racks Directly...................................................................................................................... ()

&ide-chaining through ">-%i:er........................................................................................................................ (8

+. LMMS and World Music.......................................................................................................................1(1

Non-Western music.........................................................................................................................................1

$imitations o /ercussion.................................................................................................................................1

. +A:...................................................................................................................................................... 1(3

About $%%&....................................................................................................................................................10

/lugins.............................................................................................................................................................10

%iscellaneous..................................................................................................................................................10

;. lossar............................................................................................................................................... 1((



LMMS User Manual Contents %

I. What<s new=.......................................................................................................................................... 1(9

>. 'e8erences........................................................................................................................................... 1*1





About this Manual

#his is the user's manual or the $inu: %ulti%edia &tudio B$%%& an open source digital audio workstation BDAWsotware.

;ow to use this anual#his manual is meant or beginners who ha*e no e:perience o $%%& and no ormal training in music Bthe manuale:plains the basics.

#he best way to read this manual is to read it rom start to inishE $%%& has multiple windows with dierent controlsthan what you see in other sotwareF and it would sa*e you rom much trouble i you understand these concepts in theseGuence presented.

7n act be sure to read the ne:t B7ntroductionI chapter.#he manual pro*ides links to additional reerence material a*ailable on 7nternet. Hyperlinks in this manual are denotedwith brown te:t B?" as underlined blue te:t.

7isclaier #he manual is presented as a ree guide on as isI basis. #he manual is supposed to be a guide or the userF not anauthentic reerence book.

Due care is taken to ensure that the manual is accurate and matches the current *ersion o $%%&. Howe*er itpossible that you are using an outdated *ersion o this manual or $%%& in which case there would be some

mismatches. 7 so please send me an email and 7 will correct the anomaly in the ne:t *ersion o the manual.

#he author is not responsible or any loss or damages arising out o use misuse or abuse o the inormation presentedhereF or errors in the manual.

&lease use it at our own ris0.

@ersion uber #his manual will be updated rom time to time to keep up with the changes in $%%&F or to add more help materialabout $%%& and plugins.

#he *ersion number o the manual is simply the $%%&'s *ersion number ollowed by a serially incremented number."or e:ample the number !.(..2 means the second manual released or $%%& *ersion !.(..

#he manual will carry its *ersion number on the ront co*er so that you can easily ind out whether you ha*e the latestmanual.

What<s new

#he latest changes in the manual is pro*ided in the Appendi- I. 7 you ha*e read the pre*ious *ersion thoroughly youcan simply go through these changes to understand what has changed in both $%%& and manual.

Copri#hts

#his manual is licensed under a Creati*e Commons Attribution-NoDeri*s 0.! 6nported $icense.

Due care is taken to use non-copyrighted material in this manual. 7 you notice any copyright inringement please

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio_workstation

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/







LMMS User Manual About this Manual 14

bring it to my notice and 7 will correct it immediately.

Ac0nowled#ents#he co*er and the $%%& logo are designed by /rasun 3aner4ee.

+eedbac0#his section reers to eedback about this manual only. #o pro*ide a eedback about $%%& Bbugs eature reGuest orsupport reGuests please *isit the $%%& site

Jou are most welcome to gi*e any suggestions to make this manual more accurate and comprehensi*e. 7n uture*ersions 7 will be adding more music-related te:t so any suggestion or contribution in this aspect are also welcome.

/lease send a mail to raindrops.romskyKgmail.com /lease begin the sub4ect line with the words $%%& manualI sothat your mail does not get iltered by my spam ilters.

A known issue is that some inormation is still missing in the manual

6nortunately 7 had to lea*e some blanks in the manual because that inormation was simply not a*ailable. 7 you ha*eany related inormation please share it so that all readers can e:ploit the ull power o all plugins. #hanks in ad*anceL

http://www.facebook.com/prasunban


http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=105168


mailto:[email protected]



mailto:[email protected]



Basic Concepts

#his manual uses some terms and concepts that may not be known to you. 6nderstand them irst.

+undaental "ers#he terms used in the discussions throughout the manual are e:plained here.

#he list is not presented in alphabetical orderE #he oundation concepts are e:plained irst and then higher-le*elconcepts based on them are e:plained later.

%ore general terms are co*ered in the 2lossary.

"er Meanin#

$%3 $et %ouse 3utton

;%3 ;ight %ouse 3utton

Click /ress the $%3 momentarily and release it immediately.

;ight-click /ress the ;%3 momentarily and release it immediately.

Ho*er %o*e the mouse till the pointer is on the target ob4ect but do not click $%3 or ;%3.

Conte:t menu When you ho*er the mouse pointer on *arious parts o $%%& interace and press ;%3 youget a pop-up menu. #he options a*ailable in this menu change based on the current conte:t

Bcombination o all applicable actors. Hence this menu is called a context menu.

%ousewheel #he scrolling wheel o the mouse located between $%3 and ;%3.

;oll themousewheel

#urn the mousewheel updown

%iddle-click Click on the mousewheel as i it is a button B4ust like $%3;%3.

Drag with mouse Click $%3 on a control and without releasing the $%3 mo*e the mouse.B;elease the $%3 when done.

;ight-drag with

mouse

Click ;%3 on a control and without releasing the ;%3 mo*e the mouse.

B;elease the ;%3 when done.

%iddle-drag withmouse

Click %%3 on a control and without releasing the %%3 mo*e the mouse.B;elease the %%3 when done.

Draw with mouse Click with $%3 hold down and draw a shape with the mouse pointer.When done release $%3.

&ong #he musical piece being creatededited in $%%& is loosely called song I e*en i there is nosinging in it. BAlso called an LMMS project I see below

/ro4ect Any music composed in $%%& is called a “project”.

$%%& stores data pertaining to the composition in a pro4ect ile. Jou can sa*e this pro4ect ileand reload it in $%%& later.



LMMS User Manual Basic Concepts 12

"er Meanin#

/lugin An independent sotware that adds some capability to $%%&.

"or con*enience we di*ide $%%& plugins into three classesE

• Instruents 5ither imitate a real-lie musical instrument Bsuch as a piano guitar orlute or play a synthesied sound. /lugins that play %7D7 or audioiles are also included in this class.

• +ilters "ilter the sound to impart a dierent character. #ypically ilters in$%%& are dynamically changed during each note.

• $88ects Add special eects to the sound

&ynthesier

BMI&ynthI

A sotware that produces a sound that can be used in creating music.

&ome synths can imitate real-lie melody instrument Bpiano organ lute *iolin or apercussion instrument Bdrum hi-hat symbals :ylophone marimba or a bassline instrument.

&ome synths produce a sound that does not resemble any real-lie musical instrument.

&ome synths are speciically designed to imitate sounds rom a popular arcade game.

/reset #he instrumentI in $%%& is actually a synthesier that is capable o producing a wide rangeo sounds depending upon the settings o its controls. While this range is good or creati*ityyou would ind it e:tremely diicult to re-create the e:act sound that you liked in the lastsession. #hat's why $%%& allows you to sa*e the instrument's settings as a preset.

$%%& also pro*ides you se*eral ready-made presets to get going.

Jou can also tweak a preset to suit your own taste and sa*e it under a dierent ile name.

Jou can copy this ile in dierent computers to reproduce the same sound.

Wa*etable Wa*etables are iles that ha*e the digitied sound o actual musical instruments.

Wa*etables are used to create music in a three-step processE

. ;ecord the actual sound o a musical instrument Be.g. piano guitar lute etc.. Digitie the sound sample and

0. /lay the sample to produce Balmost original sound.

Although only one pitch is recorded and digitied the playback can simulate the sound o theinstrument o*er se*eral octa*es by reading the digital sample at dierent speeds Bto producea higher pitch the sample is read at a aster speed.

#he sound o some instruments changes its timbre signiicantly at dierent pitches. 7n suchcases more samples are taken at dierent pitches so that the synthesier can producerealistic sound in all octa*es.

#he ile that stores the table o wa6eorms is called a wavetable. A gi*en ile may ha*etables or one or more musical instruments.

&e*eral mutually incompatible technologies e:ist or creating Band using the wa*etables.5ach technology has its own ile ormat or storing its wa*etables Be.g. &" 26& or 2%.$%%& can use all these ormats using dierent plugins.

3eat A beat is a short low-pitch sound typically created with unpitched percussion instruments Bsuch as the ones used in a drum kit.

"or another use o this term see tempo.

3assline A bassline is low-pitched repetiti*e pattern played by a rhythm section instrument such as thebass guitar bass *iolin or a keyboard instrument Bpiano Hammond organ electronic organ or synthesier .

6se o bassline is more common in some musical genres.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plugin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percussion_instruments#Indefinite_pitch


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_kit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassline

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_section


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_guitar


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_bass

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammond_organ


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_organ


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plugin






http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_bass







LMMS User Manual Basic Concepts 13

"er Meanin#

#rack A track is a unit o the 267 that displays the ollowingE

. Controls or the soundF typically ute solo 6olue and pan controls.

. Visual display o a sound against time ,; an automation graph against time.

Here are two e:amples o tracks used in $%%& Bwe will see other types o tracks soonE

in Son# $ditor

in Beat)Bassline $ditor

/atch #he term patch is deri*ed rom the old days o modular synthesiers when dierent moduleshad to be interconnected using patch cords Bshort pieces o cables with connectors at bothends.

Dierent patch combinations produced dierent sounds. /eople had to note down the patchconiguration that produced a certain sound they likedF so that they could get the same soundin the ne:t session. #he sounds were so much correlated with patches that e*entually eachspeciic sound itsel came to be known as a patch.

/atches are no longer needed with the modern-day eGuipment but e*en today the term patch means any single and identiiable sound Be.g. a piano patch a flute patch etc.

3ank

Bsound bank

A set of patches is called a sound bank . Within each bank the serial number o patches ispredetermined. "or e:ample in a speciic bank the piano patch may be at lute patchmay be at 1 etc.

Howe*er such arbitrary seGuence creates compatibility problemsE 7 the composer changesthe sound bank all the instruments would change in his composition Binstead o piano lutewould play etc. #o a*oid such a problem the %7D7 %anuacturers' Association has deined aglobal standard or patch numbers.

Note that although the patch numbers are standardied the actual sound Guality timbre o

any gi*en instrument Be.g. grand piano is allowed to dier rom bank to bank. &o the samecomposition played using two dierent banks will play the same instruments but yet they maysound dierent because both banks use dierent wa*etables or each gi*en instrument.

?eyboarde:pressionBIExpressionI

#he ability o a keyboard instrument to respond to the dynamics o the music or change thetone o the sound in response to the way that the perormer depresses the keys o themusical keyboard.

Dierent keyboards can ha*e dierent e:pression mechanismsE

• @elocit sensiti6it ;esponds to how hard or ast the keys are pressedF

• &ressure sensiti6it ;esponds to the orce with which a key is held down aterthe initial impactF and

• 7isplaceent sensiti6it ;esponds to how ar down a key is depressed.

/itch &itch is a property o sound that allows the ordering o sounds on a reGuency-related scale./itches are compared as OhigherO and OlowerO in the sense associated with musical melodieswhich are coherent successions o pitches.

Note that pitch is a sub4ecti*e and perceived property it is not physically measurable.

Note #he term note is used in two dierent conte:tsE

. #he relati*e duration and pitch o a sound. #his is only a reerenceE #he song iscomposed with smaller ractions o this unit Bthe whole note is rarely used. %ostcommonly the nd (th 8th and )th o a note are used or composing music.

. A pitched sound itsel."or e:ample when we strike a piano key a note is sounded. 7 we sustain the noteor longer time we say we are holding the noteI.

267Mraphic User Interace B#he windows that you see and use in any sotware application.

http://www.midi.org/techspecs/gm1sound.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_instrument


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamics_(music)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_keyboard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melody

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_signatures


http://www.midi.org/techspecs/gm1sound.php



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_keyboard


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melody






LMMS User Manual Basic Concepts 1(

&o let us understand the *arious controls used in $%%& Bwe will understand the *arious windows in the ne:t chapter

3eore you read this manual urther recognie the controls or what they are and how they work. ;ead the ollowingdescription careully and memorie it.

Control What is itcalled

;ow to use it

Handle

Bo a track

Click on it with mouse and drag it to new position. #he entire track mo*es with

it to a new position.

$amp When a lamp is on it may appear green yellow or red.

B7n $%%& yellowred color does not signiy a caution or alarm situation.

All lamps look black when they are o.

A lamp appears at the top o a unctional block Bmodule in the $%%& interace.7t acts as an ono toggle switch or the moduleE Click on it to toggle themodule ono.

/ull-downmenu

A pull-down menu oers preset *alues to choose rom.

ote 7n $%%& the pull-down menus do not ha*e the traditional lookE

Dierent icons are attached to the let side o the pull-down menusFand the options are in dierent ormats Bpercentage te:t raction etc.

#he *alues can be selected in multiple waysE

. Click on the arrow to *iew the ull list. Click on an option.

#his is the best method i you are not amiliar with the options.

. Ho*er the mouse on the option labels and roll the mousewheel.#his method is better i you know the options well.

0. Click on the option label area. #he control switches to the ne:t optionin the list. ;ight-click to go upward in the list.

"ader Changes *olume.7t can be controlled in *arious waysE

. Drag the knob with mouse along the length o slider.

. Ho*er the mouse anywhere on the slider and roll the mousewheel

0. Click anywhere on the slider. #he knob will 4ump to that position.

(. ;ight-click anywhere on slider and select 'eset option to bring theknob to middle.

1. ;ight-click anywhere on slider and select Cop 6alue option. Nowright-click anywhere on another slider and select &aste 6alue option.#he second slider will assume the same position as the irst.

&lider &imilar to a +ader Bsee abo*e but meant or other *ariables.

?nob Changes a *ariable Bwithin a speciic *alue-range

7t can be controlled in *arious waysE

. Click on the knob and drag the mouse updown.

. Ho*er the mouse on it and roll the mousewheel.

0. Double-click on the knob. A dialog-bo: pops up. 5nter the desired

*alue in it and press 5N#5; Bor click on the ?5 button.

%ost o the $%%& controls resemble old synthesier hardware. &o i you ha*e worked on them this will look amiliar.



LMMS User Manual Basic Concepts 1*

Control What is itcalled

;ow to use it

Counter &hows a number that represents a count or a channel number etc.

7t can be controlled in two waysE

. Ho*er the mouse o*er it and roll the mousewheel

. Click inside it and drag updown

Display pane Click on the pane to toggle the control cur*e displayed in it.

• When the control graph is acti*e it is displayed in bright green.

• When it is turned o it is displayed in gray.

7n some panels you can draw with mouse to create a wa*eorm.

3uttons $%%& interace has many areas with *arying shades o gray Bor e*en blackthat look like non-unctional parts but which are actually buttons.

• Click to toggle the button ono.

• &ome buttons will pop up a separate window with more controls.

%any buttons carry deault generic names which you ha*e to rename ater theinstrument used etc. Double-click on the button to rename it.

Window baricons

$%%& uses many windows. 5ach window has an icon on the top-let cornerthat identiies its main unction. B"our samples are shown here.

#his icon also oers some controls or the window Bminimie restore etc..

Amongst them the Stay on topI option is importantE &ometimes you ha*e tokeep multiple windows open side by side and operate them interacti*ely. 3utwhen you click inside one window it comes to the ront and hides the others.#he stay on top option orces the window on top e*en when you are working inanother window.

Autoation o8 controls

Apart rom manually changing these controls we can also set them to change automatically at speciied momentsduring the song. #his is done by constructing a value vs timeI cur*e Bknown as automation curve or the targetcontrol. $%%& reads this cur*e in real time and *aries the control accordingly.

#he ollowing e:ample shows an automation cur*e or the *olume control.#he cur*e plots time along the horiontal a:is and volume level along the *ertical a:is.Bwe will see later how to draw such cur*es.

As you can see $%%& does not show the automation cur*e as a lineE 7t 4ust ills the area under the cur*e with yellow.

#he e:ample shows se*eral dierent shapes o automation cur*e and its eect on the song.

. 7nitially the *olume is set to ero Bat point 1 . #hen it is raised smoothly to ull *olume Btill point 2 .#his shape is used to create a fade in eect.

#he same shape can be also used to create crescendo eect or a musical phrase.

. 3etween points 2 and 3 the cur*e is lat at the highest *alue Bwe get ull *olume during that time.

0. #he *olume decreases smoothly rom point 3 to point ! .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crescendo#Gradual_changes









Introduction to LMMS

$%%& B$inu: %ultimedia &tudio is an open source digital audio workstation BDAW sotware. Jou can use $%%& toproduce music by synthesiing sounds arranging samples o actual musical instruments Bor e*en your own *oiceand recording a %7D7 keyboard and then using those sounds. Any recorded sound can be urther modiied bycombining the eatures o trackers seGuencers and synthesiers.

$%%& also supports plugins with $AD&/A and V&# interace which means you can use almost any plugin a*ailableon the net Bmany o them are ree.

$%%& is a*ailable or $inu: %icrosot Windows and %ac ,& > operating systems.

+eatures•

An editor or composing melodies

• An editor or creating beats and basslines

• A )(-channel sound mi:er with special eects that can be chained

• 5ditor or automation o properties B*olume pan ilter etc.

• %7D7 keyboard support

• 3uilt-in instruments and eectsE

• #riple-,scillator

• ,rgan-like synthesier B,rganic

•

&ampler BAudio"ile/rocessor• Wa*etable &ynthesier B3it7n*ader

• ?ick P 3assdrum-synthesier B?icker

• %onophonic simulation o ;oland #3-0!0 B$30!

• #uneul percussion synthesier B%allets

• 5mulation o 2ame3oy A/6 B"ree3oy

• 5mulation o Commodore )( chips B&7D

• Vibrating string modeler BVibed

•

%ultiple @ynAdd&ub"> presets• Compatible with many standardsE

• &ound"ont B&" /layer Q 6se high-Guality sampled sounds o real-lie instruments

• V&#i BVe&#ige Q Huge number o instruments and eects

• $AD&/A Q Huge number o instruments and eects

• 26& patches B/at%an Q Can play songs on the 2ra*is 6ltra&ound cards

• %7D7

• $%%& can import %7D7 and "$/ B"ruityloops /ro4ect iles directly


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arranging

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI_keyboard


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracker_(music_software)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_sequencer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_synthesizer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LADSPA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Studio_Technology


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_(music)







http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZynAddSubFX

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundFont



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravis_Ultrasound


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arranging


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracker_(music_software)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_sequencer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_synthesizer






http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZynAddSubFX

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundFont




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIDI



LMMS User Manual Introduction to LMMS 24

Coparison with a soundrecordin# studio$%%& is a MultiMedia Studio0. &o the best way to understand $%%& is by comparing it with a real sound-recordingstudio.

#hink o a musical piece Bor a sound-track being recorded in a studio.

A song is created by adding dierent soundsE

. VocalsE #he lead singer's *oice and chorus. %elody instruments B*iolin piano lute etc.

0. 3assline instruments( Brhythm created by playing short low-pitch notes.

(. /ercussion Bdrum set :ylophone etc.

1. &ampled sounds Bocean wa*es thunder rain wind car engine clops bird calls animal sounds etc..

7n a proessional sound-studio care is taken to record each source o sound separately. #he louder sources Be.g.drums are e*en kept in soundproo cabins called isolation boothsI to ensure that their sound does not reach themicrophones meant or the Guieter instruments.

7n the post-recording editing phase all sounds are careully e:amined or any accidental noises and mistakes in pitchand timing. #hese problems are corrected. #hen special eects Bsuch as panning cross-ading etc. may be applied to

any o the sounds. "inally the sounds are mi:ed to create the inal song./roducing a song needs a lot o costly resourcesE

. &eople A musician to write the scoreF lead singers chorus singers and musicians to play all melodyand percussion instrumentsF a conductor or the actual rendering o the songF technicians to setup microphones to record each o these soundsF a sound-recordist who captures the soundsF asound engineer who corrects the mistakes in all sounds adds special eects and then mi:esthem to create the inal song.

. $Duipent ;ecording room isolation booths or loud instrumentsF musical instruments or melodypercussion and basslineF eGuipment or recording the sounds adding special eects andmi:ing etc.

7 you are an amateurhobbyist musician you can do all o this by yoursel. All you need is an ine:pensi*e /C and two

open source reeware programsE $%%& and Audacity. Ha*ing an electronic keyboard with %7D7 eature will help but itis not essential

, course apart rom the sound Guality there are other compromises.

#he ollowing table compares $%%& with a studio. Note that Audacity can accomplish many tasks that $%%& can't.

Acti6it 'eal soundrecordin# studio LMMS

' e c o r d i n #

&ingersChorus Jes No Buse Audacity

%isc sounds Jes No Buse Audacity

%elody instruments Jes B%usicians play instruments Jes Brendered directly in $%%&

3assline instruments Jes B%usicians play instruments Jes Brendered directly in $%%&

/ercussion instruments Jes B%usicians play instruments Jes Brendered directly in $%%&

& o s t C r e c o r d i n #

5dit audio tracks1 Jes No Buse Audacity

Change tempopitch No Jes

;emo*e glitches Jes No Buse Audacity

Add special eects Jes Jes

%i: sounds Jes Jes

Control-automation Jes Jes

EEEchec0 what do the record buttons in both son#FBB editor do. ;ow do the a88ect the table here=

0 #he original $inu:I tag is no more *alid because it runs on all ma4or ,perating &ystems now.

( 3assline is used only in some musical genres

1 5diting includes noise-remo*al cut out unwanted parts ad4ust *olume change tempo and pitch etc.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percussion_instrument


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recording_studio#Isolation_booth

http://sourceforge.net/projects/lmms/


http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recording_studio#Isolation_booth






As shown abo*e the methods used in $%%& are Guite dierent rom a traditional studio.

. We write a musical score or melody instruments Bpiano guitar *iolin trumpet lute etc inside $%%& andrender the sound using wa*etables o those instruments.

. We write the beat patterns and play them using wa*etables o percussion instruments.

0. We write the bassline and play it using wa*etables o bassline instruments

(. We play ready-made audio tracks Be.g. lead singers chorus dialogs prerecorded naturalman-made sounds.

BWe ha*e to record and edit the audio tracks separately.We can introduce special eects in each indi*idual track.

We can also make a group o certain tracks and then manipulate them together as a single unit Be.g. *ibrato orcrescendo. #his is like ha*ing sections in an orchestra Bstring brass woodwind and percussion instruments whereall instruments in a gi*en section play in unison.

We will see the details when we discuss the $%%& interace.




;ow LMMS wor0s#he unctional blocks o $%%& are shown below.




+unctional &arts o8 LMMS$%%& has se*en windows out o which two windows B#he Son# $ditor and the +,Mi-er are top-le*elI windowswhich produce the actual song. #he other windows support these two.

#he two core windows work as ollowsE

Window +unction details

Son# $ditor . /ut together all the dierent types o tracks Binstrument beats bassline sample Ad4ust their positions on the timeline.

. Apply automation to each control o each track separately.

0. Apply a chain o eects to each track separately.

(. %ute any number o tracks while rendering the song.

1. /lay a track solo to check it out.

). "or instrument tracks only E Apply en*elope- and ilter-*ariations during each note.

+,Mi-er . %ake groups o tracks and apply a chain o eects to the entire group.

. /ro*ide Guick-access *olume aders or indi*idual tracks and groups o tracks.

#he supporting windows are as ollowsE

Window +unction details

&iano 'oll$ditor *

. Compose notes or the instrument tracks.

. Compose notes or the bassline tracks.

0. Compose beats or the beat tracks Bonly i you want to use pitched notes with *aryinglengths as beats.

Beat)Bassline$ditor

. Create composite beat patterns using multiple percussion instruments.

. Create composite bassline patterns using multiple bassline instruments.

Autoation$ditor

5dit an automation track

Controller rac0 #his is 4ust a stack o independent controllers.

• 5ach controller can be applied to the *olume or pan controls o any melody track orsample track in the Son# $ditor or a pattern track in the BB $ditor .

• ,ne controller can be applied to multiple controls at a time.

• Any controller can be applied to an input channel o the +,Mi-er also Bwhich in turn

is connected to multiple sound sources.

&roect otes$ditor

5nter notes about the pro4ect.

) #he /iano ;oll 5ditor owes its name to Opiano rollO which is a roll o paper with perorations Brectangular slots punched in it. #he length o the roll represents timeand its width represents pitch. #hereore the position and length o each peroration slot deines the pitch and duration o the note to be played on the piano. #oreproduce the music recorded on a piano roll you need a player piano pianola or a reproducing piano. /iano rolls were used to store and distribute musical piecesmuch like the %7D7 iles are used today.

#he display o the /iano ;oll 5dior looks 4ust like a piano rollF and hence the name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_roll





LMMS User Manual Introduction to LMMS 2!

A loo0 around LMMS7n this section we amiliarie oursel*es with the $%%& interace.

When you launch $%%& you will see this screen irstE

$ote% &epending on your LMMS version and #perating System' you may see a slightly different interface.

#he dierent parts o the screen are marked with yellow outline. #hey unction as ollowsE

o Ite 'ear0s

1%enu 3ar /ro*ides options dealing with pro4ect iles accessing some plugins and accessing online

help.

2

#oolbar-$et side

#he let side o the toolbar has two rows o buttons.

•3uttons in the top row deal with the pro4ect iles - Create a new one open sa*eand e:port.

• 3uttons in the second row are used to showhide Btoggle the dierent windowsin the main interace B ! .

2a#oolbar-;ight side

Contains master controls or the songF such as tempo time signature *olume pitch anda master output *isualiation pane.

3

&idebar #he sidebar has si: buttons.

Clicking any button opens its contents pane between 3 and ! .

• 5ach type o pane displays a speciic type o resource used to compose your

songE (nstrument plugins My projects My samples My presets My home andMy computer .

• ,nly one pane can be displayed at a time.

• Clicking on the button once again hides the contents pane so that you get morespace or the pro4ect work.



LMMS User Manual Introduction to LMMS 2(

o Ite 'ear0s

!

%ain 7nterace #his is the main working area o $%%&.

6p to se*en types o windows can appear here. Bsee the ollowing table.

5ach window lets you *iew and edit certain part o the song.

Jou can close anyall o these inner windows without aecting the pro4ect data.

Windows in LMMS$%%& can display se*en dierent types o windows+ in the main interace B ! E

Window &urpose

Son# $ditor #his is where you put dierent parts o the song together in the orm o tracks.

• #his window contains separate tracks or melody and percussion8.

• 7t may also contain one or more automation tracks.

• 5ach type o track is edited in a dierent editor window Bsee below.

3eat<3assline 5ditor

BMIBB $ditor I

#his is where each 3eat<3assline pattern is created by combining se*eral instrumenttracks. &ome o these instrument tracks ha*e automation applied to their controls.

+,Mi-er 9 #his is the sound mi:er where you can add multiple eects to each sound track andalso ad4ust the relati*e *olume o each sound source.

Controller 'ac0 #his window lists all controllers used in $%%&.

$%%& has two types o controllersE

• $",s B$ow "reGuency ,scillators. 5ach $", produces a low-reGuencysignal which is used to *ary any control B*olume pan etc. that appears in thewindows listed abo*e!.

• /eak controllersE #hese controllers *ary the *alue o one *ariable Be.g. *olumebased on another *ariable Bsay *olume o another track.

&iano roll $ditor #his window lets you create or edit the contents in the Son# $ditor Bmelody and BB$ditor Bpercussion and bassline.

Autoation $ditor #his window lets you createedit the automation tracks.

&roect notes #his window lets you attach notes to your pro4ect. &uch notes can be used as personalreminders or to con*ey speciic instructions to others.

When $%%& is launched the irst our windows Bshown with yellow background in the table abo*e are opened bydeault. ,pen the other types o windows when reGuired and hide any windows that are not needed.

$%%& can display only one window o each type Byou cannot launch multiple instances o any o these windows.

ettin# a 8eel o8 LMMS with a deo son#$et us understand $%%& intuitively by looking at how it handles a song.

$%%& comes with multiple demo songs. We will check out a demo song titled new8an#led.

Don't worry about iner details at this momentE Rust pay attention to the main controls e:periment with them and check

+ #hese are the same se*en unctional blocks we discussed earlier. #his is only a brie o*er*iew. 7 you cannot understand this don't worryE We will be seeing theworking o each window in more details later.

8 Note that the basic purpose o a percussion track is to pro*ide rhythm to the composition. #hus it is not limited to the drum setE Any natural or man-made sound canpro*ide rhythm Be.g. 7nstruments such as lute guitar or pianoF human *oice clapping etc.

9 #raditionally the term ">I is used to mean 5ectsI BS") means special eectsI

! #he $", signal also *aries the control 4ust like an automation cur*e. #he only dierence is that while the automation cur*e is hand-drawn the $", signal is aperiodic signal Bsine wa*e sGuare wa*e etc with a precisely known reGuency and amplitude.



LMMS User Manual Introduction to LMMS 2*

out how it changes the playback sound o the song.

Do not try to compose or edit a song at this stageE 7t will only make things harder or youL

#o open a demo song ollow this procedureE

. Click on the proects button in the side bar

. Click on the let o the deos older to e:pand it. Now$%%& shows a list o demo pro4ects.

0. Double-click on the new8an#led.pG ile.B#his demo contains all the components we want to see atthis stage.

(. %ultiple smaller windows are opened inside the mainwindow o $%%&. Check their title bars and locate the Son#$ditor and Beat)Bassline $ditor windows.

#he toolbar buttons in the second line in the toolbar toggle the*arious windows ono.

3eore clicking on any button try to guess which window it will toggle.

Notice that only one o these windows can be acti*e at a time Bthe acti*e window has a blue title bar and the otherwindows ha*e gray title bars. Clicking in any window makes it acti*e.

We will ocus on only two windowsE #he Son# $ditor and the Beat)Bassline $ditor . &o let us ha*e a Guick look atthe other windows irst and get rid o them.

. #he &roect otes window contains a note or you rom the author o the musical piece. ;ead that and closethe window.

. #he Controller 'ac0 window is not used in this particular demo pro4ect. &o close it.

0. 7n this song the +,Mi-er ser*es only as the master volume control E All the sounds are ed directly to theMaster ader in the +,Mi-er .

#he composer could ha*e used separate aders or each o its indi*idual sounds. He could also ha*e appliedspecial eects to the sounds in the +,Mi-er . Howe*er this demo song does not use the ">-%i:er or suchspecial purposes. &o nothing much to learn here Q close this window also.

Now that we ha*e closed all the inconseGuential windows we are let with the two main windowsE #he Son# $ditorand the Beat)Bassline $ditor .

3eore we do anything let us irst resie these windows to re*eal their contents ully. 7 they are o*erlapping Borpartially hidden drag them by their windows bar to a new position on the screen.



LMMS User Manual Introduction to LMMS 2%

Now let us check the main windows starting with the Son# $ditor .

As shown abo*e this window contains the tracks o the new8an#led songE #wo beat tracks Bnamed Main beat andClaps one melody track and one bassline track.

. 3eore doing anything notice the salient eatures o this windowE

◦ #he song is ( measures long Bas can be seen rom the ruler markings on top o the blue bar.

◦ #he Main beat is played throughout the song whereas the Claps start only rom the +th measure.

◦ #he bassline is played throughout the song e:cept the last measure.

◦ #he elod starts rom 1th measure and is played till the th measure.

. /lay the song by clicking on the button Bthe irst button in the toolbar.

0. $isten to the playback sound and obser*e how it correlates with the indicators in the window.

(. #oggle indi*idual tracks ono by clicking on the green lamps and see how that aects the song.

1. /lay any track in solo mode by clicking on the second lamp Bthe black lamp which turns red when youclick on it and see how that aects the song. Click on the lamp again to e:it solo mode.

). #urn the 6olue and pan knobs and check how it aects the song.

Notice that the beat tracks do not ha*e 6olue and pan knobs because these controls are already pro*idedin the Beat)Bassline $ditor Bwhich we will see ne:t.

+. Note that up to measure) only the Main beat rhythm plays. 3ut rom %easure+ onwards the song playstwo rhythms simultaneously BMain beat and Claps. #urn them o one by one and see the eect.

We are not going to check the other eatures o the Son# $ditor windowF so this e:ploration is enough.

Now check out the Beat)Bassline $ditor . BAs described earlier this window is used to compose rhythms.

. 3eore doing anything notice the salient eatures in this windowE

◦ #he two dierent rhythms B%ain beatI and clapsI are selectable rom the pull-down menu in thetoolbar. Jou can see Band edit only one rhythm at a time in this window.

◦ #he right side o the window shows the musical content against a timeline.



LMMS User Manual Introduction to LMMS 2/

◦ ?eep in mind that the entire timeline is generally one measure longF and is di*ided in ) steps Bbeats.#he green steps are the onI stepsF and the gray steps are the oI steps. #he track produces soundonly during the onI steps.

◦ #he sounds rom all tracks are combined to produce the ultimate rhythmic sound. #he screenshotshows 4ust one building blockE #his entire pattern is repeated to produce the rhythm.

7n this e:ample the screenshot shows the rhythm named Main Beat. 7 you see the pre*iousscreenshot you will realie that this pattern is played throughout the song Ball the ( measures.

. /lay the selected rhythm song by clicking on the button Bthe irst button in the toolbar. Note that the BB$ditor plays 4ust one rhythm at a time. B7t cannot play the melody tracks at all.

0. $isten to the playback sound and obser*e how it correlates with the indicators in the window.

(. #oggle indi*idual tracks ono by clicking on the green lamps and see how that aects the rhythm.

1. /lay any track in solo mode by clicking on the second lamp Bthe black lamp which turns red when youclick on it and see how that aects the rhythm. Click on the lamp again to e:it solo mode.

). #urn the 6olue and pan knobs and check how it aects the rhythm.

Note that in this pro4ect the composer has inserted our instruments in both rhythmsF but used the irst threeinstruments or the %ain beatI rhythm and only the last instrument Bclap! or the clapsI rhythm. Howe*er youneed not ollow this approachE Jou may choose to insert only the reGuired instruments in each rhythm.

When you ha*e inished close the pro4ect by pressing C"'L): Bor using the menu option +ile:uit. 3e sure todiscard the changesF otherwise $%%& will sa*e the pro4ect with your e:perimental changesL

7 you want try this with other demo pro4ects. 3e warned though that these demo pro4ects are not selected to teachyou speciic aspects o composition. Neither are they graded in terms o diicultycomple:ity.

Again a reminderE Do not try to learn $%%& 4ust by tinkering with such demo pro4ectsE 7t would be much easier i youread this manual Bor the wiki and learn $%%& in a systematic manner.



LMMS Main Window

7n this chapter we will look at the $%%& interace in depth.

$aunch $%%& and keep looking at its interace a you read through this chapter.

Main Menu Bar

Normally the menu system o any sotware contains nearly all its unctions. 3ut in $%%& the menu is minimalistic.

&roect Menu

#he /ro4ect menu allows you to load sa*e and e:port pro4ects and import %7D7 iles.

Menu 5eboard shortcut 'ear0s

New C#;$<N Creates a new pro4ect.

,pen C#;$<, 2i*es you a dialog to choose an e:isting pro4ect ile to open.

;ecently opened/ro4ects

,pens up a submenu listing all the recent pro4ect iles you ha*eopened so that you can easily open a pro4ect you were recentlyworking on.

"ipE #his does not include a pro4ect that you ha*e 4ust created andsa*ed so you ha*e to open the pro4ect at least once beore itwill show up in this menu.

&a*e C#;$<& &a*es the current pro4ect i it has already been sa*ed. 7 not itunctions as i you had chosen '&a*e as'.

&a*e As C#;$<&H"#<& 2i*es you a dialog to choose a Bnew location and name to sa*e yourpro4ect in.

7mport Allows you to import %7D7 and other iles as new instrument lines.

5:port C#;$<5 Allows you to e:port your song as wav or ogg ile. &ee details here.

Suit C#;$<S 5:its $%%&.

• 7 you ha*e not sa*ed the latest changes $%%& asks you iyou want to sa*e your pro4ect.



LMMS User Manual LMMS Main Window 34

$dit Menu

Menu 5eboard shortcut 'ear0s

6ndo C#;$<@ &tep backward through a history o edits to your pro4ect re*ersingmistaken actions.

?nown bugE #he 6ndo eature works incorrectly or some orms oeditingE 7n the &iano 'oll $ditor the bulk mo*e copy and pasteacilities using the selection tool andor clipboard do not getundone or redone correctly. #his bug will be resol*ed in a uture*ersion.

;edo C#;$<; &tep orward through a history o edits to your pro4ect re-applying thesteps that you 4ust re*ersed.

&ettings ,pens the &ettings dialog.

"ools Menu

Menu 'ear0s

LA7S&A &lu#inBrowser

Displays inormation about a*ailable $AD&/A /lugins.

;elp Menu

Menu 'ear0s

,nline help ,pens the wiki's %ain /age

What's #his= Changes your cursor into a help cursor. When you click on any part o a $%%& window youwill then see the conte:tual help or this item.

About &hows a dialog which lists the $%%& pro4ect's *ersion its home page its key de*eloperstranslation inormation i you are using $%%& in a language other than 5nglish and the 2N62/$ license that the sotware is released under.

"ool Bar

#he layout o the toolbar has two distinct areasE

. #he let side 1 contains two rows o buttons.3uttons in the top row handle pro4ectsmusic iles and buttons in the bottom row toggle editor windows.

. #he right side 2 contains music-related master controls.

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page




+ile Controls

#he si: buttons in the top row deal with opening and sa*ing pro4ectmusic iles.

Button 'ear0s

#he ew &roect button creates a new song. 3y clicking on the drop-down symbol on the right handside o the icon you will get a list o pre-set templates that can be used to ill out your new song withinstruments and conigure it ready or work.

#he ew&roect8ro"eplate button will allow you to use a sa*ed template to start a new pro4ect.

#he ?pen e-istin# &roect button opens an e:isting song ile in your $%%& Working Directory.

#he 'ecentl ?pened proect button allow you see and browse iles that you ha*e successully sa*edrecently in $%%&.

"ipE 7 you ha*e opened a ile and not sa*ed it due to a crash or other similar circumstances that ilewill not be in the *ecently opened projects listL

#he Sa6e current &roect button sa*es the current pro4ect. 7 you ha*e not yet sa*ed the pro4ect youwill be prompted or a name and location to sa*e it.

#he $-port &roect button is a shortcut to e:ports o the current pro4ect as a WAV or ,22 ile. Jou willget the same options or Guality as in the +roject,Export menu option.

Window Controls

#he se*en buttons in the second row show or hide Btoggle *arious windows.When a button is clicked the action depends on the current state o the corresponding windowE

• 7 the selected window is not at the ront o the windows displayed inside the $%%& window it is brought tothe ront.

•

7 the selected window is already at the ront it is closed.• 7 the selected window is closed it is opened and brought to the ront.

Note that when any window is closed its contents do not disappear.

All windows ha*e a '&tay in ront' eature. #his is especially useul or the ">-%i:er window and it will also allow you todo real-time editing o the music e*en as you play it. #o select this option 4ust right-click in the let-top corner and romthe menu that appears select Sta on top option. Now this speciic window will stay on top o all other windows. B#omake the window normalI repeat the process and deselect the Sta on top menu option.

#he #oggle buttons areE

Button 'ear0s

#he Son# $ditor button toggles the Son# $ditor Window.

#he Beat)Bassline $ditor Window button toggles the Beat)Bassline $ditor window.

#he &iano 'oll $ditor Window button toggles the &iano 'oll $ditor .

"ipE #he &iano 'oll $ditor Window is supposed to edit the notes stored in a piano roll element in theSon# $ditor window. #hereore it must be launched by double-clicking on an element.

#he Autoation Window button toggles the Autoation $ditor .

#he +,i-er toggle-button toggles the +,i-er window

#he &roect otes button toggles the &roect otes $ditor window.

#he Controllerrac0 button Bdepicting a hand tweaking a knob toggles the Controller 'ac0 window.

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/File:Menubar-f11-controller_rack.png

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/File:Menubar-f10-projectnotes.png

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/File:Menubar-f9-mixer.png

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/File:Menubar-f8-automation.png

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/File:Menubar-f7-pianoroll.png

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/File:Menubar-f6-bb-editor.png

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/File:Menubar-f5-songeditor.png

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/File:Menubar6-export.png

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/File:Menubar5-save.png

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"epo Control

Button 'ear0s

#he current tepo is shown in terms o 3/% BBeats per Minute. #o change the tempo click inside thearea hold the mouse button down and then drag the mouse up or down.7t can also be automated rom its conte:t menu.

"ie Si#nature Controls

Button 'ear0s

#he deault tie si#nature is (( but you can change it.#he time a:is o the /iano-roll will automatically adapt to the chosen time signature.

@olue and &itch Controls

Button 'ear0s

#he Master @olue control sets the master *olume or the entire song.

#he Master &itch control sets the 'root' note on which e*ery other note in the song is based. #urn thisdown to make the piece play at a lower pitch and *ice *ersa.

#his can be useul i you ha*e to render the composition in a dierent key Bor e:ample i the singer isunable to match notes that are too highlowF or to match your compoisition to another e:istingcomposition.

Wa6e and C&U Usa#e 7ispla

Button 'ear0s

#he Wa6e F C&U 7ispla displays the current wa*eorm being played during playback and thecurrent C/6 usage o all the $%%& instruments eects and seGuencing.

Clicking on the display toggles it ono .

"he Side Bar

#he &ide 3ar is permanently attached to the let-hand side o the $%%& window. 7t pro*ides easy access tothe resources Bsa*ed $%%& pro4ects instruments. presets and samples that you will use in $%%& tocompose your music.

-here do these resources come from

Well $%%& comes with se*eral resources o each type. Jou can also create and sa*e your own resources or your pro4ects.

When $%%& is launched the &ide 3ar is in collapsed mode. When you click on any button the side bare:pands and shows you the contents o that section.

#o use a resource in you pro4ect select it rom the &ide 3ar and drag it into the main interace Bor double-

click on it. Click on the button again to collapse the &ide 3ar.

#he original idea was to pre*ent loading o weak /Cs. 3ut in practice this display does not seem to aect the C/6 usage.

We will see how to create two dierent types o resourcesE &amples and presets.




"he Instruent &lu#ins "ab

#he Instruent &lu#ins tab pro*ides dierent instrumentalsoundsF including some synthesier sounds %7D7&"wa*etables and V&#i sounds.

3y deault the plugins appear as rectangular buttons. When youho*er the mouse on a button it e:pands to show some details.

Jou can use the plugins in two dierent waysE

. Drag-and-drop the button into the Son# $ditor . Now itacts as a melody instrument.

. Drag-and-drop the button into the Bass)Bassline$ditor BJou can also double-click on the plugin button.Now it acts as a percussionbassline instrument.

&ee Appendi- A or more details about each plugin.

"he M &roects "ab

#he M &roects older holds your $%%& pro4ects.

$%%& also pro*ides some ready-made pro4ects to ser*e asdemos tutorials and e:amples. #his is *ery useul or newbies.

#he pane shows you a older tree Bincluding the subolders youcreated during sa*ing the pro4ect iles.

$oading a pro4ect is simpleE Rust double-click on the name o thepro4ect.

Jou cannot insert a pro4ect in another pro4ect. 7n other wordsnesting o pro4ects is not allowed.

CautionE Wait or the pro4ect to load completely. 7 you try todo anything in $%%& it may crashL



LMMS User Manual LMMS Main Window 3!

"he M Saples "ab

A sample is a recorded audio ile o any length. Jou can createyour own sample rom any naturalman-made sound.

&amples are either wa*e or ogg iles.

#he M Saples tab gi*es you easy access to the samplescollection in $%%&.

Jou can do the ollowingE

. 7 you let-click on a sample and hold the button thesample will be highlighted and $%%& will play thesample.

. #o load the sample into Son# $ditor drag-n-drop it withyour mouse into the &ong 5ditor window.

0. #o load it in the Beat)Bassline $ditor double-click onthe sample.

(. When you drop a sample in either editor it will be addedat the bottom o the stack. Jou can easily change this by

dragging the sample to the desired position.1. 7 you drag-n-drop a sample on top o an e:isting

sample in either o the editors it will replace that sampleas a resource. B#he original sample ile is not aected.

). When you drag a sample obser*e the mouse cursorE 7the sample cannot be dropped into any container a

bannedI sign will appear o*er the cursor.

"he M &resets "ab

#he M &resets tab gi*es you easy access to your presets.

Jou can do the ollowingE

. Jou can click-and-hold the mouse on any preset topre*iew it.

CautionE Always sa*e your pro4ect beorepre*iewing any preset Bespecially a V&#igepreset as sometimes this action can crash$%%&L

. #o add a preset to your pro4ect drag-and-drop thepreset to either editor with mouse.

0. #o load a preset in the Beat)Bassline $ditor double-click on it.

(. When you drop a sample in either editor it will be addedto the bottom. Jou can easily change this by draggingthe sample to a desired position.

1. 7 you drag a preset into an e:isting preset in either othe editors it will replace the pre*ious one as resource.B#he preset ile is not aected.

). When you drag a sample obser*e the mouse cursorE 7the sample cannot be dropped into any container a

bannedI sign will appear o*er the cursor.

"he M ;oe "ab

#he M ;oe pane contains shortcuts to speciic olders on your system.

,n Windows /Cs %y Home contains desktop a*orites %yDocuments start user data and W7ND,W&



LMMS User Manual LMMS Main Window 3(

"he M Coputer "ab

#he M Coputer pane pro*ides access to the entire computer including all your disks and partitions. #his is themost generic way to access any resource that is lying anywhere in your computer.





"he Son# $ditor

#he Son# $ditor is the top-le*el window in $%%&. #he other windows contribute to it Bsee $%%& unctional diagram.

7t ser*es the ollowing purposesE

. 7t assembles dierent parts o the song Bsample audio instruments percussionF and also pro*ides musicale:pressions Be.g. tremolo crescendo etc. by *arying the pitch and *olume o all content tracks.

. 7t pro*ides the *isual display o the song and pro*ides direct access to any part o the song.

0. 7t also allows you to mute any part or play it solo.

#he Son# $ditor achie*es all this with the help o our types o tracks as shown belowE

5ach type o track plays its distincti*e roleE

. An instruent trac0 plays a melody using the sound o a musical instrument Be.g. piano *iolin lute or asynthesied sound. Ba separate track is used or each instrument

. A beat trac0 plays a repetiti*e pattern created using se*eral percussion instruments Be.g. drum kitBa separate track is used or each distinct pattern

0. A bassline trac0 plays repetiti*e bassline pattern created using bassline instruments Ba separate track is used or each distinct pattern

(. A saple trac0 plays a recorded sound like an audio player.

Ba gi*en track can contain se*eral audio samples 0

1. An autoation trac0 automates the controls in a instrument beat bassline or sample track.Ba gi*en automation track can control se*eral tracks

B;emember that $%%& also allows you to apply song/global automation directly to any control withoutneeding a separate Autoation track.

A gi*en song may ha*e multiple tracks o each type Bas reGuired.

When you play the song $%%& reads all the tracks at the playhead position and produces the musicE

• 7t renders the notes rom the Instruent tracks

• 7t renders the beats rom the Beat tracks andor the bassline rhythm rom the Bassline tracks

• 7t plays the Saple tracks like an audio player

0 6nderstand the dierence between a sample and a sample track E A sampleI is 4ust a recorded sound in the orm o a compressed or uncompressed ile Bwa*mp0aac etc.. 7t can be used in all three content-type tracks B7nstrument track 3eat3assline track or sample track. A sample track is a specialied track thatcontains Band plays- one or more samples.







LMMS User Manual "he Son# $ditor 3/

• 7t *aries the controls o the content tracks( as deined in the Automation tracksBor in the song/global automation cur*e or any gi*en control

7n the ollowing section we will see how to create edit and render these tracks.

"he Son# $ditor window

As shown abo*e the Son# $ditor window has i*e groups o toolbar buttons B 1 - ( and a tracks area B * .

#he toolbar buttons unction as ollowsE

o. roup Button +unction 1 /lay

record /lay/ause Bwith each click the same button toggles its role

;ecord samples rom an audio de*ice

;ecord samples rom audio de*ice while playing a song in Son# $ditor or a trackrom the Beat)Bassline $ditor .

&top playingrecording

2 Add tracks Add a 3eat3assline track Balso called 00 track I. A 33 track carries the compositesound o multiple instruments Ba typical e:ample is the drum kit which has si:instruments playing together to create a rhythm. 7n addition it may also ha*e thesound o a ew bassline instruments.

Add a sample track.

Add an automation track.

3 %ode Click on the timeline elements o the tracks B * to select them.

• 7n any track only the selected elements contribute to the music. #heunselected elements are ignored.

( Note that while the other tracks actually contribute sound the Automation track contributes its eect on its target controlBs B*olume pan etc.. 5:cept or thisdierence it playsI 4ust like a normal sound track Q at the playhead position.



LMMS User Manual "he Son# $ditor 39

Jou can select and mo*e the bars

! /laybackcontrol

5nabledisable auto-scrolling o the track1

5nabledisable loop points)

When the loops are enabled the button lights up.

,therwise it is grayed out.

#oggles the loop beha*ior betweenE

. When stopped the playhead automatically returns to the start o the track.7 the play is resumed now the playhead 4umps irst to the loop start pointand starts playing rom there.

. When stopped the playhead stays at that place. 7 the play is resumed nowthe playhead continues rom the position where it had paused.

( @oom Controls the horiontal magniication or *iewing the timeline o the track."ipE A much easier way to oom inout is to ho*er the mouse on the track area *

press C#;$ and roll the mousewheel.

Ne:t we will see the tracks in detail.

Wor0in# with trac0s in Son# $ditor 7n this section we will see how to work with the tracks in the Son# $ditor .

Note that the Beat)Bassline $ditor also has tracks that look similar. Howe*er they contain only one instance o a

repetiti*e sound pattern which is then repeated back-to-back in the song. #hereore the tracks in the BB $ditor areedited a little dierently. We will see later how to edit them.

"he structure o8 a tpical trac0

7n this section we will see the eatures that are common or all types o tracks. 7n the ne:t section we will see eaturesthat are uniGue or each type o track.

#he ollowing screenshot shows the irst track with the tie ruler o*er it.

o. Ite +unction

1 Handle Drag the handle with your mouse to mo*e the track upwarddownward in the stack.

1 $%%& shows the playhead position while the track is played. Howe*er once the playhead position goes beyond the right edge o the screen you cannot see what isbeing played. $%%& has auto-scroll mode in which the track is scrolled automatically to keep the currently played position in *iew.

) Jou can orce $%%& to play between two markers Bstart marker end marker placed on the time ruler. Jou can also orce $%%& to play endlessly within this rangeendlesslyE As soon as the playhead reaches the end marker it 4umps back to the start marker and continues to play. B#his is why it is called the “loopI. 7t is typicallyused to re*iew a particular part o the song.



LMMS User Manual "he Son# $ditor !4

o. Ite +unction

2 Actions

Clicking on this button allows you to take the ollowing actions on the trackE

• Clone the track Bcreate an e:act duplicate with all melodies as in the original track

• ;emo*e this track Bits contents are also erased

• Change the %7D7 input and output settings or the track

3 $amps

#here are two lamps Bone green one red or each track. 3oth look black when turned o.

• #he green lamp shows the track is acti*e. Bi.e. its sound is reaching the inal output.3y deault this lamp is ,N in each track Bi.e. all tracks are acti*e by deault.Howe*er you can turn o Bmute any track by clicking on its green lamp.

• #he red lamp allows a track to play soloI by muting all other tracks.3y deault this lamp is ,"" in all tracks. Bi.e. no track is set to play solo.

• ,b*iously more than one tracks cannot play solo. #hus only one red lamp canremain ,N at any gi*en time.

&o when the red lamp o any track is clicked ,N the green lamps in all other tracksturn o automatically Bthis indicates that those tracks are muted by the track playing

solo.

When the red lamp is turned ,"" the green lamps o the other tracks re*ert to theirpre*ious state.

! #rack button

• #he icon identiies the track type B instrument sample sound beat or automation.7n case o instrument tracks it also shows the logo o the instrument plugin.

• Click on the button to launch another window that lets you edit the settingsBonly in case o instrument or sample sound tracks.

• #he name identiies the source. BDouble-click on the button to rename the track

"ipE Always gi*e a suggesti*e name to each track so that you can recognie it Guickly.

( $5D

#he green $5D glows when the playhead crosses the start-point o a note.+

#his is *ery useul when there are multiple tracks in the stack and you want to Guickly locatethe track that is responsible or a particular sound. BRust look or the $5D that glows at thatparticular moment.

#he $5D is also useul in a special caseE 7 the track is muted Bor i another track is playingsolo then sometimes you do not realie what is happening. 3ut a lashing $5D will tell youthat e*erything is well with the track.

* V,$

V,$ controls the *olume o this indi*idual track.

#he *olume can be ad4usted in the range ! Bmute to !! Bma:imum.

#he deault *olume is at the mid-point B!!.

Note that increasing the *olume abo*e !! can cause distortion in the sound.

% /AN

/AN distributes the total sound power between the let and right speakers.

#he /AN can be ad4usted in the range -!! Bull power to the let speaker to <!! Bull powerto the right speaker. #he deault *alue is the mid-point B!Mcenter.

#ime ruler #he gray strip containing / to 12 is called tie ruler because it marks time Bmeasures.

/$oop8 startmarker

#his marker shows the start o the loop.

#his marker can be set anywhere on the time ruler by middle-clicking.

• 6sually it has magneticI beha*iorE 7t will lock to the nearest time tick. Howe*er youcan slide it to any place by pressing C#;$ while you drag it with the %%3.

+ Note that the $5D does N,# glow or the entire duration o the note.

8 Jou can orce $%%& to play between two markers Bstart marker / end marker 14 that are placed on the time ruler. Jou can also orce $%%& to play endlesslywithin this rangeE As soon as the playhead reaches the end marker it 4umps back to the start marker and continues to play. B#his is why it is called a “loop”!. #his isuseul to re*iew a particular part o the song.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_(music)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_(music)




o. Ite +unction

9 /layhead

9

#he marker that shows the current playing position.

7t consists o an in*erted gray triangle and a *ertical pointerI line which spans across alltracks.

• At any gi*en time the playhead could be mo*ing Bwhen $%%& is in play mode orstationary Bwhen $%%& is either pause or stop mode.

• 7n pla mode the playhead mo*es to the right. When this line touches the content oany track $%%& plays it. B&ince the playhead line touches multiple tracks at onceall their contents are played simultaneously.

• Jou can drag the playhead marker with mouse to a new position at any time Be*enwhen $%%& is in play mode.

14$oop endmarker

#his marker shows the end o the loop.

#his marker can be set anywhere on the time ruler by right-clicking.

• 6sually it has magneticI beha*iorE 7t will lock to the nearest time tick. Howe*er youcan slide it to any place by pressing C#;$ while you drag it with the ;%3.

11 #ime tick White *ertical lines that mark the boundary line between measures Bbeats.

12%easurenumber

%easure numbers are marked on the time ruler at regular inter*als.

#he measure number starts with at the beginning o the song.

13 #imeline

#his part o the track shows contents visually Bbut not as a graph against time plotted on :-a:is. #he time a:is is displayed in terms o measures Bshown as gray bo:es.

#he measures are grouped in ours and shaded in lightdark gray. #his acilitates counting.

1! 5lement

When a track is launched it is blank Bit has no contents. &o the irst thing we do is to placecontent on the track.

Howe*er $%%& does not allow us to write contents directly on any trackE #he content has tobe placed on a placeholder called elementI!.

#he elements can be resied Bwidened mo*ed anywhere 1ithin the track cloned Balongwith the contents and deleted Balong with the contents. Jou can edit the content o anyelement any time.

All the our types o tracks Binstrument beatbassline sample automation use nearlyidentical elements. ,nly their appearance is dierentF not the beha*ior.

A track does not contribute to the song during the periods when there is no element on itstimeline.

#he contents o an element may e:tend beyond the boundary o the element. Howe*er$%%& ignores such content. 7 you e:pand the element to e:pose the hidden part o the

content it becomes acti*e again.

Wor0in# with an eleent

#he ollowing table shows how to work with an element. B#his section e:plains what is common amongst elements oall tracks. #he track-speciic nature o elements will be e:plained later.

9 #he name may be deri*ed rom tape-recording era where a magnetic headI records the audio signal on tape Band plays it back.

! #his is some1hat like using stickers on the ridge door to write messages BWe never write directly on the ridge door.

7 the message is long we use a larger sticker. We can mo*e stickers around Bto make better sense out o the messages written on them. We can discard anysticker. We can copy the message rom one sticker to a new one and edit it.




"as0 7etails

7nserting an elementin the track

&elect the insertion point or the element on the timeline 13 o the track. BJou can reerto the measure numbers 12 .

,nce you ind the measure at which the element is to be placed click on it.

7nitially the measure itsel seems to turn black or blue Bdepending on the track type.Howe*er in reality $%%& has placed the element on top o that measureF and so the

track is hidden below it.

Creating5diting thecontents o anelement

Double-click on any element. Depending on the track type $%%& pops up the rele*anteditor window and loads the current contents Bi any o the element in it.

• #he Instruent elements get edited in the &iano 'oll $ditor .

• #he Beat and Bassline elements get edited in the Beat)Bassline $ditor .

• #he Autoation elements get edited in the Autoation $ditor .

&o now we ha*e two editor windows running togetherE #he Son# $ditor and one othereditor. Jou can createedit the element contents in that other editor window.

• All changes are instantly relected in the element Bin the Son# $ditor .

• When you ha*e inished simply close the other editor window Bthere are no Sa6eor ?5 buttons. Closing the other editor does not aect the contents o theelement.

• 7n case o instruent track i you add more contents to the right the elementwidens automatically. Howe*er the elements o all other types o tracks do note:pand automaticallyE #hey ha*e to be resied manually.

Notice that we did not talk about the saple track because $%%& does not pro*ide anyeditor window to edit samples. Jou can only insert an audio ile in the element. A double-click on the element will pop up a ?pen audio 8ile window. Rust browse through your ilesystem and select an audio ile Bwa* mp0 aac etc. Alternati*ely 4ust drag-n-drop anaudio ile rom e:plorer onto the element.

;esiing theelement

Note that the content o an element playsI only or the duration o the element. 7 thecontent stretches beyond the right edge o the element that part will be 4ust ignored Bitdoes not contribute to the song at all. Howe*er i you e:pand the element the contentbecomes acti*e again and contributes to the song.

Jou can use this trick to create some content and then hide it away by making theelement smaller.

#o resie an element drag its right edge.

While you drag the edge the mouse pointer turns in adouble-arrow and $%%& shows a tooltip to let us know theollowingE

. #he duration o the element

. #he start-point o the element on the track

0. #he end-point o the element on the track.Ball igures are in terms o measuresF not seconds.

3y deault the edge snaps to the boundary betweenmeasures. #o inely ad4ust its position press C#;$ whiledragging.

As noted elsewhere e*en the automation track playsI in real time Bi.e. has eect on some control o a content track

Did you notice that we used C#;$ twice in a single drag operation= #he irst time was to copy an element and the second time to o*errule the snap-to-measure.




"as0 7etails

%o*ing theelements

5ach element can be indi*idually mo*ed to a new location 1ithin the track.

Drag the elements horiontally within the track. As you startdragging the cursor turns into a four/arro1s symbol.

$%%& also shows the current position o the elementthrough a tooltip. 7n this e:ample the tooltip shows that the

element has reached )th measure rom the start-point othe song.

;elease $%3 when the element is placed correctly.

• 3y deault the elements ha*e magneticI beha*ior when they are mo*edE theysnap to the measures. Howe*er i you want to place the element somewherebetween measures press C#;$ after you start dragging the element. B7 yourelease C#;$ the element will again e:hibit magneticI beha*ior.

• When you are dragging an element its mo*ement is not blocked by the ad4acentelementsE Jou can drag the element across the neighboring elements.

• Jou can mo*e an element to o*erlap it with another element partly or ully. $%%&

plays both elements simultaneously in the o*erlapped part.

• Jou cannot mo*e an element to another track by dragging Be*en i the targettrack is o the same type. #o mo*e an element to another target track use theconte:t menu o the element.

Copying Bcloningelements

&ometimes you need copy o your music Bor an automation eect at another place in thesong. Jou can achie*e this by creating a copy o an element and then mo*ing the copy toanother spot in the song.

#o create a copy o an element irst press C#;$ and then drag the element.0

As you drag $%%& shows a large image o the element as a

tooltip with o*erlay as shown in this e:ample. #he mouse

pointer shows where this copy would be pasted.

• ,nce you start dragging you can release C#;$.

;elease $%3 when the copy o the element is positioned correctly.

#he copy o the element always snaps to a measure. Jou may ha*e to ine-tune itsposition by pressing C#;$ while you drag it(.

• Jou cannot copy an element to another track by C#;$<dragging Be*en i thetarget track is o the same type. #o copy an element to another target track usethe conte:t menu o the element.

Deleting elements %iddle-click on an element to delete it. #he element *anishes and the blank track belowit is re*ealed.

Note that when an element is deleted the content placed on it is remo*ed only rom thetrackF but the ile is not deleted rom the disk.

Note that an entire element always gets deleted as a single unit Byou cannot selecti*elysnip away parts o an element Q Jou will ha*e to edit the contents o the element asdescribed below..

#his completes the common description o all types o tracks.

Ne:t we will see the uniGue properties o each type o track. ?eep in mind that e:cept or these uniGue properties all

types o tracks beha*e identically as described abo*e.

0 7 you drag the element irst and then press the C#;$ key you will enter the fine/placement mode. &o remember to press the C#;$ key irst and only then startdragging.

( Did you notice that we used C#;$ twice in a single drag operation= #he irst time was to copy an element and the second time to o*errule the snap-to-measure.



LMMS User Manual "he Son# $ditor !!

Wor0in# with Instruent trac0s

#his type o track contains melodies created using sampled sounds o real-lie instruments Bsuch as piano guitar*iolin trumpet lute oboe harp sa:ophone etc. or synthesied sound that does not match any real-lie musicalinstrument Be.g. 3it7n*ader Vibed #riple,scillator @ynAdd&ub"> etc.

5ach instrument has its own separate track.

Here are the uniGue operations in instrument tracksE

"as0 7etails

Creating a newtrack

#o create an instrument track click on the Instruent &lu#ins or M presets button inthe &ide 3ar and drag an item to the Son# $ditor . $%%& shows a new track or thatinstrument or preset.

• 7 you ha*e the recorded sound o a real-lie musical instrument 1 in the orm oan audio ile Bwa* mp0 ogg etc select that ile rom the &ide 3ar and drag-n-drop in the Son# $ditor . $%%& automatically launches a plugin called Audio"ile/rocessor and loads the *oice sample ile in it. $%%& also creates anew track where the Audio"ile/rocessor plugin acts as an instrument with yoursample sound.

•7 you ha*e recorded sound o a musical instrument in the orm o &ound"ont or26& patches $%%& has S+2 and &atan plugins to play these patches.

#o use the patches irst open the Instruent plu#ins tab o the &ide 3ar anddrag-n-drop the correct type o plugin into the Son# $ditor . $%%& creates a newtrack with the selected plugin. Now click on the instrument panel to open theinstrument window and load the patch ile in it.

• 7 you want to create a track with a synthesied *oice 4ust drag its synthesierplugin rom the &ide 3ar into the Son# $ditor . $%%& creates a new track withthat synthesier as instrument.

#he new track does not ha*e any musical contentE Jou ha*e to irst add a blank elementin the track and then double-click on it to add content using the &iano 'oll $ditor .

• 7t is usual to ine-tune the instrument irst so that its sound suits your taste.Jou may like to sa*e the new sound as a preset so that you can reuse it laterBand in other pro4ects as well.

• When a new 7nstrument track is added it is always named TDeault-presetU. Jouha*e to rename the track ater the instrument that is actually used in it Be.g.pianoI celloI etc..

7 you plan to use multiple instruments o the same type Be.g. two lutes in thesong use a numerical sui: to identiy them Be.g. "lute23 and "lute24 .

7nserting notes in amulti-measurestretch

Double-click on any element in the Son# $ditor . #hat element is opened in the &iano'oll $ditor which re*eals our consecuti*e measures). Jou can drag the right-handedge o the &iano 'oll $ditor window to re*eal e*en more measures. Jou can insertnotes in as many measures as you want rather than inserting notes in one measure at atime.

As soon as you insert a note in the ad4acent measure the element e:pands automaticallyby one measure in the Son# $ditor and your new note appears instantly on the element

as a thin orange line like thisE .

As you enter new notes in the ad4acent measures the element goes on e:panding.

When you ha*e inished you can saely close the &iano 'oll $ditor window withoutlosing the contents.

• Although an element spans o*er multiple measures it is always a single unitE 7tcan be mo*ed copied or deleted as a single piece.

• Jou can create any number o elements in the instrument track.

• 7 you skip some measures in the &iano $ditor and insert a note in the

1 #o create a note out o a recorded sound the sample sound must be o short duration. 7 you ha*e a long recording o the target instrument irst prepare a shortsample out o that long track using a audio editor Bsuch as Audacity.

) Note that the display o &iano 'oll $ditor always shows the measure numbers rom the starting point o the element F not the absolute measure number rom thestarting o the song L



LMMS User Manual "he Son# $ditor !(

"as0 7etails

subseGuent measure all those skipped measures are treated as part o the sameelement in the Son# $ditor .

7n an e:periment while composing the melody in the &iano 'oll$ditor we deliberately skipped two measures to see what happensin the Son# $ditor .

#he Son# $ditor shows this as a single 1-measure elementF insteado showing two separate elements on both sides o the blankmeasures.

Changing the pluginin a track

Well actually $%%& does not allow you to change the instrument plugin in a gi*en track.

"or e:ample assume that you ha*e a track with #riple,scillator as the instrument andyou want to use piano sound Busing the &" /layer plugin. 3ut $%%& does not ha*e thisacility.

Howe*er you can switch the plugin indirectlyE "irst launch another track with the desiredinstrument plugin. #hen copy-and-paste all elements+ Bone by one rom the old track to

the new track. "inally delete the old track.

Usin# the instruent trac0 to pla an audio trac0 with pitchshi8t

Jou can use an instrument track to play an entire audio ile.

6sually a sample track is used or this purpose Bsee the ne:t section but the instrument track is more suited i youwant to change the pitch o the audio track or i you want to automate its pitch.

#o use this mode drag-and-drop the audio track into the Son# $ditor window. #his is the same process that wedescribed beore but with some critical dierencesE

. ,ur audio ile is the ull-length sound trackF not a short-duration sample.

. We will not compose music by inserting multiple notes that are created by shiting the base note to dierentpitches. Here we insert a single note that lasts or the entire duration o the audio track B( to ! minutesL

0. We will also shit its pitch by mo*ing the single note upward Bor downward.

$%%& changes the pitch by *arying the speed at which it goes through the track. #hus a higher pitch meansaster playback and a lower pitch means slower playback 8.

7 the pitch is shited too high a normal speech sounds like Donald Duck and the pauses between wordsalmost *anish. ,n the other hand i the pitch is lowered too much it becomes a growl and the pausesbetween the words become *ery long.

#hereore unless you intend to produce a comic or horror sound eect limit the pitch-shit to a couple osemitones only.

&o suppose we do N,# want to change the pitch. #hen where do we insert the note so that it will sound natural=

+ "or each element you ha*e to use the conte:t menu twiceE irst to copy the element on the clipboard and then to paste it rom the clipboard on the target track.

8 And thereore a change o pitch changes the o*erall playback time o the track Bor e:ample i the track is played aster it gets inished soonerF thus reducing theplay time. #his means that the single note that you insert to represent the entire audio track will ha*e to be ad4usted in length. $%%& does not ha*e a direct methodEJou ha*e to play the track to ind where it ends and ad4ust the note's length. Note that e*en i you lea*e the note too long it does not cause any harmE the remainingpart o the note will playI silence. Howe*er i your note is too short the track will not play back ully Bsome o the end portion will be cut o.



LMMS User Manual "he Son# $ditor !*

Well there is a trick to ind thisE

Click on the track button o the Audio+ile&rocessor plugin to open itsInstruent window and look or a green marker at the bottom o thewindow Babo*e the piano keyboard.

7n our e:ample the marker is at A1.

#his means that you must insert an A1 note in the &iano 'oll $ditor to preser*e the natural pitch o the recorded audio.

7 you place the note at 31 the pitch o the audio track will be raisedby one tone. &imilarly i you place the note at 2( the pitch o theaudio track will be lowered by one tone.

Note that the marker in the instruent window is placed arbitrarilyEJou can change its position without aecting the actual pitch o theaudio. ,nce you shit the marker to a new position that new positionbecomes the new reerence.

&o or e:ample i you place the marker at 30 then we will ha*e toinsert this track at 30 in the &iano 'oll $ditor to get a natural-sounding playback o the track.

Wor0in# with saple trac0s

#he sample track contains recorded sound such as recordings o singers and chorus instruments playing a melodyline9 or sampled sounds Bsuch as ocean wa*es thunder rain car engine clops a scream etc..

&ample tracks are the simplest type o track because they only ha*e a *olume control and an eects chain.

$%%& simply plays this track like an audio playerE 7t does not render this track using a wa*etable. Neither is it awareIo the musical contents o the track Be.g. about its pitch tempo or pan.

Here are the operations that are speciic to sample tracksE

"as0 7etails

Creating a newtrack #o launch a new &ample track click on the button in the toolbar o the Son# $ditor .

• #he new track does not ha*e any musical contentE Jou ha*e to add one or moreaudio ileBs at dierent places in the track.

• When a new sample track is added it is always named T&ample trackU. Jou ha*eto rename the track ater the actual audio ileBs it playsBe.g. $ead singerI ChorusI thunderI etc..

9 #his is not treated as 7nstrument track because in the 7nstrument track $%%& creates notes using the instrument's unitI sound. 3ut here $%%& treats the soundo instrument like any random sound Bit is not awareI o what is being played.



LMMS User Manual "he Son# $ditor !%

7nserting asample in a track

#he task beore us is to play an audio ile between precisely chosen startI and stopImoments during the song.

#o do this we insert an element that starts at the desired point o time and lasts till thestopI point. #hen we place the desired audio ile on that element.

When we insert an element in the track $%%& also pops up the ?pen Audio 8ile dialogbo: which lets you browse in your computer and locate the correct audio ile. ,nce youlocate the right ile click on the ?pen button.

Note that the audio wa*eorm is displayed only or the irst ew seconds like thisE

. B#he remaining part o the track is shown with a green lat line e*en when

audio content is present in the track.

• Jou can place multiple elements Beach with a dierent audio ile on the samesample track as shown belowE

7 some elements o*erlap they will play simultaneously.

• Jou can also use a separate sample track or each audio ile.

B#his igure shows the same content spread o*er multiple tracks

5diting thecontents

$%%& cannot edit this track at all Be.g. trimmingslicing or scaling it to it with the bars inyour music. Jou ha*e to edit the track beorehand using an audio editor Be.g. Audacity.

Wor0in# with BeatFBassline trac0s

#he purpose o the beatbassline track is to repeatedly play a rhythmic pattern that is typically one measure long.

#he elements in a 3eat3assline track deine the durations during which a speciic beatbassline pattern is to beplayed. #he 3eat3assline track contains repetiti*e Brhythmic pattern. #hereore when you e:pand its element thee:panded part o the element will be illed up with the same pattern. BJou cannot e:tend the instrument tracks in asimilar way because they do not ha*e a repetiti*e pattern.

• 7 your song has our dierent beat patterns $%%& will ha*e our dierent beatbassline tracks to play them.

5ach beatbassline track plays a composite sound composed o multiple beat andor bassline instruments. "ore:ample a beatbassline track can contain the sound o si: percussion instruments o a drum kit. Anotherbeatbassline track can ha*e a combined sound o -0 bassline instruments.

"urther these beatsbassline tracks may ha*e automation applied to their controls.

Here are the operations that are speciic to the 3eat3assline tracksE

"as0 7etails

Creating a newtrack #o launch a new &ample track click on the button in the toolbar o the Son# $ditor

or the Beat)Bassline $ditor .

• #he new track does not ha*e any musical contentE Jou ha*e to compose therhythm in the Beat)Bassline $ditor .

• A BeatFBassline track can play only one rhythm. 7 your song uses three dierentrhythms you will ha*e to insert three BeatFBassline tracks in the Son# $ditor and compose three separate rhythms in the Beat)Bassline $ditor indi*idually.

• When a new 0eat50assline track is added it is always named T0eat50assline

track -U where - is a running number starting with !. Jou ha*e to rename thetrackF typically based on the placement o the rhythm Be.g. %ainI crosso*erIrepeatI slowI etc..

7nserting rhythms ina song

#he rhythm is actually composed in the Beat)Bassline $ditor which we will see later ."or now we will assume that all the rhythms are already created and ocus on what todo in the Son# $ditor .

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/





LMMS User Manual "he Son# $ditor !/

A typical song has multiple 3eat3assline tracks. We want to start each rhythm at aspeciic time play it or a speciic duration and then switch to another rhythm track.

#o do this we use the Son# $ditor and insert elements in the desired 3eatbasslinetrack. We also resie each element so that it plays its track or the reGuired duration asshown in the e:ample belowE

How would these tracks playE

Notice that in this e:ample none o the tracks has any element in the irst measure.#hereore none o the three 33 tracks is playing during this measure. As a result oure:ample song remains silent in its irst measure. Ater that the irst track plays or twomeasures. #hen the second track plays or two measures. #hen the third track plays orthree measures. #hen the irst track again plays or si: measures. And so on...

/laying multiplerhythms together

7n the abo*e e:ample at any gi*en time only one 33 track has content. 7n other wordsonly one 33 track contributes sound at a time and the rest are silent.

Howe*er sometimes multiple 33 tracks contribute simultaneously.

A typical application is to play a *ariation rhythm periodically as shown below.

#he Hi-Hat sounds only during some time creating a *ariation. #his e:ample shows thesong ending with only a Hi-Hat sound Bwithout the main rhythm.

Wor0in# with autoation trac0s

#he automation track contains the property *s timeI control cur*e or one or more target controls.

3eore using automation in your song plan it thoroughly.

. Which sound needs what eectE tremolo *ibrato crescendo pan sweep etc.BAdd automation only when it makes musical sense.

. #he start time and duration o each eect.

0. Whether you will need a hand-drawn automation cur*e or a $", controller.

(. Whether you will use the song-global option or use an automation track.

3ased on this analysis you will know how many automation tracks Band also how many $", controllers are neededin your song.

Note that the rhythm composed in the Beat)Bassline $ditor is 4ust one measure longF and it is repeated in eachmeasure o the song. #hus i you apply automation to this repetiti*e pattern the automation also gets repeated ineach measure.

7n contrast automation applied to the tracks in the Son# $ditor does not get repeated.

Here are the tasks that are speciic to the automation trackE

"as0 7etails

Creating a newtrack #o launch a new Automation track click on the button in the toolbar o the Son#

$ditor .

•

When an automation track is launched it has no automation cur*e in it. Jou ha*e tofirst associate each cur*e to a control located in an instrumentsample track 0! andthen draw an automation cur*e.

• When you add any track in the Son# $ditor it is always placed at the bottom o thestack. #he automation cur*e too ollows this rule. Howe*er it is a good practice toplace an automation track 4ust below the track it automates.

0! $%%& sets the y-a:is o the automation cur*e automatically based on the selected control.




• When a new Automation track is added it is always gi*en a dummy nameT 6utomation track U. Jou ha*e to rename the trackF typically based on which controlo which track is being automated B/iano-/anI #hunder-VolumeI etc..

Creating anautomation cur*eor a control

Here is the step-by-step processE

. /ress C#;$ and then drag the target control Bi.e. the control that you want to *aryusing this automation cur*e.

Drag it to the automation track.

At this moment the mouse pointer looks like this Ba large image othe dragged control with a < o*erlay.

• ,nce you start mo*ing the mouse you can release C#;$.

"ind the measure block where you want to start the automation andrelease $%3.

$%%& creates an element in the automation track0.

. Now draw the cur*e in the Autoation $ditor window.

#he Son# $ditor relects the latest shape o the automation cur*e in real time

.

;epeat steps - to automate the other controls as well. 5ach time the Autoation $ditorimmediately switches to the new element.

When you ha*e inished you can saely close the Autoation $ditor window withoutlosing the contents.

Jou ha*e the option o using a single automation track or all elements or using a separateautomation track or each control.

"he Conte-t enus in Son# $ditor

Jou can access se*eral special unctions by right-clicking on any o the elements. BNote that the bare tracks do notha*e any conte:t menus.

#he conte:t menu is dierent or the element o each track type.

Conte-t enu 8or Instruent trac0 eleent

,pen in piano-roll ,pens the track in &iano 'oll $ditor .

0 #his is the only track where the element is N,# created by double-clicking on the track. #he reason is each control has a dierent set o possible *alues. "ore:ample a *olume control has the range o B! to !! with a deault *alue o !!F whereas the /AN control has the range B-!! to <!! with the deault *alue o !.#hus we cannot create an automation cur*e beore selecting the target control.



LMMS User Manual "he Son# $ditor (4

Delete Delete the element Bsame as clicking the %%3

Cut ;emo*e the element rom track and place its contents on clipboard

Copy Copy the element into clipboard Bthe original element is not aected

/aste /aste the element rom the clipboard B#he original element is o*erwritten. Joucannot paste an element on bare trackE only on another element 0.

• Note that you can paste an element into another track Bonly i it is ocompatible type

%ute %ute this element Bthe other elements on that track are still acti*e

6nmute 6nmute this element Bi muted pre*iously

Clear all notes Clear all notes on the element. #he element is reduced to one measure durationbut is not deleted rom the track.

;eset name ;esets the label on the element Bnow the name on it is the same as the track'sname.

Change name Change the label that appears on the element when you see the track. 5achelement can ha*e its own label. B&o i a track has multiple elements they can ha*edierent labels.

"reee00 $%%& pre-processes the content o the element and plays it directly. #his lessensthe load on the C/6. 7 you change the contents o a roen track it will not takeeect until you unreee it.

When a track is roen $%%& puts a blue outline around it and places a ice-lakeicon on the let side o the track.

6nreee $et $%%& process the track normally.

;ereee %omentarily unreee the track incorporate the changes and re-reee it.

Add steps Adds the speciied number o steps to the duration.

;emo*e steps ;emo*es the speciied number o steps to the duration. BJou cannot reduce theduration below ) steps.

Conte-t enu 8or Beat trac0 eleent

,pen in3eat<3assline 5ditor

,pens the element in the BB $ditor instead o in the &iano 'oll $ditor .


0 #hus beore pasting an element you must create a blank new element at the target position and then paste the content o the clipboard.

00 7 another track is set to solo mode this item is suppressed rom the conte:t menu.






/aste /aste the element rom the clipboard B#he original element is o*erwritten. Joucannot paste an element on bare trackE only on another element 0(.

• Note that you can paste an element into another track Bonly i it is o

compatible type





Change color Jou can change the color o any particular element. #his allows you to attractattention etc.

Conte-t enu 8or Saple trac0 eleent




/aste /aste the element rom the clipboard B#he original element is o*erwritten. Joucannot paste an element on bare trackE only on another element 01.




&et record

Clear record

0( #hus beore pasting an element you must create a blank new element at the target position and then paste the content o the clipboard.

01 #hus beore pasting an element you must create a blank new element at the target position and then paste the content o the clipboard.




Conte-t enu 8or Autoation trac0 eleent

,pen in Autoation$ditor

,pen the editor in automation editor window Bor editing the cur*e. Note that youcan create an automation cur*e that is longer than the element but the rest o itwill not be acti*e.




/aste /aste the element rom the clipboard B#he original element is o*erwritten. Joucannot paste an element on bare trackE only on another element 0).




Clear Clear o the automation data Bthe target control will not be automated any more



0) #hus beore pasting an element you must create a blank new element at the target position and then paste the content o the clipboard.



"he &iano 'oll $ditor

#he piano roll editor creates and edits notes or melody- and bassline tracks. #hese notes can be placed in(nstrument tracks Bplaced in the Son# $ditor and 0assline tracks Bplaced in the Beat)Bassline $ditor . #hus the&iano 'oll $ditor ser*es as a tool or the editorsF and that is why it is not mentioned directly in the $%%& unctionaldiagram.

Jou can launch the &iano 'oll $ditor by any one o the ollowing methodsE

• 7n the Son# $ditor double-click on the timeline o any7nstrument track.

• 7n the BB $ditor double-click on any step or the barin any /attern track.

"he &iano 'oll $ditor Inter8ace

oteE $%%& also allows you to launch a stand-aloneI &iano 'oll $ditor by clicking on the button in the maintool bar. Howe*er this is o no use because the 5ditor is not associated with any track. #hereore use thisbutton only to turn the &iano 'oll $ditor ono after it is launched rom a 7nstrument3assline track.

#he ollowing table gi*es a brie introduction o each part. We will discuss each part in more details later.



LMMS User Manual "he &iano 'oll $ditor (!

o. roup Button 5eboardshortcut

+unction

1 /lay record

&pacebar /lays the notes starting rom the playhead marker .

/ressing the space bar again toggles the $%%& into pause mode.

;ecord sound captured rom an e:ternal source a %7D7 keyboardconnected to your computer or notes played in $%%& using yourcomputer's keyboard.

;ecord samples rom audio de*ice while playing a song in Son#$ditor or a track rom the Beat)Bassline $ditor .

&pacebar &top playingrecording

2 5dit #his multipurpose tool can do almost all operations on the notesE

7t can create resie mo*e delete and select notes.

Deletes the notes.

Draws a selection rectangle to select multiple notes.

Automates a note Bthis is also called detuning a noteI

3 Clipboard C#;$<> Cut to clipboard

C#;$<C Copy to clipboard Boriginal is not aected

C#;$<V /aste rom clipboard.



LMMS User Manual "he &iano 'oll $ditor ((


+unction

! /layhead 5nabledisable auto-scrolling o the track0+

5nabledisable loop points08

When the loops are enabled the button lights up.,therwise it is grayed out.

#oggles the loop beha*ior betweenE

. When stopped the playhead automatically returns to thestart o the track. 7 the play is resumed now the playhead 4umps irst to the loop start point and starts playing romthere.

. When stopped the playhead stays at that place. 7 theplay is resumed now the playhead continues rom theposition where it had paused.

( @oom Change horiontal oom actor.

* Suantisation Change the Guantiation Be:plained on ne:t page.

% Note length Controls the length o the note that would be created with thepencil tool.

/arts that are not on the toolbar work as ollowsE

o. Ite +unction

/ /iano keys

Clicking on a piano key plays the note with the selected instrumentsample.#his is useul to check out the sound09.

7t also ser*es as *isual reerence and helps you enter the correct notes in the otes paneB 9 .

Although the keyboard is 9 octa*e long $%%& shows /iano keys or two octa*es(!. &crollupdown to see the other keys.

#he C key o each octa*e is marked BC! to C8 or reerence.

9 Notes pane

#his is the heart o the /iano ;oll 5ditorE All notes are composed in this pane.

#his pane is permanently synchronied with the &iano 0es pane B / in vertical directionBi you scroll either the &iano 0es pane or the otes pane updown the other pane alsoscrolls by eGual amount.

#his pane is also permanently synchronied with the ote 6olueFpan pane B 14 inhori7ontal direction Bi you scroll either the ote 6olueFpan pane or the otes paneletright the other pane also scrolls by eGual amount.

14Note*olumepan

Jou can ad4ust the volume and pan properties o each indi*idual note in this pane.

#he rectangle 14a is actually a toggle switchE Clicking on it toggles the display inpane 14b between ote 6olue and ote pan.

Now we will discuss some o these parts in more detail.

0+ $%%& shows the playhead position while the track is played Howe*er once the playhead position goes beyond the right edge o the screen you cannot see it Bi.e.what is being played. $%%& has auto-scroll mode in which the track is scrolled automatically to keep the currently played part o the track in *iew.

08 Jou can orce $%%& to play between two markers Bstart end placed on the time ruler. Jou can also orce $%%& to play endlessly within this rangeE As soon as theplayhead reaches the end marker it 4umps back to the start marker and continues to play. B#his is why it is called a “loop”!. #his is useul to re*iew a particular parto the music.

09 Hold the key down to play the note or a longer time. #his is useul when the instrument's sound characteristics changes with time Be.g. in a &itar or has a decayBdying o the note.

(! #wo octa*es are suicient or most musical pieces.



LMMS User Manual "he &iano 'oll $ditor (*

$ditin# "oolbar buttons

#he pencil tool B is a multipurpose tool that allows you to create mo*e resie and delete notesE

+unction 7etails

Create a note With the pencil tool selected ho*er the mouse in the notes pane 9 .

A horiontal gray line appears at the tip o the mouse pointer.#his line points to a /iano key Bhere C0. %o*e the pointerupdown to the note you want. %o*e it horiontally to place itcorrectly on the time a:is.

,nce you ind the correct Btime' note coordinates click tocreate the note at that spot.

A green bar appears representing the note.

#he length o this new note is determined by the *alue selected in the ote Len#th control B

. 3y deault this control is set to copy the length o the last note createdor edited but you can also set it to any preset *alue Ba whole note hal note Guarter noteeighth note etc.

/lay a note With the pencil tool selected click on a note Bbar. $%%& will play that note.

%o*e a note With the pencil tool selected drag any part o the note e:cept the right edge Bend-point.

#he pointer changes to our-arrows. #he note turns blue Bbecause itis selected.

• Jou can drag a note *ertically to change its pitch or horiontally to change its starttime or both.

• As you drag the note horiontally it mo*es in incremental steps. #he sie o this

step is decided by the DuantiGation control B

;e-sie a note With the pencil tool selected ho*er the mouse o*er the right-edge o the note bar.

#he pointer turns into a horiontal double arrow.

Now click and drag the mouse horiontally to mo*e the right edge.When you get the desired length release $%3.

#he start-point Bi.e. the let edge o the bar remains unmo*ed.

• As you drag the right-edge horiontally the length o the bar increases inincremental steps. #he sie o this step is decided by the Duantisation control B

• Note that only the right-edge can be dragged independently. Jou cannot drag thelet-edge in a similar manner. #o achie*e that end-result you ha*e to ollow a two-step processE "irst mo*e the entire bar to its new position and then resie it to bringthe right-edge to its original position.



LMMS User Manual "he &iano 'oll $ditor (%

+unction 7etails

Delete notes With the pencil tool selected right/click on any note to delete it.

B/ressing ;%3 turns the &encil tool into $raser tool.

• #o erase multiple notes press the ;%3 and drag the mouse across the notes to beerased. ;elease ;%3 when done.

&electingmultiple notes

With the pencil tool selected press C#;$ to turn it into &elect tool .

When you release C#;$ the tool turns into pencil tool once again. Now drag any one o thenotes and the entire selection mo*es as a group.

#his trick lets you select multiple notes and mo*e them easily.

Duplicate anoteselection

With the pencil tool selected drag the selected noteBs while pressing &H"#.

#his mo*es a copy o the selection. #he original notes are not aected.

#he eraser tool B lets you delete a note by let-clicking on it. #o erase multiple notes press the $%3 and drag the

mouse across the notes to be erased. ;elease $%3 when done.

(

As discussed abo*e the :uantisation Selector B deines the horiontal step-sie when either theentire note is mo*ed or when the note is re-sied Bi.e. when the right edge o a note is mo*ed. 7 you change theGuantiation *alue the e:isting notes are not aected. Howe*er i you edit an e:isting note Be.g. change its position orits length the current Guantiation settings will apply to that note.

#he select tool selects multiple notes. B7n act that's the only thing it can do(. Ater clicking on this tool click on

the otes pane B 9 and without releasing the $%3 draw a rectangular area. As you drag the mouse a blue rectangleappears on the pane Bsee the let screenshot below. 7 this rectangle co*ers any part o a note it will be selected. #heselected notes turn blue Bsee the right screenshot below.

Jou can then mo*e the entire selection by clicking on the &encil tool and dragging any one o the selected notes.

Jou can mo*e the selected notes along the time Bhoriontal a:is andor the pitch B*ertical a:isE

• %o*ing the selection let mo*es it to an earlierI position on the time a:is. %o*ing it to right mo*es it to a laterI

position on the time a:is.• %o*ing the selection up increases the pitch. %o*ing it down decreases the pitch.

Clipboard toolbar buttons

NotesE

• #he /encil tool can drag the selection to a new location only 1ithin the bar. Howe*er it cannot drag theselection into another B-e*en the neighboring- bar. 7 you want to mo*e the selection to another bar you mustuse the cut5copy/and/paste methodE "irst cutcopy the selection rom the sourceI bar into clipboard. Ne:tload the target bar in &iano 'oll $ditor . Now paste the contents o the clipboard in the targetI bar.

• #he selection is always pasted at the beginning o the target bar regardless o its position in the source bar.&o ater pasting the clipboard contents into the target bar you may ha*e to mo*e the selection to its desiredposition.

( #he eraser toolbar button is redundenat because when the pencil tool is selected a right/click turns it into $raser tool.

( #he &elect toolbar button also is redundant because the /encil tool turns into &election tool as long as C#;$ is pressed. 7n act it is aster to use the /encil toolwith modiier keys rather than selecting dierent tools rom the toolbar.



LMMS User Manual "he &iano 'oll $ditor (/

#o do this 4ust select the pencil tool and drag any note rom the selection to the desired place. #he entireselection mo*es as a single group. B5*en ater you paste the selection the notes remain selected. &o youdon't ha*e to select the pasted notes again.

ote Len#th

#he current note length setting is displayed.

3y deault $%%& selects the Last ote optionF so i you create a new note its deault length will be same as the lastnote that was created or edited(0.

Jou can also select any other *alue rom the drop-down menu.

ote pane

Jou can also control the oom le*el by holding down the 8trl key and rolling the mouse wheel up or down.

ote @olue

$%%& allows you to control the *olume o each indi*idual note so that you can create keyboard e:pression.

$%%& can record the note volume inormation i you are recording rom a %7D7 keyboard that is capable o keyboarde:pression.

Howe*er notes created with the other methods ha*e the same deault loudness. #o add e:pressions you will ha*e toad4ust the loudness o these indi*idual notes. #he ote @olue pane B 14a < 14b allow you to do this as ollowsE

When you add a new note in the otes pane B 9 $%%&automatically adds a green *ertical bar representing its *olume in theote @olue pane B 14b as shown at right.

Jou can drag the orange tip o this *olume bar to ad4ust the note's*olume. BA taller bar means a louder note.

As you drag the dot $%%& plays the note so that you can preciselytune the note's *olume.

7nstead o dragging the dot you can 4ust click abo*ebelow the dot toachie*e the same eect.

While ad4usting the *olume *isually check the *olume in the Master*olume meters in the +,Mi-er window. #ake care that the bars donot reach the red one Botherwise the sound will be distorted.

7n the otes pane B 9 $%%& changes the transparency o thenote's bar to relect the *olumeE #he soter notes becometransparent and louder notes are shown in bright green.

7n this e:ample the irst note has deault *olume. Note how thetransparency is changed to relect the *olumeE #he second note isalmost in*isible because its *olume is *ery lowL

(0 #his is an interesting twistE 5*en i you edit the duration o any note any1here in the notes area $%%& copies that latest *alue and applies it here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_expression










LMMS User Manual "he &iano 'oll $ditor (9

ote &annin#

When you add a new note in the otes pane B 9 $%%&automatically adds an orange dot in the center o the ote pannin#pane B 14b .

#his signiies that the note is e:actly centeredI in the stereo ieldBi.e. played with eGual loudness rom the let and right speakers.

#o change the pan property o this note drag the dot up Bwhich gi*esmore sound rom the right speaker or down Bwhich gi*es moresound rom the let speaker.

Now the dot turns into an orange line. #he arther you drag it romthe center the more o-centerI the note sounds.

7nstead o dragging the dot you can 4ust click abo*ebelow the dot toachie*e the same eect.

As shown in the three e:amples at right $%%& shows a colorgradient in the note's bar to relect the panningE #he brighter greenside shows the louder side Blet or right. Compare the green gradientin the notes with the direction o their pan lines.

As you drag the dot $%%& plays the note so that you can ad4ust thenote's panning to your liking.

Jou can also *isually check the panning in the Master *olume meter

in the +,Mi-er window. #ake care that the higher bar does notreach the red one Botherwise the sound will be distorted.

Coposin# in the &iano 'oll $ditor &o ar we saw how the controls o the /iano ;oll 5ditor work indi*idually. Now we will see how to use them during theactual process o composition.

3eore we see the actual composition techniGues a word to the wiseE Save often9

When you sa*e a pro4ect or the irst time you will be prompted or a older name and a pro4ect name.

When you sa*e a ile $%%& displays a success message at the bottom o the screen. Do N,# do anything till thismessage appears otherwise you risk crashing $%%&L

Note that subseGuent sa*es will o*erwrite this ile. &o e*ery time you create something that sounds good make it apoint to sa*e the work as a separate ile Bwith a sui: and store it separately as back up. #his way i you are nothappy with your latest changes in it you can all back upon the earlier *ersion that was ,?.

Writin# otes with ouse

A typical song will ha*e a mi: o long and short notes.

#he simplest method is to set the ote Len#th control to the most predominantly used length Bsay 8. 7 you comeacross a longer or shorter note then irst enter it with the standard length and then resie it.

Another approach is to set the ote Len#th control to $ast noteI B which copies the irst note'slength or the subseGuent notes. Now click in the otes pane to enter the irst note. 2o on clicking to entersubseGuent notes till you come to a note with dierent length. Ad4ust the note's length and continue. Now $%%& willuse this new length or the subseGuent notes. &o you may ha*e to ad4ust the length o the ne:t note once again.

#here are two shortcut methods as wellE



LMMS User Manual "he &iano 'oll $ditor *4

;ecall that the ote Len#th B control o $%%& can be set to any one length Be.g. or ( or to$ast noteI. We will be e:ploiting this eature in our shortcutI methodsE

3. Enter all notes 1ith a standard length and then alter a fe1 notes to make them shorter5longer.

#his method is useul when most o your notes are o one length.

"irst use the ote Len#th B control to set the length that is used the most in your song

Bsay (. #his is the deault length now. Click all the notes with this length in Notes pane. BJou will ha*e to becareul to enter all notes at the correct place. Now ad4ust the length o a ew notes to make them shorter Bsay) or longer Bsay by dragging their right-side edges.

4. 8hange the notes: length as you go.

#his method is useul i your song has notes with widely *arying lengths. B/lacement o notes in such a songis diicult so you ha*e to ad4ust the length o each note beore placing the ne:t note.

"irst set the ote Len#th to B setting. Create a note and then ad4ust its length. $%%& willremember this new length and create all subseGuent notes with that length.

When you need a note with a dierent length go back to a pre*ious note with that desired length. Drag itsright edge a little and then restore to its original length. #his causes the ote Len#th control to remember thenote's length without aecting that note.

Now go on entering new notes.

Creatin# notes with 0eboard

Jou can also record yoursel playing the notes either on a %7D7 keyboard or on the computer's keyboard using the

record button B .

Jour computer's keyboard can play .1 octa*es Brom C0 to 51. #hese octa*es are highlighted below and alsocompared with a keyboard Bsee inset.

Notice how the keys are selected to resemble a keyboardE 7n each set the upper row ser*es as the black keys Bingroups o <0 and the lower row ser*es as the white keys Bin a continuous group o +.

When recording you will hear a metronome sound Ba 'click' sound at e*ery beat to help you stay in sync with the timesignature. &et the DuantiGation control to the minimum *alue your piece reGuiresF so e*en i you play a little early orlate $%%& will automatically place the note at the correct time.

,nce you ha*e inished recording that section press the stop button B or the space bar to stop recording.

Now edit the notes' placement and length. Also addedit the e:pressions by editing their *olume.



"he Beat)Bassline $ditor

7 you listen careully to the percussion or bassline track o a song you will disco*er our thingsE

. #he track plays se*eral instruments Bor e:ample a typical drumI sound actually consists o si: dierentpercussion instruments known collecti*ely as the drum kit. &imilarly a bassline track typically contains -0bass instruments.

. #he track has a *ery small rhythm pattern that repeats o*er and o*er again. B#ypically this pattern is onemeasure long.

0. What appears as a single rhythm track is actually composed o se*eral distinct rhythms. #he song actuallyswitches between these rhythms. Bor at least it introduces minor *ariations in a base rhythm rom time totime.

(. #he song does not switch instantly rom one rhythm to anotherE 7t uses a third Bshort changeo*er pattern toease into the ne:t rhythm.

7n $%%& the rhythm is actually the combined work o two dierent editors Bsee $%%& unctional diagramE

• #he Beat)Bassline $ditor composes a short percussionbassline pattern o sounds.

• #he Son# $ditor repeats this short pattern to create a rhythm o any duration.

We ha*e already seen the Son# $ditor . &o now we will see how the Beat)Bassline $ditor works. #hen we will seehow they work together.

"he Beat)Bassline $ditor windowWe ha*e already seen the 33 editor earlier . 7n this section we will take a detailed look at its window.

A sample BB $ditor window is shown below.

1 #he pull-down menu lets you select the 33 track Ball the 33 tracks listed in the Son# $ditor appear here

2 #his area shows the composition o the selected 33 track. #his igure shows that the 33 track namedBeatFBassline 4 was created by using se*en percussion instruments. 7t also shows their beat patterns.B5ach percussion instrument has its own pattern track.







LMMS User Manual "he Beat)Bassline $ditor *2

&tructurally the BB $ditor window is similar to the Son# $ditor window e:cept or three ma4or dierences((E

. #he timeline has steps instead o measures and elements. 6nlike the elements these steps cannot beshited or resiedE 5ach step has a i:ed duration o ) th note.

. #he timeline is much shorter hereE %ost 33 patterns are usually 4ust one measure long(1.B#his e:ample shows a timeline with ) steps. As we will see later timelines can ha*e any number o steps.

0. A much shorter sound sample Bless than )th o a note is suicient to create a rhythm.

;ow Beat)Bassline $ditor wor0s

#he ollowing screenshot shows the dierent parts o Beat)Bassline $ditor . B"or simplicity only one pattern track isshown in the Beat)Bassline $ditor . Howe*er in actual practice each 33 track is made o se*eral pattern tracks.

o. +unction

1 #he button playspauses the currently selected 33 pattern.

#he same button changes between play and pause .

When a paused pattern is played again it continues rom the paused position.

2#he button stops playing the currently selected pattern and the playback returns to the irst step in thepattern

3 #he drop-down menu allows you to select the beatFbassline pattern to edit. 7t displays the currentbeatbassline being edited.

• 7n a new pro4ect the pull-down menu contains only one optionE 0eat50assline ; I.

• When you add more 3asslines in the Son# $ditor their names appear here as options so that youcan select any 3assline or editing.

!#he button creates a new beatbassline track in the Son# $ditor and gi*es it a new number in thepattern- O3eat3assline nO where n is the ne:t a*ailable incremental number ().

As soon as you add a 3assline track in the &ong 5ditor its name is also added in the Beat)Bassline pull-down menu B 2 . Now the pull-down menu can select that track.

5ach subseGuent click on the button adds a track in the Son# $ditor with an incremented number.

(#he add autoation button creates a new automation track in the BB $ditor .

3ut this automation track is not associated with any control yet. &o the ne:t step is to press C#;$ and thendrag a control o the instrumentpreset track onto this automation track. Now you can automate this control.

* #he handle o the track allows you to reposition the track in the stack Bwhen there are multiple tracks in the33 5ditor.

(( We will see the other minor dierences later in this chapter

(1 Jou may create some shorter or longer patterns that are used between two rhythms o the song Bto change o*er smoothly rom one rhythm to another

() ;ecall that the 3eat3assline !I track is already loaded in the BB $ditor by deault. &o the number increments ...




% Clicking on this button allows you to take the ollowing actions on the trackE

• Clone the track Bcreate an e:act duplicate with all melodies as in the original track

• ;emo*e this track

• Change the %7D7 input and output settings or the track

/ #his is the muteunmute lamp.

• When the instrument is muted this lamp is o Bblack .

• #he green lamp shows the track is acti*e. Bi.e. its sound is reaching the inal output.3y deault this lamp is ,N in each track Bi.e. all tracks are acti*e by deault.Howe*er you can turn o Bmute any track by clicking on its green lamp.

9 #he solo lamp allows a track to play soloI by muting all other tracks.3y deault this lamp is ,"" in all tracks. Bi.e. no track is set to play solo.

• ,b*iously more than one tracks cannot play solo. #hus only one red lamp can remain ,N at anygi*en time.

• &o when the red lamp o any track is clicked ,N the green lamps in all other tracks turn oautomatically Bthis indicates that those tracks are muted by the track playing solo.When the red lamp is turned ,"" the green lamps o the other tracks re*ert to their pre*ious state.

14 #he track button indicates the type o track B preset sampled sound bassline or automation.

• Click on the button to edit the settings Bin case o preset or sampled sound tracks

Double-click on this button to rename the track."ipE Always gi*e a suggesti*e name to each track so that you can recognie it Guickly.

11 #he green $5D glows when the playhead crosses the position o each acti*e Bon block in each measure.#his is *ery useul when there are multiple tracks in the stack and you want to Guickly locate the track that isresponsible or a particular sound. BRust look or the $5D that glows at that particular moment.

#he $5D is also useul in a special caseE 7 the track is muted Bor i another track is playing solo thensometimes you do not realie what is happening. 3ut a lashing $5D will tell you that e*erything is well withthe track.

12 V,$ controls the *olume o this indi*idual track.

/AN distributes the total sound power between the let and right speakers. 7t simulates the mo*ement o thesound source between the let and right speakers.

#he combination o all steps B 13 and the top bar B 1! is called timeline” .

13 #he timeline is shown as a seGuence o blocks called stepsI. 5ach step has time duration o )th note.

"or ease o counting the steps steps are grouped in ours and colored in alternate shades o light and dark

gray.

1! Double-click on this bar to launch the Son# $ditor 1ithout toggling any o the steps ono. Now the beats willbe composed in the Son# $ditor Bwith multiple pitches that can be chosen rom all 9 octa*es instead o theono pattern o steps.

Creatin# Beats

5ach step B 13 is in act a muteunmute switchE Click on it to toggle it ono.

• When a step is unmuted Bon it looks green .

• When a step is muted Bo it looks gray .

#he sound rom the instrument plays only during the on Bgreen steps. 7t will be muted during the off Bgray steps.

&ince the steps ha*e *ery short duration Bonly )th o a note the sound comes through during the on steps as ashort burstF and that is why it is called a beatH. #he actual sound o a beat depends on what instrument Bor samplesound is used in the pattern track.

#o create a beat pattern turn on some o the steps.



LMMS User Manual "he Beat)Bassline $ditor *!

Here are three e:amplesE . . 0.

B5nter these patterns in the BB $ditor and play them to see how they sound. Change the instrument and try again.

$%%& treats this pattern as a building block and plays it endlessly.

"or e:ample $%%& plays our irst e:ample pattern like thisE

$%%& plays our second e:ample pattern like thisE

BWe will see later how this stitched-together sound-track is actually inserted and manipulated in the main song.

$ditin# Beats

Jou can edit the beats in three dierent waysE

. 3y changing the *olume o dierent beats

. 3y changing the pitch o dierent beats

0. 3y combining the two methods abo*e Bchange the *olume and pitch o some beats.

Chan#in# the 6olue o8 beats

5ach step is also a *olume control. #he *olume can be *aried between ! Bo and !!X Bon.

#o ad4ust the *olume o any step ho*er the mouse on any Bgreengray step and roll the mousewheel.

#o pre*ent the rhythm rom being monotonous change the *olume o some o the steps. #his *arying *olume gi*esthe beats a natural eel(+. #he color o the step gi*es a clue about the beat's *olume Ba brighter step plays louder adim step plays soter.

When you click on a green Bon step it turns o Band turns gray but it preser*es its *olume inormation. &o when youclick on it again it will show the *olume that was set in it pre*iously.

Chan#in# the pitch o8 di88erent beats

Jou can also change the pitch o some beats. $et us understand this with an e:ampleE

Double-click on the bar B 1! .

#his ensures that the beats are not disturbed.

Jou can also right-click on any step and select theconte:t-menu optionE ?pen in pianoroll.

#he pattern opens in the &iano 'oll $ditor .

B#he igure shows one measure width.

Note that this pattern is the same as abo*e.

Note also that all the beats ha*e the same pitch.

(+ #his is the counterpart o note *olume in the Son# $ditor . Rust as keyboard e:pression makes the music more e:pressi*e the *arying *olume o beats adds a lilt tothe music. Note that this *ariation in *olume will repeat itsel in each measure where*er this rhythm is applied.





LMMS User Manual "he Beat)Bassline $ditor **

#o a*oid such problems you must add steps to the other beat patterns to make all timelines o eGual length.Jou must also e:tend the original pattern o each track in this additional length.

;ow the BB $ditor wor0s with the Son# $ditor

#he ollowing diagram shows how the Beat)Bassline $ditor works with the Son# $ditor .1

7n this e:ample the Son# $ditor has two 3eat<3assline B33I tracks numbered ! and . 3oth contain only beatsBnot basslines.

We will see how the BB $ditor is used to create and edit the content o these two tracks.

Sl 'ear0s

1 #he pull-down menu in the BB $ditor displays all 33 tracks in the Son# $ditor (2. &elect any 33 track rom thepull-down menu and start adding content to it in the BB $ditor .

1 #he diagram shows two instances o Beat)Bassline $ditor 4ust to show the conceptE $%%& cannot launch two windows o Beat)Bassline $ditor simultaneously.#hese two instances were launched one ater another to edit two dierent 33 tracks. B7n other words the BB $ditor can edit only one 33 track at a time.

1 #his is a li*eI listE 7 you add a new 33 #rack in the Son# $ditor it will immediately appear in the BB $ditor too.





LMMS User Manual "he Beat)Bassline $ditor */

"as0 7etails

6sing anautomation track ora control

Here is the step-by-step processE

. /ress C#;$ and then drag the target control Bi.e. the control that you want to *aryusing this automation cur*e.

Drag it to the automation track.

At this moment the mouse pointer looks like this Ba large image othe dragged control with o*erlay.

• ,nce you start mo*ing the mouse you can release C#;$.

;elease $%3 anywhere o*er the automation track. 1+

. Now draw the cur*e in the Autoation $ditor window.

#he BB $ditor relects the latest shape o the automation cur*e in real time

.

;epeat steps - to automate the other controls as well. 5ach time the Autoation $ditor

immediately switches to the new element.

When you ha*e inished you can saely close the Autoation $ditor window withoutlosing the contents.

Jou must use a separate automation track or each control. B6nlike the automation tracks inthe Son# $ditor the automation track in the BB $ditor can handle only one single control.

Caution 7 the length o the automation track e:ceeds one measure $%%& plays the trackerratically.

Applying the global-song automation toa control

7nstead o using an automation track or a control you can directly apply the global-songautomation to that control. 6nlike the automation track the song-global automation cur*eremains hidden.

#o apply the song-global automation cur*e right-click on the control and select the $ditson##lobal autoation option. #he Autoation $ditor pops up. Now create Bor edit-the automation cur*e.

Close the Autoation $ditor when done. $%%& automatically remembers the latest cur*eB#here are no controls to sa*e the cur*e.

"he process 8low 8or coposin# a rhth

&o ar we ha*e seen the theory o how the Son# $ditor and BB $ditor work together to create rhythm.

#o create a 3eat3assline track the process is as ollowsE

. "irst plan what types o beats you would be using or the songE

• #o use )th note with unpitched instruments use the BB $ditor .

• #o use *arying lengths o beats andor using pitched instruments use the &iano 'oll $ditor .

. Decide which instruments to use or your beatbassline pattern.

"or e:ample to create a typical pattern using a drumkit you will load at least si: tracks in the Beat)Bassline$ditor Bone track each or bass drum loor tom snare drum tom-toms hi-hat cymbals ride cymbal andcrash cymbal.18

/ractically all sound sources in the &idebar can be used including instruments and presets.

0. #o bring the resources to the Beat)Bassline $ditor either drag them to the 5ditor or double-click on the

resource icon in the &idebar. When you add a new resource to the Beat)Bassline $ditor a new track iscreated

(. Now compose the pattern.

Note that the 33 pattern always constructed out o all tracks at once.

1+ #here is only a single element in the track which occupies the entire timelineF so there is no other choice anyway Bas in case o Son# $ditor

18 5ach drummer has his own preerence or the percussion instruments in his drum kit. #hereore. the number o tracks may *ary


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_drum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floor_tom



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snare_drum


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom-toms


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi-hat_cymbals

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ride_cymbal


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_cymbal


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_drum







http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_cymbal




1. ,nce the entire pattern is ready apply automation eects as reGuired to those sources.

&hilosophies o8 patterndesi#n

When your song uses multiple similar patterns you may ace a dilemma- &hould you compose each patternseparately or e:ploit the common part in them=

$et us see an e:ampleE ,ur song with (( time signature has two near-identical patterns as ollowsE

• #he main pattern B&1 kick-snare kick-snare kick-snare kick-snare

• #he second pattern B&2 kick-snare kick-snare kick-snare kick-snaresnare

"urther let us think o two separate casesE

Case1 #he main pattern and the second pattern are used in alternate measures

Case2 #he second pattern is used only in e*ery ourth measure. All other measures ha*e the main pattern.

&o the Guestion beore us is how to create these two patterns=

Well here are three alternati*e approachesE

Approach 'ear0s

%ake twoseparatepatterns

Disregard any common beats and make each pattern independently.

/M

/M

&o the Son# $ditor will ha*e two dierent patterns and it will use only one o these

patterns in dierent measures o the song as reGuired.&o the Son# $ditor simply uses the patterns like thisE

Case1 &1 J &2 J &1 J &2

Case2 &1 J &1 J &1 J &2

%ake a basepattern andadditions

Compared to pattern &1 pattern &2 has only one snare e:tra.

&o we create &1 and an add-onI pattern &2< with only one snare at the end.

3y adding &1 and &2< we get &2.

/ M

/'M

#he Son# $ditor will contain both &1 and &2< and it will use both &1 and &2< in themeasures where*er pattern &2 is reGuired.

&o the Son# $ditor assembles the patterns like thisE

Case1 &1 J &1)&2< J &1 J &1)&2<

Case2 &1 J &1 J &1 J &1)&2<



LMMS User Manual "he Beat)Bassline $ditor %4

#he 33 patternhas only oneinstrument

7n this approach each pattern created in the Beat)Bassline $ditor has only oneinstrument.

#hese instrument-speciic patterns are added up in the Son# $ditor and not in theBeat)Bassline $ditor .

"irst ocus on how many dierent patterns are reGuired to be played by eachinstrument. #hen create all these patterns in the Beat)Bassline $ditor separately."inally add them to the Son# $ditor .

/M

/M

/0M

Note that while the kick instrument has one pattern the snare instrument has twopatterns.

7n each measure o the song the Son# $ditor acti*ates all the needed instrument-patterns.

&o the Son# $ditor assembles the patterns like thisE

Case1 &1)&2 J &1)&3 J &1)&2 J &1)&3

Case2 &1)&2 J &1)&2 J &1)&2 J &1)&3

Which approach is best=

#here are ad*antages and disad*antages to each o the abo*e approachesE

• #he irst option makes logical sense considered rom a musical notation point o *iew and is oten easier tosee the integration o all the instruments in the rhythm. BJou will be able to see a clearer visual clue whethertwo instruments play at a gi*en instant.

• Howe*er the irst means that you ha*e to create a separate rhythm or each minor *ariation. 7t is oten muchGuicker to simply program that second pattern to contain only the notes that *ary. ,n the other hand this doesnot allow you to take out notes that are already in the 'base' pattern.

• Consider breaking down the rhythm into common sections and their *ariations.

• #he 'one instrument per pattern' method is harder to compose but easier to combine them in *arious ways inthe Son# $ditor .

"he tieline in BB $ditor #he BB $ditor 's timeline B 13 and 1! shows one measure when $%%& is launched19.

Addin# Steps to "ieline

7 your repetiti*e pattern is longer than one measure you ha*e to make the timeline longer to accommodate the entirepattern. #his is done by adding more steps to the timeline.

#o add steps right-click on any step in the timeline and click on the Add steps option. &elect the number o steps tobe added.

• 7n some cases the pattern is not integral multiple o a measure Be.g. it may be .1 measures long. 7n suchcases the BB $ditor shows integral number o measures and lea*es some blank space on the right.

,riginal timeline B measureM) steps long

Ater adding 8 steps timeline is measuresM0 stepslong with a gap o 8 steps on the right.

19 B/erhaps the reason is that many repeating patterns are one measure long.




$88ect o8 "ie Si#nature on BB $ditor<s "ieline

#he e:act length o a measure depends on the time signature )! setting according to the ollowing ormulaEtie si#nature ratio - 1* K nuber o8 steps in the displa."or e:ample or the (( measure the display has ((Y)M) steps.

#he ollowing table shows the deault timeline display or some popular time signatures.

"ie

si#nature

7uration o8 a easure 7e8ault "ieline displa o8 BB $ditor

(Always 1 measure long by default)

#he measure has ( beats ( th note each.

M ( : ( M note.

M) steps

#he measure has beats ( th note each.

M : ( M note.

M8 steps

#he measure has beats nd note each.

M : M note.

M) steps

#he measure has 0 beats 0rd note each.

M 0 : 0 M note.

M) steps

#he measure has 0 beats ( th note each.

M 0 : ( M0(th note.

M steps

#he measure has 0 beats nd note each.

M 0 : M.1 note.

M( steps

#he measure has ) beats 8 th note each.

M ) : 8 M0(th note.

M steps

#he measure has 1 beats ( th note each.

M 1 : ( M .1 note.

M! steps

?eep in mind that these are only the deault timelines. Jou can always add more steps manually when reGuired.

)! #he time signature has two iguresE #he number on top is the number o beats per measure and the bottom number shows the duration o that beat in terms o anote Bull hal Guarter ) th etc.






#his option is useul in checking out your latest changes on a roen track.

Add steps allows you to add steps to the timeline. 7t is possible to add steps to and remo*e stepsrom the step display.#his simply adds an e:tra measures Bor more and puts steps in thatso it does not change the tempo o the beats currently in the track or the duration oeach step.

'eo6e steps allows you to remo*e steps rom the timeline. Jou cannot remo*e steps so that therewould be less than a measure

"he Conte-t Menu in Autoation "rac0

#he automation track in 33 5ditor has

,pen in Autoation $ditor ,pen the editor in automation editor window Bor editing the cur*e. Note that youcan create an automation cur*e that is longer than the element but the rest o itwill not be acti*e.


/aste /aste the element rom the clipboard B#he original element is o*erwritten. Joucannot paste an element on bare trackE only on another element)0.



Clear Clear o the automation data Bthe target control will not be automated any more


Change name Change the label that appears on the element when you see the track. 5achelement can ha*e its own label. B&o i a track has multiple elements they canha*e dierent labels.

Notice that compared to the automation track in the Son# $ditor the conte:t menu is shorter here because youcannot manipulate the element. &o the commands or deleting and cutting the element are missing here.

)0 #hus beore pasting an element you must create a blank new element at the target position and then paste the content o the clipboard.





"he +, Mi-er

#he main unction o the +, Mi-er B5ects %i:er is to apply eects to incoming sounds and then mi: them to createthe inal output sound o $%%& Bsee $%%& unctional diagram.

#o launch the +, Mi-er window click the button in the main $%%& window.

#he "> %i:er has )( identical input channels and one output BMaster I channel. 7t also has a pane to apply anynumber o eects to the selected inputoutput channel.

&ince its window cannot show all )( input channels at a time it di*ides these channels in our groups Bcalled racksIand displays one rack at a time. #he racks are named as ollowsE

'ac0nae

Channels

A to )

3 + to 0

C 00 to (8

D (9 to )(

#o see any channel you ha*e to click on the appropriate rack button. 3y deault rack A is selected.

• 3y deault none o the input channels are usedE All sound sources )( loaded in the Son# $ditor or BB $ditorare directly connected to the output channel Bchannel-!.

&o any eects applied to the output channel are applied to the combined sound o all sources.

7 you want to apply eects only to a particular instrumentpreset then irst assign that instrumentpreset to aninput channel and then apply eects to the input channel. Now these eects will not be shared with the othersound sources.

Note that the sample tracks cannot be connected to input channelsE #hey are always connected to the outputchannel only. Howe*er you can directly apply the same eects to any sample track )1.

• Jou can also connect multiple instrumentspresets to a common input channel.

#hink o the input channel as master control or that group o instrumentspresets.

#his has two ad*antages o*er one instrument per channelI approachE "irstly the channel's eects would

)( ;ecall that a sound sourceI can be an instrument a preset or a recorded Bsampled sound. Also note i you ha*e applied automation to any o the controls oradded an automation track their eect is included in the sound coming to +,Mi-er .

)1 And thereore there seems to be no *alid reason or not allowing the user to connect a sample track to an input channel.



LMMS User Manual "he +, Mi-er %*

eGually apply to the entire group. &econdly you can also automate the input channel's controls Bincluding thecontrols within each eect. Now all instruments and presets in the group will render *arious eects in perectsync.

#his is a powerul eature.

• #o apply any eect to a channel irst select the channel and then load the eect in the $88ects Chain pane.

Jou can apply multiple eects to any input channel.#hese eects are chained together Bthe eects are applied seGunetially in top-to-bottom order.

• Jou can ad4ust the relative *olume o all input channels."or e:ample you may want to make the lead singer's *oice to be louder than the music.

• Jou can also apply multiple eects to the output channel and ad4ust its *olume.#hese eects are chained together Bthe eects are applied in top-to-bottom order.#o apply any eect to the output channel irst select it and then load the eect in the $88ects Chain pane.

• #he 8ader and ute controls o all channels can be automated.

"urther all controls o the indi*idual eects applied to any channel can also be automated.

• 7t is a good practice to use each rack or a speciic type o track Bsay ;ack-A or instruments ;ack-3 orpercussion ;ack-C or samples. #his keeps e*erything neatly organied.

"he channel structure As shown abo*e the input channels and output channel ha*e identical structure. #his is e:plained belowE

Sl &art ;ow this wor0s.

1 Channelnumber

#he input channels are numbered through )(.

#he output “Master”! channel is numbered !.

Although the channel numbers look like numerical control they cannot be

edited or automated.

2 $abel #he label ser*es twoold purposesE

. 7t identiies the channel and

. 7t also acts as a button to select it Bso that eects can be applied tothat channel.

Double-click on the label to rename the channel Bname it ater theinstrument connected to this channel.

#o select any channel click on its label #he label te:t turns green.

• 5ach time you start $%%& Bor load a sa*ednew pro4ect the

output channel is selected by deault.• At any gi*en time one and only one/! channel is selected))

&o when you select any channel the pre*iously selected channelautomatically gets unselected.

• When you select any channel or the irst time the $88ects Chainpane is empty. When you add eects in the $88ects Chain panethey are applied only to the selected channel.

7 you select a channel which already has some eects applied toit they will be displayed in the $88ects Chain pane.

3 %ute lamp Clicking on this lamp mutesun-mutes the channel Bi.e. the instrumentconnected to it. When the audio is muted the lamp is o.

• When the output channel is muted the entire output o $%%& ismuted

)) 7 you see that none o the channels are selected it means the currently selected channel belongs to another rack. &witch to the other racks BA 3 C and D to indthe currently selected channel.



LMMS User Manual "he +, Mi-er %%

Sl &art ;ow this wor0s.

! Volumeader

Controls the *olume o the channel.

• Ad4ust the relati*e *olume o each input channel.

• #he ader does not ha*e separate controls or the let and ;ightchannels o the stereo sound. B7n other words there is no pancontrol here.

• #he ader o the output channel acts as master *olume control or$%%&.

( Volumemeter

#hese *ertical bars o $5Ds show the sound le*el in stereo Blet- and rightspeakers. When there is no sound the bars are dark. When sound comesin the $5Ds glow and the height o the lighted column shows the soundle*el.

#he $5D bar has a color-gradientE 7t is green at bottom yellow inmiddle and red at top. When the red part o the bar lashes itmeans the sound le*el is e:cessi*e and its wa*eorm would beclipped.

#o a*oid distortion lower the ader knob ! till the sound le*eldrops to the yellowgreen one.

"he $88ects Chain paneWhen you select any o the input channels or the output channel the e88ects chain pane shows the stack o specialeects that are applied to the selected channel.

3y deault none o the %i:er channels Binput or output ha*e any eects. &o this bo: appears empty when you selectany o the )( input channels or the %aster Boutput channel.

#o apply eect to any channel select it irst Bby clicking on its label and then press the button in the$88ects Chain pane. A window pops up to show the a*ailable eectsE

6se the gray bar at the top to search or any desired eect.

3rowse the list or the eect you want. When you click on any eect its description shows in the bottom hal o the



LMMS User Manual "he +, Mi-er %/

window. When you ind the desired eect press ?5.

Jou can add multiple eects or the selected channel. #hese eects are chained togetherE #he output o the irst eectis passed on to the second eect and so on.

BNote that these are the same eects that can also be applied to an indi*idual instrument plugin directly.



"he Instruent Window

#he instrumentI used in $%%& are actually synthesiers which are capable o changing their sound substantiallybased on their settings. 7n this section we will see how to change these settings to achie*e the desired sound.

#o launch the 7nstrument 5ditor click on the instrument's label in either Son# $ditor or the Beat)Bassline $ditor .

#he (nstrument windows or our dierent instruments are shown below as e:amplesE

As you can see all the windows ha*e similar structure Z #hey are all di*ided in three partsE

Sl 7escription

1 2eneral settings or the instrumentE

• Name o the instrument BHighlight the dummy title and type a new name.)+

• 3asic sound controlsE Volume pan pitch BAd4ust the le*els to your liking

• Channel-number o ">-%i:er to which this instrument's output is connected.3y deault it is connected to channel! Boutput o ">-%i:er. Change it as reGuired.

•

&a*e the new settings as a preset ile

)8

. 6se this sa*ed preset as a resourceBJou can copy this ile to other /Cs as well.

2 Controls that create the instrument's uniGue sound.

3 /iano keys.

While ine-tuning the instrument to your liking you will need to check out the eect o your latesttweaks. Click on the piano keys to play a ew notes and 4udge the eect.

When a track is played in Son# $ditor Bor &iano 'oll $ditor you can open the 7nstrument windowto see its keyboard in action Bit appears as i an in*isible hand is playing the keyboard. As the pianokeyBs are played they are grayed to simulate the pressed I state.

#he irst part is sel-e:planatory. We will now see the other two parts in detail.

)+ Always name your instruments such that you can later understand its origin. ,nce the new name is sa*ed the window's title bar will show that name.

)8 2i*e a meaningul name to the ile so that you can recall the name easily.





LMMS User Manual "he Instruent Window /1

• 7 the $", is applied to the 8ilter 8reDuenc en6elope it will introduce a trill Ba rapid altering o the tone.

• $",s applied to the ilter's cut o88 8reDuenc and :+actor en*elopes will allowstop dierent bands oreGuencies during the lietime o a note. #his creates a richer sound with changing tonal characteristic aseach note is played out.

#he o*erall schematic is shown belowE

Now let us see how these parts work in the 5NV$", tab.

Here is an o*er*iew o how the 5n*$", tab works.

#he "A'$" toolbar B liststhe three parameters where the en*elope Band $", can beappliedE

. 7nstrument *olume

. "ilter's cuto reGuency

0. "ilter's S "actor B;esolution.

As described beore $%%& has three independenten*elope<$", sets or these parameters but section 1 canshow Band ad4ust only one set at a time.

#hereore you ha*e to select each parameter and ad4ust thesettings o its en*elope and $", using sections 1a and 1b .

&elect the type o ilter in section 2 .

Jou can turn o any o the three $",s using the lamp insection 1b . Now the plain Bun-modulated en*elope works

without the inluence o the $",.Jou can toggle the ilter ono by clicking the toolbar Bor thegreen lamp in &ection 2 . +

$et us see this in more detailsE

Sl ;ow this wor0s.

1 5dits three en*elopesE *olume "ilter cuto reGuency and S "actor Bresolution o the ilter.

&elect the parameter be edited in the "A'$" bar B +.Now its en*elope settings are displayed in section 1a and the $", settings in 1b .

+ #he eect o en*elopes or 8utoff fre<uencies and > "actor *esolution! can be seen only when the ilter B 2 is turned on.

+ Note that "A'$" is the label or the toolbar B7t is not a tab by itsel




Sl ;ow this wor0s.

1a Ad4ust the en*elope as ollowsE

. Ad4ust the si: control points on the en*elope cur*e using the si: knobs BrangeE ! to #o change *alue o any knob ho*er the mouse on it and roll the mousewheel.,r click on the knob and drag the mouse updown.,r double-click on the knob and enter a precise *alue B( decimal points in the dialog bo:.

. #he se*enth knob BA%# controls the modulation amount or the en*elope. BrangeE - to Jou can ad4ust this knob as described abo*e.+0

0. Clicking on the graph toggles the en*elope ,N,""B#he A%# is toggled between the set *alue and !.#he graph appears bright green when on and gray when o BA%#M!.

When the A%# *alue is between ! and the brightness o the graph is dull green.

1b Ad4ust the $", settings as ollowsE

• Ad4ust the three knobs BrangeE ! to

#o change *alue o any knob ho*er the mouse on it and roll the mousewheel.,r click on the knob and drag the mouse updown.,r double-click on the knob and enter a precise *alue B( decimal points in the dialog bo:.

• Ad4ust the A%# BMamount knob in the same way BrangeE - to When the A%# *alue approaches ! Brom - or < the graph becomes dull green.

• Jou can click on the wa*eorm display to toggle it ,N,"".B#he A%# is toggled between the set *alue and !.#he graph appears bright green when on and gray when o BA%#M!.

• Clicking on the multiplies the $", reGuency by !!.

• Clicking on the toggles the $", ono.

• Jou can synchronie the $", with the song's tempo so that successi*e notes will ha*e the samecontinuous eect. #his eature is *ery useul or wobble or dubstep instruments. ;ight-click on the&/D knob and rom the conte:t menu select the "epo snc option. &elect the type o beat tosynchronie with.

+0 Note that negati*e *alues o A%# are useul only or the Cuto88 and 'esolution en*elopes. Also or the 6olue en*elope the 'amount' does not actually aect thesoundE #he *olume en*elope works only i A%# is set to .




Sl ;ow this wor0s.

2 #his section selects the ilter that processes the instrument's sound.

#he ilter's cuto88 8reDuenc and :+actor resolution are aected by the en*elopes and $",s set up insections 1a and 1b respecti*ely.

#o acti*ate the ilter press the 8ilter title bar. #he green lamp at the let turns on.

Jou can select a ilter rom the pull-down menuE

#o change the ilter-

• Ho*er the mouse on it and roll the mousewheel or-

• Click on the main label Bthe ne:t *alue in the list appears

• Click on the arrow and select rom the list.

&et the cut o reGuency BrangeE H to ( kH and ;esonance BrangeE !.! to !.

Note that the eect o a ilter is more pronounced i the instrument's sound contains a broad range oreGuencies. 7nstruments like lute ha*e narrow band o reGuencies so the ilters may not work well withthem. &o e:perimentL

Caution "iltering the sound o an instrument adds a calculation o*erhead on C/6. #his can add a slightdelay to the sound. #hereore i you're not using any ilter keep it turned o.

"he +unc tab

?6er6iew

Normally when you click on a piano key Bor play a note rom your computerkeyboard $%%& plays that single note using the selected instrument.

3ut you can orce $%%& to play chords or arpeggio+( based on the note.

$%%& oers a large number o chordsarpeggios. Jou can not only select thechordsarpeggios here but also set their properties.

#he tab has two sectionsE one or chords and the other or arpeggios. Jou canturn any section Bor both sections on by clicking on their title bar. #he lamp at thelet turns on. 3y deault both sections are turned o.

Note that some o these chordsarpeggios span more than one octa*e so theywill o*erlap.

Now let us see the sections in detailE

Chords

#his section has two controlsE

. A pull-down list o chords that can be played and. #he ran#e in octa6es o*er which the chord will be played.

When a piano key is pressed Bor when you play a note on the computer's keyboard that note will be treated as theroot note Bbase or the chord. All the notes o the chord will play simultaneously until the key is released.

+( #he dierence is notes o a chord play simultaneously where as notes o an arpeggio play one ater another.





LMMS User Manual "he Instruent Window /(

#o search or a desired eect use the gray bar at the top o the window.

3rowse through the list. As you highlight an eect its description is displayed at the bottom o the pane.

&elect an eect and press ?5. #his new eect is added to the pane and orms a chain o eects. #he soundgenerated by the instrument is passed through the stack o eects in top-to-bottom direction.

5ach eect bo: has our controlsE

Control +unction

WD Bwetdry knob &ets the outputinput signal ratio. A higher ratio means more eect at the output +1

Decay knob &ets how much silence must pass beore the eect turns o completely. #urning theeect o reduces the amount o C/6 time used processing silence and reduces thechance o unwanted noise. Howe*er i the eect turns o too soon it may introduce a'clipped' sound to the eectE or instance in the case o a re*erb i the re*erb time islonger than the decay time then the re*erb will be cut o beore it has ully died away.

2ate knob #hreshold controls a similar parameterE it sets the le*el o noise below which theinstrument will be considered to be silent. A langer eect placed on an instrument witha *ery long ade-out Bsay a ride cymbal will be almost inaudible at the end o the tail othe cymbal. Cutting the eect o early may reduce the C/6 reGuirements and thechance o unwanted eect noise being heard.

Controls button &hows a separate window that has e:tra controls speciic to this eect. Clicking on thisbutton toggles the window ono.

Note that rather than applying the eects chain to indi*idual instrument you can apply it to an input channelBChannel to Channel)( o the +, Mi-er . B#he dierence is you can connect se*eral instruments to the sameinput channel o the "> %i:er. Now the eects chain is applied to all those instruments simultaneously.

#o remo*e an eect rom the stack select its conte:t menu Bright-click and choose ';emo*e eect'.Jou can also change the order o any eect by dragging that eect updown in the stack.

+1 &ome eects will also ha*e ways to set their internal wetdry le*el. #his sometimes takes the orm o a wetdry knob but also can be two knobs to set the le*el o thewet output and the le*el o the dry bypassed output.



LMMS User Manual "he Instruent Window /*

"he MI7I tab

#he tab contains two sectionsE

Section What it does

%7D7 7nput &et the %7D7 channel number rom which this instrument

will recei*e %7D7 e*ents.

%7D7 output &et the %7D7 channel number to which this instrument willsend its %7D7 e*ents.

3oth sections ha*e almost identical set o controls which work as ollowsE

Control +unction

Clicking on the lap toggles the section ono.

7n the Channel selector set the %7D7 channel that is to beused or %7D7 inputoutput.

7n the 6elocit selector set a *olume. $%%& will clamp the*olume o all incoming or outgoing notes to this *alue.

Click the 7e6ice selector button to see a list o de*icesa*ailable in your system that can act as sources or sinks or%7D7 e*ents. &elect a de*ice rom this list.

7n the &ro#ra selector select a ader o the +,Mi-er module. #hat ader will recei*e the %7D7 output o this plugin.

"he &iano 5es section6se the piano 0es section to play the sound to check i it meets your need Bespecially while tuning the controls inthe Instruent tab and the $n6FL+? tab.

Mar0in# a 0e as standard

#he strip abo*e the keyboard allows you to mark the key that produces the standard ((!-H note. #o mark a key clickon the black strip abo*e it. A green light appears 4ust abo*e the key. Now onwards $%%& will consider this key as A(.

7n this e:ample we ha*e marked the A1 key o this plugin which means that when you play its A1 key it actuallyproduces the ((! H sound which is standardied as the A( note.

&o while playing this instrument $%%& automatically applies the same oset to all its keys to produce the correctnotes.

7n the ollowing e:ample three instruments are shown. 7nstruments A and 3 ha*e dierent osets. 7nstrument C istrueI Bits A( key really plays the standard ((! H signalF so no oset is applied to it.

Notice that the green marked keys o all instruments are aligned with the A( key o the /iano ;oll 5ditor .

&o when we play A( note on the keyboard o &iano 'oll $ditor $%%& actually plays the A1 note in 7nstrument-A "(note in 7nstrument-3 and A( note in 7nstrument-C. And to the listener they all seem to be playing the same BA( note.



LMMS User Manual "he Instruent Window /%

So what is the practical use o8 this ar0in#=

Well ideally all instruments should play a ((! H signal when we press the A( note in their keyboard.

3ut in real world some instruments are not tuned perectly. &o i they all play the same note Bsay A( they willproduce sounds with dierent pitches. #hereore we simply oset each instrument to make them play the same pitch.

Note that all synthesiers ha*e the correct pitch by deault because their A( note is always programmed to producethe standard ((! H tone. Howe*er this is not true or the sampled soundsE #heir reGuency is not necessarily correctBin act in case o non-instrumental sounds the actual reGuency may not be e*en known initially. &o notes deri*edrom these sources need to be calibrated.





"he Autoation $ditor

#he Automation 5ditor allows you to edit the property vs timeI control graph. When this track is played along with theother tracks $%%& *aries the target control according to this cur*e.

#his can be used to create *arious eects rom fading in an instrument Bkeep its *olume at ero at the beginning andthen raise it smoothly to panning a sound rom one side to another +) to comple: manipulation o the en*elopes orilters o an instrument.

;eer to the $%%& unctional diagramE 7 any o the AutomationI blocks is implemented through automation cur*esBas opposed to using a $", controller those automation cur*es are created and edited by the Automation 5ditor.

Jou can launch the Autoation $ditor window in two dierent waysE

. ;ight-click on any control o $%%& Be.g. a knob ader etc and in the conte:t menu that appears select the

$dit son##lobal autoation option .

. Double-click on an element located on an Automation-type track in the Son# $ditor or BB $ditor

"he Autoation $ditor Window#he Autoation $ditor window is shown belowE

As can be seen the graphI is not drawn with a line. 7nstead $%%& ills the area below it with yellow color.


+unction

1 /lay &pacebar /lays the cur*e starting rom the playhead marker .

Clicking on the button toggles it between &la and &ause.

+) #o simulate that the source o that sound ipped past you rom one side to another.



LMMS User Manual "he Autoation $ditor 94

&pacebar &top playing the cur*e.

2 5dit #his tool inserts control points Band also interconnects them toorm the automation graph.

When you draw the cur*e seems to lurch uncontrollably under thecursor. #hat is because the :-*alue o the points can be only

multiple o the Suantiation setting and the y-a:is can only ha*e aew discrete *alues allowed to the control that is being automated. As a result when you drag the mouse in the window the cur*e 4umps to the nearest allowable coordinates.

• With the pencil tool selected press &H"# and click toproduce straight lines in the graph.

• With the pencil tool selected right-clicking turns it into5raser tool Bsee below.

&H"#<D Deletes the control point on the cur*e that touches the *erticalcross-hair line o the mouse-pointer.

When a control point is deleted the graph uses the control point onits let and draws new horiontal and *ertical lines to bridge thegap.

#he editing o automation cur*e is e:plained urther in Appendi- C.

Draws a selection rectangle. When any control point alls within theselection rectangle $%%& selects the portion o graph rom thiscontrol point till the ne:t control point on the right. 7n the ollowinge:ample the blue selection rectangle has enclosed the pointencircled in blue. #he selected part o the graph turns blue.

• Jou can delete the selected control points by pressing7$L.

• Jou can also mo*e these selected points in both directionson the page.

$ets you mo*e all selected control points Band the shape o thegraph ormed by them. Jou can mo*e the selected group in anydirection.

CautionE 7 you drag the selection past other control points theyget deleted. #his can change the shape o the graphdrastically.

3 Clipboard Cut the selected control points to clipboard

• Jou can select all the control points by pressing C"'L)Athen cut them.

Copy the selected control points to clipboard Bthe original control

points are not aected.• Jou can copy and paste control points rom one automation

graph to another.

• Jou can select all the control points by pressing C"'L)Athen copy them.




/aste the contents o the clipboard.

• #he selection will be pasted at the irst bar displayed in theAutoation $ditor . #hereore beore you paste theclipboard contents make sure the window is appropriatelylocated to put the points into place.

• Ater the points are placed the selection area will still beacti*e. #his means you can still mo*e all the points

together using the mo*e tool.

! $oop 5nabledisable auto-scrolling o the track++

5nabledisable the loop points+8

• When the loops are enabled the button lights up.

• ,therwise it is grayed out.

#oggles the loop beha*ior between the ollowing modesE

. When stopped the playhead automatically returns to thestart marker

. When stopped the playhead stays at that place.

( @oom Change horiontal oom actor.

Change *ertical oom actor.

* Suantisation &ets the horiontal spacing o the control points as you draw. 3ydeault this is set to )th notes.

% #ime ruler #he time ruler marks the time in terms o measures.

When you are in #lobalson# edit mode the ruler shows theactual measure numbers in the song. 3ut i you are editing anautomation element the measure numbers in the ruler are withreerence to the starting point o the element.

he

CautionE 7t is also possible to launch the Automation window directly rom the main toolbar o $%%& by clicking on

the button. Howe*er this window is o no use because it is not associated with any controlF and so itcannot automate anything. $%%& itsel warns you like thisE

&o i you ha*e launched a window like this 4ust identiy the control to be automated and use its conte:t menu to

automate it.#he Autoation $ditor window oers you a can*as or drawing a graph with your mouse.

++ $%%& shows the playhead position while the track is played Howe*er once the playhead position goes beyond the right edge o the screen you cannot see it Bi.e.what is being played. $%%& has auto-scroll mode in which the track is scrolled automatically to keep the currently played part o the track in *iew.

+8 Jou can orce $%%& to play between two markers Bstart marker end marker placed on the time ruler. Jou can also orce $%%& to play endlessly within this rangeE As soon as the playhead reaches the end marker it 4umps back to the start marker and continues to play. B#his is why it is called a “loop”.! #his is useul to re*iew aparticular part o the song.




More about the Autoation raph

Notice that the y-a:is o the window is actually dimensionlessE 7t simply plots all possible *alues o the control at eGualdistance. B"or e:ample the 6olue is allowed to ha*e continuous *alues between !X and !!X. A lap is allowed

to be on or off. #he pan is allowed to *ary continuously between -!!X and <!!X. #he ote Len#th pull-downmenu has options out o which are ractions. #hese twel*e *alues are placed at e<ual distance on the y-a:isincluding the last option $ast noteI. +9

When you launch an automation window it may show some graph already. $et us see two e:amplesE

#his is the automation window or the mute lamp in the Son# $ditor . #helamp is allowed to ha*e only two *aluesE #n and off.

#he deault cur*e is a lat horiontal line at yM!.

#his is the automation window or the *olume knob .

#he deault *olume is a horiontal line meaning the *olume is constant.

Now click the $%3 anywhere inside the window and drag to draw the contour o the graph.

None o the graphs are truly smooth because the controls are allowed to ha*e only certain discrete *alues.Depending on how many *alues are allowed or the control the graph will ha*e discrete y-*alues.

Here are our e:amples

@olue&ositi6e 6ariable

&anpositi6e and ne#ati6e

6ariable

&ulldown enu with% options

Lap2 6alues ?n o88

&e*eral special eects can be created with automation cur*e Bsee Appendi- C.

+9 Now 1hy would you want to automate the ote len#th control= 7t is used during composition not at play timeL Anyhow this e:ample shows clearly how the y-a:is plots e*en mi:ed types o *alues at eGual distance.



"he Controller 'ac0

#he Controller 'ac0 window is literally a rack Bcabinet where Controllers are stacked.

#he Controllerrac0 button Bin the main toolbar o $%%& toggles the Controller 'ac0 window.

• Although these controllers are stacked together they ha*e no relationship with each other.

;eer to the $%%& unctional diagramE 7 any o the AutomationI blocks is implemented through $", controller thatunctionality is pro*ided rom the Controller rack.

As we saw earlier this window allows you to apply two dierent types o controllers B$", Controller and /eakController to the *arious controls in $%%&. While the $", controller applies a periodic signal to the target control to*ary it the /eak Controller uses the *alue o another control to *ary the target control.

Controllers eneral#his section describes the common inormation about both $", and /eak Controllers. 7n the subseGuent sections wewill see controller-speciic eatures.

Addin# a Controller

#o add a new $", Controller click the Add button 1 at the bottom o theController 'ac0 $%%& adds an $", Controller 2 to the rack.

#o add a new /eak Controller you ha*e to use an indirect methodE Add the/eak Controller in the $88ects chain panel o the +,Mi-er moduleF or to the

Instruent window o an instrument8!. $%%& adds the real window o the/eak Controller there and at the same time it adds a dummy panel or thisController in the Controller 'ac0.

Notice that the Controller 'ac0 represents both the $", and /eak typeswith identical dummy panels. B7n this igure Controller 3 is a /eakController whereas the others are $", controllers

7eletin# a Controller

#o delete a controller rom the rack right-click on the controller and select 'eo6e this plu#in option.

CautionE Always delete a /eak Controller rom its parent window Bi.e. the window where it wascreatedE #he +,Mi-er or the 7nstrument window. 7ts mirror image in the Controller ;ack getsdeleted automatically8.

Attachin# a Controller to "ar#et control

Note that when a controller is added to the Controller rack it is not attached to any target control. Jou ha*e tomanually attach each controller to its target control.

&ince the attachment methods are dierent or the $", and /eak controllers we will see them separately.

Chan#in# the settin#s o8 a Controller

#he deault setting o a new controller is rarely useul. #hereore you ha*e to change the settings o each controller.

8! 7t is *ery important to note that the /eak Controller is added to the controllin# Bsource trackF not to the target controltrack.

8 6nortunately the re*erse is not trueE $%%& allows you to delete the dummy panel or a /eak Controller rom the Controller 'ac0. Howe*er this does not deletethe actual /eak Controller rom its original location Beither the 7nstrument window or +,Mi-er . As a result an unusable /eak Controller is let behind. #o a*oid thisproblem always remember to delete the real window o the /eak Controller rom its parent windowF and the dummy panel will *anish by itsel.

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/File:Menubar-f11-controller_rack.png



LMMS User Manual "he Controller 'ac0 9!

&ince the settings o $", and /eak controllers are dierent we will see them separately.

ain# the Controllers

When a controller is added $%%& automatically gi*es an incremental number to it.

#he e:ample on the right shows a rack illed with our controllers numberedController 1 to Controller !.

Howe*er when you ha*e added a large number o controllers it becomes diicult toremember which controller is meant or which control o which track. #hereore it isbest to rename the controller as soon as you add it to this window.

#o rename a controller double-click on it.

A 'enae Controller window pops up. 5nter the new name or the controller andpress ?5.

Always name the controller ater its target control and track.

$ditin# or 'eo6in# a Controller

Ater you apply a controller to any control its conte:t menu gets an additional optionE Connected to Controller n!" . #his tells you which controller is tied to this control Bso that you can edit its settings in the Controller 'ac0. #hismenu option has two sub-optionsE

• $dit connection 7 you select this option $%%& pops up the Connection Settin#s window Bseeabo*e where you can select another controller.

•

'eo6e connection 7 you select this option $%%& simply delinks the controller rom this control but doesnot delete the controller.

B7n act the controller may still be connected to other controlsF so it is wise to check itsother connections beore deleting it.

"he L+? Controllers As we saw in the irst chapter the $", controller applies a periodic signal to a control o $%%& and changes its *aluein a periodic manner.

"or e:ample i you apply a sawtooth signal rom $", controller to a *olume knob the knob swings continuously

clockwise and counterclockwise.

A single $", controller can automate multiple controls belonging to se*eral tracks.

L+? Controller Settin#s

#he $", controller settings window has three main sectionsE

• #he irst section 1 allows you to select the shape o the wa*eorm.#he target control's swing is proportional to this wa*eorm.

• #he second section 2 deines the signal that swings the target controlE

3A&5 #he a*erage le*el around which the target control swings.

&/D &peed o $", signal Bi you set a higher speed $%%& swingsthe target control aster

8 BWhere n is the actual number o the controller.



LMMS User Manual "he Controller 'ac0 9(

A%# Amount o swing

• When the knob is set at the center the A%# is ero.B#he target control won't swing at all

• 7 you turn the knob to the let the A%# is negati*e Bthetarget control swings in the negati*e direction.

• 7 you turn the knob to the right the A%# is positi*e Bthe

target control swings in the positi*e direction.

/H& /hase Bdelays the swing by a *ariable amount o time

• #he third section 3 oers three dierent multipliers or the reGuency othe modulating signal.

Applin# the L+? Controller

#o apply an $", Controller to any control Be.g. knob slider etcright-click on that control and select the Connect to connectoroption80.

A window as shown on the right pops up. Do the ollowingE

. Click on the User Controller lamp 1 . #his acti*ates thecontroller section.

. Click the selector arrow o the pull-down menu 2 . #his willpresent a list o all the controllers that are deined so ar in$%%&.

&elect any desired controller and /ress ?5.

BJou can apply the same controller to multiple controls in$%%&.

"he &ea0 Controller A /eak controller senses the sound peaks in one sound and changes the *alue o the target control.

#ypically a peak controller is used to reduce the *olume o the target sound BduckingIF but may be used to increasethe *olume o the target sound.

#he main window o the /eak Controller 8(

has our controlsE. #he yellow lamp 1 toggles the controller ono

. #he knobs 2 are e:plained here.

0. #he Controls button 3 toggles the settin#s window Bsee below.

When the Controls button is pressed a second window pops up withadditional controls or the /eak Controller.

All these controls are e:plained here.

80 7 you want to apply a controller to any knob etc you must irst create a controller in the Controller 'ac0.

8( Note that the $", Controller has only one settings windowF whereas the /eak Controller has its settings split in two dierent windows.



LMMS User Manual "he Controller 'ac0 9*

Applin# the &ea0 Controller

Assuming that you ha*e already added a /eak Controller

. Add a pea0 controller to the track that has the controlling sound

. ;ight-click on the control Bknob slider ader etc. that is to be controlled and select Connect to controller...option. 7n the window that pops up select the controller we added in step-.



"he &roect otes $ditor

#he &roect otes $ditor window is a te:t editor that allows you to attach notes to the pro4ect.

#o launch the &roect otes $ditor click the button in the main menu bar o LMMS.

When launched the editor window is small so it hides its editing toolbar.

#o see the ull toolbar drag its right edge and e:pand the window's sie.

#hese tools allow you to choose the ont sie and color o the te:t as well as its location in the window.

"pical uses o8 &roect otesJou can enter the ollowing inormation in the otes window.

• Jour contact details Baddress phone email"acebook 7D website etc.

• Copyright inormation.

• Describe the scene in which the musical piece is to be played in the drama Bdescription o the characters theirmoodemotions etc.

• &et up needed while playing this piece Bprops lighting microphones etc..

• 7 the pro4ect is a work-in-progressI then how it needs to progress.

• How much you are going to charge your producerL







$ditin# and Coposin# Son#s

Now that we ha*e understood how all windows in $%%& work let us try and edit an e:isting song to gain somepractice.

7n the ollowing section we will edit the new8an#led song that we saw earlier. 7n the ne:t section we will compose anew song rom a score sheet and sa*e it as a mp0 ile.

$ditin# an e-istin# son#We will edit our amiliar new8an#led demo song.

#o begin open the newangled song BSidebar M &roects 7eos new8an#led.pG.

We will e:periment with the three main windows in $%%&E Son# $ditor BB $ditor and +,Mi-er .

$-perientin# with the Son# $ditor

3eore we edit the tracks in the Son# $ditor notice that the original author has not chosen to create multi-measureelements in the melody and bassline tracks. 7nstead he has used elements that are one measure long. #hereorekeep in mind that when we edit any element its new content must not e:ceed one measure length Botherwise it wouldo*erlap with the subseGuent element.

Now let us edit the song.

7n the Bass Line track double-click onthe irst element.

$%%& loads the element in the &iano'oll $ditor .

Notice that the contents o the elementoccupy only one measure.

3eore editing the bassline element play

it once by clicking on the button. 3ydeault the &iano 'oll $ditor plays thecontents in repeat mode. &o you will geta good idea how the bassline wouldsound in the actual song.

Now change the contents in the ollowing steps. B5ach step is a separate e:periment.

Ater each step play the edited content by clicking on the button.

. &elect the pencil tool and drag some notes updown.

. Click anywhere within the irst measure to add some new notes.

0. Click on the $raser tool and delete some notes



LMMS User Manual $ditin# and Coposin# Son#s 144

(. Change the duration o some notes by dragging their right edge.

1. Change the *olume o some notes by dragging the orange dots updown.

). Click on the ote 6olue sGuare. 7t switches to ote &annin# control. Now change the pan o some notes

;epeat these si: steps with the melody track. Ater each step play the edited content by clicking on the button.

$-perientin# with the Beat)Bassline $ditor

Conduct the ollowing e:periments with the BB $ditor E

. Click on any o the steps Bthis toggles it ono. &ee how that changes the rhythm.

. Ho*er the mouse o*er any step and roll the mousewheel. #his changes the *olume o that step. B5ecti*elyyou are sounding some o the steps soter louder than normalI. Check out how this changes the o*erallimpact o the rhythm.

$-perientin# with the +,Mi-er

As we saw earlier the new8an#led pro4ect uses the +,Mi-er like a master *olume controlE &liding the Master aderBchannel! changes the *olume o all the our tracks in the Son# $ditor eGually. No other channels are unctional in

this pro4ect.&econdly the pro4ect does not use any special eects on any o the our tracks.

7n this section we will use the +,Mi-er or both these purposes.

"irst let us recall what we learned about the +,Mi-er E 7t has )( identical channels. #he main *alue o these channelsis in being able to handle groups o tracks81 rom the Son# $ditor or BB $ditor . Although all the )( channels areidentical con*entionally we use separate banks or the Son# $ditor or BB $ditor .

Accordingly we will be using the Ban0 A Bchannels ! to ) or the Son# $ditor and Ban0 B Bchannels + to 0or the BB $ditor .

$et us start with the Son# $ditor . 7mmediately we notice a ma4or problemE #his pro4ect has *ery ew tracks and so itis *irtually impossible to orm groups. 7 a pro4ect uses a large number o instruments Blike an orchestra it would bemuch easier to orm groups o those instrument channels Be.g. all string instruments in one group all wind instrumentsin another group and so on. &o or e:ample we can apply a common *ibrato signal to all the wind instruments.

&o in this pro4ect there is no point in combining a rhythm track with a melody track or a bassline track and applyingcommon eects to these dissimilar tracksL

Can we group the two rhythm tracks BMain Beat and Claps=

Well it turns out that they are composite tracksF so they cannot be directly connected to the +,Mi-er . B#he +M Mi-ercan only be connected to indi*idual instruments o the rhythm Bwhich are accessible rom the BB $ditor . "ore:ample i we look at BB $ditor we ind that the Main Beat rhythm is composed o three tracksE basedrum;A.ogg hihatBclosed;A.ogg and shaker;3.ogg .8) Jou can connect any o those tracks to the +, Mi-er channels.

#o sum up we would not be able to connect any o the Son# $ditor tracks to the +,Mi-er .

&o let us turn our attention to the BB $ditor . 3y con*ention we use a channel rom Ban0B or the tracks rom the BB

$ditor . &ince the *ery irst channel BChannel+ in 3ank-3 is a*ailable we will use it.

81 Jou can directly apply the same eects to 7ndi*idual tracks o the Son# $ditor or BB $ditor . #hereore the only uniGue *alue o the +,Mi-er is in applying acommon set o eects to groups o tracks.

8) #here is a ourth track Bclap!0.ogg but it is unused B7t does not contribute any sound. #hereore we will ignore it.




&o here are the stepsE

Click on the ae panel o the bassdru4!.o##track.

#he instrument panel pops up8+.

Ho*er the mouse on the "> CHN$ display and roll themousewheel till the number changes to +.

Now the output o this track is connected toChannel+ ! +,Mi-er .

Close the window B$%%& 4ust remembers the new*alueE #here is no ?5 or Sa6e button.

;epeat the two steps or the other two tracksBhihatBclosed;A.ogg and shaker;3.ogg .

Now they too are connected to Channel+ o +,

Mi-er .

. &witch to the +,Mi-er and click on Ban0B button.

. Click on the /anel area o Channel-+ to select it Bthe name +, 1% turns green

0. Click on the Add e88ects button.

#he Add e88ects window pops up.

&elect any eect B7n this e:ample we ha*e chosen"A& treolo.

/ress ?5 to add the eect.

"ipE 7 you know the name o the desired eect youcan directly type it in the input bo: at the top othis window. #he list below is shortened topro*ide only the matching names.

8+ ;ecall that the indi*idual instrument window has a +, tab Bourth tab in the middle panel which can apply these same special eects to that instrument. Howe*er iyou want to apply the same Bcommon eect to a group o instruments you must use the +,Mi-er .




#he selected eect appears in the $88ects chain bo:o the +,Mi-er .

At any time you can toggle any eect ono byclicking on the yellow lamp in its bo:.

#he entire eects chain can be toggled ono byclicking on the $88ects Chain green lamp Bat the top.

$%%& also pops up another window so that you canad4ust the settings o the eect to your liking.

Ad4ust the settings and close the window B$%%& 4ustremembers the new *aluesE #here is no ?5 or Sa6ebutton.

;epeat the abo*e steps to add other eects.

All the eects are added in the $88ects Chain bo:Fand applied in top/to/bottom order.

All the sounds connected to Channel+ are aectedin an identical manner.

Now play the rhythm in the BB $ditor by clicking on

the button.

#his completes our e:perimentation with all dierent parts o $%%&.

Coposin# a son# 8ro score sheet7n this section we will compose a well-known song in $%%&E 3aa baa blacksheep.

#he purpose behind selecting this particular song is twooldE 7ts score sheet is readily a*ailable Bollow the link. %oreimportantly e*en i you cannot read a score sheet you can play it by earI because you are already amiliar with thismelody. 3y the way this melody has many *ariations around the World so the tune you know may be a little dierent.#hereore do not worry about being accurate and 4ust take the plungeL

All you ha*e to do here is to translate the score into $%%&. $ater you can edit the song to add more instruments

chords percussion etc.Here are the stepsE

&reparin#

"irst look closely at the score sheet.

◦ #he musical piece is a nursery rhyme. B#his means we should keep it simpleF without ornaments.

◦ #he score is ) measures long B7t has ( linesF each line ha*ing ( measures.

◦ #he song uses a (( time signature.

◦ #he score sheet does not speciy a tempo. &o we will ha*e to set our own tempo.

◦ %ost o the notes are Guarter B(th notes. A ew are Gua*ers B8th notes

◦ None o the patterns repeat Beither measure-to-measureF or line-to-line88

&o this is what we ha*e to reproduce in $%%&.

88 ,ten the patterns repeat in a song Bsometimes with a slight change in some o the notes. 7n such cases we can sa*e a lot o eort by copying a part o the trackcontent to another part and then editing the copy as reGuired.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Baabaablacksheep3.jpg







Creatin# the Melod

. $aunch $%%&. We need only the Son# $ditor at the moment.

Close all other windows using the second line o buttons on the toolbar.

. Check i the deault settings need to be changed

◦ #he deault time signature is already set at (( so we don't ha*e to change it.

◦ #he deault tempo is (!. We will lea*e it unchanged. Bwe can change it any time later

◦ 3y deault $%%& launches our tracks in a new pro4ect89. &o we get a melody track with#riple,scillator as the instrument.

"or the time being we will work with this instrument. &oon we will see how to ind any other desiredinstrument and use it.

0. 7n the Son# $ditor double-click on the irst measure o this track.

(. $%%& adds an element to the track and automatically opens the &iano 'oll $ditor or editing this element.

#he entire composing work will be done here.

"irst we must set up the /iano ;oll 5ditor.

◦ &et the ote duration pull-down menu to ( Bbecause most o the notes are Guarter notes. #oinish the work ast we will irst compose the music using all Guarter notes and then ad4ust theduration o some notes to make them Gua*er notes.9!

◦ #he /iano ;oll shows our measures by deault which is suicient to show one line o the rhyme. #hisis con*enient Bwe will compose the song line-by-line. &ince the song has no repetiti*e patterns wedon't ha*e to plan about that either.

◦ #he Suantiation actor pull-down menu is set at ) by deault. #hat means i you ad4ust thestartend o any note it will snap to the white-lined grid that you see in the screenshot abo*e. #his is,? or us because the smallest note in our song is a Gua*er B8th note.

◦ $astly decide which octa*e you want to use. #he piano keys Bon the let side o the &iano 'oll$ditor identiy the octa*e numbers Bthe screenshot abo*e shows C( and C1.keys. 7 you cannotdecide your pitch rom those markings 4ust click on the piano keys to play the instrument9 and lookor a pitch that eels '4ust right'. BHo*er the mouse o*er the piano and roll the mousewheel to scroll thepiano updown.

Now you know where to place your starting note or the song.B7n our e:ample we ha*e chosen the ) th octa*e.

1. &elect the pencil tool and start clicking in the &iano 'oll $ditor to create new notes.

◦ #his is a good time to steal a Guick look at the &iano 'oll $ditor chapter once again to reresh your

89 #he deault pro4ect in $%%& has one track o each typeE melody beat sample and automation.

9! Another eGually acceptable strategy is to set the ote 7uration pull-down menu to $ast NoteI and then ad4ust the notes only when a dierent length is used in thepiece B,nce the note length is ad4usted $%%& remembers it and creates subseGuent notes o that length.

9 BJou may ha*e to lower the *olume using the %aster *olume slider located at the top o the $%%& window.



LMMS User Manual $ditin# and Coposin# Son#s 14!

memory about how dierent controls work.

◦ ?eep this manual open in the background as you work with $%%&. 7n the beginning you will need toreer to the manual *ery otenL

6se A$#<#A3 key combination to switch between $%%& and this guide.

). #he igures below show the irst our measures o the song in the score sheet and in $%%&E

7 you did not get this shape on your own 4ust copy this pattern to create your notes.

+. Rust go on entering the notes till the end o the song Bthe /iano ;oll area goes on e:panding as you enter newnotes.

#he ruler Blocated 4ust below the toolbar shows the measure numbers or your con*enience9.

Addin# 'hth

1. Addin# percussion instruents

7n the Side Bar click on the M Saples button. $ook or samples under the 7rus node. As you clickon the dierent samples listed here $%%& will play the instruments. 7 you like a particular sound double-clickon that sample to add it to the BB $ditor . ;epeat this to add other percussion instruments.

2. Ma0in# the pattern

&ince this is a (( time measure the deault timeline in the 33 5ditor has ) steps as e:plained here.

A wide *ariety o choices are a*ailable. Jou can make it Guiet like a lullaby or loud-and-energetic.

A *ery Guiet *ersion may look like this B4ust a tiny tic-ticI soundE

A *ery energetic *ersion may look like thisE

Notice that most o the onI steps happen to be at the start o each beat. #he rhythm has ( beats permeasureF which start at the st 1th. 9#h and 0th step. &o these steps are more likely to be turned ,N.

9 #here is a small dierence thoughE 7n the score sheet you identiy the position o any note by line number<measure numberF but in $%%& the measure numberstarts rom the beginning o the song and continues till the end.



LMMS User Manual $ditin# and Coposin# Son#s 14(

Addin# Autoation

$et us pretend that the sheep is standing *ery close to us compared to the boy. &ince the Guestion 0aa baablacksheep' have you any 1oolI is asked rom a great distance it should sound aint. #he sheep's answer should bemuch louder 90.

We will achie*e this eect with two alternati*e methodsE Ba song-global automation and Bb Automation track.

Applin# son##lobal autoationWe are automating the *olume or the entire duration o the song which is best done with the son##lobalautoation method instead o using a separate automation track.

. ;ight-click on the @ol control o the Deault preset and select $dit Son##lobal autoation option.

. $%%& pops up the Autoation $ditor . All you ha*e to do is to edit the automation cur*e to keep the cur*e ata low le*el or the irst two measures and then take it to the ma:imum le*el or the rest o the song like thisE

Applin# Autoation "rac0

7n this *ariation we will add an element on an automation track and then link the instrument's @ol control to it. We willcreate an automation cur*e such that during the irst two measures the *olume is kept lowF and then or the rest o thesong it is high.

Howe*er realie that we ha*e already applied the son##lobal autoation to the @ol control in the last e:periment.We will ha*e to remo*e that inluence on the control irst Botherwise two separate automation cur*es will besimultaneously acting on the @ol controlL

. #o remo*e the eect o the song-global automation right-click on the @ol control o the Deault preset trackand select $dit Son##lobal autoation option. $%%& pops up the Autoation $ditor . Jou ha*e to set alat horiontal line at !! Bmid-point. Now the song-global automation is still applied to the @ol control9( but itis set to the deault *alue.

. Now press and hold C"'L key and then drag the @ol control and drop it on irst measure o the Automation

track91. B,nce you start dragging you can release the C"'L key.

A new element is created on the automation track and linked with the 6ol control o the #efault $resettrack9). Drag its right edge to e:pand it so that the element becomes as long as the song9+.

90 ,n the other hand i we are preparing a pro4et where the source o sound is walking towards us the loudness o the sound should gradually grow.

9( A ma4or limitation in $%%& is that once you apply a song-global automation to any control you cannot remo*e it. #he best you can do is to change the cur*e to set itat deault *alue at all times.

91 7 you drop it elsewhere don't worryE Jou can always drag the element to the correct position.

9) Actually we should ha*e named this track &ingersI Bit has the boy's and the sheep's parts. 3ut since this is a small e:ercise we did not bother.

9+ 3y making the element as long as the song we ha*e actually simulated the song-global automation method. #he beauty o the automation track is that it can containmultiple small automation elementsF and each o those elements can be applied to a dierent control o any track. &o the track is actually wasted ater a singlecontrol here. #his application calls or the song-global automation only.



LMMS User Manual $ditin# and Coposin# Son#s 14*

0. Now double-click on the automation element to edit it. $%%& loads it in Autoation $ditor . Now draw a stepin which the le*el is low or the irst two measures and then high or the rest o the song.

#his step is e:actly same as step o the Son##lobal autoation method Bsee abo*e

CongratulationsL Jou ha*e 4ust entered your *ery irst songL

+urther e-perientation

Now that you ha*e mastered this part e:periment with *arious controls to e:pand those skills.

Usin# ultiple instruents

#here are two *oices in this song Bboy and sheep. &o we will use two dierent instruments or them.

#he original track will ser*e as the boy's *oice. "or the sheep's *oice we will add a S+2 &laer track with =rombonesound patch loaded in it.

#o sa*e time and eort we will clone the entire song on the new trackF and then delete the non-rele*ant notes romboth tracks.

#he step-by-step procedure is as ollowsE

&art1 Launch a new trac0 with S+2 &laer plu#in

. 7n the Side Bar click on the Instruent &lu#ins button.Drag the S+2 &laer plugin into the Son# $ditor . #his adds a new track.

. &ince this track now represents sheep's *oice let us rename it as &heepI.&o double-click on its Name panel and enter the new name &heepI.Double-click on the Name panel o the "riple?scillator track and rename it as 3oyI.

0. Click on the name panel o the S+2 &laer track to open the 7nstrument window o the S+2 &laer plugin.

(. 7n the 7nstrument window click on the button and load an &" ile that has "robone sound98.

1. Click on the button and select #rombone.

). Close the 7nstrument window o the plugin.&art2 Clone the son# 8ro the "riple?scillator trac0 to the S+2 &laer trac0

. ;ight-click on the element and copy it to clipboard

. 7n the S+2 &laer track's timeline click in the irst measure.B#his inserts a dummy measure which we will need in the ne:t step

0. Now right-click on this dummy measure and select &aste.#he dummy measure is replaced by our )-measure long element.

&art3 7elete the nonrele6ant parts 8ro each trac0

. Double-click on the "riple?scillator track's element. $%%& loads its contents in the &iano 'oll $ditor .

Now select all the notes e:cept the irst two measures and press 7$L key on your keyboard. Although the notes are deleted the element is not shortenedE 7t remains ) measures long but has contentsonly in its irst two measures. #he rest is completely blank now99.

. Double-click on the S+2 &laer track's element. $%%& loads its contents in the &iano 'oll $ditor .

Now select the notes in the irst two measures and press 7$L key on your keyboard. Although the notes are deleted the element is not shortenedE 7t remains ) measures long with its irst twomeasures completely blank now!!.

#hat's itL We are ready with a two-track song.

Miscellaneous chan#es

Here are some suggestionsE. Change the tempo o the song.

98 %any &" iles ha*e only a ew selected instrument sounds. &ome ha*e sound o 4ust a single instrument. #hereore make sure you ha*e downloaded &" ileswith the sounds you want.

99 7 you wish you can shorten the element to remo*e the ( blank measuresF as the blank part does not contribute to the song anyway...

!! &ince the blank part is at the beginning o the element you cannot easily remo*e it by 4ust re-siing the element. Jou ha*e to irst select all the notes and mo*e themto the let. Now the blank area is at the end o the element. #o remo*e this blank area resie the element by dragging its right edge. "inally re-position the elementon the track Bit should now begin at measure0.



LMMS User Manual $ditin# and Coposin# Son#s 14%

Vary it between ! and !! and see which tempo eels more natural.

A good method is to play the song in loop mode Bendless play and then change the tempo. Jou do not ha*eto stop and restart the song to change its tempoE As soon as you change the tempo the change takes eecton-the-ly.

. /lay with the note 6olue area Bat the bottom o the &iano 'oll $ditor . 3y deault all notes are entered withthe same *olume. Ad4ust the *olume o some notes and see i it impro*es the song.

0. Change the instrument to a %7D7 *oice 7n the Side Bar click on the *ery irst BInstruent plu#ins button .

$-portin# the Son#When you work on the song the composition is sa*ed in the pro4ect ile. Ater composing the song you ha*e to e:portthe ile so that it can be played on other computers.

. &elect the +ile $-port menu Bor 4ust press C"'L)$.

A window pops up titled Select 8ile 8or proecte-port...

. Na*igate to the older where you want to sa*e the song ile.

0. 6se the 8ile tpe pull down menu Bat the bottom o the window to speciy the ile type to be sa*ed Bwa* orogg etc. Click on the Sa6e button.

#he 1av e:tension is analog so the e:ported song ile will be large. ,n the other hand the ogg Bogg *orbisormat yields a small ile but can be played only on those de*ices here there its codec is installed.

(. Another window pops up titled e:port pro4ect to [ilename\. B#his is the ile name you speciied in step-0.

Control 'ear0s

&ample rate #his is a measure o number o times the analog signal signal is sampled persecond. #he higher this number the more accurate the song to the originalFespecially i the original song has rapid changes in *olume.

?eeping a low rate means low GualityF but increasing it also makes the ile large.

#hereore this actor should be selected by compromising between Guality and ilesie.



LMMS User Manual $ditin# and Coposin# Son#s 14/

3it rate 3it rate reers to the speed at which the song is processedstreamed. 7t aects bothGuality and sie o the song ile Bthe higher the bit rate the larger the ile and betterthe Guality.

6ncompressed audio as stored on an audio-CD has a bit rate o ( kbits so$%%& oers compression ratios in the range o ( to .

Depth #his is the internal accuracy used while recording each sample.

#he )-bit integer option is much aster and results in lower loading o thecomputer. #he 0-bit loat option loads the computer but treats each *alue withmuch higher accuracy resulting in higher Guality.

7nterpolation When a high-resolution audio is reduced to low-resolution it introduces distortion.#o reduce this distortion spatial anti-aliasing techniGues are used. Choose betweenthe ero-order hold option or three sinc ilter options!.

,*ersampling ,*ersampling helps a*oid aliasing impro*es resolution and reduces noise.Howe*er it multiplies the ile sie by the same actor.

&ample-e:actcontrollers

Alias-reeoscillators

#hese oscillators produce a smooth wa*eorm that does not ha*e discontinuitieswhich helps in reducing the distortion.

Note that i you sa*e the song as a wa* ile the settings on the let side o the window will be ignored.

1. When you click ?5 the song will be rendered rom where the playback marker was last set.

#o get the entire song e:ported ensure that the playback marker is at the start o the song beore e:porting it.

! A sinc 8ilter is essentially a near-perect low-pass ilter. &ince it also consumes high C/6 power three dierent options are pro*ided as a compromise betweenGuality and C/6 power.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_compression_ratio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatial_anti-aliasing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-order_hold



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinc_filter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliasing



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_compression_ratio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatial_anti-aliasing


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinc_filter


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise



Suar

&o this brings us to the end o the manual.

We started with amiliariation with the controls. #hen we saw the o*erall unctional diagram o $%%& and o*er*iewo the $%%& window. Ater that we saw how a demo song is played in $%%&. #he subseGuent chapters e:plained thesub-windows o $%%&. #hen we edited the same demo song in $%%&F and inally we composed a well-knownnursery rhyme 3aa baa blacksheepI in $%%&.

&o at this point you can use $%%& conidently.

;owe6er this is also the ost critical oentE What you do ne:t will decide whether you will ollow a path tosuccess and sel-ulillment or gi*e up $%%& altogether in rustration or disinterest.

Jour skills at this moment are in act N,# enough to create good music Jou must pick up knowledge about musictheory .

$et me e:plainE

7t is easy to enter notes in $%%& and play them. 3ut the trick is in knowing which notes to enter. 7n other words youmust know music theory such as harmony counterpoint etc.

7t is e*en easier to create beatsE Rust add percussion instruments and click on the steps in the 33 5ditor. Howe*eryou will soon lose interest i you limit yoursel to such aimless e:ercises. #o get a much more ulilling e:perience youmust know the underlying drumming techniGuesF and how rhythms accentuate the song..

7n act you should ha*e the habit o orming the music in your head irstF and then using $%%& to gi*e e:pression towhat you ha*e in mind. BNot the other way round. ;emember $%%& is 4ust a toolE ;eal music comes rom within. !.

"ortunately a simple 7nternet search will gi*e you a lot o websites that pro*ide ree lessons on basic music theory !0. &ome lessons are a combination o te:t audiomidi ilesF while others are *ideos. #ry both types.

&o the irst ew musical pieces you create would be critical. 7 they are ulilling you will try more and more comple:

pieces in a 4ourney o sel-disco*ery. ,n the other hand without the undamental knowledge you will limit yoursel toimitating a ew songs that you lo*e but gradually lose interest as such e:periments do not add e:citement to your lie.

7 wish you a long and happy use o $%%& with many creati*e musical pieces to your creditL

! 5*en the music theory and drumming techniGues do not make you a musicianE Jou still need the spark o creati*e inspirationL

!0 &ources that teach a speciic musical genre are harder to ind such as Ra 3lues etc. Also note that websites that teach drumming techniGues do not usuallyteach basic music theory. #hereore you will ha*e to conduct separate searches or music theory and drumming techniGues.











LMMS User Manual A. &lu#ins 11!

Wa6e8or Sbol 7etails

/ulse

B&Guare wa*e

#he wa*eorm toggles between ull *alue and minimum *alue.#he typical sound o *intage arcade games.&ounds much less old-ashioned when combined with other wa*eorms. 3ecautious as the sGuare wa*e will sound a lot louder than the other wa*es.

%oog-like#riangle

&ounds similar to sawtooth but can also be used or some organ-like sounds.#he shape is due to a historic glitch in the analogue circuitry o the original %oogsynthesier.

5:ponentialWa*e

$ike sawtooth shape but with sharply rising and alling edges resulting in a narrowpeak

Noise A broad spectrum o reGuencies are generated and *aried randomly.6seul or creating drum beats and other eects like wind.

6ser-deined Double-click to draw your own shape or use any sound ile as a wa*eorm.

Instruent &lu#ins#hink o a real sound-recording studio where se*eral musical instruments are placed in a room. As a musiccomposer you can select any o those instruments and play them to create melody bassline or percussion. 7 you arenot satisied with the a*ailable instruments the studio gets whate*er instruments you want and places them in theroom.

Well in $%%& you ha*e a similar scenarioE 7ts 7nstruments /lugins tab Bin the &ide 3ar pro*ides a lot o instrumentswhich you can use directly to create a melody bassline or percussion. Rust like real-lie instruments the $%%&instruments can be tuned Bin act the synthesiers can be tuned to create completely dissimilar sounds. Jou can adda lot o new instrument plugins Btypically ha*ing V&#i-type interace.

$et us see the a*ailable instrument plugins in more detail.



LMMS User Manual A. &lu#ins 11(

Audio+ile&rocessor

#he Audio+ile&rocessor plugin is used to play a recorded sample as an instrument.

Normally a wa*etable is created by sampling the sound o a real-lie instrument Be.g. piano lute guitarF but it canalso be created by synthesiing the wa*eorm. While the Audio+ile&rocessor plugin is based on the irst approachthe BitIn6ader plugin is based on the second approach.

&rocess &elect a sample ile and identiy the portion that is to be played. Ad4ust the amplitude.

• 7 the sample is too long you will ha*e to use a wa*eorm editor Be.g. Audacity to trim the e:cess parts.

• #he sample ile can be in uncompressed Bwa* or compressed Bmp0. ,gg etc ormat



LMMS User Manual A. &lu#ins 11*

#he interace has the ollowing controlsE

Control ;ow it wor0s...

Click this button to open a ?pen audio 8ile... dialog.

3rowse through your computer and select the sample ile.

• Jou can also change the current sample by dragging asample rom the Saples section o the &idebar.

A%/ #he aplitude or playback o the wa*e ile in terms opercentage o the original. B;angeE ! to 1!!X

BAny *alue below !!X means attenuation and any *alue abo*e!!X means ampliication

&#A;# &tart point in thesample wa*eorm.

$%%& plays the sample only between Startand $nd points. Check the A+&wa6e#raph display pane and then ad4ustthese points.5ND 5nd point in the

sample wa*eorm.

/lay in re*erse.

• When the button is green the sample is played inre*erse.

• When the button is gray the sample is played normally.

/lay in repeat mode.

• When the button is green the sample is played in repeatmode till the note is held down. 7n other words the soundcontinues as long as the note is held down.

•

When the button is gray the sample is played 4ust oncee*en when the note is held down. 7n other words thesound stops once a single playback o the sample isinished.



LMMS User Manual A. &lu#ins 11%

BitIn6ader

#he BitIn6ader plugin is a customiable wa*etable synthesier.

Normally a wa*etable is created by sampling the sound o a real-lie instrument Be.g. piano lute guitarF but it canalso be created by synthesiing the wa*eorm. While the Audio"ile/rocessor plugin is based on the irst aproach theBitIn6ader plugin is based on the second approach.

&rocess &elect a wa*eorm Bor draw it by handF and then ad4ust sample length.


7nterpolation &moothens the cur*e by plotting more points between thepoints on original cur*e.

Normalie

&et the sample length o the wa*eorm.

B;angeE 8 to 8.

&moothen the wa*eorm by a*eraging the points on thecur*e. #he shape o the cur*e changes and any spikes areremo*ed.

Click on any wa*eormE

• &ine

• #riangle

• &awtooth

• &Guare

• White noise

• 6ser-deined shape Bdraw your own wa*eorm in thepane

"ip Jou can select any o the predeined shapesand then modiy it by drawing parts o the shape.

Special note

Here sample length means the number o points on the graph.

When you reduce the sample length it retains the speciied number o pointsBcounting rom let and discards the rest permanently.

As a result i you increase the sample length again the graph again gets morepoints but now these new points lie on yM! a:is Bi.e. the horiontal line in thecenter o the graph. 7n other words the old data or those points is not retained.

#o sum up when you reduce the sample length and then increase it again thelater part o the wa*eorm is lattened. This creates a beat%li&e effect.



LMMS User Manual A. &lu#ins 11/

5ic0er

?icker is a kick- and bass drum synthesier.

7t works by producing a fre<uency s1eep B7t starts at a certain reGuency and gradually increases the reGuency till itreaches the higher limit.

?icker ignores the pitch o the note it plays Bregardless o which piano key you click at the bottom the window it will

play the same sound. #hus it is most suitable or use in the Beat)Bassline $ditor .&rocessE Ad4ust the knobs until you get a satisactory sound.

#o get realistic sounds set the Start and $nd reGuencies to low *alues Btake care not to set them too ar apartotherwise ?icker will sound like a sirenL.

Also set the 7eca at a low *alue because a beat sound is not supposed to sustain or long.


&#A;# &tart reGuencyNote that the &#A;# reGuency can be sethigher than the 5ND reGuency.

5ND 5nd reGuency

D5CAJ #ime taken by the ?icker or one reGuency-sweepBrom the Start reGuency to the $nd reGuency

D7&# Distortion added to the output

BDistortion is added deliberately to add timbre to the sound

2A7N Additional gain added to the output Bmakes it louder



LMMS User Manual A. &lu#ins 119

LB342

#he $30! is a VC, BVoltage-Controlled ,scillator which specialies in *arying its reGuency according to aspeciied fre<uency vs timeI cur*e. Note that we are not talking about the shape o the output wa*eorm but how itsfre<uency changes with time.

#he $3-0! is an incomplete monophonic imitation o the ;olland 3ass line #3-0!0.


VC, #his is the Voltage-Controlled ,scillator section.

&elect the shape o the fre<uency s1eep curve in the output by

clicking on any button in the strip.

#he options areE

• &awtooth

• #riangle

• &Guare

• &Guare with rounded end

• %oog-like wa*e

• &ine wa*e

• 5:ponential wa*e

• White noise

#he selected button turns green.

VC" #his is the Voltage-Controlled "ilter section which changes its

characteristics based on the control *oltage we apply.• (d3oct Q Applies a steep slope o ( d3,cta*e!(.

• C6# - Cut o reGuency or the ilter

• ;5& - ;esonance actor or the ilter

• 5NV %,D Q 5n*elope modulationE #he ilter en*elope ismodulated with a signal so that the ilter will passdierent reGuencies at dierent points o timeF thusenriching the sound.

• D5C - Decay EEE

#he third unnamed section is or distortion in the sound.Distortion Broughness is deliberately added to the sound tocreate a distinct timbre in the output.

• &lide - EEE

• Accent -EEE

• Dead - EEE

• D7&#- #he amount o distortion

!( A steep slope allows a ilter discriminate between two closely spaced reGuencies Bit can accept one signal while re4ecting the other. 7 the slope is gentle the ilteraccepts a large the undesirable reGuency as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_TB-303

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage-controlled_oscillator

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage-controlled_filter


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_off_frequency

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_factor


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_TB-303

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage-controlled_oscillator


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_off_frequency







?r#anic

,rganic is an additi*e synthesier which combines the output o up to eight oscillators.

When a note is played in ,rgan the phase osets o each oscillator are randomied Bseparately or both stereochannels. 3ecause o this the sound is slightly dierent e*ery time you press a key e*en when you don't change anysettings.

#his plugin is most useul or creating organ instruments Band hence the name and pads. Although ?r#anic has more oscillators than the #riple,scillator it has less capabilities. "or e:ample it cannot let theoscillators modulate each other.

5ach oscillator has our controls arranged in a single column. B#he controls o alloscillators are arranged in eight such columns.

Indi6idual oscillator controls

Control +unction

Wa*e #he wa*eorm generated by the oscillator.

• !XE &ine

• XE &awtooth• XE /ulse

• 0XE #riangle

• (XE %oog #riangle

• 1XE 5:ponential

Vol Volume o the indi*idual oscillator.

/an &tereo panning o the indi*idual oscillator.

Wide De-tunes an indi*idual oscil lator in the range o -!! cents to<!! cents. B< semitone

eneral controls

Control +unction

Dist Adds distortion to add timbre to the sound

Vol %aster *olumeBcontrols the combined sound o all eight oscillators

;andomise ;andomies all oscillator settings

7e8ault settin#s o8 the oscillators

3y design the oscillators ha*e to produce reGuencies that are dierent rom each otherF only then would this pluginwould sound like a real organ. Botherwise the combined output will be 4ust a single sine wa*e.

"or this purpose the oscillators are set to produce dierent pitches e*en i the Wide knob o all oscillators is set toero.

#he deault settings o the oscillators are as ollowsE

0 ( 1 ) + 8

&emitones relati*e to base note - -+ ! < <9 <( <8 <0

&emitones relati*e to pre*ious oscillator - <+ < < <+ <1 <( <0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cent_(music)






+reeBo

#his plugin is an emulator o the sound chip o the Nintendo's 'ame oy Bhand-held arcade game.

#he arcade sound is produced by mi:ing the stereo sound rom our sweep oscillator channels.

7t has the ollowing controlsELine Control +unction

a

$ Vol Volume-$et channel

; Vol Volume-;ight channel

#reb #reble Bhigh reGuencies

3ass 3ass Blow reGuencies

bch-ch( #his patch-panel toggles the outputs o the indi*idual

channels. B is off and is on.

Vol Volume

&&$ &weep step length

W/D Wa*e pattern duty

&;& &weep right-shit amount

&#ime &weep time

&wDir &weep direction Bupdown

V&wDir Volume &weep direction Bupdown

0a

Vol Volume


W/D Wa*e pattern duty


0b

Vol Noise channel Volume



&;W &hit register width

( Vol %aster *olume control




&atMan

#his plugin pro*ides a 26&-compatible patch instrument.

#o produce instrumental sound this plugin needs the 26& sound patch iles.

A 26& patch set consists o around 8! .pat instrument iles plus a deault.cg inde: ile which lists which patch goeswith each %7D7 program number. 7nstead o ha*ing to use 8 separate iles a uniied . or .dat ile can also be used.

&rocess ,nce the patch is set 4ust proceed with the music composition.

#his plugin has the ollowing controlsE

Control +unction

Click this button to open a ?pen audio 8ile... dialog.

3rowse through your computer and select the patch ile.

#oggles the $oop mode ono.

#oggles the tune mode ono.

KKKwhat is this==







LMMS User Manual A. &lu#ins 12!

S+2 &laer

#his plugin lets you use instruments using the &oundont wa*etables B.s iles.

#o produce instrumental sound this plugin needs the s wa*etable iles.


roup Control +unction

2ain Volume o the instrument

3ank &elect the bank BMset o patches

/atch

Click this button to open the ?pen audio 8ile... dialog.3rowse through your computer and select the patch ile.

&elect a patch BMsound in the selected bank.

0 ;5V5;3

&7@5

DA%/

W7D#H

$5V5$

( CH,;6&

N6%

$5V5$

&/D

D5/#H



LMMS User Manual A. &lu#ins 12(

SI7

#his plugin emulates the two chipsets B%,&)18 and %,&818! used in Commodore )( computers.

7t uses three *oicesI out o which the third *oice can be turned o.

#his plugin has the ollowing controls Bthe selected option turns redE

Line Control +unction

Vol %aster *olume

;es ;esonance

Cut Cut-o reGuency

hpbplp &elect any one ilter typeBhpMHigh-pass bpM3and-pass lpM$ow-pass

0,""

)18 818! &elect a chipset B%,&)18 or %,&818!

att Attack #hese parameters deine the en*elope othe wa*eorm.

dec Decay

sust &ustain

rel ;elease

pw /ulse width

cts

&elect any wa*eormBsGuare triangle sawtooth and white noise

sync

ring

ilter

test

0 &ame as abo*e

( &ame as abo*e

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64





LMMS User Manual A. &lu#ins 12*

"he "riple ?scillator plu#in

#he #riple ,scillator Bpopularly called 3-?sc plugin is a synthesier which generates sounds by combining thewa*eorms o up to three unction generators.

&lu#in settin#s

#he oscillators make up two pairsE ,&C-,&C and ,&C -,&C0.

#he irst panel controls how each o these pairs interact with each other. #heollowing operational modes are a*ailableE

Mode 7etail

/% /hase %odulationE #he phase o the main oscillator ismodulated by the second oscillator

A% Amplitude %odulationE #he amplitude o the irst oscillator ismodulated by the second oscillator.

%i: #he wa*eorms are added together Bdeault

&ync &ynchroniedE #he wa*eorm o the irst oscillator is restartedwith the reGuency o the second one B#he wa*eorm o thesecond one does not matter in this mode

"% "reGuency %odulationE #he reGuency o the irst oscillator ismodulated by the second oscillator

#he ne:t three panels are identical. 5ach panel controls one oscillator.

Wa*eorm Click on any wa*eorm.

#he selected wa*eorm turns blue.

Vol VolumeE Ad4usts the amplitude o the wa*eorm.&et *olume to ! to turn o the oscillator.

/an /anningE Aects the stereo panning o the oscillator.

Crs Coarse ad4ustment o pitch BreGuency o the oscillator BrangeE-( to <( semitones

"$ "ine-tuning o the pitch BreGuency or the let stereo channelBrangeE -!! to <!! cents B< semitones

"; "ine-tuning o the pitch BreGuency or the right stereo channelBrangeE -!! to <!! cents B< semitones

/, /hase ,setE /hase oset o the output wa*eorm relati*e to theother oscillatorsB;angeE ! to 0)! degrees

&/D &tereo /hase DetuningE /hase oset between let and rightstereo channels. B;angeE ! to 0)! degrees

"ip "or best results set dierent wa*eorms with dierent chorus settings.



LMMS User Manual A. &lu#ins 12%

#he #riple,scillator can be set to sound like some amiliar instruments.

Here are some recipesE

Instruent Settin#s and ethod

&ynth bass &tart with a resh #riple-,scillator with the deault sine-wa*e patch.

• &tart on the O/$627NO page and change the wa*eorms. #ry some dierent combinationsE

A sGuare a triangle and a sine wa*e are a good combo or set them all to saw or moog-saw.

• &elect the O5NV$",O page. #urn the ilter on to O$ow/assO O: $ow/assO or O%oogO andturn the cuto all the way down. Jour sound becomes almost inaudible.

• 2o to the OC6#,""O subpage and turn the en*elope on. #urn OHoldO O&ustainO andO;eleaseO to ero.

• Now start tweak the resonance knob in the O"7$#5;O section. 7 you are using the %oogilter N5V5; turn the resonance past about !.81.

• Now play some really low notes.

5lectric bass #his is 4ust a basic bass without o*erdri*e.

• &tart with a sine patch and mute ,&C . #urn the *olume o ,&C to !!X.

• &et O,&C < ,&C 0O to /% B/hase %odulation

• #urn on the *olume en*elope and gi*e it a long decay *ery short release and an attackaround 1! or ! o a second.

• 2o to the O">O page and add a #A/ Chorus"langer eect. #his adds an e:tra layer orichness to the sound.

• Now go back to the O/$627NO page and decide where you want ,&C 0's *olume Bthat isthe amount o phase modulation between ,&C 0 and ,&C .

• "inally re-enorce the undamental Blowest harmonic o your sound by turning ,&C up

4ust a bit. #his is optional. ,r try triangle wa*e.

,rgan ;eal organs are basically additi*e synthesiersE #hey add together a ew doen simple sine wa*esto orm a comple: tone. #his is pretty easy to mimic with the #riple-,scillator and $%%&'s chords.

• &tart with a resh sine patch and using each oscillator's OCrsO Bcoarse knobs ha*e themplaced in three dierent octa*es.

• "lip o*er to the O"6NCO page and turn on chords. &et the chord to O,cta*eO and setO;AN25O to three or our. Neat eh=

• /lay dierent Cs. #hey sound similar don't they= #hat's because most o the harmonicsare the same.

• "or some un change one o the oscillators to a triangle wa*e.

• Jou can reine the sound by changing which octa*es each oscillator plays in or byad4usting their relati*e *olumes.



LMMS User Manual A. &lu#ins 12/

@eS"i#e

#his plugin is an adapter or using V&# and V&#i!1 plugins rom within $%%&. 7t simply connects the $%%& to ane:isting V&# Bor V&#i plugins on your computer.

Jou can download a huge *ariety o musical plugins rom the internet Bmany o them are reeware.

• 6sually V&# plugins are iles with .dll or .e-e e:tensions but some plugins may ha*e other supporting iles

also. Do not orget to copy them also.

• Create a subolder in your V&# older name it ater the plugin and then copy the plugin contents into thatsubolder. #his keeps your olders neat and also ensures that your plugin works properly.

V&# plugins are a*ailable or all three categories Binstruments eects and ilters. #he $%%& website contains acommunity-generated list o ully tested V&# plugins.


Control +unction

Click this button to open the ?pen @S" plu#in... dialog. 3rowsethrough your computer and select the patch ile.

&howHide267

#oggles the original screen o the plugin. BAd4ust the parameterso that plugin directly using its own interace.

#urn o allnotes

KKK

!1 BWhen a V&# plugin is used as an instrument it is called V&#i.

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Tested_VSTs






@ibed

Vibed models a set o up to nine *ibrating strings.

• 5ach string can be set to *ibrate independently!) Bwa*eorm octa*e etc.

• #he physical property o each string also can be ad4ustedE

◦

#he position where it is picked Bplucked◦ #he position o the pickup Bthe transducer that picks up the *ibrations in the string as in an electric guitar

◦ &tiness o the string


Control +unction

&tring #he plugin has nine strings represented by -9 buttons.

&elect a string by clicking on the number pad and then set itsparameters.

7mp Determines whether the graph represents an impulse or theactual shape o the string.

• When ,NE the graph represents the shape o the pluckthat will propagate up and down the string.

• When ,"" the graph represents the shape o the stringat the time it is sounded--when you play a note you arebending the whole string into the shape on the graph andreleasing it to let it ring out.

,cta*e #here are nine *aluesE - - " 0 ( 1 ) and +.

Changes the octa*e o the selected stringE

• Negati*e *alues mean shit down by : octa*es

• " BMundamental means no change.

• /ositi*e *alues mean shit up by : octa*es.

2raphpanel

5ither select a wa*eorm by clicking on the buttons at right ordraw a graph in the pane.

• Jou can also select a wa*eorm and then edit it manually.

Wa*eorm &elect a wa*eorm to load a predeined wa*eorm

Bsine triangle sawtooth sGuare white noise and user-deined.

#oggles the selected string ono.

&moothen the wa*eorm. #his remo*es any spikes in the cur*e.

Normalie the wa*eorm.

V Volume o the selected string BrangeE ! to !!.

& &tring stiness BrangeE ! to !.!1.

A stier spring dampens the *ibration which die sooner.

$ower stiness produces brighter sounds that ring or longer.

/ /ick position!+E #he position at which the string is pluckedpicked

!) 7 we compare this instrument to a guitar a si:-string guitar would be modeled as a one string instrument--when a single note is plucked only one string makes asound. A twel*e-string guitar or a mandolin would be modeled as a two string instrument--when a single note is plucked two strings ring out. 3ut here we ha*e ninestrings *ibrating independently.

!+ 7n the guitar analogy the end o the string that connects to the body is reerred to as the ObridgeO and the end that connects to the tuning pegs is reerred to as the






NnAddSub+,

#his plugin 6ses the @ynAdd&ub"> synthesier.


Control +unction

&how 267 #oggles the nati*e interace o @ynAdd&ub"> Bsee below

/,;# /ortamentoE A gradual slide rom one note to another BrangeE ! to +

";5S "ilter "reGuency BrangeE ! to +

;5& "ilter resonance BrangeE ! to +

3W 3andwidth BrangeE ! to +

"% 2A7N "% gain BrangeE ! to +

;5& C" ;esonance center reGuency BrangeE ! to +

;5& 3W ;esonance bandwidthBrangeE ! to +

"orward%7D7 controlchanges

7 selected EEEwhat happens=

#he nati*e interace o @ynAdd&ub"> looks like thisE




$88ect &lu#ins

Bass Booster

#his plugin boosts the bass Blow reGuencies.7t has the ollowing controlsE

Control +unction

";5S #he cut o reGuencyBthe reGuency up to which it will pro*ide the boost

2A7N #he gain Bboost pro*ided to lower reGuencies

;A#7,

&ea0 Controller


Control +unction

3A&5 #he a*erage *alue o the target sound around which the swingtakes place.

A%# #he modulation amount. Bmore amount means higher eect onthe target sound.

• When the knob is set at the center the A%# is ero.B#he target control won't swing at all

• 7 you turn the knob to the let the A%# is negati*e Bthetarget control swings in the negati*e direction.

• 7 you turn the knob to the right the A%# is positi*e Bthetarget control swings in the positi*e direction.

A##AC? How Guickly the eect takes eect.

• A lower attack means ast onset o the eect.

• A higher attack means gradual onset o the eect

D5CAJ How Guickly the target sound is released rom the eect. A slowdecay means the eect is held or a longer time.

%ute #he Mute lamp turns o the modulating signal itsel Bwhich inturns o the controller also. Now you can hear the pure targetinstrumentF without the modulating sound ,; its eect on thetarget sound.

Compare this with the yellow lamp located on the main windowo the /eak Controller which turns o the controller onlyF but notthe controlling signal.

"or more inormation on /eak Controller ollow this link.




Spectru AnalGer

#his plugin analyes the spectral content o the signal.


Control +unction

$inearspectrum

Changes the :-a:is Btoggles between linearlog

$inear Ja:is

Changes the y-a:is Btoggles between linearlog

Stereo $nhancer

#his plugin introduces spatial distance between the let and right speakers.

7t has only one control which changes the simulated width between thespeakers.

Stereophonic Matri-

#his plugin has our knobs.

#wo o them are indi*idual gain knobs or the let and right channels. #he

other two knobs control the cross-signal between the let and right channels.

5nob between +unction

7p $ Q op $ 2ainattenuation o the $et channel

7p $ Q op ; Controls how much o the incoming let channel signal isrouted to the right channel.

7p ; Q op $ Controls how much o the incoming right channel signal isrouted to the let channel.

7p ; Q op ; 2ainattenuation o the ;ight channel





B. 5eboard shortcuts

#his chapter shows the keyboard shortcuts used in $%%&.

oteE 7n the ollowing te:t a < sign indicates that multiple keys are pressed together Be.g. C#;$<C means pressC#;$ irst keep it pressed down and press C!9.

#he &H"# C#;$ and A$# keys are called modifier keys because they change the beha*ior o the basic letter key.

#he listing ollows these rulesE

• #he shortcuts are listed in alphanumerical order.

• 7 a keyboard shortcut is urther modiied by an additional modiier key Be.g. C#;$<& and C#;$< S;+"<&these are listed together as a group.

• %ouse modiiers Be.g. &H"#<drag are listed beore keyboard-based shortcuts.

Main Window anwhere in LMMS5e Action 'ear0s

"1 &how #he &ong 5ditor

") &how 3eat<3assline 5ditor

"+ &how /iano ;oll 5ditor

"8 &how Automation 5ditor

"9 &how ">-%i:er

"! &how /ro4ect Notes 5ditor

" &how Controller ;ack window

C#;$<N Create a new pro4ect7 a pro4ect is already open and i any changes are not sa*ed$%%& will ask you whether to sa*e those changes.

C#;$<, ,pen an e:isting pro4ect7 a pro4ect is already open and i any changes are not sa*ed$%%& will ask you whether to sa*e those changes.

C#;$<& &a*e current pro4ect

C#;$<&H"#<&&a*e current pro4ect under a newname

C#;$<55:port current pro4ect to WAV or,22

C#;$<S Suit $%%&7 a pro4ect is already open and i any changes are not sa*ed$%%& will ask you whether to sa*e those changes.

C#;$<@ 6ndo

C#;$<; ;edo5:ecute the last step that was re*ersed with the Undooperation.

!9 Although all keys are shown capitalied the letter simply shows which key is to be pressed. 7gnore the capitaliation. "or e:ample C"'L)C means press the C#;$and C keys togetherF not C#;$<S;+")c.



LMMS User Manual B. 5eboard shortcuts 13*

Instruent &lu#ins

5e Action 'ear0s

&H"#< drag-and-dropan 0nob on anotherknob

$inks the 'drop' knob to the 'drag' knob. ,ncelinked changing any linked knob will change all othe linked knobs.

Applies only to standard up-down Bi.e.non-classical twist-the-knob mode

All editors that include a tie line7.e. the &ong 5ditor 3eat<3assline 5ditor /iano ;oll 5ditor and Automation 5ditor .

5e Action 'ear0s

Click on timeline%o*e playback position tothat time

Works during playback as well as when stopped

%iddle click on timeline%o*e loop start point to thattime Bsnaps to the nearest

measure mark on the ruler

• 7 you click after the loop's end-point $%%& willautomatically re*erse the loop's start and end points so

that the start-point is to the let o the end-point.

C#;$<middle click ontimeline

%o*e loop start point to thattime e:actly B7gnore the snap-to-measure

• 7 you click after the loop's end-point $%%& willautomatically re*erse the loop's start and end points sothat the start-point is to the let o the end-point.

;ight click on timeline%o*e loop end point to thattime Bsnaps to the nearestmeasure mark on the ruler

• 7 you click before the loop's start-point $%%& willautomatically re*erse the loop's start and end points sothat the start-point is to the let o the end-point.

C#;$<right click ontimeline

%o*e loop end point to thattime e:actly Bignore the snap-to-measure.

• 7 you click before the loop's start-point $%%& willautomatically re*erse the loop's start and end points sothat the start-point is to the let o the end-point.

Beat)Bassline $ditor

5e Action 'ear0s

;ight click on pattern&how conte:t menu orediting patterns

/lus B< %o*e to ne:t pattern KKKdoes not seem to workL

%inus B- %o*e to pre*ious pattern KKKdoes not seem to workL

&pace&tart pause playback othis pattern

%ake sure to select a play point in the 3eat < 3assline 5ditorFotherwise $%%& starts playback in the Son# $ditor .

&iano 'oll $ditor

5e Action 'ear0s

%ousewheel roll updown%o*e the piano roll sheet updown

Bhigher or lower pitches are shown

&H"#<mousewheel roll updown%o*e let or right in the song editor *iew Bearlier orlater times

Alternati*ely use horiontalmouse wheel

C#;$<mousewheel roll updown@oom in or out horiontally only Bthe *ertical scaleis not aected



LMMS User Manual B. 5eboard shortcuts 13%

C#;$<C Copy selected notes

C#;$<V /aste copied notes

C#;$<> Cut selected notes

C#;$<A &elect all notes

&H"#<D &elect draw Bpencil tool

&H"#<5 &elect erase tool

&H"#<& &elect selector tool

&H"#<# &elect detuning tool

Delete Delete selected notes

Home %o*e playback point to start o automation

&pace bar &tart or stop playback

C#;$ #emporarily use the select tool When /encil tool is selected

Alt Disable Guantiation While dragging noteBs

C#;$<&H"# ?eep old selectionWhile selecting new notes with&elect tool

&H"#<Drag selection Copy selection and mo*e those notes

Arrow ?eys &croll

C#;$<6p %o*e selected notes up an octa*e

C#;$<Down %o*e selected notes down an octa*e

&H"#<$et %o*e selected notes let

&H"#<;ight %o*e selected notes right

C#;$<$et %o*e time ticker let

C#;$<;ight %o*e time ticker right

Num /ad

&et Guantiation as ollowsE

5e :uantiGation 'ear0s

! 2roup-

2roup-

(

0 8

( )

1 0

) 0

2roup-0+ )

8

9 $ast Note 2roup-(

,bser*e that there are ourdistinct groups o keys.

Son# $ditor

5e Action 'ear0s



LMMS User Manual B. 5eboard shortcuts 13/

;ight click on element&how conte:t menu or elementediting

(nconsistent 1ith +iano *oll Editor

%iddle click on element Delete element (nconsistent 1ith +iano *oll Editor

C#;$ pressed beore

dragging the element Copy element

• C#;$ must be re<pressed each time you want tocopy.

• Can drag to new track! B*ertically as well as

new time Bhoriontally.

• Dropping onto an e:isting element replaces thatelement.

C#;$ pressed aterdragging the element

Deeat the snap-to-measureIlocking during the mo*e

• 7 C#;$ is pressed beore drag starts see abo*eentry.

• 7 you want to re<align the element to guaranteedbar start 4ust mo*e it again without holding downC#;$.

&H"#<drag on empty parto track

;esie the trackClicking on a element when you start the &H"#<drag willnot do anything.

C#;$<drag on 'grip'

section o track B .Copy entire track.

%ouse wheel up or down%o*e up or down in the songeditor *iew

&H"#<mousewheel rollupdown

%o*e let or right in the songeditor *iew Bearlier or later times

C#;$<mousewheel rollupdown

@oom in or out horiontally

&H"#<7nsert7nsert bar immediately atercurrent play point

&H"#<DeleteDelete bar immediately atercurrent play point

$et and ;ight arrows %o*e play point earlier or later Does not mo*e current *iew window

&pace bar &tart or pause playback

Home key %o*e play point to start o song Does not mo*e current *iew window

Autoation $ditor5e Action 'ear0s

&H"# < $et ClickDraw a straight line between this point and thepre*iously clicked point

%ouse wheel up or down %o*e *iew up or down

&H"# held while mouse wheel up ordown

%o*e *iew let or right

C#;$ held while mouse wheel up ordown

@oom in or out horiontally Bi.e. show more or lesstime

6p and down arrows %o*e the window up and down

$et and right arrows %o*e the playback position let and right

! #he new track must be o same type. Be.g. you cannot drag an element rom an instrument track to an automation track



LMMS User Manual B. 5eboard shortcuts 139

C#;$<> Cut selected *alues

C#;$<C Copy selected *alues

C#;$<V /aste pre*iously selected *alues

C#;$<A &elect all *alues

&H"#<D &elect draw tool

&H"#<5 &elect erase tool

&H"#<& &elect selector tool

&H"#<% &elect selection mo*ement tool

Delete Delete selected *alues

&pace &tart or stop playback

Home %o*e playback point to irst bar in song

&roect otes5e Action 'ear0s

C#;$<@ 6ndo last edit

C#;$<> Cut selected te:t

C#;$<C Copy selected te:t

C#;$<V /aste selected te:t

C#;$<3 #oggle bold te:t ono

C#;$<7 #oggle italic te:t ono

C#;$<$ $et 4ustiy te:t

C#;$<5 Center the te:t

C#;$<; ;ight 4ustiy te:t

C#;$<R Rustiy te:t to both margins

+ile Browser in Side Bar5e Action 'ear0s

"1 ;eresh ile listing





C. $ditin# the Autoation Cur6e

When you edit an e:isting automation cur*e with /encil or 5raser tool it seems to beha*e erratically and spring upnew shapes in une:pected ways.

#his mystery is sol*ed i you understand how it is built.

"irst remember that the graph is not a continuous smooth cur*eE 7t isactually deined by control points that are interconnected by horiontal and*ertical lines.

#he control points look like yellow ) sign as shown here B 1 to 3 .

#o connect these points $%%& irst draws a hori7ontal line rom eachpoint and then a vertical line to reach the ne:t control point on the rightside.

#his construction method has signiicant eect on how the graph beha*es

when edited.

Now let us see in detail e:actly how the graph reacts when a control point is deleted.

We will take another graph with our control points to illustrate itsbeha*ior Bdrawn here in ull color or illustrati*e purposes.

Notice again its construction ruleE

&tart rom a control point on the let go horiontal irst till you get the:-coordinate o the ne:t control point. #hen go *ertically updown tillyou reach the ne:t control point on the right.

Now we will delete some points and see how the graph heals itselusing this same rule.

"irst let us delete a control point that is on an ascending part o the graph.

Here we delete 2 .

As a result the segments between 1 - 2 and 2 - 3 are deletedBshown in red.

#o reconstruct itsel the graph starts rom the control point on let 1

Now it will ha*e to reach 3 directly as shown in blue.BAgain it ollows the same ruleE "irst horiontal then *ertical.

&o in this case the graph appears to be trimmed Bit lost a peakF butnot Guite in the way we e:pectedL

Ne:t we will delete a control point that is on a descending part o the graph.





7. Wor0in# with saples

7n this manual a sample means a recorded audio signal of any length Brom a ew milliseconds to a ew minutes.

&amples can be created rom any natural or man-made soundE someone singing or playing an instrument call o abird or animal sound o a machine horn whistle clapping hands snapping ingers etc.

$%%& can use samples in three dierent waysE

As a sound track /lay the complete sound track e:actly as recorded Bsame pitch and speed.

$%%& cannot edit such tracks. #hereore edit it beore adding the sample to $%%& usingan audio editor Bsuch as Audacity.

As an instrument $%%& can create melodies by playing the sampled sound o an instrument at dierentpitches.

#he resultant sound is remarkably like the sound o the original instrument.

As a percussioninstrument

#he sampled sound can be used in the percussion track.

#his application is similar to playing melodies with the sample sound Bsee abo*e with twodierencesE

. #o create beats we need *ery short notes Btypically )th o a note longF and

. #he pitch is kept low and not *aried much Bto resemble an unpitched instrument.

/hysically a sample is stored as any o the compressed or uncompressed ormats listed belowE

Cate#or +ile siGe +ile tpe

$ossless $arge wa* ai au lac raw

$ossless Highly compact ds Bdrum&ynth

$ossy Compact ogg mp0 spee: *oc

#he ollowing sections e:plain how this is done.

Saple Used as a Melod Instruent$et us see how the complete cycle works rom recording a sample to playing melodies with it.

&reparin# the saple

;ecord the sound Busing Audacity etc and sa*e as an audio ile. Now edit the ile to remo*e any deects.

3eore using the audio editor you may ha*e to con*ert the ormat o the ile using "ormat "actory etc.

Jou can sa*e the sample ile anywhere on your /C.

Creatin# an instruent with the saple

#o use this sampled sound as a melody instrument there are two eGui*alent methodsE. ,pen the M Coputer tab o the Side Bar and browse to the older where you stored the sample. Drag the

sample into the Son# $ditor . $%%& adds a new track in the Son# $ditor in which Audio"ile/rocessor /lugin is used as instrument plugin which in turn uses the sampled sound as the source.

http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/AudioFileProcessor_Plugin





LMMS User Manual 7. Wor0in# with saples 1!!

. ,pen the Instruent plu#ins section o the Side Bar and drag the Audio"ile/rocessor /lugin onto the Son#$ditor . #his will create a new track. Click on this track's name button to open its instrument window. Now click

on the button. $%%& opens an ?pen audio 8ile window. 3rowse your older system and select the correctsample ile. Now switch to the $n6FL+? tab to ad4ust the en*elope settings such as hold and decay. 7 neededmark the base note in the &iano 5e section to get its pitch right.

&lain# the instruent

7 the sample is *ery short $%%& will repeat the sample to create long notes. Howe*er sometimes this presents aproblemE #he playback sound has a spurious clicking.

#his happens because when $%%& 4oins multiple sample pieces together to orm longer notes the sound le*el andphase must be same at the 4oints. 7 not a clickI or popI is heard at each 4oint. #o a*oid this problem inspect thewa*eorm o your source sound in an Audio editor Be.g. Audacity and select a slice that has the same *olume le*elsand phases at the start and end. BJou can ad4ust the attenuation en*elope to eGualie the le*els at both ends o theslice.

Jou can also ad4ust the pre/delay attack and hold parameters in the $@FL+? tab.

Jou can now create notes with this sample in the /iano ;oll 5ditor .

Saple Used as a &ercussion Instruent$et us see how the complete cycle works rom recording a sample to playing percussion patterns with it.

&reparin# the saple

;ecord the sound Busing Audacity etc and sa*e as an audio ile. Now edit the ile to remo*e any deects.

3eore using the audio editor you may ha*e to con*ert the ormat o the ile using "ormat "actory etc.

Jou can sa*e the sample ile anywhere on your /C.

Creatin# the percussion instruent 8ro the saple

"irst open the Beat)Bassline $ditor. 6se the pull-down menu at the top o the window to select the rhythm to whichyou want to add the sampled sound as percussion instrument.

Now open the M Coputer tab o the Side Bar and browse to the older where you stored the sample.

Drag the sample into the Beat)Bassline $ditor . Jou can also double-click on a sample to load the sample directly inthe Beat)Bassline $ditor . #his adds a pattern track to the selected rhythm in which the sample is placed in an Audio"ile/rocessor /lugin.

Click on the name button o this track. #he instrument window o this plugin opens. Now make ine tuning to thesound. "or e:ample ad4ust the settings in the $n6FL+? tabF or mark the base note in the &iano 5e section to set itspitch.

&lain# the percussion

&ince the percussion notes are *ery short it does not suer rom pops and clicks described in the pre*ious section.



http://lmms.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Piano_Roll_Editor









$. Addin# Special $88ects

7n this appendi: we will see the special eects that can be applied in $%%&.

$88ects Created With an Autoation Cur6e#he ollowing table shows the eects that can be created with Automation cur*es.

$88ect What to do raph

"ade in At the beginning o the track start with a low master *olume and thenincrease it smoothly.

"ade out At the end o the track decrease the master *olume gradually to ero

Adde:pression

Near the end o a phrase gradually decrease the master tempoBrallentando and then immediately ater the phrase is o*er resume thenormal pace

"ly-past #o show that a source o sound Be.g. a plane is mo*ing ast rom right tolet switch the pan o the channel rom one direction to the oppositedirection. B#he middle o the graph represents the center.

&udden

outbirst

#o produce a startling burst o sound Bsay a scream increase the *olume

sharply.

Acid trance 7n an instrument track create a short melody pattern. Now copy it andpaste it in the same track multiple times. Now the track contains multiplecopies o the pattern.

#o render this track in Acid #rance style select the 5NV"$, tab o itsinstrument and apply automation tracks to *arious controls in it. ?eepchanging the shape o the automation graph in each iteration o the

pattern.

Vibrato Vibrato is a periodic *ariation in the pitch BreGuency o a musical note



LMMS User Manual $. Addin# Special $88ects 1!*

$88ect What to do raph

#remolo #remolo usually reers to periodic *ariations in the *olume Bamplitude o amusical note.

Apply a pulsating automation cur*e to V,$ control o any track.

Crescendo A gradual increase in loudness. Apply the increase to the @ol control o theinstrument in the Son# $ditor Bor to the @ol control o a +,Mi-er channelthat is attached to a group o instruments.

$88ects Created with Controllers

Sidechainin# the "rac0s 7irectl

Jou can use the *olume le*el o one track to control the *olume o another track. #his mechanism is called side-chaining.

&ide-chaining has multiple usesE

. 6sed by disc 4ockeys or duc0in# Blowering the music *olume automatically when a DR speaksF and raising itagain when he stops speaking.

. 6sed to create a composite sound-track o a mo*ie where the *olume o the background music isautomatically lowered when there is a commentary0.

0. 6sed to a*oid o*erdri*ing the ampliier when there is a beat sound by lowering the *olume o the melodytrackBs whene*er a beat occurs.

#he side-chaining is a three-step processE

0. Add a pea0 controller to the track that has the controlling sound Bi.e. the commentary or the beat track

(. ;ight-click on the control Bknob slider ader etc. that is to be controlled and select Connect to controller...

option. 7n the window that pops up select the controller we added in step-.

1. &et $%%& to play in continuous loop mode. /lay the content endlessly while you ad4ust the controller'ssettings.

$et us understand this with our third e:ample Bwhere the beat *olume reduces the melody *olume.

"or the demonstration we will ha*e to set up a new pro4ect as ollowsE

&tart a new pro4ect in $%%& Bpress C"'L)

7n the Son# $ditor enter a single long note ina melody track(. Any pitch will do.

7n the BB $ditor enter a (-beat pattern

1

.

7n the Son# $ditor

1 5nter two beat elements as shown).

2 &et the end loop marker where the longnote ends+.

Acti*ate the loop mode.

,k now we start the side-chaining processE

;emember that *ibrato and tremolo eects produced with a controller will ha*e a iner control compared to a hand-drawn automation cur*e.

0 #he irst two applications are similar e:cept that the DR's *oice comes li*eI whereas the commentary is in a pre-reccorded sound-track.

( With short notes and Guick-changing music you won't notice the duckingI easily.

1 Notice that a plain beat sound was selected so that the ducking can be noticed.

) During the gaps the note plays at its normal *olume.

+ #his endless loop playI setting is only to let you e:periment with the controller settings later.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_range_compression#Side-chaining


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ducking



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ducking





LMMS User Manual $. Addin# Special $88ects 1!/

A Connection settin#s window pops up.

1 Click on the 6ser controller lamp to turn iton.

2 7n the pull-down menu select theController number that you noted twosteps earlier. /ress ?5.

With this the *olume control o the melodytrack is now controlled by the *olume o thebeat track.

7n the Son# $ditor click the &la button.$%%& plays the song in the loop mode.

Notice that the 6olue knob o the melody

track swings when the beats are played.

#he setting window or the /eak Controller isstill open.

#weak the settings o the controller and seehow it aects the 6olue knob in the melodytrack.

Note that i AM" knob is set to a positi*e *alueBi.e. when the knob is turned to the right the*olume o the melody increases when the beatoccurs.

3ut we want the e:act opposite BduckI eect.#o achie*e this eect set the AM" knob to anegati*e *alue Bturn it to the let.

Sidechainin# throu#h +,Mi-er

7n the pre*ious e:ample we applied a /eak Controller directly to the beat track's Instruent windowF and connectedthe target *olume knob Bo the melody track to this controller.

3ut oten side-chaining is done through the +,Mi-er .

#he basic idea still remains the same but the tracks are irst connected to the input channels8 o the +, Mi-er F andthen side-chain is applied to the +,Mi-er .

So 1hat:s the advantage of this method over the direct/connection method

Well as discussed beore the *alue o +,Mi-er lies in the act that each o its input channels BChannel to )( canbe connected to a group o tracks ater which the input channel controls all those tracks in unison.

#he details are as ollowsE

7n the BB $ditor click on the beat track'sbutton.

8 B;ecall that by deault the input channels o the +,Mi-er are not usedE All sounds are directly connected to the output channel BChannel!. 3ut or the sake oside-chaining we will ha*e to use those input channels.



LMMS User Manual $. Addin# Special $88ects 1!9

#he Instruent window o the beat trackpops up.

3y deault all sounds are connected toChannel! Bthe output channel o +,Mi-er . Change the channel to Channel9.

Close the window Bthere is no need to sa*e thenew settingE $%%& remembers it.

;epeat the abo*e two steps or the melodytrack to connect it to Channel o +, Mi-er .

7n the +, Mi-er click on the Channel toselect it Bwhen the channel is selected thelabel turns green.

7n the $88ects Chain pane o the +,Mi-er press the Add $88ects button.

#he Add $88ects window pops up.

&elect the &ea0 Controller Bnear the bottomo the list and press ?5.

9 Note that there is nothing special about channelE Jou can use any other input channel.



LMMS User Manual $. Addin# Special $88ects 1(4

#hree things happen simultaneouslyE

. #he /eak controller appears in the$88ects chain pane.

. #he Controller 'ac0 also shows thesame peak controller with a seriallygi*en number sui:. Note this numberdown.

7n this e:ample the controller isnamed Controller 1.

0. $%%& also pops up the controller'ssettings window.

Now right-click on the ader control oChannel Bwhich is connected to the melodytrack.

"rom the conte:t menu that appears selectthe Connect to controller.... menu option.

A Connection settin#s window pops up.

1 Click on the 6ser controller lamp to turn iton.

2 7n the pull-down menu select theController number that you noted twosteps earlier. /ress ?5.

With this the *olume control o the melodytrack is now controlled by the *olume o thebeat track Bthrough +,Mi-er .

7n the Son# $ditor click the &la button.$%%& plays the song in the loop mode.

Notice that the +ader knob o ChannelBwhich is connected to the melody trackswings updown when the beats are played.

#he setting window or the /eak Controller isstill open.

#weak the settings o the controller and seehow it aects the +ader knob o Channel.

Note that i AM" knob is set to a positi*e *alueBi.e. when the knob is turned to the right the*olume o the melody increases when the beatoccurs.

3ut we want the e:act opposite BduckI eect.#o achie*e this eect set the AM" knob to anegati*e *alue Bturn it to the let.

Note that the e:periment described controlled only one melody instrument. 7n other words we did not actually e:ploitthe +,Mi-er at all. BWe could ha*e achie*ed the same eect with the direct connection method.

#he real power o the +,Mi-er lies when you connect se*eral instruments to channel. &o go ahead and add a ewmore melody instrument tracks and then connect them all to the Channel o the +,Mi-er . #he ader o Channelwill control all the instruments simultaneously.



+. LMMS and World Music

$%%& is suited or Western music because it uses the same -tone e<ual temperament scale!.

3ut it may not be able to produce music o certain types.

"or e:ample within the Western music $%%& cannot create Ra and 3lues music because they use blues notes which cannot be produced by the &iano 'oll $ditor .

onWestern usic

Jou may ace diiculties in using $%%& to create music in other musical traditions around the World because theyuse a dierent scale. 7n particular the melodies produced by $%%& will not sound in tune with the other instruments

used in non-Western musical tradition.

"or e:ample 7n 7ndia the Hindustani and Carnatic music traditions use the same -tones but with haronic B ust intonation which makes the sound sweeter.

7n >ust intonation each tone is shited by a dierent amount as compared to the eGui*alent tone used in the eGualtemperament. Although the dierence in reGuencies is *ery small Ba ew Hert two instruments tuned to dierenttemperaments would sound out o tune.

&o you will not be able to mi: a pre-recorded sample track created with other musical traditions with melodies createdin $%%&.

#he dierent temperaments are e:plained here. Depending on which temperament is used by your musical traditionyou may ind $%%& to be incompatible to some e:tent.

Liitations o8 &ercussion7n $%%& we make building blocksI o percussion pattern. #hese building blocks are repeated in the song to generatethe rhythm.

&o i your musical tradition uses percussion where the combinations o mnemonics keep changing throughout thesong then $%%& does not work well.

7n other words $%%& does not allow you to create an open-ended track o rhythm as in a drum-notation sotware.

"or e:ample in 7ndian classical music Bboth Hindustani and Carnatic the percussion Bplayed with #abla /akha*a4%ridangam etc. is intricate and keeps changing its strokes throughout the musical piece.

#o be able to create such music the BB $ditor would ha*e to co*er the entire length o the songF and also ha*eacility to apply e:pressions by stretching some beats and changing their pitch a little.

Clearly the present design o $%%& is not meant to create this type o music.

&o this is another area where you may eel that $%%& is unable to match the demands o your music.

! Variously denoted as e# #5# -#e# etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_note


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_intonation





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_temperament


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabla

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakhavaj


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mridangam








http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabla


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mridangam





. +A:

About LMMS: What is LMMS=

AE Jou can produce an entire song Bor a background musical score with $%%&.

7n short you can compose instrumental melodies percussion tracks and bassline tracks with $%%&F and addspecial eects to these tracks and mi: them together to create a song. #he only additional thing you need is to getsomeone to sing Beither li*e or a recorded track. With that you can create a ull-ledged song in all its glory.

$%%& can also connect to your %7D7 keyboard Bin act you can use your computer keyboard as a make-shit %7D7keyboard.

Jou can either e:port the song Bsay as a mp0 ile or play the music in li*eI mode including your %7D7 keyboardand singing.

• "or melodies you can use either the sounds o traditional musical instruments Bpiano *iolin lute etc or witha synthesied *oice.

• "or percussion $%%& oers built-in sounds o dierent instruments used around the world.

: Is it su88icient to create a usical score on its own=

AE Well the only thing missing in it is the ability to edit the audio tracks captured rom outside Bsinging or othernaturalman-made sounds. Howe*er this can be easily done with other open source reeware such as Audacitywhich is a powerul audio editor.

: Which coercial so8tware does LMMS replace=

AE $%%& is similar to Apple's 2arage 3and "$ &tudio Bormerly "ruity $oops $ogic &tudio 3eat %achine /ro andsimilar powerul audio tools. "or the latest list o eGui*alent sotware click here.

: Is it 8ree=

AE Jes. $%%& is ree and open source.

&lu#ins: ;ow do I 8ind plu#ins 8or LMMS=

AE $%%& pro*ides *arious interaces to make it compatible with a huge number o plugins. 7n general you can useall plugins that ha*e V&# V&#i or $AD&/A interace.

: What i8 soe plu#in does not wor0=

AE &ome o the plugins are known to ha*e problem on certain operating system BWindows or $inu:. &o you shouldtry changing the settings and i that does not work get help rom the $%%& orumL

Miscellaneous: Is the BB $ditor reall necessar=

AE Jou may think why is this BB $ditor reGuired at all= Why can't we simply compose the beats and bassline tracks 4ust like the melody tracks=

$et us e:amine this Guestion separately or beats tracks and bassline tracks.

• As we saw earlier a gi*en beat track actually plays se*eral percussion instruments. We must be able to seethe relati*e placement o each sound in the beat as shown below.


http://alternativeto.net/software/lmms---linux-multimedia-studio










LMMS User Manual ;. lossar 1(*

7eca D5C Ater the hold period the *olume decreases at a steady rate tillthe key is released. #he &E8 parameter controls the slope othis line segment Bsegment ;S.Alert Jou would e:pect that since higher decay means

more rapid decline the line should become steeper.3ut it is e:actly the opposite hereE When Decay is !the line is *ertical. As you increase the *alue o Decaythe line becomes less steep.

Sustain &6&# #his is the length o the line-segment during the sustain periodBsegment ;S

• 7n case o some stringpercussion instruments this durationmay be shortBe*en i the key is not released the sound dies on its own

• 7n case o wind instruments this duration may be ininite.B#he sound does not die on its own unless the key isreleased

'elease ;5$ #ime taken or the *olume to all to ero ater the key isreleased.

7n addition to the abo*e the amplitude BA%#M amountIM Height o the cur*e also can

be changed.

"ilter A ilter alters the reGuency spectrum o a sound coming out o an oscillator. Commonilters are low-pass Bmeaning low reGuencies are let through high-pass Ballowing highreGuencies through notch Bblocking a narrow range o reGuencies and band-passBallowing only a narrow range o reGuencies. "ilters e*en in the digital world cannotbe truly linear - i.e. the graph o the ilter's response o*er reGuency shows a cur*ed'knee' dropping down rather than a *ertical line. #his means that a low-pass ilter set to!!H will let some reGuencies lower than that through although the lower thereGuency the more it will be cut. #he steepness o the drop in a ilter is called it's Sparameter. Historically some analogue ilters also introduced 'resonance' orampliication o reGuencies around the 'knee' point in the ilter - this eect has beenused in much electronic music and is included in $%%&.

"reee #o reee a song or bassline track is to pre-render its sound and play that rather thanrender the track in real time. #his allows you to render a *ery comple: track that wouldotherwise take too much C/6 time to play with all the other tracks in the song. While atrack is roen changes to it do not take eect. When thawed the changes will takeeect and the track will once again be rendered in real time as the song progresses.#racks can only be roen when playback is stopped.

$AD&/A $AD&/A is an acronym or $inu: Audio De*elopers &imple /lugin A/7. 7t is a standardor handling ilters and eects licensed under the 2N6 $2/$. 7t was originallydesigned or $inu: through consensus on the $inu: Audio De*elopers %ailing $ist butworks on a *ariety o other platorms. 7t is used in many ree audio sotware pro4ectsand there is a wide range o $AD&/A plugins a*ailable.

$",

BM$ow "reGuency,scillator

,scillators whose usual reGuency is in the !.H - !H range - i.e. rom one beate*ery ten seconds to ten beats e*ery second. Abo*e this reGuency the oscillator isgenerating reGuencies in the audible spectrum and the 'low reGuency' prei: is notused. $",s are typically used to control things such as ilter sweeps and amplitudeoscillation B'*ibrato'.

#he $", has settings 4ust like the envelope cur*eE

&art Abbre6iatedto

7escription

Delay D5$ #ime beore the oscillator starts Bwith reerence to the key/

press moment

Attack A## #ime taken by $", to reach its ull eect

&peed &/D %easured in terms o period Btime taken by its one cycle inmilliseconds.(

Amount A%# #he amplitude o the wa*es superimposed on the en*elope.



LMMS User Manual ;. lossar 1(%

,gg ,gg is a ree open standard container ormat maintained by the >iph.,rg "oundation.&imilarly to %/0 it is designed to pro*ide eicient streaming and manipulation o highGuality digital multimedia.

/eak Controller A /eak Controller is similar to a noise gate but with greater le:ibility. /eak controllersare commonly placed on a percussion track and then use the output signal to controlthe *olume o another sustained sound. #his results in the sustained sound beingchopped up in time with the percussion and has been used by artists such as %adonna

B*ogue and &eal Bcray to create *ery distincti*e sounds.

/ro4ect #he entire package o instruments tracks patterns and settings that comprise thewhole perormance o the song. #his is what you sa*e and load rom the /ro4ect menu.

S BMSuality actor #his is a measure o the ilter's ability to distinguish between desirable and undesirablereGuencies. "ilters with a higher S actor can re4ect the 're4ect band' reGuencieswithout aecting the closely spaced 'accept band' reGuencies in the incoming signal.Con*ersely ilters with low S actor end up re4ecting some o the desired reGuencies.

;e*erb

BM;e*erberation

'e6erberation is the persistence o sound in an enclosed space ater the originalsound is remo*ed. 7t is caused by a large number o echoes that build up and thenslowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air. #his is most noticeable

when the sound source stops but the relections continue gradually decreasing inamplitude until they can no longer be heard.

&ample An indi*idual audio ile used either in an instrument Bsee Audio"ile/rocessor /lugin ora sample track.

&ample #rack A type o track that is designed to take audio iles. %ultiple dierent &amples can beplaced in one sample track and they can o*erlap. &ee Working with &amples.

&ong #he o*erall combination o tracks playing simultaneously that makes up yourcomposition. &ee Son# $ditor .

&tep ,ne si:teenth o a bar in the 3eat < 3assline 5ditorF a single 'tab' in the pattern display.

#haw #o unreee a track rendering it again in real time during playback. &ee reee.

#rack A row in the &ong 5ditor containing an instrument sample track or beatbassline.

Wa* Wa*eorm Audio "ile "ormat. A cross-platorm uncompressed audio standard.

( #his is a more useul way to e:press the $", because tyhen the duration o one cycle can be directly compared to the note's duration which would be say )seconds. &o you know how many $", cycles it in the note. ,n the other hand i this measure is known in H you can't make good sense out o it.





I. What<s new=

#he changes in the latest *ersion o $%%& and manual are listed here.

#he changes are marked as ollowsE

ew Modi8ied

LMMS $e1% New eature in $%%& Modified% %odiiedenhanced eature in $%%&

Manual 6dded% New ino added in the manual 8orrected% 5arlier *ersion o manual is corrected

Sl Chan#e &a#e





>. 'e8erences