Watch also the following video:
Real time recording [Light] [Beginner] [Professional] [Notation] [Composition Light] [Composition Pro] [Drums and Percussion] [Guitar] [Choir] [Keyboard] [Soloist]
The real time expression means that the exact time
sequence of musical events is taken into account. Up to now, the
methods explained to introduce notes on the staff let you work
without time constraint. The time factor appears only when
Pizzicato plays the score.
If you can play a score on the musical keyboard (even slowly),
it is interesting to ask the computer to record your performance.
This is called real time recording, because the computer
memorizes the precise sequence of notes coming from the keyboard
and it can reproduce them exactly as you played them. Pizzicato
becomes a MIDI recorder.
A MIDI track is associated to each staff of a
score. It is a memory used to accumulate time sequences of MIDI
information. The real time recording is the method used to fill a
track with notes you play on the keyboard and then to transform
them into music notation on the corresponding staff
(automatically or not).
You can thus record one track at a time and
listen to the result of all tracks together. Pizzicato acts as a
MIDI sequencer, i.e. as a multi-track MIDI recorder. With only
that, you can already build a whole piece of music. By working in
the sequencer view, the notes appear as small horizontal bars.
You can copy, paste and erase measures. You can record a track or
a part of a track several times, until it is finalized. In the
score view, Pizzicato analyzes the keys which you played and
converts them in notes with rhythmic values. The result of your
performance appears on the staff and you can print your score.
A corrective step can be introduced just after
the play, it is called quantization. This operation tries to
smooth your performance so that it is more precise. Use it with
moderation because it may affect the final result too much.
In this lesson and the next, we will see how to
use these concepts in practice and with examples. Let us start by
analyzing the recording area, present in most views and also
called the recorder.
The recorder and its options [Light] [Beginner] [Professional] [Notation] [Composition Light] [Composition Pro] [Drums and Percussion] [Guitar] [Choir] [Keyboard] [Soloist]
The recorder determines the control of the MIDI playing and
recording. It is present for instance in the score and sequencer
views.
- Start Pizzicato and open the Ex045 document of
the Examples folder. The score view shows the
recorder:

The left part contains 4 traditional pictures found on a tape
recorder.
- Click on the START key, represented by a yellow triangle
- The score starts playing. We had already used its
shortcut which is the space bar. Click on the STOP key to
stop the score, represented by a blue square.
- To the right of these keys and since release 3.2 of
Pizzicato, you will find in almost all music views the
presence of the following graphical area:

With it, you can play some measures in a loop, starting at
the first measure that is played. To do that, check the box
and select the number of measures that will form the loop,
with the - and + buttons.
When Pizzicato plays, the space bar is also used as a shortcut
for the STOP.
- Click again on START. In the right part of the recorder,
a text box displays the current playing measure. Click on
the PAUSE button, represented by two little blue squares.
The score stops instantaneously where it is, holding the
possible playing notes. It is fixed at a precise time of
the score. Click again on the PAUSE and it continues
playing again from there. With it, you can listen to (or
visualize using the keyboard window) the constitution of
a chord. You just need to use the PAUSE during the chord.
The recording button will be used further; it is represented
by a red circle.
A button entitled "..." is used to reach the play
options of the score. Click on this button and the following
dialog box appears:

This dialog may stay open and do not impede working on the
score. You may move it so as to ease the access to the score.
- The first two frames let you select the measures that
will be played when using the START button. By default,
the first visible measure will start playing and this up
to the end of the score. But other choices can be made.
- Just below, there is a tempo slider, used to determine
the speed with which the score will be played. Press on
START and while listening to the score, modify the tempo
value by moving the slider to the left to slow down, then
to the right to accelerate. It can vary between 1 and
500. The "-" and "+" buttons allow a
precise adjustment of the tempo, one step at a time.
- Just below is a check box entitled Loop on ...
measures. Check this box and complete the text box
value with "2" if it is not already done. Go to
the first measure of the score and press START. The score
starts playing the first 2 measures and then plays the
first again. It makes a continuous loop with the first 2
measures. Note that during this time, you can continue to
work the score by erasing, moving or adding notes.
Pizzicato continues its loop with the first two measures.
By using the corresponding text box, you can modify the
width of the loop. Click on STOP.
- A check box lets you activate the metronome. In music, a
metronome is a small device used to indicate a tempo
using a regular movement and an audible
"click". The performer uses these clicks as a
time reference to play his score with an exact tempo and
with a precise sequence of measure beats. The metronome
is a reference mark to guide its performance. By checking
this box, Pizzicato simulates the sound of a metronome by
marking each measure beat and beginning. Check this box
and press on START. If you have a synthesizer or a GM
(general midi) sound card, the beats and the beginnings
of measures are marked using percussion instruments. Note
that the beginning of the measure is marked with a sound
of different intensity. If your synthesizer is not GM
compatible, the beats and measures will be marked with a
short and high pitched sound. Press on STOP.
- Check the Wait keyboard action box. This box is
used to control the recorder with the musical keyboard
(also from the keyboard window). Press on START. The
button is activated, the triangular cursor shows the
first measure on the score, but Pizzicato waits until you
press a musical keyboard key to really start playing.
When you need to record a passage in real time, you may
prepare yourself to play on your keyboard before giving
the OK to record. Press a musical key to start playing or
on a window keyboard key if you do not have a MIDI
keyboard. For the rest of this lesson, uncheck this
option.
- The Effects play... button is used to define the
way in which MIDI and symbol musical effects will be
played through the score:

This dialog lets you disable/enable the musical effects
generated by the MIDI tracks and/or the symbols placed on the
score that influence the playing, like nuances, tempo
symbols,... For more details about musical effects, see the
lesson on musical effects.
- The Tuning button let you specify the exact
frequency of each note. However, this function is only
applicable to the playing of virtual audio instruments by
Pizzicato and does not affect the tuning of MIDI notes.
See the lesson entitled The virtual instruments
for more details.
- In the play option dialog, we find a frame entitled Special
play parameters with the following options:
- The rhythm division and multiplication factors
let you divide/multiply the duration of all
rhythmic values in the score.
- A text box determines how many times the score
must be played.
- A popup menu specifies which measure version is
played as well as the order of playing if the
score is played more than once.
Those parameters are mainly used in the frame of the
composition help and the conductor view, only available in
the Professional version of Pizzicato. See the lesson on
composition help and on the conductor view.
- The Audio playing mode menu specifies how the
virtual audio instruments are played. See the lesson
entitled The virtual instruments for more
details.
- In Pizzicato Professional and Composition,
you will find several check boxes used mainly within the
music composition tools of Pizzicato. They will be
explained in the lessons that concern that subject.
Start recording from the musical keyboard [Light] [Beginner] [Professional] [Notation] [Composition Light] [Composition Pro] [Drums and Percussion] [Guitar] [Choir] [Keyboard] [Soloist]
Before starting to record, you need to specify where recording
will start and which track will be recorded. That can be done
starting from the sequencer or the score view.

Just before the first measure, you can see a column entitled R
for Record. On a recorder, this term is often used under the
Rec abbreviation. All boxes of this column are blank right
now, which means that no track is active to record. By clicking
on the recording button (red circle) of the recorder, nothing
happens.
- Click inside the R column, in front of staff (track) 1.
The box is coloured to show that recording is activated
for track 1. Only one track can be recorded at a time.
- Click now in the column R in front of track 2. Track 2 is
activated and the track 1 is disabled. To disable all
tracks, click a second time in the active track box.
The recording will start from the first measure played
according to the playing mode selected in the recorder options.
- Activate track 1. Ensure that the metronome box
is checked in the recorder options and that the loop is
disabled. We will record our first notes in real time. If
you do not have a MIDI keyboard, open the piano keyboard
window. Click the record button or use its shortcut which
is the Return or Enter key.
- An empty measure is counted. After that, play some notes
with the musical keyboard (or in the piano keyboard
window, with the mouse or the shortcuts), and continue
until the recording stops itself after measure 6. The
sequencer view redraws itself and graphically displays
the recorded notes as small horizontal lines in track 1:

Notice that the score located below has also transcribed the
notes in musical notation.
- Press on START. Pizzicato plays the exact sequence of
notes you played during the recording. You can modify the
tempo to hear it more quickly. If you use the piano
keyboard window, the played keys are progressively showed
as the measures progress.
- Open the piano roll view. By adjusting the position of
the vertical scroll bar, you will get something like:

You can start the record again. If you do it on the same
track, the previous recording will be automatically erased and
replaced by the new notes. If you work on another track, the two
tracks will be heard at the same time.
MIDI play options [Light] [Beginner] [Professional] [Notation] [Composition Light] [Composition Pro] [Drums and Percussion] [Guitar] [Choir] [Keyboard] [Soloist]
The Options, MIDI Play Options
menu, gives you access to the following dialog:

- The first menu, entitled Synthesizers reset,
specifies the reset mode of synthesizers. When you stop
playing a score, Pizzicato sends MIDI commands to stop
any note in progress. There are several conventions to
reset notes. In most cases, the Normal choice
will be correct. If you hear notes remaining
"stuck" when you stop a score, you will have to
take the maximal option and things will be
better.
- The next two menus select the port and MIDI channel used
to send the notes to the metronome. The By default button
loads the optimal metronome for your synthesizer.
- The next two menus and the slider select the pitch and
velocity of the note used to mark the beginning of a
measure.
- The same setup is available just below to specify the
note used to mark each beat of a measure. In the case of
a 6/8 measure, this will mark every dotted quarter note.
- The same setup is available just below to specify the
note used to mark each subbeat of a measure. In the case
of a 4/4 measure, this is not applicable. In the case of
a 6/8 measure for instance, this will mark every eighth
note. By clicking in the By default button,
Pizzicato will load the values best adapted to your
synthesizer and will display them.
- When several musicians play together, the conductor of an
orchestra or one of the performers first counts one
measure without playing, in order to give the tempo and
to allow everyone to start exactly together. The Metronome
measure menu displays the Only while recording choice.
It means that when you will record, Pizzicato will first
play the metronome during a whole measure. During this
measure, nothing will be recorded. It is only used to
give you the reference tempo so that you can envisage the
beginning of the next measure where the recording will
really start. Two other choices are possible for this
menu. The first is named Never and disables the
measure count. The second, Before playing,
allows to count one measure as well when recording as
when Pizzicato plays the score. It is useful if you wish
to play together with the computer, to keep one measure
in order to perceive the tempo with the metronome.
- The Synchronization input port allows to
synchronize Pizzicato to an external MIDI device (rhythm
generator,...). When you select a synchronization input
port, Pizzicato does not use its own tempo any more to
play the score, but it waits synchronization orders
coming from the specified input. An external equipment
may then control the tempo used by Pizzicato. If you do
not have an external MIDI device used to control the
playing of Pizzicato, it is essential to select "----".
Otherwise, Pizzicato has no tempo at all, because its
internal clock is disabled.
- The Synchronization output port is used to
synchronize an external equipment (rhythm generator,
arranger
) to Pizzicato. When a MIDI port is
selected, Pizzicato sends during the play through this
port information used to transmit the time reference to
another device so that it can follow the tempo imposed by
Pizzicato. Similarly, when you use the START, STOP and
PAUSE recorder buttons, Pizzicato sends these orders
through the MIDI output, to control the external
equipment. If you do not use an external MIDI device,
select "------".
- Since version 3.1, there is an additional slider in this
dialog, labelled MIDI delay in milliseconds
(correction for audio), as well as a text box to
enter a precise value. Depending on the sound card you
have, if you add audio tracks to a score, the audio
tracks may be played slightly late in relation to the
score. This delay may be compensated here by specifying a
MIDI delay, so that audio and MIDI are heard together.
The exact value to use should be set according to what
you hear. Try several values and keep the one that plays
the MIDI exactly with the audio. This value can be
negative, in which case the audio tracks are delayed in
reference to the MIDI playback.
- The Enable audio/Midi synchronisation check box
is active by default and this makes the internal MIDI
clock of Pizzicato to synchronise on the audio samples
played by the audio card.
Click OK to close the dialog.