Operation Manual

34 Playing Strum Session
strings. It is not always possible to play notes simultaneously when playing live and it is therefore
recommended to play the highest note of the interval slightly before the lowest. Otherwise, Strum
Session may decide to play the highest note on the lowest string and then will also need to voice
the lowest note on the lowest string which will result in both notes being played one after the other.
A power chord voicing on three strings is obtained by playing the root, the fifth and the root again
one octave higher on the keyboard.
4.5 Using MIDI Loops
Reproducing complex patterns played on the guitar can rapidly become complicated and requires
to be a good keyboard player. The good news, however, is that patterns, in other words sequences
of chords and strumming keys, can easily be played using Strum Session’s MIDI loop player.
Furthermore, Strum Session is supplied with a library of MIDI loops which you can use to easily
start creating a new piece. The standard loop library is accessible directly from Strum Session’s
interface by clicking on the Load button of the loop player which will automatically bring you to
the default MIDI loop library folder. Loops can be used as they are or can easily be edited in a
sequencer and then be played using the Strum Session MIDI loop player.
It is important to note that Strum Session makes no distinction between MIDI signal coming
from the standard MIDI input (keyboard or sequencer) or the MIDI loop player. How Strum Session
interprets the MIDI signal it receives therefore depends whether the Auto-Strum mode is on or off.
When it is on, Strum Session will play chords as they are played on the keyboard and then trigger
them again when strumming keys are played in the loop. It is therefore usually simpler to switch
the Auto-Strum mode off, chords are then triggered following the pattern of strumming keys in the
MIDI loop. In other words, chords are plucked on the keyboard and strumming patterns are applied
to them through the MIDI loop player. Note that loops are note limited to strumming keys and can
also include melodies and chords.
4.5.1 Creating MIDI Loops
Loops for Strum Session are easily created in your favorite sequencer by respecting the following
rules:
• All the events must be on MIDI channel 1.
• The loop must begin at the start of the file and finish at the end of the track. In other words,
if the track lasts for four bars but there are notes only in the first bar, Strum Session will still
loop over the four bars.
• The tempo and the time signature must be defined at the beginning of the loop and must not
change during the rest of the loop. Strum Session indeed ignores tempo changes occurring
in the middle of a loop.
• The loop must be recorded on disk on a file using MIDI format 0 or 1 and having a .mid
extension.