Operation Manual

6.5 Performance Parameters 49
6.5.2 Chord
On the guitar, chords can be voiced in many different ways. Strum Session
uses movable chords as described in section 4.6. The voicing can also be made
more precise by specifying what should be the lowest note of the chord played by
Strum Session. In root position, the lowest note of the guitar voicing is always
the root of the chord played on the keyboard and detected by Strum Session. In
lowest position, the lowest note of the voicing follows the lowest note played on
the keyboard.
The Time parameter is used to control the delay between the moment a chord
is played on the keyboard and the moment it is triggered by Strum Session. This
parameter is necessary because when a chord is played on the keyboard, the notes
are not necessarily played simultaneously. Strum Session must therefore wait a
certain time before sending a group of notes to the chord detection module in order to make sure
that it has received all the notes which are supposed to form the chord. This delay should not be
smaller than the interval between the moment the first and last notes are played. Using a value
too small for this parameter will result in individual notes of the chord being played before is is
actually strummed. The value of this parameter should vary depending on the playing skill and
style of the keyboard player and should be adjusted to a value allowing enough time for a chord to
be played on the keyboard and be well detected by Strum Session.
6.5.3 Loop
The loop player is used to control Strum Session with MIDI loops. Loops can contain both chords
and strumming key sequences. In this case, playing a loop is similar to playing a tune. Loops
can also only contain strumming sequences and the loop player is then used to play rhythmic or
strumming patterns over chords currently played on the keyboard. Using loops is useful to carefully
control or edit a performance or execute passages that are difficult to play on the keyboard.
Loops are loaded using the Load button of the player. This
will open a folder from which loops can be selected. If a loop
was already loaded in the player, the Load button will open the
folder where this loop is located. If the player is empty, this
button will open a default loop folder which can be specified
in the Preferences dialog from the Edit menu of the application. Loops can also be loaded by
clicking on them and drag-and-dropping them onto the MIDI loop player.
Once a loop is loaded, its name is displayed in the top part of the loop player. Information on
the tempo and time signature of the loop is displayed just below its name. The loop is started by
clicking on the Play button located in the lower part of the player. Once a loop has been started,
it can be stopped by clicking on the Pause button and then restarted again by clicking on the Play
button. While a loop is being played, indication on the current position within the loop is displayed
on the right of the middle section of the player. The position is indicated, from left to right, as