3.5

86MainStage User Guide
Work with articulations
Overview of managing articulations in MainStage
Sampled instruments that emulate real instruments often allow you to switch between the
unique playing techniques that the real instrument is capable of. For example, a sampled
violin instrument might offer articulations to switch between tremolo, pizzicato, and
sustained notes, while a sampled horn instrument might include articulations for sustained
and staccato notes, trills, and falls. These playing techniques are called articulations. Each
articulation is identified with a unique Articulation ID. All the information regarding the
available articulations is stored in Articulation Sets. Articulation Sets are saved both within
saved patches and saved projects.
MainStage offers various ways to choose which articulations to use for the notes that
you play:
• For instruments that load with pre-configured Articulation Sets, you can choose an
articulation from the plug-in window header.
• For instruments with multiple Articulation Sets, you can Manage articulations with the
MainStage Articulation Set menu.
• You can create, view, and change parameters for existing Articulation Sets using the
Articulation Set Editor.
Choose an articulation from the plug-in header in MainStage
If a software instrument includes articulations, you can choose between articulations using
the Articulations pop-up menu in the plug-in window header. Some software instruments
let you view the most recently played articulation in the plug-in interface as well.
Choose an articulation from the plug-in window header
• In MainStage, click the Articulation pop-up menu in the plug-in header and choose from
the available articulations.