Aurora Sound Studio HD & Aurora Sound Studio User Manual 1
About Aurora Sound Studio HD Welcome to Aurora Sound Studio HD for the iPad, the fun way to create musical compositions. Whether you’re a complete musical novice or a seasoned musician Aurora is an inspirational tool for creative live music. Complete with real-time effects and the ability to sample and create your own instruments you are limited only by your imagination.
Getting Started ................................................................................................................ 5 Musical Scales ............................................................................................................ 6 Selecting a Scale ......................................................................................................... 6 Blocks and Layers.......................................................................................................
Advanced ...................................................................................................................... 26 Random Mode........................................................................................................... 26 Sample Recording..................................................................................................... 26 Record to File............................................................................................................
Getting Started Aurora allows you to create a song with up to 14 different tracks, each track having it's own assigned instrument. We call these tracks layers, and a group of layers we call a block of layers. Songs are constructed out of blocks which you can eventually piece together into a complete song. It is often easier to work on song construction in blocks which you can think of as intro, verse, chorus, bridge etc.
Musical Scales One of the best things about Aurora is that you really don't need any musical knowledge to create great sounding tunes. By default each block is assigned the 'Major C' scale, but you are free to choose any scale you like. The advantage of this is that you can never hit a bum note. Each light on the grid represents a note in the scale. Layers that are assigned a drum kit simply ignore the selected scale, but all other instruments follow the scale unless told otherwise.
Blocks and Layers A song is constructed using one or more blocks, one block for the verse, one for the chorus etc. Each block consists of 14 layers, each layer or voice containing musical notes. Each layer is associated with an instrument which is shared between all blocks. In other words, you can assign any instrument of your choice to a layer, but that instrument cannot be changed when moving from one block to another. See The Note Grid for more information on constructing layers.
Creating a New Song To wipe the current layers and blocks and start a new song press the 'File' menu key and select 'New' from the menu. This will wipe all data and set the tempo to 80bpm. You can adjust the tempo of the new song from the 'Song Settings' dialog in the 'Edit' button menu. Alternatively select 'Automation Mode' and select 'Tempo + Master Vol' from the green 'Automation Type' button. Now simply touch the grid to change the tempo.
Note Length Creating sequences of 16th notes can be rather limiting, especially if you want to play 1/32 or 1/64 note hi-hats. To help solve this problem you can specify a different note length for each layer. Press the 'Edit' menu button and select 'Note Length' from the menu. You can even choose eighth and quarter notes, which make the pattern seem much longer than 16 beats and stops the pattern from sounding so repetitive. Using this option means that some patterns play longer than others.
Play Modes Changing Modes The 'Mode' bar runs along the bottom of the main window and is used to select various editing and performance modes. There are several modes available allowing you to construct blocks, add automation, mix tracks and finally piece everything together as a finished composition. Some modes such as the XY and Atomizer, are performance modes which can be used to modify songs in real-time.
Record Mode This 'Mode' allows you to toggle, paint or erase groups of notes. Toggle Simply tapping on an unlit light sets a note, tapping on a lit note removes the note. Paint This mode allows you to quickly lay a row of notes by simply dragging your finger over the screen. This is great for laying hi-hats or triggered bass lines. Erase Use this mode to quickly erase groups of notes.
Automation Mode This mode allows you to make real-time changes of layer and instrument parameters such as effect levels, song tempo, panning, and much more. Each layer of every block can hold it's own unique automation. Select the 'Automation Type' from the combo box popup list at the top right of the grid. Now simply touch the grid to make parameter changes. You can record automation by activating the RECORD button and dragging the pen over the note grid.
Song Mode Song mode allows you to piece together multiple blocks into a completed song. To create a song press the 'Loop Play' button start the sequencer, then simply select a block (vertical column from the grid), select a song position 1-199 and press the 'Add' button. Repeat this process adding blocks to the song chain. Press the 'Delete' button to erase / remove an event from the chain.
Atomizer Mode The Atomizer allows you slice and dice audio in real-time. It achieves this by buffering audio passing through the mixer and allowing you to mix slices of captured audio with your song. The grid is split horizontally into note lengths whilst the vertical axis represents volume. Pressing the RECORD button allows you to reverse the slice. Simply tap and hold on a given note length to hear the Atomizer in action.
Instruments Drum kit Instrument A drum kit is a type of instrument that can be assigned to a layer. Each note on the piano roll represents a different drum or percussion sound, which means a drum kit consists of up to 12 samples. You can modify or create your own drum kits using samples stored on your device or using the built-in sampler. Use the 'Edit Instrument' option on the 'Edit menu to make changes to a drum kit (This option is only available in Advanced Mode).
Drum Filter The drum filter works in a similar manner to the VCF found on the Synthesizer instrument. The filter can be utilized by both Automation and XY modes to product realtime filtering effects. Sampler Instrument A sampler is a type of instrument that can be assigned to a layer. It uses a small sound sample which is optionally looped and pitch shifted to create its sound. You can modify its ADSR, VCF and LFO settings as well as assign your own samples.
Loop Points Loop Points are used by the Sampler to artificially extend the length of sound samples. A sample plays until the 'End Loop' point is reached at which point playback continues from the 'Start Point'. This process is repeated until a note is released, at which point the remainder of the sample is played. To set a loop point presses either the 'Loop Start' or 'Loop End' buttons and then select a point on the graphical sample display.
Edit Synthesizer A synthesizer has two oscillators which create tones based on sine, square, saw or more advanced waveforms. When these tones are mixed together they create a unique tone which is the basis of the sound. Toggling between 'Osc1' and 'Osc2' displays the wave type, tuning and volume level of that oscillator. You can even mix a third sound source 'Noise' to make interesting effects. Portamento: Allows you to smoothly glide from one note to another.
PadSynth Instrument The PadSynth is an instrument that can be assigned to a layer. It is especially useful for creating string and bell sounds which aren't possible using the traditional synthesizer. It uses a special technique called additive synthesis, which allows you to build sounds from their harmonic components.
Edit Harmonics This dialog allows you to change the tonal content of a PadSynth. You can add and mix up to 32 harmonics using the 8 sliders. By default the sliders control harmonics 1-8, but you can select another bank of harmonics from the buttons provided. Detune Enable the detune to create discordant bell like sounds. It works by randomly staggering the harmonics in relation to the root note. Reset Press this button to revert back to a simple sine wave.
Mixers Live Mix Mode - Only available on iPad HD version Live Mix mode is used to set the volumes of individual layers, adjust the master volume, and set up effect send and return settings. If an individual layers volume is too loud and clipping occurs a red light will appear in the top row of that layer. If the light remains permanently lit, this can result in unwanted distortion, so reduce the volume to fix this. Rows 2-4 indicate which layers are using which effects.
Master Mixer - Only available on iPad HD version The mixer can be accessed from the bottom toolbar button and is a more comprehensive alternative to the Live Mix option found on the Mode Bar. The mixer is used to adjust relative volumes, panning and effect levels of each layer in your song. You can also 'Mute' and 'Solo' tracks and assign effects from the Master Mixer view. Volume: Use the vertical slider to adjust the volume of layers 1-14.
Layer Properties The Layer Properties dialog can be accessed via the 'Edit' button, and allows you to modify parameters associated with the currently selected layer. Layer Effect: Allows you to specify one of the 5 animation types for this layer. Volume: Specifies the volume of notes played on this layer Pan: Specifies if the sound is positioned to the left or right of the stereo field. FX1-3: Allows you to specify the amount of effects 1-3 applied to this layer.
Instrument Settings ADSR Settings ADSR stands for Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release and is used to control the volume envelope from the moment you trigger a note, to the moment you release the note. Attack: Is the amount of time taken for the voice to reach it's maximum volume. Decay: How quickly the sound reduces in volume after the initial peak. Sustain: The constant volume that is maintained until the note is released. Release: How quickly the sound fades after the note is released.
LFO Settings LFO stands for Low Frequency Oscillator, and is essentially a very slow sine wave used to manipulate the sound in pleasurable ways. The LFO is responsible for producing effects such as vibrato, tremolo and wahwah. Speed: The speed of the oscillator. Attack: How quickly the effect is applied to the voice. Vibrato: The amount of vibrato, which is essentially a fluctuation in pitch. Tremolo: The amount of tremolo which is a fluctuation in volume level.
Advanced Random Mode You can turn on random mode for each layer if you wish. This allows you to lay several notes on a layer and have them play randomly. You can still control the timing by carefully placing notes horizontally on the grid. Use in conjunction with 'Loop Point' automation to create morphing arpeggios. Sample Recording This dialog allows you to record your own samples directly from your iPhones’ internal microphone.
Record to File This dialog allows you to capture your performance to a file on your iPhone. This file can later be transferred by an FTP client and played on your desktop computer. The output files can be extremely large as the files are recorded in uncompressed WAV format. This format requires approx 5Mb for 30sec of audio at 44KHz You can reduce the sample rate in Program Settings in order to reduce the size of the output file.
Visual Effects One of the appealing things about this program is that it is not all about the music. Having visual feedback helps enhance the performance, but there are times when you would like the effects to be more subtle or remove them completely. You can change the effects type for an individual layer from the Layer Properties dialog, or modify all layers globally from the Program Settings dialog, found in the 'File' menu. You can also choose between colored and non colored lights.
Program Settings This dialog allows you to specify global program settings which are retained after you exit the program. Visualization Allows you to specify the length of visual light effect when a note is being played. Master Volume This adjusts the master volume of your device. Global Tuning Allows you to tune all instruments by +/- 1 semitone. Show Visual Effects on All Layers Turn this ON when performing or playing a finished song as it allows you to visualize all notes playing on all layers.
Managing Files Manage Files This dialog allows you to audition recordings made with the 'Record To File' function. These recordings are very large and it is recommended that you either transfer the files to your PC via the Data Exchange or convert the files to CAF format, which will reduce the file size. Browse: Allows you to select a file to audition or convert. You can also delete files from the browse files dialog by swiping left to right across the file you want to delete.
Data Exchange This option is accessible via the 'File' menu button, under 'Imports / Exports'. The data exchange dialog activates a limited FTP server on your iPhone giving access to 4 locations on your device. Sequences: This is the location in which your songs are saved. Samples This is the location that all samples recorded by the sample recorder are stored. This is also the location you should upload any samples you wish to use to create new sampler patches.
Aurora Song Library Sharing Songs You can share your completed songs with other Aurora users by uploading them to the Aurora server. When a song is uploaded, you will be given a Song ID which can be used to retrieve the song at a later date. You can also search for a song by 'Song Name' or 'Artist' if you are unsure of the Song ID. Any uploaded songs are associated with the device on which they were created, so it is easy to retrieve a list of your songs on the server by selecting 'My Songs' option.
Downloading Songs You can download songs which other people have shared with the Aurora community using various options accessible via the 'Import Export' section of the 'File' menu.
The easiest way to download a song is by selecting 'Download Latest Songs'. This presents you with the most recently submitted songs for you to browse through. Simply select a song to load and play. If you know the Song ID of your song, you can download it using the 'Download Song' option.
Tips and Tricks Learn how to use the note length feature in order to make your loops more dynamic. 1)Loops using only 16th notes can become very repetitive and uninteresting. 2) Rather than creating a pattern for each chord of your song you can simply copy and paste to a new block and change the root note of the block. 3) Use the automation feature to add tempo changes, or to automate volume and pan.
Troubleshooting If you suffer audio stuttering or sound breakup try changing the sample rate to 22KHz in Program Settings dialog. Reducing the sample rate from 44 KHz to 22KHz will reduce CPU load. If problems persist try on and off your iPhone to unload any memory resident programs hogging memory and resources. If you are receiving errors whilst importing samples into either a drum kit or a sampler you need to ensure that the sample is the required format.
Further information on Limelight Software’s 4Pockets range of products can be found at www.4pockets.com Online Support and Discussions on Aurora Sound Studio can be found at http://www.facebook.
