Specifications

Tutorial: Song Mode
13-1
Chapter 13
Tutorial: Song Mode
InSongmode,youcanusethePC3LE’ssequencertorecordsongsusingmultipleinstrument
sounds.Youcaneasilychangeyoursong’s tempo,fixmistakes,andadjustthevolumeofeach
instrument.
Thefollowingguideincludesinstructionstochoosespecificinstrumentsoundsandtrack
numbers,simplyasexamples.Whenyouare 
readytomakeyourownsong,followthesame
methodsandchooseanyinstrumentandtrackselectionthatyouwant.
Thestepsbelowexplainthesimplestwaytorecord,inalinear, track‐by‐trackfashion.Thereare
manymethodsforrecordingsongs,andtherearerecordingoptionsthatyoumay
wishto
changeonceyoubecomefamiliarwiththeprocess.SeetheSongmodechapterformoreoptions.
Recording Overview
Inthisguideyouwillbeinstructedtorecordintotracksinasong.Atrackislikealayerinasong
containingtherecordedpartforoneinstrumentprogram.You
canrecordupto16tracks,and
eachcanbeseparatelyeditedoradjustedinvolumelevel(withmanyotheroptionsavailableas
well).
About MIDI
InSongmodethePC3LEfunctionsasaMIDIsequencer.MIDI(MusicalInstrumentDigital
Interface)isastandardizedsystemthatallowsdifferentelectronicinstrumentstoworktogether,
amongothermusicaluses.AMIDIsequencerdoesn’trecordthesoundofyourperformance,
justmessagesthatcausetheinstrumenttoplaynotes.When
youplaybackasong(a.k.a.aMIDI
sequence)inSongmode,thePC3LEtriggerseachofthenotesthatyouhaverecorded,sortoflike
aplayerpiano.MIDIisveryusefulforrecordingsongswithelectronicinstrumentssuchasthe
PC3LE,becauseyoucaneasilymakechangesto
recordedsequences.Forexample,youcan
changeindividualnotes,transposeparts,orchangetheinstrumentationoftracksthathave
alreadybeenrecorded.SinceMIDIsequencesonlyplaybackmessagesthattriggernotes,ifyou
startrecordingorplayingbackfromthemiddleofyoursong,youwillnotheartheresult
of
notesbeforethatpoint(suchasnotessustainingfromthepreviousbar.)Inthesecases,make
suretostartplaybackorrecordingbeforethenotesthatyouwanttohear.
About The Time Position Format
Inthisguideyouwillbeinstructedtoselectspecifictime positionsinasong.InthePC3LE’s
sequencer,timepositionsaremeasuredfromthebeginningofthesonginBars,Beats,andTicks.
Dependentonthetimesignature,theseunitsofmeasurementscanhavedifferentvalues.In
theseexampleswe
willbeusinga4/4timesignatureinwhichaBarcontains4beats,andabeat
contains960ticks(from0to959,seebelowformoreaboutticks.)TheSongmodeMAINpage
displayssongtimeintheLocatfieldasBarsandBeats,forexampleaLocat
positionof1:3
wouldcorrespondtoBar1,Beat3.TheSongmodeBigTimepagedisplayssongtimeinlarge
numbersonthetophalfofthescreenasBars,Beats,andTicks.ForexampleaBigTimeposition
of1:3:480wouldcorrespondtoBar1,
Beat3,Tick480(in4/4Tick480wouldbethesecond
eighth‐noteofthebeat.)