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<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"><title>Hydrogen Manual</title><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.79.1"><meta name="description" content="Hydrogen is a software synthesizer which can be used alone, emulating a drum machine based on patterns, or via an external MIDI keyboard/sequencer software. Hydrogen compiles on Linux, Mac OS X and Windows."></head><body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" alink="#0000FF"><div lang="en" class="book"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a name="Hydrogen-manual"></a>Hydrogen Manual</h1></div><div><div class="authorgroup"><div class="author"><h3 class="author"><span class="firstname">Antonio</span> <span class="surname">Piraino</span></h3></div><div class="author"><h3 class="author"><span class="firstname">Alessandro</span> <span class="surname">Cominu</span></h3></div><div class="author"><h3 class="author"><span class="firstname">Thijs</span> <span class="surname">Van Severen</span></h3></div><div class="author"><h3 class="author"><span class="firstname">Sebastian</span> <span class="surname">Moors</span></h3></div></div></div><div><div class="abstract"><p class="title"><b>Abstract</b></p><p>Hydrogen is a software synthesizer which can be used alone,
emulating a drum machine based on patterns, or via an external MIDI
keyboard/sequencer software. Hydrogen compiles on Linux, Mac OS X and Windows.</p></div></div></div><hr></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#chap.introduction">1. Introduction</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.download">1. Download</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.compilation">2. Build</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.preferences">3. Preferences</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#chap.using_hydrogen">2. Using Hydrogen</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.file_types">1. Used Filetypes</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.keyboard_and_mouse">2. Keyboard and Mouse</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.UIoverview">3. The main User Interface : an overview</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.main_menu">4. Main menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.main_toolbar">5. The main toolbar</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.song_editor">6. Song Editor</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.pattern_editor">7. Pattern Editor</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.mixer">8. Mixer</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.sound_library">9. Sound Library (Drumkit/Pattern/Song Manager)</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.instrument_editing">10. Drumkits and Instrument Editing</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.midi">11. Midi</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.osc">12. OSC</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#chap.create_song">3. A new song</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.song_vs_pattern">1. "Song" mode and "Pattern" mode</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.create_pattern">2. A new pattern</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.create_sequence">3. A new sequence</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.create_song.adjust_mixer">4. Adjust from the mixer</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#chap.shortcuts">4. Shortcut lists</a></span></dt><dt><span class="glossary"><a href="#glossary">Glossary</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="list-of-figures"><p><b>List of Figures</b></p><dl><dt>1.1. <a href="#fig.preferences.general_tab">The General Tab</a></dt><dt>1.2. <a href="#fig.preferences.audio_tab">The Audio System Tab</a></dt><dt>1.3. <a href="#fig.preferences.midi_tab">The MIDI System Tab</a></dt><dt>1.4. <a href="#fig.preferences.appearance_tab">The Appearance Tab</a></dt><dt>1.5. <a href="#fig.preferences.audio_engine_tab">The Audio Engine tab</a></dt><dt>2.1. <a href="#fig.UI_overview">The Main UI in Single Pane mode</a></dt><dt>2.2. <a href="#fig.tabbed_UI_overview">The Main UI in Tabbed mode</a></dt><dt>2.3. <a href="#fig.main_toolbar">The Main Toolbar</a></dt><dt>2.4. <a href="#fig.song_editor">The Song Editor</a></dt><dt>2.5. <a href="#fig.song_editor.virtualPattern.selectedMenu">The Pattern Options menu</a></dt><dt>2.6. <a href="#fig.Export_song">Export a song</a></dt><dt>2.7. <a href="#fig.PatternEditor_DrumMode">Pattern Editor in Drum mode</a></dt><dt>2.8. <a href="#fig.PatternEditorControls">Pattern Editor Controls</a></dt><dt>2.9. <a href="#fig.PatternEditor_PianoMode">Pattern Editor in Piano mode</a></dt><dt>2.10. <a href="#fig.mixer">The Mixer</a></dt><dt>2.11. <a href="#fig.select_effect">Select an Effect</a></dt><dt>2.12. <a href="#fig.SoundlibraryHierarchy">Soundlibrary/Drumkit hierarchy</a></dt><dt>2.13. <a href="#fig.soundlibrary">The Soundlibrary</a></dt><dt>2.14. <a href="#fig.import_drumkit">Import Drumkit</a></dt><dt>2.15. <a href="#instrumenteditor.general">The Instrument editor General view</a></dt><dt>2.16. <a href="#instrumenteditor.layers">The Instrument editor Layers view</a></dt><dt>2.17. <a href="#sample.editor">The Sample Editor</a></dt><dt>3.1. <a href="#fig.pattern_editor.2">The Pattern Editor</a></dt><dt>3.2. <a href="#fig.insert_patterns">Inserting Patterns in the Song sequence</a></dt><dt>3.3. <a href="#fig.mixer.2">The Mixer</a></dt></dl></div><div class="list-of-tables"><p><b>List of Tables</b></p><dl><dt>4.1. <a href="#sect.shortcut.table">Shortcut table</a></dt></dl></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a name="chap.introduction"></a>Chapter 1. Introduction</h1></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.download">1. Download</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.compilation">2. Build</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.preferences">3. Preferences</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.preferences.general_tab">3.1. The General tab</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.preferences.audio_tab">3.2. The Audio System tab</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.preferences.midi_tab">3.3. The Midi System tab</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.preferences.appearance_tab">3.4. The Appearance tab</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.preferences.audio_engine_tab">3.5. The Audio Engine tab (debug only)</a></span></dt></dl></dd></dl></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sect.download"></a>1. Download</h2></div></div></div><p>
You can download Hydrogen from
<a class="ulink" href="http://www.hydrogen-music.org/hcms/node/21" target="_top">http://www.hydrogen-music.org</a>.
On the 'Downloads' page you can find several binaries (installers) for Linux, Mac and Windows. (note that some versions may not be available for Windows and Mac)
</p><p>
If you want to compile Hydrogen yourself (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.compilation" title="2. Build">Section 2</a>), you can download the latest source files directly from our
git repository with:
</p><pre class="screen"><code class="prompt">$</code> <span class="command"><strong>git clone git://github.com/hydrogen-music/hydrogen.git</strong></span></pre><p>
A certain release can be fetched with:
</p><pre class="screen"><code class="prompt">$</code> <span class="command"><strong>git checkout tags/1.0.0</strong></span></pre><p>
</p><p>Compiling Hydrogen depends on the following libraries (among others):</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: opencircle; "><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Qt 5 at <a class="ulink" href="http://www.qt.io" target="_top">http://www.qt.io</a></p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>libsndfile at <a class="ulink" href="http://www.mega-nerd.com/libsndfile/" target="_top">http://www.mega-nerd.com/libsndfile/</a></p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>ALSA (>= 1.x) at <a class="ulink" href="http://www.alsa-project.org" target="_top">http://www.alsa-project.org</a>
(only if you wish to use ALSA as audio driver)</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Jack Audio Connection Kit (>= 0.80) at
<a class="ulink" href="http://jackaudio.org/" target="_top">http://jackaudio.org/</a>
(only if you wish to use Jack as audio driver)</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>PortAudio at <a class="ulink" href="http://www.portaudio.com" target="_top">http://www.portaudio.com</a>
(only if you wish to use PortAudio as audio driver)</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>PulseAudio at <a class="ulink" href="http://www.pulseaudio.org" target="_top">http://www.pulseaudio.org</a>
(only if you wish to use PulseAudio as audio driver)</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Flac at <a class="ulink" href="http://flac.sf.net" target="_top">http://flac.sf.net</a> (only if you
wish to use flac samples)</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>ladspa at <a class="ulink" href="http://www.ladspa.org" target="_top">http://www.ladspa.org</a> (only if you wish
to use ladspa effects)</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>liblrdf at <a class="ulink" href="http://sf.net/projects/lrdf" target="_top">http://sf.net/projects/lrdf</a> (only if you wish to use lrdf to categorise effects)</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>lash at <a class="ulink" href="http://lash.nongnu.org" target="_top">http://lash.nongnu.org</a> (only if
you wish to use lash)</p></li></ul></div><p>Please install them with your distribution's package manager. If
you're running a Debian-based system, you can install the libraries
with:</p><pre class="screen">
<code class="prompt">$</code> <span class="command"><strong>apt-get install qtbase5-dev qtbase5-dev-tools \
qttools5-dev qttools5-dev-tools libqt5xmlpatterns5-dev \
libarchive-dev libsndfile1-dev libasound2-dev liblo-dev \
libpulse-dev libcppunit-dev liblrdf-dev \
liblash-compat-dev librubberband-dev libjack-jackd2-dev</strong></span>
</pre></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sect.compilation"></a>2. Build</h2></div></div></div><p>Depending on the branch you are compiling you will need to use cmake. Check the INSTALL.txt and the README.txt files for more info (located in the top level dir once you downloaded the sources).</p><p>Compiling with cmake can be done easily by using the build.sh script. Go to the directory where the git repository
was cloned and run the build.sh script without any arguments to display the help :</p><pre class="screen">
<code class="prompt">$</code> <span class="command"><strong>./build.sh</strong></span>
</pre><p>The help is now displayed (and is self-explanatory) :
</p><pre class="screen">
<span class="command"><strong> r[m] => all built, temp and cache files</strong></span>
<span class="command"><strong> c[lean] => remove cache files</strong></span>
<span class="command"><strong> m[ake] => launch the build process</strong></span>
<span class="command"><strong> d[oc] => build html documentation</strong></span>
<span class="command"><strong> g[raph] => draw a dependencies graph</strong></span>
<span class="command"><strong> h[elp] => show the build options</strong></span>
<span class="command"><strong> x|exec => execute hydrogen</strong></span>
<span class="command"><strong> t[ests] => execute tests</strong></span>
<span class="command"><strong> p[kg] => build source package</strong></span>
<span class="command"><strong>ex: ./build.sh r m pkg x</strong></span>
</pre><p>To build Hydrogen run the build script with the 'm' option :
</p><pre class="screen">
<code class="prompt">$</code> <span class="command"><strong>./build.sh m</strong></span>
</pre></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sect.preferences"></a>3. Preferences</h2></div></div></div><p>First of all you should make sure that the audio engine is
configured properly. The preferences dialog can be accessed via the tools
menu (tools -> preferences).</p><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.preferences.general_tab"></a>3.1. The General tab</h3></div></div></div><p>On the "General" tab (<a class="xref" href="#fig.preferences.general_tab" title="Figure 1.1. The General Tab">Figure 1.1</a>) you can
choose to automatically reopen the last used song and/or playlist. This can save you
the trouble of having to reopen the song you are working on every time you open
Hydrogen. Auto loading the playlist can come in handy when you are using Hydrogen live.</p><p>If you want to use Lash for session management you should enable
it here so Hydrogen allows interaction with Lash.</p><p>The Beat Counter drift compensation and start offset allow you to compensate
for system latency when you are using the Beat Counter function (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.tap_tempo" title="5.1. Tap Tempo and BeatCounter">Tap Tempo and BeatCounter</a>)</p><p>The Max number of bars in a song can be set here (currently limited to 800)
and if you want to use rubberband for sample time-stretching (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.layer_editing.section2" title="10.5.2. Sample Editor rubberband">Section 10.5.2</a>)
you need to enter the path where rubberband is installed on you system here.</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.preferences.general_tab"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 1.1. The General Tab</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/PreferencesGeneral_V3.png" alt="The General Tab"></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.preferences.audio_tab"></a>3.2. The Audio System tab</h3></div></div></div><p>From the "Audio System" tab (<a class="xref" href="#fig.preferences.audio_tab" title="Figure 1.2. The Audio System Tab">Figure 1.2</a>) it is possible to modify the
audio driver being used (OSS, Jack, ALSA, PortAudio, PulseAudio, CoreAudio, Auto) with its buffer and
sampling rate (unless you are using JACK, in this case the audio driver
configuration should happen before starting the JACK server).</p><p>Also keep an eye on the value of "Polyphony": depending on your
CPU you may want to change the max simultaneous notes in order to
prevent hydrogen from overrunning the audio driver.</p><p>The "Interpolate resampling" parameter allows you to select your preferred
interpolation method.</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.preferences.audio_tab"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 1.2. The Audio System Tab</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/PreferencesAudioSystem_V3.png" alt="The Audio System Tab"></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"><p>
The following drivers are available:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Auto</strong></span>: Hydrogen will try a
number of different drivers in a predetermined order, choose the
first working one, and display the result. This option is
recommended for beginners.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Jack</strong></span>: The Jack driver is a
professional audio server which permits very low lag and exchanges
with other audio software. <span class="emphasis"><em>We strongly recommend using
this driver to have the best out of Hydrogen</em></span>. JACK
server will start automatically if not already running.</p><p>Available options:</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: circle; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Track output</strong></span>: This
options determines which audio settings will be applied to the
audio of the per-instrument output ports.</p><p>Post-Fader:</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: square; "><li class="listitem"><p>note velocity</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>note and instrument pan</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>layer, instrument, and component gain</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>instrument and main component volume</p></li></ul></div><p>Pre-Fader:</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: square; "><li class="listitem"><p>note velocity</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>layer gain</p></li></ul></div></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>BBT sync method</strong></span>: If
Hydrogen uses Jack transport in the presence of an external Jack
Timebase master (TBM), it will use the provided measure and
tempo information instead of the local one of either the Song's
tempo (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.main_toolbar" title="5. The main toolbar">Section 5</a>) or the markers
added to the Timeline (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.song_editor.tempo_and_markers" title="6.2. Tempo markers and song Tags">Section 6.2</a>). But due to
limitations in the current implementation, Hydrogen can not set
both measure and speed provided by Jack for arbitrary pattern
combinations. The user has two options. Either drop all measure
changes in the TBM and work with tempo changes only to support
arbitrary patterns (using option <span class="emphasis"><em>constant
measure</em></span>) or to keep the length of each pattern
consistent with the corresponding measure in the TBM and to use
both tempo and measure provided by Jack (option
<span class="emphasis"><em>matching bars</em></span>).</p><p>For this option to take effect the J. TRAMS button has to
be activated and the J. MASTER button deactivated (next to
having a Jack TBM application). See <a class="xref" href="#sect.main_toolbar" title="5. The main toolbar">Section 5</a>.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Connect to Default Output
Pair</strong></span>: Connects the main stereo output of the Mixer to
the default ports of your system
(<span class="emphasis"><em>system:playback_1</em></span> and
<span class="emphasis"><em>system:playback_2</em></span>) every time Hydrogen
starts up or the audio driver is restarted.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Create per-instrument
outputs</strong></span>: In addition to the main stereo output
Hydrogen will register Jack output ports for every single
instrument. This can be useful if you want to add effects to a
single instrument with jack-rack for example.</p></li></ul></div></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Alsa</strong></span>: The widely adopted
Linux standard audio drivers</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>OSS</strong></span>: The Oss audio driver
uses /dev/dsp and it's based on the OSS interface which is supported
by the vast majority of sound cards available for Linux; this said,
the use of this audio driver blocks /dev/dsp until Hydrogen is
closed i.e. unusable by any other software. Use it as last
resort.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>PortAudio</strong></span>: an open-source
multi platform audio driver</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>CoreAudio</strong></span>: a driver for Mac
OS X (experimental)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>PulseAudio</strong></span>: a driver for the cross platform
PulseAudio sound server.</p></li></ul></div></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.preferences.midi_tab"></a>3.3. The Midi System tab</h3></div></div></div><p>The "Midi System" tab (<a class="xref" href="#fig.preferences.midi_tab" title="Figure 1.3. The MIDI System Tab">Figure 1.3</a>)
contains all MIDI settings. Here you can choose the MIDI driver (ALSA, PortMidi,
CoreMidi or JackMidi) input, and channel(s) that Hydrogen should respond to.
You can also define midi bindings: link a midi note/message to an action.
To do this simply press the red 'REC' button left of the event-action binding line.
A popup will inform you that Hydrogen is waiting for your input. Press/hit/turn
the key/pad/knob on your midi keyboard (or controller) that you want to link to
this action. The popup will close and the Event Param value will now show the
midi note value of the key you pressed. Once this is done you can select an Action
from the action drop-down list. Note that some actions (like SELECT_NEXT_PATTERN)
also require an Action Param that references the pattern you want to select with this midi action.</p><p>See <a class="xref" href="#sect.midi" title="11. Midi">Section 11</a> for more info on Midi actions.</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.preferences.midi_tab"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 1.3. The MIDI System Tab</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/PreferencesMidiSystem_V2.png" alt="The MIDI System Tab"></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.preferences.appearance_tab"></a>3.4. The Appearance tab</h3></div></div></div><p>The "Appearance" tab (<a class="xref" href="#fig.preferences.appearance_tab" title="Figure 1.4. The Appearance Tab">Figure 1.4</a>) let's you modify Hydrogen look
and feel (font settings and interface style). On this tab you can also change the
VU meters fall-off speed and switch between Single pane and Tabbed interface
mode (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.UIoverview" title="3. The main User Interface : an overview">Section 3</a>)
</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.preferences.appearance_tab"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 1.4. The Appearance Tab</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/PreferencesAppearance_V2.png" alt="The Appearance Tab"></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.preferences.audio_engine_tab"></a>3.5. The Audio Engine tab (debug only)</h3></div></div></div><p>The "Audio Engine" tab (<a class="xref" href="#fig.preferences.audio_engine_tab" title="Figure 1.5. The Audio Engine tab">Figure 1.5</a>) is a window that shows
various stats about Hydrogen and the audio driver. In case JACK is used,
buffer and sampling rate should be set in the configuration of the JACK
server before starting Hydrogen (JACK automatically starts when an
application tries to connect).</p><p>Note that the Audio Engine tab is only available if Hydrogen was compiled with
debug support.</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.preferences.audio_engine_tab"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 1.5. The Audio Engine tab</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/AudioEngineInfoDialog.png" alt="The Audio Engine tab"></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a name="chap.using_hydrogen"></a>Chapter 2. Using Hydrogen</h1></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Table of Contents</b></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.file_types">1. Used Filetypes</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.keyboard_and_mouse">2. Keyboard and Mouse</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.UIoverview">3. The main User Interface : an overview</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.main_menu">4. Main menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.main_toolbar">5. The main toolbar</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.tap_tempo">5.1. Tap Tempo and BeatCounter</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.song_editor">6. Song Editor</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.song_editor.main_controls">6.1. Main controls</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.song_editor.tempo_and_markers">6.2. Tempo markers and song Tags</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.song_editor.director">6.3. Director</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.song_editor.playbackTrack">6.4. Using a playback track</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.song_editor.pattern_options">6.5. Patterns options</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.song_editor.export_song">6.6. Exporting your song</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.pattern_editor">7. Pattern Editor</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.pattern_editor.controls">7.1. Pattern Editor Controls</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.pattern_editor.drumkit">7.2. Pattern Editor Drumkit</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.pattern_editor.sequence_area">7.3. Pattern Editor Sequence area</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.pattern_editor.note_properties">7.4. Pattern Editor Note Properties</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.pattern_editor.piano_mode">7.5. Pattern Editor Piano mode</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.mixer">8. Mixer</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.mixer.channel_strips">8.1. Instrument channel strips</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.fx_rack_LADSPA">8.2. FX rack and LADSPA plugins</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.master">8.3. Master section</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.sound_library">9. Sound Library (Drumkit/Pattern/Song Manager)</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.systemdrumkits">9.1. System Drumkits</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.userdrumkits">9.2. (Adding) User Drumkits</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.sl.songs">9.3. Songs in the Sound Library</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.sl.patterns">9.4. Patterns in the Sound Library</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.instrument_editing">10. Drumkits and Instrument Editing</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.instrument_editing.concepts">10.1. Concepts</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.instrument_editing.new_kit">10.2. Creating a New Drumkit</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.instrument_editing.parameters">10.3. Instrument Parameters</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.instrument_editing.new_instrument">10.4. Creating an Instrument and Layers</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.layer_editing">10.5. Sample Editor</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.instrument_editing.tips">10.6. Tips on Editing Instruments</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.midi">11. Midi</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.midi.events">11.1. Midi Events</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.midi.actions">11.2. Midi Actions</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.osc">12. OSC</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.osc.messages">12.1. Controlling Hydrogen via OSC</a></span></dt><dt><span class="section"><a href="#sect.osc.feeback">12.2. Sending OSC feedback to other applications</a></span></dt></dl></dd></dl></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sect.file_types"></a>1. Used Filetypes</h2></div></div></div><p>Before working with Hydrogen, please familiarize with these
filetypes:</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>*.h2pattern</strong></span>: XML file
describing a single pattern. Patterns are group of beats and are
managed in the pattern editor.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>*.h2song</strong></span>: XML file describing
the whole song (or sequence). Songs are group of patterns with their
properties and are manager using the song editor</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>*.h2playlist</strong></span>: XML file
describing a playlist. A Playlist is a (ordered) group of songs.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>*.h2drumkit</strong></span>: a compressed and
archived folder containing all sound samples composing a drumkit and a
description XML file. Drumkits are basically group of sound
samples.</p></li></ul></div></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sect.keyboard_and_mouse"></a>2. Keyboard and Mouse</h2></div></div></div><p>
The Hydrogen user interface is designed so that it can be
used entirely with the mouse, with the exception of text entry.
</p><p>
The keyboard can also be used for navigating and editing in
the pattern and song editors, using a combination of
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Arrow keys</strong></span>: move the
keyboard input cursor's position, or adjust values under
the cursor.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Shift + Arrow keys</strong></span>:
can be used to make selections of notes or pattern
groups as if the mouse had been dragged over them.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Enter / Return</strong></span>: generally
performs the same action as a mouse click, but can also
start or end a move (or copy) of items in the same way
a mouse drag would.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Tab / Shift + Tab</strong></span>: move
between different areas of the main interface.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Delete</strong></span>:
delete notes or patterns.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Escape</strong></span>:
cancels an ongoing selection, move or copy.
</p></li></ul></div><p>
</p><p>
Note that the keyboard input cursor is hidden
from view until one of the above keys is pressed. This keeps
the display clear and uncluttered when using the mouse.
</p><p>
Most other keys on the keyboard can be used to play
samples and enter notes in the same way a MIDI keyboard can be.
</p></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sect.UIoverview"></a>3. The main User Interface : an overview</h2></div></div></div><p>The Main UI comes in 2 flavors : the (classic) Single Pane mode (ideal for
large- and medium size screens), and the Tabbed mode (optimized for netbook screen
sizes).
</p><p>
Below you can see the main UI split up in 5 parts : the Main Menu, Main
Toolbar, Song Editor, Pattern Editor and the Instrument and Sound Library Editor.
These sections will be explained in detail further down in this manual.</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.UI_overview"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.1. The Main UI in Single Pane mode</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/GUI_Sections_0.9.5_v2.png" alt="The Main UI in Single Pane mode"></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"><div class="figure"><a name="fig.tabbed_UI_overview"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.2. The Main UI in Tabbed mode</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/MainUI_tabbed.png" alt="The Main UI in Tabbed mode"></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sect.main_menu"></a>4. Main menu</h2></div></div></div><p><span class="bold"><strong>Projects</strong></span>: this menu offers file
related functions.</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>New</em></span> - Create a new song</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Show Info</em></span> - Set general properties of the
song such as name, author, license and generic notes</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Open</em></span> - Open a song</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Open Demo</em></span> - Open a demo song (demo songs
are stored in
<span class="emphasis"><em>$INSTALLPATH/share/hydrogen/data/demo_songs</em></span>)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Open recent</em></span> - Open a menu showing last used
songs</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Save</em></span> - Save changes to current song</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Save as</em></span> - Save current song specifying a
name (default path:
<span class="emphasis"><em>$HOME/.hydrogen/data/songs)</em></span></p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Open pattern</em></span> - Open a saved pattern
belonging to the current drumkit</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Export pattern as</em></span> - Saves a
pattern. It will be stored in
<span class="emphasis"><em>$HOME/.hydrogen/data/patterns/drumkit_name</em></span></p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Export MIDI file</em></span> - Export current song in
MIDI format</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Export song</em></span> - Export current song in WAV
format (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.song_editor.export_song" title="6.6. Exporting your song">Export Song</a>)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Export Lilypond file</em></span> - This is a first version of the LilyPond export.
It has the following limitations: Only GM-kit is supported, No triplets support</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Quit</em></span> - Quit Hydrogen</p></li></ul></div><p><span class="bold"><strong>Undo</strong></span>: Undo/Redo functions.</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Undo</em></span> - Lets you undo your last action</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Redo</em></span> - Lets you redo the last undone action</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Undo History</em></span> - Gives you an overview of your previous
actions</p></li></ul></div><p><span class="bold"><strong>Instruments</strong></span>: this menu offers
instruments functions.</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Add instrument</em></span> - Add a new instrument to your current drumkit</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Clear all</em></span> - Delete all instruments from the current drumkit</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Add component</em></span>: - A component is a part of Hydrogen's instrument model.
Each instrument consists of one or more components, and each component consists of one or more layers.
</p><p>To make an example: A snare could have two components.
One component includes sounds from the top side of the snare drum, and the other component includes
the sounds from the bottom side of the snare drum (where the snare wires are fitted).
Each component can consist of several layers (snare drum hits with different velocities).
Now you can adjust the volume of the two components to build your ideal drum sound.
If you want more of the attack, you can put in more of the "top head" component.
If you want more of the snare wires, you put in more of the bottom component.
</p></li></ul></div><p><span class="bold"><strong>Drumkits</strong></span>: this menu offers drumkit (sound libraries) functions.</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Save</em></span> - Saves all instruments settings (and their sound samples) in
<span class="emphasis"><em>$HOME/.hydrogen/data/library_name</em></span>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Export</em></span> - Compress all instruments samples and settings in a drumkit in
<span class="emphasis"><em>$HOME/.hydrogen/data/library_name</em></span>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Import</em></span> - Imports another drumkit from the local filesystem.
To load another drumkit in your
current working session of Hydrogen, read <a class="xref" href="#sect.sound_library" title="9. Sound Library (Drumkit/Pattern/Song Manager)">Instrument rack</a>.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Online import</em></span> - Imports another drumkit from a remote location
through an XML feed. The XML file that should be provided is <span class="bold"><strong>NOT</strong></span> RSS compliant (see <a class="ulink" href="http://www.hydrogen-music.org/feeds/drumkit_list.php" target="_top">Hydrogen
website</a> for an example). To load another drumkit in your
current working session of Hydrogen, read <a class="xref" href="#sect.sound_library" title="9. Sound Library (Drumkit/Pattern/Song Manager)">Instrument rack</a>.
</p></li></ul></div><p><span class="bold"><strong>View</strong></span>:Opens the director, the playlist editor, the instrument rack
and the general preferences window.
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Playlist editor</em></span> - A tool to manage
playlists.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Director</em></span> - Open the director window.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Mixer</em></span> - Open the mixer window.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Instrument rack</em></span> - Open the instrument rack
panel.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Automation path</em></span> - Open the automation path
panel.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Timeline</em></span> - Open the time line
panel (auto hiding the playback track)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Playback track</em></span> - Open the time line
panel (auto hiding the timeline)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Full screen</em></span> - Maximises the window size to the whole screen area</p></li></ul></div><p><span class="bold"><strong>Options</strong></span>: selects the input mode and opens the general preferences
window.</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Input mode</em></span> -
when set to <span class="emphasis"><em>Drumset</em></span> the keys on your midi keyboard will map to the instruments
in your drumkit. If you set it to <span class="emphasis"><em>Instrument</em></span> the keys of your midi
keyboard will trigger the instrument that is currently selected.
The pitch of the instrument will follow the key you press on your keyboard.
This feature is mainly used for non-drum instruments.
An example: if you use a sample of a piano for one of your instruments, you will be able to 'play'
that piano instrument using your keyboard just like you are playing a piano synth.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Preferences</em></span> - Open the main preferences
window. Read <a class="xref" href="#sect.preferences" title="3. Preferences">Preferences</a> on how to configure
Hydrogen.</p></li></ul></div><p><span class="bold"><strong>Debug</strong></span>: tools mainly for debugging
and monitoring Hydrogen (only available when compiled with debug
support !).</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Show audio engine info - </em></span>Open a monitor
with various <a class="link" href="#sect.preferences.audio_engine_tab" title="3.5. The Audio Engine tab (debug only)">stats</a></p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>debug action - </em></span> Insert debug
commands.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Print Objects - </em></span>Print on stdout current
objects map.</p></li></ul></div><p><span class="bold"><strong>Info</strong></span></p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>User manual - </em></span>Open a window with this
manual :)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>About - </em></span>The usual window with license
information, acknowledgments, etc.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Report bug - </em></span> Opens the Hydrogen issue page at github.com in Internet browser
You can open a new issue to communicate a bug here (first search if there exists already an issue about it)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="emphasis"><em>Donate - </em></span> Make a donation to developers/mantainers</p></li></ul></div></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sect.main_toolbar"></a>5. The main toolbar</h2></div></div></div><p>Before analyzing the two main frames of Hydrogen, let's take a quick
look at the main toolbar and its components:</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>Pilot the song using the start, stop, pause, etc. buttons</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Choose between "pattern" or "song" mode: in "pattern" mode only
the currently selected pattern will play, while in "song" mode all
patterns inserted will be played.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>An advanced tap tempo function: choose note length and how many
notes to wait before recalculating BPM, then hit the comma key
repeatedly until the 'R' letter appears and then the BPM will be
updated. (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.tap_tempo" title="5.1. Tap Tempo and BeatCounter">Tap Tempo and BeatCounter</a>)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Manually set BPM</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Manage JACK transport</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Open the mixer and the instrument rack panels</p></li></ul></div><div class="figure"><a name="fig.main_toolbar"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.3. The Main Toolbar</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/MainToolbar_V2.png" alt="The Main Toolbar"></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: opencircle; "><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/background_Control_V2.png"></span></p><p>Main controls to start <span class="bold"><strong>[Hotkey =
Spacebar]</strong></span>, stop, record, fast forward, rewind, loop a song or a
pattern.</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/background_Mode.png"></span></p><p>Set Pattern/Song Mode. When Song mode is selected Hydrogen will play
the complete song. This is the sequence of patterns you have created in the Song
Editor (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.song_editor" title="6. Song Editor">Section 6</a>). When Pattern mode is selected
Hydrogen will play the pattern that is currently selected, and thus displayed
in the Pattern Editor (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.pattern_editor" title="7. Pattern Editor">Section 7</a>).</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/MeasureSettings.png"></span></p><p>Set measure type and Beat Counter (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.tap_tempo" title="5.1. Tap Tempo and BeatCounter">Tap Tempo and BeatCounter</a>).</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/background_BPM.png"></span></p><p>Set speed of playing (range: 30-400 bpm) <span class="bold"><strong>[Hotkey = mouse wheel]</strong></span> and button to
enable/disable metronome</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/MidiIN_CPU.png"></span></p><p>Shows CPU load and MIDI events. The CPU bargraph gives you an indication of the CPU load. The MIDI led lights up every time Hydrogen receives a midi message.</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/JackTrans_Master.png"></span></p><p>Click J. TRANS to enable Jack transport. If the J. MASTER button is pressed Hydrogen will work as Jack timebase 'master' by sending additional information, like the current speed, to other Jack clients. Else it will either act as 'slave' in the presence of another timebase master (e.g. Ardour) or as a stand-alone client in the absence of it. Please note that when acting as 'slave' Hydrogen will obey the tempo provided by the timebase master and instead of its own tempo markers (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.preferences.audio_tab" title="3.2. The Audio System tab">Section 3.2</a>).</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/mixer-instrrack_btn.png"></span></p><p>
The last section gives you quick access to the Mixer window and the Instrument Rack.
The LCD screen displays what Hydrogen is up to.
</p></li></ul></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.tap_tempo"></a>5.1. Tap Tempo and BeatCounter</h3></div></div></div><p>It is possible to change the tempo at any time using the Tap Tempo and
BeatCounter features of Hydrogen. You can do this while the song is playing or
while the song is stopped. To change the tempo, hit the
<span class="keycap"><strong>,</strong></span> (comma) key in the tempo you want.
After the correct number of keystrokes have been detected (see
below for details), the tempo will change to the average tempo
you tapped the comma key. If you continue to tap,
these new taps will become a part of a rolling average. If you tap
accidentally, or if you wait too long between taps, the tap tempo
counter will start over.</p><p>The Tap Tempo is a part of the BeatCounter, which is essentially a
Tap Tempo on steroids. By default the BeatCounter display is not
visible. To see the BeatCounter widget click the upright button
(<span class="guilabel">BC</span>) between Song/Pattern mode selector and the
BPM-widget, or, simply press the comma key.
(<span class="keycap"><strong>,</strong></span>).</p><p>The tempo that you tap will be considered even beats of the song's
beat type. The beat type can be set to 1/8 (for eight-note beats), 1/4 (for
quarter-note beats), 1/2 (for half-note beats), and 1/1 (for whole-note
beats). To change the beat type use the left +/- buttons. To change
the Countdown Counter value, use the right +/- buttons. The Countdown
Counter value can be set between 2 and 16 beats. (I.e. if you set the beat to 6, you will
have to tap 6 times before the new tempo is computed and set.) When the
display shows an <span class="guilabel">R</span>, it means that the BeatCounter
is ready to start from 0. When you tap the comma key, the R will change to
1, and will increment with every keystroke until it reaches the Countdown
Counter value (shown just below the 'R').</p><p>The button in the bottom right-hand controls the auto-start
feature, and it toggles between <span class="guilabel">S</span> and
<span class="guilabel">P</span>. When it shows <span class="guilabel">P</span> for
(<span class="emphasis"><em>Play</em></span>), the song will set the new tempo and
automatically start to play after you tap the right number of beats (if
it's not already playing, of course). This way, if you have the
BeatCounter set up for 4/4, you can tap 1-2-3-4, and start playing on
the next beat. When it shows <span class="guilabel">S</span> (for <span class="emphasis"><em>Set
BPM</em></span>), the auto-start is disabled.</p><p>For example: Suppose you have a live band, Hydrogen, and a
softsynth that is controlled by Seq24)... and you want them all to start
at the same time. Set the beat type to 1/4 and the number of beats to
4. Enable auto-start (button shows <span class="guilabel">P</span>). Count off
the band 1-2-3-4 (while tapping the comma key) — and everyone
starts on 1.</p><p>Another example: Same situation, but the song doesn't require
Hydrogen or synths until some point later. During that time, a human
(e.g. guitar player) will be setting the tempo. On the measure before
Hydrogen is supposed to play, tap the comma key 1-2-3-4 with the
beat... and you're in on the next beat (at the right tempo).</p><p>If you are using the JACK Transport, the BeatCounter continues to
work. If another program is the JACK Transport Master, Hydrogen will
respond to tempo change events from that application. Note that in this
situation, Hydrogen is supposed to be a <span class="emphasis"><em>slave</em></span>, so
some of the BeatCounter features will be disabled or will not work
properly. If Hydrogen is the JACK Transport Master, tempo changes from
Hydrogen will be reflected in those programs (if they support
it).</p><p>Some of the settings to adjust the BeatCounter's latency
compensation, are located on the General tab of the Preferences Dialog
(see <a class="xref" href="#sect.preferences.general_tab" title="3.1. The General tab">Section 3.1</a>
). Here you will find two spinboxes:</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong><span class="guilabel">Beat counter drift
compensation in 1/10ms</span></strong></span> — adjust to
compensate for latency between the keyboard and the
program.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong><span class="guilabel">Beat counter start
offset in ms</span></strong></span> — adjust the time between the
BeatCounter's last input stroke and when the song starts playing (if
auto-start is activated).</p></li></ul></div><p>Note that these can be set to positive (+) or negative (-) values.
In order to find useful values for these, you will need to take some
time to play with it. Also, you may want different values depending on
the speed of your hardware, audio devices, drivers, etc. Using the
BeatCounter effectively requires practice.</p></div></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sect.song_editor"></a>6. Song Editor</h2></div></div></div><p>The "Song Editor" (<a class="xref" href="#fig.song_editor" title="Figure 2.4. The Song Editor">Figure 2.4</a>) gives an
overview of the whole timeline of the song (e.g. intro, verse, bridge,
chorus and so on); each blue colored square on this panel represents a complete
bar as shown in the underlying "Pattern Editor" panel. The song editor gives
you complete freedom to add/remove patterns to the song and to move or
copy any part of your song.
</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.song_editor"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.4. The Song Editor</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/SongEditor.png" alt="The Song Editor"></div></div></div><p><br class="figure-break">
</p><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.song_editor.main_controls"></a>6.1. Main controls</h3></div></div></div><p>
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/bg_topPanel.png"></span>
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: opencircle; "><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/btn_clear_off.png"></span> Completely delete all patterns
(asks for confirmation!).
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/btn_new_on.png"></span> Create a new pattern (and asks
for a name).
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/btn_updown.png"></span> Move currently selected pattern
up or down.</p><p>Note that you can also just drag-and-drop a pattern up/down in the pattern list.</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/btn_draw.png"></span> Enable Draw Mode. This mode allows
you to create a song by drawing blocks on the song canvas.</p><p>Clicking a square on the song canvas will add a pattern (the square
will turn blue), clicking it again will remove that pattern from the song.
</p><p>
Using the arrow keys on the keyboard, and the Return key,
will also add and remove patterns from the song. The
keyboard input cursor is usually hidden unless you press
one of the arrow keys.
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/btn_select.png"></span> Enable Select Mode. This mode allows
you to select a part of the song and delete/move/copy it.</p><p>Once you have selected a part of your song you can <span class="bold"><strong>delete</strong></span>
it by pressing the Delete button. You can <span class="bold"><strong>move</strong></span> it by simply dragging your selection
to another location, and you can also <span class="bold"><strong>copy</strong></span>
your selection by Ctrl-dragging it to a new location.
</p><p>
Selections can be modified by Ctrl-clicking to select
additional blocks, or to remove selected blocks from the
selection.
</p><p>
The arrow keys on the keyboard can also be used, along
with the Return key, to <span class="bold"><strong>select</strong></span>, <span class="bold"><strong>move</strong></span> and <span class="bold"><strong>copy</strong></span> (Ctrl+Return) parts of the
song.
</p><p>
Pressing Escape will cancel an editing operation that's in
progress, or clear any selection.
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/btn_pattern_mode.png"></span> set Hydrogen to "Single pattern mode"
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/stacked_mode_V3.png"></span>
or to "Stacked pattern mode".</p><p>For more info on this see the SELECT_NEXT_PATTERN midi action in <a class="xref" href="#sect.midi" title="11. Midi">Section 11</a>.
</p></li></ul></div></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.song_editor.tempo_and_markers"></a>6.2. Tempo markers and song Tags</h3></div></div></div><p>This section describes how you can define tempo changes and
how you can add tags to your song.</p><p>The majority of songs consist of several parts (intro, verse, chorus ...) and
often these parts will have a different tempo. Hydrogen provides an easy way
to let you change the tempo of a song at any given moment in the song. This is
done by adding Tempo change Markers to your song.</p><p>To add a Tempo change marker to your song you first need to enable the 'BPM' option
(the BPM button is located just above the Song editors main controls). Once this is done
the horizontal bar next to the BPM button changes to a ruler with marks at every bar.
Now simply left-click this ruler at the bar you want the tempo to change and a
window will pop up where you can enter the new tempo. (Please note that the ruler will not be available while using the Jack transport in 'slave' mode.)
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.add_tempo_change"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/add_tempo_change.png"></div></div><p>
Once you have entered the new tempo and clicked OK, the tempo change will
show up on the tempo ruler. If you click the Tempo marker again you can edit
the tempo, change the bar or delete the tempo marker.
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.tempo_bar"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/tempo_bar.png"></div></div><p>
</p><p>
In addition to changing the tempo when the song switches from intro > verse,
it is also very handy to have a clear indication of this tempo switch (or any other
event in the song). For this purpose you can also add Tags markers to the song.
These Tags are short text messages you can add to your song at any given
moment that will be displayed whenever the song playhead passes by that Tag.</p><p>
To add a Tag to your song simply middle-click on the song ruler (just below the
tempo ruler) and a window will pop up where that allows you to add text for any bar.
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.add_tag"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/add_tag.png"></div></div><p>
Once you are done you will see a small blue 'T' in the song ruler for every tag
you have entered. Middle-click anywhere on the song ruler to edit the tags.
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.tag_bar"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/tag_bar.png"></div></div><p>
</p></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.song_editor.director"></a>6.3. Director</h3></div></div></div><p>
Now all we need is a way to see the tags we have entered. This can be done
using the Director window. Open the Director by pressing Alt-D, or Tools- Director :
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.director"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/screenshot-director.png"></div></div><p>
The Director is your best friend when you need a quick overview of what Hydrogen
is currently doing. This comes in very handy when you are recording a song, or
if you are using Hydrogen live on stage.</p><p>
The Director shows you the song name, a visual metronome and of course the
song Tags. Just below the metronome you can see the latest tag, and below that
the next upcoming tag. This way you have a nice overview of what is going on,
and what is about to happen in the song.
</p></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.song_editor.playbackTrack"></a>6.4. Using a playback track</h3></div></div></div><p>This section describes how you can use a playback track to write drums for an existing track.
This useful when you want to write a drumtrack to an already existing instrumental track, for example a guitar track.
</p><p>
To add a playback track to your song, you need to enable the playback track view. This can be done by pressing the small "P" button in the next to the vertical scroll bar of the song editor.
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.enablePlaybackTrack"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/EnablePlaybackTrack.png"></div></div><p>
An alternative way to enable the playback track view is to enable the option "Playback track" in the "View" menu.
If the playback track view is enabled, a visualisation of the currently loaded track is display above the song editor.
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.playbackTrack"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/PlaybackTrack.png"></div></div><p>
Left to the visualisation, the controls for the playback are displayed:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: opencircle; "><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Edit: Load a new playback track</p><p>Mute: Mute the current playback track</p><p>Fader: Adjust the volume of the playback track</p></li></ul></div><p>
As an alternative to the use of the Edit Button, you can add a new playback track by drag'n'drop, just drag an audio file to the visualation area.
When a playback track track is loaded, it will be played everytime Hydrogen is in "Play" mode and the song mode is activated.
</p></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.song_editor.pattern_options"></a>6.5. Patterns options</h3></div></div></div><p>Right-clicking the name of a pattern will show you a menu
where you can change a number of things :</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.song_editor.virtualPattern.selectedMenu"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.5. The Pattern Options menu</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/Virtual_patterns_menu.png" alt="The Pattern Options menu"></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: opencircle; "><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Edit : will open the selected pattern in the Pattern Editor.
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Copy : will copy the selected pattern to a new pattern in your song.
</p><p>Note that patterns with the same name are not allowed.</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Delete : will completely remove the selected pattern from the song.
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Fill/Clear : will open a window that allows you to fill/clear a
part of the song with the selected pattern by entering the start- and end bar.
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.fill_clear_pattern"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/fill_clear_pattern.png"></div></div><p>
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Properties : will open a window where you can change
the name of the pattern and also assign it to a certain category.
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.pattern_properties"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/pattern_properties.png"></div></div><p>
</p><p>Note that you can choose one of the existing categories from the dropdown list,
but you can also enter a new category name in the Pattern Category box.</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Load Pattern : will open the selected pattern in the Pattern Editor.
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Save Pattern : will open the selected pattern in the Pattern Editor.
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Virtual Pattern : will open the selected pattern in the Pattern Editor.
</p><p>
Virtual patterns are a convenient way of grouping patterns together.
For example, say you have a song in which three patterns are always
played together at the start of each bar. Previously, the way to do this
in the pattern matrix was to explicitly enable the three patterns at each bar.
</p><p>
With virtual patterns we can assign a pattern to be a sort of meta-pattern
that implicitly invokes these three patterns together when the new virtual pattern
is enabled in the pattern matrix. This way, we only need to set one pattern every
bar, instead of three.
</p><p>
Virtual patterns provide a function that's similar to the regular pattern editor, and one could argue that
since a virtual pattern is also a regular pattern, we could have just merged the three
patterns into this new one. However, the advantage that virtual patterns provide is that
if one of the original three patterns changes, the virtual pattern automatically inherits
the change. A virtual pattern can also invoke other virtual patterns.
</p></li></ul></div></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.song_editor.export_song"></a>6.6. Exporting your song</h3></div></div></div><p>Once your song is finished you can export it to an audio file.
This audio file can then be played on your favorite media player or imported
in an other audio application.</p><p>
To do this, go to Project - "Export song" and the following window will pop up:
</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.Export_song"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.6. Export a song</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/Export_song.png" alt="Export a song"></div></div></div><p><br class="figure-break">
To export a song you need to do 3 things:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: opencircle; "><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Enter a name and location for the export file in the 'Export filename' field
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Select one of the available templates (e.g. CD, DAT ...) according to your needs:
each template has a specific bitrate, resolution, and audio format (WAV, AIFF, FLAC or OGG).
You can tweak the selected template using the samplerate/sampledepth dropdown boxes
underneath the template field.
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>Export mode: 'Export to a single track' will export 1 stereo downmix of your
song (= the master output). 'Export to separate tracks' will create files for each
instrument/track. 'Both' will create a stereo downmix + audio files for all individual
instruments.
</p></li></ul></div><p>
Once all these settings have been configured all you need to do is click the 'Export'
button and Hydrogen will generate the requested files.
</p><div class="note" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
If you have tempo changes in your song (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.song_editor.tempo_and_markers" title="6.2. Tempo markers and song Tags">Section 6.2</a>)
these tempo changes will not be exported. This is a know limitation of the current versions
(including 0.9.6)
</p><p>
As a workaround you can record the output of Hydrogen with an audio recording
application (like Ardour, Qtractor ...)
</p></div></div></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sect.pattern_editor"></a>7. Pattern Editor</h2></div></div></div><p>The "Pattern Editor"
allows you to create or modify the selected pattern by adding/removing notes and tuning
a number of per-note properties like velocity and pan.
The Pattern Editor
can be used in 2 modes : 'Drum' mode or 'Piano' mode. You can switch between these
modes by clicking the Drum/Piano button (located on the top-right of the Pattern Editor)
</p><div class="note" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: opencircle; "><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>
If you are editing a pattern in Single Pattern Mode you will always hear the pattern you are
editing when you press play.</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>If you are working in Stacked Pattern Mode you will hear the <span class="emphasis"><em>active</em></span> pattern(s),
not necessarily the pattern you are currently editing.
(The active patterns have a small triangle next to the pattern name in the Song Editor).
</p></li></ul></div></div><p>
</p><p>First let's take a look at the (classic) 'Drum' mode :
</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.PatternEditor_DrumMode"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.7. Pattern Editor in Drum mode</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/PatternEditor_DrumMode.png" alt="Pattern Editor in Drum mode"></div></div></div><p><br class="figure-break">
</p><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.pattern_editor.controls"></a>7.1. Pattern Editor Controls</h3></div></div></div><p>The top part of the pattern editor contains a number of controls :</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.PatternEditorControls"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.8. Pattern Editor Controls</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/PatternEditorControls.png" alt="Pattern Editor Controls"></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"><p>From left to right : </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: opencircle; "><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="bold"><strong>SIZE</strong></span>:
lets you choose the length of the pattern (in note values)
</p><p>
It will open a dialog to enter the new size as text, in the standard music fractional notation:
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.PatternSizeDialog"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/PatternSizeDialog.png"></div></div><p>
Type '/' to separate numerator and denominator.
</p><p>
If you enter just the numerator (e.g. "4"), the current denominator will be assumed.
</p><p>
You can enter a decimal numerator (e.g. "4.5/4") but since Hydrogen resolution is limited,
some values are not supported and will be approximated.
</p><p>
Hydrogen supports (only) the following denominators: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 96, 192,
because these are the factors of the maximum resolution (192 ticks per whole note).
You can use unsupported denominators, but the size will be approximated almost all the times,
hence a warning icon will appear:
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.DenominatorWarningIcon"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/DenominatorWarningIcon.png"></div></div></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>RES</strong></span> : this is the current grid resolution (4 through 64)
</p><p>
Remember this constraint concerning the grid: if you are working
with a resolution of 16 you can't go back to 8 and remove an upbeat 16th note. On
the other hand if you are working with a resolution of 8 and you try to
insert a note in the middle of two bars (looking for a 16 bars precision),
notes will be placed in the previous or in the following 8th bar. This
constraint can be removed if you disable the whole grid resolution (choose
"off" from the grid resolution LCD control). Now you'll be able to place
notes wherever you prefer.</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="bold"><strong>HEAR</strong></span> : when enabled Hydrogen
will play the sample as it's being added to the pattern.</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="bold"><strong>QUANT</strong></span> : enables/disables quantization.
When enabled the beats inserted
will automatically respect the grid resolution currently applied.</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="bold"><strong>INPUT</strong></span> : switch Pattern Editor
between Drum and Piano mode. (see below)</p></li></ul></div></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.pattern_editor.drumkit"></a>7.2. Pattern Editor Drumkit</h3></div></div></div><p>The section on the left shows you what drumkit is currently selected (GMkit by default) and below that you can see
the instruments that are part of this kit.</p><p>
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><a name="ifig.pattern_editor_instrument"></a><img src="img/PatternEditorInstr_V2.png"></span>
</p><p>Each instrument has its own set of features that are accessible by
right-clicking the instrument. From the context menu that pops up you can select </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: opencircle; "><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Clear notes</strong></span> : to remove all notes for this instrument in this pattern. </p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Fill notes</strong></span> : this allows you to fill
up the pattern with notes for the selected instrument. Depending on the choice you make (fill all, fill 1/2, fill 1/4 ...)
notes will be placed at all, 1/2, 1/4, etc of the note positions <span class="bold"><strong>that are allowed by
the grid setting</strong></span>. So be careful not to mix up the 'musical' 1/2-note and the 'fill 1/2' note.</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Randomize velocity</strong></span>
: automatically apply a pseudo-random velocity to each note of that
instrument in the pattern. The more velocity you set on the instrument,
the more hydrogen will hit <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">hard</span>”</span> on that instrument when
played.
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Delete Instrument</strong></span> : well, deletes the instrument ;-)</p></li></ul></div><p>The small red and green buttons right of the instrument names are the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><span class="bold"><strong>mute</strong></span></span>”</span> (red) and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><span class="bold"><strong>solo</strong></span></span>”</span> (green) buttons.</p><p>The order of the instruments can be rearranged by simply dragging an instrument
up/down in the list and dropping it on a new position within the drumkit. Doing so
will not change anything to the sequence you have created for that instrument, nor will
it change anything to the song or pattern you are working on. It <span class="bold"><strong>
will</strong></span> however, have an impact on the <span class="bold"><strong>MIDI note
mapping</strong></span> : in the table below you can find the link between the instrument
position, the MIDI note and the qwerty keyboard keys.</p><p><span class="bold"><strong>Important Notes</strong></span> :</p><p>The name of the instrument depends on the
drumkit that is loaded. This list below refers to the GMkit that is loaded by default.
</p><p>Try to follow the GM midi standard as accurately as possible. This will ensure that switching between
drumkits goes smoothly. You are of course free to place your instruments anywhere in your drumkit, and
sometimes it isn't even possible to follow the GM standard, but it makes life a lot easier if you do.</p><p>
Keep in mind that it is the <span class="emphasis"><em>position</em></span> of the instrument (within the loaded drumkit) that
is linked to a MIDI-note/keyboard-key and <span class="emphasis"><em>not the name</em></span> of the instrument.
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.InstrumentMapping"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/InstrumentMapping.png"></div></div><p>Here's a quick reference of the above bindings for your
convenience. </p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.letters_keyboard"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/tastiera.png"></div></div></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.pattern_editor.sequence_area"></a>7.3. Pattern Editor Sequence area</h3></div></div></div><p>This is where it all happens, this is where you can make music :-)</p><p>In this area you can see your selected pattern and add notes for any instrument.
The simplest way to create a pattern is by adding notes using your mouse
(and the 'Fill/Clear notes' function described above). Where you can add notes
depends on the used pattern size and resolution.</p><p>If you are using Hydrogen as a pure 'drum' you just want Hydrogen to 'hit'
the instrument wherever there's a 'dot' in the pattern. If you are using Hydrogen as an 'instrument', the
length of the note becomes very important. There are 2 ways to define the length of
a note :
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
you can add a note by left-clicking, and then can 'stretch' that note by right-click-dragging it.
This will change the dot into a rectangle that represents the
duration of that note.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
Alternatively, you can add a stop-note by
Shift+left-clicking. This adds a blue dot which
represents the end of the note.
</p></li></ul></div><p>
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.NoteOff_NoteLength"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/NoteOff_NoteLength.png"></div></div><p>
(Figure above, from left>right : a 'normal' note, a note in 'note length' mode, a note in 'note off' mode)
</p><p>
As in the Song Editor, the arrow keys can also be used to
move around the pattern, and notes can be placed or removed
with Return.
</p><p>
Notes can be selected by dragging over them with the mouse (or <span class="bold"><strong>Shift+arrow keys</strong></span>), and can be deleted with 'Delete', or moved by
dragging (or Return followed by arrow key movements) the notes to a new location. This
allows notes to be moved between different instruments, or to adjust their
timing. Movement in the horizontal direction is constrained by the currently selected grid
resolution, however this can be overridden by holding down <span class="bold"><strong>Alt</strong></span> while moving notes.
</p><p>
Moving a selection of notes with <span class="bold"><strong>Ctrl</strong></span> held down will copy
them to the new location rather than moving, as in the Song Editor.
</p><p>
Selected notes can also be copied to the clipboard with <span class="bold"><strong>Ctrl+C</strong></span>, and pasted with <span class="bold"><strong>Ctrl+V</strong></span>. When pasting, the relative positions of the input cursor at
the time of the Copy and Paste operation will set the new position of pasted notes.
</p><p>So far we have only used the mouse or keyboard editing to create a pattern, but you can also record your beats by clicking the Record button
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/Rec_button.png"></span>
(see <a class="xref" href="#sect.main_menu" title="4. Main menu">Section 4</a>) and simply playing your pattern on your
MIDI drum or your pc keyboard (see instrument mapping above). This is probably
a more musical way of creating a pattern, but it's up to you to decide what works best for you.
(Also see <a class="xref" href="#chap.create_song" title="Chapter 3. A new song">Chapter 3</a> for a basic
walk-through of how the pattern editor works) </p></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.pattern_editor.note_properties"></a>7.4. Pattern Editor Note Properties</h3></div></div></div><p>Clicking on an instrument or adding/removing a note next to it
will select this instrument. Once an instrument is selected the note properties
for this instrument will be shown in the form of vertical lines in the bottom window.
The lines represent the value for the selected property of each note of the selected instrument.
You can select a different note-property from the note property drop-down list (located bottom-left).
There are 4 note properties available :
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: opencircle; "><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Velocity</strong></span> : how hard the note is played (the volume of the note)</p><p>
Note that the color of the note-dot and the vertical bar will change according to the velocity value you have defined.
A light shade of gray means a low velocity (low volume) and the higher you set the velocity the darker the color will be,
turning red when you reach the point of clipping.
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Pan</strong></span> : with this parameter you can move
the stereo image position of the note (how loud it will be in the left/right output).</p><p>Note that the effect of <span class="emphasis"><em>note Pan</em></span> depends on the <span class="emphasis"><em>instrument Pan</em></span>
knob, which is set in the mixer.
The interaction is similar to a <span class="emphasis"><em>"matryoshka"</em></span>:
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="matryoshkaPanning"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/matrioskaPanH2.png"></div></div><p>
the <span class="emphasis"><em>note Pan</em></span> value moves the
<span class="bold"><strong><span class="emphasis"><em>Resultant Pan</em></span></strong></span> in a smaller pan range centered at
<span class="emphasis"><em>instrument Pan</em></span>, whose extension depends on <span class="emphasis"><em>instrument Pan</em></span> value:
if <span class="emphasis"><em>instrument Pan</em></span> is central, <span class="emphasis"><em>note Pan</em></span> moves the signal in the
whole stereo range (really from Left to Right);
if <span class="emphasis"><em>instrument Pan</em></span> is sided, <span class="emphasis"><em>note Pan</em></span> moves the signal in a
progressively smaller stereo range centered at <span class="emphasis"><em>instrument Pan</em></span>;
if <span class="emphasis"><em>instrument Pan</em></span> is HARD-sided, <span class="emphasis"><em>note Pan</em></span> doesn't have any effect.
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Lead/Lag</strong></span> : Lead and Lag allows a slight note
lead or lag in respect of the actual beat. The range is ca. 5 ticks which
equals around ca. 10 ms at a tempo of 120bpm. Changing the lead/lag can make a huge
difference to the way your pattern sounds and feels. It's a groove thing ;-)
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Notekey</strong></span> : if you select this note parameter the
area where you can modify the parameter will change into a 'piano keyboard'
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.NoteKey"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/NoteKey.png"></div></div><p>
The striped black and white area represents a piano keyboard and in the gray
area you can choose the octave. By moving the dots on the
octave scale and the 'keyboard', you can choose any note
value.
</p><p>
(Note that the pattern editor in piano roll mode (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.pattern_editor.piano_mode" title="7.5. Pattern Editor Piano mode">Section 7.5</a>) can also be used to
change the note value of existing notes)
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: circle"><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Probability</strong></span> : changing the
Probability property of a note provides a way for Hydrogen
to automatically create some variation in patterns. By
setting the probability to less than 1.0, a note may be
randomly skipped: a note with probability 1.0 will
<span class="emphasis"><em>always</em></span> be played, a note with
probability of 0.0 will <span class="emphasis"><em>never</em></span> be
played.
</p></li></ul></div><p>
</p><p>
Clicking or dragging the value lines in the note properties editor will
set the property value. But often you'll want to set the properties of
several notes at once, so there are a few ways to do this.
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Drawing with the mouse:</strong></span></p><p>
Pressing the mouse button over the first note's property, you can
hold down the mouse button and drag over multiple notes. This is
great for quickly creating a crescendo from a filled set of notes.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>
Selecting multiple notes:</strong></span>
</p><p>
The mouse or keyboard can be used to select multiple notes, which
can then be modified all together by dragging them together. This
can be useful for creating really consistent quiet grace notes.
</p></li></ul></div><p>
</p></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.pattern_editor.piano_mode"></a>7.5. Pattern Editor Piano mode</h3></div></div></div><p>Drum mode (see <a class="xref" href="#fig.PatternEditor_DrumMode" title="Figure 2.7. Pattern Editor in Drum mode">Figure 2.7</a>) focuses on using Hydrogen as a drum machine.
If you are using Hydrogen as an instrument there is a big chance that the Piano mode is for you.
It gives you a complete 'piano keyboard' so you can easily put down your tunes.</p><p>You can compare the Piano mode to the Note properties Notekey (described above), only here you have a
complete piano keyboard, so you don't have to select the octave first.</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.PatternEditor_PianoMode"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.9. Pattern Editor in Piano mode</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/PatternEditor_PianoMode.png" alt="Pattern Editor in Piano mode"></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"></div></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sect.mixer"></a>8. Mixer</h2></div></div></div><p>The Mixer window can be opened by pressing Alt+M, by clicking
Mixer in the Tools menu, or by clicking the Mixer button on the main toolbar.
</p><p>The Mixer consists of 3 sections (left>right) : the instrument channel strips,
the FX plugin rack and the master fader section. The Hydrogen Mixer works very
much like a hardware mixer does : it lets you set the volume, pan, FX and several
other things for every instrument.
</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.mixer"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.10. The Mixer</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/Mixer.png" alt="The Mixer"></div></div></div><p><br class="figure-break">
</p><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.mixer.channel_strips"></a>8.1. Instrument channel strips</h3></div></div></div><p>From top to bottom : the 2 top elements on the strip are a 'play' button / 'trig' led combination.
(
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/btn_play_on_mixer.png"></span>
)
The play button lets you trigger the instrument at maximum velocity (handy for checking clipping),
and the trig led lights up whenever this instrument is triggered (from the song sequence,
or by an external midi controller). Right of this button/led you will find another led that shows
you what instrument is currently selected. This is also the instrument that is selected in the pattern editor.
As soon as you change one of the settings of a channel strip the instrument will be selected.</p><p>Just below you can find the Mute
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/btn_mute_on.png"></span>
and Solo
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/btn_solo_on.png"></span>
buttons and the Pan(orama) knob.
Note that the Mute and Solo states are also reflected in the Song editor.</p><p>
Next are 4 pre-fader FX send knobs that determine how much of this instrument will be sent to
the effect plugins in the FX rack.
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.FX_send_knobs"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/FX_send_knobs.png"></div></div><p>
Just below that you can find an LCD peak-value display,
and finally the volume fader and VU meter for that instrument.</p><p><span class="bold"><strong>IMPORTANT NOTE</strong></span> : keep in mind that the volume and pan settings that you
find on the Mixer are global settings. The per-note velocity and pan settings in the Pattern editor
are settings that are relative to the settings in the Mixer window !</p></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.fx_rack_LADSPA"></a>8.2. FX rack and LADSPA plugins</h3></div></div></div><p>The FX rack has 4 bays where you can load a LADSPA effect plugin, but before
you can load any plugins these must be installed (surprised ? ;-)</p><p>There are dozens of plugins available for download from various sources :
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>SWH-Plugins available at <a class="ulink" href="http://plugin.org.uk" target="_top">http://plugin.org.uk</a>. </p><p>(Note : if you want to compile these plugins
you need the FFTW tarball from <a class="ulink" href="http://www.fftw.org" target="_top">http://www.fftw.org</a>)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>CMT available at <a class="ulink" href="http://www.ladspa.org" target="_top">http://www.ladspa.org</a>.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>TAP available at <a class="ulink" href="http://tap-plugins.sf.net" target="_top">http://tap-plugins.sf.net</a>.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Calf plugins <a class="ulink" href="http://calf.sourceforge.net/" target="_top">http://calf.sourceforge.net/</a>.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p> ....</p></li></ul></div><p>
</p><div class="warning" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><h3 class="title">Plugins Kill</h3><p>A badly designed LADSPA plugin is capable of
hanging, crashing, freezing, screeching, overflowing buffers, and even
phoning home. If you start having issues with Hydrogen, disable your
plugins and see if things improve. Some plugins are not designed for
real-time use, and some are just plain better than others.</p></div><p>Once you have installed some plugins you can select one by clicking the
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/edit_off.png"></span>
button. (if you do not see the FX rack, make sure that the
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/showFX_on.png"></span>
button (in the Master section) is enabled)</p><p>Now the FX selector window will pop up :
</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.select_effect"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.11. Select an Effect</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/MixerFXSelect.png" alt="Select an Effect"></div></div></div><p><br class="figure-break">
Once you have selected a plugin you will immediately have access
to its parameters:
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="figLADSPA_FX_Properties"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/LADSPA_FX_Properties.png"></div></div><p>
You can select another plugin by clicking the 'Select FX' button. If you quickly want to
enable/disable the effect click the 'Deactivate' button (or the Bypass (
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/bypass_over.png"></span>)
button in the FX rack). This can be handy for a quick A/B comparison.</p><p>After you have selected the FX and tweaked it's parameters you can use the
FX return knob to increase/decrease how much of this FX will be returned to the master output.</p></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.master"></a>8.3. Master section</h3></div></div></div><p>
The Master section contains the Master volume fader with VU meters and three global Humanize
settings for Velocity, Timing and Swing (in order to add a 'human feel' to the song):
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>Velocity : adds a certain randomness to the note velocity.
The higher you turn this knob, the more the velocity will be randomized.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Timing : adds a certain randomness to the note timing (lead/lag).
The higher you turn this knob, the more the timing will be randomized.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Swing : this knob will add a certain amount of swing to the song.</p></li></ul></div><p>
Note that Hydrogen can also be switched to 'per instrument output' mode (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.preferences.audio_tab" title="3.2. The Audio System tab">Section 3.2</a>),
and in this mode all channel strip outputs will be available in Jack (not just the Master output).
This allows you to route the individual instruments directly into any other Jack enabled application (eg Ardour) and gives you
a lot more flexibility.</p><p>On the bottom-right of the Master section the 'FX' button
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/showFX_on.png"></span>
will show/hide the FX rack, and the 'Peak' button
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="img/showPeaks_on.png"></span>
will enable/disable the VU meters.
</p><div class="note" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>The VU meter fall off speed can be configured in the preferences window (see <a class="xref" href="#sect.preferences.appearance_tab" title="3.4. The Appearance tab">Section 3.4</a>)</p></div><p>
</p><p> In the upper part of Master section there is a small "cog" icon button:</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="mixerSettingsButton"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/mixerSettingsButton.png"></div></div><p>
click it to open the Mixer Settings window:
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="mixerSettingsDialog"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/mixerSettingsDialog.png"></div></div><p>
here you can select the <span class="bold"><strong>Pan Law</strong></span> used by Hydrogen Mixer.
</p><p>
The Pan Law is the relationship between the pan knob and the apparent stereo position of sound.
Basically the Right channel <span class="emphasis"><em>gain</em></span> increases from 0 to the max level turning the pan knob
from left to right.
Left gain is symmetric.
</p><p>
Hydrogen features one the most customizable and accurate Pan Law set. </p><p>
You will find four categories: <span class="emphasis"><em>linear</em></span>, <span class="emphasis"><em>polar</em></span>,
<span class="emphasis"><em>ratio</em></span>, <span class="emphasis"><em>quadratic</em></span>.
Every category gives a different "scale" or "sensibility" to the pan knob:
the same knob position will make the sound appear more lateral or central depending on the category,
from the most lateral (<span class="emphasis"><em>linear</em></span>) to the most central (<span class="emphasis"><em>quadratic</em></span>).
</p><p>
For each category you will find four options, that define a <span class="emphasis"><em>constraint</em></span> between the
gains of the two channels:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Balance Law (0dB)</strong></span>:
when you move the pan knob from center to right, the right gain stays constant at max level
while the left gain decreases from max level to 0. </p><p>It is ideal for balancing a DUAL-channel track. It has ZERO center compensation: the sound
will be <span class="emphasis"><em>louder</em></span> when the pan knob is at <span class="emphasis"><em>center</em></span>,
unless channels are out of phase, so you may have to re-adjust the volume manually with the
mixer fader.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p> <span class="bold"><strong>Constant Power (-3dB)</strong></span>: the total <span class="emphasis"><em>power</em></span>
(which is proportional to the <span class="emphasis"><em>square</em></span> of the gain) is constant for any position
of the pan knob. </p><p>Compared to the Balance Law, each channel gain is divided by the square root of 2
when pan knob is at center (-3.0103 dB center compensation).
In a common room, this pan law <span class="emphasis"><em>may</em></span> give the general perception of uniform
volume for any pan knob position (panning a MONO track).
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p> <span class="bold"><strong>Constant Sum (-6dB)</strong></span>: the sum of left and right gains is constant
for any position of the pan knob. </p><p>Compared to the Balance Law, each channel gain is halved (-6.0206 dB) when pan knob is at center.
This makes perfectly balanced mono exports.
If you are in an ideal anechoic room (where there are no acoustic reflections)
and you seat perfectly at the same distance from the speakers,
with Constant Sum the volume will be really constant for any pan position, because of the linear
<span class="emphasis"><em>super-position</em></span> of sound waves (panning a MONO track).
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Constant k-Norm (Custom dB center compensation)</strong></span>:
you can experiment adjusting the center compensation to your taste! </p><p>Note that some hi-end studio mixers - used in well tuned rooms -
have center compensation between -3dB and -6dB.
</p></li></ul></div><p>
</p><p>The four constraint options should not change the perception of the <span class="emphasis"><em>stereo angle</em></span>,
but the <span class="emphasis"><em>volume</em></span> only (depending on the pan knob).
</p><p>
Hydrogen sets the <span class="emphasis"><em>ratio Balance Law</em></span> by default because that was the old law used until
version 1.0.
The Pan Law is something you should choose <span class="emphasis"><em>before</em></span> starting the mix and keep untouched.
It is saved in the songfile but not in preferences, so it is not remembered when you create a new song.
</p><div class="note" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>Unlike in advanced mixers, Hydrogen panning makes no distinction if a track is mono or dual-channel.
If the drumkit you are using is made of true stereo samples, you don't want a negative center compensation probably,
so you should select a Balance Law.</p></div></div></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sect.sound_library"></a>9. Sound Library (Drumkit/Pattern/Song Manager)</h2></div></div></div><p>First of all a little history on the Sound library and Drumkits. Hydrogen began as a
dedicated drum machine but has evolved into a versatile sound synthesizer/sequencer
that is capable of generating and manipulating all sorts of sounds. Hence the original
"Drumkit" terminology is slightly misleading. You can load any kind of sound into a
"Drumkit" and manipulate that sound just like playing a regular synthesizer. This is
also the main reason why the Piano mode was added to the pattern editor
(see <a class="xref" href="#sect.pattern_editor.piano_mode" title="7.5. Pattern Editor Piano mode">Section 7.5</a>).</p><p>In this manual (and in other documentation) "Drumkit" and "Soundlibrary"
frequently mean the same thing, but not always. The diagram below shows the actual
relation between the Soundlibrary and Drumkits:
</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.SoundlibraryHierarchy"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.12. Soundlibrary/Drumkit hierarchy</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/SoundlibraryHierarchy_V4.png" alt="Soundlibrary/Drumkit hierarchy"></div></div></div><p><br class="figure-break">
As you can see the Soundlibrary contains all Drumkits (System and User drumkits),
your saved Patterns and your saved Songs. Each Drumkit is a collection of a number
of instruments (snare, kick, sampled voice, bass sound ...) and in its turn an instrument can consist of multiple
layered samples. Note that every block has a number of parameters (continue reading for more details).</p><p>This said. let's take a look at the Soundlibrary interface and see what it can do for you:</p><p>The Sound Library saves you time in managing your drum kits,
favourite patterns, and favourite songs. When making new songs and new drum
kits, it allows you to reuse and mix the instruments and patterns from other kits and songs.
</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.soundlibrary"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.13. The Soundlibrary</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/SoundLibrary.png" alt="The Soundlibrary"></div></div></div><p><br class="figure-break">
</p><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.systemdrumkits"></a>9.1. System Drumkits</h3></div></div></div><p>This lists the drumkits that were installed by your system
administrator. The location of these System Drumkits is determined by the compile-time prefix. On
Unix-like operating systems, this is usually <code class="filename">/usr/share/hydrogen/data/drumkits</code>, or
possibly <code class="filename">/usr/local/share/hydrogen/data/drumkits</code>.
These kits are available to all users on the system, and users are
usually not able to add to them.</p><p>To load a drumkit from here, right-click the drumkit and select
<span class="guimenuitem">Load</span>. This will replace your current drumkit
with the one that you selected. To load a single instrument from that
kit, left-click the <span class="guibutton">plus</span> to the left of the
drumkit's name to show all the instruments. With your left mouse
button, click and drag the instrument into your current kit. The
instrument will be added to the drumkit that you currently have
loaded.</p></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.userdrumkits"></a>9.2. (Adding) User Drumkits</h3></div></div></div><p>These are your own drum kits that you can manage yourself. They
are usually stored in <code class="filename">$HOME/.hydrogen/data/drumkits</code>. When you are
creating a new drumkit, you can save it here by selecting
<span class="guimenu">Instruments</span> → <span class="guimenuitem">Save
library</span>.</p><p>
You can import existing drumkits from other users via <span class="guimenu">Instruments</span> → <span class="guimenuitem">Import library</span>. The Import window will pop up with the Internet tab selected.
By default the link to the drumkit list (on hydrogen-music.org) will be filled in,
and after pressing the 'Update list' button you will get a complete list of all
drumkits that are available for download. In the status column you can see
if a kit is installed or not.
</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.import_drumkit"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.14. Import Drumkit</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/Sound_Library_import.png" alt="Import Drumkit"></div></div></div><p><br class="figure-break">
If you select one of the drumkits you will see info about this kit in the right
pane of the Import window: name, description, author and also the license type.
</p><div class="warning" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;"><h3 class="title">Warning</h3><p>If you are using Hydrogen for commercial purposes, (creating songs and
selling these on-line or in any other way) you need to pay special attention to the
license type of the drumkit(s) you are using.
</p><p>
If the exact license is not available for a drumkit, do _NOT_ assume that it is a CC (or
other open and free license type).
</p><p>
Even if the kit is CC licensed you should always check with the author before using
the kit in your songs.
</p><p>DISCLAIMER : hydrogen is not responsible for the drumkits that are
made available for download by our users, either via the hydrogen-music.org site or
via any other channel.</p></div><p>
You can install a drumkit by selecting it and clicking 'Download and Install'.
</p><div class="informalfigure"><a name="fig.downloading_soundlibrary"></a><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/Downloading_SoundLibrary.png"></div></div><p>
Once the kit has been downloaded it will be available in the Sound Library under "User drumkits".
</p></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.sl.songs"></a>9.3. Songs in the Sound Library</h3></div></div></div><p>To save songs in the Sound Library, put them in your data
directory underneath the <code class="filename">songs</code>
folder (usually <code class="filename">$HOME/.hydrogen/data/songs)</code>.
To remove them, remove the file from that folder.</p></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.sl.patterns"></a>9.4. Patterns in the Sound Library</h3></div></div></div><p>Before you save a pattern to the sound library, be
sure to give it a title and a category. Right-click on the pattern, select
"<span class="guimenuitem">Properties</span>" and enter the details.
You can use one of the categories already
provided, or create your own categories by simply typing in a category
name. The category name is important, because the patterns will be
filed by category in the Sound Library.</p><p>You can add a pattern to the sound library by right
clicking the title of the pattern in the song editor, and selecting
"<span class="guimenuitem">Save Pattern</span>". It will now appear in the Sound
Library underneath "<span class="guilabel">Patterns</span>" and the category that
you assigned to the pattern.</p></div></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sect.instrument_editing"></a>10. Drumkits and Instrument Editing</h2></div></div></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.instrument_editing.concepts"></a>10.1. Concepts</h3></div></div></div><p>
The synthesizer in Hydrogen is a sample-based synthesizer. A sample
is a piece of pre-recorded audio (usually between 0.1 sec and 3 sec).
To play a note, the sample is simply played back at the right time.
There are a few concepts and terms that you should understand when you
are putting together a drumkit. (See <a class="xref" href="#glossary" title="Glossary">Glossary</a> for
more detailed explanations.)
</p><div class="variablelist"><p class="title"><b>Sampling Synthesizer Terms</b></p><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term">Sample</span></dt><dd><p>A short recording of a sound,
typically between 0.1 and 3.0 seconds long.</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Gain</span></dt><dd><p>Volume
adjustment.</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Velocity</span></dt><dd><p>How hard you hit a
note.</p></dd><dt><span class="term"> ADSR Envelope Generator</span></dt><dd><p>An
Attack/Decay/Sustain/Release envelope generator. After you trigger
a note, Hydrogen will <span class="emphasis"><em>attack</em></span> the note by
increasing its volume from 0 to the full velocity of the note.
After reaching full velocity, it will <span class="emphasis"><em>decay</em></span> the
note by lowering the volume until it reaches the
<span class="emphasis"><em>sustain</em></span> level. When the note is
<span class="emphasis"><em>released</em></span>, Hydrogen reduces the volume from the
sustain level back down to 0. See <a class="ulink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADSR_envelope" target="_top">ADSR
Envelope</a> for more info</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Attack</span></dt><dd><p>The amount of <span class="bold"><strong>time</strong></span> to go from 0 to full
velocity.</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Decay</span></dt><dd><p>The amount of <span class="bold"><strong>time</strong></span> to go from full velocity to the sustain
volume.</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Sustain</span></dt><dd><p>The <span class="bold"><strong>level</strong></span> (how loud) to hold the note between the
sustain and the release. It is a percentage of the velocity. It
does not depend on time.</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Release</span></dt><dd><p>The amount of <span class="bold"><strong>time</strong></span> to go from the sustain volume back down
to 0.</p></dd></dl></div><p>
Typical samples that are used in Hydrogen are: the sound of a single
drum hit, the sound of a single cymbal hit, the sound of a single
cowbell hit. Whenever you put a note in the pattern (or play a note
using MIDI), Hydrogen will play whatever sound you have loaded. So,
to put together a drum kit you need to gather short recordings of the
bass drum, each tom, each cymbal, the high hat open, the high hat
closed, the snare drum (snare on), the snare drum (snare off), rim
shots, etc.
</p><p>
However, there are no rules about what a sample can be. It's not
uncommon to use Hydrogen to trigger non-drum sounds like: audio clips
of people talking, a clip from a song, sound effects, audio clips from
movies, and famous people speaking. Be creative!
</p></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.instrument_editing.new_kit"></a>10.2. Creating a New Drumkit</h3></div></div></div><p>In the next paragraphs we will show you how to create a complete drumkit.
Keeping in mind the 'Soundlibrary hierarchy' (see <a class="xref" href="#fig.SoundlibraryHierarchy" title="Figure 2.12. Soundlibrary/Drumkit hierarchy">Figure 2.12</a>)
we will use a top-down approach, so we will start at the Drumkit level and work our way
down to the samples.</p><p>Creating a new drumkit with Hydrogen is done with the Instrument
Editor. You can load samples, set envelope
parameters, set the gain, and other advanced features like mute
groups, a low-pass resonance filter, and pitch randomization.</p><p>TIP : Instead of creating your own drumkit, you can also use or download
existing drumkits using the <a class="xref" href="#sect.sound_library" title="9. Sound Library (Drumkit/Pattern/Song Manager)">Instrument rack</a>.</p><p>Lets make a brand new drum kit :</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>select
<span class="guimenu">Instruments</span> → <span class="guimenuitem">"Clear All"</span>
. This will give you a bank of 32 blank instruments. To delete
instruments, right-click on on each instrument and select
"<span class="guimenuitem">Delete Instrument</span>". To add more instruments,
select
<span class="guimenu">Instruments</span> → <span class="guimenuitem">"Add instrument"</span>
.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Select an instrument to start editing it. This is done by
left-clicking on the name of the instrument in the instrument list (at
the left). You will notice that the name of the instrument in the
Instrument Editor matches the one that you clicked.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Once you have your drum kit working the way you want, select
<span class="guimenuitem">Instruments</span> → <span class="guimenuitem">"Save library"</span>
. You will be prompted for the name of the kit to save. If you wish to
<span class="emphasis"><em>overwrite</em></span> an existing kit, you will need to type in
the same name as the kit that you want to replace.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Drumkits are automatically stored in the <code class="filename">data</code> directory (i.e. <code class="filename">$HOME/.hydrogen/data/drumkits</code>).</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>To export a drumkit (for sharing with others), it must first be
loaded into your Sound Library. Then, select
<span class="guimenuitem">Instruments</span> → <span class="guimenuitem">"Export library"</span>
from the menu. Select the drum kit that you wish to export, and give it
a file name to save it to.</p></li></ul></div></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a name="sect.instrument_editing.parameters"></a>10.3. Instrument Parameters</h3></div></div></div><p>In the instrument editor, click on the
<span class="guibutton">General</span> button. Here you can adjust several
parameters that apply to the instrument (applies to all layers as well).
</p><div class="figure"><a name="instrumenteditor.general"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 2.15. The Instrument editor General view</b></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><img src="img/Instrument_General.png" alt="The Instrument editor General view"></div></div></div><p><br class="figure-break">
The parameters are:</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Envelope parameters</strong></span>:
<span class="guibutton">Attack</span>, <span class="guibutton">Decay</span>,
<span class="guibutton">Sustain</span>, <span class="guibutton">Release</span>.
(See <a class="xref" href="#def.envelopegenerator" title="Envelope Generator">Envelope Generator</a>)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong><span class="guibutton">Gain</span></strong></span>:
The overall volume of the instrument.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong><span class="guibutton">Mute
Group</span></strong></span>: Which mute group this instrument is a
member of (see <a class="xref" href="#def.mutegroup" title="Mute Group">Mute Group</a>).</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong><span class="guibutton">Auto Stop-Note</span></strong></span></p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong><span class="guibutton">Apply Velocity</span></strong></span></p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Filter Parameters</strong></span>:
<span class="guibutton">Byp</span>ass, <span class="guibutton">Cutoff</span>,
<span class="guibutton">Resonance</span>.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Pitch Shift Parameters</strong></span>:
<span class="guibutton">Pitch</span>,
<span class="guibutton">Fine</span>,
<span class="guibutton">Random</span>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong><span class="guibutton">Midi out Channel and Note</span></strong></span></p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong><span class="guibutton">Hi-Hat Pressure Group</span></strong></span>:
Group and Range.
</p></li></ul></div><p>It's important that you understand <a class="xref" href="#sect.instrument_editing.concepts" title="10.1. Concepts">Section 10.1</a> in order to continue
on.</p><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a name="sect.instrument_editing.envelope_parameters"></a>10.3.1. Envelope Parameters</h4></div></div></div><p>When the instrument is triggered, its volume is run through an
ADSR Envelope. The parameters operate as follows:</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Attack</strong></span> — the amount
of <span class="emphasis"><em>time</em></span> that the volume of the sample goes
from 0 to the full velocity of the note. If the value is 0, the
sample will play immediately at full velocity. If the value is
1.0, the sample volume will use the maximum time available for the
attack parameter.
<a href="#ftn.fn.adsrtimes" class="footnote" name="fn.adsrtimes"><sup class="footnote">[1]</sup></a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Decay</strong></span> — the amount of
<span class="emphasis"><em>time</em></span> for the volume of the sample to go from
full velocity down to the sustain volume. If the value is 0, the
sample will immediately skip from the attack volume to the sustain
volume. If the value is 1.0, the sample volume will use the
maximum time available for the decay parameter.<a href="#ftn.fn.adsrtimes" class="footnoteref"><sup class="footnoteref">[1]</sup></a></p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Sustain</strong></span> — the
<span class="emphasis"><em>volume</em></span> to play the note after the decay phase
is over, and until the note is released. If set to 0, the note
will be silent. If set to 1.0, the note will play at full
velocity.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p><span class="bold"><strong>Release</strong></span> — the
<span class="emphasis"><em>time</em></span> to fade out the note from the sustain
volume back down to 0 (silent). If set to 0, the note will fade