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The BeatPad Master Tab |
Tap on the forth tab to see the master controls. These controls are constant as you change from pattern to pattern, but are saved as preferences so that BeatPad will remember where you set these. You can set the tempo, MIDI instruments for both the melodic and drum parts, and the center pitch. When performing with BeatPad you can be sure that changing patterns won't suddenly change the speed or key of the music being played, and you can change instruments whenever you want (which won't always be when the patterns change). The first slider sets the tempo that BeatPad plays at. This can be a range from 40 to 240 beats per minute. A beat is defined as four steps of a pattern. As you move this slider (you can drag it, or simply tap the new position you want) the number of beats per minute is displayed to the right, and playback responds to the change immediately. The slider moves by increments of two beats per minute, but the arrows to either side can move a single BPM at a time. Next down are sliders for the Melodic and Drum MIDI programs. MIDI program changes are how the instrument or sound generated by the MIDI hardware are changed. There are 128 values available, and on a General MIDI (industry standard) device these sounds range from various pianos, guitars, and violins to oboes, trumpets, and even gunshots. These sliders work the same as the tempo, and when MIDI is turned on, program changes will be sent whenever these sliders move, whether BeatPad is playing or not. Below all the sliders is a small keyboard where you can select the "center pitch". Any pattern being played will be transposed to this center pitch (it will be used as the pitch value for the center position of the pitch controls when the octave control is also in its center position). The small arrows on either side let you move up and down octaves (the ocatave number appears to the lower left of the keyboard) giving you a ten octave range (from -2 to 7). These arrows move the octave you are looking of the keyboard, but you must still tap the keyboard to move the center pitch. Setting very low or high center pitches may put notes of some patterns out of the playable range; such notes will be moved by octaves until they are insdie the range (pitch will be kept the same, only the octave will change). | ![]() Tab 4 - Master Controls |