Virtual Synth Keyboard

The Virtual Synth Keyboard simulates a General Midi/GS synthesizer and may be used to playback and record music.

Use the Virtual Synth Keyboard just like a real piano, organ or electronic keyboard.  Like a real keyboard, the Virtual Synth handles polyphony and up to 11 notes may be held down at the same time.

Of course, a real keyboard has many more keys than what can be shown on the display, so use the Keyboard Down and Keyboard Up buttons to move the display along the length of a full sized keyboard.

Tracks

Each song in Symphonix Evolution can have up to 16 individual tracks, where each track may contain a different musical instrument.  Think of a recording studio where different parts of a song are recorded on different tracks and then mixed together to make the final composition.  Symphonix Evolution works the same way!

The Virtual Keyboard has a Track indicator that displays the current track that is being edited.  Touch the indicator to display a Panel Menu for selecting a different track:

Highlight a track to change the "current" track used for notation and recording.  Other options on this screen include:

• Name - Touch this field to change the name of the track.
  
• Loop - When selected, this option will cause the track to auto-repeat during play back, causing it to loop.
  
• Percussion - When selected, displays percussion symbols for selected notes
  
• Octave - Causes the track to play at octaves higher or lower than notated.  (This is equivalent to placing a 15va, 8va, etc symbol on the clef)
• Transpose - Allows the track to be transposed by a number of semitones independent of the score.  This is ideal for transposing instruments.
  
• Mute - When selected, the track will be muted during playback
  
• Solo - When selected, other tracks will be muted during playback
  
• Hide Others - When selected, other tracks will be hidden from the notation screen (playback will continue as normal).

Program/Presets

Each track may be set to a different instrument sound.  Each instrument is assigned a "bank" and "program" number.

The Program indicator displays the preset (instrument) that applies to the current Track.  Like the Track function, touching the Program Indicator displays a panel that allows the preset to be changed:

The Preset Selection screen allows presets to be chosen for the internal synthesizer and an external MIDI device.  Use the "Internal/MIDI" switch to select whether you are choosing the preset for the internal synth or the external device.

To select a preset, select a Family in the left panel, followed by an instrument in the right panel.

When in MIDI mode, press the Select button next to the Device Name to choose an external device (see Device Manager for more details).

Other options on this screen include:

• Internal ON/OFF - Determines whether the internal synth should play notes for this track (equivalent to the "Local" button on the main screen, except that it applies to the current track only).
  
• MIDI ON/OFF - Determines whether a connected MIDI synth should play notes for this track (equivalent to the "MIDI" button on the main screen, except that it applies to the current track only)
  
• Sync ON/OFF - When active, use SYNC to automatically select presets in both internal and external devices simultaneously. When SYNC is turned off, the preset for the external MIDI device can be different to that used for the internal synth.

Channel

Each track may be set to a different MIDI Channel and each channel may only control a single instrument at a time.

The Channel Indicator displays the channel being used by the current Track.  Touching the Channel Indicator displays a Panel that allows the channel to be changed:

Select the channel to be used and press the Done button to return to the main screen.

The Pad Button

Use the PAD button to switch between different displays and keyboard modes:

These modes are:

• Large Keys - Displays a large piano keyboard suitable for playing
• Full Keyboard - Displays a full 88 keys as well as common notation symbols.
• Notation Entry - Replaces the lower panel with a pallete of notation symbols
• Drum Pad - Displays the Virtual Drum Pad
• Marker - Shows saved Marker positions and makes it easy to jump to a marker
• Rhythm Maker - Opens the Rhythm Maker for creating rhythm and percussion sequences
• Chord Sheet - Opens the Chord Sheet to see the chords used in the song
• Lyric Arranger - Displays the Lyrics and allows lyric entry
• Tablature - Displays Guitar "tab" notation or fretboard display
• Player Piano - Replaces the notation part of the screen with a simulation of an old-style Player Piano

Drum Pad

Use the PAD button to toggle between the Virtual Synth Keyboard and the Virtual Drum Pad:

Use the drum pads to play or record percussion.  In Pad mode, the and buttons are replaced by and .  These buttons allow the Drum Kit to be changed.  The following Drum Kits are available:

• Standard - A standard configuration of kicks, snare, cymbal, hi-hat and toms
• Classic - Classic arrangement of kick, snare, cymbal, hi-hat and hand clap
• Bongos - A set of bongo drums and accents
• Crash - A set of cymbals
• Salsa - A Latin American feel

Full Keyboard

Pressing the Pad button will also reveal the Full Keyboard mode, which displays common symbols for editing as well as a full size piano keyboard.  This is extremely useful when playing music to see the notes that are being used:

Player Piano

Use the Pad button to access the Player Piano mode.  This replaces the top notation part of the screen with a simulation of an old-style Player Piano.  In this mode, the notes making up the song are displayed graphically as a set of bars that scroll as the music plays.  This is similar to the Piano Roll view except the screen scrolls vertically during playback.

Synth Parameters

Use the synth button on the main toolbar to access various low-level synth parameters:

These functions include oscillators for modulation and vibrato, as well as the ADSR envelopes for modulation and volume.

Use the "Audition" button to hear the effect of any changes made to the parameter values, and the "Reset" button to restore the original settings.

Each parameter is able to be set using a non-registered parameter number (NRPN) message and Symphonix Evolution responds to incoming NRPN MIDI messages.  The NRPN values are displayed on the screen when parameter values are changed.

Tip:  Use the MIDI Controller function to drag the current Synth Parameters into your song

Custom Synth Panels

Use the button on the Synth Parameters screen to add your own custom MIDI Controller Panel.  You will be asked for the name of the new panel:

Press the green "Accept" button to add an empty panel in "Edit" mode:

Use the buttons in the lower left corner of the panel's toolbar to add controllers to the panel:

The new controller will appear in a "selected" mode:

You can move the control anywhere on the panel by dragging the control inside the yellow area.  Change the controller number and name as appropriate, and select a MIDI channel if needed.  (Selecting a channel of "00" will make the controller work with the channel of the current Track).

Touch outside the control to deselect it.

When you are finished editing the panel, press the button in the lower right corner of the Synth Panel screen.