The intros and fills help...

[boz52]

I'm a newbie and a little confused on the timings of the intros and fills for the drum tracks.  Are they all one measure each? or are some longer?  I'm having trouble when I'm creating a song.  Any help is greatly appreciated.... Boz

[launched]

Some are longer than one measure! I hate that... It will require you to use two full measures for some fills.

I am speaking for the MBR - Not sure about the others.

Peace,

Mark

[64Guitars]

Have a look at the Preset Pattern List on page 118 of the Micro BR Owner's Manual. The numbers in the rightmost six columns are the pattern length in measures.

In most cases, you'll want to use the full pattern. So you have to make sure that the starting measure of the next step in your arrangement is sufficiently high to allow the full pattern to play. For example, if step 1 of your arrangement is the intro pattern P019:ROCK4 which is 4 measures long, then step 2 should have a starting measure of 5.

Although, occasionally you might cut a pattern short intentionally. For example, as Farmjazz pointed out, you can make a nice 4-beat count-in to your song by playing only the first measure of pattern P265:Cnty1. To do that, set step 1 to pattern P265 and set the starting measure of step 2 to 2. Even though pattern P265 is two measures long, it will only play the first measure then switch to the pattern specified in step 2.

[launched]

Have a look at the Preset Pattern List on page 118 of the Micro BR Owner's Manual. The numbers in the rightmost six columns are the pattern length in measures.

Ahh, cool - I had no idea! There's even a patch that is five measures long. I do RTFM frequently, but never caught that.

Very enlightening - Appreciate it, 64!

[lemonstar]

Can I tag another question on to this as I'm just not getting the BR-600 at all - I bought mine about a year ago - had a little play with it for a few days but I haven't had any time in the last 12 months to look at it again but I powered it up over the past 4-5 days. I've been reading the manual which seems well intentioned and will probably mean a lot more to me once I understand the way of thinking & I'm clear about the terminology used and exactly what "mode" I'm in when editing. To cut to the main question - how do I modify and use a preset fill? I *think* I know I have to copy a preset pattern to do that. This is where I'm at; I created a new song. I press "Rhythm Edit" and "Enter" on "Step" and I can create an arrangement by picking the preset patterns (P001-327) I like and then I can string a few of these patterns together and adjust the start measure - that's about the sum total of what I can do. There's a fill which is nearly what I want but I'd like to try changing it. Now P152 told me how to copy a pattern and I think I have copied POP5-F1 to PT>S001 so how do I go about editing it? I just don't "get" what it is I am doing because when I go to change the arrangment I have the following 3 buttons/light lit up:"Effects", "Rhythm on/off" and "Arrange". I then press "Rhythm Edit" which causes those 3 lights to go out and the "Pad" button to light up - then I press "Enter" while "Step" is selected and I can change the patterns used and their start measure - I can now pick up the POP5-F1 pattern I copied to S001 but how do I edit it?

Thanks - Neil

[64Guitars]

I'd recommend doing this with the free BR Rhythm Editor. Although you can do it right in the BR-600, it will only show you one drum at a time due to its limited display size, so it's harder to understand. The BR Rhythm Editor, on the other hand, shows you all of the drums and cymbals for the entire pattern in a grid. Here's what song pattern S001 looks like after you've copied POP5-F1 into it:



The numbers across the top are the measure and beat. So "1:3" is beat 3 of measure 1. This pattern is only one measure long so there's nothing from 2:1 onward. Notice that the closed hi-hat at beat 3 has two overlapping circles. That's because we're currently viewing the pattern in 1/16th note resolution but those two "notes" are 1/32 notes. You can change the resolution with the "-" and "+" buttons in the lower-right of the pattern area. If you set the resolution to 1/32, you'll be able to see and edit all of the individual notes, although you'll have to scroll horizontally to view the entire measure.



You can have as many as 96 columns per beat (at 1/384 resolution), so an extra parameter is added to the numbers at the top, labelling the midpoint between beat 1 and beat 2 as 1:1:48 (ie; measure 1 : beat 1 : and 48/96ths of a beat).

To change the pattern, simply double-click in a square to add a note. To delete a note, select it by clicking once, then press the Delete key on your computer's keyboard. Alternatively, you can right-click on a note and select Delete from the context menu. To change the velocity of a note (how hard or softly the drum or cymbal is hit), select the note and, while the mouse pointer is hovering over it, turn the mouse wheel. The size of the circle changes to indicate the relative velocity (smaller circles have lower velocity). The actual numeric velocity value is also shown at the top-right of the pattern area. You can also click there and type in a new velocity value for the currently-selected note.

Read the manual that comes with the BR Rhythm Editor for more details. I'm attaching it for your convenience.

https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=5706.0;attach=5574

Once you understand how to edit patterns using the BR Rhythm Editor, re-read the BR-600 Owner's Manual to learn how to do it in the BR-600. It will make a lot more sense after you've learned how to do it with the BR Rhythm Editor.

[lemonstar]

Brillaint help - I've installed the rhythm editor (RE), got it to connected to the BR (I had to initiate a backup as the RE wouldn't connect to the BR by clicking on the "Connect" button for some reason) - once linked I did a "song Read" and dragged a copy of the ROLAND folder to C:/ so I had a choice of connecting to C:\ (as if connecting to a virtual BR I guess?) or to the BR-600 itself - I chose the later.  I wasn't sure exactly what to do - I clicked on "Arrangment Write" but I don't know if that is what updated the BR or not - am I editing the information directly on the BR through the RE if I select G:\ROLAND\BR-600 or does it take place when you click "Disconnect" and then OK the "OK to execute?" dialog (I guess that is when it really get written).

Thanks for link to the 900 manual - I downloaded that and I *will* look at that later tonight. So would you say it's the preferred way to work - through the RE software on the PC - it seems easier (similar I know) but editing the preset pattern was easy.

The main worry now is that I know absolutely nothing about drumming and how to put something together that sounds okay - I really am going to have to listen to the drumming properly on everything I listen to and try and ignore the rest of the music. I'm still trying to decide if I should use the fills for the last 1, 2 or 3 measures of an 8 measure verse (I know the fills are different lengths). What do I do for a middle 8 - try presets from other patterns? I don't suppose there is a "non-drummers guide to drumming?" available is there? Suddenly the propsect of all these possibilities is looking more daunting than exciting. Thansk 64 for your help - very clear, targetted and to the point.

[64Guitars]

(I had to initiate a backup as the RE wouldn't connect to the BR by clicking on the "Connect" button for some reason)

That's normal. The BR has to be connected and in Backup Mode before your computer can recognise it as an external storage device. So it's important to always put the BR into Backup Mode before you start the Rhythm Editor program as it will only look for the BR on startup. If you forget, you'll have to close the Rhythm Editor, put the BR into Backup Mode, then re-start the Rhythm Editor so it can detect the BR.

- once linked I did a "song Read" and dragged a copy of the ROLAND folder to C:/ so I had a choice of connecting to C:\ (as if connecting to a virtual BR I guess?) or to the BR-600 itself - I chose the later.

You can copy the ROLAND folder to the root directory of any drive and edit the drums using the Rhythm Editor software, but you'll usually want to work directly with the BR instead, in which case there's no need to copy any files from the BR to your hard drive and vice versa.

I wasn't sure exactly what to do - I clicked on "Arrangment Write" but I don't know if that is what updated the BR or not - am I editing the information directly on the BR through the RE if I select G:\ROLAND\BR-600 or does it take place when you click "Disconnect" and then OK the "OK to execute?" dialog (I guess that is when it really get written).

There are three main areas of the Rhythm Editor screen - the Pattern area at the top left, the Drum Kit area at the top right, and the Arrangement area at the bottom. Each of these areas has its own Write button. So, if you've edited a pattern and want to save it, you need to click the PATTERN WRITE button at the top-left of the Pattern area. A list of the 100 available song patterns will pop up. Choose the one in which you wish to save your pattern and click OK.

So would you say it's the preferred way to work - through the RE software on the PC - it seems easier (similar I know) but editing the preset pattern was easy.

It's easier and more intuitive, so it's best for learning the drum capabilities of the BR. However, it's less immediate. You can't hear how your patterns or arrangements sound with your song until you write them and exit out of backup mode so you can play the song on the BR. Then, if you want to make more changes, you have to put the BR back into backup mode and restart the Rhythm Editor program. So it's good to know how to program the drums both ways - on the BR and in the Rhythm Editor software. Then you can choose whichever method suits you at the time. When your BR is near the computer that has the Rhythm Editor installed, it may be convenient to use that. But other times, you might not be near the computer and it will be more convenient to edit the drums right on the BR rather than disconnecting all your cables, carrying the BR to the computer, connecting the USB cable, going into Backup Mode, etc.

The main worry now is that I know absolutely nothing about drumming and how to put something together that sounds okay

Yes, that's the challenge for us guitarists. It might help to start with a very simple pattern, then build on it until you get the sound you want.



The ride cymbal counts out the four beats of the measure. The kick and snare provide a reference to a specific beat of the measure. The single kick drum is beat 1, the double snare is beat 2, the double kick is beat 3, and the single snare is beat 4. So, when you're thinking about adding a crash cymbal, for example, you can determine where you want it relative to the kick and snare.

Sometimes you might want to add an open hi-hat, for example, just before the first beat. To do this, you have to take advantage of the looping nature of patterns and imagine the first beat as 2:1 rather than 1:1. So, to insert an open hi-hat before 2:1, you might add it at 1:4:48. When you play this pattern, the open hi-hat will seem to come just before the first beat of each measure, although it's really at the end of the measure.

[Vanncad]

Excellent instructions 64!

I use the ROLAND folder on my C:\

I usually start out by creating a few simple patterns (Intro, V1, F1).

I play along with the pattern on my guitar in front of the computer and watch the bar as it passes along the pattern grid. I can then "see" exactly where I want the cymbal crashes, offbeats, toms, etc. to go.

I then drag these Patterns to the Arrangment section and press Play. As I play along, I can count how long the measures need to be, and then click and drag the side ofthe pattern to extend or shorten it as needed. If you double-click a pattern in the arrangement section it will open in the grid. You can then edit it and rename it to make F2, V2, etc. Drag each new pattern into the arrangement and before you know it, you have a song with a nice assortment of drum patterns.

Once I have the arrangement saved, I just make a new song on the BR600, and then eject the memory card. I then copy the PATTERN and ARRANGE files SONG folder on my C:\ to the approriate SONG folder on the BR600's memory card. Pop the card back into the BR600, and then you're good to go.

It is a pain, but with patience and time, you can create some really good drum sounds.

Someday I will buy an electronic kit and be done with this madness.