Arrangement points


You can add an arrangement point at any beat in your music in order to customize your accompaniment. For example, you can start with a chords-only backing, then switch on the bass four bars later, and finally add the drums yet another four bars later.

Arrangement points can be used to define simple variations, song breaks or endings. ChordPulse lets you control the 'Drums', 'Bass', and 'Chords' sections of the accompaniment independently to provide many options for your music. In addition, you can use two or more arrangement points for a given song break or ending and enjoy even more variety.

An arrangement point is effective until the next (enabled) arrangement point or the end of the chord page, whichever comes first. This also means that each chord page starts with the normal (i.e. default) arrangement.


Adding arrangement points

Move your mouse a few pixels above the top of the chords at the desired beat:



Left-click on the symbol to add an arrangement point and open the editor:



Alternatively, right-click on the symbol to add an arrangement point by choosing a preset from the following menu:




Editing arrangement points

You can select different modes and audible parts of 'Drums', 'Bass' and ' Chords' independently.



The 'Drums' section consists of four parts:
[k]: kick drum, [s]: snare drum, [h]: hi-hat, [+]: other percussion

The 'Chords' section consists of three layers (a,b,c). The actual musical content of these layers varies with the music style. Typically, layer 'a' is a sustained sound (e.g. organ, strings, or synthesizer pad), layer 'b' is a rhythmic/percussive component, and layer 'c' is an additional decorative item (e.g. a guitar arpeggio).

You can adjust the volume levels of individual parts/layers by using the Session Mixer (open it from the 'Play' menu or press [M] on the keyboard).

If the arrangement switch (top-left corner) is turned off, this means that the arrangement is not modified in any way. Similarly, if the cymbal switch is turned off (near top-right corner), this means that the cymbal is not modified (i.e. added/changed/muted) at the actual position of the arrangement point.

If you have multiple arrangement points, it can be useful to have some visual indication about the function of each arrangement point. The following list shows some of these:

	normal (default) arrangement (as defined by the actual music style)
	drums section modified
	bass section modified
	chords section modified
	drums and bass modified
	drums and chords modified
	bass and chords modified
	all three sections modified
	normal arrangement    + cymbal added (or redefined if style has a different cymbal hit at actual position)
	normal arrangement    + cymbal muted (if music style has a cymbal hit at actual position)
	cymbal added (or redefined), arrangement not modified
	cymbal muted (if any), arrangement not modified
	disabled (no modification to the accompaniment)

The above list is not complete, since modifications to any of the drums, bass or chords sections may be combined with a cymbal definition. For example:

	drums modified + cymbal added
	drums and chords modified + cymbal muted

Arrangement point menu

Using this menu you can cut, copy, paste, delete arrangement points or select from several arrangement presets:



The arrangement presets found in this menu have no effect on the cymbal part of the arrangement point with the exception of "Silence" which defines a muted cymbal in the special case of a newly created arrangement point.

To access this menu, do one of the following:
   - click the icon in the arrangement point editor
   - right-click the diamond shape representing an arrangement point
   - right-click in an empty space in the arrangement point editor


Example: adding a song ending

You can define a song ending in a few clicks:

1. Select 'Repeat Off' by clicking on the repeat mode sensor:



2. Add an arrangement point at the start of the last bar of your song: right-click the symbol above the chord at the desired position and select 'Drum Break + Sustain Bass & Chords' from the menu:



You may also experiment with the following options:

   - changing the inversion of the last sustained chord (e.g. one inversion up)
   - using two or more bars instead of one
   - moving the arrangement point back or forward by one or more beats
   - adding a short fade out effect