robert_e_bone



And Glyn Barnes also posted 2 great ideas: 

But you read the question properly. I missed half of it

robert_e_bone


I just lost a HUGE bunch of comment on my lack of knowledge in areas of advanced mixing and mastering, and I don't even know what key combination I managed to hit that caused the wiping out of the typing - DOH!

 Take it easy, sir. 

That such information is out there by other folks for the above areas and others is a HUGE motivator for me to want to assist folks in the areas that I DO have a reasonable level of understanding.

Thus, I drink MUCH coffee and jump into helping where I can. 

Very admirable. My only area of specialty is probably how to use the A-Pro MIDI keyboard. 


@OP:
Ok, my brain seems to have recovered a bit after a nice hot shower, so I'd like to recommend another keyswitch technique.

I used to draw both musical data and keyswitch data (both are just note events, of course) in the same MIDI track. But I found this quite inconvenient because I had to scroll down the piano roll view just to edit those keyswitch notes, and I sometimes accidentally deleted them by deleting the clip itself (when I just wanted to delete the musical data).

So what I've been doing these days is I create two MIDI tracks for the same part (strings ensemble for example) and record musical data onto the first track (whose name is "Strings Ensemble") and draw keyswitch data on the second track (whose name is "KS" --The same applies to other non-musical data such as modulation wheel for organ, expression pedal for hihat, etc. and you can name them "MW" "EP" etc.). Then the first track should use the regular PRV, and the second track should use a drum map. I usually don't need to see the second track so I hide all non-musical data tracks (KS, MW, EP, etc) and save the layout as a screenset. This way, you can display these tracks only when necessary (but be sure to group the Solo buttons of the first and second tracks). As I mentioned earlier, I use the short notes approach so the KS track has only one long song-length MIDI clip. 

This might be possible by simply using take lanes, but I don't like the double-row height of take lanes and they don't allow users to hide clips when collapsed.

HTH

@Glyn Barnes - You have a perpetual get out of jail card with me, for reminding me with the lyrical snippet from your profile there on the left, that Roundabout is truly my number one favorite song thus far in my life, .     

I have played that song in gigs for kabillions of years, and it sounds just as fresh now as it did way back in the early pioneering days of progressive rock music.  I NEVER get tired of that cool beat and bass line in the verses, the doesn't make much sense lyrics, and all the rest of its components.

It is a magical tune to me, 

Bob Bone

All good techniques: using a separate track, using a drum map. However, we may have only confused the OP, who just wanted to know how keyswitches fit in to the scheme of hand-planting MIDI notes in the PRV.

A keyswitch is just a MIDI note. You insert it into your track the same way you'd insert any other note. The only difference is that instead of playing a note, it triggers some action in the sampler.

The first step is to refer to the library's documentation to find out which notes have been designated as keyswitches, what action they initiate and what type they are. There are two types of keyswitches: ones that initiate a one-time change, and ones that impose a change only for the duration of the note.

Once you are familiar with what each keyswitch does, it's a simple matter of inserting notes into the MIDI track via the PRV.

bitflipper


All good techniques: using a separate track, using a drum map. However, we may have only confused the OP, who just wanted to know how keyswitches fit in to the scheme of hand-planting MIDI notes in the PRV.

Very true. So the OP should first concentrate on your post and Bob's first post. All other posts can be read anytime later. 

Here are some common ways I use keyswitches:

• With an orchestral library, like Vienna, I will go to Staff view and write the notes I want the instrument to play and in the bass clef, I will write the key switches to change articulations.  For example, I will write violin notes on the Staff and I will write notes like C#2, F2, G2 etc. to change from legato to trill to tremelo, etc.   You could also do this in Paino Roll, if that's your preference.
• For a strumming guitar, like RealGuitar, I will use Staff view to write the notes in the chord I want to strum, and then below that, put keyswitches for each strum (like F2 to down-stroke, F#2 for upstroke, etc.)
•  I just bought Bolder Sounds Bluegrass Banjo and their Mandolin.  The Mandolin can do chop chords or mute strums using keyswitches.  In solo mode, a keyswitch can control tremelo.
•  In these examples I am saying the keyswitches are below the musical notes, but some instruments have keyswitches high on the keyboard.

Lots of soft synths (Hollywood Strings, Vienna, RealGuitar, Acoustic Legends, Electri6ity, etc.) use keyswitches.

There are three kinds of common keyswitches:
1. Hit the keyswitch and the instrument plays that sound or articulation until the next keyswitch.  In Staff or Piano roll, put the keyswitch just before the sound you want.   You will have to back the project up before the keyswitches before hitting Play to hear the right sounds.
2. The instrument changes articulation only while the keyswitch is held down.  In Staff or Piano Roll, then, you would have to make the keyswitch last as long as you want that particular sound.
3. A few products try to double up on keyswitches based on velocity: hard key strike (high velocity) on the keyswitch does one thing and a soft touch does another.  I find those a pain in the ****.

Many manufacturers let you define which keyswitch does what.  I tend not to change them around so I don't have to remember what I did on every project.  For example, in Vienna, if I change from Chamber Strings to Orchestra Strings, I don't have to worry that the keyswitches will be screwed up because I always use the default and Vienna tries to be fairly consistent among libraries and patches when possible.

Hope this helps.

Jlien X


Yes, a drum map really helps identify which note I should play to change the articulation.

Also, I recommend drawing a straight line of short notes (e.g. 16th notes) all the way to the next key switch position. This way, you can always have the instrument play the right articulation. 

This is exactly what I do.


I have 35 different drum maps in my orchestral template one for each major instrument with all the regularly used articulations mapped & ready to go.


One thing I don't see mentioned is that Keyswitches always access notes outside of the mapped range of Midi Notes that each instrument is capable of playing.


So, for instance, on a Tuba track, you'll see all the keyswitches quite high up the keyboard, the opposite for piccolo

konradh

1. Hit the keyswitch and the instrument plays that sound or articulation until the next keyswitch.  In Staff or Piano roll, put the keyswitch just before the sound you want.   You will have to back the project up before the keyswitches before hitting Play to hear the right sounds. 

Konrad, this won't be necessary if you use the consecutive short notes technique I mentioned earlier (you'll be able to start playback anytime between the keyswitch changes).
If Sonar was able to chase long notes (i.e. "If playback starts after a note start, the note will be played as though its start time were at the position at which playback started" - quote from Studio One Reference Manual), all you would need to do is drag the right edge of each keyswitch note until it reaches the beginning of the next keyswitch note. 

I am not following all this. I just add a note via the PRV that will do the key switching. Sometimes the key as documented is incorrect but finding the right one is fairly easy. You shouldn't need a drum map or have notes that are lengthy. I do this with Kontakt and GPO all the time. Well not all the time but a lot of the time.

Jlien X, If you are saying to put the keyswitch in the sequence over and over again, that is certainly a smart idea with some advantages; but I would rather not clutter my score that way. Still, it is a creative thought that will probably help some folks. FYI, I always use short keyswitches for articulations so I can fir them in between musical notes easily. This, of course, does not apl ply when using the keyswitches for strumming. Thanks.