Alesis V49

GREEN (pads) = Assign a virtual drum kit or percussion instrument in GarageBand and create your own rhythms.RED (arpeggiator) = Create and vary chordal accompaniments using the MIDI controller. Start with the biggest iconYELLOW (pitch bend) = Include it in an EDM melody that you play in on the MIDI controller. PURPLE (modulation) = Include it in an EDM melody that you create using musical typing in GarageBand.

EXPLORE!

WHAT IT IS A control that makes the arpeggiator continue after lifting your fingers. WHAT TO TRY Switch on Arp. Press and hold it while tapping the Latch On (B key). Play the notes C, E and G as a chord. Lift your fingers and the arpeggio should continue. Press C, F and A as a chord and listen to the arpeggiator play its newly memorised combination.

LATCH

ARP TYPE

WHAT IT ISA control setting that determines how the arpeggiated notes are played back when a key is pressed and held. WHAT TO TRYPress Arp + key and listen to how the sound changes:

• Up - low-high in pitch
• Down - high-low in pitch
• Incl - low-high then back down, with the common note at the change being repeated
• Excl - low-high then back down, with the common note only sounding once
• Order - notes sound in the order they were pressed
• Rand - notes sound in a random order

ARPEGGIATOR

WHAT IT IS A control that separates the notes of a chord into single notes, played in a repeated pattern up or down in order of pitch. WHAT TO TRY Press Arp. Play and hold a chord, e.g. C, E, G. You should hear the notes of the chord played separately. Try out different combinations with the Time Division, Swing, Arp Type and Arp Octave settings.

WHAT IT IS A control that adds vibrato to the note or notes being played. LIMITATIONS The MIDI controller mod wheel doesn't work with GarageBand! WHAT TO TRY INSTEAD Use keyboard typing in GarageBand and experiment with modulation by pressing the numbers 3 (off) to 8 (maximum) while you play.

Modulation

WHAT IT IS A control that causes a pad to retrigger at a rate based on the current tempo, time division and swing settings. LIMITATIONS GarageBand doesn't allow note repeat to operate! WHAT TO TRY INSTEAD Nothing...

NOTE REPEAT

OCTAVE

WHAT IT IS A control that shifts the keyboard's range up or down in intervals of an octave. WHAT TO TRY Play middle C (the Sync on/off key). Press Up and play the same note. You should be able to repeat this step 4 times to reach the highest pitched C. Try pressing Down and listen to how the range of notes change.

ARP OCTAVE

WHAT IT IS A control setting that selects how many octaves (1-4) the arpeggiator plays through. WHAT TO TRY Switch on Arp. Press and hold it while tapping Arp Octave 1 (G note) for an arpeggio over a small range, up to Arp Octave 4 (Bb note) for an arpeggio over the largest range of notes.

ASSIGNABLE KNOBS

WHAT THEY ARE 270° controls that send assigned MIDI continuous control messages to your software. Knob 1 adjusts the gate parameter (the length of each note in the arpeggio). LIMITATIONS GarageBand doesn't allow for the Gate function or MIDI mapping! WHAT TO TRY INSTEAD Nothing...

WHAT THEY ARE A way of triggering drum hits or other samples. WHAT TO TRY Set up a MIDI track and select a drum kit from the virtual instrument library. Create and record in your own rhythm. Layer ideas by looping a section and punching in (playing back your recorded sound as you add more sounds to it).

Pads

TIME DIVISION

WHAT IT IS Control settings that determine the speed of the arpeggiator, from slow (1/4) to fastest (1/32T). WHAT TO TRY Switch on Arp. Press and hold it while tapping Time Division 1/4 (lowest C key) for a slow arpeggio pattern, up to Time Division 1/32T (lowest G key) for a very quick arpeggio pattern.

WHAT IT IS A way to set two or more MIDI devices to one tempo, e.g. DAW software with the Alesis V49. LIMITATIONS This function only works on GarageBand for iPad! WHAT TO TRY Nothing...

SYNC

TAP TEMPO

WHAT IT IS A control that determines the rate of the arpeggiator. WHAT TO TRY Switch on the arpeggiator. Hold down a chord as you tap a beat on the button. Tap it at a different speed and listen to how the tempo of the arpeggio changes.

SWING

WHAT IT IS A control setting that adapts the rhythm of the arpeggiator, from an even pattern to one with dotted notes. WHAT TO TRY Switch on Arp. Press and hold it while tapping Swing 50% (G# key) for steady arpeggio, up to Swing 64% (C key) for a jumpy arpeggio that uses dotted rhythms.

WHAT IT IS A control that slides the pitch of the note up or down by up to 2 semitones. WHAT TO TRY Instead of playing each note separately, use the pitch bend control to make the melody glide between notes in a section of melody that moves by step.

Using pitch bend in 9pm Til I Come

Pitch bend

FULL LEVEL

WHAT IT IS Similar to 'touch' on a keyboard, an on/off control that sets whether or not the pads always play at maximum velocity. LIMITATIONS GarageBand doesn't allow full level to operate! WHAT TO TRY INSTEAD Nothing...