Continuous Controllers

Motion within instrument parts adds depth of emotion to an otherwise static composition. Controllers 10 (pan), 11 (expression), and 74 (filter cutoff) breathe dynamic life into the Russian Squares music. We manually entered control curves or points into Pattern Part Continuous Controller tracks. Performing CC data in real time using a MIDI device was impractical and messy in DirectX 8. Performance latency rendered the data inaccurate. In addition, thinning the CC data after a Performance required tedious selecting and deleting. Continuous controller curves, while painstaking to insert and adjust, were much easier to edit than a multitude of individual CC data points (which is the result of any CC Performance).

Continuous controller 11 (expression) handles any real-time movement of an instrument's volume. This allows the basic mix to remain solid, while instrument volume moves dynamically relative to its Band volume, which uses CC 7. In this way, CC 7 acts as a pchannel's master volume and CC 11 acts as its relative volume.

CC 74 controls an instrument's filter cutoff, allowing for low pass filter sweeps. DLS instrument filter parameters respond if set up appropriately; you must check the Filter Enable box and turn the resonance slider. Spin Cycle's bass synthesizer settings are 18dB for filter resonance, and its initial cutoff frequency is 8,728 cents. Useful filter settings vary depending on the characteristics of the DLS instrument. To ensure good results, audition while testing various settings.