CHORD PLAYER MIDI Processor Plug-in Manual
rfmusic.net Rahman Fotouhi Sarab, Iran website: rfmusic.net email: info@rfmusic.net Version 1.0.0 b1 released in May 2017. Copyright 2017 - rfmusic.net This document is created in 05/26/2017. Chord Player Manual 2
Contents Contents... 3 1. Introduction... 4 2. Installation... 5 Authorization... 6 3. Reference... 7 Interface Overview... 7 How To Use Chord Player... 8 Setting Up... 8 Examples... 9 Credits... 10 Chord Player Manual 3
1. Introduction Chord Player is a MIDI processor plug-in that helps you play chords and chord progressions in an easy way. Set up to 24 chords at a time, use fretting keys to choose one, and play it by picking keys. you can hit the chord, strum it or play its individual notes using different picking keys. Chords on keyboard and guitar are voiced a bit differently due to the string tuning and their orders. Chord Player includes different chord voicing modes and right now keyboard and guitar modes are available. If the key of the song changes you can use the transpose buttons to move all the chords up or down. You can also bypass the process if you need to play the target instrument in a normal way. Features: A long list of common chords to choose from (maj, min, sus, etc.). All chords come with different voicing. 24 fretting keys to set and choose chords. 24 picking keys to set and play chords. Hit the chords with only one key or play their notes separately. Transpose all the chords up or down at once. Customizable mapping for fretting and picking keys. Chord Player Manual 4
2. Installation Notice: Use VST2 instead of VST3 when possible. VST3 MIDI in/out is not reliable in some hosts. (VST3 is not included in Beta 1). Notice: AU Version is not an instrument like VST version. It's a MIDI effect and can be used in hosts like Logic Pro x that supports this type of effect. In hosts like Live and Reaper that support both AU and VST, use the VST version instead. Installation guide: Extract the archive and copy the version you need in the related plug-in folder used by your host. WIN example: VST 32bit. C:\Program Files (x86)\vstplugins VST 64bit. C:\Program Files\vstplugins VST3 32bit. C:\Program Files (x86)\common Files\VST3 VST3 64bit. C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3 MAC example: VST2: ~Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST VST3: ~Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 AU: ~Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ Note that MAC OSX have different Library folders. Make sure you're copying the files in the right path. Tip: Navigating to the root library folder: To reveal the root Library folder open Finder. On the menu bar, select Go to reveal the drop-down menu and then hold down the Option key (marked ALT) and you will see the ~/Library folder appear. You may now select this ~/Library folder. Notice: Chord Player creates a folder named 'RFMusic\Chord Player' in application folder when loaded the first time. Demo Version Limitations In demo mode only Major chords are available. Chord Player Manual 5
Authorization If you have purchased the Chord Player and finished the payment through Paypal, your serial number and user name will be sent to your email within few hours. On the about page, fill out the user name and serial fields and hit 'Get authorization code' button. This will open up your browser and return your authorization code. Copy the code and paste it on the authorization code field and hit 'Authorize' button. Make sure there is no space before or after the code. Limits: You can only get up to 4 authorization codes for 4 unique computers at a time. Chord Player Manual 6
3. Reference Interface Overview 1. Mapping menus. Where fretting and picking keys are placed on the controller can be changed using these menus so they could suit your playing style better. 2. Hold mode. In normal mode to sustain a note, picking key needs to be held down. But in hold mode the fretting key sustains the notes. So it's more like playing guitar. 3. Octave. This is the main octave control. 4. Transpose. Use these buttons to shift all the chords up or down. This is handy when you want to transpose the current chord progression to another key. 5. MIDI process mode. Switch between process and pass through modes. This is useful when during a performance you want to play the instruments in normal way too. 6. C1. MIDI note names on DAWs may vary from one to another. For example FL Studio names MIDI Note #0, C0, and Logic Pro names it C-2. Use this menu to match the names on the plug-in with DAW and eliminate the confusion. * If your piano roll starts from C-2, then set the C1 to 36. 7. Menu. Save or load presets and access the about page using this menu. 8. Fretting keys. This is where you can set the chords. a: Chord root (C, C#, etc). b: Chord mode (major, minor, etc). Chord Player Manual 7
c: Chord voicing. Here you can select a voicing mode for chords. These modes have the same notes but in slightly different orders. d: Chord octave. 9. Picking keys. This is where you can set the picking keys. Here are the options: Hit. Plays all the notes of the chord at once. Bass: Plays the first note of the chord but one octave lower than the rest. 1st,..,6th notes: These keys play individual notes of the chord. Depending on the voicing mode they may have different values but the first note is usually the root. You can see the list of notes on the display panel (#10 on the picture above). Octave -/+: Use these keys to shift the octave up or down using MIDI notes. Transpose -/+: Use these keys to transpose the chords up or down. 10. Display panel. Here you can see the current chord and its notes. These notes are painted blue on the keyboard too, they turn green when played. How to use Chord Player Setting up The details of connecting the plug-in depend on the host application you're using but basically you need to insert the Chord Player as an instrument plug-in, and route its MIDI output to the instrument you want to play. Note: AU version is a bit different and it can only be used in hosts like Logic Pro X that supports AU Midi effect (Processor) type. Use the VST version if your host suppoerts it. On the following pages there are guids to set up Chord Player in some different hosts. Chord Player Manual 8
Example 1 - Abeltone Live Example 2 - FL Studio Chord Player Manual 9
Example 3 - Logic Pro X Example 4 - Cubase Chord Player Manual 10
Credits Developing, Coding and GUI design by Rahman Fotouhi. Visit rfmusic.net for latest updates and news. Contact info@rfmusic.net for support. Special thanks to our customers for their support. We hope Chord Player help you in your future projects and bring you more creative ideas. Chord Player Manual 11