Here are some key features of “RapidComposer”:
Extensive scale, chord, guitar chord and chord progression databases:
– Editable, extendable, groupable list of scales, chords, chord progressions. The guitar chord database contains thousands of chords.
Taggable instrument database of all MIDI, VSTi and SF2 presets in one place:
– All presets are available in the instrument database where additional info can be provided about the usage and function of each preset, and user-defined tags can be assigned to them. For example if you set up an instrument to use acoustic guitar chords, when selected in a track, the track will automatically use guitar chords. There are various display/sort/group/filter options to customize the presentation of presets. All the presets are in one list regardless of their origin.
Phrase database to store reusable phrases:
– Phrases are independent of harmony so any phrase can be used with any chords. If you record, generate or create a new phrase you can place it here for reusing it at a later time.
Variations to be applied to phrases:
– There are several variations included which can be used to change the rhythm or notes (or both) of a phrase. Creating interesting motifs cannot be done without them. The included variations are used by many famous songs. You can apply more than one variations to a phrase or to a whole track. Soon more variations will be added, and it will be possible to write a short script to modify a phrase.
Non-destructive editing:
– All processing is done preserving the original phrases or notes that you recorded. Processing is applied realtime so the original phrases are never changed. This unique approach will make experimenting easier without being afraid of loosing your original recording. There is no limit on the number of variations or controllers that you can add to a track or phrase. Variations are applied one after the other so the order is important.
Master track with chords:
– The master track contains the chords and scales for the composition. Clicking on a chord will open a chord palette, where you can choose from all the chords for the current scale. With a few clicks you can assign a new chord progression to a line, verse, or an arbitrary selection.
Movable, resizable and transposable smart phrases:
– Phrases always conform to the current chord. If you move, resize or transpose them the notes will adjust themselves. You can create copies and ghost copies of a phrase if you want. It has never been easier to work with phrases to create an original new riff or motif.
Phrase-level and note-level editing directly inside the tracks:
– You can edit phrases in phrase editing mode or create/modify phrase notes in note editing mode. There is no need to open the phrase editor anymore to edit individual phrase notes.
2 phrase transposing modes:
– When you transpose a phrase you can keep the relationship between the notes (all notes are transposed) or transpose the bottom notes up – or the top notes down – as you drag the phrase.
4 phrase resizing modes:
– There are 4 ways of resizing a phrase: scale, repeat, sustain and regenerate. ‘Regenerate’ works for phrase generators only and means the phrase will be regenerated when resized.
Phrase morphing:
– This powerful feature means that when you place a ‘source’ and ‘target’ phrase in the composition, the phrases between the two will be composed automatically by RapidComposer so that there is a smooth transition from the source phrase to the target phrase. There are several options to control this transition. Usually there are many possible transitions, if you don’t like the one offered by the program, pressing ‘Regenerate’ will create a different transition.
Phrase generators:
– You can generate thousands of musically useful (not random!) phrases with the included phrase generators. The parameters are meaningful, not some abstract mathematical terms. More generators for specific purposes will be implemented in the next release.
Rhythm generators:
– Besides manually editing rhythm, there are several rhythm generators that will help you to create interesting rhythm. These are: Schillinger’s Interference, Polyrhythm, Triplet Rhythm, Probabilistic Rhythm, Simple Intervals and a Generic Rhythm generator.
Idea Tool:
– The Idea Tool will generate a multitrack composition the way you want. You just need to set the conditions and rules of the tool and press the “Generate” button. There are many details that you can specify on a composition or per track basis. E.g. selecting an instrument can happen by tag, by track function, by selecting one randomly from a list, or can be a specific preset. You can set up phrases and variations to use. If you include a phrase generator, it is possible to specify a range for its parameters. The randomness of the musical idea depends on your settings only.
Sophisticated tools to add phrases, variations, change structure and more:
– With the included tools you can re-form the structure, fill lines with phrases, add variations to existing phrases, assign chord progressions or autotranspose phrases (transposing phrases so that the highest note of the first phrase will approach the highest note of the last phrase selected).
MIDI CC editing:
– MIDI Control Change events can be recorded and edited in a very flexible way. There are Freehand, Line, Exponential, Curve Tools to modify the events or create new ones based on the quantize setting. You can select a time range (Shitf+drag) with having smooth edges that are gradually affected by the scale operation (release/repress the Shift key during selection, see screenshot). It is possible to select and time AND value range (Alt+drag) and work on that.
Articulations:
– Articulations can be assigned to phrases or individual notes. Articulation definitions for several major sample libraries included.
Audio tracks:
– Simple but very usable audio track support means you can add effects or a background track to your composition. WAV or AIFF (PCM 16 bit only) files are imported and treated like normal phrases.
2D view of the composition with structure editor:
– The composition layout is 2D where you see the composition line by line instead of the usual 1D view of DAWs. This layout is more suitable for composing. Of course 1D timeline can also be used. The structure editor lets you add or repeat lines and verses.
Fully customizable user interface with preset themes:
– User interface colors, button shapes, borders and shading can be specified. It is possible to import and export UI themes.
History with unlimited undo and different versions of the same composition:
– History is where all the steps of creating a composition are stored. It is possible to revert to an earlier state and start a new branch (another version) in the history tree.
