How to create keyboard and velocity splits

How to create keyboard and velocity splits

In this article we’ll show you how to create keyboard splits and velocity splits in Gig Performer.

Gig Performer is an audio plugin host for live performance that allows musicians to create sophisticated setups and fully express their artistic needs. Whether you want to tie together soft and hard synths, create multiple keyboard splits, perform advanced MIDI processing, or just wire your plugins, you get an intuitive, visual, and streamlined experience.

This article will gradually introduce you to Gig Performer’s paradigm starting from the time you attach your MIDI device to your computer. There is also a gig file with this example below available for download.

Creating a new gig and connecting your keyboard

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We’ll start with a clean slate, so open Gig Performer and create a New Empty Gig. Connect your MIDI keyboard to your computer:

MIDI device connected Gig Performer

Immediately after you connect your MIDI device to the computer, Gig Performer will display a message that your MIDI device is connected (as shown with the red rectangle). Click on the Wiring view; we’ll create a simple setup using one of the bundled LostIn70s plugins (of course, feel free to use any synth plugin you like).

Right-click on the empty Wiring view area to open the contextual menu, expand the LostIn70s menu item and then click KeysOfThe70s. If the KeysOfThe70 plugin editor opens (it opens by default, but this option can be changed), close it – as we’ll get to that part later – and then connect its MIDI input port to the output port of the MIDI In (OMNI) block and connect its audio output ports to your audio interface outputs, as shown in the screenshot below:

Basic setup for keyboard player with KeysOfThe70s VST3 plugin in Gig Performer

Check this user manual page for more information on inserting and wiring plugins. Play a key on your MIDI keyboard and you should be able to hear the sound.

The MIDI In (OMNI) block receives MIDI messages coming from any MIDI Input port on your system (click here to learn more about this block). In this article, we’ll use this block for creating splits. If you don’t want to use this generic block, simply change your MIDI input device:

Change MIDI input device in Gig Performer, Arturia MiniLab mkII

Right click on the MIDI In (OMNI) block, click on Change MIDI Input Device and then select the desired MIDI device (i.e. Arturia MiniLab mkII).

Click File -> Save to save your current progress.

How to create a keyboard split

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Suppose you want a piano on the left side of your keyboard and a vibraphone on the right side (sample libraries for both of these are included with the KeysOfThe70s plugin).

Double-click the MIDI In (OMNI) block to open its plugin editor and note the section called Keyboard split:

How to create keyboard split A-1 to B2 in Gig Performer

There are three ways to create a keyboard split:

a) Click on the combo boxes and select the lower and upper values for the split you want (e.g. A-1 and B2 on the screenshot above).
b) Click the Learn buttons (one at a time) and simply play the lower and upper notes respectively.
c) Click the Learn buttons (one at a time) and click on the desired lower and upper notes on the virtual keyboard (see the screenshot above).

Make sure you disable the Learn button again after you have selected the desired lower or upper note respectively.

To test if your split is successful, simply try to play C3 and you’ll hear no sound (the C3 key and above are dimmed).

Tip: if you play keys A-1 to B2, the output notes will be far too low in pitch; therefore, you can simply use the Transpose field of the MIDI In block to define the desired octave range.

Note: the MIDI In block’s transpose value is usually added to the global transpose (you generally want to transpose all your instruments by the same amount). Check Ignore global transpose if you’re using a MIDI In block to control percussion or sound effects in a sampler (you generally don’t want the transpose to be changed in that case).

The next step is to duplicate these two blocks; select them and then right-click on one of them to open the Selected Blocks contextual menu and click Duplicate:

Duplicate VST plugin blocks in Gig Performer

Double-click the new MIDI In (OMNI) (1) block to open its plugin editor and modify the lower/upper values, for example:

How to create keyboard split C3 - G8 in Gig Performer

The last step is to select the corresponding sample libraries from KeysOfThe70s plugins:

KeysOfThe70s RK sample library, piano and vibraphone

Double-click on each KeysOfThe70s block (one at a time) to open its plugin editor and select the piano and vibraphone RK samples respectively as shown in the screenshot above.

Test your splits. Optionally rename the blocks to your preference, or insert an Audio Mixer to have more control over volume and balance (check the many Audio Mixer applications in the user guide).

Each block (piano and vibraphone) receives all incoming MIDI events but will only pass through note messages within the defined split. By setting the keyboard split range of the second MIDI In (OMNI) block to start above B2, notes you play above B2 will go to the vibraphone instrument and notes you play at or below B2 will go to the piano.

Feel free to replace the KeysOfThe70s plugins with any other installed instrument plugin, and create more splits if desired.

Tip: multiple MIDI In blocks from the same underlying MIDI device can cover many use cases. Here are a few examples:

a) If you have a multi-timbral synth plugin (such as Kontakt or Omnisphere), you could connect separate MIDI In blocks to each one, all receiving MIDI messages from the same keyboard but sending on different MIDI channels.

b) You can connect (say) three MIDI In blocks to the same synth plugin and change the transpose amount on two of them to produce chords or notes that are octaves apart.

Manage keyboard split range through variations

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Gig Performer enables you to change the split points dynamically if needed, using variations. The MIDI In block provides parameters MinNote and MaxNote so you can easily set the lower and upper notes for the split respectively.

Duplicate the current rackspace, create a new variation and then double click each variation to change their names to “A-1 B2 — C3 G8” and “B-1 E2 — F2 A7” respectively. Then click on the Panels view, edit mode and insert four knobs (two knobs are for the piano split and other two for the vibraphone split):

Keyboard split dynamically changes through variations in Gig Performer

Make sure to check the blog article where we explain how to build a custom metronome for tips on how to design a panel.

The next step is to map the corresponding MinNote and MaxNote parameters to knobs:

Parameter mapping for creating the keyboard split in Gig Performer

Check the user manual if you need help mapping parameters. Afterwards, you can change the desired note by simply moving the knobs to match the desired note or double click on each widget (if you’re still in Edit mode) to open the plugin editor window and then select the desired split note (as already described in the previous section).

Now when you switch variations, the split range also changes.

How to create a velocity split

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As I already wrote in this Community threadWith widget curves, there can be miracles. In this section, we’ll use the new widget scaling mechanism to create a velocity split, i.e. you’ll hear different instruments depending on how hard you press a key on your MIDI keyboard.

First, duplicate the first rackspace if you’re building your gig file from scratch or take a look at the third rackspace in the gig file that we posted at the bottom of this article. Then, double-click the first MIDI In (OMNI) block to open its plugin editor (indicated with A on the screenshot below):

MIDI In OMNI blocks with defined velocity splits

Make sure that keyboard splits are set to C-2 (0) and G8 (127) for keyboard splits like in the screenshot above.

Afterward, click on the scaling window where initially the linear curve is displayed. When the larger display shows up, move the cursor until you see 49.9 at the bottom of the window and then hold the Shift key and drag your mouse to the far right (you should get the curve shape like shown in A). This way we cover all velocities until 50 and higher velocities are blocked.

For the second MIDI In (OMNI) block (see B), we’ll use a different technique. Enter 50 in the Min and From fields (as indicated with the red rectangles). This way we cover all velocities before 50 are blocked, and higher velocities are allowed.

As the result, when you play softly, you’ll hear the piano sound, and when you play harder, you’ll hear the Vibraphone sound.

Tip: using scaling curves, you can also introduce different kinds of layering with velocity-based cross fading. For example, in the first MIDI In block select the default linear curve, and in the second MIDI In block also select the linear curve and then reverse it (with this curve, notes pressed very softly will result in large velocity values and vice versa). Now, as you play, the volume of one instrument will be loud when the other is soft.

Download gig file: Keyboard-and-velocity-splits

To see more tips or share your feedback, check out this community thread.

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If you like this article, please share it and spread the word about Gig Performer.

Own the Stage® with Gig Performer®.

Nemanja Pudar

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Related topics:
The hidden power of the MIDI In block
How to separate your sustain pedal from your controller



Scaling Curves


Scaling curves allow you to control the shape of the output of a widget or convert an incoming note velocity to a new velocity. Various predefined curves are available and they can be tweaked as necessary. You can also just draw your own curve as well to achieve the effect you require.

 

MIDI File Player Plugin


You can load up to 128 MIDI song files in a single plugin instance. Switch from one song to another, mute tracks and/or change their channel numbers. Tempo can be controlled by individual songs or you can use the global tempo and tap tempo to control the BPM interactively.

 

Favorites and Presets


Create a sound by placing and interconnecting your desired plugins, such as a synth, some effects and perhaps a mixer. Select them all and then save the selection as a named favorite. The favorite will subsequently show up in all plugin insert menus, making it easy for you to recreate that configuration whenever you need it again. This feature is also very powerful for creating your needed sounds on your studio computer and then transferring them to your touring laptop.

 

Probabilistic Sound Designer


Parameters you select in an open plugin are captured into the Probabilistic Sound Designer dialog window. When you click Randomize, you're only adjusting those selected parameters. Each entry in the PSD dialog has a curve but unlike widgets where the curve controls scaling, in the PSD the curves are used to define the probability of particular values being selected. Make sure the filter cutoff never gets too slow so as to block all sound. Perhaps adjust the max range of the VCA attack parameter so that the sound doesn't have too much delay. Constrain the octave ranges of the oscillators, perhaps ensuring that 1/3rd of the time we select 8' and 2/3rds of the time we select 4'. The possibilities are endless.

 

More Widgets


Numerous new widgets are included in Gig Performer - a new sustain pedal, plastic knobs, drum pads and more colored sliders. Shapes can be colored with different borders and fill colors and morphed from rectangular to circular. Your creativity is now the limit to creating fabulous front panels in Gig Performer.

 

MIDI Message Helper


Select MIDI devices by name. Choose the MIDI message type and adjust the appropriate parameters for the specific type

 

  

Layout management


Gig Performer supports arbitrary resizing. Layout your widgets the way you want - resize the main window and the widgets will grow or shrink as necessary to maintain the same interrelationships. No matter what size screen you have, your front panels will still be neat and usable.

 

Undo Support


If you move your widgets around and/or resize them, or even delete them by mistake, the Undo facility will correct your mistake. Minor moves to a widget by mistake will no longer spoil your design

 

Plugin Channel Count


Some plugins support a large number of outputs and they depend on the traditional channel strip to control how many ports should be available.   When you only need a stereo pair, it is convenient not to have a large horizontal block. In Gig Performer, the number of available ports  is controlled by the channel count override, which can be applied to individual plugins and will be remembered when the gigfile is reloaded or if the plugin is saved as a favorite.

 

Input muting and output fading


Rather than a single audio length tail, Gig Performer 4 gives you the ability to control input muting and output fading separately. Input muting controls how much time it takes for audio input to be silenced when you leave the rackspace. Output fading controls how much time will be taken for audio to fade out when you leave the rackspace.

 

Faster Plugin Finder


Instead of searching through menus of perhaps hundreds of plugins (you know who you are!), the Quick Plugin Finder makes it easy to find the plugin you need by simply typing partial strings. For example, as shown here, to find the Modartt Pianoteq 7 plugins, it's enough to type pia mod 7 (in any order, by the way)  to restrict the list of available plugins to those matching your query. The Quick Plugin Finder also knows about manufacturers, presets and favorites.

 

  

Touch Friendly Input


Any entry field can be changed by either dragging your mouse (or finger) up or down, or by using the large popup touchpad where you can just tap on the squares to enter a value. The large popup keypad also does validation so you can't enter an invalid value. You can also just tap the BPM field to pop up a larger view where you can quickly change tempo, tranpose, trigger Tap Tempo and enable Ableton Link, the last allowing you to synchronize Gig Performer with any other application that also supports Ableton Link.

 

New Tuner Display


The tuner view makes it easy for guitarists to quickly check and adjust their tuning. You can toggle into the tuner view from any other view and toggle right back as soon as you're done. All output will be silenced automatically while you're in tuning mode. You can adjust the concert reference pitch from its default of 440 Hz to suit your own needs. The tuner view fills the entire screen so you can easily see it from a distance.