Hi John,
Firstly, thanks for your private email - Your comments appreciated
A few words may help to explain......
The thing to bear in mind is that the KN7000 Built-In Styles and the Composer, are just like a Mini Sequencer, which continually repeats itself until another Variation is chosen. So essentially, there is little difference between using a Sequence, and using a 'Built-In' or Composer Style, to provide accompaniment for a song/tune. The main advantage in some cases, is that the Sequencer allows much more freedom for creating the more complex accompaniments.
There are many occasions when I wish to create a 'backing' for a song/tune, where it is not really possible to achieve a realistic interpretation of the original song/tune, using the 'normal' 4 measure repetitive style in the Composer. Sometimes, even extending the length of the Composer Variations to 8 or 16 measures also has limitations.
Some examples are :
1. The 'backing' accompaniment is quite complex and requires more than the permitted 5 Accompaniment parts (ACP1 ACP5) in the Composer.
2. The natural length of a phrase in the song/tune is greater than 16 measures.
3. There are the odd 2/4 measures 'thrown-in' to an otherwise 4/4 time signature.
Example 1.
The majority of songs/tunes which I've recorded have been implemented using the Composer to provide the accompaniment. Some just use Composer Bank A , Variations 1 through 4, but at times, I also use Composer Bank B Variations 1 through 4 and in some instances, even Composer Bank C. This provides me with up to 12 Variations, 32 Fill-Ins and of course the normal Intros and Endings.
Despite having all these Variations available, it is sometimes easier to implement parts of the Accompaniment - such as occasional 'Brass Figures' - in additional tracks of the 16 channel Sequencer, rather than within the Composer, especially if I run out of Accompaniment parts in the Composer (ACP1 - ACP5). In this case, the 'Backing' then becomes a kind of Hybrid, since rather than just using the Composer Style for Accompaniment, I use the Composer and Sequencer together, to provide a total 'Style'. Using this method, still allows Live performance of Right1, Right2 and Left parts, as normal, since I avoid using these tracks within the Sequencer.
Example 2. and 3.
Generally, the majority of music we play, naturally conforms to groups of 8, 12 or 16 measures, but occasionally, I come across songs with 17 or 18 measures within a phrase. Since the maximum length of a Variation in the KN7000 Composer is 16 measures, a phrase of this type cannot be implemented within a Single Composer Variation. The phrase could be split into two parts - say the first 8 measures into Variation 1 and the remaining 9 or 10 into Variation 2, but this can be 'messy' and I don't like this approach. Furthermore, this particular type of song/tune quite often includes 'out-of-time' measures, such as 2/4 measures in an otherwise 4/4 time signature. ( Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is a good case in point - 4/4, 5/4 and 2/4 measures !) Having set the Time Signature in the Composer to 4/4, it is not possible to momentarily change it to say 2/4 or any other base.
So, in these cases, I generally implement all, or Most of the Accompaniment, as a Sequence. When I say 'Most', I may still implement part of the 'Style', within the Composer, for instance, if the Drum Track is fairly simple and repetitive - as it often is - I would keep this in the Composer. If the Drum track is more complex, then I would include this within the Sequence, and would generally add this track, in real time.
Using the Sequencer or 'Hybrid' methods, still allows the use of the Panel Memories, to implement Voice and other Program changes, via the Sequencer's 'Control' Track, and Technichord and Chord display can still be used, by recording the chords in the APC track.
To answer your specific questions John......
As I mentioned above, if the Drum part is fairly straightforward and repetitive, I would create this in the Composer DR1 part, and if necessary use the DR2 part to add occasional accents/figures. If Drum Breaks are required, I would normally implement these in a Fill-In.
For more complex Drum parts, I use an electronic drum kit, connected to the KN7000 via MIDI, which triggers the KN7000 'Drum Kits' to allow me to create the drum track in real time, using 'The Sticks' - cheating a bit I suppose but I only use this method rarely.....
If the 'Hybrid' method of Accompaniment is being used, a Piano part can be implemented in two ways : within the Composer ACP1 - ACP5, as normal, where it will be part of a normal Style Variation. Even if the style of the Piano part varies throughout the song/tune, it can still be implemented in the Composer, by using the Variations within the Style. Alternatively, the Piano part could be implemented in one of the 16 track of the Sequencer, if there was a reason not to include it in the Composer, such as Time Signature changes.
Hope this answers your questions
