================================================================== Synthophone Programming Tips: by Randy Felts Compiled by Matt Traum / Patchman Music Oct 19, 2018 ================================================================== In using multi-timbral harmony one does not have to use 5 part harmony but one must use at least 2 part harmony. If only a unison is played there is no note message sent out to any channel other than the primary one. So multitimbral effects may be heard on 2, 3, 4, or 5 voice situations if the number of harmony voices is turned on first and then the multitimbral fingering is activated. The other lip switching functions work somewhat in relation to the whole set of controls as follows: Select harmony base will be appreciated only if at least 2 part harmony is activated. Changes of chord inversions will happen all the time related to lip pressure, but must be applied to at least 2 part harmony. It helps to tongue lightly as you vary your lip pressure. The amount of lip pressure necessary to produce change is rather subtle. I use a "double lip embouchure" like an oboe player some of the time to more accurately "feel" the small pressure changes involved. Also, the sound of the inversion shifts will be easier to notice if 3, 4, or 5 part harmony is used. To use lip switching, 1st set up a contrasting sound on channels 1 and 2 of your sound module. Then activate the lip switching fingering. (low f key plus palm F key and then press Low Eb). This will set up control (4.5) (Level 2)... basic channel switching. Playing with loose lip pressure will select channel 1 while tight lip pressure will change the sound to channel 2. If you are in this mode of operation you can choose the preset sound on channel 2 from the Synthophone. To do this, simply hold down the octave key and then hold down the F# trill key and press low Eb key (change preset fingering). The preset on channel 2 should move forward with each press of the Eb key and back with each press of the low C key. (This information is missing from the current manual). Release the octave key and use the preset select fingering to choose the preset sound on channel 1. Once you have chosen 2 sounds you enjoy switching between, use the store patch fingering to save the combination in memory. Remember to advance to the next patch store position and then back in order to "lock" the patch in memory. Unfortunately, other than this case, the exact voices in a multitimbral patch must be chosen by hand or stored in devices other than the Synthophone itself. They cannot be stored directly to a Synthophone patch. I work around this problem by using a separate patch changing device called a "Voyce LX 9" which is really a separate computer dedicated to patch changes. Other similar devices are available. Another solution might involve the purchase of rack modules such as the Korg Wavestation and Wavestation SR that store specific user editable multi's onboard and allow the player to select them via a simple patch change command. ==================================================== The following comments resulted from questions sent in by a new player of the Synthophone working with multitimbral harmony and channel switching for the 1st time. 1st : You must be able to get all the variations in pitch bending control in order to obtain some of the other functions. If no pitch bend check your reed. The distance from the reed's surface to the small magnet must be adjusted exactly as shown in the opening pages of the manual. 2nd : Make sure that your Synth is set up to receive pitch bend... this may have to be done on a sound by sound basis or it may have some way to set the amount of pitch bend for the machine as a whole or both. My best advice is to set each of the sounds to the lowest available pitch bend sensitivity and the try the various pitch bending options on these sounds from your Synthophone. 3rd : Make sure your Synth is really in multi mode with a Stored Multi set-up being addressed by your Synthophone. I am not sure if it must be a "stored" multi but some machines may require this approach. 4th : In order to start playing one part (flute... for example) and then add a clarinet, bassoon, bass clarinet, and trombone, you should first create your Multi patch within your Synth with these sounds on channels 1-5 (or any combination of consecutive channels between 1-16). Assign the Synthophone to channel 1 and then use the basic add note(s) fingering to play 5 flute sounds. If this is working, then add the multitimbral control fingering. You should hear a 5 part voicing composed of the flute, clarinet, bassoon, b. clarinet, and trombone. 5th : Make sure you hit all the Synthophone command keys at the same time and hold them down together... if they are not held down together the computer will not get the message. 6th : To try channel switching using jaw pressure you must first assign a sound to channel 1 and 2... it helps if they are distinctive tones... trumpet and sax not two flutes.. although any two sounds will work. I would then save the combination as a "Performance" or "Multi"... whatever your Synth manual calls these things. 7th : Assign the Synthophone to play on the lower of the two channels, turn on the channel switching via it's fingering command and then vary between these two sounds by raising and lowering your jaw. If you move to channel switching with obligato voice you will be able to catch the last note played on channel 1 by lifting your jaw and play over it using the sound assigned to channel 2. If you maintain air pressure you can lower your jaw and return to the lower channel while the last note played on channel 2 is still sustaining and play under the note on ch. 2. Harmony voices can also be combined with channel switching if you want. Multitimbral harmony may be combined with this process as well... there is a lot of room for expression!! Remember, if all Synthophone pitch bending controls are working normally, then all the rest of its functions are O.K. as well. Any further performance problems must then be due to incorrect set-up of your synth. Check your synth manual for advice on control of the unit... MIDI channel selection, multi or mono mode selection etc. If a second synth is available, set it to receive on MIDI channel 2 and your synth on channel 1. Then turn on two part harmony followed by the multitimbral fingering and you should get two part harmony each voice of which has a separate timbre (one from each unit). This would be a clear test of the multitimbral control. ==================================================== The following set of instructions was developed as a reply to a specific request made by a new player of the Synthophone. To program a harmony voice of Ab below a lead note of C in the key of C Major and bring it in on cue: 1) Advance to an unused Synthophone patch location into which you will store your particular patch. 2) Activate the panic function to set all controls to basic starting points. 3) Locate the string sound (or whatever) using the preset select fingering. 4) Add proper amounts of breath control, pitch bend, aftertouch, etc. until you are happy with the control of the unison sound. 5) Advance to user harmony storage position #1 (user voicings in 3rds) by "holding down the high Eb key and low D keys together and clicking on the low Eb key 4 times. See manual page 4.4. 6) Open the user harmony storage by pressing the low Bb, low D, and low Eb and low C keys all together. (See manual 4.5... Input Personal Harmony) 7) First, play the lead note you want in the melody position ( C in this case ). Then play 4 Ab's using short but definite staccato breaths as you play each note. 8) Play the C lead note and notice the voicing below it. Next, reduce the number of voices playing to 2 parts by pressing down the High D and Low D key keys together and clicking the Low C key 3 times. ( Manual section 4.1 ) 9) Choose the type of chord variation through lip pressure that you want. (Manual 4.6). If you want a single note on tight lip pressure and hear the Ab come in when you lower your jaw, choose level 3. (Use High F and Low D keys and click 3 times on Low Eb to reach this position). If you want a single note on low lip pressure and bring in the Ab by raising your jaw, then use the same control fingering but advance one more level (level 4). 10) Store the entire patch with the store patch routine. 11) Your personal harmony will be played only with the C in the lead while any other note you play will be harmonized in tones diatonic to the key of C. If you wanted other specific harmonies to accompany other lead notes for this song, you need to go back to the input personal harmony (4.5) fingering, then play the lead note you want followed by the remaining harmony notes you want below it. Do this process repeatedly under each melody (lead note). Remember, you must re-open the storage area for the personal voicings each and every time you want to insert a special harmony voicing. Note also that you must insert harmony notes 2 and 3 in reverse order in order to get the choice you have in mind. To play harmony that fits the changes of the bridge of "Ipanema" you must finger the correct key area of each phrase as you play. Use the "Choosing New Tonality" fingering (Manual 4.2) just before each new phrase. This process requires a short breath to allow for the fingering to be executed but it can definitely be done if you practice the tune with this concept in mind. I would put the harmony in Gb for the 1st 2 bars, then to E for bars 3-6. Next move to F for 4 bars, to Ab for 2 bars, and finally back to F for the last 4 bars. Spots like this one probably work best with 2 or 3 part harmony, and may also be combined with varying the number of voices with lip pressure (Manual 4.6) to allow you move into unison when the act of selecting key-areas by hand becomes too distracting. ==================================================== Synthophone Programming Tips: ==================================================== To use personal harmony to create specific intervals such as octaves or 4ths and 5ths to accompany lead lines follow the following steps: 0) Use the patch select fingering, the 1st 3 keys of the left hand held down (like the sax fingering for low register G) and click on the Low Eb key as many times as needed to reach the end of your previously stored patches... remember that the Synthophone can store 30 patches and these should not be confused with simple preset changes. 1) Hit the "Panic" fingering to return all functions to their basic level of operation. 2) Go to a user table in the harmonizer of the Synthophone by holding down the high Eb key and clicking on the low Eb 3 or more times. Positions 3 - 8 are user tables. 3) Open the user table by pressing down the Low Bb, Low D, Low C, and Low Eb keys all at once. 4) Play the lead note of your choice followed by the octave below or above or the 5th or below. Continue with other notes of your choice until you have played 5 notes... it doesn't really matter what they are, although using several octaves/4ths/5ths in series may prove interesting. When loading notes in the personal harmony memory play them using short but definite bursts of air. 5) After loading the notes of your choice you should immediately hear the voicing you have stored playing in harmony under the particular lead note you choose... if this is not the case start over again from the beginning following each step carefully. 6) If the voicing is successfully loaded, then reduce the number of notes to a 2 note combination by holding down the High D and Low D keys together and clicking on the Low Eb key 3 times. 7) Lock this combination in parallel harmony by holding down the High D, Low E, and Low D together while clicking once on the Low Eb key... to unlock the harmony, hold down the same combination of keys and click on the low C key instead of the Low Eb. 8) A good additional variation to try at this point is to set the parallel octave or 4th or 5th to be activated with lip control. If you want the octave to come in when you drop your jaw, hold down the High F and Low D keys together and click 2 times on the Low Eb... (this creates harmony when you lower your jaw for all combinations not just those created in personal harmony). If you want the octave to be played when you raise your jaw, hold down High F and Low D together and click on Low Eb 3 times... (this creates harmony when you raise your jaw for all combinations). 9) Once all other choices ( Lip bend amounts, volume control, preset selection etc.) have been made, then store the entire patch combination using the store patch fingering... remember to then move forward to the next highest patch location and then back to the current patch in order to store it. --