Paul Lipscomb
e58f06d9fa
Stripped upstream git history; starting point for replacing the native SWELL/Win32 mapping UI with something more suited to bulk editing. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
49 lines
3.0 KiB
Plaintext
49 lines
3.0 KiB
Plaintext
= Meta clips
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We can take the previous scenario xref:advanced-usage-scenarios/control-with-items.adoc[] a step further!
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[[feature-meta-clips]]
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== The idea
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If we can control Playtime with MIDI items, shouldn't it be possible to control it with MIDI xref:key-concepts.adoc#clip[_clips_] as well? The answer is yes! I call such clips _meta clips_. *Playtime can basically play itself!*
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Meta clips open up a whole new world of possibilities. Here are just some of the things you can do with them:
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* Meta clips can be used as xref:key-concepts.adoc#scene[scenes] on steroids. You can trigger many other clips at once, no matter in which row they are.
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* You can record sequences of clip invocations and play them back at the press of a button.
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== Basic setup
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. Prepare the matrix and set up MIDI triggers as explained in xref:advanced-usage-scenarios/control-with-items.adoc[]. This should make it possible to play clips using your MIDI keyboard. Make sure that part works.
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. Select the track "Playtime" in your REAPER project (this is the track which contains the xref:helgobox::key-concepts.adoc#instance[Helgobox instance], by default the first track in the project)
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. Right-click the xref:user-interface/matrix-area.adoc#column-cell-label[] of some column, for example the last column. Choose xref:user-interface/menus/matrix-menu.adoc#matrix-insert-column-for-each-selected-track[].
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+
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This should add a new column named "Playtime" that plays back its MIDI clips on the "Playtime" track, and can therefore be used to _play other clips_.
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.
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. Now simply record a clip into the new "Playtime" column, while playing clips in other columns using your MIDI keyboard.
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. That's it! You recorded your first meta clip. When playing it back, it should trigger other clips in other columns. You can also edit that meta clip, e.g. quantize its notes.
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You may look at the "Playtime" column as the *leader* column (which you trigger) and the other columns as *follower* columns (which are triggered by the leader column).
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== Adjust the setup to your needs
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This was just an example setup. You can adjust it to your needs. Here are some ideas:
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* Introduce more leader columns
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* Move the leader column to the very left to make it obvious that it is a very important column
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* Set the xref:user-interface/inspector/column/playback.adoc#inspector-column-start-timing[] for the *Playtime* column to *1 bar*
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* Set the xref:user-interface/inspector/column/playback.adoc#inspector-column-trigger-mode[] to xref:user-interface/inspector/column/playback.adoc#inspector-column-trigger-mode-toggle[]
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IMPORTANT: Using MIDI clips to control Playtime is subject to the same considerations about _rendering_ as when using MIDI items. Read xref:usage/arrangement.adoc[] for more information.
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[TIP]
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.Meta clips are just the beginning
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====
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The simple fact that Playtime is a MIDI-controllable instrument opens up even more possibilities.
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Here are some ideas:
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* Use a MIDI arpeggiator to arpeggiate between different clips
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* Write a MIDI link:https://www.reaper.fm/sdk/js/js.php[JSFX] effect that controls clips
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==== |