# Sequitur 1.1.1 Quick Start Guide

This Guide was written to quickly get you up to speed in the basics of music composition with Sequitur.

1. Getting Ready

Sequitur 1.1.1 is a freeware MIDI sequencer written by Angry Red Planet. After downloading Sequitur, prepare it by double-clicking and pressing the Expand button in the Expand-O-Matic utility. When Expand-O-Matic has finished, double-click the Sequitur icon. |

2. The Basics

When Sequitur launches, it displays a single empty song window. By default, this window has output filters for two channels of each MIDI device present on your system placed in its output pipeline. The output filter is used to designate the MIDI device that will perform MIDI events. Examples of MIDI devices can be the internal synth on your sound card, a MIDI instrument connected to the MIDI / game port of your sound card, a MIDI interface (such as the MIDI Oxygen 44), or a software synth (such as ObjektSynth). Also, input filters for two channels of each MIDI instrument capable of sending MIDI events to Sequitur will be loaded into the input pipeline.

The song window contains a set of tape deck-style transport controls for controlling song playback. None of these controls will function until there is data in the song.

| Rewind. Rewind the song position to the beginning of the song. The song position is indicated by the arrow in the measure control.
| Play Song. Play the entire song from the current song position.
| Stop. Stop playback.
| Record Mode. Toggle record mode on or off.
| Loop Mode. Toggle loop mode on or off.

Sequitur makes use of filters to control the flow of MIDI data on your system. Take a look at all available MIDI devices and filters in your system by selecting Windows --> Filters. Through filters will be discussed later in this guide. Note that your filters window may vary from the picture below depending on what MIDI devices you have connected.

3. Creating Notes

3.1. Open the track window for channel 1 of the Be MIDI Synth by double-clicking on the track's phrase view. (Note that there will be two icons for the Be MIDI Synth, corresponding to channels 1 and 2. Make sure you open the track window for the first channel denoted by '1' in the Be MIDI Synth icon.) The phrase view for a track gives you a global perspective of the song. The phrase view is the grey area bounded by the second and third vertical seperators in the song window.

3.2. Using your primary mouse button (by default the left on two and three button mice), place a few notes down anywhere on the grid. If you have speakers connected to your sound card, you should hear the notes played as they are placed. Note the song window updates to display the new notes.

Sequitur includes four tools to edit MIDI data.

| Pencil tool. Used to place notes in a track. Single clicking on a note with the pencil tool will select the note while clicking and dragging will move the note around in the track.
| Select tool. Used to select notes in a track. Clicking and dragging will box an area to be selected.
| Wand tool. The wand tool allows you to edit your notes. Clicking and dragging to the left and right on a note will lengthen and shorten it, while dragging up and down changes the velocity.
| Eraser tool. Click and drag to erase notes.

The track window contains its own set of transport controls. These controls only play the visible area of the track.

| Play Song. Play the entire song, from the left edge of the track window to its right edge.
| Play Track. Play only this track. Mute all other tracks in the song.
| Stop. Stop playback.
| Loop Mode. Toggle loop mode on or off.

4. Add a Filter

From the filters window, select the Echo filter and drag it to the final slot of the edit pipeline in the 'Be MIDI Synth - 1' track window. At this point, any notes you place down will have the Echo filter applied to them. Any number of filters may be placed in the pipeline, and will be applied to all new notes added to the track. Filters placed in the edit pipeline will apply only to that track. |

Place down a few notes to see (and hear!) how they're affected by the Echo filter.

5. Change Instruments

Sequitur can edit more than just notes. Below the piano roll are a series of strip views which allow editing of patch (program change), control change, pitch bend, and channel aftertouch information. Using the pencil tool in the patch strip, click and drag to add a new program change. If you've started dragging without releasing the button, notice how Sequitur changes the patch number as you drag. Click the Play Track button to hear your notes with different instruments.

6. Add Drums

6.1. Now let's add a drum track. In the song window, change the MIDI channel on the output filter for 'Be MIDI Synth - 2' to 10 by double-clicking the filter and selecting 10 from the Channel menu in the filter settings window. Note that the Be MIDI Synth filter icon changes to reflect the new channel. Channel 10 is the General MIDI default for drum kits.

6.2. Rename this track 'Drums' by single-clicking on the text 'Be MIDI Synth - 2' in the song window and entering a new name. Hit return to accept the change. Double-click to open up the track window for the Drums track as you did for the first track (3.1.)

6.3. Click on the first button (note duration) under the Quantize label, and select sixteenth notes (1680 ticks). Create a few sixteenth drum notes using the pencil tool. Click the Play Song button to hear both tracks together. |
Notice that the notes for the previous track appear grey, giving you a frame of reference for the new notes in this track. The Saturation knob can be used to lighten or darken the notes of other tracks. |

6.4. In the filters window, drag the icon for the Example filter to the first slot of the output pipeline of the 'Drums' track. This will apply the Example filter to all notes in the Drums track. From the song window, click the Rewind button, then the Play Song button to hear both your tracks, and note the effect added to Drums by the Example filter.

Click on the M (mute) to the right of 'Be MIDI Synth - 1' to mute the first track, and hear the Drums alone.

7. Record a New Phrase

Before you can record, you need a MIDI device capable of sending MIDI events (such as a keyboard), and you need to know which MIDI in port it's connected to.

7.1. Find the track which has the MIDI input filter that will be receiving MIDI events. In this example, we're using the first MIDI Oxygen 44 track.

7.2. Enable the track for recording by pressing the R (record) button to the right of the track name.

7.3. Prepare the song for recording by pressing the Record button in the song's transport controls.

7.4. Click and drag the song position in the measure control, placing it where you want recording to being. Press the Play Song button to begin recording. The events will appear as you're playing. When Record mode is enabled, the song will not automatically stop. Press the Stop button when you're finished recording.

8. Save Your Work

Save your work by selecting File --> Save. You can use Sequitur to open any standard MIDI file, make edits, add extra tracks -- even add filters!

### You're now equipped with the basics of MIDI composition in Sequitur!

Please refer to the User's Guide for details about the many recording, editing, and processing features not covered in this guide.

Quick Start document v1.1.1
(c) 2000 by Angry Red Planet
last modified 13 December 2000

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