Alter Feel - Key Velocities

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How to get there

Click the MIDI Tool $image\MIDI_Tool.gif$ . Select some measures. (If you’re editing a one-staff region, double-click to enter the MIDI Tool window.) Specify the MIDI data type you want to edit by choosing Key Velocities from the MIDI Tool Menu. If you’re in the MIDI Tool window, select the region you want to affect by dragging through the "graph" display area or by selecting the handles of individual notes whose MIDI data you want to edit. Choose Alter Feel from the MIDI Tool Menu.

What it does

The Alter Feel dialog box’s contents change to reflect your MIDI data type selection (key velocities or note durations; the Alter Feel command isn’t available for Continuous Data). Like the Add or Percent Alter commands, the Alter Feel command lets you add a positive or negative number to the velocities or durations of every note in the selected region. However, in the Alter Feel dialog box, you can target individual beats in each measure to receive the alterations.

For example, if you’ve selected Key Velocities, you can specify that the downbeat of each measure in the selected region should be played back with 50% more volume, while the other beats in the measure are unaffected.

When you read the following descriptions of the three text boxes, keep in mind that the number in each text box produces a different effect depending on whether the Absolute or Percent of Original button is selected (see below). For example, to double the key velocity of all downbeats (to make them twice as loud), click Percent of Original and enter 200 in the Downbeats By text box. But to add an equal amount of velocity to all downbeats—thus preserving their relative velocity values—click Absolute and enter a MIDI key velocity value in the Downbeats By text box.

Downbeats by. A downbeat is defined as the first beat in the measure. By entering a value in this text box, you can increase or decrease the velocity (or the Start Time) of only the downbeats of the measures in the selected region.
Other Beats by. Other Beats means every beat in every measure except a downbeat or a backbeat. The beat is determined by the durational value of the denominator in the Time Signature dialog box; for example, Other Beats of a 3/4 meter would be the second and third quarter note of each measure if you represented the meter as quarter quarter quarter in the Time Signature dialog box. However, if you represented the 3/4 meter as a dotted half note. in the Time Signature dialog box (a waltz "in one," for example), there would be no "other beats" in each measure; see Time Signature dialog box.

By entering a value in this text box, you can increase or decrease the velocity (or the Start and Stop Times) of only the other beats of the measures in the selected region. (If you’ve selected Note Durations from the MIDI Tool Menu, you’re editing both the Start Time of each "other beat" and the Stop Time of the previous note.)

Backbeats by. In Finale, a backbeat (sometimes called an offbeat) is the second half of the beat (in duple meters); thus the second eighth note of every beat in 2/4 or 4/4 time—or the second quarter note of every beat in 2/2 time—is the backbeat. In triple meters, the second and third thirds of the beat are the backbeats. In both cases, "beat" is determined by the durational value of the denominator in the Time Signature dialog box. The backbeats of a 3/4 meter could either be the second eighth note of each beat (if you represented the meter with three quarter notes in the Time Signature dialog box) or the second and third quarter notes of the measure (if you represented the meter as a dotted half note in the Time Signature dialog box); see Time Signature dialog box.

The number in this text box represents the amount by which you want to modify every backbeat in the selected region. (If you’ve selected Note Durations from the MIDI Tool Menu, you’re editing both the Start Time of each backbeat and the Stop Time of the previous note.)

One of the best uses for this option is to slightly delay the playback of every backbeat (by choosing Note Durations from the MIDI Tool Menu and then choosing the Alter Feel command). For example, by entering 171 into the Backbeats By text box, you create a true triplet swing feel.

Absolute • Percent of Original. If Absolute is selected, the number in the text box represents MIDI key velocity units (where zero is silent and 127 is very loud) or EDUs (1024 per quarter note), depending on whether you’re editing key velocities or note durations. If Percent of Original is selected, the number in the text box represents a percentage of the original key velocity or Start and Stop Time values by which you want these data changed.
OK • Cancel. Click OK to confirm, or Cancel to discard, the MIDI data changes you’ve specified. You return to the MIDI Tool window (or the score).