Tips & Tricks

Here is a list of some tips and tricks that you might not discover by just poking around the app. In this chapter we assume that you already know how to get around PianoStudio. If you don't, we recommend either reading the other chapters first, or spending some time using and getting familiar with PianoStudio. All the information in this chapter is also found in the previous reference chapters. It is collected here for convenience.

Hearing Individual Chord Notes

You can hear the notes of a chord on the Chord Selector screen individually, in a falling or rising arpeggio, by touching the small keyboard in the top bar and sliding your finger left or right.

Invisible Buttons

It is often useful to make unused buttons "invisible." You can make a button invisible by setting its color to the "red X" color selection. This can be done for an individual button, a bank of buttons, or a song. Invisible buttons cannot be played in Play mode, but can be selected in Edit mode. Note that if you don't set a color for a specific button, it will use the bank's default color. (Similarly, if you haven't set a default color for a bank, it will use the song's default button color.)

Beats Per Bar and Tempo (Beats Per Minute)

These two song settings can be adjusted in two different places:

Hold vs. Sustain

Here's the tip: read the Hold & Sustain chapter to learn how this setting affects your performance. You can experiment with these settings to learn more, but this chapter explains all.

Free-form Recording

Do not feel unnecessarily constrained by the metronome. You do not have to use it! While all recordings are captured based on note positions within a bar:beat timing system, you can turn off the Recorder's Click and ignore the visual metronome while recording and record your song free-form, without any fixed tempo. And after recording you can still speed-up or slow-down the song.

Button Slides

You can slide between Note Buttons to get the effect of changing just some notes of a chord. For example, on Note Button A you might have "C4 E4 G4" and on Note Button B next to it you might have "C4 E4 A4." When you press button A the "C" chord will sound, and when you slide to button B the "C4 E4" notes will keep sounding and the "G4" will stop and the "A4" will start. This slide technique can be useful for chord transitions, grace notes, and slow trills. You can use a Phrase Button for similar sounds, but without the same realtime control.

Two Bank/Recording Styles

There are two different types of recording typical for PianoStudio. In one type you have different song sections on different banks, and might record the entire song sequencing from bank to bank as you play. Alternatively you might set up your banks with different types of content: chords, melodies, bass lines, etc., and record in multiple passes, one per bank.

Repeating Phrase Note Length and Volume

Want a bunch of short, loud notes in the Phrase Editor? Tap a short, loud note to select it, then tap where you want new short, loud notes to make new ones. Any new notes you create with the Phrase Editor use the length and volume of the previously selected phrase note.