Roland V-Arranger Keyboard VA-76 - Manual (Page 24)

VA-76 Owner’s Manual—Scratching the surface
26
Note: There are four more patterns for the ORIGINAL and
VARIATION levels. See “Orchestrator” on page 62 for how
to select them.
Professional transitions: Fill
So far, we have only used the ORIGINAL and VARIA-
TION patterns. ORIGINAL is great for verses, while
VARIATION could be used for choruses. Switching
between these two is a matter of pressing the [ORIGI-
NAL] and [VARIATION] buttons. Yet, that will pro-
duce instant changes of the accompaniment, while
“real” musicians tend to “announce” new song parts
by means of roll in the drums, or slightly different
accompaniment notes.
The VA-76 allows you to make such “announcements”
in the following way:
1. Start playback of the ORIGINAL pattern (see
above).
2. Play a chord in the left half of the keyboard.
3. Press the [FILL] button.
What happens now, depends on when you press the
[FILL] button:
• If you press it on any beat before the last one of the
current bar, the Arranger plays a Fill-In pattern that
lasts until the end of the current bar. It then changes to
the VARIATION pattern.
• If you press it on the last beat of the current bar, the
Fill-In will start on the next downbeat and last an entire
bar, after which the Arranger automatically selects the
VARIATION pattern.
The [FILL] button can also be used for transitions
from the VARIATION pattern to the ORIGINAL
accompaniment. All you need to do is press it while
the [VARIATION] button lights.
• If you press the [FILL] button twice in succession, you
select the fill that usually leads to the “other” pattern,
but here once again selects the previously selected pat-
tern. This is also called “Fill In To Previous”, which can
also be assigned to the Aftertouch (see page 98).
Note: The length of a Fill-In can be halved. See page 97.
Intro & Ending
Now that we’ve got the transitions covered, you may
start wondering how to create more professional
intros for your songs – and indeed how to end them in
style. That is what the [INTRO] and [ENDING] but-
tons are for.
While the VARIATION and ORIGINAL patterns (as
well as their ORCHESTRATOR versions) keep repeat-
ing the same accompaniment until you select another
one, or until you stop Arranger playback, Fill-Ins (see
above), Intros, and Endings are played only once.
Once the Intro pattern is finished, the Arranger auto-
matically proceeds with the ORIGINAL or VARIA-
TION pattern (depending on which of these two but-
tons flashes). At the end of the Ending pattern, how-
ever, the Arranger stops.
1. Stop Arranger playback by pressing the [START/
STOP] button (it goes dark).
2. Play a chord in the left half of the keyboard to select
the key of the Intro pattern.
3. Press the [INTRO] button.
4. Press the [START/STOP] button to start Arranger
playback.
The Arranger plays the introduction of the currently
selected Music Style.
Note: Avoid playing chords while the Intro is running. Most
Intro patterns indeed contain chord changes, so that playing
different chords may lead to highly annoying results.
5. Press the [ORIGINAL] or [VARIATION] button
while the Intro is still running.
The button in question starts flashing to signal that
the corresponding pattern is ready to take over once
the Intro is finished.
6. Wait until the ORIGINAL or VARIATION pattern
is playing, then press the [ENDING] button.
At the end of the current pattern cycle, the Arranger
will start playing the Ending pattern and then stop.
Note: Here again, it would be wiser not to play chords dur-
ing playback of the Ending phrase.
Note: See “Arranger/Music Style clinic” on page 59 for other
Arranger functions.
Note: You can also select patterns via the Aftertouch. See
page 96.
INTRO ORIGINAL FILL VARIATION ENDING START/STOP
ORCHESTRATOR
VIRTUAL
BAND
SONG
COMPOSER
FUNCTION
MENU
DISK
ORIGINAL FILL-IN VARIATION
VARIATION FILL-IN ORIGINAL
2~4 bars
If pressed while [ORIGINAL] lights:
If pressed while [VARIATION] lights:
2~4 bars max. 1 bar
2~4 bars max. 1 bar 2~4 bars
INTRO ORIGINAL FILL VARIATION ENDING START/STOP
ORCHESTRATOR
VIRTUAL
BAND
SONG
COMPOSER
FUNCTION
MENU
DISK
VA-76.book Page 26 Friday, January 12, 2001 12:35 PM