How to use ARPTON SF™

HOW TO USE ARPTON SF™? (Read and Try)
COMMON	SOUNDBANKS
How to upgrade ARPTON SF™ ? How to move ARPTON SF™ to another location? How to save current settings on exit? How to use ARPTON SF™ as a portable musical instrument? How to use ARPTON SF™ as a pitch tuner? How to use ARPTON SF™ as a metronome? How to use ARPTON SF™ with external synthesizer? How to use ARPTON SF™ with external amplifier?	How to add a SoundBank? How to remove a SoundBank? How to change a SoundBank for Keyboard ? How to change a SoundBank for Player? How to compare SoundFonts with Keyboard? How to compare SoundBanks with the Player?
KEYBOARD	ARPEGGIATOR
How to play music with ARPTON SF™ ? How to know which computer key corresponds to which note? How to use MIDI Channels? How to select Instrument for MIDI Channel? How to play different Instruments at the same time? How to select a drum kit? How to octave transpose the keyboard? How to release all notes on the keyboard?	How to use the Arpeggiator? How to change a range of arpeggio? How to change a direction of arpeggio? How to change a speed of arpeggio? How to save arpeggio for playback or for a future use? How to replay last saved arpeggio? How to adjust a volume of arpeggio?
KEYBOARD MODES	PLAYER
Howto use SPLIT mode? How to use HOLD mode? How to get PEDAL effect? How to use THRU mode? How to adjust a volume of the keyboard?	How to use the PLAYER? How to play MIDI and MIDI-Karaoke files? How to play on the Keyboard with any MIDI/Karaoke file? How to sing Karaoke with ARPTON SF™ ? How to change Tempo? How to change Volume? How to adjust a volume for a microphone? How to save lyrics? How to print lyrics?

Top	COMMON
Top	How to upgrade ARPTON SF™? ARPTON SF™ automatically updates itself without User's interactions. Any changes in documentation will be updated as well. Internet connection is necessary for updates. Current version 3.1.x does not have an 'Expiration Date'! You can use it for FREE as long as you wish. New version 3.2 is under development and will be available soon. You can decide, whether to continue using FREE version 3.1, or upgrade to more sophisticated version 3.2. ARPTON SF will notify you when the new version will be released.
Top	How to move ARPTON SF™ to another location? ARPTON SF™ installs itself to 'C:\ARPTON_SF' folder. You can move that folder to any other location on your PC, or even to another computer. To update a Desktop shortcut, delete it, and run ARPTON SF™ from a new location (run 'ARPTON_SF\run.bat'). The Desktop shortcut will be recreated, pointing to new location.
Top	How to save current settings on exit? ARPTON SF™ can save all your settings and restore them on a next run. When you click button 'Exit', ARPTON SF™ asks you: 'Save your settings?' Click one of the buttons: 'Yes' - to save current state, which will be restored when you start ARPTON SF™ next time. 'No' - to forget current state and start 'ARPTON SF' later with default settings. 'Cancel' - to cancel exit and continue to work.
Top	How to use ARPTON SF™ as a portable musical instrument? Install ARPTON SF™ on your notebook, and you will always have a musical instrument with you when you travel. NOTE: It's recommended to use external USB mouse in order to avoid conflicts between notebook's keyboard and trackpad.
Top	How to use ARPTON SF™ as a pitch tuner? Use ARPTON SF™ sounds as a source of standard pitches to tune your Guitar, or any other instrument.
Top	How to use ARPTON SF™ as a metronome? Use a Slider 'SPD' (Speed of arpeggio) to set a desired tempo. Press Ctrl+F2 to turn 'click' sound 'ON', press Ctrl+F2 again to turn 'click' sound 'OFF'.
Top	How to use ARPTON SF™ with external synthesizer? You need an optional MIDI/USB adapter. Use the adapter to connect external synthesizer (port 'MIDI IN') to USB port of your computer. USB port will work as a MIDI OUT port for ARPTON SF™. NOTE: Please, follow adapter's documentation to properly install it.
Top	How to use ARPTON SF™ with external amplifier? Connect headphones output of your computer (or notebook) to HiFi amplifier with speakers. Use cable, that matches used connectors. Listen the ARPTON SF™ with the best sound quality and ENJOY! NOTE: You can use powered Studio Monitors (speakers with buit-in amplifiers) also.
Top	SOUNDBANKS
Top	How to add a SoundBank? If no additional SoundBanks were added, ARPTON SF™ uses a default SoundBank, available on your computer. Up to 10 additional SF SoundBanks (.sf2 files) can be added to ARPTON SF™. If you do not have any SF SoundBanks yet, find and download .sf2 file from Internet. Save it to a folder where you can find it later. Open MENU 'SoundBanks' and click Menu Item 'Add SoundBank'. Navigate to a desired '.sf2' file, select it and click 'Add'. SoundBank will be immediately added to MENU 'SoundBanks' and will be ready to use.
Top	How to remove a SoundBank? Open MENU 'SoundBanks' and click Menu Item 'Remove SoundBank'. Select a SoundBank from a list and click 'Remove'. SoundBank will be removed from MENU 'SoundBanks' and moved to PC folder "Downloads" for a possible future use.
Top	How to change SoundBank for Keyboard? Any soundbank, added to ARPTON SF™ can be selected using menu "SoundBanks"
Top	How to change SoundBank for Player? Any soundbank, added to ARPTON SF™ can be selected using menu "SoundBanks"
Top	How to compare SoundFonts with Keyboard? You can compare how SoundFonts for the same Instrument sound in different SoundBanks. Add to ARPTON SF™ (using MENU 'Add SoundBank') up to 10 SoundBanks you want to compare . If you do not have enough space, remove previously added SoundBanks (using MENU 'Remove SoundBank'). SoundBanks, removed from ARPTON SF™, are moving into folder 'Downloads' and can be added back when you need them. Select any Instrument from 'Instruments' table. Switch between SoundBanks (using MENU 'SoundBanks') and play on a Keyboard to compare sounds for selected Instrument. The same Instrument will sound differently, better in one SoundBank and worse in another. It is not easy to find a SoundBank, in which all SoundFonts for all Instruments sound perfect. You can use a SoundBank you like more, or use different SounBanks to play different Instruments. If you do not like how a SoundBank sounds, just remove it from ARPTON SF™ (using MENU 'Remove SoundBank').
Top	How to compare SoundBanks with the Player? You can compare how good your .mid and .kar files (songs) sound with different GM SoundBanks. Add to ARPTON SF™ (using MENU 'Add SoundBank') up to 10 GM SoundBanks you want to compare . Each added SoundBank must contain a full set of GM SoundFonts. If you do not have enough space, remove previously added SoundBanks (using MENU 'Remove SoundBank'). SoundBanks, removed from ARPTON SF™, are moving into folder 'Downloads' and can be added back when you need them. Select a song file and push a button 'Play'. During playback, switch between SoundBanks (using MENU 'SoundBanks'). The playback will pause for a short time, needed to load SoundFonts from a new SoundBank, and will continue to play with a new SoundBank. You may notice, that your song sounds different with different SoundBanks. First problem is a poor balanced SoundBanks. Some SoundBanks have a good SoundFonts, but a lack of balance between Instruments and groups of Instruments. Many SoundBanks are unbalanced because they contain SoundFonts, combined from different SoundBanks. You can use Instruments from such SoundBanks to play on Keyboard, but SoundBanks for Players should be well balanced. Another problem is a poor balance of a MIDI file itself. Different music jenres may use different sets of Instruments: small ensemble, big band, rock group, symphonic orchestra, etc. If the MIDI file was created by amateur, or using unbalanced SoundBank, the result can sound terrible even with a good SoundBank. You have to test not one, but few MIDI files in different genres with the same SoundBank. It's almost impossible to find an universal SoundBank, that can play all MIDI files with the same quality. Using ARPTON SF™ you can have more than one SoundBank and use different SoundBanks for different MIDI files. You can use a SoundBank you like more, or use different SounBanks to play different songs. If you do not like how a SoundBank sounds, just remove it from ARPTON SF™ (using MENU 'Remove SoundBank').
Top	KEYBOARD
Top	How to play music with ARPTON SF™ ? You can play alone, play with any MIDI or Karaoke-MIDI accompanement, and sing into a microphone at the same time. You can play using PC keyboard and/or a mouse. You can play using any available Soundbank. You can select different Soundbanks for the Player and the Keyboard. You can decide whether send the output from ARPTON SF™ to headphones or to a pair of speakers.
Top	How to know which computer key corresponds to which note? Press Ctrl+F1 to show, press Ctrl+F1 again to hide. You can play directly on a screen, using a mouse or a touchpad.
Top	How to use MIDI Channels? Usually MIDI channels are used to control external MIDI devices to determine the recipients of all MIDI messages sent from ARPTON SF™ to the external MIDI system. For example, if you select Channel 5, only an external device with the same Channel number will respond when you play ARPTON SF™. If you do not use any external MIDI devices, the same buttons CHANNEL can be used as "preset" buttons for quick navigation between different INSTRUMENTS. ARPTON SF™ starts with initial sound presets for all CHANNEL buttons just for your convenience. Since you have 16 different instrument GROUPS, each of 16 CHANNEL buttons gives you an access to the first INSTRUMENT in those GROUPS. It allows you to switch between GROUPS of the instruments by selecting the corresponding button CHANNEL. If you wish, you can change initial presets and assign any INSTRUMENT to any CHANNEL button to make your own set of 16 preselected INSTRUMENTS. When ARPTON SF™ starts, it assigns different presets to all CHANNEL buttons. Selected Channel becomes a current active Channel. Active Channel always has a green light on its button. According to the MIDI Specification, Channel 10 is always used for playing drums.(Try it yourself). ARPTON SF™ uses an INSTRUMENT assigned to the Channel 2 to play chords (THRU ON) and an INSTRUMENT assigned to the Channel 3 to play SOLO (SP ON). NOTE: If you want to use different INSTRUMENTS for arpeggio, background chords, and solo, do not use (in this case) Channel 2 or 3 as a current active channel. Remember, arpeggio always plays using an INSTRUMENT assigned to the active channel.
Top	How to select Instrument for MIDI Channel? Select the desired MIDI Channel using a corresponding button. Select Instrument using any of the following: Group and Instrument selection buttons, located under the GROUP / INSTRUMENT display. Arrow keys on a computer keyboard: Left, Right - to switch a Group. Up, Down - to select an Instrument. Instruments Table, located in a HelpDesk area at the bottom of your screen.
Top	How to play different Instruments at the same time? With ARPTON SF™ you can play up to 3 different instruments at once. For example: Turn On ARPEGGIO, THRU and SPLIT. Press "Channel 2" and select an instrument to play background. Press "Channel 3" and select an instrument to play SOLO. Press button for any remaining channel and select an instrument to play arpeggio. If necessary, adjust settings for Arpeggiator. Start playing and enjoy!
Top	How to select a drum kit? Drum Kit is always on a Channel 10. According to the General MIDI Specification, every key on a keyboard is assigned to the particular instrument from a Drum Kit. You cannot assigh to the Channel 10 any other instrument the same way you usually do that for other channels.
Top	How to octave transpose the keyboard? Use buttons "transp up"/"transp down" on a left side of ARPTON SF™, or keys "Page Up"/"Page Down" on your computer keyboard. You can change a pitch of all sounds in a range of +/- 3 octaves. Use red lights near the buttons to control a current position.
Top	How to release all notes on the keyboard? Press "Esc" on a computer keyboard, or click a button "Reset" on ARPTON SF™.
Top	KEYBOARD MODES
Top	How to use SPLIT mode? SPlIT mode divides the music keyboard into two sections: Lower and Upper. The split point is note "F" in a second octave from the left. It makes possible to play with different Instruments for each section. Upper section can be used for playing SOLO parts with selected Instrument on MIDI Channel 3. Lower section always plays on an active channel (with green light) and can be used in different modes, with or without arpeggio, with different combinations of settings.
Top	How to use HOLD mode? In HOLD mode all previously pressed keys continue to sound if you hold at least one key. ARPEGGIO OFF If you continue to hold only 1 key, new pressed keys replace old notes. If you continue to hold more than 1 key, new pressed keys are added to old notes. ARPEGGIO ON If you continue to hold at least 1 key, new pressed keys are added to the playing arpeggio. It allows you to press any additional keys at any time and create unlimited number of amazing variations, which are recorded in "arpeggio.mid" file and can be used for your compositions later.
Top	How to get PEDAL effect? At any time you can press "Shift" on your computer keyboard, and all notes will remain pressed until you release "Shift".
Top	How to use THRU mode? This mode can work only with arpeggio. Without THRU all pressed keys are used to create arpeggio only. In THRU mode ARPTON SF™ uses the same pressed keys to create arpeggio, and to play them directly as a background. Arpeggio always plays on a current channel (with green light on), background (THRU) always plays on Channel 2.
Top	How to adjust a volume of the keyboard? You can adjust a volume of the keyboard using a slider "VOL". ARPEGGIO OFF Slider "VOL" serves as a Master Volume regulator. ARPEGGIO ON Slider "VOL" serves as an Arpeggio Volume regulator only.
Top	ARPEGGIATOR
Top	How to use the Arpeggiator? create arpeggios and loops, record them to MIDI file and play back, use them with your composers, play multipart songs using THRU and SPLIT, create arpeggios and sequences for future use in your compositions, play songs with MIDI files and add arpeggio.
Top	How to change a range of arpeggio? You can change the range of arpeggio from 1 to 4 octaves, using a button "oct", located in the "ARP" section of ARPTON SF™ . Display above the button shows the current range.
Top	How to change a direction of arpeggio? You can select one of the following directions to play your arpeggios: "UP", "DOWN" or "UP/DOWN", using a button "dir", located in the "ARP" section of ARPTON SF™. Display above the button shows the current direction in a graphic form.
Top	How to change a speed of arpeggio? You can change a speed of arpeggio with a slider "SPD", located in the "ARP" section of ARPTON SF™. When you click on a slider, or change its position, display shows you a speed in beats per second (BPS). The red light on a slider blinks on every beat. Arpeggiator plays four notes per every beat.
Top	How to save arpeggio for playback or for a future use? You do not need to do anything! Every cycle of arpeggio is automatically saved in a standard 'arpeggio.mid' file, located in a folder "midi" of ARPTON SF™. Recording starts when you press a first note and stops after you release all notes and arpeggio cycle finishes. If you press new key before arpeggio finishes, recording will continue. If you press new key after arpeggio finishes, recording will start again, and file "arpeggio.mid" will be replaced with new version.
Top	How to replay a last saved arpeggio? You can start listening the last recorded arpeggio by pressing a button PLAY (red light on), and stop listening by pressing the button again (red light off). Every time when you turn the button PLAY ON, a saved arpeggio starts playing from the beginning. You can replay the saved arpeggio as many times as you wish. If you like the result, you can rename the "arpeggio.mid" file and save it for a future use. During next arpeggio cycle ARPTON SF™ will create this file again.
Top	How to adjust a volume of arpeggio? You can adjust a volume of arpeggio using a slider "VOL". ARPEGGIO ON Slider "VOL" serves as an Arpeggio Volume regulator only. ARPEGGIO OFF Slider "VOL" serves as a Master Volume regulator.
Top	PLAYER
Top	How to use the Player? To play MIDI or MIDI-Karaoke files do the following: Select a tab 'PLAYER' or select 'Open' from a 'File' menu. On a "PLAYER" panel click button 'Select music file'. Select a file and click `'Open' button to load selected file into the PLAYER. (You can navigate through all your file system, select any drive, any folder, and any file.) If the file contains lyrics they will be extracted and displayed in the text area. To save lyrics on a disk click a button "Save Lyrics". Lyrics are saved in a folder "midi/lyrics" as .txt files with a name of the selected music file. To start a file playback, push a button PLAY on ARPTON SF™ (red light on). Pushing button PLAY ON from the tab 'PLAYER', always starts the last loaded MIDI or MIDI-Karaoke file. Consecutive pushing of button PLAY stops or starts playing the file from the beginning. Moving from the PLAYER to another tab in a HelpDesk during a file playback does not affect the playback. NOTE: Pushing button PLAY ON from any tab except PLAYER, starts playback of the last saved arpeggio.
Top	How to play MIDI and MIDI-Karaoke files? Using a PLAYER included with ARPTON SF™, you can play any MIDI files and MIDI-Karaoke files (with lyrics). Select a "Player" tab on a HelpDesk, and click a button "Select Music File", (or use MENU File/Open). Select and Open a file you want to play, and click a button "PLAY" on ARPTON SF™. Consecutive pushing of button "PLAY" stops or starts playing the file from the beginning. Pushing the button from a "Player" tab, always results in playing the last loaded MIDI or MIDI-Karaoke file. Pushing the button from any other tab starts playing the last saved arpeggio ('arpeggio.mid' file). You can find and download MIDI and MIDI-Karaoke files from Internet.
Top	How to play on the keyboard with any MIDI/Karaoke file? You can play on a keyboard at the same time when the PLAYER plays MIDI or Karaoke files. It's really FUN!!! It's like playing with the real orchestra!!! You can change PLAYER's Tempo using slider 'Player Tempo', and set the keyboard's volume using slider 'Arpton Volume'. You can use all ARPTON SF™ 's features without any restrictions.
Top	How to sing Karaoke with ARPTON SF™ ? Connect a microphone to the jack 'mic' of your soundcard. Set desired microphone level using 'Volume Controls' of your Windows OS. Load PLAYER with your favorite MIDI-Karaoke song. Start PLAYER and sing using the lyrics on your screen.
Top	How to change a volume balance between the PLAYER and keyboard ? You can adjust the volume of the keyboard using a slider 'Arpton Volume' located on a PLAYER tab panel. You can adjust the total volume using your speaker controls, or 'Volume Controls' of your Windows OS.
Top	How to adjust a volume for a microphone? Set desired microphone level using 'Volume Controls' of your Windows OS.
Top	How to save lyrics? If a song file contains lyrics, click button 'Save Lyrics'. Lyrics will be saved in your 'Documents\ARPTON_lyrics' folder. If a song has no lyrics, the button 'Save Lyrics' changes name to 'No Lyrics' and becomes inactive.
Top	How to print lyrics? ARPTON SF™ saves lyrics in 'Documents\ARPTON_lyrics' folder. Use any available program, that can open and print TXT files from that folder.