There are some handy commands buried beneith the surface of the example sketch. You can change things like tempo, shuffle, MIDI channel, sequence length, MIDI pitch, and MIDI velocity on the fly using a few simple button combinations. There is a condensed single page cheatsheet PDF download available for the user interface that will be a good reference once you have read through the full command documentation.

Record Mode Toggle

The sequencer starts in record mode, but if you would like to toggle it off so you can test out the instruments without recording them to the sequence, you can press pads 4 and 5 simultaneously. You will know if you are currently recording if every fourth NeoPixel flashes red, if you are not recording, all pixels will flash blue.

Play & Pause Toggle

You can toggle between play and pause by pressing pads 5 and 6 simultaneously.

All Notes Off

You can clear all currently playing notes from the sequence by pressing pads 1 and 6 simultaneously.

Command Mode Toggle

Tempo, shuffle, step count, MIDI channel, pitch, and velocity are all available underneath a sub menu I'm calling Command Mode. You can enter command mode by pressing pads 1 & 2 simultaneously. You will know you have entered command mode when all of the NeoPixels flash red.

Tempo Change

You can change the tempo by entering command mode and then pressing pad 1.

You should see the NeoPixels flash a different color at this point. You can now use pad 5 to decrease the tempo, or pad 6 to increase the tempo.

You can exit tempo change mode by using the command mode toggle pads.

Shuffle Change

You can add or remove shuffle by entering command mode and then pressing pad 2.

You should see the NeoPixels flash a different color at this point. You can now use pad 5 to decrease the shuffle, or pad 6 to increase the shuffle.

You can exit shuffle mode by using the command mode toggle pads.

Changing the Length of the Sequence

You can change the number of steps in the sequence by entering command mode and then pressing pad 3.

You should see the NeoPixels flash a different color at this point. You can now use pad 5 to decrease the length, or pad 6 to increase the length.

You can exit sequence length change mode by using the command mode toggle pads.

MIDI Channel Change

You can change the current MIDI channel for new notes by entering command mode and then pressing pad 4. The notes previously recorded will remain on the MIDI channel that was selected when they were recorded.

You should see the NeoPixels flash a different color at this point. You can now use pad 5 to decrease the channel number, or pad 6 to increase the channel number.

You can exit MIDI channel mode by using the command mode toggle pads.

Pad Pitch Change

You can change the MIDI pitch of a pad is using by entering command mode and then pressing pad 5. This change will only impact newly recorded notes. All previously recorded notes will retain their recorded pitch.

You can then select which pad you wish to change.

Once you have selected the pad you wish to change, you can use pad 5 to decrease the MIDI pitch value for the previously selected pad, or pad 6 to increase the MIDI pitch.

You can exit pitch change mode by using the command mode toggle pads.

Pad Velocity Change

You can change the MIDI velocity of a pad is using by entering command mode and then pressing pad 6. This change will only impact newly recorded notes. All previously recorded notes will retain their recorded velocity.

You can then select which pad you wish to change.

Once you have selected the pad you wish to change, you can use pad 5 to decrease the MIDI velocity value for the previously selected pad, or pad 6 to increase the MIDI velocity.

You can exit velocity change mode by using the command mode toggle pads.

This guide was first published on Apr 29, 2015. It was last updated on Apr 29, 2015.

This page (User Interface) was last updated on Apr 25, 2015.

Text editor powered by tinymce.