Main screen in normal mode
The default behaviour of this metronome is simple, a bpm, a metric.
With this basic fonctionality come several other modes. Each mode can be configured through a dedicated menu.
This is the default mode.
Main screen in normal mode
Under this mode, the metronome can choose to lower the volume randomly, for a randomized duration. See below for the settings of this mode.
Main screen mode
In structure or polyrhythm mode:
Choose wich sounds to use for "tic" and "toc" from real sounds (sticks sound good IMO), generated sounds ou a "muted" sound.
Settings menu
Here you can see "tic" set as a stick and "toc" is a generated E4 lasting 50ms.
Random Mute
In order to adapt the mute, one can act upon the frequencies she will appear and also the duration of the silenced clic.
Ex: We can set a rare mute (every 10 sec) and very "on time" (+/- set to 0). With an expected short duration (2sec) but very variable (+/- set to 4sec).
Polyrhythms
In order to create a polyrhythm, we can simultaneously launch several clics. The max number of allowed clics depends on the number of cores present in your phone's CPU. On a tablet from 2013, I manaed to launch 5 simultaneous clics. 2 or 3 should be enough...
The menu looks like a simplified version of the structure one (specific sounds settings is not yet set). So we can Add/Del clics, save/load polyrhythm... Each clic behave like a mini-metronome, a bpm, a metric and possibly specifics sounds (see below).
Rhythm's settings
Specifics sounds settings for the concerned rhythm.
The idea is to define simple bar or simple elements as bases that you combine to build patterns, you obtain grouped bars or claves. Combining those patterns allow you to form structures.
Using the app ability to handle floating-point bars, adjusting bpms or choosing differents sounds, the structures allow lot of possibilities. The in-app demos are detailed below to illustrate thos possibilities.
Structure menu
Structure menu
Use the trashbin to delete something. The loudspeakers are for settings the sounds for the concerned base.
The app offers 3 demos detailed below.
All The Things You Are version Gerald Clayton. The first 2 A are in 7 (4+3), the bridge is 6 (3+3) and the last A is 5 (3+2) for 12 bars.
Les 2 premiers A sont en 7 (4+3), le pont en 6 (3+3) et le dernier A en 5 (3+2) sur 12 mesures. quarter = quarter.
We could use bars with metric 7, 6 and 5. Instead, let's use composed bars:
There is no explicit mean to specify an equivalence in the structures menu. However, we can represent an equivalence as a judicious tempo change: with a basic math operation between the wished equivalence and the bpms.
Let's take the previous example but with a different rhythmic perspective. Instead of 4ths, we think halves: 4/4 becomes 2/2, 3/4 becomes 2 pointed 4ths and 2/4 becomes 1/2.
We simply need to halve the bpm and the bar metric. However, in order to write 2 pointed 4ths, we will use "shorter" halves, like 75% (3/4) of their duration. So we need to increase the bpm by the inverse: 4/3 of 120 -> 160. (If we prefer the equivalence approach, let's just say that the 2 pointed 4ths bar is in fact a 2/2 bar preceded by an equivalence pointed 4th = half)
In short, only the bases need changes:
Advice: In order to ease equivalence, use a bpm that is divisible by 2 (half-time) and 3 (3-tuplet or pointed 4th) like 90, 120, 180. It eases the maths.
It is possible to abuse the Structures menu and make it play rhythms patterns.
For claves, we'll only use "tics. So bar <=1.
Let's think of the clave as a 12/8 pattern: 4th, 4th, 8th, 4th, 4th, 4th, 8th:
In some cases, we need silences. We'll use a base and set its "toc" sound to "muted".