- Plug your headphones into one of the jacks of the headphone amp,
and make sure the knob near this jack is turned up.
Also be sure the volume slider on the Korg is up.
- Press the PROG button (to left of display) to enter Program Mode.
A program, or patch, is one of the sounds made by the
synthesizer. The display should look something like this...
Programs are arranged in banks, 128 per bank. Switch between
banks using the PROG BANK keys, to the right of the display.
There are five banks: A, B, C, D and GM.
Change programs by spinning the large wheel. You can also type the
number of a program on the keypad, followed by the ENTER button.
Programs are also organized into categories, like "keyboard,"
"brass" and "guitar." Press the CATEGORY button, and see if you
can figure out how to navigate the categories and select programs from
them. (If you can't, see p. 21 in the
Triton Le Basic Guide.) If you
really like this feature, try using the HOLD button to keep the
category fixed while choosing programs.
- Play as many programs as you can. How does the sound of a particular
program affect the way you play it? A flute program probably won't sound
like a flute if you play chords on it, as if it were a piano.
- As you play, notice that most programs are sensitive to how hard you
strike the keys. This is known as velocity sensitivity. Usually,
greater velocity makes a louder sound, but there are other aspects of
the sound that can change, typically tone color. Try to figure out
what varies with velocity.
- Some sounds respond to aftertouch (or pressure), which
is an unusual way of playing a keyboard. After you strike a key,
and while holding it down, vary your pressure on the key. On the
Triton Le, and depending on the program, this almost always adds
vibrato (or does nothing at all).
- Learn how to work the joystick, found to the left of the keyboard.
The joystick is spring-loaded — it snaps back to the middle
position when you let go. Move it left to bend the pitch down and
right to bend it up. Moving the joystick away from you usually adds
more vibrato to the sound; moving it toward you might change the tone
quality. (The behavior depends on how the program's author set things
up.) Find a program that has a particularly compelling use of the
joystick.
NOTE: Please treat the joystick with some
care. If you get into the habit of pushing it violently to the extremes
of its motion, I'm sure it will eventually break.
- The Triton has four knobs that let you control various aspects of the
sound while you play. We'll call these the realtime controls.
The function of the knobs depend on the controller mode: A, B, C.
Change mode by pressing the SELECT button. Mode A lets you adjust
a few common settings, mostly having to do with the filter, which changes
tone quality. In mode B, the function of a knob depends on the
particular program. Don't be surprised if a knob doesn't seem to be
doing anything.
There are also two on/off buttons (SW1 and SW2) above the joystick,
whose function changes depending on the program.
Fiddle around with the knobs and buttons while you play to see if you
can make interesting changes to the sound.
- With all the sounds you play, think about their envelopes.
An envelope is a way of describing how the volume of a sound changes.
We draw these as a graph of amplitude (which correlates with
loudness) over time. As we'll learn later, typical envelopes can have
various stages. The attack is the stage initiated by striking
a key. The sustain is in effect while you hold the key down.
The release starts when you let go of the key.
The various stages can have different slopes. For example, an organ
typically has a very quick attack and a very quick release. A cymbal
has a fast attack and a long release.
Get used to describing the envelopes of sounds using a graph like
the one above. Don't worry about doing a perfect job of this; for a
complex sound, it can be very hard to depict in a simple graph how the
sound changes.
- If you're tired of playing, try out the Arpeggiator. To use this,
press the ARP ON/OFF button so that it lights up. Then hold down
several keys. The arpeggiator generates a pattern using the notes you
play. Some programs turn on the arpeggiator right away when you choose
them. The realtime control knobs in Mode C affect the speed, velocity
and duration of arpeggiated notes.
For more about the arpeggiator, see pp. 26-28 in the
Triton Le Basic Guide.
- Hand in a typed sheet with the name and number of
3 programs you like. For each program, write a brief
paragraph that tells:
- how you played the sound (what register? loud or soft? fast or
slow, held notes? etc.), and
- what the audible result was. That is, try to describe the sound.
Be as specific and detailed as you can.
- Draw a simple graph of the envelope of the sound. You can draw
this by hand somewhere on your typed sheet or on the back.
- Identify any interesting effects caused by changes in velocity,
aftertouch, the joystick, and the realtime control knobs.
NOTE:
A "brief paragraph" contains more than one sentence. If your typed
sheet is only a half page long, you're not trying hard enough.