Soundbeam 2 Handbook

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THE SOUNDBEAM

2 HANDBOOK

PART 1

GETTING STARTED

THE SOUNDBEAM PROJECT

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Summary of Contents for Soundbeam 2

Page 1: Getting Started
® THE SOUNDBEAM 2 HANDBOOK PART 1 GETTING STARTED THE SOUNDBEAM PROJECT...
Page 2 MIDI controller and performance instrument. And, of course, whatever your interests - dance and movement, therapy or just plain music making - don’t forget that Soundbeam is one of the very few ways of playing a musical instrument which enables people with differing levels of dexterity and physical ability to play together as musical equals.
Page 3: Table Of Contents
TO SUMMARISE - A FEW SIMPLE TIPS FINALLY - IF YOU GET LOST... MAKING MUSIC WITH SOUNDBEAM 2 CONTACTING US SOUNDBEAM is a Registered Trademark throughout Europe and the USA. THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 4: How To Use This Handbook
Part 1, trying out the different settings suggested and beginning to get to grips with using Soundbeam for your own purposes. Once you have started using Soundbeam in earnest, you will probably want to move quickly on from the Locked Set-ups and Pitch Sequences...
Page 5 - together with their changing distance from the Sensor and the speed of the movements in the Beam – into MIDI instructions for playing electronic musical instruments. THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 6 GETTING STARTED A. OPENING THE BOX THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 7 Kit b: 2 MIDI leads, A and B, with 5-pin connectors, each labelled at both ends Kit A for connecting the ‘MIDI Out’ and ‘MIDI In’of the Controller to the MIDI Kit B Input and Output of your MIDI musical instrument.
Page 8 Stands (optional) - on which Kit A to fix the clips which hold Kit B the Sensor(s) on Kit C Kit D THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 9 Please make sure that all the items for the Kit you have ordered are present - let Robin Wood, of EMS, Cornwall, know immediately if there are any omissions or breakages. ® THE SOUNDBEAM 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 10 - or a pair of self-powered speakers with their own internal amplifier. THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 11: Preparations
Some in which you intend to use your new SOUNDBEAM 2 will save you time. Setting up the Sensor(s), Sensor Driver(s) and Controller in a clear space (minimum, say, 2m by 3m, unobstructed by furniture, within a larger room) will help to avoid unwanted interruptions of the Beam(s) and the confusions they can easily cause.
Page 12: Making The Connections
Making the Connections Even if you have ordered a Soundbeam Kit with more than one Beam (ie more than one Sensor and one Sensor Driver), we strongly recommend that you start by exploring Soundbeam with just a single Beam connecting more Sensors and Sensor Drivers later, as you gain experience Here’s how to get started...
Page 13 Place the Sensor Driver on the floor by the base of the Stand - or anywhere you can easily see its LED flashing whenever the Beam is interrupted. THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 14 Sequences, as described in Handbook Part 2 “Step by Step” 3.2.4. To Record the Notes of a Pitch Sequence p. 39. Meanwhile, keep MIDI Lead B in a safe place. THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 15 Power Unit to the mains supply i. Insert plug of Power Unit into Mains Socket ii. Insert connector labelled ‘SOUNDBEAM’ on Power Lead into socket on Controller rear panel labelled ‘Power 9v AC’ THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 16: Switching On
MIDI musical instrument. Wait a second or two until the instrument has finished its ‘start up’ routine - then iii. press the ‘Power’ switch of your SOUNDBEAM 2 Controller THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 17 At the same time you should hear a quiet buzzing sound. This is a by-product of the mechanism of the Sensor, as it alternates rapidly between acting as a loudspeaker (sending out ultra-sonic pulses) - and as a microphone (listening for the echoes). THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 18 Robin Wood on the helpline - 01726 883265 Set-up: 001P VERSION 1.32 SOUNDBEAM Echoes 7/10/1999 CONTROLLER during working hours (British time) on weekdays. ® THE SOUNDBEAM 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 19 Sensor’s Beam. YOU SHOULD HEAR A rising and falling sequence of musical notes Success! Your Soundbeam 2 is working - and your movements in the Beam are triggering sounds from your MIDI musical instrument. THE SOUNDBEAM ®...
Page 20 HEAR but DON’T the music then your Soundbeam 2 is probably working properly but failing to activate your MIDI musical instrument. This may be because of a failure in the chain that conveys Soundbeam’s MIDI messages from the Controller to your MIDI musical instrument and then on to amplifier and speakers.
Page 21 - ie. try plugging in a lamp or a fan as above. iv. The plug of the Power Unit of your musical instrument is firmly pushed home into the socket of your room’s mains supply THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 22 Your amplifier and speakers - or your self-powered speakers - are connected to the mains supply and turned volume with switched THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 23 ® THE SOUNDBEAM 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 24: B . A Lightning Tour Of The Controls
THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK PART 1 B. A LIGHTNING TOUR of the controls THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 25 Range and so on, are those If you have just finished the procedure in “Getting Started” - which have been chosen (and or if you have just switched on Soundbeam 2 - the display will held in Soundbeam’s memory) be showing the default* screen - to re-appear each time Soundbeam is switched on.
Page 26: Pitch Sequence
A Pitch Sequence is any sequence - scales, arpeggios, tunes - of up to 64 single notes or 2-, 3- or 4-note chords. They can be assigned to up to 64 Divisions of the Beams (at any Range). Soundbeam can store a library of 100 Pitch Sequences.
Page 27 PitchSeq: Maj Triad + 6th A Pitch Sequence is one of the two components of Soundbeam’s musical output which can be defined by the user and Saved to Soundbeam’s memory for use whenever required. The other is the Set-up. N.B.
Page 28: Range
Beam 1: 0.60m The Maximum Range of Soundbeam is the furthest distance from the Sensor within which interruptions of the Beam will be detected. It can be set to any distance from 0.56m to 6.00m. The Default Range is 0.60m and, unless you change the Default Range setting, 0.60m will be selected each time you power...
Page 29 Sensor is pointing) - listening for the exact place where your body meets the furthest end of the Beam from the Sensor and starts to generate sounds. THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 30 Sensor and the nearest part of the Beam which will respond to interruptions. For an explanation of Range and its applications, see Handbook Part 3 “Explanations” 2. Gathering Information from Movement - 2.1. to 2.2.3 pp. 12-26. THE SOUNDBEAM ®...
Page 31: Divisions
- at around 1m), you should be able to count the number of separate notes you trigger - 16 of them, in fact, about 1cm apart along the Beam. 16 Divisions THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 32 This time, moving your arm along the Beam, or interrupting it either side of halfway, will give you two different notes - one for each half of the length of the Beam. 2 Divisions ® THE SOUNDBEAM 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 33 Beam producing sequences of more and more audible notes of different pitches within the same length of Beam (or Range). 64 Divisions Now, turn the Rotary Control Wheel anti-clockwise back to 16. Divisions for: Beam 1: 16 THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 34: Trigger Mode
Beam, or moves within the Beam towards or away from the Sensor. Now, turn the Rotary Control Wheel clockwise to select “Poly Sustain” Trigger Beam 1 The screen will show Poly Sustain ® THE SOUNDBEAM 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 35 Sensor - or switch to the next Trigger Mode. ® THE SOUNDBEAM 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 36 Trigger Beam 1 will go to Single Shot Only separate interruptions of the Beam trigger notes. and finally, with one last clockwise turn, back to Trigger Beam 1 Re-Trigger THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 37: Transpose
Sensor - to be shifted up (+) or down (-) by the number of semitones you set with the Rotary Control Wheel. To try this out , move your hand backwards and forwards in the Beam (towards and away from the Sensor). ® THE SOUNDBEAM 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 38 The screen will show Beam 1 - 26 and the whole Pitch Sequence will sound 2 octaves and a tone below the original pitch. Finally, turn the Rotary Control Wheel clockwise once more to return the Transpose setting to “+00”. Transpose for...
Page 39: Midi Utilities
MIDI Utilities Key This key is used to access settings for a number of different Soundbeam 2 possibilities - most of them to do with assigning sources and destinations for MIDI messages and instructions. For the moment you can disregard them.
Page 40 As you scroll through, the screen will show the MIDI Program Nos. denoting the sounds you will hear in turn Sensor Beam MIDI Program 001 Sensor Beam MIDI Program 128 Sensor Beam and finally, once more MIDI Program 092 THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 41: Sensor
Beams and 8 Switches) available in the default Set-up However, before we look at the Sensor Key, now is the time - if, you have ordered a Soundbeam Kit B with 2 ultra-sonic Sensors - to connect your second Sensor to...
Page 42 Of course, if you only have one Sensor and no switches, there will be no response to any Sensor other than Beam 1. However, you could still try out the settings for Beam 2 by unplugging the Sensor/Driver connections to Sensor Input 1 and re-connecting it to Sensor Input 2.
Page 43 Beam 1 or Beam 2 in Set-up 001. In addition, there are a further 10 channels of information - 2 more Beams and, via the Switchbox, 8 Switches - all offering the same range of control setting possibilities (except for Range in the case of Switches) as those for Beams 1 and 2 we have been exploring.
Page 44: Set-Up
Locked Set-ups). If none of the settings of Set-up 001 had been changed, the Set-up number would have been followed by a P for Preset THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 45 Locked Set-ups The first 30 of the 128 Set-ups available in Soundbeam 2 - Nos 001 to 030 - are pre-set in the factory, and Locked to protect them from being altered by mistake - though they can be altered if you really want to. (See Handbook Part 3 “Explanations”...
Page 46 Set-up again, and use the Rotary Control Wheel - followed by Enter - to try another one Set-up: 026P Mystery and another Set-up: 021P Arabian Nights and another Set-up: 012P Gremlins THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 47: To Summarise - A Few Simple Tips
PITCH SEQUENCE, RANGE, DIVISIONS, TRIGGER MODE, TRANSPOSE or MIDI UTILITIES press SET-UP and use the Rotary Control Wheel to select different Set-up No., then press ENTER to try it out. THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 48: Finally - If You Get Lost
Trigger Mode … Re-Trigger the default Transpose … +00 the default MIDI Program … 092 - “Pad 4 (Choir)” all part of the default Set-Up … No. 001 - “Echoes” THE SOUNDBEAM ® 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...
Page 49: Making Music With Soundbeam 2
MAKING MUSIC WITH SOUNDBEAM 2 A NOTE FOR BEGINNERS It’s important to realise that Soundbeam is not in itself a musical instrument, but a ground-breaking new way of playing one – a sound module, perhaps, an electronic keyboard, or a sampler. Effective, expressive use of Soundbeam will very much depend on your understanding and management of whichever musical instrument you decide to use.
Page 50 10 minutes. A good deal of time, application, exploration and practice will be needed - both with Soundbeam 2, and with the sounds of the various MIDI musical instruments it can be connected to - to find out which of its many possibilities will ultimately help you to achieve your own personal musical goals.
Page 51 044 (0)117 923 7075 fax. 044 (0)117 970 6241 email. mark@soundbeam.co.uk Visit Our Website at www.soundbeam.co.uk SOUNDBEAM is a registered Trade Mark throughout Europe ® and the USA ® THE SOUNDBEAM 2 HANDBOOK • PART 1 • GETTING STARTED...