There is a special Stroke Map to easily step-writing rhythm patterns in Piano Roll view of Cakewalk. It transforms standard MIDI events to various ways of playing chords on the guitar so that you can strum and pick the chords in Chord Chart as a real guitar player. The Stroke Map appears at the left side of the Piano Roll window of the track to which the plug-in is assigned

/Attention: If there are no Stroke names in the left part of Piano Roll view you must import our instrument definition file Rhythm'n'Chords GS.ins located in the RnC plug-in's installation folder (by default - C:\Program Files\MusicLab\Rhythm'n'Chords 2 Pro CW) into the Cakewalk using Define Instruments and Names Dialog./

The Stroke function can be compared with the real guitar player's right hand actions, either strumming all the guitar strings or picking them individually.

The Stroke Map contains a whole lot of different types of Strokes, allowing to emulate various guitar techniques and effects:

• Normal Down, Normal Up perform down- and up strums on all strings;

• Slow Down, Slow Up perform slow down- and up strums on all strings;

• Mute Down, Mute Up perform muted down- and up strums on all strings;

• 1st String, 2nd String, 3rd String, 4th String pick 4 higher voices individually;

• Bass I picks the lowest root note of a chord;

• Bass II picks the alternative bass of a chord;

• Top Down, Top Up perform down- and up strums on higher 3 or 4 strings;

• Mute Top Down, Mute Top Up perform muted down- or up strums on higher 3 or 4 strings;

• Grace 1 performs a strum on all strings a semitone lower than the required chord;

• Grace 2 performs a strum on all strings 2 semitones lower than the required chord;

• Grace 3 performs a strum on all strings 3 semitones lower than the required chord;

• Top Grace 1 performs a strum on higher strings a semitone lower than the required chord;

• Top Grace 2 performs a strum on higher strings 2 semitones lower than the required chord;

• Top Grace 3 performs a strum on higher strings 3 semitones lower than the required chord.

Chord Strokes (Down/Up and Grace) perform corresponding chord strums, while String Strokes (1-4 strings, Bass I, Bass II) perform picks on individual chord voices.

The use of Stroke Map makes creation of the guitar accompaniment parts as simple as creating a hi-hat part with a drum map. (The most unusual thing to understand is that a single MIDI event can turn into a strummed chord, the notes of which depend on the chord in current beat of Chord Chart.)

There are 3 basic ways of chord performing mostly popular in accompaniment guitar parts:

• Strumming, which may be considered as simultaneous striking all strings in a certain rhythmic order;

• Bass and Strum, which is basically a sequence containing picking of the bass string and strumming the other top strings of the guitar;

• Arpeggio, which is basically a sequence of pickings of individual strings.

Strumming is the most difficult for MIDI recreation guitar performing style. The sounds of the chord must be tightly arpeggiated; also careful attention must be taken at speed and direction of arpeggio for closer emulation of down and up strumming technique. However, to create a strummed part with the plug-in you only have to record a one voice rhythmic line using only 2 notes (Normal Up and Normal Down) to the Cakewalk track

Stroke rhythm "Strumming":

Having assigned all chords in Chord Chart you immediately get a multi-voice strummed chord part

All chords created by the program have root note and if possible alternative bass in 2 lower voices.

This lets you quickly create an accompaniment Bass and Strum part by entering Strokes. The Bass I Stroke always plays the root note of a chord, while Bass II will call alternative bass. The Top Down and Top Up Strokes will produce down- and up strums on higher strings

Stroke rhythm "Bass and Strum":

Result:

The arpeggio patterns, quite often used in accompaniment guitar parts, can be considered as a sequence of pickings on individual strings forming the guitar chord.

Stroke rhythm "Arpeggio"

You can apply sustain to the stroke's MIDI note by selecting Sustain in the Additional Parameters/Voice Control window

In this mode a note will last until the next note on the same string or the next chord is triggered.

Result:

While performing a stroke the program uses start time, length and velocity of its MIDI note. That's why all articulation and dynamic nuances are emulated in standard way: The note length is equal to that of the stroke, the same way note's velocity is equal to input velocity of the stroke. (The exception is made for Muted Strums, which length is set in the program.)

Syncope rhythm or rhythmic anticipation may require chord change earlier than a beat to which new chord is assigned (i.e. to anticipate the chord change)

There is a possibility to indicating necessary chord change anticipation in the rhythm track by entering a certain MIDI controller slightly before required rhythm note

Chords in Chart:

Push Chord change controller:

Result:

The anticipation will function only in the Time Window assigned in percentage to the beat length in the Additional Parameters/Chart Settings window

(Default controller for Push Chord change is CC80; Time Window is 95% of the division).

The following are some examples of guitar techniques and effects you can easily recreate using Stroke Map.

See also:

Chord arpeggio. Arpeggio direction

Slow chord arpeggio

Muted Strum

Chord Slide

Chromatic Chord Glissando

Tremolo

It's practically impossible to naturally emulate a guitar sound playing chord notes simultaneously without arpeggiation. All chord Strokes perform chords with automatic arpeggiation (Strum). Down strums are created by arpeggiating the chord from lower to higher voices, while Upstrums are created by arpeggiating it from higher to lower voices. Altering Down- and Upstrums is the key to creation of realistic guitar sound effect.

Altering down- and up strums in Stroke rhythm:

The Speed of strum (arpeggio time) is set in the main window of plug-in (alternatively in Additional Parameters/Arpeggiation)

Result:

You can trigger slow chord arpeggio by a single MIDI note

The program automatically performs Slow arpeggio, the speed of which is set in the Additional Parameters/Arpeggiation window

Result:

Muted Strum is basically a very short version of a chord. The length of the Muted Strum notes is set in the program and does not depend on the length of the note event in the Stroke Map.

Stroke-rhythm with Muted Strum:

Result:

Chord Slide can be easily recreated with Grace Stroke

Result:

Chromatic chord glissando can be easily recreated with Grace Strokes

Stroke-rhythm Glissando:

Result:

Chord tremolo can be achieved by fast alternating of Down and Up Strokes

Stroke- rhythm Tremolo:

Result:

The use of Stroke Map for rhythm creation along with Chord Chart for assigning chord progressions lets you quickly create guitar chord parts and easily emulate various guitar techniques and effects. Further more, separate assigning of rhythmic and harmonic aspects of the part lets you copy and save various pieces of Stroke rhythm the same way you deal with drum patterns. Chord changes take place in Chord Chart independently from rhythm patterns, therefore any rhythm patterns created with Strokes for one chord can be used for any other chords. This lets you freely to experiment with guitar part and easily achieve the desired results.

Having mastered writing rhythm patterns in a Cakewalk track using Stroke Map, you may need to create your own pattern libraries for keeping patterns you've made and using them with other songs.

Use Pattern Banks for this (see Pattern Bank):

• Open Pattern Bank window by pressing a knob with 3 note image on a toolbar of the plug-in

• Right-click in the Bank window and create a new bank and name it.

• Select and drag pattern from CW track to the Bank (a pattern with "NoName" name will appear).

• Rename the pattern by clicking on it or right-click and choose "Rename" command from the pop up menu.

The new Bank with your patterns is now saved in the plug-in. You can create as many User Banks as you want. When working on a new song you may easily find all the Banks you’ve created in the Pattern Bank combo box:

A chord progression set up in the Chord Chart window of the Plug-in can only be turned into a real guitar part by playing it with Rhythm (which is a special rhythm pattern containing guitar techniques). A few sources can be used as Rhythm, which can be divided into 2 main types: internal, when a pattern plays from the Plug-in; and external, coming to the Plug-in from a CW track or external MIDI device.

Internal Rhythm sources
1. Rhythm Library
When opening its window a Rhythm Library automatically becomes a Rhythm source, which lets you immediately begin searching the required pattern. In this case a pattern displayed in the yellow Pattern view of the Library will play.
2. Rhythm Track of Chord Chart
By dragging a pattern from the Library or Pattern Bank to the Rhythm Track and clicking on it you make the Rhythm Track the Rhythm source, which means only the patterns assigned in the Chord Chart will play (all RhythmTrack patterns will become yellow and Library pattern will be grayed out).
3. Pattern Bank
If you need to audition and select patterns from the Pattern bank, open the Bank and click on the pattern you need. In this case Bank will be the Rhythm source (will become active, while the Rhythm Track and the Library will be grayed out).

External Rhythm sources
1. CW track
Another Rhythm source can be assigned using events recorded in a CW track to which the Plug-in is assigned (see Rhythm Editing/Stroke Map chapter).

2. MIDI-In
When an external MIDI keyboard is plugged, playing keys in the Rhythm Zone (right hand zone) is also a Rhythm source (see Manual Playing/Rhythm Zone chapter).

Use the Rhythm source selector combo box on the toolbar to choose one of the three available positions:

Plug-in + Track, uses both internal and external Rhythm sources simultaneously
Plug-in only, internal rhythm source, which allows playing rhythm patterns from the Plug-in only.
Track only, external rhythm source, which allows playing events from a CW track only.

Note: MIDI-In always works as Rhythm source independently of a selected position in the combo box.