I am going to try and explain what I want to do and hopefully someone can tell me which Motif will do it.

I play in a band and we use sequences. I think I understand how PATTERNs work on the motif keyboards. PART A could be the intro, Part B the verse, Part C chorus, Part D bridge etc.
Can each one of the PARTs have different instrumentations?

I would like to know if I can:
load up all the songs for a set at the beginning, play a song and control how many verses/ choruses I want to go through on the fly. Then stop the sequence and continue to play the keyboard without interruption of the sound I am playing?

It would be nice to load/call up the next song and have it ready to go. This would make transitions from one song to the next as smooth as possible.

Side questions about the new XF:
Can you select an option to change from one PART to the next at the end of the PART, not just the end of the measure?
Can you save SEQ data to the flash memory and have it ready when you turn on the XF like sample data?

Thank you.

I play in a band and we use sequences. I think I understand how PATTERNs work on the motif keyboards. PART A could be the intro, Part B the verse, Part C chorus, Part D bridge etc.
Can each one of the PARTs have different instrumentations

First, let’s get you straight on how PATTERNS work. What you called a PART is actually a SECTION… the word is used like you would if you were talking to the musicians in your band. The Intro is a section, the verse section, the chorus section, the bridge section… “section” in the musical sense. The SECTIONS have letters - as in: Many popular songs use a AABA format for sections.

PART is actually something else… it refers to the musical instrument. If you wrote a musical composition and have separate charts for your band members… you might have separate sheets of music one would be the bass part, another the piano part, another the horn part. PART is used in the musical sense of an instrument part.

“Can each of the SECTIONS have different instrumentations?” Well, yes and no. And I answer that way because you have not given use enough information about how you intend to use sequences.

It is recommended that you keep each TRACK of the sequencer for one instrument PART (but you do not have to… it is just a recommended practice)… from a practical standpoint.

Since you play in a band you may have had the experience of going to a recording studio… if the studio has a multi-track recorder, the engineer would assign a track for each instrument part.  So if it is a 6 piece band then each instrument would occupy the same track layout throughout.

It simply is a recommended practice because it makes the mix easier. You don’t have to make radical changes in volume, EQ, pan position, effect sends, etc., etc., etc each time you move to a new portion of the song or the next song.

For example, you have 16 tracks… so depending on how many tracks you are using per musical composition you can setup several different tracks in combination. Say you are using 4 sequence tracks, tracks 1-4 could be for one SECTION, while an entirely different setup could exist on 5-8

If the drum kit remains the same but you want a different guitar sound - use a separate track for the two guitars.

Can you select an option to change from one PART to the next at the end of the PART, not just the end of the measure?

I’m going to assume you mean SECTION again. You can select an option to CHANGE from one SECTION to another at the measure line, the nearest 1/2 note, the nearest 1/4 note, the nearest 1/8 note or the nearest 1/16 note.

Section changes can be accomplished ‘manually’ by pressing the Section buttons or they can be automated (documented on a PATTERN CHAIN)

Can you save SEQ data to the flash memory and have it ready when you turn on the XF like sample data?

No and yes. No you cannot save Sequencer data to the Flash Memory Expansion Modules. Only samples and waveforms go to the FLASH boards.
However ...Yes, your sequences remain in Motif XF memory between power down just as they do in the XS… the sequencer STORES your sequence data internally between power down and power up.

Bad Mister,

Thank you.

You have done an outstanding job of answering my questions and educating me on the correct terms for the Motif. (even though the names I used were totally wrong)

I do have one other question that has frustrated me with my current keyboard rig. (not Yamaha)

Example:

I would like to play a song from our set list. Sequenced drums, guitar, percussion maybe some strings. 4 different SECTIONs. Keyboard set up to start and stop the sequencer with a foot pedal.

When I choose to end the song with the foot pedal, I want to continue to play whatever sound I am playing on the keys. Maybe even start the sequencer again.

Here is my concern....
I don’t want the sound I am playing, on the keys, to be cut off by stopping the sequencer. Will the Motif XF allow me to do this?

Thanks again.

BTW,
if I’m a right.....PATTERNs are broken down into SECTIONs, A,B,C,D etc. and SECTIONs have PARTs that are instruments/sounds.

Example

PATTERN = Let it Be

SECTION A = Intro
SECTION B = Verse
SECTION C = Chorus
SECTION D = VAMP

Is this the correct terminology?

bugg1 - 17 August 2010 04:30 PM

Bad Mister,

Here is my concern....
I don’t want the sound I am playing, on the keys, to be cut off by stopping the sequencer. Will the Motif XF allow me to do this?



BTW,
if I’m a right.....PATTERNs are broken down into SECTIONs, A,B,C,D etc. and SECTIONs have PARTs that are instruments/sounds.

Example

PATTERN = Let it Be

SECTION A = Intro
SECTION B = Verse
SECTION C = Chorus
SECTION D = VAMP

Is this the correct terminology?

Yes , the XS and XF both continue to play the sound on the keyboard without cutoff when starting or stopping the sequencer.

Yes, that is exactly correct the way Pattern works with musical sections of songs.