Korg M3: Recording with different Time Signatures
korg_m3.jpg

Note: This article also applies to the M50

Scenario

You want to record a song in a time signature (meter) other than 4/4 time, such as 3/4 or 6/8. Or you have already recorded a portion of your song, for example in 6/8 time, and for some reason the sequencer mysteriously reverts back to 4/4 time at a given location in the song and you want to be able to fix this. Or you are doing pattern-based recording with patterns in something other than 4/4 time and the patterns don't sound right when you insert them into a track and you want to know why this happens and how to correct it.

Say Hello to the Master Track

Throughout the below procedures we will be working with the Master Track at times so it bears an introduction of some kind so that you understand exactly what it does in your songs. The Master Track holds only three kinds of data:

  1. Time Signature
  2. Tempo
  3. Song Length

That's it. In respect of the Time Signature data, every measure in your song has its own unique time signature. For many songs, the meter will be 4/4, but when you need a different time signature elsewhere in the song, things may go horribly wrong.

The real culprit for things going wrong is very likely to be the Song Length. By default, a new song will be set automatically to 64 measures long, all of them in 4/4 time. This is usually no problem for songs recorded only in 4/4 time. But say you recorded about 20 measures of a song from the start in 6/8 and then stopped recording. What happens is that measures after the bit you recorded will still be in 4/4 time. You can verify this by looking at the Master Track in Event Edit as shown in the below image.

Now if you start recording on a new track and go past the first 20 measures, the sequencer will switch from 6/8 to 4/4 at measure 21. No doubt this can be incredibly frustrating when this happens.

So here's your first tip: The easiest thing to do before you start recording anything at all is to re-set the Song Length to a value of 1, which will be explained below. This will delete all of the measures in the Master Track except for the very first one. As you record your song, new measures will be added automatically to the Master Track with the Time Signature you've started with.

Now that you know what the Master Track does, let's begin with how to set up your chosen time signatures.

Procedures

There are couple of ways to set the time signature. You can set it while in Record Standby in the Meter field after you have pressed the SEQUENCER REC/WRITE button, or you could use Event Edit on the Master Track and change it there. But as noted above, you can save yourself a lot of time and grief if you first set the Song Length to 1 before you do anything else. Note: It is not possible to record meter changes "on the fly." You must first stop recording.

Start By Setting the Song Length to 1 Measure

  1. IMPORTANT: Do not do this if you have already recorded any musical data to any tracks. All of that data will be deleted.
  2. Select a new Song or use the Auto Song Setup from a program or combi (ENTER + REC). If you use Auto Song Setup, then disarm record standby by pressing the SEQUENCER REC/WRITE button on the front panel.
  3. Press the PAGE SELECT button and go to the P6-Track Edit screen.
  4. For now, leave it at track 1 or select any track except for the Master Track (because the next command is not available when the Master Track is selected).
  5. Touch the Command Menu and Select Set Song Length from the list.
  6. Enter a value of 1 in the dialog and touch the OK button.
  7. Press the EXIT button to return the Play/Rec screen.

Set Time Signature While in Record Standby at the Start of a Song

  1. Arm the Sequencer for recording by pressing the SEQUENCER REC/WRITE button.
  2. The Meter field at the top of screen changes to "**/**" when the sequencer is armed for recording and in standby mode. Select this field.
  3. Use the value slider or the data wheel to select your desired Time Signature.
  4. Press the SEQUENCER START/STOP button to begin recording. As you record, all new measures will inherit the chosen signature.
  5. (Note: If you did not previously set the song length to 1 measure and you recorded fewer than 64 measures, the remaining "emtpy" measures will still be at 4/4 time.)

Overdub a New Time Signature at Any Place in a Song

This procedure works almost exactly like the previous one, and you can change the time signature starting at any measure in the song if you're in Overdub or Overwrite recording mode. In other words, you can overwrite the Master Track with a new meter change, but there is an important caveat you must consider before doing this: If you have already recorded musical data to any track and the new time signature is shorter than the existing time signature (e.g. changing from 4/4 to 3/4), a portion of your data will be deleted. Use with caution.

  1. With recording stopped and the main Play/Rec screen visible, touch the Measure field at the top left of the screen.
  2. Use the data wheel to dial in the measure from where you want to start recording a new time signature
  3. Since you cannot record directly to the Master Track alone, choose one of the sixteen tracks available. (If you're in Overwrite record mode, choose a track that has no musical data on it.)
  4. Arm the Sequencer for recording by pressing the SEQUENCER REC/WRITE button.
  5. The Meter field at the top of screen changes to "**/**" when the sequencer is armed for recording and in standby mode. Select this field.
  6. Use the value slider or the data wheel to select your desired Time Signature.
  7. Press the SEQUENCER START/STOP button to begin recording. As you record, all recorded measures will be replaced with the chosen signature.
  8. Press the SEQUENCER START/STOP button to stop recording.

Set Time Signature on the Master Track using Event Edit

This procedure will work at any time during the song creation process. Use it the start or after you have already recorded some musical data to other tracks. For pattern-based recording, this is probably the procedure you're most likely to use.

  1. If necessary, disarm Record Standby by pressing the SEQUENCER REC/WRITE button.
  2. Press the Page Select button and go to P6 - Track Edit.
  3. Select the Master Track in the Track Select field.
  4. Touch the Command Menu button on the screen and select Event Edit from the list and the Event Edit Master Track dialog appears on the screen.
  5. If just starting a new song, choose the Meter field at Measure 001 and use the value slider or data wheel to select a new time signature.
  6. If you have already recorded some data and want to change the time signature from a certain measure, scroll down to find the starting measure and change the value for that measure and for any subsequent measure that needs that time signature applied.
  7. Touch the Done button when finished.
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