Xx Tutorial 1: Getting Started, the Basics
By Len Sasso and Eric Wenger
In this tutorial we learn the basics concepts of Xx and use several
of its tools to create a simple composition.
Step 1: Overview and Set Up
- A: Launch Xx.
(Quit and relaunch Xx if it is already running.)
Xx's only window (shown above) is a piano-roll style MIDI note
editor. Notes in this editor are represented by colored bars:
- Pitch is indicated by the bars' vertical position. The keyboard
on the left serves as a note reference.
- Note duration is indicated by the bars' length.
Xx requires either OMS or Apple's MIDI Manager to work with external
MIDI devices. Alternately, you can use the Beatnik Software Synthesizer
which plays back through Apples Sound Manager.
- If you have OMS or Apples MIDI Manager, select the one you want
Xx to use at the bottom-left of the Preferences window.
- If you are using OMS, select the external input device at the
bottom-right of the Preferences window.
At the top of the Preferences window, set the Ticks/quarter
setting to allow convenient subdivisions of the beat. 240 is a
good choice as it provides for 64th notes as well as 32nd note
triplets and quintuplets. (If you also use another MIDI sequencer,
you should set Xx to match the other sequencer's setting for convenience
in exchanging MIDI files between the two.)
Accept the preferences you have chosen by clicking the check mark
at the bottom-right of the Preferences window.
- B: Open the Track Mixer
(Double-click any of the colored squares in the Track selector
bar to invoke the Track Mixer.)
The Track Mixer is where you set up Xxs 16 MIDI tracks. Each
track has its own color, name, MIDI channel, OMS port (if you
are using OMS), MIDI program number (active only if checked in
the Preferences window), MIDI volume and lock & loop status. In
addition to MIDI output, you can assign any track to use Xx's
built in Beatnik Software Synthesizer. (For uniformity, this tutorial
will use Beatnik but feel free to substitute your MIDI device
of your choice.)
Set up five MIDI channels as indicated in the illustration above.
Note: there is a known problem resulting in irregular playback
when using the Beatnik system. For those with external MIDI synthesizers,
choose equivalent sounds or use a General MIDI synth. If you have
OMS and the Beatnik Editor, you may solve the problem by connecting
Xx to the Beatnik Editor through OMS.
- Select a color for a track by clicking on the Track column's colored
square and using the color picker (the eye dropper). Note that
you can move the eye dropper outside of the color palette to choose
a color from another track.
- Select the Beatnik logo in the port column.
Assign the track a MIDI channel and program number.
Use the volume slider to set the tracks volume. You should
hear a note sound as you do this to test the volume and confirm
that the track is working.
Optionally, you can save this mixer set-up as a template for
future use by clicking the Save as template button.
Click the check mark at the bottom-right of the Track Mixer
window to accept the Track Mixer set-up you just created.
Step 2: Patterning a Bass Track
Step 3: Enter a theme with the pen tool
- A. Repeat the bass part's 4 measures twice. This can be done either by using copy & paste or by selecting
the four measures and choosing Duplicate in the Edit menu. Next, we use the pen tool to compose a little
theme over the bass line from measure 4 to 8.
- B. Select the Pen tool by clicking its icon.

To see the existing notes displayed in all octaves, click display octave. This allows you to easily find a melody that matches the bass
line. With a simple click, the pen tool can enter notes with
the grid size's minimum duration, or you can click-drag to create
longer notes. After some experimentation, we end up with the following
theme played by the "slow strings" patch.

Step 4: Starting the piano track
Step 5: "Lining" a piano refrain
We will next use the Line tool to construct some rhythmic chord
patterns. The actual notes don't matter since we plan to use Harmonize later.
Step 6: Using Transpose
- A. Make sure the Mono/Poly switch is in Poly mode. Select measures 21 through 29 using the Bar Select Area.
We will transpose them down a fifth (G in this case) .
- B. Press the down arrow key three times to transpose the selected
measures. Notice how transpose automatically remaps notes to fit
the current scale mode.
Step 7: Spraying a "Tinkle Bell" track with the spray tool
- A. Select the Tinkle Bell Track by clicking on the red square in
the Track Selector.
- B. Select the Spray tool by clicking its icon
.
- C. Make sure that the grid setting is
set to 120 (8th notes.)
- D. Click at the left edge of the note window and drag to approximately
the fourth measure.
You should now have a pattern of 8th notes resembling the red
bars in the illustration.
You may want to try several times until you get something you
like.
Step 8: Replicate the Tinkle Bell track using Smart Paste
- A. We will use Smart Paste to repeat the tinkle bell pattern found in measures 21-24 to the
subsequent measures.
Set the Mono/Poly switch to mono mode
to restrict the operations to the Tinkle Bell track.
Select measures 21-24 using the Bar Select Area. Mono mode ensures
that only the red notes are selected. Choose Copy.
- B. Select measure 25. Chose Edit Menu->Smart Paste (COMMAND-M).
- C. Select measure 29. Chose Smart Paste again. Observe how some notes are modified
to fit the underlying theme.
Note: Xx does not delete the existing notes when you paste. This
feature is very handy for overlaying patterns to quickly enrich
the music.
Set the Mono/Poly switch back to Poly mode.
- D. For measure 33-37 we will simply re-expose the piano refrain and end the piece
with a fade out.
Select the measures 17-21 and choose Copy.
Select measure 33 to position the insertion line. Chose Edit Menu->Insert to insert the refrain three or four times.
- E. Our final touch : fade the velocities. Select measures from 37 to the end and
click on the fade out icon.
To see a visual representation of the result, set the display velocity option on.
Conclusion
We didn't create a masterpiece but quickly put together a nice
little song using Xx's basic tools.
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Tutorial 2