The Metronome command lets you adjust the metronome settings. FreeStyle’s metronome can play a Macintosh speaker click or a click that consists of any sound (such as a side stick or rim shot) produced by a MIDI drum machine or other MIDI instrument. It can also play a custom riff. A riff is a musical phrase played by a single player, usually a drummer. FreeStyle provides a wide selection of stock riffs; most are in the form of two-bar drum loops. You can create your own riffs by using the Save As Metronome command in the Region menu or by dragging a standard MIDI file into the Metronomes folder on your Macintosh desktop. Note that a riff doesn’t have to be a drum loop; it can be any single instrument that you want, such as a bass loop or a keyboard riff.
(1) Sound during Playback/Recording
These two options control when FreeStyle plays the metronome. To turn off the metronome completely, uncheck both boxes.
(2) Speaker Click
Produces a generic metronome click sound from the Macintosh internal speaker. Use the Sound Control panel to control its volume.
(3) Custom Riff
If you want a custom riff, choose the desired riff from the menu, and then choose a drum kit or other appropriate sound.
(4) MIDI Click
The MIDI click option produces a generic click using sounds from a MIDI instrument, such as a rim shot sound from a drum machine. The downbeat click occurs at the downbeat (beat 1) of each measure. Choose the desired pitch, velocity, and duration for the two click sounds.
(5) Become Player
The Become Player button turns the currently selected custom riff into a player in the Ensemble window so that you can edit the riff and develop it further as part of each section or song. If the custom riff is not long enough to fill up a section, the player will be installed with a playback loop. This command is grayed out except when the custom riff option is selected.
(6) Save As Default
Save As Default makes FreeStyle remember the metronome settings for new documents.
(7) Audition
Hold down the Audition button to listen to the metronome using the current settings.
