If you're using manual note entry, you can enter a note-off command with a keyboard shortcut - usually Caps Lock. Most trackers record this information automatically if you play your music in live. Like MIDI, notes will play indefinitely if they're not instructed to end. Renoise also has the ability to trigger alternative samples based on a note's velocity. In some of the more modern trackers, you can assign multiple samples per instrument and use them across key groups, allowing the creation of anything from a drum kit to an instrument that requires different samples at certain pitches. Using the Instrument Editor in most trackers, you can very easily set up the values for amplitude attack, decay, sustain and release using envelopes and loop points. With the advent of second generation trackers like FastTracker 2, it was no longer necessary to use tracker effects commands to fake your instrument's volume envelope. Quickly alternating high and low values in this way is called a volume strobe. You can also use Gxx to set the Global Volume. In Milkytracker, the command used is Hxy, where x is the rate at which to increase volume, and y the same for decreasing.

Song fade-outs can be achieved by a command called Global Volume Slide. Some trackers also have unusual and unique effects commands, such as for controlling the sound chip in a chip tracker. while most trackers use 3xx for portamento/glide, ImpulseTracker uses Gxx. It's crucial to get familiar with the complete effects command list for your chosen tracker.įor starters, there is no standard for the numbers used, e.g. In our walkthroughs, we've taken a look at a few tracker effects such as volume control, portamento and tempo, which are always entered into the command/effects columns. Try ratios such as 8 and 4 for more pronounced swing. While this is no longer necessary with BPM-based settings, this technique of alternating the tempo/speed has another use: you can use it as an easy and effective way to create a swing beat. In order to get a speed of 5.5, you would have to set the speed to 6 and then 5 alternately every line. speed 6 would make each row last for 6 ticks' worth of time, while 7 would be slower, with each row lasting 7 ticks. The song tempo was instead specified as 'speed' given as a number of ticks, e.g. Old school trackers use a very coarse speed system based on 'ticks' - hidden subdivisions of a row - rather than BPM.

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