Definition of a style
A style is a data file scanned into your automatic keyboard providing a musical accompaniment. The distinctive with a style is that you decide in which chords the accompaniment should be played. In practice it works by using your left hand to strike the chords on the keyboard that you want the style to play as an accompaniment. Theoretically, you can make a style accompany an endless number of musical creations compared to a midi file that only reproduces one specific creation.
Your interaction with a style
In order to express different moods in the music played you can choose different parts/variations of the same style for different passages of the music you wish to play. For example variation number one may be very simple and suitable for the first verse in a melody while variation number four may be very advanced and therefore best suited for the chorus. In addition, it is possible to make different fill ins and intro/endings thus the melody can start and end in different ways. And small transitions from one variation to another are conducted - just like an orchestra marks the transition from verse to chorus.
A style typically consists of 15 to 20 parts, e.g. four main parts, four fill in parts, a break, three intro parts, and three ending parts. On an automatic keyboard there is an activation button for each style part and you change from one part to another by activating the button representing the part you want to switch to. You typically go from one main part to another by using a fill in or a break as a transition.
Midi Spot’s style programming
Given that a style is played in the chord you strike with your left hand it is either constructed in a way that the style programmer plays all parts of all possible chords and keys or in a way that the programmer only plays some fundamental chords which a style algorithm then transfers into all other chords and keys depending on what the user wishes to play. The first solution is practically impossible due to the many ways of combination, thus all styles follow the last model.
The leading style format on the market is Yamaha’s SFF-format (Style File Format). With this all main/fill/break parts are played, except for hybrid track in chord Cmaj7, which the automatic keyboard then transforms into all other chords depending on your instructions. When Midi Spot creates a style each main/fill/break parts typically consist of one to four bars repeated in a loop in which all play Cmaj7. Midi Spot may have more named pieces of music in mind while producing a style making the style aimed for these melodies, but given that the style only plays the chords you want, it is also suitable for all other melodies with a similar accompaniment.
Intro/endings stand out from the rest of the style as Midi Spot has the opportunity of playing other chords than Cmaj7. It is possible to copy both chord procedure and melodies from other pieces of music or to compose new chord procedures and melodies.
