Window Reference CPU & Voice Meters |

This section shows overall activity of the Beatnik MIDI Synthesizer, in terms of CPU Load and total number of active Voices.
Item
Use
CPU Load Meter
Shows roughly what percentage of your computer's CPU (Central Processing Unit, also known as the microprocessor) is being used, updated 24 times per second. If no other programs are running on your computer at the same time, this will give you a pretty good idea how CPU-intensive it is to play a given Song on a computer with a similarly powerful processor.
The red line indicates the highest peak so far. To clear this peak indicator, click on the meter.
Note: For a more accurate measurement, point at the CPU Load meter and select Intensive Calc from the context menu. To access the context menu: for Windows, right- click; for Mac OS, control-click. Note: Playing the same Song on a less powerful machine will take a higher percentage of the CPU. Note: In addition to the number of voices being played, the Editor Play Settings directly affect the CPU Load figure - that is, the reverb setting, choice of mono or stereo, the sample rate and the bit depth.
Voices Meter
Shows how many of the Beatnik MIDI Synthesizer's 64 voices are being used, updated 24 times per second.
The red line indicates the highest peak so far. To clear this peak indicator, click on the meter.
Note: The Voices meter may disagree with the number of lit-up keys on the onscreen Keyboard. That's because the keys lights up only during the Note On portion of a note, but the note will occupy its voice until its volume envelope fades to complete silence. If the Instrument has a long release time, that can take a while.
About Voice Availability
The Beatnik Audio Engine's 64 voices are organized as three separate pools:
56 voices are available to play notes for Songs, incoming Live MIDI Input, and The Onscreen Keyboard. This 56-voice limit is also present in the Beatnik Player for Web Browsers. 1 voice is reserved for auditioning Samples. The remaining 7 voices are reserved for playing sound effects. The Onscreen Keyboard
The onscreen Keyboard displays MIDI note events as lit-up keys, and you can click on the Keyboard to play notes on MIDI channel 1 (as you'll need to do when selecting or editing Instruments).
Note: If channel 1's Mute button is pressed, it'll prevent The Onscreen Keyboard from playing. Note: If you have a MIDI keyboard and your computer has a hardware MIDI interface installed, you may prefer to play notes on your own keyboard rather than pecking out musical lines one note at a time on the onscreen Keyboard; see Live MIDI Input. Note: The Beatnik Editor uses three different keyboard displays, for three different purposes:
Keyboard appearing in...
Is for...
Player window
Playing notes, and showing what MIDI notes are playing
Keymap tab of the Instrument Editor
Displaying and editing an Instrument's Keymap Zones
Select Note dialog box
Selecting a MIDI note number for use as a setting parameter
Playing Notes on the Onscreen Keyboard
To play a note using the onscreen Keyboard, just click on the key you want to play. To hold a note, hold the mouse button down after you click the key.
You also have control over the notes' Instrument and velocity, and a simulated Sustain pedal:
Instrument - The notes you play on the onscreen Keyboard always use the currently selected Instrument. To play a particular Instrument, go to the Instruments tab of your Session window and select the Instrument. The onscreen Keyboard will continue to use that same Instrument even when the Instruments tab isn't visible. Velocity - You can also control the velocity of each note you play on the onscreen keyboard. In many Instruments, velocity is linked to brightness, volume, or intensity, giving the Instrument a more dynamic character. Clicking at the top of a key produces a lower velocity; clicking at the bottom of the key produces the maximum velocity (127); and clicking anywhere between the extremes produces a proportionate velocity. Sustain - The Shift key on your computer keyboard acts as the onscreen Keyboard's sustain pedal. For example, if you press and hold the Shift key, then click three different notes on the onscreen Keyboard, you'll notice that the notes sustain until you release the Shift key and then click on another note.

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