J-Play App
Everything you need to know about the J-App
BEFORE WE START
The J-Play app is available as a free download on Windows (8.1 and later), Mac OS X (10.11 and later) and iOS (10.3 and later) for iPad.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
MAIN MENU
- Projects
- Artist packs
- Practice
FIRST STEPS
- Create and Edit a track
- Tempo & metronome
- Record
GOING FURTHER
- Live Quantize
- Pads tuning
- Audio mixer
ADVANCED FEATURES
- Arrangement and sections
- Visual feedback
- Settings
MAIN MENU
On the projects manager screen, accessible from the "Menu" button anywhere in the application, several actions are possible for each previously created project. You can rename, duplicate, delete or share each project.
To start a new creation, click on "New project". You will then be asked, if not already done, to connect your board with the cable provided, and if necessary an adapter, and to put a pad on it.
Few sharing options are available. In audio format, the project is exported and each track is grouped into a single or separate audio file. You will also have the possibility to share the whole project, any user with the application will be able to open your project, modify it or add their contribution.
"Covers" projects are directly available in the application. Each project refers to a video of the same name available on our Youtube channel.
The purpose of these tutorial projects is to present the possibilities of the application, to help you progress by replaying the proposed songs, but also to allow you to reuse certain tracks in your creations!
When you open a Practice project, the tracks used for the song are locked (represented by a pad) and cannot be modified. When you add a pad, it will be linked to the corresponding locked track.
The Artist Packs, created in collaboration with renowned artists, are directly linked to an artist's flagship track.
You will find exclusive sounds in each pack! Each Artist Pack gives you access to 8 Signature instruments, 2 for each available pad.
You can then use these sounds in your own creations. Once the Artist Pack is downloaded, you will find the new sounds directly from the sound selection menu for each pad.
FIRST STEPS
To create a track you have two solutions, you can drop a new pad on your board. You can also choose to create a new track by pressing the "+" button in the center of the screen. To choose which track is active, simply click on the button in the left corner of the track. Once selected, the outline of the track becomes bold.
For each Pad, a selection of 12 instruments is available. Once you drop the pad on the board, a default instrument will be chosen. Then click on a track, (the active one is in bold), you will enter the "sound" area(represented by a sound wave on the left of the screen) to access the different instruments available for the chosen pad.
The Joué Play app allows you to have up to 8 tracks per project, it's up to you to choose which ones! If you want to delete a track to make room for new instruments, just hold down on the track you want to delete and confirm the deletion.
To help you play in rhythm, you can use the metronome, so that a beat of each "time" will be audible. To do this, click on the button with the "metronome" icon.
You can then adjust the speed of the song, its tempo, by clicking on the tempo button, indicated in numbers. You can select the tempo manually from the "Manual" tab, tap it on the screen or on your pad from the "Tap" tab or use the "Free" feature.
The free tempo allows you to record without a metronome, start your loop with your first note (or the "rec" button) then end it by pressing the "rec" button. The tempo will be defined in relation to what you have just played.
At the bottom of the screen two features are available:
- Play : Allows to play what has been previously recorded.
- Rec : Allows you to record a music loop.
When you press the "Rec" button, there will be a countdown of 4 beats before the recording starts. 1, 2, 3, 4, GO...
To delete a recording, go to the track concerned, then click on the trash can icon in the upper left corner, next to the timeline.
You can also undo the last recording at any time using the "undo" button available next to the "play" and "record" buttons. This button is used to undo the last action, so it can also be used to restore a recording that you have just deleted.
GOING FURTHER
Represented in the "sound" menu of each pad by a magnet icon, the quantize allows you to adjust the recorded notes to the tempo. Once activated, depending on the intensity level selected (from 1 to 3), the notes already recorded and those that you will record will be automatically repositioned rhythmically.
Quantization can be used for various purposes, the main one being rhythmic adjustment, but it is also possible to use this feature for more creative purposes.
By clicking on the volume icon at the bottom left of the screen, you can adjust the volume of each track individually.
The master corresponds to all the tracks, if you lower the volume of the master, the overall volume will be lowered and vice versa.
You can mute a track by clicking on the icon representing it at the bottom of the audio mixer.
The "tuning" function, available for the Keys pad and the Guitar pad, allows you to modify the tuning of your pad. You will find in the sound selection menu, for the concerned pads, a button with a "tuning fork" icon in the left column, click on it to change the tuning of the pad.
For the Keys Pad, this feature is essential to use the pad in your creations.
You will be able to choose between 5 modes: Major, Minor, Pentatonic major, Pentatonic minor and Chromatic, by defining the starting note of the scale, the "root note".
The notations are American, Do corresponding to C, Ré to D and so on...
For example, if your song is played in A minor, you can set your pad to A Minor (Aeolian) or A Pentatonic minor.
Tip: The pentatonic minor/major scale is similar to the minor/major scale, with fewer notes, it can be very effective for creating melodies easily!
For the Guitar Pad, you will be offered to choose from six of the most popular tunings, namely: Standard E, Standard Eb, Drop D, Drop C, Fifths and Open D. The classic guitar tuning is E standard.
ADVANCED FEATURES
By default, a 4 bar section will be created for your project. To go further and go beyond this musical loop, the application allows you to modify the current section, from the timeline bar at the top of the screen. Click on a section to edit its length or rename it.
You can also duplicate the selected section, or create a new section by pressing the "+" button on the right of the timeline.
You can also duplicate the selected section, or create a new section by pressing the "+" button on the right of the timeline.
This feature allows you to view the notes played on the selected pad. To access it, click on a track, then on the "visual feedback" button available in the left column. Once on the visual feedback interface, you will see the notes you play on the pad. If notes have already been recorded on this track, you will also see them appear.
The visual feedback is very useful to learn how to play your favorite songs available in "Practice" project.
Tip: To learn step by step, it is interesting to lower the tempo of the piece, so the notes will be played more slowly, and you will have time to better visualize the rhythmic or melodic progression.
You can access other settings by clicking on the jog wheel at the top left of the screen:
- Change the length of the music loop ("Bar").
- Adjusting the volume of the metronome "BPM".
- Prevent recording by activating "play only".
- Display the application's credits
On Mac and PC, another setting is available, that of the audio. More complex, it is recommended to leave the default settings. However, if you encounter latency problems, you can reduce the number of samples (buffer size).
AUDIO SAMPLER
Your Joué Board connected to the device, you can create a new project with the Drumpad on the board. Auto creation of a track with the "HipHop" preset Click on the track. Click on the "User" library. Click on "+" to create a custom preset and enter the name of your preset.
You are in the edit mode, which will allow you to record samples. If you have not set up an audio input, a popup asks if you want to do so. If you click yes, the audio settings window opens and you can activate your audio input.
Now you can play with the sampler
Press a key and hold it down until you finish recording. The key you just recorded is selected. If the automatic adjustment between the beginning and the end of my audio sample doesn't suit you, you can adjust the beginning and the end of the sample in the top window. You can adjust the pitch and gain of your sample using the pad's effect area (physical), and finally play the sample using the pad. To delete a sample, select it either on the screen or on the physical pad and click on the trash can icon in the upper right corner.
If you use the application from your Mac or PC, you can integrate a sample from your hard disk into your "custom kit". To do this, drag an audio file into a pad when you’re in edit mode.
J-PLAY AUDIO
AUDIO PAD
If you haven't already done so, update the Joué app via the App store or Windows store.
Open the Joué app on your computer or tablet, plug in the Joué Play and place the audio pad on the board to open a dedicated track.
When you are ready, press the REC button on the audio pad to record your track. If you don't want to record audio with your iPad or computer microphone directly, you can use a microphone. To do this, you'll need a sound card. Connect the Joué Play to your computer and then connect your computer to the sound card. Connect your microphone to the sound card. Open the Joué application and go to "audio settings" (top left menu) to choose the sound input point and select your sound card. You can now record your audio with your microphone!
Flower effect : Allows you to set two effect parameters depending on the angle and radius of the finger position.
Dynamic pad : Allows you to adjust effects during the touch time according to the position of the finger.
Preset 1, 2 and 3 : Allows to save the finger positions of the effect flower
Random : Allows to generate a random finger position on the effect flower.
To know more about how to use your Audio Pad with your favorites DAWs click here.