The Interface

On the left is the main interface for Capriccio. This particular interface is for the Strings instrument but each orchestral group has its own separate Kontakt patch, each of which are colour coded: Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion and Pitched Percussion. All operate in exactly the same manner.

Presets

Whichever instrument you choose, Capriccio has 4 user presets, each of which can be assigned up to 3 different fields. The presets can be selected either by clicking them in the interface or with keyswitches shown below.

Fields

Each field has a number of options which can be activated / deactivated. Regardless of which preset or field is in use, they all have the same options, outlined below.

Picking Phrases

TIP: You don’t have to stick to the standard configurations of high, medium and low. It’s possible to load more than one identical set. For example, you could load 3 sets of high strings and choose completely different patterns for each. The only limitation to this is that if you duplicate an identical set and pattern and variation in one instance of Capriccio, the MOD wheel volume and speed controls will not operate independently.

Randomize

Score View

The phrases in Capriccio are represented by graphics instead of actual notations. However, clicking on the score icon shown here will access the original notation.

This will open a large Score View, where you can view the currently selected phrase in a notated form. Brass is depicted here.

Clicking on the key signature graphics at the top of the window will change the displayed score key. Click the MA or mi icons to display either the major or minor variations of the phrase, where available.

A large contingent of phrases is gender neutral (so basically without thirds, sixths or sevenths).

You can either click on the ‘x’ or anywhere in the score area to return to the main window.

Drag MIDI

A feature new to Capriccio is the drag MIDI button. Click the button, hold and drag into your DAW to paste the MIDI information from the Capriccio score straight into a track in your DAW.

One or more MIDI tracks will be created in you DAW which correlate with the number of staves shown in the score view for that particular phrase. You can then assign your own virtual instruments to these tracks and edit the MIDI data in the normal way.

We’ve developed this to be a real time-saver when you need access to the MIDI data of Capriccio outside of the instrument itself. Drag MIDI is useful for several things and gives you ultimate flexibility over the notation of the phrases within Capriccio. For example, for doubling instruments, transposing or more complex editing. Drag MIDI also allows a quick and easy way for orchestrators to transfer Capriccio’s phrases to a score prepared for live players.

Please note that the MIDI is derived from the original score that the musicians performed, not from the performance itself. Therefore the MIDI will not reflect the nuances of play, and you will have to adjust it manually to get a perfect match with the played performance when doubling it with external instruments. Also note that the MIDI dragged cannot be used as an input for Capriccio, you'll need other virtual instruments on different tracks in your DAW to play the dragged and dropped MIDI files.

Volume

Click the VOLUME legend at the bottom left of the options interface to display the volume controls (shown below with the Woodwinds instrument).

In each field, drag the white overlay line up and down to adjust the overall volume of that field.

Sample Offset

A new feature to Capriccio is the sample offset function.

Click the OFFSET legend at the bottom of the options interface to display the offset controls (shown below with the Pitched Percussion instrument).

Each mark on the slider represents a 16th note, so the maximum and minimum values are one beat forwards and backwards relative to the original first beat of the phrase. Note that when you double or halve the tempo of a phrase, the offset value will stay relative to the host tempo, so relative to the phrase content tempo these values will change. e.g. when the tempo button is set to 2x all offset values are doubled.

You can use the sample offset function subtly, for very minor adjustments, to tighten up the timing of phrases relative to one another.

You can also use the function to make more dramatic timing changes by offsetting one or more fields by entire beats, resulting in more complex patterns including polyrhythms and syncopation.

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