Overview of managing articulations in MainStage

Sampled instruments that emulate real instruments often allow you to switch between the unique playing techniques that the real instrument is capable of. For example, a sampled violin instrument might offer articulations to switch between tremolo, pizzicato, and sustained notes, while a sampled horn instrument might include articulations for sustained and staccato notes, trills, and falls. These playing techniques are called articulations. Each articulation is identified with a unique Articulation ID. All the information regarding the available articulations is stored in Articulation Sets. Articulation Sets are saved both within saved patches and saved projects.

MainStage offers various ways to choose which articulations to use for the notes that you play:

• For instruments that load with pre-configured Articulation Sets, you can choose an articulation from the plug-in window header.

• For instruments with multiple Articulation Sets, you can Manage articulations with the MainStage Articulation Set menu.

• You can create, view, and change parameters for existing Articulation Sets using the Articulation Set Editor.