Playing the DSM48

The DM48 has 12 holes and 12 corresponding pressure sensors. It is possible to play and send single or multiple notes on one MIDI channel to a DAW, but multiple notes are currently played at the same volume which is not necessarily the case when playing a standard chromatic harmonica. The DM48 can send notes to a DAW on not only one channel, but also 2, 4 and up to 12 separate MIDI channels which means that notes on any hole are played on a different channel to notes played on an adjacent hole. This means that adjacent or nearby notes can be played at different volumes.

The Solo Assist mode suppresses unwanted notes on an adjacent hole. By using more than one channel, it is possible to substantially reduce the possibility of playing unwanted notes on an adjacent hole. Sometimes a lower pressure on an adjacent hole can result in an unwanted MIDI note being recorded at a low or even inaudible volume. I have found that suppressing notes from adjacent holes can completely eliminate unwanted adjacent notes, but too high a level of suppression affects a natural response of the DM48 when the next note to be played is on a hole adjacent to the hole just played on. The pressure threshold for triggering notes can also be adjusted, but once again this setting needs to adjusted so as to provide a natural response.

A new Firmware has added a Monophonic Mode whereby whatever hole receives the highest pressure determines what note is to be played, and no more than one note is ever triggered at a given moment. The Monophonic Mode has made a big difference for me. Prior to the new update, I was able to play some instruments without unwanted notes, but not so with one of my favourite and most natural sounding instruments - the SWAM Engine Cello - especially when shifting from high to low notes. Using the Mononophonic Mode I am now able to play this patch with much more precision. I still get the occasional blips as a result of low pressure sounding briefly on a hole adjacent to the one I wish to sound. The possibility of blips can be reduced by increasing the pressure threshold, but once again I find that too high a setting reduces the a natural response when shifting from playing one hole to playing an adjacent hole. I am sure that with time and regular practice that I will be able to improve my precision in playing with no blips without compromising a natural response.

I have found that different VST instruments have different responses when played using the same DM48 settings. Some instruments are more difficult to play than others. For example, playing a piano using the DM48 is more difficult than using a MIDI keyboard because the sharpness of attack is very different from that of a wind instrument. For this reason it pays to set the response curve of the DM48 to Linear. A number of excellent VST effects plugins can further modify the response curve of a VST instrument plugin.

Now that I have a number of SWAM engine instruments, I have reserved one of my Behringer FCB1010 foot pedals to control vibrato and the other for additional control of expression depending on the instrument that I am playing. The SWAM engine instruments provide a greater range of control over expression and Buttons 2 and 3 on the DM48 can be used to send additional MIDI signals to control expression.

With the SWAM engine instruments, I now use only one track for each instrument, but setting up more than one MIDI track with the same instrument and a different channel in Mixcraft 8 is straightforward. First add an instrument track, select an instrument, select channel 1 for that track, and then activate the track. Next, duplicate track 1, select channel 2 for the duplicated track 2, activate the track, and then save the project file with the name of the instrument before recording. This project file with no MIDI content enables a very quick change to alternative instruments. When the project file for a selected instrument is loaded, the MIDI tracks are already activated for immediate practicing, performing, or recording. It pays to save any recording with a different filename.

I first heard Ennio Morrricone’s Gabriel’s Oboe many years ago and I have whistled my impressions of the melody ever since and played the same impression on my chromatic harmonicas. Now that I have adopted a more disciplined approach to practicing, I have downloaded from the Internet a number of melodies in MP4, MP3, and MIDI format. To my surprise I found that my arrangement of Gabriel’s Oboe has been a much simplified version and that I have not followed the original changes in tempo. To my dismay, I have found great difficulty in unlearning my own version. After using all of the above software, I have found that using MidiEditor is the best way for me to un-learn and relearn by first playing my DM48 along with sound while watching the screen and then with sound turned off. With no sound I am best able to focus completely on playing my DM48 to the original tempo and changes in tempo.

I find it difficult to identify which key a melody is played in just by listening to the melody. In order to practice my DM48 in the same scale as that of an MP3 file when using PitchSwitch , I play part of the melody on my DM48 in the key of C and I then use PitchSwitch to establish the key of the melody by adjusting the pitch of the melody up or down to the same key as my DM48. I can then count the number of semitones difference from the key of C and change the key of my DM48 accordingly. When using MidiEditor for practicing, I play part of a melody on my DM48 and choose a convenient note (hole) to play. Clicking the same note within MidiEditor plays that note. I can then change the scale of my DM48 to match the MIDI note while playing the same hole on my DM48.

Return to Index

Playing the DM48