Tanukisan's Guide to Daigasso! Band-Brothers Pro Edit Mode
-------------------------------------
email:flopsie at kittymail dot com
This guide is for anyone who has imported Daigasso! Band-Brothers, wants to
write music with it, but is stumped by some (or all) of its Pro Edit features.
It is dedicated to the great people at NDSart.net, an excellent site for those
who use their DS creatively. Make sure to check out the music forum at
http://ndsart.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=19 to hear the DS rock and roll.
We'd love to hear your music.
Table Of Contents:
1. Intro
-Disclaimer
-Pro Edit
-Unlocking Pro Edit
-Explanations/Terms
Use the index numbers to find a specific menu's explanation. For example,
search for #M6 to find the Voices Menu.
2. Basic Menus
#M1:The Edit Menu
#M2:My Data List
#M3:Main Score Menu
#M4:Track Menu
#M5:Save Menu
#M6:Voices Menu (Instrument List)
#M7:Accompaniment Menu
#M8:Copy/Paste Menu
3. The Accompaniment Editor
4. The Note Editor
#N1:Clef Menu
#N2:Main Note Editor Screen
#N3:Copy/Paste Menu
5. The Drum Editor
#D1:Copy/Paste Menu
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1. Intro
Disclaimer:
Band Bros.'s Pro Edit is a fairly complicated thing, even if it were in
English. The fact that its in Japanese only makes it more complicated to the
average English-speaker. What this guide aims to do is give the reader a guide
for every action that you can do in the editor. This will be a reference for
the experienced user, and a guide for the beginner. If there's anything in the
text or the form of this article that's not clear, or misleading, or confusing,
drop me a message and I'll revise and clarify it.
Because this guide is definitely going to get complicated, I'm thinking about
also writing a short FAQ that includes just the basics.
As far as my language skills go, I'd call myself a Nihongophile; I don't really
speak or read Japanese well at all, though I know some and I enjoy studying it.
Pro Edit:
Included with Daigasso! Band Brothers is a very useful music creation tool. It
transcends being a mere gimmick associated with the game; it is a full-on
portable sequencer right on your DS. It can do many things, though it is not
perfect, and experienced composers may notice a lack of certain features. For
example, each score is limited to 120 measures of 4/4, and only 8 monophonic
tracks. Don't underestimate it, though. Being an experienced composer myself,
I haven't felt limited by the editor at any point, and it's portability more
than makes up for its shortcomings.
Unlocking Pro Edit:
Pro Edit is, unfortuantely, not usable from the beginning. I'm sure there's
some very reasonable rationale behind this, like the designers want you to
experience the game before you jump into writing music, or just to provide a
little something to work toward as you play. Anyhow, it's not that hard to
unlock. It's going to take you a while, and you'll have to build some finger
skills to do it, but it's no reason to give up on it.
In order to use Pro Edit, you must first complete the level 5 recording ticket
in Amateur mode. (Amateur mode is the one where the notes are the face buttons
[Up, Down, Left, Right, B, A, X, Y]. It's not the Pro mode, which uses L and R
along with the face buttons to raise pitch. Thank god for that.) After
completing the level 5 ticket, you'll be treated to some credits, then be
dropped back to the menu screen where the background has changed to signify
you're in Pro Mode now. You can switch back to Amateur with the toggle switch
in the bottom right corner of the touch screen.
Now, you can use Pro Edit. Once you've unlocked it, it dosen't matter if
you're in Pro or Amateur mode, just hit the Edit button to bring up the Edit
menu.
Menu Explanations:
I'll try to keep this in a logical order. When I'm listing a row of buttons,
I'll list them from left to right, and I'll also mention the button color. If
a button brings up a new menu, I'll list that later. The order of all these
menus is going to get a little hairy, but hopefully I can lay it out so that
you know where something will take you, and what it'll do. Also, I provide a
name for each button or menu for better reference. This may or may not be
based on the actual Japanese text, and if English is provided, I'll use that.
Some terms:
A whole song is a "score", which consists of up to eight "tracks". Each track
is an instrument, whose sound I'll call a "voice". A "tic" is the smallest
increment of time that the cursor can move, which is a sixteenth note. A "drum
hit" or "hit" refers to one single drum noise, for example, a snare drum being
hit or a cymbal sounding.
Let me know if I use some jargon that needs explanation, and it'll be put here.
-----
2. Basic Menus
Here's where you'll start. The Edit Menu is on the right side of the game's
main menu. Touch it to begin.
(#M1)The Edit Menu:
Pro Edit is the middle option on this screen. The English text (that's visible
for a moment as the menu drops down) reads "Making an orthodox score is here."
Touch that and then you have two options. The top is "NEW CREATION" whch opens
a new, empty score and the second is "DATA LOADING" (it actually says
"ROADING", but you know what they mean.) where you can load previously saved
scores. NEW CREATION will bring you to the Main Score Menu(M3), and DATA
LOADING will bring you to My Data List(M2).
(#M2)My Data List:
Here's where you load your scores from. Use the scrollbar on the side and
touch the name of the score you want to load. (they're marked 1-8 ) The two
blue buttons at the bottom of this screen are SAMPLE 1 and SAMPLE 2. Either of
these will load a sample score that you can play around with. #1 is "Ode to
Joy" and #2 I can't identify, but it's a similar piece of classical music. The
bottom right white button is BACK. After selecting one of your scores or a
sample, you'll end up at the Main Score Menu(M3).
(#M3)Main Score Menu:
The Main Score Menu screen is where you end up after creating a new score or
loading a saved one.
Top yellow button - Score Name - Lets you set the score's name. When your
score is saved, this name will show up on your data list and in the song list
in the game. Default is "New data".
Bottom Row -
-Blue - Play - Plays score from the beginning.
-Yellow - Accompaniment - Brings up the Accompaniment Menu(M7).
-Green - Save - Brings up Save menu.
-Purple - Exit - Exits Pro Edit. If you have made changes and not saved them
yet, the game asks if you really want to exit. Select YES to exit without
saving, and NO to go back.
Touching any of the numbers 1 through 8 brings up that track's Track Menu.
There's also a Tempo slider, which can be touched and dragged, or you can use
the D-pad left and right to adjust the tempo.
(#M4)Track Menu:
Top Row -
-Left Yellow - Music Edit - Brings up the Note Editor for the selected
instrument.
-Right Yellow - Voice Select - Brings up the Voices Menu (M6) that lets you
choose what this instrument will be. See list below. Until you select a voice
for this track, only this and Cancel will be available on the Track Menu.
Blue middle button - Touch this to perform this instrument like in the game.
No grade is given, but you can use this to get a feel for the part, or to
improvise on what you already have.
Bottom Row -
Red - Delete - This will completely clear the track and delete all its music.
After you touch this, it will ask if you really want to clear. Select YES and
it's all gone, NO and it'll be left intact.
Yellow - Copy - Copies the current track (voice and music). After touching
this, the Track Menu goes away, and the copied track will be pasted onto the
next track you touch. If that track already has data, it will ask if you
really want to paste it there. Select YES and the copied track will replace the
one you just touched, select NO and the copy action will be cancelled.
Purple - Back - Brings you back to the Main Score Menu.
(#M5)Save Menu -
This is just like My Data List(M2). The white bottom right button is Back.
You touch the slot (1 through 8 ) where you want to save your score. If there
is no data there, a caution will appear for a few seconds while it saves.
Presumably, it's telling you not to turn off the system or remove the game. If
the spot does have data, it will ask if you want to overwrite this slot, and
the music that is saved there will play. (Make sure that you don't save over
something you want to keep!) Select YES and it will overwrite that data,
select NO and it won't. The caution will pop up again while it saves, and then
it will send you back to the Main Score Menu(M3).
(#M6)The Voices Menu:
Categories of instruments are on the left side of the touch screen, and
individual voices are on the right. These are all in order according to the
menu.
Keyboard instruments:
-Piano
-Electric Piano
-Rock Organ
-Synthesizer
-Xylophone+Strings
-Church Organ
-Choir
-Famicom/NES
Guitars:
-Acoustic
-Electric
-Distortion
-Power Chord
-Bass
-Synth Bass
-Folk
Orchestra:
-Oboe (maybe?)
-Contrabass
-Harp
-Strings
-Acoustic Bass
-Pizzicato Strings
-Koto
Brass:
-Trumpet
-Trombone
-French Horn
-Tuba
-Brass Section
Winds:
-Flute
-Piccolo
-Shakuhachi
-Panpipes
-Ocarina
Reeds:
-Soprano Saxophone
-Alto Saxophone
-Clarinet
-Oboe
-Harmonica
Percussion:
-Glockenspiel
-Xylophone
-Timpani
-Steel Drum
Drum Sets:
-Rock Drums
-Electronic Drums
-Synth Drums
-Orchestra Drums
-Misc. Percussion 1
-Misc. Percussion 2
-Japanese Percussion
Limitations on selecting instruments:
Track #1 cannot be a drum track. Not sure why, but I think it has to do with
the two editors being different. Just use any other track.
If you are switching from a drum-type instrument to a non-drum instrument,
or vice versa, you will be asked a question. The question is, "If you want
to make this switch, all data must be erased. Still want to proceed?"
Select YES, and the switch will be made, and the new track will be empty,
select NO and it will be the same as before.
(#M7)Accompaniment Menu:
The left yellow button brings up the Accompaniment Editor, explained below.
The right yellow button brings up another sort of accompaniment editor, but I'm
not sure what it does yet. I'll have more on it later.
-----
3. The Accompaniment Editor:
This is a lot like the Note Editor, but it only works with chords.
Accompaniment is sort of like an automatic "band" that you can program to play
behind your music. Each chord lasts half a measure (2 beats) and you can set
the key and chord for those 2 beats.
Top Row-
-Red - Delete - Deletes the chord that is at the current cursor position. No
questions asked.
-Yellow, left arrow - Undo - This undoes the last action. It seems to have
many levels of Undo, so you can go back quite a bit.
-Yellow, right arrow - Redo - This redoes the last action that was Undone.
Works just like Undo.
-Green Box - Contains the name of the last chord you entered. Does nothing
when touched.
Notes (C, C#, Db, D, D#, etc) - Touch the note name of the key that you want
the accompaniment in. When you do so, the chord selector will come up, and
touch the chord (Major, minor, add9, 7th, etc) to hear a sample of it. The
yellow button on the bottom row comfirms the chord, and places it in the score
where the cursor is. The purple button on the bottom row cancels the action,
and makes no changes to the score.
Left and Right arrows near the bottom right - Moves forward or back two beats
in the score. You can also do this with D-pad left and right.
Bottom Row-
-Blue - Accomp. Style - This lets you select what style of accompaniment to
use. There are 6, and each has a different musical flavor. (I'll work on
translating their names) Select one and touch the yellow button to confirm
your choice and go back to the Accompaniment Editor.
-Purple - Copy/Paste Menu - Brings up the Copy/Paste Menu(M8 ), which is the
same as in the Note Editor and Drum Editor.
-Yellow - Back - Exits the Accompaniment Editor. When you exit this menu with
the yellow bottom right Back button, it will ask you a question. It's asking
"Do you want to save your accompaniment, in which case you will be saving over
tracks 4 through 8?" You're going to need to have tracks 4 through 8 clear to
use accompaniment, and if you have anything in those tracks currently, it's
going to be gone. Select YES to overwrite tracks 4-8 and save your
accompaniment, or NO to leave the tracks untouched. After accompaniment is
saved, it can be edited just like any other music that has been entered.
(#M8 )Copy/Paste Menu:
This is the same whether you're in Accompaniment, Note, or Drum Editor. I'll
leave it listed three times so that it can always be found; it's a really
useful and complicated menu.
Top Row-
Green - Insert - Inserts a blank measure where the cursor is. Everything after
the cursor is shoved down one to make room for the new measure.
Red - Delete - Removes the current measure. Deletes it, and then everything
after the deleted measure is moved back one measure. These two buttons are
really useful, but you must remember that they will move around all the
measures after the one that you're in. Also, they will not insert or delete
exactly where the cursor is (if its in the middle of a measure), but they WILL
insert or delete at the measure that the cursor is in.
2nd Row from Top-
Yellow - Copy - Touch this to begin the copying procedure. After you touch it,
the left button on the row below it will turn green. Put the cursor at the
beginning (or end) of what you want to copy, then touch the green button. It
will turn pink. Move the cursor, and it will select everything between where
the copying started and where the cursor is now. When you have all that you
want to copy selected, touch the pink button on the row below Copy. Your notes
are now copied.
Yellow - Cut - This one works exactly like Copy, but removes all the notes you
have selected.
3rd Row from Top-
Grey (usually) - Begin and End Copy/Cut - This button's use is to signify the
beginning and end of notes to be copied or cut. See Copy and Cut above for how
to use it.
Left and Right Arrows - Moves the cursor around in the score. You can also use
the D-pad left and right for this.
Bottom Row-
Yellow - Paste - This pastes previously Copied or Cut notes at the current
cursor position. It will overwrite anything in its way. Copied or Cut notes
are stored as long as you're in Pro Edit, they don't go away after you paste.
Purple - Back - Exits the Copy/Paste Menu.
-----
4. The Note Editor:
Welcome to the note editor! This is where most of the action is. If the track
hasn't had any notes entered into it, you'll get the Clef Menu (N1), otherwise,
you're at the Main Note Editor Screen(N2).
(#N1)Clef Menu:
This is where you select either Treble or Bass clef by touching either button.
You can set the key signature with the UP and DOWN buttons. Use UP to add
sharps or remove flats, and use DOWN to add flats or remove sharps. This is,
of course, not set in stone, and clef and key signature can be set differently
for each measure. Touch the bottom right button when you're satisfied with
your selection, and you'll be brought to the Main Note Editor Screen(N2).
(#N2)Main Note Editor Screen:
A short guide to entering notes:
You can begin by either picking the note's pitch or its length. The editor is
versatile, so you can edit these anytime by scrolling back to an entered note
and changing it. After you enter either of these, the note appears in your
score on the top screen. Pressing right on the D-pad will move the cursor to
the spot just after the note ends, so that you're ready to enter the next
note. Also, on the top screen, notes are represented proportionally in time.
Each little tic under the staff is a sixteenth note, and each red mark is a
quarter note. You can use this to gauge where to put a note when scrolling
around the score (using either D-pad left or right, or the left/right buttons
on the touch screen). Notes are placed in the score, rather than inserted, so
it is possible to overwrite notes in the middle of a score by entering one of
longer (or shorter) length than the one you're looking at. But, the editor has
an incredibly handy Undo/Redo feature, so don't worry too much.
If you enter a rest, the cursor will be moved to accomodate the rest. So, if
you want to enter a quarter rest, and then a quarter note, you'd touch the
quarter rest button, then enter your quarter note. Notice that you didn't have
to advance the cursor manually after the rest.
Controls on this screen:
The editor makes excellent use of the DS's buttons, not just the touch screen.
Here's a rundown on what they do:
R/L - Moves forward or back exactly one measure in the score.
D-pad right/left - Move forward or back one tic (one sixteenth note) in the
score. Note that if you have just entered a note, D-pad right will move the
cursor to after the note you've just entered.
D-pad up/down - Raises or lowers the current note exactly one half-step.
You'll get a warning and be stopped if you move too high or too low out of the
instrument's range.
A - Enters a note at the cursor position based on the pitch and length that are
selected.
B - Deletes the note at the cursor's position, replacing it with a rest of
equal length.
Select - Switches tracks. This is extremely useful. It will scroll through
your tracks in order, staying at the current position in the score. You can
think of it as moving vertically through your score.
The Touch Screen Bottons:
Top Row-
Red - Delete - Deletes the note at the current cursor position, no questions
asked. The note will be replaced with a rest of equal time.
Yellow, left arrow - Undo - This undoes the last action. It seems to have many
levels of Undo, so you can go back quite a bit.
Yellow, right arrow - Redo - This redoes the last action that was Undone.
Works just like Undo.
Top Group of 8 Buttons - This is where you select the time value for the note
that you're currently entering (sixteenth, eighth, dotted eighth, quarter,
etc). You can select your note's duration at any time. If you choose a note
duration that's longer that the one currently selected, and you have notes
after it, they will be overwritten by your new note.
Bottom Group of 8 Buttons - This is where you insert rests. If you have the
cursor on an already-entered note, you will only have the option to turn that
note's length into a rest, otherwise a rest of the length selected will be
entered into the score, and the cursor will be moved to the end of it.
Top Middle Yellow - Triplet - This turns the beat at the cursor's position into
a triplet. As far as I know, you can only make 1-beat triplets (3 eighths in
the space of one beat). It's a limited triplet tool, but it can be used to
create syncopated rhythm, or to "emulate" 3/4 time.
Bottom Middle Yellow - Tie - This is used to join two notes of the same pitch
into a single note. Since the editor doesn't let you enter double dotted notes
or other odd lengths, you can use this button to tie any two consecutive notes
of the same pitch into one note. (Note that this is not a slur, it's strictly
a tie) The editor accounts for odd note lengths automatically, so don't be
surprised if it turns your long note into several tied notes.
The right part of the touch screen has a staff, and a sharp and flat sign.
This is where you will select your note's pitch. All you have to do is touch
or drag the note to the pitch you want. It's handy! If you need to raise or
lower the note a half step, use the sharp and flat buttons. If you go too high
or low outside of the instrument's range, you will get an "error" noise and a
warning.
The left and right arrows are used to scroll back and forward through the score
on sixteenth note's length at a time. You can also use D-pad left and right
for this, which is a little easier.
Bottom Row-
Blue - Play - Plays your score, starting at the cursor's position. While the
score is playing, you'll be on a screen where you can set the volume for each
track, and rewind, fast forward, and pause the music. Touch the purple button
in the bottom right to stop the playback and return to the Main Note Editor
Screen (N2)
Purple - Copy/Paste - This brings up the excellent Copy/Paste Menu(N3).
Purple - Clef Menu - Brings up the Clef Menu(N1). Works the same as when
editing a track for the first time, except that you are setting the clef and
key signature from the current measure until the song's end. Useful for
changing key signatures in the middle of a score.
Yellow - Exit - Takes you back to the Main Score Menu(M3).
(#N3)Copy/Paste Menu:
This is the same whether you're in Accompaniment, Note, or Drum Editor. I'll
leave it listed three times so that it can always be found; it's a really
useful and complicated menu.
Top Row-
Green - Insert - Inserts a blank measure where the cursor is. Everything after
the cursor is shoved down one to make room for the new measure.
Red - Delete - Removes the current measure. Deletes it, and then everything
after the deleted measure is moved back one measure. These two buttons are
really useful, but you must remember that they will move around all the
measures after the one that you're in. Also, they will not insert or delete
exactly where the cursor is (if its in the middle of a measure), but they WILL
insert or delete at the measure that the cursor is in.
2nd Row from Top-
Yellow - Copy - Touch this to begin the copying procedure. After you touch it,
the left button on the row below it will turn green. Put the cursor at the
beginning (or end) of what you want to copy, then touch the green button. It
will turn pink. Move the cursor, and it will select everything between where
the copying started and where the cursor is now. When you have all that you
want to copy selected, touch the pink button on the row below Copy. Your notes
are now copied.
Yellow - Cut - This one works exactly like Copy, but removes all the notes you
have selected.
3rd Row from Top-
Grey (usually) - Begin and End Copy/Cut - This button's use is to signify the
beginning and end of notes to be copied or cut. See Copy and Cut above for how
to use it.
Left and Right Arrows - Moves the cursor around in the score. You can also use
the D-pad left and right for this.
Bottom Row-
Yellow - Paste - This pastes previously Copied or Cut notes at the current
cursor position. It will overwrite anything in its way. Copied or Cut notes
are stored as long as you're in Pro Edit, they don't go away after you paste.
Purple - Back - Exits the Copy/Paste Menu.
-----
5. The Drum Editor:
The Drum Editor is a very simplified version of the Note Editor. Anything that
does not pertain to drum parts is removed, so there's no entering pitch,
duration, rests, clef or key signature. What you are left with is a flat grid
where the button presses (ABXY, etc) are entered instead of notes. The grid is
divided up into measures of 4/4, just like in the Note Editor, but it is also
divided into an upper and a lower half. This is so that percussion from the
top half (mostly cymbals, hi-hat, toms) can be played simultaneously with
percussion from the bottom half (snare, bass) much like a real drum set.
As far as coming up with your own drum tracks, I'd suggest checking out drum
parts in the game. They're usually the last instrument, and you enter the drum
hits in the same manner that you see them on the screen in the game. There are
good rhythms and fills everywhere in the game's music.
Controls:
Mostly the same as the Note Editor.
R/L - Moves forward or back exactly one measure in the score.
D-pad right/left - Move forward or back one tic (one sixteenth note) in the
score.
D-pad up/down - Used for selecting the upper, lower, or both halves of the
cursor's position. Push up to move the cursor up, down to move it down.
B - Deletes the note at the cursor's position. If the cursor is in the upper
or lower half, only the note in that half will be deleted. If the cursor is on
both halves, the notes on both side wil be deleted.
Select - Switches tracks.
Touch Screen Buttons:
Top Row-
Red - Delete - Deletes the note at the cursor's position, in the same way using
the B button is explained above.
Yellow, left arrow - Undo - This undoes the last action. It seems to have many
levels of Undo, so you can go back quite a bit.
Yellow, right arrow - Redo - This redoes the last action that was Undone.
Works just like Undo.
Yellow - Triplet - Sets the current beat to a triplet. You can set the upper
and lower halves separately (depending on the cursor's position), so you could
make triplets in the upper half and normal time in the lower half. Or vice
versa. It won't set the upper and lower halves as triplets at the same time,
but you can make both of them triplets.
L, R, Up, Left, Down, Right, A, B, X, Y - These are your different drum hits.
Touch these to insert that hit at the cursor's position. It dosen't matter if
your cursor is in the upper or lower half, the hit will go in the right place.
You can only have one hit in the upper half and one in the lower. After
entering a hit, the cursor will move ahead one tic. Names are provided for the
individual drum hits, though hearing them is even more useful than knowing
their names. (I may go through and list a few of the hits' names later.)
Yellow Up, Down, Left and Right arrows, bottom right - These do exactly the
same thing that the D-pad up, down, left and right do. That is, they move the
cursor around in the score.
Bottom Row-
Blue - Play - Plays your score, starting at the cursor's position. While the
score is playing, you'll be on a screen where you can set the volume for each
track, and rewind, fast forward, and pause the music. Touch the purple button
in the bottom right to stop the playback and return to the Drum Editor.
Purple - Copy/Paste - This brings up the ubiquitous Copy/Paste Menu(D1).
Yellow - Exit - Takes you back to the Main Score Menu(M3).
(#D1)Copy/Paste Menu:
There's a slight difference using Copy or Cut in the Drum Editor. Read "Copy"
below to see.
Top Row-
Green - Insert - Inserts a blank measure where the cursor is. Everything after
the cursor is shoved down one to make room for the new measure.
Red - Delete - Removes the current measure. Deletes it, and then everything
after the deleted measure is moved back one measure. These two buttons are
really useful, but you must remember that they will move around all the
measures after the one that you're in. Also, they will not insert or delete
exactly where the cursor is (if its in the middle of a measure), but they WILL
insert or delete at the measure that the cursor is in.
2nd Row from Top-
Yellow - Copy - Touch this to begin the copying procedure. After you touch it,
the left button on the row below it will turn green. Put the cursor at the
beginning (or end) of what you want to copy. (SPECIAL NOTE FOR THE DRUM
EDITOR!! In the Drum Editor, if the cursor is only in the lower or upper half,
only that half will be copied. Both halves can be copied at once.) Now touch
the green button, and it will turn pink. Move the cursor, and it will select
everything between where the copying started and where the cursor is now. When
you have all that you want to copy selected, touch the pink button on the row
below Copy. Your notes are now copied.
Yellow - Cut - This one works exactly like Copy, but removes all the notes you
have selected.
3rd Row from Top-
Grey (usually) - Begin and End Copy/Cut - This button's use is to signify the
beginning and end of notes to be copied or cut. See Copy and Cut above for how
to use it.
Left and Right Arrows - Moves the cursor around in the score. You can also use
the D-pad left and right for this.
Bottom Row-
Yellow - Paste - This pastes previously Copied or Cut notes at the current
cursor position. It will overwrite anything in its way. Copied or Cut notes
are stored as long as you're in Pro Edit, they don't go away after you paste.
Purple - Back - Exits the Copy/Paste Menu.
