Overview

The Beat Maker is a utility which you can use to create beat tracks for your project. It comes with a range of sample drum kits and drum patterns to help get you started.

Getting Started

To get started you will need to download or create a kit. If you do not have any kits installed then MixPad will ask if you want to download a pack. If this is your first time using the Beat Maker then this is highly recommended.

Creating a Pattern

All Beat Maker compositions are built from patterns you add to the project area (the composer). To add a new empty pattern simply double click on an empty bar in the composer.

Adding a Beat to a Pattern

You can then add beats to the pattern by clicking on one of the bar division lines in the pattern. You can delete the beat by right clicking. Press play to hear the results of your first pattern. If you want to add beats quickly then you can hold down the shift key and drag it across the pattern. The higher a beat is placed in the pattern the louder it will be.

Resizing a Pattern

You can resize a pattern by dragging the small handle on the top right hand corner of the pattern.

Changing a Pattern's Divisions

You can set how many divisions per bar a pattern has by clicking on the up and down arrows at the upper left corner of the pattern.

Joining Patterns

Patterns which are on the same track can be joined by clicking the Join button in the toolbar.

Splitting Patterns

Patterns can be split relative to the cursor by clicking the Split button in the toolbar.

Grouping Patterns

Patterns can be grouped and ungrouped using the Group and Ungroup buttons in the toolbar. When patterns are grouped, then clicking on one pattern will also select any other patterns which it has been grouped with.

Linked Patterns

When you copy and paste a pattern, then those patterns become linked. If you add a beat to one of the patterns then a beat will be added to the other pattern too. This is useful for when you have a repeating theme and you want to make an adjustment that should be replicated throughout the entire composition. You can unlink patterns so that they can be individually edited by clicking the Unlink button in the toolbar.

Locked Patterns

You can lock and unlock patterns by clicking on the padlock icon in the top left hand corner of the pattern. When a pattern is locked, you can't add, edit or delete beats from the pattern. You can however, delete or move the pattern. This helps with preventing accidental changes to patterns you are already happy with.

Using the Pattern Library

MixPad has a pattern from which you can take frequently used patterns and add them to your composition. To do so, double click an item in the pattern library and it will be added to your composition. You can add a new pattern to the pattern library by selecting one or more patterns from your composition and then clicking the Add to Library button on the toolbar. MixPad will ask you to give your pattern a name and a category.

Composition Properties

In the top right hand panel, you can adjust the properties of the composition you are working on.

Looping Region

The green bar above the timeline shows the looping region of the composition. You can change this by moving the small handles on either end of the bar or by editing the numbers in the composition properites panel. Looping can be activated and deactivated by clicking the loop button in the playback controls at the bottom of the window.

Changing a Track Sound

Each track is assigned a sound from the active kit. You can change which sound is assigned to the track using the pulldown menu in the track control panel at the left of the track.

Mute and Solo

Tracks can be muted by clicking the M button and soloed by clicking the S button in the track control panel.

Track Volume

You can adjust the track volume by using the slider in the track control panel. This volume will affect the patterns in the corresponding track.

Editing and Creating Kits

MixPad comes with some sample drum kits, but you are able to create your own kits from scratch. To get started click on the Edit Kits button in the toolbar.

Creating a New Kit

To start a new kit click on the New Kit button in the Kit Editor window. Then you will need to assign sounds to the kit. Each row of the table represents one component of the kit. Using the pulldown list on the left, select the type of component you are adding to the kit. Then select the file path to the audio file which contains the sound. In the 3rd column you can enter a display name for the component.

Saving and Loading Compositions

Once you are happy with your composition you should save it so that you can easily come back and make any changes at a later stage.

Exporting Your Composition

When you are finished composing your beat track then you can click the Export button in the toolbar and MixPad will render your composition and insert it into your project where you will be able to use it like any other clip you import into MixPad.

Shortcut Keys Reference