Before keyboards had internal program memories, the performer's ability to change sounds in live performance was determined by programming skills. My colleagues and I spent many hours practicing so that we could change sounds quickly by tweaking the sliders and knobs on instruments such as the Minimoog and the ARP Odyssey. The arrival of instruments with internal memory (such as the Sequential Prophet 5 and the Oberheim OBX) was considered a miracle. With the capacity to store 40 sounds (often called “programs”), we knew we were living large with these instruments.

Today's inexpensive keyboards can store several dozen sound programs, and more expensive keyboards offer several hundred programs, generally in banks of 100 or 128. Most sequencing and notation software makes it easy to access these sounds. In live performance, however, attempting to access several sounds spread over different banks can be a challenge. For example, switching from program A11 to program B127 requires pressing at least four buttons on most keyboards. This can be difficult for younger students, especially if the music allows only a few beats for the sound change.

This problem can be solved on almost every electronic keyboard commonly used in labs today. Here is a step-by-step procedure to group a selection of programs in an incremental order for a specific song. The only programming skill needed is the ability to copy programs to different memory locations. (Consult your synthesizer owner's manual to learn how to copy or “write” programs. Also, be sure that you have the ability to restore the programs that you will erase.) Admittedly, this is a rather quick and dirty solution to the problem, but it works for almost all instruments. At the end of this article, I'll touch on more elegant solutions found in some instruments.

1. Select the programs you want to use for the song. Write the program numbers on paper in the desired order. Here is a list of Korg Triton sounds I'll use as an example for my song, “MET Theme”:

   B63 Magical Bells

   D51 Syn Pipes

   A115 Watcher of the Sky

   D51 Syn Pipes

   C12 Sine Switcher

2. Select the program numbers that will be used to create the group. For this example, we will need five adjacent program locations. Try to find program locations that you don't use very often and that aren't used in other parts of the same performance. For this example, I will choose programs A50 through A54. Write these new program locations on paper next to the original program list (see the sidebar “Planned New Program Order for ‘MET Theme’”).

3. Select the first program and copy it to the new location. First, select program B63. Access the screen that allows you to save (or write) the program to memory, and save it to program A50. When you do this, you will erase the original sound stored in A50 and replace it with “Magical Bells.” (Bear in mind that you now have two copies of “Magical Bells”: the original version in B63, and the copied version in A50.)

4. Repeat step 3 and copy the remaining programs in the list. Using the same method, copy programs D51 to A51, A115 to A52, D51 to A53, and C12 to A54. It's easy to get confused, especially if you are copying several programs. Remember to first select the sound to be copied and then copy it to the desired location. Place a check mark on the paper after each operation so that you know where you are. The sidebar “Completed Program Order for ‘MET Theme’” shows the completed program group as it will appear on the Triton.

5. Save the bank of programs. If possible, back up your new program group either to your synthesizer's internal hard drive or RAM card, to an external sequencer, or to another MIDI device or software that can store MIDI System Exclusive messages.

You can now step through the proper sequence of programs for the song by using the program advance button on the keyboard (usually the Up/Yes button). On most keyboards you can also assign a footswitch to advance programs incrementally. By placing a simple cue mark in a score, an elementary student can step through several sound changes in a song quickly and easily.

You'll find variations on this theme in different instruments. For instance, the Roland Fantom's Favorites List feature allows you to organize up to eight banks of eight sounds each, allowing you to do essentially the same thing I've described but without erasing any programs in the regular sound banks. The Yamaha Motif's Favorites feature is similar.

Some electronic keyboard instruments (such as the Yamaha S90 and many older MIDI keyboard controllers) allow you to chain programs in any order by storing user-defined lists of MIDI Program Changes. This allows you to use a button or footswitch to step directly from, say, program B63 to D51 to A115, without copying the programs to new locations. Since you don't have to make duplicate copies of your programs, you don't have to erase sounds. If your instrument has this feature, you will find it easier and more effective than the method I have outlined in this article, but not all instruments have it.

Don Muro is a composer, performer, author, and lecturer in the field of electronic music. His Web site is www.donmuro.com.

SOUNDS	NEW LOCATION
B63 Magical Bells	A50
D51 Syn Pipes	A51
A115 Watcher of the Sky	A52
D51 Syn Pipes	A53
C12 Sine Switcher	A54

SOUNDS	NEW LOCATION
B63 Magical Bells	A50 Magical Bells
D51 Syn Pipes	A51 Syn Pipes
A115 Watcher of the Sky	A52 Watcher of the Sky
D51 Syn Pipes	A53 Syn Pipes
C12 Sine Switcher	A54 Sine Switcher