Imagine not having to listen to a click track ever again. Imagine, no matter how the tempo varies, being able to anticipate the next beat before it happens. Imagine overdubbing prerecorded tracks as easily as following a bouncing ball. Imagine leaving your headphones at home the next time you perform live with a sequence…

 

IMAGINE A REVOLUTION
IN HOW MUSIC IS
PERFORMED AND
RECORDED
!

 

Thousands of performers from all across today’s musical scene — rock bands, film score composers, classical musicians, teachers, church organists, recording engineers, night club singers, home MIDI enthusiasts, musical theater conductors — have already discovered the visual way of keeping a musical performance together. Without headphones. Without annoying clicks and metronomes. Without hearing loss. Without missing a beat.

 

 

New owners ask –

“How did I ever get along without it?”

 

 

Satisfied users include:

Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Steve Winwood - Mariah Carey - Wendy Carlos - Ringling Brothers Circus - Leon Russell - Suzanne Ciani - U.S. Air Force - Tabernacle Church - The Julliard School of Music – Tin Roof Studio – Herbie Hancock    

 

The Visual Conductor ® is a unique MIDI device which displays the beat visually, eliminating reliance on audible cues (click tracks, etc). Imagine a live conductor with a light on the end of his baton.

The Visual Conductor hardware (a small box similar in size to a deck of cards) connects into your midi chain. A second cable connects to a USB port on any Windows computer (Mac version coming soon). If you prefer to use a larger (or smaller) display, we also have an optional adapter that will connect the visual conductor directly to any display that uses a VGA or HDMI interface. Even a huge projector, if you're so inclined.

The conductor display is superimposed on the windows display, occupying virtually no space of its own. You can have your sequencer, DAW or lyrics in full view, with the Visual Conductor's guiding light keeping the time. You can adjust the size of the conductor pattern, the size of the conductor lights and the color of the lights.

All this creates the illusion of one light moving in human-like gestures. Users can program the unit to “conduct” using standard baton patterns or “bounce” on the beat. Since time is visually traced between the beats, changing speeds are anticipated, making any track easier to follow. Virtually all time signatures are supported, and the hardware can be defaulted to a 4/4 baton pattern or a simple “bouncing ball”. The surface or wall mountable device slaves to any sequencer or drum machine, following MIDI clocks. Conducting patterns are programmed by inserting program or controller changes into the sequence. MIDI IN and MIDI THRU ports are provided. The Visual Conductor ® can be set to receive on any MIDI channel.

 

 

VisualConductor@bartal.com

 

 

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions about the Visual Conductor ®


I’m not used to following live conductors. Will I be able to follow the Visual Conductor?

Yes. Most people follow the Visual Conductor intuitively. No Special Training is required.

 

How is the Visual Conductor controlled?
Via MIDI. For tempo changes, the unit reads MIDI “clocks”. MIDI sequencers and drum machines send out clocks at the rate of 24 per quarter note. Therefore, the Visual Conductor will sync with any prerecorded sequence.

 

How long will it take me to learn to use the Visual Conductor?
If you can operate a MIDI squencer or computer sequencing program, you already know almost all there is to know about programming the VC. The device accepts program (“patch”) changes just like a MIDI synthesizer.

 

Can I program different light patterns for different time signatures within one piece of music?
Absolutely. If you want to conduct in 4/4, for example, insert a program change of “44” in your sequence. If the time signature changes to 3/4 later on, insert a program change of “34”.

 

Does the unit need its own MIDI channel?

Ideally, yes – but it can also be set to share a channel with another device, if need be.

 

Will it conduct compound, ‘in one’, and ‘cut time’ meters? How about odd meters such as 10/8, 7/2 an 11/16?

All of the above.

 

Can I sync the Visual Conductor to tape?

Not directly – but it can be synced to a sequencer that is synced to tape using SMPTE, Song Position Pointer, etc.

 

Can I follow the Visual Conductor even though my eyes are on the printed music?

Yes, so long as the unit is within your field of view. Your peripheral vision picks up the moving light.

 

I’ve always used click tracks and I don’t really mind them. Why should I use a Visual Conductor?

Several reasons:

1 - Click tracks can get very loud in headphones. Repeated use can permanently damage your hearing; 

2 - Click tracks add an extraneous sound element to the music. The VC is a musical, not mechanical experience; 

3 – Click tracks only indicate that a beat has happened. And if the tempo varies, there is no way you can anticipate the beat. The Visual Conductor traces time in between the beats, never letting you go. Therefore, you can follow every ritard or accelerando, confidently staying with the music.

 

 

Here is a very simple demonstration of the Visual Conductor. Please excuse the video quality, we'll get that sorted out as soon as possible. This demo shows the VC conducting in 1/4, 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4. It's a rather trivial tune, but it does get the point across.



For more information, contact:

Bartal Design Group, Inc. 318 Marlboro Road, Englewood, NJ 07631-1416 

Tel: 201-567-1343  Fax: 201-568-2891

VisualConductor@bartal.com


© 2000-2007 Bartal Design Group, Inc. All rights reserved

TimeStream Technologies and Visual Conductor are registered trademarks of Bartal Design Group, Inc.

 

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