Welcome to Making Waves – the world’s most creative music software!

This tutorial will give you a very basic introduction to the capabilities of this exciting music software. Follow the easy steps below to understand how Making Waves allows you to create your own music. It is so simple - anyone can do it!

We recommend you print this tutorial before you start. Make sure you read all the text in a section and examine the images carefully. All the info you need is here so don’t risk missing anything or you will lose your way!

If you are unable to print, you will have to jump between Making Waves and this tutorial as you work through it. You can do this either by clicking on the buttons on the Windows 'Task Bar' at the bottom of the screen or by holding the 'alt' key and pressing 'Tab' twice.

Step 1
Let’s listen to the example song from start to finish, before you make some changes for yourself.

When you first run Making Waves, the example song will load automatically and should look like this:

If you have no song loaded, your screen will be far less colourful!

In which case, you’ll need to load the example song by clicking ‘open’ from the ‘File’ menu in the top left corner.

You’ll find the example song in the ‘examples’ folder, which is inside your Making Waves folder.

Once your screen looks like the one above click the play button at the top of the screen or press the space bar on your keyboard.

Tip: If you make a mistake, use the ‘undo’ command in the edit menu at the top of the screen.





If you don’t hear any sound check your speakers are properly connected and switched on. You may need to select a different sound device from the ‘audio’ section of the ‘Settings’ menu. Refer to the Help menu if you are still experiencing difficulties.

Once the song has finished, click the back button to return to the start of your song.

Tip: Hover briefly over a button or control for a description of what it does.

Step 2
Now you’ve heard the song, let’s add a hi-hat track. First, open the ‘track files’ browser by clicking the yellow icon at the bottom of the screen:

Left click on the ‘track type’ until it changes to Percussion.

Now select Examples from the ‘favourites’ drop down list.

Left click and hold on the ‘hi hat’ sample then drag it onto track 3 on the upper left of the screen. Let go of the mouse button when you are hovering over the track number.




Now enter this pattern into your hi-hat track, using the left mouse button.
 

To add the pattern to your song, click on the relevant bars in the song grid. Start by adding the pattern to bars 9, 11, 13 and 14 like the picture below.

Once you’ve done this, add the hi-hat to bars 16 to 29; 34 & 35. You’ll need to scroll along to the right to see all of these bars. Play your song back to see how it sounds with your hi hat. Notice the hi-hat coming in when the ‘song position marker’ passes one of the bars you added.

When you make your own songs from scratch, you can experiment with different patterns to give you total control over how the music sounds.
 

Step 3
No doubt your hi-hat sound is a little over powering. The ‘track mixer’ gives you control over the volume level of all the individual sounds in your song. Let’s turn the hi-hat down a little:

Open the track mixer by clicking the icon in the bottom left corner of the screen or press the F3 key on your keyboard.

When you’re happy with your levels, close the mixer by clicking the red cross in the top right corner.

Step 4
You’ve seen how a percussion sequence works. Note sequences also allow you to create rhythms but with the addition of control over pitch. We will now add a single note to the ‘synth’ track.

Open the ‘Note Sequencer’ for the synth track by clicking here.


Inside the note sequencer add the note F on beat 1 like the picture below.




This window allows you to create any melody you like. The choice of notes is down to you. Feel free to experiment with adding other notes – just use your ears!

When you’ve finished with the note window, close it by clicking the red cross in the top right corner.

Tip: Make changes to your song whilst it is playing to hear instantly how your alterations sound.

Step 5
The hi-hat sound you added in Step 1 was an audio sample. This is a short sound recording.
Track 11 (Bass) uses a ‘virtual instrument’ to create a sound ‘on the fly’. Virtual instruments can be adjusted to create a wealth of different sounds. Let’s alter your bass sound now:


Start by adjusting the ‘filter cutoff’ to hear an instant change to the tone. You need only move it a tiny amount at first. Understanding every control on this synthesiser is not necessary to make music: just have fun and use your ears – you’ll soon learn! When you’re happy, close the Alphawaves using the red cross in the top right corner.



Tip: To restore normal playback just hit ‘stop’, then click above the song grid in an area outside your loop.

Step 6
Effects tracks allow you to alter individual sounds; sections of sounds or your entire song. For example, track 14 contains a ‘reverb’ effect which gives the sounds below it (tracks 15 to 18) a natural ambience. We will now add a very simple volume level effect to our entire song to create a fade-in.

Open the browser using the same method as in Step 1 but this time choose ‘Audio Effects’ from the favourites drop down list.


To add a master effect (an effect that applies to every track in the song) we must drag and drop it onto the ‘output meters’.



Track 1 should now contain the ‘Volume’ effect like the picture above.

We now need to add our volume effect to the song grid. Left click in bar 1 of track 1 so the level window appears. Click on the fader and drag it left so the value is zero.

Now add a level of 127 to bar 4.
To do this, click in bar 4 then drag the slider all the way to
the right.

If you listen to the start of the song now the level will jump from silence to maximum at bar 4.

The ‘autofader’ creates a smooth change between effects levels.
Switch it on and you’ll hear a gradual fade in at the start of your song.









Tip: Create a mirror image of this fade at the end of your song for a fade-out.

Congratulations! You have completed the tutorial. Now sit back and listen from start to finish.

Where to next?
Now you have hands-on experience of some of the features of Making Waves, you should try creating your own music from scratch. You know how to add tracks from the browser; add parts and effects levels to the song grid and adjust the mixer levels. Just choose ‘New’ from the File menu for a fresh start.

Here are some other ideas to try:

• Rearrange this example song by clicking in the song grid. Be creative and experiment – you can’t do any harm!

• Explore the preset sounds in the ‘VST instruments’ folder. You can also edit the Alphawaves to make your own presets.

• Explore the free audio samples in the ‘Samples’ folder.

• Experiment with different track types as described in Step 2. Try using ‘timestretch’ with audio sample loops

• Record real sounds (such as singing) using a microphone plugged into your computer’s sound card. Open the ‘Audio Recording’ window from the bottom of the screen.

• Use a MIDI keyboard to play your parts in rather than using the mouse. Most MIDI keyboards just plug into the USB port.

• Import some MP3 files and make your own ‘remix’.

• Export MP3s of your songs to impress your friends with your musical abilities! Choose ‘Export song…’ from the File menu. You can even burn them onto a CD!

• Visit our forum at http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=38 to talk with other Making Waves users.

Don’t forget to use the ‘Help’ menu for in-depth guidance on every feature included with this exciting music creation software.

Happy music making!
The Making Waves Team

© 2006 Making Waves Audio Ltd.
This guide may be reproduced in whole for non-commercial use. It may not be edited without permission. info@makingwavesaudio.com