Ignite  Basics  

  Ignite  Basics  Guide  

 

IGNITE  BASICS  
Ignite  Basics  Guide  ................................................................................................  1  
Using  Ignite  for  the  First  Time  .........................................................................  2  
V1.1  
19th  March  2013   Download  and  Install  Ignite  .........................................................................  2  
Connect  Your  M-­‐Audio  Keyboard  ..............................................................  2  
Open  Ignite  ..........................................................................................................  2  
Check  That  You  Have  Sound  ........................................................................  3  
Overview  of  Ignite  ............................................................................................  3  
Tabs  ........................................................................................................................  4  
Save  Your  Session  .............................................................................................  4  
Working  with  Instruments  ................................................................................  4  
Selecting  an  Instrument  .................................................................................  4  
Browse  Instruments  ........................................................................................  5  
Editing  an  Instrument  ....................................................................................  5  
Recording  an  Instrument  ...................................................................................  6  
Recording  .............................................................................................................  6  
Using  the  Arranger  ................................................................................................  6  
Playing  Back  Your  Recording  ......................................................................  6  
To  Play  Back  your  Recorded  Clip  ..........................................................  6  
Creating  and  Playing  Multi  Clips  ................................................................  7  
To  Create  a  Multi  Clip  .................................................................................  7  
To  Play  a  Multi  Clip  .....................................................................................  7  
Additional  Information  and  Resources  ........................................................  7  

  1  
                 Ignite  Basics  

  Open  Ignite  
Open  Ignite  by  double-­‐clicking  on  the  application  icon  on  your  
desktop  (Windows)  or  by  clicking  on  the  icon  in  the  dock  (Mac).  
Using  Ignite  for  the  First  Time    
This  guide  takes  you  through  the  steps  needed  to  help  you  make   Once  Ignite  has  opened,  you  will  see  the  Home  screen.  The  Home  
your  first  recording  with  Ignite  –  from  setting  up  your  session  to   screen  is  where  you  can  open  demo  projects,  check  your  audio  
selecting  and  recording  an  instrument.   device/sound  card  settings,  watch  tutorial  videos  and  check  for  
  updates.  For  now,  let’s  close  the  Home  screen  by  clicking  on  
For  more  detailed  information,  please  refer  to  the  Ignite  User’s   [CLOSE].  
Guide  PDF.  This  can  be  accessed  via  the  Help  menu  in  Ignite.    
Download  and  Install  Ignite   After  the  Home  screen  is  closed,  you  will  see  the  following  on  your  
screen:  
1. Ignite  can  be  download  from  the  web  by  going  to  
 
http://www.airmusictech.com/download-­‐ignite  
2. Follow  the  instructions  on-­‐screen  to  download  the  
software.  
3. Save  the  downloaded  file  to  your  computer’s  desktop.  
4. After  the  Ignite  installer  has  downloaded,  double  click  on  
the  Ignite  installer  icon  located  on  your  computer’s  
desktop.  
5. Follow  the  on-­‐screen  instructions  to  install  Ignite.  
6. When  installation  is  complete,  click  [OK].  

Connect  Your  M-­‐Audio  Keyboard  

1. Connect  your  M-­‐Audio  keyboard  to  your  computer  
according  to  the  instructions  included  with  your  keyboard.  
 

 
 
Your  connected  M-­‐Audio  keyboard  will  be  shown  at  the  top  of  the  
screen.  If  you  do  not  see  your  M-­‐Audio  keyboard  on  the  screen,  
  check  the  connections  and  make  sure  the  keyboard  is  powered  on  
(Axiom  series  only).    
  2  
                 Ignite  Basics  
 
Check  That  You  Have  Sound   Overview  of  Ignite    
A  new  session  is  created  when  you  launch  Ignite.  A  piano   The  following  is  a  brief  overview  of  the  main  areas  in  Ignite.  
instrument  is  automatically  loaded  when  you  create  a  new  session.     Further  details  can  be  found  in  the  Ignite  User’s  Guide  PDF.  
   
To  check  that  you  have  sound,  simply  press  any  key  on  your  
connected  M-­‐Audio  keyboard.  
 
If  you  have  no  sound:  
• Check  the  output  meter  in  Ignite  is  lighting  up  when  playing  
your  keyboard.  
• Check  the  USB  connection  from  your  keyboard  to  your  
computer.  
• Check  your  speaker  or  headphone  connections  and  volume.  
• Verify  the  audio  output  settings  of  your  computer’s  
operating  system.  
• If  you  are  using  an  external  audio  device  or  sound  card  
please  refer  to  the  manufacturer’s  manual  for  instructions  
on  verifying  your  sound  options.  
 

 
 
1. Tabs  
2. Control  Bar  
3. Instruments  Bar  
4. Arranger  
 

  3  
                 Ignite  Basics  

 
Tabs   Working  with  Instruments  
Along  the  top  of  the  main  view,  you  will  see  tabs  with  icons.  From  
left  to  right,  they  are:   Selecting  an  Instrument  
  Click  on  the  Choose  tab.  You  will  see  icons  for  different  instrument  
families.  
Click  this  tab  to  check  your  audio  settings,    
Home  
  watch  tutorial  videos  or  open  demo  projects.  

Choose   Click  this  tab  to  add  or  change  instruments.  

 
Click  this  tab  to  edit  instrument  sounds  and  to  
Shape  
  add  audio  effects.  

Play   Click  this  tab  to  use  the  Smart  MIDI  Players.  
 

Edit   Click  this  tab  to  edit  your  recorded  clips.  

 
Click  this  tab  to  share  and  export  your  Ignite  
Share  
  session.  
 

Save  Your  Session  

At  this  point,  let’s  save  the  session:    
 
 
1. Go  to  File  >  Save  As…  
   
2. Name  your  file.  
3. Click  Save.  
 

  4  
                 Ignite  Basics  
  6. Play  a  few  notes  on  your  connected  keyboard  to  hear  the  
patch.  
Browse  Instruments   7. You  will  also  see  the  instrument  added  to  the  Instrument  
To  browse  the  instrument  families,  click  on  either  of  the  arrows   Bar.  
next  to  the  instrument  family  name.    
 
Editing  an  Instrument  
You  can  edit  the  sound  of  an  instrument  if  you  want  to  customize  
the  sound  or  make  minor  adjustments.  
 
  Let’s  use  the  Synth  sound  we  just  added  for  this  next  example.  
 
 
To  choose  a  sound  
To  change  the  sound  of  an  instrument:  
1. Click  the  browse  arrows  until  the  desired  instrument  family  
 
is  in  the  center  of  the  window.  For  this  example,  let’s  use  
1. Click  on  the  Shape  Tab.  
“Synths”.  
2. You  will  see  your  M-­‐Audio  keyboard  on-­‐screen.  All  of  the  
2. Click  on  the  “Synths”  icon  to  select  the  instrument  family.  
controls  for  the  Synth  patch  are  automatically  mapped  to  
3. You  will  now  see  the  instrument  categories  at  the  top  of  the  
the  knobs  on  your  M-­‐Audio  keyboard.  
window  and  the  instrument  patches.  Click  on  the  browse  
3. To  adjust  the  sound  of  the  Synth  patch,  simply  turn  the  
arrows  until  the  desired  instrument  category  is  in  the  
knobs  to  adjust  the  settings.  
center  of  the  window.  For  this  example,  let’s  use  “Leads”.  
 
4. The  patches  for  the  selected  category  are  shown  below  the  
category  bar.  For  this  example,  click  on  “Dirty  Lead”.  
5. You  are  presented  with  two  icons,  for  now  we  will  only  
focus  on  the  one  to  the  left  –  Create  New  Instrument.  Click  
the  Create  New  Instrument  icon  to  load  the  patch:  
 

 
 
NOTE:  If  you  are  using  an  M-­‐Audio  keyboard  that  does  not  have  
  knobs  or  pads,  you  can  adjust  the  instrument  settings  by  using  
 
your  mouse  to  move  the  knobs  shown  on  screen.  

  5  
                 Ignite  Basics  

 
Recording  an  Instrument   Using  the  Arranger  
Before  you  begin  recording,  check  that  the  Tempo,  Swing,  Time   For  this  example,  record  two  or  three  clips  using  the  piano  and/or  
Signature  and  Key  Signature  settings  are  to  your  liking.  These   the  bass  instrument.  
settings  are  located  in  the  Control  Bar:    
  The  Arranger  is  a  blank  canvas  for  you  to  arrange  your  musical  
ideas  in  a  variety  of  ways.  We  will  review  a  few  methods  in  this  
guide  -­‐  full  details  are  available  in  the  Ignite  User’s  Guide  PDF.  
 
  Playing  Back  Your  Recording  
Additional  details  about  these  settings  can  be  found  in  the  Ignite   After  you  record  a  clip,  it  is  automatically  cued  to  play  back;  this  is  
User’s  Guide  PDF.   indicated  by  a  flashing  yellow  play  button  on  a  clip,  Multi  clip  or  
  Song  clip.  
To  adjust  the  Tempo  and/or  Swing,  double  click  on  the  numbers,    
type  in  a  new  value  and  press  [RETURN].  
 
To  adjust  the  Time  Signature  and/or  Key  Signature,  click  and  hold  
the  mouse  until  a  menu  appears  and  make  your  selection.  
 
Recording  
To  Play  Back  your  Recorded  Clip  
When  you’re  ready  to  record:  
1. Press  the  Play  Cued  clips  button  to  the  right  of  the  Record  
1. Check  you  have  selected  the  instrument  you  want  to  record  
button  in  the  Control  Bar,  or  press  [SPACEBAR]  on  your  
by  clicking  on  the  desired  instrument  icon  in  the  
computer’s  keyboard.  
Instrument  Bar.  
2. To  stop  playback,  click  the  Play  Cued  clips  button  again  or  
2. Click  the  Record  button  in  the  center  of  the  Control  Bar:  
press  [SPACEBAR]  again.  
a. You  will  hear  the  metronome  and  see  a  count-­‐in  
3. [SHIFT]+click  on  a  clip’s  play  button  to  stop  it  from  playing  
begin  to  cycle  on  screen.    The  count-­‐in  will  continue  
back  automatically  when  recording  or  when  clicking  the  
to  cycle  until  you  begin  playing.  
Play  Cued  clips  button.  
b. If  you  have  already  recorded  a  clip,  you  will  hear  a  
 
one-­‐bar  count-­‐in  before  recording  starts  and  the  
existing  clip  starts  playing.  
3. To  stop  recording,  click  the  Record  button  again.    
4. The  recorded  clip  will  appear  in  the  Arranger.  
 
   

  6  
                 Ignite  Basics  
 
Creating  and  Playing  Multi  Clips   Additional  Information  and  Resources  
Clips  in  the  Arranger  can  be  grouped  together  to  create  a  Multi    
clip.  This  is  useful,  for  example,  if  you  have  a  Chorus  or  Verse  with   For  a  more  in-­‐depth  guide  to  using  Ignite,  see  the  Ignite  User’s  
many  parts  and  instruments.  Grouping  them  together  as  a  Multi   Guide  PDF.  
Clip  allows  you  to  play  back  all  of  the  clips  together  in  a  sequence.    
Additional  and  technical  support  information  can  be  found  on  our  
To  Create  a  Multi  Clip   website:    
1. With  two  or  more  individual  clips  in  the  Arranger,  move    
one  of  the  clips  to  another  so  that  the  edges  are  touching:   http://airmusictech.com/  
   
 

 
 
2. A  box  forms  around  the  clips  and  is  displayed  on  screen.  
3. The  Multi  clip  is  created.  
 

To  Play  a  Multi  Clip  

1. Click  on  the  Play  button  in  the  top  left  corner  of  the  Multi  
clip.  
2. The  play  button  will  light  up  green  and  all  of  the  clips  in  the  
Multi  clip  will  play  back  in  sequence  as  they  are  laid  out  
from  left  to  right.  
3. Click  the  Play  button  again  to  stop  playback.  
 

  7