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EM-55_UK Page 1 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM
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EM-55
Interactive Keyboard
Owner’s Manual
Thank you for choosing a Roland EM-55 Interactive Keyboard, the perfect arranger instrument for countless
hours of pure, unadulterated fun. Thanks to its novel integration of DJ-like functions, the EM-55 will take
your musical endeavours to a completely new level.
To get the most out of the EM-55 and to ensure many years of trouble-free service, we urge you to read
t
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EM-55_UK Page 2 Thursday, January 10, 2002 8:08 PM Features Features Session Partner function 64 Music Styles The EM-55’s new Session Partner concept encom- The EM-55 contains 64 Music Styles that will supply passes three functions: you can switch on/mute the a perfect accompaniment for your solo playing. Each Arranger’s accompaniment parts; you can select from Music Style includes several “Divisions” that allow among 8 phrase patterns to be played either in isola- you to vary the accompa
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ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH EM-55_UK Page 3 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM EM-55 Owner’s Manual 1. Important notes In addition to the items listed under “Important Safety Instructions”, please read and observe the following: Power supply Handling floppy disks • Do not use this instrument on the same power circuit with any • Floppy disks contain a plastic disk with a thin magnetic coating. device that will generate line noise (such as an electric motor or Microscopic precision is requir
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EM-55_UK Page 4 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM Contents Contents 1. Important notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 11. Performance functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Keyboard Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 2. Panel descriptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Pitch Bend and Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Rear panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH V W X Y Z I a C J K L M N O b d E G c P Q R S T e D F H U A B f g EM-55_UK Page 5 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM EM-55 Owner’s Manual 2. Panel descriptions A POWER ON button Press this button to switch the EM-55 on and off. B BENDER/MODULATION lever By performing left/right movements, you can bend your solo notes down (left) or up (right). Press this lever towards the rear of the instru- ment to add modulation (usually vibrato) to the notes you are playin
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EM-55_UK Page 6 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM Panel descriptions L STYLE button W TEMPO/DATA dial Press this button if you want to select Music Styles. This dial is used for setting the tempo, parameter val- By activating this button, you also specify that the ues, and for selecting Music Styles, Tones, or Drum [INTRO], [ORIGINAL], etc., buttons are used for select- Sets via the EZ SEARCH function. ing a Style Division, while the [1]~[8] buttons can be X DISK button used to select the de
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ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH EM-55_UK Page 7 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM EM-55 Owner’s Manual The [VARIATION] button also doubles as [STYLE DISK] g Disk drive button (after pressing the [STYLE] button). See p. 26. This is where you can insert a 2DD or 2HD floppy disk The numeric keypad also allows you to enter file with Standard MIDI Files (SMF) or Music Styles. It also names. allows you to save your User Program settings and the Songs you record. f PHONES sockets This is where you
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EM-55_UK Page 8 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM First steps 3. First steps Setting up The first thing you need to do is connect the supplied ACJ adapter to a suitable wall outlet. (1) Unpack the EM-55 and place it on a sta- ble surface. (2) Connect the small end of the adapter cable to the EM-55’s DC IN jack, and the other end to a suitable wall outlet. (3) Press the [POWER ON] button to switch on the EM-55. Demo songs Your EM-55 comes with 16 Tone demos and 8 Style demos. • Tone demos sho
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ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH EM-55_UK Page 9 Thursday, January 10, 2002 8:08 PM EM-55 Owner’s Manual Playback of a Style demo song: (1) Press the [STYLE] button. Playback of the selected demo song starts automatically. After a copyright message, the name of the selected song will be dis- played. You can now press [START/STOP] to stop playback of the currently selected song. If you press this button again, the next demo song will be played back. (3) Press [START/STOP] to stop demo son
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EM-55_UK Page 10 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM First steps Choosing other sets (5) If necessary, use the BANK/NUMBER 2, Rap, Techno 1 and Techno 2. The illustra- [1]~[8] buttons to select a different set. tion above shows you which button you need to press to select the desired set. The name of the set you select appears in the display: TEMPO 1 DJ PAD 120 ARRANGER CHORD STYLE KEYBOARD VELOCITY REVERB CHORUS MELODY INTELL INVERSION Dance 1 HipHop House 2 Techno 1 Note: Do not press the [
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ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH EM-55_UK Page 11 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM EM-55 Owner’s Manual Guess Note After pressing “OK“ (see step (4) above), the EM-55 plays a note, while the display shows “Listen”. The score graphic in the left part of the display shows the note sounded by the EM-55. (1) Play a note on the keyboard. After applauding (or playing the crashing Next, the EM-55 sounds four other notes. sound), the EM-55 returns to the level indi- Play them too. cation. Repeat ste
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EM-55_UK Page 12 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM First steps To specify the Type: (4) Use the “1” and “2” buttons as well as √ ® to select other chords you wish to • Press the “2” button. The display now shows practise. the message “2 Type”. (5) Press [SONG], [STYLE], [TONE], [USER PRO- • Use the √ ® buttons to select the chord GRAM] or [FUNCTION] to leave this func- type (“7”, for example). The complete name tion. of this chord appears in the ARRANGER CHORD field of the display, while
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ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH EM-55_UK Page 13 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM EM-55 Owner’s Manual 4. Playing with accompaniment Let us now take advantage of the EM-55’s accompaniment function. This function is called “Arranger”. Starting/stopping the Arranger (1) Press the KBD MODE [ARRANGER] button (5) Press the following buttons to use other (its indicator lights). patterns of the currently selected Music Style: ARRANGER The keyboard is split into two halves. The keys you press in t
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EM-55_UK Page 14 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM Playing with accompaniment Changing the tempo (6) Use the [TEMPO/DATA] dial to decrease To return to the Music Style’s default (turn left) or increase (turn right) the tempo, press and hold [EXECUTE/TAP tempo (if necessary). TEMPO] for a few seconds. Alternatively, you can also press the [EXE- CUTE/TAP TEMPO] button several times at the desired tempo. Stopping Arranger playback (7) Press [START/STOP] again to stop playback. You can also pre
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ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH EM-55_UK Page 15 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM EM-55 Owner’s Manual Style selection via EZ Search Another easy way of selecting Music Styles goes Example: to select a Music Style from the like this: “POP” bank, press [3]. (1) Press the [EZ SEARCH] button (indicator lights). (3) Use the [TEMPO/DATA] dial to select the desired Music Style from that bank. After selecting the POP bank, that would be The display now shows the number and Pop 1A~4A, Pop 1B~4B
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EM-55_UK Page 16 Thursday, January 10, 2002 8:08 PM Playing with accompaniment (3) Press the numeric button [4] to select (4) Press the numeric button [1] to select the bank “4”. “HeavenKey” Tone. HeavenKey Piano 2 Note: The name (“Piano 2” in the illustration) still Notice how the Tone name in the display refers to the previously selected Tone. changes. If you now play in the right half of the keyboard, you will hear the “HeavenKey” Tone. Note: See p. 28 for how to select Tone Variation
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ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH EM-55_UK Page 17 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM EM-55 Owner’s Manual 5. Playing one sound (Piano) Here is how to play one sound via the entire keyboard. This mode is automatically selected when you switch on the EM-55. As it was mainly meant to use the EM-55 like a digital piano, this mode is called “PIANO”. (1) Press the [PIANO] button (its indicator (2) See “Selecting sounds for the right hand” lights). (p. 15) for selecting a different sound. At first,
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EM-55_UK Page 18 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM Drumming on the keyboard 6. Drumming on the keyboard Here is how to assign drum and percussion sounds to the entire keyboard. (1) Press the [M.DRUMS] button. With the left-most key, you can play a bass drum sound (also called “kick”). The white key next to it triggers a snare drum sound, etc. Try it out by pressing several keys, either in succession or simultaneously. M.DRUMS Its indicator lights. Play a few notes on the M.Drums M.Drums
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ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH ENGLISH EM-55_UK Page 19 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM EM-55 Owner’s Manual 7. Using the D Beam Controller The D Beam Controller allows you to control various aspects of your performance, or to add something to the music, by moving your hand, head, etc., in the air. You only need to make sure that you do so over the two “eyes” and within a 40cm (±16”) range. Your movements are translated into musical expression. (1) Press the D BEAM CONTROLLER [ON/OFF] (5) Press
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EM-55_UK Page 20 Sunday, October 7, 2001 10:16 PM Recording your music 8. Recording your music Your EM-55 contains a 16-track Recorder you can use for recording your own songs. Feel free to use the Arranger to add an accompaniment to the melodies you record. Here, you will learn how to record your melody and the Arranger accompaniment. (1) Press the [ARRANGER] button. (The [RECORD≈∏] and [1]~[16] icons flash.) The indicator lights. You can now use your You are now in ALL mode, which means
